The Sharp PC-1401 is a small

pocket computer A pocket computer is a class of handheld computer characterized by very short displays (typically accommodating only one or a handful of lines of text) and calculator-style alphanumeric keypads. Pocket computers occupy a small footprint, allowin ...

manufactured by

Sharp Sharp or SHARP may refer to: Acronyms * SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme * Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 199 ...

. It was introduced in 1983 and is one of the first combinations of

scientific calculator A scientific calculator is an Electronics, electronic calculator, either desktop or handheld, designed to perform calculations using basic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, Division (mathematics), division) and advanced (Trigonometric fun ...

and portable computer with

BASIC Basic or BASIC may refer to: Science and technology * BASIC, a computer programming language * Basic (chemistry), having the properties of a base * Basic access authentication, in HTTP Entertainment * Basic (film), ''Basic'' (film), a 2003 film ...

interpreter/bytecode compiler. The PC-1402 has the same features but includes 10K of RAM.

Technical specifications

CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor, or just processor, is the primary processor in a given computer. Its electronic circuitry executes instructions of a computer program, such as arithmetic, log ...

Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...

SC61860 (8-bit CMOS), 576 kHz clock frequency *4

KiB The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable un ...

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...

(3534 bytes usable) (Two 2К×8 CMOS Static RAM HM6116 chips) *40 KiB ROM (SC613256 chip) *Display: monochrome

LCD A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers to display information. Liquid crystals do not em ...

16 digits (5×7

pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a Raster graphics, raster image, or the smallest addressable element in a dot matrix display device. In most digital display devices, p ...

) in 1 line (Controlled by SC43536 chip) *Integrated piezoelectric

speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

*Keyboard: 76 keys, 1 switch on front, 1 key, 1 knob on back/side *11-pin serial connector for

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James Printer (1640 ...

/cassette controller *Powered from two CR2032 batteries, power consumption is less than 0.03 W *Size: 170×72×9.5mm, weighing around 150 grams

Peripherals

The machine has an 11-pin serial connector, which is almost through-hole compatible. This connects to a proprietary thermal printer, such as a CE-126P. The printer will also serve as an adapter to connect to a tape recorder. The tape recorder provides program and data backup.

Variants

PC-1421

The PC-1421 is a variant of the PC-1401 for financial calculations. It differs from the PC-1401 in the contents of its ROM and higher CPU speed. The PC-1421 CPU clocks at 768kHz vs 576kHz for the PC-1401.

PC-1430

The PC-1430 is a stripped-down variant of the PC-1401. The display and case are mostly the same (except for fewer keys), but the PC-1430 lacks the calculator modus (for calculations the BASIC mode has to be used), it offers less functions, only 2 KB RAM, and no speaker or buzzer.

PC-1450

The PC-1450 supports user changeable RAM cards: CE-211M (3070 bytes = 4 KB / Standard), CE-201M (7166 bytes = 8 KB) or CE-202M (15,358 bytes = 16 KB).

Program examples

10 "F" ''allows to start the program with DEF F 20 INPUT "N=?";N ''Ask for n 30 LET F=1 ''Set start value of F to 1 40 FOR I=1 TO N STEP 1 ''counts I from 1 to N 50 LET F=F*I ''calculates F=F*I 60 NEXT I ''repeats loop from line 40 70 PRINT USING "##";N;"!="; USING ;F ''print result - i.E. 5!=120 80 END ''end of program

External links

Sharp PC-1401 pictures
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MyCalcDB
(database about 70s and 80s pocket calculators)
Sharp PC-1401
PC-1401 PC-1401 {{microcompu-stub