Sharp EL-816
We can see how the Rockwell-Sharp collaboration, which had shown a truly revolutionary technological advantage just three years earlier, was at a disadvantage to domestic and foreign manufacturers using “single-chip” calculator circuits, which have already manufactured by MOSTEK and Texas Instruments at the time: the first pocket calculators with these chips appeared as soon as 1971. Rockwell focused on more advanced (scientific, financial etc.) calculators, and Sharp was able to maintain its prestigious position by relying on the domestic market, which is slowly leaving the American background industry behind.
The EL-816, along with its predecessors (EL-811, EL-812), has an eight-digit capacity, but when multiplying, all sixteen digits of the result can be displayed by pressing and holding the ↔ key. The second eight digits of the multiplication are no longer stored in the memory register, so the independent memory can be used during any operation. In August 1973, the EL-816 was replaced by the EL-816S with modified electronics. In 1974, a version with Japanese circuit, which was capable for square root calculation, was released under the type designation EL-8102.
Manufacturer: | Sharp Corporation (Japan) |
Mfg. date: | 1973 |
Size: | 10,5×17,3×4,8 cm |
Weight (ready for operate): | n.a. |
Type: | four-function |
Capacity: | 8 (16) digits (internal precision) |
Operating logic: | arithmetic |
CPU: | Rockwell A1040PA (15340PA) |
Registers: | 2 standard (with saving the pending operation) 1 constant (with saving the pending operation) 1 memory (without arithmetic) |
Features: | +/-change sign (direct entry of negative numbers) Ffloating-point notation |
Display: | 8+1 digit VFD (8×ISEDEN DG10F1) |
Power: | battery pack |