As some of you know, I regularly use a Texas Instruments SR-10 calculator that I have had since 1973. It is 51 years and counting for this little piece of history. Way back in ’73, Dr. George Luther, my college chemistry professor, said we could use a calculator for lab work and homework but during exams we would still have to use our slide rules, which were standard at the time. Since I needed a calculator, my Mom took me to the now-closed Korvettes in Woodbridge and bought me the SR-10 for about $150. To put that in perspective, in today’s dollars that would be about $1,000, so needless to say it was a sizeable investment. My old slide rule cost only about $20 and worked fine somehow, but you had to figure out where to put the decimals in your final calculations, which made the entire process more time-consuming and less precise. Thus, my new calculator was a huge improvement, and six months later Dr. Luther even allowed us to use it during exams.
The SR-10 was one of the first handheld calculators on the market. It was called an electronic slide rule calculator, hence the initials. Over time, I have rebuilt the internal charging mechanism and repaired and replaced the charger itself, but 51 years later it still works like new. On the back of it, you may see that I wrote my initials using the beige touchup paint from my old 1974 Satellite Sebring Plus car. I know nowadays they have photoelectric self-charging calculators that are smaller and more compact than my SR-10, but I feel comfortable with my old pal. Every time I use it, I’m reminded of my Mom.
