This was my first real calculator 20 years ago. IMHO it had the best UI and keyboard layout ever! It was also very fast and responsive -there was a little hack that made it use both of its 2 micros to make it twice as fast. Furthermore, it had virtually all of the graphing capability of the HP-48 on a smaller screen. It was a rugged unit, but was more fragile because of its clam-shell construction. After dropping it once too often, the plastic around the battery compartment fell apart. Its main drawback was a lack of a data input port. I would be happy to pay big $$ for a new calculator based on this design.
The key to learning and using electronics is access to datasheets. I am amazed how difficult it is to find useful data for common legacy devices like transistors and FETS. Furthermore, there is no free repository for all 4000 and 7400 series chips from all manufacturers.
Why isn't there a free Wiki alternative?? Wikidata anyone??
AD
from Wikipedia.. Wikidata is a proposed Wikimedia foundation for the archival storage and sharing of technical information, specifications and datasheets for old and obsolete electronic components.
The ususal source for such information was from manufacturer's databooks but these are now hard to find. Where data is available online, it is often dispersed, buried or otherwise hard to find. There is therefore an urgent need for a centralised, free and accessible repository for this valuable information.
The copyright is often expired or never existed. Furthermore, manufacturers who are happy to have information about their products more readily available, would be invited to contribute their datasheets to this project.
Users with private collections of digital component data would be invited to submit it to Wikidata, making it available to others, as well as serving as a personal backup.
This project would provide both an educational and environmental service to the community. Data for common 4000 and 7400 series ICs would become more easily available, while the data for rarer electronic components would facilitate their re-use rather than disposal.
This service would be useful to both hobbysts and professionals in the fields of computing, electronics and engineering. Service technicians would be able to look up the details for a particular component to gain a better understanding of the cause to a particular fault, an engineer designing a new system would be able to more easily compare devices from different manufacturers, and students will be able to easily access common device data.
Slashdot Mirror
This was my first real calculator 20 years ago. IMHO it had the best UI and keyboard layout ever! It was also very fast and responsive -there was a little hack that made it use both of its 2 micros to make it twice as fast. Furthermore, it had virtually all of the graphing capability of the HP-48 on a smaller screen. It was a rugged unit, but was more fragile because of its clam-shell construction. After dropping it once too often, the plastic around the battery compartment fell apart. Its main drawback was a lack of a data input port. I would be happy to pay big $$ for a new calculator based on this design.
AD
The key to learning and using electronics is access to datasheets.
I am amazed how difficult it is to find useful data for common legacy devices like transistors and FETS. Furthermore, there is no free repository for all 4000 and 7400 series chips from all manufacturers.
Why isn't there a free Wiki alternative??
Wikidata anyone??
AD
from Wikipedia..
Wikidata is a proposed Wikimedia foundation for the archival storage and sharing of technical information, specifications and datasheets for old and obsolete electronic components.
The ususal source for such information was from manufacturer's databooks but these are now hard to find. Where data is available online, it is often dispersed, buried or otherwise hard to find. There is therefore an urgent need for a centralised, free and accessible repository for this valuable information.
The copyright is often expired or never existed. Furthermore, manufacturers who are happy to have information about their products more readily available, would be invited to contribute their datasheets to this project.
Users with private collections of digital component data would be invited to submit it to Wikidata, making it available to others, as well as serving as a personal backup.
This project would provide both an educational and environmental service to the community. Data for common 4000 and 7400 series ICs would become more easily available, while the data for rarer electronic components would facilitate their re-use rather than disposal.
This service would be useful to both hobbysts and professionals in the fields of computing, electronics and engineering. Service technicians would be able to look up the details for a particular component to gain a better understanding of the cause to a particular fault, an engineer designing a new system would be able to more easily compare devices from different manufacturers, and students will be able to easily access common device data.