DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM
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DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Royal LCB 841
| Date of introduction: | August 1980 | Display technology: | LCD |
| New price: | 34.95 (SRP November 1980) | Display size: | 8 |
| Size: | 2.6" x 6.0" x
0.25" 65 x 153 x 6 mm3 |
||
| Weight: | 2.9 ounces, 81 grams | Serial No: | |
| Batteries: | LR54 | Date of manufacture: | year 1981 |
| AC-Adapter: | Origin of manufacture: | Japan | |
| Precision: | 8 | Integrated circuits: | NEC uPD1833G |
| Memories: | 3 | ||
| Program steps: | Courtesy of: | Ken H. Meine | |
| Download manual: | 
(US: 2.1 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 • This 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 • 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 • This Unisonic LC 224CK Check Master - Sharp Inside • Texas Instruments TI-2200 II Checkwriter - Toshiba + Solar cells = Winning formula |
Dismantling
the featured LCB 841 Checkbook Calculator manufactured in 1981 in Japan reveals a
clean design centered around a NEC uPD1833G single-chip calculator circuit
powered by two small LR54 batteries. The LCB 841 was replaced within a few years
with the LCB 830 / LCB 835 manufactured in Taiwan and exhibited cost reduction
measures not only with reducing the number of screws holding the back-plate of
the calculator in place from ten to three.
Learn more about single-chip calculator circuits used in
Account
Manager Calculators.
Royal Typewriters and its sister
company Triumph-Adler, part of
Litton Industries, were sold in
1986 to Olivetti and is since September 2004 a private American company again
and is today known as Royal Consumer Information Products Inc.
Royal entered the market of Checkbook Calculators with the LCB 841 in August 1980. It features Account Manager functionality with three permanent (till you remove the batteries) Memories and started a very successful product line. We discovered as of now eleven different family members:
| • 1980: This Royal LCB 841, 3 Memories • 1983: Royal LCB 830, 1 Memory, Wallet • 1983: Royal LCB 835, 1 Memory, Purse • 1986: Royal CBC 80NT, Solar cells, Taiwan, 3 Memories • 1987: Royal CBC 70, Taiwan, 1 Memory • 1988: Royal CBC 80, Solar cells, Thailand, 3 Memories, US market • 1988: Royal/Olivetti CBC 80, Solar cells, Thailand, 3 Memories, Canadian market • 1988: Olivetti DII, Solar cells, Thailand, 3 Memories, European market • 1989: Royal CBC 70, Thailand, 1 Memory • 1993: Royal CBC 95, Solar cells, Thailand, 3 Memories • 1998: Royal CBC 2000, Solar cells, China, 3 Memories |
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 5, 2020. No reprints without written permission.