Friden, Inc.
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Friden Calculating Machine Company (Friden, Inc.) was founded by Carl Friden in San Leandro, California in 1934. Friden electromechanical calculators were robust and popular. In 1952 Friden introduced a machine with square-root capability.
Friden went on to introduce the first fully transistorized desktop electronic calculator, model EC-130 in June 1963. This machine had a 13-digit capacity and a 5-inch CRT display. It used a form of acoustic delay line for memory, to save money on expensive transistors. The EC-130 sold for $2200, about three times the price of comparable electromechanical calculators of the time. It was the first calculator to use reverse Polish notation (RPN), which eliminated the need for parentheses to specify the order of operations in complex calculations. The model EC-132 added a square root and reciprocal functions. In 1965 the company was purchased by the Singer Corporation.
[edit] External links
- Friden STW-10 Electromechanical calculator sold from 1949–1966
- Friden EC-130 Electronic calculator (1963)
- Friden/Singer 1112 with 507 transistors and twelve digit Nixie tube display, designed and built by Hitachi
