Old Calculator Museum Advertising & Documentation Archive
Sharp Compet 20 (CS-20A)
Early advertisement for Sharp Compet 20 (Model CS-20A)
December, 1965
The Sharp Compet 20 (Model CS-20A) was Hayakawa Electric's (Sharp) second
electronic calculator. It also was it's first
calculator developed to be exported outside of Japan, used a
10-key keyboard, and also was the company's first electronic calculator
to use Silicon transistors. Sharp's first electronic calculator, the
Sharp Compet 10, was
based on early Japanese-made Germanium transistors which had some issues
with reliability. Silicon transistors offered higher
speeds, lower power dissipation, and significantly improved
reliability.
The Compet 20 provides a capacity of fourteen digits, with true credit
balance (negative number) handling capability. It is a four-function
machine, with automatic floating and fixed decimal point modes. The
original sales price for the Compet 20 was around $1,450 in the US
at introduction in the fall of 1965.
