15 November 2018

Review: Lloyd's Accumatic 30


One of the strange side-effects of reviewing calculators is that people really like telling me when they're using a calculator. People also send me pictures and tell me stories about devices they used long ago. I love this. Many have inspired me to seek out calculators to try them myself, and this has been a huge motivator for continuing this project. Please feel free to send me messages on any social media platform if there's something you'd like to share!

The Lloyd's Accumatic 30.

What I also like is that I come across devices such as the Lloyd's Accumatic 30 Microelectronic Handheld Calculator. I admit to having been unfamiliar with the Lloyd's brand, but it's actually very interesting. While looking up other devices, I noticed a lot of them had a similar look to this one, but each had buttons positioned in different ways. An image search of "Lloyd's Calculator" will yield what initially looks like a bunch of the same calculator.

Of course, I'm not here to talk about all of them. The only Lloyd's I've got in my collection so far is this Accumatic 30. This beautiful device wears its decade on its sleeve and is unmistakably from the 1970s. The dyes required to make these shades of brown apparently only existed during that time. 
Another great 70s feature that is sadly underutilized in other decades is the amazing bluish-greenish fluorescent display. I can appreciate a calculator that works just as fine in the dark as in direct light. 

Face plate removed.

Everything about the way this calculator looks appeals to me, even on the inside. Taking this thing apart was very satisfying, so it's definitely worth checking out the pictures I've got below this review.
The Accumatic 30 also feels great. It's dense and sturdy and almost too wide for the palm of my hand. It's not big enough to qualify for desktop status, but it's almost too big to call a pocket calculator. The leather case is just a cherry on top of this mathematical sundae.

Functionally it's pretty basic. The buttons feel fine, but aren't anything special. You can easily see what this device is capable of doing with a quick glance at any picture. Even though the device is pretty large, and it lacks more advanced functionality, it doesn't seem like it's too big for what it can do. 
Top view. Slightly broken plastic.

It's not my rarest or most valuable calculator, but this is one I keep in my display case simply because it looks like it belongs there. I'm definitely intrigued by the Lloyd's brand, so I'll be keeping my eye out for more of them. 
I found this one at Goodwill a while ago, probably for around $3.00. It runs on four AA batteries.
Back, battery cover removed.

Face plate removed for cleaning


Inner assembly, front


Inner assembly, back.


Calculator in its leather case.

No comments:

Post a Comment