Lasico L30-A Electronic Polar Compensating Planimeter Prototype
date: label: date made
content: 1970
name: label: maker
content: Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company
notes: label: Description
content: This metal prototype for an electronic polar planimeter has an adjustable 12" tracer arm with lens. The top of the arm is divided to millimeters and numbered from 10 to 24 centimeters. The bottom is marked with a serial number: 45254. The arm slides into a painted metal holder for an electronic measuring unit with a plug. The holder has a vernier for the scale on the tracer arm and is marked: LASICO. The plug attaches to a Series 40 processor with a digital screen for displaying the measurement and a knob for setting the instrument to OFF, A, ACCU, or B. An AC adapter by Calrad, a Taiwanese company, powers the processor.
label: Description
content: An adjustable 10" pole arm fits into the holder at one end and a rectangular painted metal pole weight at the other end. The weight is marked: LASICO (/) U.S.A. The arm is divided to millimeters and numbered by tens from 30 to 60 millimeters. The adjusting part of the arm is marked: LASICO. An additional tracer arm with a point instead of a lens has serial number: 45275. A business card for the designer, who also donated the instrument, an extra lens, and two plastic washers for the lens are inside a black plastic case lined with foam.
label: Description
content: Maximilian Berktold (b. 1929) immigrated from Kempten-Allgäu, West Germany, in 1950 and almost immediately began working for the Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company. He oversaw design and production of the firm's planimeters, integrators, pantographs, and various optical instruments until Lasico closed in 2008. He developed this prototype around 1970 from the company's model L30 mechanical planimeter, but the final version was sold as model series 40 and 50. These devices cost several hundred dollars.
label: Description
content: An 18-page booklet, "LASICO Instruction Manual [for] Digital Compensating Polar Planimeters," was received with the instrument. It contains the calibration settings for a model L50-E, serial number 65879. For company history, see 2011.0043.01.
label: Description
content: This instrument reached the Smithsonian if 2011.
label: Description
content: Reference: Accession file.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: California, Los Angeles
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
label: Subject
content: Engineering
label: Subject
content: Invention
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
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content: Planimeters
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content: Science & Mathematics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Maxmilian Berktold
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2011.0043.03
label: accession number
content: 2011.0043
label: catalog number
content: 2011.0043.03
objectType: label: Object Name
content: planimeter
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: foam (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 7.3 cm x 33 cm x 30 cm; 2 7/8 in x 13 in x 11 13/16 in