Author Topic: 88889888  (Read 688 times)

230RN

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88889888
« on: August 09, 2023, 04:21:59 PM »
88889888

Got four or five four-banger calculators quite a while ago to keep around the house.  These have the flip-up display for ease of viewing when sitting flat on the desk.  Solar powered, have a square root function, and cheap at less than $4.00 apiece, and I use every one of them from time to time --usually to convert metric units to real units when I'm reading something, without running over to my super scientific calculator which even has a pi key.

Come to think of it, the SQRT function on the cheapos makes them five-bangers.

Anyhow, I picked up my "couch" five-banger one day and noticed the display read 88889888.  I must have held down the 8 key while handling it.  But to check, I entered a screenful of 8s and sure enough, the fifth 8 came out as a nine.  I opened and closed the tip-up screen a couple of times and the problem went away.

I assumed therefore that the moving contacts between the calculator and its screen were going bad.  I retired that one and put tape on all the others to prevent wear and tear on those contacts.

Moral:  don't trust moving mechanical contacts, especially in low-voltage applications.

I wonder how many results I had were corrupted by that one pixel being unreliable...

Terry, 230RN

The five-banger next to the thirty-banger...  Actually, since it's got 38 keys each with two functions, that makes it a 76-banger...  I think...
« Last Edit: August 09, 2023, 04:47:00 PM by 230RN »
WHATEVER YOUR DEFINITION OF "INFRINGE " IS, YOU SHOULDN'T BE DOING IT.

Tuco

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Re: 88889888
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2023, 05:20:05 PM »
NSFW
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5318008
7-11 was a part time job.

Ben

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Re: 88889888
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2023, 05:45:44 PM »
867
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

230RN

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Re: 88889888
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2023, 05:52:42 PM »
88868888

That's all I got from 88889888

I got the BOOBIES one, having had boys in high school.

Wasn't anything to 376006 in your post.  Can you hint us with the square roots or something?

ETA Ben: LGB?  https://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/LGB
« Last Edit: August 09, 2023, 06:08:43 PM by 230RN »
WHATEVER YOUR DEFINITION OF "INFRINGE " IS, YOU SHOULDN'T BE DOING IT.

Ben

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Re: 88889888
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2023, 06:36:15 PM »
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

Tuco

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Re: 88889888
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2023, 06:43:27 PM »
7-11 was a part time job.

Ben

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Re: 88889888
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2023, 07:25:41 PM »
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

Nick1911

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Re: 88889888
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2023, 07:35:32 PM »
Gotta say, one of the nice things about the modern world is having a combination calculator, telephone, Internet terminal, camera, flashlight device in my pocket all the time.

That said, I have a couple old pocket calculators in the shop.  My hands are often dirty out there.  They often have gibberish on the display due to being powered up from the solar cells.

230RN

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Re: 88889888
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2023, 08:05:28 PM »
^ I think you're saying the flaky display was due to not having been charged by light?

Possibly, but at the time I decided not to trust it any more.  I was thinking of bridges and balconies collapsing and spacecraft landing in craters.

I might try keeping the solar cell covered with friction tape for a while and checking the display with a dead little battery or maintaining capacitor.  The scientific calculator will come back with the same display (and other variables?) if it is in the dark for a while.

ADDED:  I recalled it from retirement and tested it after adequate exposure to strong light.  Moving the screen up and down does screw up the display.
« Last Edit: August 10, 2023, 06:21:26 AM by 230RN »
WHATEVER YOUR DEFINITION OF "INFRINGE " IS, YOU SHOULDN'T BE DOING IT.