Casio FX-61F Calculator - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2018, 06:46:18 am
content: Anyone have a high quality scan or original pdf of the Casio FX-61F Calculator manual and formula list? The best I've found online is frommanualslib.comand the attached formula list which leaves me a little cross eyed.Update: Muttley has kindly donethe formula listUpdate: Daywalkerdha has kindly redonethe manualThe manual from Daywalkerdha is lower contrast so way less artifact noise from bleed through. Appreciate both your work on this.

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 28, 2018, 08:13:56 am
content: If need be I could scan a copy of my formula list which is still in very good condition, the full manual would be difficult for me to scan as the book is rather small and tightly bound, otherwise hopefully somebody has a good PDF copy.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2018, 08:17:10 pm
content: Quote from: Muttley Snickers on August 28, 2018, 08:13:56 amYeah it seems worth doing a decent scan for prosperity. It's 30 years old this year as well, an anniversary of sorts.The oldest I could find is this one from 2005 similar to the one I linked in my OP. Lot of artifacts from page bleed through. Scanning an original with a lower contrast, a blanking page to prevent a little bleed through and modern processing to get a crisper black and white end image has got to to be better. If I had something decent to start with I'd give it a go myself.https://web.archive.org/web/20051215223646/http://www.casiotechno.com:80/download/manual/FX-61F.pdf

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 28, 2018, 09:46:15 pm
content: Doing a scan on my flat bed would probably wreck the book which is currently in very good order and hardly touched since new, the other options would be to either clean up the linked copy you posted with something like MS Paint or simply write a replacement text copy in MS Word or similar.The paint edit and clean up approach would maintain originality but could be rather time consuming particularly for the pedantic such as myself. The rewrite altogether approach should be reasonably straight forward for somebody familiar with the formula shortcut keys, these would be a big hurdle for me without a list or some assistance.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2018, 12:01:07 am
content: Quote from: Muttley Snickers on August 28, 2018, 09:46:15 pmWell I had a quick look and it's like polishing the proverbial turd, it really needs scanning again. Here is the Casio FX-10F manual which was probably also done in the 90s. So yeah some straight pages and a decent scan would go a long way.https://www.manualslib.com/download/775048/Casio-Fx-10f.htmlOf course it would be nice to see it in color and all but unless you do that stuff day in day out recreating the whole manual sounds super time consuming.If you have the formula list card handy, I reckon go for it. Perhaps try a black and white or grey scale scan and see how clean and straight you can get it. I'm not really the resident expert on scanning, probably that would be TerraHertz who has gone pretty deep on the subject.

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 29, 2018, 02:20:28 am
content: Here are both sides of the formula card in its original form, I've had to scan it at 600 dpi to maintain reasonable clarity and anything lower than that starts to look rather ordinary as you can see from the third and forth images below. The card itself has a slight sheen and almost a semi-gloss finish which makes scanning a bit tricky, anyway I will play around a bit more and create a final card later on this afternoon.

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 29, 2018, 07:37:39 am
content: I took a snapshot of the first page from that PDF posted above and then spent fifteen minutes cleaning it up with the paint eraser, certainly doable but a hell of a lot of work with no great benefit really. The image below is just for comparison and not completed by any means, I do find this sort of stuff somewhat therapeutic but something this involved and tedious is not for me at the moment in regards to the paint cleanup method.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2018, 07:44:02 am
content: Quote from: Muttley Snickers on August 29, 2018, 02:20:28 amLooks good. When you do your final scans see if you can get the border of the English table square. My old school method of checking for rotation and skew issues (without using a rotation tool) is in an editor make a net or square box around the text or table. Then you can manually compensate it by rotating and rescanning.Still, that 600 DPI scan amazing compared to the other one.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 29, 2018, 08:45:08 am
content: In case there isn't one, I just took a hires photo of minehttps://www.flickr.com/photos/eevblog/42531713520/in/dateposted-public/Casio FX-61F Scientific CalculatorbyDave Jones, on Flickr

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 29, 2018, 08:55:43 am
content: Also scans of the formula cardhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/eevblog/albums/72157697541391512

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 29, 2018, 09:22:39 am
content: I did a series of electronics courses at Tafe back in the late nineties and all of the students were compelled to purchase one of these calculators so that everyone was on the same page, I have no idea what they are using today, probably an Android app which I am guilty of myself.Electronics Calculatorhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appdevgenie.electronicscalculator

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 29, 2018, 11:07:48 am
content: Quote from: Muttley Snickers on August 29, 2018, 09:22:39 amPathetic, doesn't even have scientific function keys

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 30, 2018, 04:39:53 am
content: Here are my final offerings in relation to the FX-61F Formula Card which accompanies the calculator, the images have been cleaned up considerably and there is room for further improvement if somebody has the desire. I have also included two additional versions for English and Spanish, the original card size was 128mm high and 140mm wide should anybody need to make a replacement.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2018, 09:40:30 am
content: Top job Muttley they look great.For anyone who is game to tackle scanning the manual let us know. I've done some in the past by opening the staples carefully and deconstructing it page by page. It's also easier then to use a blanking sheet of paper to stop bleed through while scanning.

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 30, 2018, 10:10:28 am
content: Believe it or not my first ever job was as a bookbinder and unfortunately the FX-61F manual is glued so a proper scan would probably be destructive. I'm not sure how we can totally eliminate the bleeding from the reverse page without a lot of editing work as I touched upon back in reply #6, if you open each of those images in new tabs and switch between them you can see that the existing PDF does have potential for improvement. I was also thinking that perhaps we could send Casio an email to ask if they have something in their archives before trying to scan the book.

author: ogden
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2018, 10:32:41 am
content: Quote from: Muttley Snickers on August 30, 2018, 10:10:28 amSimple trick: put (pitch)black paper behind page you are scanning. Such black cover shall be accessory for every flatbed scanner.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 31, 2018, 12:14:23 am
content: Quote from: Muttley Snickers on August 29, 2018, 09:22:39 amDepending what course but at Universities they are still using the good old calculator, really just updated versions of what was being offered in the 80s with the same questionable design choices. They typically fall into non programmable, programmable, graphing and finance.I just recently brought a Casio FX-100AU PLUS (non programmable Australian model) which was approved for statistics part of a course. The "Natural Textbook Display" runs about 5 lines deep and has easy input for algebra and statistics, not a bad calculator.I prefer plastic over rubber buttons. I'm not a fan of silver plastic but being able to easily read the functions in general is a bonus. At the time of writing the Casio FX-100AU was the best thing going aside from the Classwiz series (which has a nicer display) but it was absent from some approved lists.

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 31, 2018, 12:42:39 am
content: I had a look around on the Casio Support page earlier and they do have a number of manuals for older models but the FX-61F is unfortunately not listed, just out of curiosity I saved one manual for the FX-50F PLUS which I have posted below, there was a message which stated that if you cannot find something specific then to contact Casio Support in your region, this might be a valid option.Casio Manuals English.https://support.casio.com/en/manual/manuallist.php?cid=004Casio Past Models Asia Region.https://www.casio-intl.com/asia/en/calc/pastmodels/

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 31, 2018, 08:17:33 am
content: The Casio FX-50F was around 1987 and the Casio FX-61F was around 1988 or 89.The Casio FX-50F Plus is only a few years old so the Plus is a difference of over 20 years.The Casio FX-50F is a little nicer scan than the Casio FX-61Fhttp://www.usersmanualguide.com/manuals/casio/FX-10F_FX-50F.pdf

author: ogden
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 31, 2018, 09:58:00 am
content: I wonder what would it take to manufacture made by Casio EEVblog calculator (maybe as crowdfunding project)? I would love to have such next to my fx-991es.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 31, 2018, 11:09:07 am
content: Quote from: ogden on August 31, 2018, 09:58:00 amI believe Dave has previously approached Casio but got no reply.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 31, 2018, 01:50:50 pm
content: is it an option to just snap photos of the book pages with a smartphone and post them raw somewhere for people who wants to take it from there.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2018, 03:14:04 am
content: Quote from: Bud on August 31, 2018, 01:50:50 pmThere is a book/manual scanning method using a camera and a piece of flat non reflective glass to ensure the page lays flat. It gives great results if done properly and doesn't require the book to be pressed flat, so yes that is an option.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 07, 2018, 04:26:21 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on August 31, 2018, 11:09:07 amYep, no reply

author: TheAmmoniacal
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 07, 2018, 05:30:51 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on September 07, 2018, 04:26:21 amTry harder! Email their Japanese office in Japanese!

author: ogden
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2018, 06:32:32 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on September 07, 2018, 04:26:21 amRight. Not easy task to get in touch with big Japanese company about your small business offer. Regional office shall be tried first to get at least some contact, then you work your way up the food chain:https://www.worldbusinessculture.com/country-profiles/japan/culture/business-management-style/

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 07, 2018, 08:57:56 am
content: Quote from: ogden on September 07, 2018, 06:32:32 amI found the head of product marketing on LinkedIn and emailed direct. It's possible that it wasn't the right email, but it didn't bounce.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2018, 09:17:37 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on September 07, 2018, 08:57:56 amWith 32K followers on Twitter, maybe worth a tweet asking if anyone has any contacts at Casio, or can translate a request into Japanese ?

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2018, 09:29:41 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on September 07, 2018, 08:57:56 amCasio makes great calculators don't get me wrong, but the build quality I think has nothing on the vintage Casio FX-82 style calculator. Something like that with modern plastic buttons and inserts and a dome keypad on pcb would last forever. The aluminum keypad bezel and the LCDs they were using back then have stood the test of time as well. The Casio FX-61F is a little too flexible for my liking.Then again if you were doing things from scratch going the landscape HP 15C route (w/optional RPN) wouldn't be a bad idea either.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 07, 2018, 10:40:01 am
content: This is the guy I tried to contact:https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-prunk-9429882Director of marketing for calculators

author: DJbarro
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 07, 2018, 01:25:35 pm
content: Quote from: ogden on August 31, 2018, 09:58:00 amI would definitely see an EEVBlog branded calculator with functions and capabilities like this FX-61F (electronics engineering), but with directions and input from Dave to the manufacturer. Just like with the 121GW.

author: Dielectric
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2018, 01:07:41 pm
content: Maybe the Swiss Micros guy would take up the challenge? I've got his DM16C "programmers calculator" and it's glorious but highly refined for bit twiddling.

author: Old Nick
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 19, 2018, 07:57:33 pm
content: I have 2 of these calculators, one working and one with the LCD broken. I've emailed casio several times about a replacement screen over the years. The first time was late 90s early 2000s. And they quoted £25 to repair the calculator, I waited several months and then got in touch again ready to send the calculator to be repaired and pay the fee. Unfortunately, the several months from my fist inquiry until I acted on it was long enough for casio to no longer repair them. I've also asked them several times if any models of a similar age use the same LCD, but they don't have details on such things and no interest in looking I guess.Does anyone know if there are compatible screens on similar casio calculators? I'd love to revive my old one

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2018, 09:52:30 pm
content: I have a Radio Shack EC-4014 which is made by Casio and looks to be the baby brother of the pictured unit.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2018, 12:23:36 am
content: Quote from: Old Nick on October 19, 2018, 07:57:33 pmI had a quick look for you and found the same series all seem to have unique displays.If you want to research this yourself inside the first few pages of the each calculators manual they show the display layout of the calculator. The product catalogs also show most of them are different.

author: Old Nick
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 20, 2018, 09:57:13 am
content: I never though of looking in the manual, I still have a pristine manual and box for the 61FThanks for your input. I feared the screens would all be different.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2018, 10:23:12 am
content: If you have a spare manual for loan or for sale I'm interested. Ideally I want to end up with a good electronic version of the manual that is easy to read.

author: Muessigb
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 12, 2020, 01:30:09 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on September 07, 2018, 10:40:01 amHis LinkedIn profile states that he has quit Casio in 2016, so two years before your post. Perhaps it's time to find someone else now.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 14, 2020, 02:15:33 am
content: Quote from: Muessigb on May 12, 2020, 01:30:09 pmHmm, perhaps!If anyone has any linked I'd be glad to contact them again.Interestingly I found this marketing plan:https://world.casio.com/media/ir/results/201905_452/midtermplan_en.pdf

author: KE5FX
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2020, 03:17:34 am
content: Are you asking them to build a reproduction of the FX-61F or other 80s-era calculator? I'd be all over that, but I can't imagine it's even remotely possible. Never mind the parts, the tooling will have long since been obsoleted or lost altogether.They'd have to charge thousands of dollars per unit to justify a limited run, I imagine.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 14, 2020, 03:29:29 am
content: Quote from: KE5FX on May 14, 2020, 03:17:34 amI'd settle for a modified FX-260The housing for the CFX-400 watch still exists as a databank calculator, it would just need a new LCD, chip and key overlay.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 14, 2020, 03:46:10 am
content: Sales:

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 29, 2020, 10:37:29 am
content: Quote from: daywalkerdha on October 29, 2020, 09:55:55 amWhat a champion, thanks you did great job on that. Even though the contrast is lower it's very low artifacts from bleed through so way easier to read.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 29, 2020, 05:00:12 pm
content: Quote from: Shock on August 28, 2018, 06:46:18 amFYI, the way to prevent bleed through when scanning is to put a black backing sheet on the reverse of the page being scanned.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2020, 12:35:39 am
content: Looks even better now, higher quality seems to make the page alignment a bit more noticeable. In the past I found rescanning pages as I went produced better results than using processing for alignment. If I recall correctly I changed my desktop to a lower resolution and used the scan preview and crop tool as a ruler to check text/table/line alignment which made it fairly "quick" (which it never is).Tooki sounds like he wants to volunteer to proof read the manual changes.

author: CarryWise
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2022, 08:29:41 pm
content: It appears that the post from Daywalkerdha has disappeared - can anyone provide the scanned copy of the manual?

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2022, 01:48:42 pm
content: Send me a pm with your email address and I'll email it. Too big on the forums I think.

author: dani1024
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 24, 2023, 11:02:21 am
content: Quote from: Shock on September 02, 2022, 01:48:42 pmHi, can you also send it to me? Will send a PM with my emailThank you

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2023, 05:47:38 am
content: Enjoy.

author: Crazor
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2024, 01:13:28 pm
content: Can someone please upload that scan somewhere? Makes no sense to PM and mail it to everyone.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2024, 03:47:31 pm
content: Sure PM me I'll email it and you can upload it somewhere. Probablyhttps://archive.org/is a good place. I don't have an account there nor will be making one, but feel free to help out if you want.

author: martinot
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2024, 06:14:50 pm
content: Just bought one from eBay, and it seems to work but the display is quite dim. Anyone who know how to change the battery, and what kind of battery one should get?

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2024, 07:13:13 pm
content: Quote from: martinot on October 25, 2024, 06:14:50 pmhttps://arnowelzel.de/en/projects/technology-museum/calculators/casio-fx-61f

author: martinot
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2024, 08:14:15 pm
content: Thanks!Do you possibly have the better scanned version of the manual?

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2024, 11:15:21 pm
content: I do not, sorry.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 05, 2024, 09:50:48 pm
content: Martinot, Dim display is likely the battery. I sent the rescanned manual and reference card to your email, enjoy.

author: martinot
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2024, 07:42:54 am
content: Quote from: Shock on November 05, 2024, 09:50:48 pmThanks for the manual!Yes, it was the battery that needed to be replaced.