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Old Calculator Museum Advertising & Documentation Archive
Sharp Compet 20 (CS-20A)
Olims Electronics advertisement for Sharp Compet 20 (CS-20A), May, 1967
This ad, while somewhat demeaning to management-level people (implying
that they need to have a simple calculator in order to be able to use it), is interesting in that
it was placed by Olims Electronics. Olims Electronics was a large Australian electronics retailer
that was very successful in marketing consumer electronics across
the country. The company forged a licensing relationship with
Sharp, and began assembling the Compet 20 in Australia for
sale in the domestic Australian market. Olims Electronics would
purchase components from Sharp (circuit boards, cabinet parts, electronic
components, etc.) and assemble the machines at their manufacturing
facility (where they also made various consumer electronics goods such as
radios and televisions) to Sharp's exacting specifications. The calculators
would then be sold and supported through Olims Electronics' distribution
network throughout Australia.
The Compet 20 has 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 machine was approximately $1,050 in the US
at introduction in the fall of 1965.
To learn more about the Compet 20, see the Old Calculator Web Museum
exhibit: Sharp Compet 20.