Links: Vintage Technology Sites

Calculator Resources

Links to other
Vintage Technology Sites

If you have links to other calculator, calculating device, early electronics, or history-of-computer related sites you think should be here, please contact us. We also invite readers whose personal web pages have calculators or calculator themes to be added. Just drop us a line with the site address.

If you have a site listed and you feel I should modify the listing or address, please let me know. (Please write up a one line description of your site for me to include.) I will be happy to modify this list.

Please note that site addresses can change. If a link does not work try searching for the site with a search engine, such as Google.

To translate a site into another language try running it through the Google automatic translator at https://translate.google.co.uk/?hl=en&tab=wT. Although not perfect it does allow much of the information on the site to be understood.

In no particular order, here are some great vintage technology websites, and technology websites to set you thinking!

The site Computer History: Storage, Software and Memory includes information on delay-line memory (as used in the Monroe Epic 3000) and magnetic core memory (as used in the Casio AL-1000) and has links to further information.

Douglas W. Jones, of the University of Iowa Department of Computer Science, has a very interesting description with diagrams of the operation of ferrite magnetic-core storage at "Core Memory: The dominant technology from 1960 to 1980". Here there are also links to examples of core memory used in various machines including the Hewlett Packard HP-9100B.

Noah Miller has suggested the article "All About the Father of the Computer: Charles Babbage" at https://www.nominus.com/en/dm/blog/hosting/all-about-the-father-of-the-computer-charles-babbage-en which has information about the 19th century inventor of mechanical computers and Ada Lovelace the first computer programmer.

"The History and Significance of Software" is a very interesting site dealing with the development of the technology used by software and how it has influenced computing (thanks to John and Robert for providing the link).

Intel's 'A History of the Microprocessor' at web.archive.org/web/20040405051347/http://www.intel.com/intel/intelis/museum/exhibits/hist_micro/index.htm includes information on the 4004, one of the world's first microprocessors, which was designed for use in a calculator.

Hal Layer's Mind Machine Museum with over 100 artifacts illustrated and identified

American Computer Museum

Computer History Museum

Brief histories of Commodore can be found at:

Emil Dudek's Vintage Technology site at web.archive.org/web/20140717111959/http://www.vintage-technology.info/ has interesting photographs and information about vintage calculators, and much, much more vintage technology.

Guy Ball's Old Calcs site is now amalgamated with this Vintage Calculators site. Its last version can be found on the WayBackMachine at web.archive.org/web/20010922061339/http://www.oldcalcs.com/. Guy then concentrated on a site dedicated to LED calculator watches and LED watches which can also be found on the WayBackMachine at web.archive.org/web/20150807173030/http://thedigitalwatch.com/, where there is lots of information about vintage 1970s LED watches, pictures and links.

A site with lots of interesting information on the history of Video Games and Home Computers is the Dot Eaters and Number Crunchers Museum at http://www.8bit-museum.de/. The site is in German and English.

Patent Search Page -- Interesting info (& great fun), search for "calculator".

Archive of Vintage Technology Through the Decades

For a website with information about VHF amateur radio technology from the 1960s to early 1980s in Germany and Austria see http://www.ve6aqo.no-ip.com/.

David Larsen's Bugbook Historical Microcomputer Museum is an excellent site about his museum of microcomputers at www.microcomputermuseum.com.

If you are also interested in slide-rules try Ron Manley's interesting site at http://www.sliderules.info/

Early Typewriter (& Office Equipment) Collectors Association.

Thousands of Posters and Prints of Vintage Technology are available from Barewalls at http://www.barewalls.com/posters-art-prints/vintage-technology.html.

Christopher Kavanau has created the appropriately titled 'MUSEUM OF TRAILING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY' website. Initially you can find interesting photographs of early IME electronic desktop calculators, photographs of Grace Hopper and the Harvard Mark 1 computer, and press archives for Sumlock/Anita calculators and Friden 130 calculator.

The 'Virtual Museum of Vintage Electronic Counters' has been produced by Andrei Sorin and features early electronic counters which share technology, especially display tubes, with early electronic calculators.

'Cloud Computing Software and Data Storage History' at https://www.financialforce.com/library/cloud-computing-software/ provides a time-line of electronic storage technologies starting with Magentic Tape in 1928 and including Delay Lines in 1949. Click on an item on that site for more information about the technology. January 2022.

The 'Industrial Achemy' site has a lot of information about display devices, counting tubes and much else from the era of vintage calculators. March 2023.

Vintage Calculators