While looking for something at work, I found an old Canon Canola F-11 desk calculator. The boss has one on his desk, I have an F-10 but figured why not upgrade (yes, I know a mid 70s calculator is hardly an upgrade these days, but I love the look and feel) if it's just sitting there.
Plugged it in, turned it on and the display looks like it's having a seizure, so something's fried/shorted :(
Any thoughts on where I might get it looked at in Melbourne?
Best bet would probably be to check that the boss's unit is 100% and do a midnight swap. Chances of getting parts would be extremely low if you could find someone to repair it. A little research (Google 5 seconds) indicates that the nameplate with serial number is fixed to the machine with two Phillips head screws so should be an easy swap. (Just kidding)
Hehe, unfortunately he still uses his daily so I reckon he'd figure it out pretty fast :p
Maybe find an electronics club, amateur radio club or similar. Being from the 70’s it is more likely repairable than modern equipment if you can get parts.
The other option is to find one of the supporters of the "Mend It" movement.
You could try here they repaired my too old un repairable air con controller.
Australia’s Largest Independant Repairer Of Electronics Control Modules
I just googled it. 1975 the F11 was released.
When you say seizure do you mean it flickers? Does it look like all the digits are working? Just not stable?
You should be able to get parts. It is a high end calculator and uses quality components.
I'd be happy to have a look at it if you were closer.
There is a youtube electronics guru who has a fascination for old calculators. I reckon he would fix it for content.
The display physically works, but it's just flickering random garbage and won't accept any inputs.
Don't suppose you have a link to the channel?
I'd have to clear it with the boss, but I'm happy to ship it wherever it needs to go, either to you or YouTube guy
Dave Jones at EEVBlog
EEVblog #1153 - 1970's Programmable Calculator Teardown - YouTube
This autistics guy in Perth might be worth asking.
Perth teenager upcycles old electronics and computers to give them back to those in need - ABC News
If he cant do it then he might know who can.
It might not be too difficult. One prospect is it has had something onto the keyboard, like a glass of wine :) Take the cover off and have a look.
Oh, take a photo of the button layout before you start as they have a habit of finishing up in the wrong place.
The early key boards used to get carbon transfer so I would pull it apart and clean the buttons and board.
Thanks all for your input.
Spoke to the boss about it and he mentioned that his cousin (nephew? something like that) had one fixed for us before. He's now the resident electrician at work and said he's happy to have a look at it so we'll see what happens. Hopefully I get a new desk calculator out of the exercise :rolleyes: