DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
IMA 130CBW
Date of introduction: | June 1982 | Display technology: | LCD |
New price: | Display size: | 8 | |
Size: | 2.8" x 6.0" x
0.30" 71 x 154 x 8 mm3 |
||
Weight: | 2.8 ounces, 80 grams | Serial No: | |
Batteries: | 2*LR44 | Date of manufacture: | year 1982 |
AC-Adapter: | Origin of manufacture: | Hong Kong | |
Precision: | 8 | Integrated circuits: | NEC uPD1833G |
Memories: | 3 | ||
Program steps: | Courtesy of: | Joerg Woerner | |
Download manual: | (US: 1.6 MByte) |
National Semiconductor introduced already in 1978 with the NS103 Data Checker an electronic record keeper with three continuous memories to track bank and charge account balances with dedicated keys:
• Memory 1 [CHK] [DEP] [BAL] [A] • Memory 2 [PMT] [CHG] [BAL] [B] • Memory 3 [PMT] [CHG] [BAL] [C] • Total sum of Memories [GT] |
While the NS103 Data Checker was based on proprietary technology, introduced NEC of Japan with the uPD1833G in 1980 a single-chip calculator circuit that created the blueprint for checkbook-sized Account Manager calculators and thereupon the market got swamped with products based on this design. The uPD1833G simplified the use of the memories by removing the redundant [A], [B], and [C] keys and replaced the inconvenient three-way power-switch of the NS103 Data Checker with two dedicated [ON] and [OFF] keys and a [DS] key to toggle between two entry modes:
• Indicator (--) Floating decimal with manual insertion of the decimal using the [.] key • Indicator (AM) Add mode with the decimal automatically put in the dollars and cents position (0.00) |
Even the successor of the NS103, known as NS103A, switched its internals to the uPD1833G but we feature some more Account Manager calculators in the Datamath Calculator Museum based on this technology:
• Canon
Checkbook - Missing the Toggle Key for the decimal mode • Royal LCB 841 - The Art of Perfection in Japan • Royal LCB 835 - Just one Memory (uPD1831G) • Texas Instruments TI-2200 Checkwriter - Late, but not too late • This Unisonic LC 262CK Check Master - Credit Card sized |
NEC of Japan lost some market share with their design for Account Manager calculators in the Eighties, when competitors like Hitachi and Sharp introduced similar chips and finally lost the business completely to Toshiba's "Solar Cells" compatible design. Find more Account Manager calculators in the Datamath Calculator Museum:
• Canon
Checkbook II - Toshiba inside • Casio CB-80 - Hitachi inside • Unisonic LC 224CK Check Master - Sharp Inside • Texas Instruments TI-2200 II Checkwriter - Toshiba + Solar cells = Winning formula |
Dismantling
the featured IMA 130CBW manufactured in 1982 in Hong Kong by IMA-Hong Kong, the Asian
subsidiary of Spectra Merchandising International, Inc of Chicago, IL, reveals a clean design
centered around a NEC uPD1833G single-chip calculator circuit powered by two
small LR44 batteries.
Learn more about single-chip calculator circuits used in
Account
Manager Calculators.
Does
this IMA 130CBW Electronic Checkbook Calculator look familiar to you? Please
compare it with the Radio Shack EC-306 introduced in 1984 and manufactured in
Hong Kong, too. The two printed circuit boards look almost identical but the
EC-306 sports a PCB Mark
2310306-01 while the 130CBW reads 39P852 IP6501.
Don't miss the Corvus CheckMaster
introduced by Mostek already in 1975. This rare product retains the balance of
your memory even when shut off but uses power-hungry electronics.
If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.
© Joerg Woerner, February 6, 2020. No reprints without written permission.