Olympia CD200

Desk Electronic Calculators

Olympia CD200

Display is 10 digits, amber discharge tubes of the "Nixie" type.

4 function.

Main integrated circuits - Solitron Devices SD9018, SD9019, SD9020A, SD9021, SD9022, all date coded to mid-1971.

375 x 149 x 80 mm (14.75" x 5.9" x 3.2").

Made in Japan, for Olympia Werke AG., Wilhelmshaven, Western Germany.
The circuit boards are marked with the logo of Matsushita, the parent company of Panasonic.

Inside, showing the 5 integrated circuits on one board attached to the top of the casing and the display tubes and circuitry on the other board attached to the bottom of the casing.

The 5 integrated circuits from Solitron Devices in their sockets.
Note the triangular Matsushita logo at the top of the circuit board.

One of the integrated circuits in its socket.
These are high grade ceramic packages.
The logo of an "S" in a square indicates that it was manufactured by Solitron Devices, Inc.
The date code is 7135, ie. week 35 of 1971.

Probably one of the ugliest calculators ever made - it is basically a matt black slab.
Also it is not very ergonomic since the display is level with the front of the keyboard which makes it awkward for viewing while entering numbers.

It is this chip set which appears to have been announced in the journal 'Electronic Design'^[1]: "The latest addition to Solitron's line of calculator products is the 9000 series, an MOS/LSI calculator kit. It contains the entire logic electronics to implement a 10-digit desk-top electronic calculator. Four-function calculations are possible, including constant multiplication and division. The series is also available as a complete system."
Solitron Devices did not produce calculator chips for very long in a very competitive market where 'calculator-on-a-chip' integrated circuits were being introduced around this time for simple calculators.

At this time the calculator integrated circuits were newly developed and expensive and so here are mounted in costly sockets for easy replacement should a fault occur.

Solitron Devices also produced a small number of their own calculators in the early 1970s. The Solitron SR30 hand-held calculator is featured in the article "One Hit Wonders" on this site.

Reference:

"MOS/LSI calculator kit forms desk-top computer", Electronic Design, January 1972, p65.

Electronic Desk
Calculators

Vintage Calculators