The Sharp PC-1401 is a small pocket computer manufactured by Sharp. It was introduced in 1983 and is one of the first combinations of

scientific calculator A scientific calculator is an electronic calculator, either desktop or handheld, designed to perform mathematical operations. They have completely replaced slide rules and are used in both educational and professional settings. In some areas ...

and portable computer with

BASIC BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...

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 electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and ...

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...

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 unit ...

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * Ra ...

(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. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but in ...

16 digits (5×7

pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...

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

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

*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 or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer ( fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * Jame ...

/cassette controller and floppy controller CE-140F *Powered from two CR2032

batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

, 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