Marchant I RX Handheld Electronic Calculator with Stand and Case
date: label: date made
content: ca 1972
notes: label: Description
content: This handheld battery operated electronic calculator, made by Smith-Corona-Marchant (SCM), could perform four functions (add, subtract, multiply, and divide). It dates from the early 1970s and cost about $495, when new.
label: Description
content: The bottom section is a cover, which when slid up, reveals the number and function keys and engages the mechanism that opens the display screen and powers on the calculator. The calculator uses MOS LSI (metal oxide semiconductor, large scale integration) chips. Smith-Corona-Marchant contracted with American Micro-Systems, Inc. (AMS) and Texas Instruments (TI) for the chips. ASI provided all the functions using a 2-chip design while TI’s design used 3 chips to perform the same functions. The calculators looked and functioned the same, but internally were different.
label: Description
content: This example includes a 2-part device made by inventory management company RGIS. Founded in 1958, they were pioneers in the field and remains in business in 2018. RGIS is an acronym for Retail Grocery Inventory Specialist.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Computers
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Computers
label: See more items in
content: Computers & Business Machines
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Ernest Eldon Jorgenson
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2017.0315.02
label: accession number
content: 2017.0315
label: catalog number
content: 2017.0315.02
objectType: label: Object Name
content: electronic calculator
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: leather (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 11.5 cm x 37 cm x 33 cm; 4 17/32 in x 14 9/16 in x 13 in
label: Measurements
content: overall, calculator and rgis box: 11.5 cm x 23.5 cm x 28 cm; 4 17/32 in x 9 1/4 in x 11 1/32 in
label: Measurements
content: overall, case: 5 cm x 13.3 cm x 33 cm; 1 31/32 in x 5 1/4 in x 13 in