SAFETY WARNING: Unless stated otherwise the items sold on this site have not been restored and have only been tested briefly if at all. They are decades old and are sold with the expectation that the purchaser understands they will need some level of repair. For safety reasons, before the purchaser applies power to the device it should be examined by a certified electronics technician. Please click on the safety notice in the footer of this page.
OtherVictor 3900 - Philco/Ford 3900

Victor 3900 - Philco/Ford 3900

$1,100.00

(Stock: 1)
Victor 3900 - Philco/Ford 3900. The Victor 3900 was the first electronic calculator available commercially that used MOS LSI integrated circuits. Unfortunately the MOS technology was in its infancy, in production the yield of the chips was sometimes as low as 1% and, once the calculators were in the field, failure rate was high. Victor took back all the 3900's that were sold + all they had in stock and returned them to Philco who then re-branded them Philco/Ford. Some were eventually used in company offices. This is one that was used at a Ford office in Detroit. Full story is available at https://www.oldcalculatormuseum.com/d-victor3900.html. This calculator had been working for the 26 years I've owned it, until recently. One of the pictures shows how the display originally appeared when the calculator was working properly. Other pictures and the video show what the display currently looks like. My personal opinion is that the logic is still working, the problem seems to be in the display board. But, again, that's just my opinion. In the first example the video shows how the numbers are distorted (often appearing to be 8) as they go across the screen but then shows that the logic knows to go into overflow when the 20 digit maximum is exceeded. Next example 145/12 shows the correct answer except that the first digit after the decimal point appears to be a 0 with a 3 overlaid. The final example is 12*3, which clearly gives the correct answer. The base has a small crack in the rear near the right corner. Sold as-is. Ships double boxed. Approximate size 13"W, 21"D, 7"H. Item #5791
Inquire about this Item

Get on the NEWSTUFF mailing list

Within minutes of new items being added to these pages an email goes out to those subscribed to the Newstuff mailing list, the most desirable items are generally sold within 24 hours. If you'd like to be among the first to be advised simply enter your Email Address and hit "Subscribe" to be put on the list.

Cart