Commodore (cbm) C108
Commodore (cbm) C108
Display is 8 digits, separate green vacuum-fluorescent tubes.
4 functions.
Large Scale Integration (LSI) chips - Omron ALPHA1, ALPHA2, ALPHA3, here date coded mid-1971.
172 x 226 x 61 mm (6.75" x 8.9" x 2.4").
Introduced 1971.
Made in Japan by Omron Tateishi Electronic Co. for Commodore (also known as Commodore Business Machines, cbm).
"Electronics" journal in April 1971 announced "The latest price cut in the hot electronic desk calculator battle was announced by Omron Tateishi Electronic Co., which will start selling an eight-digit unit for $138 in
Japan next month. The new machine will be sold in the U.S. by Commodore for $199.95 [about £84 Sterling].
The new calculator is designed for line operation only. It's built around three MOS/LSI chips that Omron
Tateishi claims were designed by its California subsidiary, Omron R&D, and fabricated by an undisclosed U.S. IC manufacturer."
The U.S. manufacturer was later named as Nortec Elctronics, Santa Clara, California.
Inside the Commodore C-108.
The circuit board of the Commodore C-108 showing the three Omron LSI (Large Scale Integration) integrated circuits, and few other components.
The use of LSI (Large Scale Integration) integrated circuits drastically reduced the electronics components required in a calculator, which led to a much lower assembly cost and lower selling price.
The small number of components also allowed the calculator to be compact, and apart from the very simple keyboard could be mistaken for a model of the mid-1970s.
