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Texas Instruments TI-5040 Printing Calculator
Made in the USA, the Texas Instruments TI-5040 is a mains-powered desktop printing calculator that was introduced in 1976, and it is known for its 10-digit vacuum-fluorescent (VFD) display, its thermal printing mechanism, and rounded key shape that was typical throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s. The heart of the calculator is a Texas Instruments TMC0261 integrated circuit, which offers 10-position decimal precision and dual memory. The original TI-5040 was replaced by the TI-5040 II in 1982.
I found this beauty yesterday for $6 at my favorite secondhand shop in downtown Akron, and it was preloaded with thermal paper when I brought it down from the store shelves. The date code reads "LTA4278", which indicates that it was manufactured in the 42nd week (October 16-22) of 1978, at the plant in Lubbock, Texas.
Aside from a light layer of dirt on the housing, missing rubber feet and minor feeding problems (the platen was very smooth), the calculator worked instantly upon power-up, although the thermal printer had to be cleaned before it could start printing sharply again. The thermal print-head cleaning procedure was far easier than I expected, and it also helped that I had rubber feet on hand which happened to be the correct size for the TI-5040. I fixed the feeding issue by holding the Page Feed key (which feeds continuously rather than line-by-line), and applying light pressure to the platen with coarse grit sandpaper as the platen rotated. This little bit of maintenance made a huge difference in the way the machine prints. While I inspected the internals of the calculator, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary (e.g. bulging capacitors, compromised VFD, rotting wire insulation), so it looks like I won't be need to re-cap the calculator anytime soon.
Cleaning the printer involved:
1. Inserting regular, non-thermal calculator paper into the printer
2. Pressing "8" ten times
3. Dividing the result by 10
4. Pressing "=" ten times
(I'm aware of the poor job of blurring out the background... I was in a hurry getting this uploaded. ^^; )
I found this beauty yesterday for $6 at my favorite secondhand shop in downtown Akron, and it was preloaded with thermal paper when I brought it down from the store shelves. The date code reads "LTA4278", which indicates that it was manufactured in the 42nd week (October 16-22) of 1978, at the plant in Lubbock, Texas.
Aside from a light layer of dirt on the housing, missing rubber feet and minor feeding problems (the platen was very smooth), the calculator worked instantly upon power-up, although the thermal printer had to be cleaned before it could start printing sharply again. The thermal print-head cleaning procedure was far easier than I expected, and it also helped that I had rubber feet on hand which happened to be the correct size for the TI-5040. I fixed the feeding issue by holding the Page Feed key (which feeds continuously rather than line-by-line), and applying light pressure to the platen with coarse grit sandpaper as the platen rotated. This little bit of maintenance made a huge difference in the way the machine prints. While I inspected the internals of the calculator, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary (e.g. bulging capacitors, compromised VFD, rotting wire insulation), so it looks like I won't be need to re-cap the calculator anytime soon.
Cleaning the printer involved:
1. Inserting regular, non-thermal calculator paper into the printer
2. Pressing "8" ten times
3. Dividing the result by 10
4. Pressing "=" ten times
(I'm aware of the poor job of blurring out the background... I was in a hurry getting this uploaded. ^^; )
Category Photography / Miscellaneous
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 2217 x 1662px
File Size 576.6 kB
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