Monroe Epic 3000




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	Monroe Epic 3000


	Litton Monroe Epic 3000 keyboard/printing unit and calculating unit.


	Monroe Epic 3000 Electronic calculator made by Monroe in USA, introduced in 1967, serial number B996581. Performs the standard 4 functions & square root, and is programmable. When switched to learn mode it remembers up to 42 steps of calculation, so that thereafter all control key selections are automatic. Display - printed output. Size - Keyboard/printing unit - (12.5" x 17" x 9"), Calculating unit - (20" x 5" x 22"). Weight - Keyboard/printing unit - (30 lbs), Calculating unit - (30 lbs). Made in USA, introduced 1967, and was advertised as the "First Programmable Printing Calculator", though there were previous non-printing programmable calculators (such as the Wang models and the Olivetti Programma 101). Technology - Uses individual transistors (mainly RCA 581005B & 581024B transistors) on four boards 355 mm x 350 mm (14" x 14"), one of which has 2 delay-line memories. Monroe produced high quality, high capability mechanical and electro-mechanical calculators. By this time they were owned by Litton Industries. Calculators like this were soon out-moded by the use of Large-Scale Integrated-Circuits (LSI).. There were several other programmable calcuators before this one, including ones by Wang and Olivetti. "Data and Control Systems" for October 1966 gives the following details of the Epic 2000 (lower specification model) - "Performs an average division operation in 1/4 of a second; multiplications take 1/3 of a second; 16-digit or single-digit figures are handled at the same speed. Addition and subtraction take 1/125 of a second; square roots take 1/2 second."



		Advertisement for the Monroe Epic 3000 from 1967. "Photographed at NORAD, Colarado Springs" "Beautifully efficient: The new Epic 3000 Electronic Printing Calculator" "The only electronic calculator that is operator programmable. Simply push a learn button, do a problem once, and the Epic is programmed to automatically repeat similar arithmetic functions on other problems. Insures accuracy and saves time. Finds square roots in just a half second. Line by line results are printed on tapes that provide a permanent record and can be checked at any time." Note that no mention is made of the large electronics unit.