Sharp PC-1360 find

[polbit]

(12-22-2023 02:07 AM)robve Wrote:  

(12-19-2023 06:56 PM)polbit Wrote:  I am a big fan of the PC-1500(A) in the Sharp pocket computer line. Great machine, but a little bulky. With that in mind, and of course looking for a bigger screen, I was lucky to find a basically new PC-1360. Seemed like a great tradeoff to trying to cary G850. Have been playing with it for the past few days, and I have to say, nice machine, but it is slow...

As Dave Britten said, it's not that bad for an 80s machine running on just two CR2032s. But you are not alone. I felt the same way back in the mid 80s when I purchased a PC-1350. Nevertheless, I got the most out of it by discovering it also has the DEF-AREAD combo to write a library of math routines and using a CE-126p printer to save/load programs. Writing assembly was cool too, but very different than 8080/Z80/6502/6809 which are all easier to write. The PC-1350/1360 is a lot more portable. And no danger of leaking AA cells. The CR2032 cells last a long time.

The E500 hits the middle in terms of size, with a punchy CPU and large LCD. It is smaller and lighter than the PC-1500, but not as small and light as the PC-12xx, PC-13xx, and PC-14xx series. The E500S version on the other hand is a bit larger, but has a better LCD compared to the E500. Neither have DEF-AREAD which is a shame. No RTC either, which the PC-1500/1600 have. But it has programmable menus. The PC-G850 is OK, but not as good as the E500, especially the E500 ROM system is well designed and documented when that matters e.g. in assembly code.

- Rob

I think I'm starting to appreciate 1500 more and more, and will just have to get my hands on the 1600! While I started this thread (and my purchase) with an idea of a smaller machine, I just don't find the trade-offs worthy for my use.