Retro Calculator Build Proves The Space Age Isn’t What It Used To Be

The common wisdom these days is that even if we wanted to get back to the Moon the way we did in the 1960s, we’d never be able to do it. Most of the blame for that usually falls on the loss o…

Solve: An ESP32-Based Equation Solving Calculator

We’re suckers for good-looking old-school calculators, so this interesting numerical equation-solving calculator by [Peter Balch] caught our attention. Based around the ESP32-WROOM-32 module …

Mechanical Switch Sci-Calc Is Also A Macropad

Smartphones have replaced a desktop calculator for most folks these days, but sometimes that tactility is just what you need to get the mathematical juices flowing. Why not spruce up the scientific…

Internet Connected TI-84 To Cut Your Academic Career Short

In an educational project with ethically questionable applications, [ChromaLock] has converted the ubiquitous TI-84 calculator into the ultimate cheating device. The foundation of this hack lies in…

Reverse Time Back To The Days Of RPN

While Texas Instruments maintains dominance in the calculator market (especially graphing calculators), there was a time when this wasn’t the case. HP famously built the first portable scient…

Slim Tactile Switches Save Classic TI Calculator With A Bad Keypad

For vintage calculator fans, nothing strikes more fear than knowing that someday their precious and irreplaceable daily driver will become a museum piece to be looked at and admired — but nev…

Retro Calculator Panders To Trekkies… Or Trekkers

Back in 1976, when calculators were not common or cheap, a company named MEGO made the Star Trekulator: a calculator sporting a Star Trek theme. However, it was a bit odd since the calculator didn&…

Early “Computer Kit” Really Just A Fancy Calculator

We’re big fans of calculators, computers and vintage magazines, so when we see something at the intersection of all three we always take a look. Back in 1966, Electronics Illustrated included…

The First European Pocket Calculator Came From Yugoslavia

At the start of the 1970s the pocket calculator was the last word in personal electronics, and consumers in Europe looked eagerly towards Japan or the USA for a glimpse of new products. Meanwhile t…

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Classic Calculator Goes RPN, With New Brain

In the era of the smartphone, an electronic calculator may seem a bit old-hat. But they continue to hold a fascination in our community, both when used for their original purpose, and as objects fo…

Decoding A ROM From A Picture Of The Chip

Before there were home computers, among the hottest pieces of consumer technology to own was a pocket calculator. In the early 1970s a series of exciting new chips appeared which allowed the imposs…

Calculation Before We Went Digital

We have to like [Nicola Marras]. First, he wrote a great mini-book about analog computers. Then he translated it into English. Finally, he opened with a picture of Mr. Spock using an E6-B flight sl…

Hackaday Links: November 12, 2023

Somebody must really have it in for Cruise, because the bad press just keeps piling up for the robo-taxi company. We’ve highlighted many of the company’s woes in this space, from unsche…

Partial Relay-Based Calculator Puts The Click Where It Counts

It looks like [Michal Zalewski] is raising the next generation the right way. First, his eldest son asks for help building a one-bit computer from discrete transistors. Not to be left behind, his l…

Make Your Own 1970s Magnetic Stripe Cards

We’re now all used to near-limitless storage on flash and other semiconductor technologies, but there was a time when persistent storage was considerably less easy to achieve. A 1970s program…

Pocket Calculator Isn’t A Brain Or Magic

If you predate the pocket calculator, you may remember slide rules. But slide rules take a a little skill to use. There was a market for other devices that were simpler or, in some cases, cheaper. …

HP1973 Project Highlights Workings Of HP-45 Calculator

[Sarah K Marr] dabbles in retrocomputing and has a fascination with the Hewlett Packard HP-45 calculator, the second calculator in HP’s series introduced in 1973. Over a year ago, she wrote a…