About frist scientific calculator powered by solar cells and button cells

[Alevin]

Hi all.

May be this is not the most suitabale forum to put the following two questions, but is the more populated in order to get any answer.

As we are in the final steps to prepare a small scientific calculator exhibition, we wour like to know...

what was the frist scientific calculator powered by button cells?

What was the frist scientific calculator powered by solar cells?

after intensive google search no clear info was found

Thanks for your answers

[Didier Lachieze]

(08-16-2017 10:17 AM)Alevin Wrote:  what was the frist scientific calculator powered by button cells?

In 1972 the Sinclair Executive was using button cells batteries (3 or 4 depending on the version).

(08-16-2017 10:17 AM)Alevin Wrote:  What was the frist scientific calculator powered by solar cells?

If you're looking for the first calculator powered by solar cells without any battery, it seems to be the TEAL Photon from 1977, but in 1976 the Sharp EL-8026 and the Royal Solar I / Triumph-Adler 1980 were using solar cells to recharge the internal batteries.

[Alevin]

(08-16-2017 11:42 AM)Didier Lachieze Wrote:  

(08-16-2017 10:17 AM)Alevin Wrote:  what was the frist scientific calculator powered by button cells?

In 1972 the Sinclair Executive was using button cells batteries (3 or 4 depending on the version).

(08-16-2017 10:17 AM)Alevin Wrote:  What was the frist scientific calculator powered by solar cells?

If you're looking for the first calculator powered by solar cells without any battery, it seems to be the TEAL Photon from 1977, but in 1976 the Sharp EL-8026 and the Royal Solar I / Triumph-Adler 1980 were using solar cells to recharge the internal batteries.

Thanks for the contribution, these data are found elsewhere, but I was asking fpr Scientific type calculators, not general 4 basic function calculators.

[Thomas Okken]

(08-17-2017 01:25 PM)Alevin Wrote:  

(08-16-2017 11:42 AM)Didier Lachieze Wrote:  In 1972 the Sinclair Executive was using button cells batteries (3 or 4 depending on the version).

If you're looking for the first calculator powered by solar cells without any battery, it seems to be the TEAL Photon from 1977, but in 1976 the Sharp EL-8026 and the Royal Solar I / Triumph-Adler 1980 were using solar cells to recharge the internal batteries.

Thanks for the contribution, these data are found elsewhere, but I was asking fpr Scientific type calculators, not general 4 basic function calculators.

The first scientific solar-powered calculator that I remember seeing was the original TI-30 Solar, but Wikipedia tells me that was in 1987. Surely that can't have been the first?

[Accutron]

The Casio fx-115/fx-115M was introduced around 1985.

[Thomas Ritschel]

The first solar-powered programmable calculator might have been the Casio fx-50F, introduced in 1987.

[Didier Lachieze]

(08-17-2017 01:25 PM)Alevin Wrote:  Thanks for the contribution, these data are found elsewhere, but I was asking fpr Scientific type calculators, not general 4 basic function calculators.

Sorry, I missed the “scientific” part of your question. I don’t know the exact answers but my candidates would be:

• first scientific calculator powered by button cells : Sharp EL-5804/5805/5806 or Casio fx-2000 from 1977
• first scientific calculator powered by solar cells : Sharp EL-510/EL-515 or Casio fx-900/fx-950 from 1982. There are several others from 1982 such as the Toshiba's SLC 8410 or TI 30 SLR, but looking at the size of the solar cells, the Sharp and Casio models seem to be the older ones as older cells were bigger and less efficient than newer ones.

Other people may have better candidates…

[Alevin]

(08-17-2017 03:24 PM)Didier Lachieze Wrote:  

(08-17-2017 01:25 PM)Alevin Wrote:  Thanks for the contribution, these data are found elsewhere, but I was asking fpr Scientific type calculators, not general 4 basic function calculators.

Sorry, I missed the “scientific” part of your question. I don’t know the exact answers but my candidates would be:

• first scientific calculator powered by button cells : Sharp EL-5804/5805/5806 or Casio fx-2000 from 1977
• first scientific calculator powered by solar cells : Sharp EL-510/EL-515 or Casio fx-900/fx-950 from 1982. There are several others from 1982 such as the Toshiba's SLC 8410 or TI 30 SLR, but looking at the size of the solar cells, the Sharp and Casio models seem to be the older ones as older cells were bigger and less efficient than newer ones.

Other people may have better candidates…

Thanks for your sugestions.

After review of two sources ( mycalcdb and calcuseum), it seems that:

Sharp 5804 (1976) was the first with button cells

Casio FX-900 was the first with solar cells if calcuseum is right (it dates form 1980). Nevertheless mycaldb dates it form 1982 , as Sharp EL-510. It is seems strange that Casio got it two year earlier than Sharp.

[Vtile]

Canon were also one early adapters of the small and thin japanese style scientific calculators. The soviet MK-71 is interesting, which I noticed while searching for the fx-900.

[Alevin]

There is another candidate for frist scientific calculator with button cells


Sanyo CZ-8102 (year 1975)


Ussing "large button" cells of the era.