Calculators in wooden boxes

[Maximilian Hohmann]

Hello!

Last week I was finally able to aquire another calculator that comes in a wooden box, namely a Texas Instruments "Navigatronic" (navigation calculators are really my main interest in collecting calulators).

Now I have three types of electronic calculators that are packaged in wood:


This is a Tamaya NC-77 astro/celestial-navigation calculator. It is based on a calculator from Sharp but with custom firmware and key labels




This is it's successor, the Tamaya NC-88. I don't know if it was custom made for Tamaya, but the quality of the electronics inside is very poor. I have three of them and only one works:


And here is the Ti Navigatronic. It is a Ti58 with a "Marine Navigation" module inside a very smart purpose bulit wooden box that opens diagonally and also contains a special charger designed for the power supply used in ships. Unfortunately I do not have the pouch for the key labels and the quick reference guide which are supposed to be stored in the right half of the box.
As can be seen from the patina in this picture of the label, it has seen some usage in salt-water environment:






I wonder how many of them were made. This is only the second one I saw in over two decades of looking for calculators in flea markets and over the internet. Interestingly I was the only bidder and got it for the price that is usually paid for a naked Ti58...

Is anyone aware of other electronic (!) navigation calculators (maybe even by HP) which came in custom made wooden boxes?

Regards
Max

[ColinJDenman]

I also have the Tamaya 77, purchased by my father when he was a merchant navy Captain. Still in box and card slipcase. I do recall the rom data in it went out of spec some years ago, so not suitable for use without correction.

[Maximilian Hohmann]

Hello!

(12-06-2019 03:00 PM)ColinJDenman Wrote:  Still in box and card slipcase.

I had that slipcase too, but it got eaten by the dormouses that live under our rooftiles and who found a way into the room where I store my calculators. Fortunately they don't seem to like the type of cardboard from which HP makes it's calculator boxes.

(12-06-2019 03:00 PM)ColinJDenman Wrote:  I do recall the rom data in it went out of spec some years ago, so not suitable for use without correction.

By now even the corrections are no longer effective. But this only means that the ephemeris data stored inside the calculator can no longer be used. The calculations can still be done using tabulated figures from something like the nautical almanac.

Regards
Max

[ColinJDenman]

(12-06-2019 03:22 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  Hello!

By now even the corrections are no longer effective. But this only means that the ephemeris data stored inside the calculator can no longer be used. The calculations can still be done using tabulated figures from something like the nautical almanac.

Regards
Max

Indeed. My father was sufficiently old school - he started his career in 1938 - that he knew how to do everything the old fashioned way. He just had a taste for gadgets which I seemed to inherit.