Advice On Selling a Texas Instruments SR-10 Calculator

[Stephen Haw]

I have discovered a Texas Instruments SR-10 Calculator during a garage clearout and I'm seeking advice on pricing.

The calculator is as follows: 

• In it's original box and polystyrene
  
• Power Supply (US)
  
• Instruction booklet
  
• The original receipt of purchase 
  
• A small advert booklet of other calculators
  

All of the above appears to be in excellent condition considering it's age.

Some photos:

I'm a little uneasy about playing with the calculator without advice on how to do so. I suppose the biggest issue for me is can I plug the American plug into a modern, UK converter without damaging anything? I'm only concerned because it's old technology and I don't want to overload any old components!

Any help with pricing for this would be much appreciated.

Kind regards,

Stephen Haw

[Bart]

On Saturday, June 23, 2012 12:40:36 AM UTC+1, Stephen Haw wrote:

I have discovered a Texas Instruments SR-10 Calculator during a garage clearout and I'm seeking advice on pricing.

The calculator is as follows: 

• In it's original box and polystyrene
  
• Power Supply (US)
  
• Instruction booklet
  
• The original receipt of purchase 
  
• A small advert booklet of other calculators
  

All of the above appears to be in excellent condition considering it's age.

Some photos:

 

I'm a little uneasy about playing with the calculator without advice on how to do so. I suppose the biggest issue for me is can I plug the American plug into a modern, UK converter without damaging anything? I'm only concerned because it's old technology and I don't want to overload any old components!

Any help with pricing for this would be much appreciated.

Kind regards,

Stephen Haw

Hi,

There are several issues to consider:

1)
As it seems to be a US charger, it may have a lower voltage rating than UK power.
If it has a selector, it should be on "230V", or it should state "230V".
If it states "120V" or "115V" you will definitely damage it if you plug it into a UK plug.

2)
Even though it may look good, I fear for damage inside due to leaking Ni-Cd batteries.
these calculators have rechargeable Ni-Cd batteries inside and if not used for a long
time they start leaking and causing corrosion of the circuits inside the calculator.
Powering it on in this case may also do more harm as the electric currents acts as
a catalyst for the corrosive action of the leaked electrolyte.

3)
Selling. You can either ask for offers on a private forum like this or sell it on auction sites.
When selling, it always gets a higher price if it can be shown to be working - but that
would mean you'd have to look at the insides first and make sure you have the correct
voltage for the charger.
What price to accept would be something you'd have to decide yourself.

HTH
-Bart

[Bart]

Further to my post above:

About the calculator:
It is somewhat of a landmark calculator as it was TI's first "SR" or "Slide Rule" calculator, although yours is the second edition model.

It is not a scientific model in the more accepted sense as it does not have have trig and log functions, but is does have 1/x, x^2, sqrt(x) and most notably Exponent display.

Although not proven to work, yours is in the box with instructions - which appeals to some collectors.

For more info you can go to Datamath Calculator Museum (www.datamath.org)

Regards
-Bart