Sony SOBAX 400W
Distinctive features:
14-digit calculator employing hybrid integrated circuit modules and a delay line memory. External adapters allowed the calculator to be powered from a battery pack or a car battery.
Technical details:
Capabilities - 4-functions, memory.
Display - 14 digits 'Nixie'-type tubes.
Technology - Uses hybrid integrated circuit modules (comprising discrete transistors and other components encapsulated on tiny circuit boards). Delay line memory.
Made in the Japan. Launched in about 1969.
Significance:
Sony produced a number of high quality desktop calculators from the mid 1960s to the early 1970s, when they became uncompetitive.
The circuit boards are exposed when the rear is removed. The orange components on the boards are hybrid integrated circuit modules.
Image by 'Mr rf' [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/], via Wikimedia Commons
Close up of one of the circuit boards. The orange components are hybrid integrated circuit modules.
Image by 'Mr rf' [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/], via Wikimedia Commons
There is more information about Sony's venture in the electronic calculator market in the Calculator Companies section of this site.
Text & photographs copyright, except where stated otherwise, © Nigel Tout 2000-2025.
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