Museum of Pocket Calculating Devices

https://www.calculators.de/

by ohjeez • 2 months ago

92 21 2 months ago

My dream is to one day own a Curta. I want to find an algorithm to approximate pi, one crank at a time. I had a chance to hold one at a vintage computer festival once. Smaller than I expected. Truly pocketable.

I just had a thought. Why hasn't a Curta simulator come out for the Playdate? I guess I am cursed with creating it

tavavex• 2 months ago

The Curta is the ultimate calculator to own. I wish someone was still making modern replicas, but it seems that it's just too complex or at least too complex to bother with. So we're stuck with scavenging the ones that are still working off of individuals. I hope to buy one someday if there's still any supply of them left on the used market.

Miraste• 2 months ago

There is a wonderful teardown of it here:

https://www.vcalc.net/CU-Disassembly/

Scrolling through that makes me think it's extremely unlikely to be replicated commercially. I can't imagine how much machining all of those parts would cost.

bell-cot• 2 months ago

For those unfamiliar with the Curta - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curta

pugworthy• 2 months ago

I found a Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rule [1] in the garbage once at the university I worked at. I didn't have a holy grail list for such things, but it assumed that role when I found it.

[1] https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_11312...

Hackbraten• 2 months ago

I'll buy it if you ever follow through!

cestith• 2 months ago

I have a few pocket computers not on that page. I guess I have a new option where to donate them if I ever decide to part with them.

idatum• 2 months ago

I have 2 listed: HP-35 and HP-41CX.

Still use an HP-11c.

Will die on that hill defending RPN!

zvr• 2 months ago

As the old joke goes:

"For your birthday, I wanted to get you a pocket calculator ... but then I thought you'd already know how many pockets you have."

NetMageSCW• 2 months ago

I was really looking for watch calculators.

Analemma_• 2 months ago

They have that on the page: https://www.calculators.de/

Although one omission I was hoping to see is slide rule watches. It's unfortunate that these days mechanical watches are just status symbols for rich people, because back in the day slide rule watches like the Chronomat and Navitimer were tools that people really needed for their job. Navy test pilots said their Navitimers were indispensable.

gregsadetsky• 2 months ago

Museum of Pocket Calculating Devices

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