The Sinclair President is a calculator released by

Sinclair Radionics Sinclair Radionics Ltd was a company founded by Sir Clive Sinclair in Cambridge, England which developed hi-fi products, radios, calculators and scientific instruments. History After raising funds to start the business by writing articles ...

in early 1978. There were two models, the President and the President Scientific. They were among the last calculators produced by Sinclair, and their large size was in contrast to the smaller, earlier models, like the

Sinclair Executive The Sinclair Executive was the world's first "slimline" pocket calculator, and the first to be produced by Clive Sinclair's company Sinclair Radionics. Introduced in 1972, the calculator was produced in at least two versions with different ke ...

, which made the company famous. The President models were related to the Sporting Life SETTLER, a calculator designed specifically for betting shops.

History

The calculator was launched in early 1978, at the price of . It was the only Sinclair calculator not made in England but instead made in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

by Radofin. Competition in the calculator market was by this point fierce, and the Sinclair did not fare well against cheaper Japanese calculators with more efficient

liquid-crystal display A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other Electro-optic modulator, electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers to display information. Liq ...

s. The silver paint used was of poor quality and was notorious for wearing off.

Design

Both models were the same size, and intended for desktop use, being slightly too large to be readily portable at . Power was supplied by two

AA batteries The AA battery (or double-A battery) is a standard size single cell cylindrical dry battery. ANSI and IEC battery nomenclature gives several designations for cells in this size, depending on cell features and chemistry. The IEC 60086 system c ...

. The screens were eight-digit

vacuum fluorescent display A vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) is a display device once commonly used on consumer electronics equipment such as video cassette recorders, car audio, car radios, and microwave ovens. A VFD operates on the principle of cathodoluminescence, ...

s, which resulted in a higher power consumption than a calculator with a

. The President, as well as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, had percentage, memory, square root and square functions. It was powered by a

National Semiconductor National Semiconductor Corporation was an United States of America, American Semiconductor manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturer, which specialized in analogue electronics, analog devices and subsystems, formerly headquartered in Santa Clara, ...

MM57134ENW/M integrated circuit. The President Scientific added logarithmic and trigonometric functions and was powered by a

General Instrument General Instrument (GI) was an American electronics manufacturer based in Horsham, Pennsylvania, specializing in semiconductors and cable television equipment. They formed in New York City in 1923 as an electronics manufacturer. During the 1950s ...

CF-599.

Sporting Life Settler

The Sporting Life SETTLER was a calculator designed for betting shops, with development sponsored by '' Sporting Life''. Due to the increased pressure on the calculator market, a number of calculators were produced for a specific purpose, where there was less competition. The Settler had National Semiconductor DS8881N and MM5799NBX/N chips, and was slightly larger than the President, at . It was also produced in Hong Kong by Radofin.

References

{{Sinclair calculators Sinclair calculators Products introduced in 1978