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DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM

Technico SB-867N (OEM)

Date of introduction:	1986	Display technology:	LCD
New price:		Display size:	8
Size:	4.3" x 5.0" x 0.90" 110 x 128 x 23 mm³
Weight:	4.0 ounces, 113 grams	Serial No:
Batteries:	LR54	Date of manufacture:	mth 03 year 1987
AC-Adapter:		Origin of manufacture:	Taiwan
Precision:	8	Integrated circuits:
Memories:	1
Program steps:		Courtesy of:	Joerg Woerner

Does this Technico SB-867N small desktop calculator look familiar to you? Inventa Electronics Corporation of Taipei, Taiwan started already in 1975 manufacturing and marketing calculators under the Technico brand. Inventa Electronics Co. is today known as Inventec Corporation, one of the World's largest manufacturers of mobile devices and computers. Inventa / Inventec was in the Eighties producing millions and millions of basic electronic calculators based on single-chip calculator circuits from established Japanese manufacturers like NEC, Sharp and Toshiba and Liquid Crystal Displays from Epson. Only a small fraction of these calculators were sold under the Technico brand, we know as of today 40+ corporate brand names for Inventa / Invetec OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) designs:

AEG Olympia, Asaflex, Benkson, Citizen, Clover, Commodoor, Digitech, Dixons, Dyna-Tone, Elco, General Electric, GKB, Gracia, Hanimex, Hercules, Idea, IMA, KMC, Levi, Lion, Logitech, MBO, M-Office, Olympia, Pacific Technology, Philips, Pierre Cardin, Precision, Printaform, Prinztronic, Privileg, Pulser, Quasar, Royal, Satek, Sears, Tecnosonic, Texas Instruments, Unisonic, Unitronic, and Vitronic. Well, and this SB-867N does not even sport a brand name...

We discovered the SB-867N, and most important the SL-674CK, on our quest to learn more about the roots of the TI-1755 SLR introduced in 1983. While we found proof that TI-1754, TI-1755, TI-1756 and TI-1757 II are actually rebranded Inventa calculators, doesn't fit the TI-1755 SLR into the line. We decided for a thorough tear-down of the SL-674CK and the TI-1755 SLR to learn more about their relationship.

Dismantling the featured Technico SB-867N manufactured in March 1987 by Inventa Electronics Corporation in Taiwan reveals a clean design centered around an unknown single-chip calculator circuit soldered on a double-sided printed circuit board (PCB) and powered by five solar cells and a small LR54 (LR1130) backup battery.

Inspecting the PCB of the Technico SB-867 calculator brought our attention to a small mark reading ISB867-02A. We found a similar PCB-Mark reading I074F-02B with the LC-741CK and started compiling a list of the PCB-Marks on calculators manufactured by OEMs for Texas Instruments.

Don't miss the TI-1796 sporting 10 digits display capability in a similar package.

If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.