US*8 Personal Electronic Calculator

Serial: 22193

It was likely manufactured in the early part of 1973. It is a desk-top style calculator, using AC line power. It utilizes a single Texas Instruments chip, the TMS0103NC, which is one of TI’s first-generation of single-chip calculator IC’s, for its calculating brains. Along with the TI chip, an assortment of plastic-packaged transistors and discrete components for power supply and display driving functions.

The US*8 is one of the earliest electronic calculators to be actually manufactured by Commodore, with earlier machines made by other companies (such as Casio in Japan) and sold under the Commodore brand under OEM contracts. Commodore cranked out these calculators by the thousands, distributing them to department and discount stores such as JC Penney, KMart, White Front, Sears & Roebuck, Korvettes, and Fred Meyer among many others.

The display is a Burroughs Panaplex-style planar gas-discharge display, with standard seven-segment digit arrangement. The display panel has 9 digits, but the left-most digit is used only for sign (-) and error/overflow(E) indication.

The US*8 is very typical in its operation, with adding-machine style [+=] and [-=] keys for calculating sums and differences, along with [X] and [÷] keys, with the [+=] key used for completing calculation of products or quotients. A slide switch on the keyboard panel selects several fixed decimal point locations, or automatic floating decimal mode.

 

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