Sharp Compet CS-10A Electronic Calculator
date: label: date made
content: ca 1964
name: label: maker
content: Sharp Corporation
notes: label: Description
content: In 1964 the Japanese firm of Hayakawa Electric (later Sharp Corporation) announced the Compet CS-10A, its first electronic calculator. This is an example of the device.
label: Description
content: The heavy full-keyboard, non-printing calculator has a metal case; ten columns of gray and white plastic keys; and keys for the arithmetic functions, equality, and clearance. The result register has 21 tubes and is covered with glass. Eleven dials and a red button stretch across the front. The cover is missing on the base.
label: Description
content: A mark on the front of the calculator above the register reads: SHARP COMPET. A mark to the right of this reads: CS-10A. A metal tag on the back reads in part: SHARP COMPET (/) MODEL CS-10A. It also reads in part: SERIAL NO. 86314 (/) HAYAKAWA ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
label: Description
content: According to Atsushi Asada, who led the team at Hayakawa Electric that developed the instrument, it included germanium transistors built by NEC and Hitachi instead of vacuum tubes. Circuits also used diodes. Early versions of the calculator had a total of some 5,000 components. The instrument was announced on the same day that Sony announced plans to sell a calculator using transistors (May 14, 1964). Sharp would go on to make much smaller and lighter electronic calculators.
label: Description
content: References:
label: Description
content: Accession file.
label: Description
content: Another example of the calculator is shown at the Vintage Calculators Web Museum at http://www.vintagecalculators.com/.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: Japan
topic: label: Subject
content: Business
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Computers
label: See more items in
content: Computers & Business Machines
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content: Desktop Electronic Calculators
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Sharp Corporation
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2006.0137.01
label: catalog number
content: 2006.0137.01
label: accession number
content: 2006.0137
objectType: label: Object Name
content: electronic calculator
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (case material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (keys material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (display material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 10 1/2 in x 17 in x 18 in; 26.67 cm x 43.18 cm x 45.72 cm