Casio FX-502P series

Last updated
CASIO FX-501P / FX-502P
41-year-old Casio FX-502P is still working..jpg
A 41-year-old FX-502P in working condition
Type Programmable scientific
Manufacturer Casio
Introduced1978
Calculator
Entry mode Infix
Precision12 digits mantissa, ±99 exponent
Display type LCD seven-segment display
Display size10 + 3 Digits
Programming
Programming language(s) Keystroke (fully merged, Turing complete)
Memory register11 (FX-501P), 22 (FX-502P)
Program steps128 (FX-501P), 256 (FX-502P)
Interfaces
Portsone vendor specific
Connects to Compact Cassette  via:
Other
Power supply2×"G13" or 2×"LR44"
Power consumption0.0008 W
Weight141 g, 5 oz
Dimensions15.24×7.6×1.2 cm, 6"×3"×½"

The FX-501P and FX-502P were programmable calculators, manufactured by Casio from 1978/1979.[ citation needed ] They were the predecessors of the FX-601P and FX-602P .

Contents

It is likely that the FX-501P/502P were the first LCD programmable calculators to be produced as up until 1979 (and the introduction of the HP-41C) no manufacturer had introduced such a device.

Arithmetic

The FX-502P series use algebraic logic as was state-of-the-art at the time.

Display

The FX-501P and FX-502P featured a single line 7-segment liquid crystal display with 10 digits as main display. An additional 3 digits 7-segment display used to display exponents and program steps when entering or debugging programs and 10 status indicators. The display was covered with a yellow filter, supposedly to prevent ultra-violet radiation damage to the unstable (at the time) Liquid Crystal compound.[ citation needed ]

They were the first Casio calculators to implement engineering notation, and the first calculators in general to implement an engineering notation with shift facility (following Hewlett Packard calculators implementing the first engineering notation in general, and some Commodore and Texas Instruments calculators implementing variable scientific notation with exponent shift facility).

Programming

The programming model employed was key stroke programming by which each key pressed was recorded and later played back. On record multiple key presses were merged into a single programming step. All operations fitted into one program step. [1]

The FX-501P could store 128 steps, with 11 memory registers. The FX-502P had twice that capacity with 256 steps and 22 memory registers.

Conditional and unconditional jumps as well as subroutines were supported. The FX-502P series supported 10 labels for programs and subroutines called P0 .. P9. Each program or subroutine could have up to 10 local labels called LBL0 .. LBL9 for jumps and branches.

The FX-501P and FX-502P supported indirect addressing both for memory access and jumps and therefore the programming model could be considered Turing complete.

Since the FX-501P and FX-502P only employed a seven-segment display each program step was represented by a special 2-digit codes made up of the digits 0 .. 9 and the character C, E, F and P. The calculator came with a special overlay [2] so the user did not need to memorize the mapping between code and actual command.

What differentiated the FX-501 / FX-502P from its competitors was that programming was retained in a battery-buffered memory when the calculator was turned off.

Programming example

Here is a sample program that computes the factorial of an integer number from 2 to 69. For 5!, the user would type 5P0 and get the result 120. The whole program is only 9 bytes long.

Key-codeDisplay-codeComment
P0P0call the program with the P0 key
Min0C6-00stores the value in register 0
101starts with 1
LBL0F0-00label for the loop
*E1multiply
MR0C7-00with M0
INVDSZFF-01Decrements M0 and skips next command if M0=Zero
GOTO0F1-00Go to LBL0
=E5end of loop, the machine has calculated

Interface

Casio FA-1
Connects toFX-502P series and FX-602P series

Compact Cassette  via one of:

Manufacturer Casio
Introduced1979
Type Compact Cassette Interface

The FX-501P and FX-502P used the FA-1 to store program and data to Compact Cassette using the Kansas City standard. The FA-1 also enabled the calculators to generate musical notes. [2]

The FX-501P was used on the 1981 song Pocket Calculator by electronic music group Kraftwerk. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calculator</span> Electronic device used for calculations

An electronic calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinclair Scientific</span> Scientific calculator introduced in 1974

The Sinclair Scientific calculator was a 12-function, pocket-sized scientific calculator introduced in 1974, dramatically undercutting in price other calculators available at the time. The Sinclair Scientific Programmable, released a year later, was advertised as the first budget programmable calculator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientific calculator</span> Calculator designed to calculate problems in science, engineering, and mathematics

A scientific calculator is an electronic calculator, either desktop or handheld, designed to perform calculations using basic and complex mathematical operations and functions. They have completely replaced slide rules and are used in both educational and professional settings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HP-41C</span> Hewlett-Packard handheld RPN calculator

The HP-41C series are programmable, expandable, continuous memory handheld RPN calculators made by Hewlett-Packard from 1979 to 1990. The original model, HP-41C, was the first of its kind to offer alphanumeric display capabilities. Later came the HP-41CV and HP-41CX, offering more memory and functionality.

Engineering notation or engineering form (also technical notation) is a version of scientific notation in which the exponent of ten is always selected to be divisible by three to match the common metric prefixes, i.e. scientific notation that aligns with powers of a thousand, for example, 531×103 instead of 5.31×105 (but on calculator displays written without the ×10 to save space). As an alternative to writing powers of 10, SI prefixes can be used, which also usually provide steps of a factor of a thousand. On most calculators, engineering notation is called "ENG" mode as scientific notation is denoted SCI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TI SR-50</span> Early scientific pocket calculator

The SR-50 was Texas Instruments' first scientific pocket calculator with trigonometric and logarithm functions. It enhanced their earlier SR-10 and SR-11 calculators, introduced in 1973, which had featured scientific notation, squares, square root, and reciprocals, but had no trig or log functions, and lacked other features. The SR-50 was introduced in 1974 and sold for US$170. It competed with the Hewlett-Packard HP-35.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casio FX-850P</span>

The Casio FX-850P is a scientific calculator introduced in 1987 and sold until 1999.

There are various ways in which calculators interpret keystrokes. These can be categorized into two main types:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TI-59 / TI-58</span> Programmable calculator produced by Texas Instruments

The TI-59 is an early programmable calculator, that was manufactured by Texas Instruments from 1977. It is the successor to the TI SR-52, quadrupling the number of "program steps" of storage, and adding "ROM Program Modules". Just like the SR-52, it has a magnetic card reader for external storage. One quarter of the memory is stored on each side of one card.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casio fx-7000G</span> Graphing calculator by Casio

The Casio FX-7000G is a calculator which is widely known as being the world's first graphing calculator available to the public. It was introduced to the public and later manufactured between 1985 and c. 1988. Notable features are its ability to graph functions, and that it is programmable. The calculator offers 82 scientific functions and is capable of manual computation for basic arithmetic problems.

Programmable calculators are calculators that can automatically carry out a sequence of operations under control of a stored program. Most are Turing complete, and, as such, are theoretically general-purpose computers. However, their user interfaces and programming environments are specifically tailored to make performing small-scale numerical computations convenient, rather than general-purpose use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HP-25</span>

The HP-25 was a hand-held programmable scientific/engineering calculator made by Hewlett-Packard between early January 1975 and 1978. The HP-25 was introduced as a cheaper alternative to the ground-breaking HP-65.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HP 35s</span> Programmable scientific calculator produced by Hewlett-Packard

The HP 35s (F2215A) is a Hewlett-Packard non-graphing programmable scientific calculator. Although it is a successor to the HP 33s, it was introduced to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the HP-35, Hewlett-Packard's first pocket calculator. HP also released a limited production anniversary edition with shiny black overlay and engraving "Celebrating 35 years".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casio fx-3650P</span> Programmable scientific calculator produced by Casio

Casio fx-3650P is a programmable scientific calculator manufactured by Casio Computer Co., Ltd. It can store 12 digits for the mantissa and 2 digits for the exponent together with the expression each time when the "EXE" button is pressed. Also, the calculator can use the previous result to do calculations by pressing "Ans". It is one of the calculators approved by HKEAA to be used in public examinations in Hong Kong, such as HKDSE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casio FX-603P</span> Programmable calculator produced by Casio

The FX-603P was a programmable calculator, manufactured by Casio from 1990. It was the successor model to the Casio FX-602P. Since it was only released in a limited number of countries in small quantities, it is now an excessively rare item which commands high prices when sold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casio FX-602P series</span> Series of programmable calculators produced by Casio

The FX-601P and FX-602P were programmable calculators, manufactured by Casio from 1981. It was the successor model to the Casio FX-502P series and was itself succeeded in 1990 by the Casio FX-603P.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casio FX-702P</span>

The FX-702P is a Pocket Computer, manufactured by Casio from 1981 to 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casio fx-39</span> Scientific calculator manufactured by Casio and released in 1978

The fx-39 is a scientific calculator manufactured by Casio released in 1978 and is one of several models to share the same physical design format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elektronika B3-21</span> First Soviet programmable calculator

Elektronika B3-21 was the first Soviet programmable calculator. It was released in 1977 and was sold initially for 350 rubles. For comparison, 120 rubles was a monthly engineer's salary. Production was stopped in 1982 because of introduction of more advanced Elektronika B3-34.

Casio V.P.A.M. calculators are scientific calculators made by Casio which use Casio's Visually Perfect Algebraic Method (V.P.A.M.), Natural Display or Natural V.P.A.M. input methods.

References

  1. FX-602P Token list - the FX-502P series only employed the standard plane.
  2. 1 2 casio fx-501p with programming overlay
  3. "Pocket Calculator by Kraftwerk". Songfacts. Retrieved 1 May 2020.