DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Sharp EL-805
Date of introduction: | May 15, 1973 | Display technology: | COS-LCD |
New price: | ¥26.800, US$110 | Display size: | 8 |
Size: | 4.8" x 3.2" x
0.85" 121 x 81 x 22 mm3 |
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Weight: | 6.5 ounces, 185 grams | Serial No: | 4006446 |
Batteries: | 1*AA | Date of manufacture: | mth 10 year 1974 |
AC-Adapter: | Origin of manufacture: | Japan | |
Precision: | 8 | Integrated circuits: | |
Memories: | |||
Program steps: | Courtesy of: | Joerg Woerner |
We wrote May 15, 1973 when Sharp Corporation released the EL-805 calculator, starting a revolution in electronics. Until then, calculators used fluorescent character display tubes or light-emitting diodes. Using LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) for the number display meant that power consumption was cut dramatically - to a mere 1/100th of previous calculators. This astonishing leap in energy efficiency gave users 100 hours on one AA battery. Read more about power consumption of electronic calculators here. Sharp's unique silver-colored COS-LCD display was three years later replaced with the EL-8020 by the common yellow-screen FEM-type display. Just as importantly, it meant that calculators were about to become much smaller and slimmer. Although the EL-805 cost twice as much as previous calculators, it was an international sensation.
The EL-805 was marketed as electronic calculator employing COS (Calculator on Substrate) technique, which was LCD and CMOS LSI on a single glass substrate.The EL-805 was the first calculator copied from the first screw to the last piece of layout work. Read the incredible story of the Russian B3-04 calculator.
The EL-8010 was one of the last calculators using the silver-colored COS-LCD display.
Don't miss the huge EL-808 desktop calculator featuring a bare silver-colored COS-LCD display in action.
The first LCD calculator sold by Texas Instruments could be found in the TI-1750.
Read more about Sharp
Corporation’s Calculator Innovations.
If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.
© Joerg Woerner, December 25, 2001. No reprints without written permission.