Brand: | SHARP |
Model: | PC-1211 |
Type: | BASIC-programmable pocket computer |
Picture: |
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Batteries: | Battery pack |
Lifetime: |
Introduced: 1980 Terminated: unknown |
Notes: |
This is one of the early BASIC-programmable calculators. It was preceded by the
Sharp PC-1210 and succeeded by the SHARP PC-1212.
I still remember the day when I saw it for the first time (in a TANDY magazine, the Radio Shack equivalent model was called the Radio Shack TRS-80 PC-1) and still remember how utterly amazed I was that it was possible to create a BASIC-programmable pocket calculator and actually hold it, in the TANDY shop near my highschool! This pocket computer does not have a lot of memory, it has a maximum of 1424 programming steps. The memory is used for program storage as well as the storage of up to 178 variables. Plus 26 variables ("A" to "Z"). I never used this calculator myself, so I can not tell much about it. I only remember that it was not extremely fast, and that its error messages were not particularly clear. The specific type of LCD used in the PC-1210 and the PC-1211 is leaky and will eventually become unreadable. The same thing happens to other displays of the same type (for instance the Sharp EL-6200). This LCD can however be replaced. You can buy The Half-Baked Maker's replacement here (link valid 2023-11-04). Yes, when one replaces the LCD one will no longer have the original Pocket Computer and the LCD's colour is different but at least it will be functional again. |
©2023 Ernst Mulder