Pocket Calculator can be heard on shortwave every Saturday evening at 10:00pm Eastern Time (Sundays 0300 UTC) on US shortwave station WBCQ-The Planet. WBCQ is a 50,000 watt shortwave radio station that serves North America, the Caribbean and most of South America on 7415 kHz, 9335 kHz and 17495 kHz. Tune in each Saturday evening at 10pm Eastern Time (0300h UTC) on 7415 kHz for vintage electronics fun with Jay Hanson and Paul Zurek!

During one of our weekend trips to New York City in the early 1990s, Jay and I stumbled upon an electronics shop in Times Square that was selling about a dozen of these unusual Casio calculators for $25 apiece. These calculators had an abundance of features, the most extraordinary of which was a touch-sensitive display, allowing a user to enter handwritten data, names, maps, etc. directly to memory! Lord knows why, but neither of us purchased one of these. Little did we know, we’d be kicking ourselves for the next decade for not doing so.

But just a few days ago, I travelled into a well-visited area of Manhattan, and lo and behold, there it was…amidst junky portable CD and mp3 players sat a boxed Casio IF-8000. The box was a little worn here and there, but the device itself was in pristine shape. 30 dollars allowed me to exit the shop with Diary in hand, complete with new batteries.

The flagship of Casio Super Memory-Computer line of handheld organizers, we dub the IF-8000 the “Grandfather of PDAs” like today’s Palm Pilot and Handspring. This handheld computer features many functions found on today’s PDAs, including telephone, appointment and miscellaneous data storage, business calculator functions and even BASIC programming capability! Submit alphanumeric input via the traditional keypad on the left or via the membrane keys on the right.

These features are trivial when compared to the best capability of all: an image input function handled by a stylus and a touch-sensitive screen!! Yes, this handheld computer is historically significant in that it’s the first device of its kind to use a touch screen to store input. This input can even be stored on virtual screens, expandable to a 4×4 window! This input can also be stored alongside data entered via keypad.

Unfortunately, the IF8000 was short-lived though its impact on computers and calculators was no doubt significant. We’re proud to have one of these in our collection and learned that we’ll never walk away from a unique electronic device again.

Don’t be deceived by its unassuming looks–this baby packs quite a punch, functionally speaking. In the early ’80s, Casio sought to provide a do-it-all device for the travelling businessman or busy student. The TA-1000 provides a nice calculator, a clock and a datebook of sorts (actually an array of six alarms each with a unique “chime”) in a slim and lightweight package. Take a look at the display, isn’t the day listing on the bottom pretty sweet? But you’ll agree the icing on the cake is the multiple alarm notifications.

Click here to hear the TA-1000 in action!

We need to thank this week’s guest to our radio show, handheld game super-collector Rik Morgan for discussing this one. Described as a “holy grail” in video game circles, AdventureVision packed a whallop for fun and portability back in 1982.

Toy company Entex designed this hybrid system many years ago during the heyday of the handheld electronic game craze. They engineered a pint-sized arcade game (complete with marquis and joystick!) capable of playing games stored in cartridge format. Milton Bradley had a similar product with their LCD-based Microvision system in 1979, but Entex’s result was much more appealing to the senses–it looked and felt like a real arcade game, complete with sound and flashing lights!

As far as handheld games go, Adventure Vision was also complicated in its design. Its display was the result of a combination of LEDs and a spinning mirror creating a video-like effect. It had a headphone jack for privacy, and a cartridge storage area on the stop of the unit. The price was steep, too. Parents had to drop over $80 at their local Sears for the base unit. Cartridges were at least $12 apiece, though only four were released (a Defender cart was included with the console). We’re unsure why the system failed commercially, perhaps cost was a factor. Oh well, Adventure Vision can still be found today, but as mentioned before they’ve become a holy grail for collectors so expect to pay around 100 times the original price for one.

Another “luggable” computer from the early days, this Kaypro II was an incredibly durable, albeit heavy system. The chassis and keyboard were made of steel, and though the two latched together to form a single piece, we dare anyone to carry it for a significant length of time. The display on the Kaypro is slightly larger than that of the Osborne I, but it also required a boot disk and wall socket to prove useful. Rumor has it that the producers of the film 2010 communicated work back and forth between the US and India during filming using this system and a modem.

One of the many great inventions publicized by the incredible JS&A Group, the Bone Fone put a unique spin on personal stereos–with its wrap-around design unique speaker placement, the vibrations “resonate through your bones–all the way to the sensitive bones of your inner ear” giving the listener breathtaking sound.

The Bone Fone was one of the many novelty radios reaching a niche radio buyers back in the ’70s and early ’80s. Joggers, cyclists and disco roller skaters loved the convenience of the handy little radio while exercising; techno-weenies like us appreciated the unusual approach toward high quality stereo sound. The Bone Fone wasn’t cheap–it cost over $70 US but included lycra sleeves in an array of colors and even a fabric pattern to create your own.

The Bone Fone’s interest was short-lived, as most wound up in tag sales when the Walkman boom hit in the early ’80s. Today, the personal stereo’s capabilities have reached urban legend level proportions though in all likelihood, one could probably get the same effect by breaking a set of headphones in half and taping each end to one’s chest. The radios are in high demand and probably fetch the same as what one would have paid when they were initially sold.

With a storefront like this beckoning you from across the street, how could you resist? Yedsonic Electronics, 25th & B’way.

From the decade of excess, a typical three-way speaker just won’t do. Say hello to JVC’s (Japanese Victory Components, that is) eight-way monster.

At first glance, this may seem like 50 pounds of plastic. Flip the switch, and it shall be confirmed. Boombox eye candy observed on Broadway.

Ghetto blaster bliss for $89. This one’s probably got the density of a sponge cake–it can’t weight more than 5lbs.

Co-host Paul scans this table of garbage discriminately while recording the action for our radio show.

A discerning eye in Chinatown may catch a vintage component or two, like this mid-80s Sunkyong stereo TV tuner or the off-white Curtis Mathes satellite receiver in shrinkwrap.

Yes, co-host Jay is very excited to see this mid-80s Emerson. But that really is just a microphone in his pocket.

In case you missed the last one, here’s five more where that came from.

Rack after rack of pure electronic trash–we wouldn’t want it any other way.

Recall, if you can, a world before calculators: spending minutes to perform simple arithmetic with a pencil and paper. When they finally became available to the masses, we treasured them for their precision and speed. Today, we find them by the dozen in cardboard boxes on a dingy floor for $1.00 apiece.

More pre-Pentium hardware like this 1983 Panasonic Sr. Partner, transportable computer. Sporting dual 360k 5 1/4 inch floppy drives, an 8088 processor and original price of $2500, today $15 takes it home.

Silver knobs, simulated wood cabinets, analog meters; alive and well and Chinatown.

Trust your family’s security with the company who brought the Dukes of Hazzard to your wrist. An early 80s video security system by Unisonic on sale for $59.99.

Co-host Jay hones his sifting skills for the upcoming flea market season.

Uncle Steve representin’ Chinatown…with quality brand names in home and car audio.

Count on Pocket Calculator to unabashedly bring you the finest in lost vintage electronics! To Paul’s dismay, the images were tough to capture, but we think you’ll get the idea! Several different acts are played out to a melody of the “Can Can”. Using the same case and module design as the Nelsonic “Space Attacker” game watch of 1981, we presume the “Sexum Watch” came out of the same Hong Kong factory.