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Blue-Bird780 t1_j9guqnd wrote

I had to double check the sun for a sec. Looks a lot like something you might find on r/mechanicalkeyboards at first glance.

But for real even the newer till-tape calculators are BFIL, it’s such a niche product that they have no reason to lower the build quality if the people that need them will continue paying top dollar to get the tool that works.

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mets2016 t1_j9guzdv wrote

Is there any reason to prefer a tape calculator over a computer/spreadsheet/accounting software? These things are definitely cool and I have my dad/grandpas tape calculators in the basement, but I just don’t see the use outside of nostalgia

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Cryptic_Hunter t1_j9gzt3a wrote

Wow this brings back memories of my father He had one of these as well 🤟🏼

1

ReferHvacGuy t1_j9h06kj wrote

My mom still uses this since one from the same time. She took a bookkeeping class in 1986 then bought it. I seriously still don’t understand why she still uses it. Blows my mind.

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edcculus t1_j9h5iku wrote

Oh man, I had forgotten I had to use one of these every night to add up the credit card receipts and count up the drawers at the sporting goods store I worked at. That was 2002 ish too… they were pretty far behind the times.

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AnalogFeelGood OP t1_j9h7oe9 wrote

Replying to mets2016 (#1,906,802)

Portability, reliability, big buttons, big clear numbers, the possibility to review and double-check multiple printouts of long strings of additions & substractions, removing said printouts to store them with records as proof of accuracy etc Many benefits that explain why a large number of financial institutions and bean counters still use these printing calculators.

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AnalogFeelGood OP t1_j9h8yx9 wrote

Replying to ReferHvacGuy (#1,907,394)

A large number of financial institutions and bean counters still use them because they're easy to use (big numbers, big buttons), they're very reliable, you can review multiple printouts of long strings of additions and subtractions and then store said printouts with the records. No software, no bug, no printer, no dependency 🤟🏼

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RealCowboyNeal t1_j9hqle7 wrote

Replying to mets2016 (#1,906,802)

Accounting is a very conservative profession slow to change, so a lot of old school partners at firms still have those big old things on their desk. I worked with a dinosaur for a while who knew exactly how old and out of touch he was and didn't apologize for it. Guy would print things out on paper and bang out a bunch of numbers on his ten key that was older than me. He knew his shit though and was really darn good in his own way, just..really really old..but yes you are right there's no reason except nostalgia or habit.

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RealCowboyNeal t1_j9hr1y7 wrote

Replying to AnalogFeelGood (#1,907,300)

I'm an accountant old enough to remember the days when every accountant had one on their desk. My first firm had plenty of old timers clacking away on these things all day. I actually find that super satisfying, real soothing in an odd sort of way.

I had one at my desk when I was a rookie but being younger I used excel as god intended. A partner came over to my desk once to go over my work and he ran some numbers on the ten key I never used. I said no that's wrong, the real number is such and such, and couldn't figure out how to use the damn thing. The partner found it hysterical that a licensed cpa with degrees and everything didn't know how to use a ten key. (I find it amusing and depressing when they don't know how to use excel, but who asked me.)

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WhiskyTangoFoxtr0t t1_j9hv39q wrote

My Mom was an accountant and got hers sometime in the early 80's as well. She still uses it. I remember watching her use it, her fingers were so fast it was a blur, and when she stopped, it would take the printer several seconds to catch up.

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hanimal16 t1_j9hw3re wrote

My uncle had one of these for his business and he would get after me and my cousin for playing on it and messing up his numbers 😂

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KenJyi30 t1_j9hyebz wrote

I’ve been doing taxes for 25 years and not once did having/using this thing ever make sense

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ChondroArt t1_j9i6nzs wrote

Think they were all this color in the 80s. My dads looked almost exactly like this .

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jn29 t1_j9i7xxm wrote

I still use one at work. It's "procedure" to add up the checks you deposit to make sure it matches excel.

I don't know. It just is what it is at this point.

And I have coworkers who use them because they can't find the calculator on their computer?

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PrestigeMaster t1_j9ie892 wrote

This might be a “buy it for life” since it will likely last many years to come (as will damn near every NES console that’s ever existed, especially with a cheap new pin connector), but is it “use it for life”?

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TheDrunkPianist t1_j9iggfv wrote

You don’t even need to calculate anything manually to do basic personal income taxes.

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Tsiah16 t1_j9ihc3z wrote

Taxes? That thing is for punching buttons and making noise!

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faates t1_j9ikw1j wrote

Replying to RealCowboyNeal (#1,910,713)

Im no fancy cpa but we use similar machines in the toll booth i work at. I did take classes in excel though and dear god i wish the state would buy us some new fucking equipment lol.

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tumblerrjin t1_j9iod39 wrote

Nice. My dads got a similar one in his office!

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eveningtrain t1_j9ipwy3 wrote

My dad and mom had one of these at home (neither were accountants) and I definitely spent too much time playing with it!

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erevoz t1_j9isfo0 wrote

Replying to ReferHvacGuy (#1,907,394)

It’s a beautiful piece of machinery and old electronics. It’s digital at its purest form. It just works and will keep working for decades more.

Plus, paper. You can’t beat paper.

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[deleted] t1_j9j07jt wrote

Does it come with a little green visor and half frame bifocals?

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pug_fugly_moe t1_j9j80ay wrote

Sooo so good to use one. I miss my 10 key, but I don’t miss preparing tax returns.

Compromise: my laptop has a 10 key on it. I use it all the time.

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ionshower t1_j9j8fl6 wrote

Does it do MIDI?

​

Edit: r/synthesizercirclejerk would appreciate this picture and give some humorous comments.

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ChoiceD t1_j9jbv5m wrote

IIRC, I used one just like this when I learned 10-key in high school.

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t_25_t t1_j9jc461 wrote

I'm not an accountant, but I have a newer version, and it isn't as satisfying to use as the old school ones like you have.

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Helenius t1_j9jcoko wrote

Doesn't the government just tell you what you owe them in taxes?

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kalpol t1_j9jjg7q wrote

I used one of these up until about 2010 or so. It was still really excellent for showing work in recalculating someone else's work in audits.

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3yoyoyo t1_j9jqxke wrote

If he is still using it it means he never got a tax refund 😜

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99bottlesofderp t1_j9jvfib wrote

Replying to mets2016 (#1,906,802)

I still use one of these at work. They can be pretty useful when showing work. I make the people I train learn it because I kept catching them hard coding cells in excel and when they do the calculation wrong it takes forever to find.

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99bottlesofderp t1_j9jwlxe wrote

Replying to jn29 (#1,912,717)

It’s to show your work and verify your totals. If you have to add a bunch of numbers you want to see that they did in fact add everything. The reason you may not want to use the calculator on your computer is that you aren’t able to see everything you added. You can use excel but you would be surprised the amount of people who will hard code the sum total rather than using the sum function which creates the potential for errors. It’s the biggest pain to find the error on why your numbers don’t reconcile when this happens because you’re checking the totals and they are wrong.

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99bottlesofderp t1_j9jyu28 wrote

Replying to jn29 (#1,919,209)

I mean I don’t mind using excel. I use it pretty heavily and ngl I’m generally not a big fan of using the 10 key for my everyday work but as someone who reviews work I require the people I train use it in the beginning. I’ve literally seen people incorrectly hardcore the total into the spreadsheet rather than sum it to make it match their total. You can’t really do that with these calculators.

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99bottlesofderp t1_j9k1opu wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,919,638)

Again it’s to show your work. Unless you’re your own boss, someone should be reviewing the cash collection and making sure the totals are right. Often cash collections and even AR departments list and sum up the transactions received. You aren’t exporting your calculations from your phone. The next most common replacement is excel and the amount of people who will hard code totals rather than use a sum function will blow your mind. That’s why these are still used. I can see that you actually went through and added the figures up, and you can’t just hardcore a total that you think is correct/matches with these. It’s a check against mistakes.

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fatherofhenry t1_j9k72ed wrote

many find deductions have been taken with this : )

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Elethiomel77 t1_j9k74r7 wrote

I've got an EL-1607R that my mom used to use. Still use it every day. Something about the buttons just feels better.

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lsbem t1_j9kbwyd wrote

Still have mine .. 10 key by touch! Remember putting that on my résumé! 😀

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StrangeRover t1_j9l6c7r wrote

Replying to RealCowboyNeal (#1,910,713)

Late-30s engineer here but I learned 10-key "helping out" at my family's small business back in the early 90s.

It still frustrates me up this day that Excel doesn't have an entry mode equivalent to the 0/00 switch on an old 10-key (e.g. "1547" comes up as "15.47"). Of course I could use a helper column, but the inconvenience isn't worth it for less than 50 or so lines.

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livelylou4 t1_j9l7ein wrote

I have one at work too, use that bad boy every day! (Accounting)

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TimTheEnchanter623 t1_j9myw7r wrote

I remember being gifted a Sharp Elsi Mate calculator at age 10 or so, had that same screen. That was in 1976. I thought it was super cool.

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SirGothamHatt t1_j9wwihm wrote

My grandfather had one of these and I played around with it a lot

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