Sharp EL-805

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.

Learn how to decipher the 4006446 Date code hidden in the serial number of the pictured calculator.

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.