Reminiscing...

Slide rules, a lost skill! Remember books of tables, too? Those were the days...
 
Off the top of my head, courtesy of a 'competition' a school friend and I had:
3.141592653589793238462643383279
Not sure who won now.

Damned memory. Why can't it remember 'important' stuff?
 
Slide rules: like pencil & paper arithmetic, a lost skill. Both my sister and me were required to supply one for school (we went to the town grammar); I broke mine and (somewhere buried in all my "stuff") now have hers.

What people generally fail to appreciate is that (except for financial calculations) the result from a slide rule is to sufficient precision for many purposes.
 
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My slide rule is just next to this computer in a little used part of the desk. Covered in years of dust! Broke the cursor on it, but managed to get a replacement. At least the batteries haven't worn out and corroded. :)
prpr said:
3.141592653589793238462643383279
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:geek:
I could only remember it to ...5359. Accurate enough for Fourier Transform subroutines in Fortran.
Used to be able to remember ε0 , μ0 and c to a similar number of dp. Probably can't now. (8.85419 E-12, 4E-7 x π, 2.99793E8). Having compared my memory () with reality, it seems I can.
prpr said:
Damned memory. Why can't it remember 'important' stuff?
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Ditto!
 
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EEPhil said:
Old calculators usually have corroded batteries in them.
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I've recently found mine from 1976. The terminals are corroded but the batteries aren't there. Time to do some scraping...

I've also recently found some in a radio - HP2 as we used to call them - must be well over 30 years old as the expiry date is 01-86.
Two of them read 1.45 and 1.53V - these are National Hi-Top (i.e. Matsushita aka National Panasonic aka Panasonic) - no leaks, but can't get more than 0.5mA out of them.
The Ever (not) Ready ones read 0.4-0.7V and are all corroded.
Black Hole said:
...my sister and me were...
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Oh BH. :eek:
 
I still have a simple Sharp Elsimate EL-8005S, purchased when VAT was introduced in 1973. Takes four AA batteries and still works. Looks like a small brick!
 
Did anyone else buy one of those cylindrical/spiral slide rules? I still have mine in its original black box.

715_big.jpg
 
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Wow. I remember those though I don't think I ever saw one in the flesh. You should run it up to the Antiques Road Show :)
 
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