One of the most clever things I have ever seen done with a calculator.

[Guy Macon]

I know it's Reddit, but this is one of the most clever things I have ever seen done with a calculator.

https://www.reddit.com/r/calculators/com...alculator/

[BobVA]

No gummy wheels there, but branching might get a little tedious :-)

[Maximilian Hohmann]

Hello!

(04-15-2020 02:15 PM)BobVA Wrote:  No gummy wheels there, but branching might get a little tedious :-)

"If result < 0 continue on page 35 otherwise page 127"

I wonder what the longest program is that he has (literally!) written that way. But the idea is really ingenious!

Regards
Max

[Csaba Tizedes]

Really clever idea, I must to build one during my homeoffice...
This is when not the magnetic card moves inside the reader, but the reader moves above the magnetic (here graphite) "card". BTW: these kind "programs" can be found in a Hungarian book about the calculators, printed in 1978.

[Guy Macon]

(04-15-2020 03:51 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  "If result < 0 continue on page 35 otherwise page 127"

He could even do gosub/return that way.

The only thing missing is a small whiteboard/chalkboard to act as erasable "RAM" to store variables.

I read once about a prisoner who had no access to computers writing a BASIC interpreter using paper, pen, and a chalkboard and running some of the BASIC programs that used to be printed in computer magazines on it.

[Garth Wilson]

For me, the link just goes to a blank white page.

[edryer]

Quote:I read once about a prisoner who had no access to computers writing a BASIC interpreter using paper, pen, and a chalkboard and running some of the BASIC programs that used to be printed in computer magazines on it.

Would be interesting to know why he was there in the first place ))

[Mark Hardman]

Video of the calculator macro reader in action:

https://youtu.be/CFL18BPYet8

[Csaba Tizedes]

(04-17-2020 01:47 AM)Mark Hardman Wrote:  Video of the calculator macro reader in action

Hah, I think that it can move continuously over the paper. Better solution a "strip-type test panel" - because its raster is same as the pins on the connector:



With an ink-corrector to hide the not used pins:



Cs.

[toml_12953]

(04-17-2020 01:00 AM)edryer Wrote:  

Quote:I read once about a prisoner who had no access to computers writing a BASIC interpreter using paper, pen, and a chalkboard and running some of the BASIC programs that used to be printed in computer magazines on it.

Would be interesting to know why he was there in the first place ))

He was there for creating a fake ATM made with paper, pen and a chalkboard.

[Guy Macon]

(04-16-2020 05:12 PM)Garth Wilson Wrote:  For me, the link just goes to a blank white page.

If [ http://www.reddit.com/r/calculators/comm...alculator/ ] doesn't work, just Google [ Reddit "Macros on a 4 function calculator" ]. Also works on DuckDuckGo and Bing.

[Guy Macon]

He posted a video of it on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFL18BPYet8

Macros on a 4 function calculator, demo

[Jim Horn]

Back in the late 1970s at one of the Wescon (Western Electronics Convention and Show) events was a presentation by students competing for prizes for innovation. One presented a card reader add-on for the HP-25. Of course, I made sure to attend that! The innovation was a similar concept of having the keyboard rows and columns brought to pins of a device which would accept a classic Hollerith punched card which would be slowly pulled through by manually turning a knob which drove friction wheels to pull the card through. Each column of the card had two holes punched, one each for a row and column of the '25 keyboard which would allow those two pins to touch a conductive strip behind the punched card, thereby electrically "pressing" the corresponding key. It was as fast as the calculator and would allow loading a program into same. Of course, the resulting device was larger and more unwieldy than this one and required a keypunch machine to "program" it. But then again, it predated it by decades.

[pavel nemec cz]

(04-21-2020 10:00 PM)Jim Horn Wrote:  Back in the late 1970s at one of the Wescon (Western Electronics Convention and Show) events was a presentation by students competing for prizes for innovation. One presented a card reader add-on for the HP-25. Of course, I made sure to attend that! The innovation was a similar concept of having the keyboard rows and columns brought to pins of a device which would accept a classic Hollerith punched card which would be slowly pulled through by manually turning a knob which drove friction wheels to pull the card through. Each column of the card had two holes punched, one each for a row and column of the '25 keyboard which would allow those two pins to touch a conductive strip behind the punched card, thereby electrically "pressing" the corresponding key. It was as fast as the calculator and would allow loading a program into same. Of course, the resulting device was larger and more unwieldy than this one and required a keypunch machine to "program" it. But then again, it predated it by decades.

Wow, what a reminder!

I was late by half of the decade (and at that time behind the Iron curtain). In the mid 80's I did exactly the same for TI 58C. Tapping out key rows and columns to an external port. Kind of U shape loader all from PCB soldered together with spring contacts from top was very compact. I used it to load programs for concrete reinforced slabs and beams design for structural classes and exams. The challenge was punching cards since "our'' machine could do only one hole in the column and each card had to be punched in two runs and for longer programs I taped more cards together. If anybody spots the calc with this connector made by TESLA (yes, we used to have the Tesla company for all sorts of electronics - it exactly fitted on the upper slanted part of the calc enabling even use of the original case) that I lost during company move, please let me know.

KR
P