Kyle Rankin @kyle@librem.one

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have long division! ⁨#antique⁩ ⁨#calculator⁩

It also seems Apple's ad tracking rules exempt much of its own tracking behavior since it only shares the data it collects about you with itself and not third parties. At least according to this analysis: https://mobiledevmemo.com/att-advantages-apples-ad-network-heres-how-to-fix-that/

Interesting coincidence that after Apple added App Tracking Transparency to alert iPhone users to the data 3rd party apps collected for ads, adtech had to scramble for alternatives, such as Apple's own ad biz, which grew 238% to $3.7B in 2021 https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/14/23305200/iphone-more-ads-advertising-apple-maps-podcasts-books-mark-gurman-rumors

@JohanEmpa Actually if you look at the picture of the rear of the calculator you can see a metal cylinder that extends down into a large worm gear. That is what controls where the carriage is when shift stops occur and you can adjust it via screws at the top to shift it left and right.

@JohanEmpa Alignment between the top carriage and the bottom gears from the keyboard! Repairing shifting made the misalignment more obvious. It still isn't perfectly aligned though (falls out when left shifting during division for instance) so more tweaks are needed.

I was able to fix the shift mechanism with a few adjustments and while I was at it figured out what was wrong with the main accumulator so now addition and subtraction work. Next up: multiplication.

@penguin42 Here is the service manual I'm studying at the moment: https://archive.org/details/MonroeMSB440D

Sound ⁨#troubleshooting⁩ techniques can be applied to all classes of problems, and I'm using the same approach I wrote about in DevOps Troubleshooting. I identified an issue (shift mechanism) and to narrow down the cause I now need to study and understand how this mechanism works.

I decided to start by fixing the shift mechanism, which stutters when shifting left. I'm hoping resolving that may also resolve some of the other issues. I was able to locate a service manual for a similar calculator which has some decent diagrams. #antique #calculator

Today we attempt to repair and refurbish a Monromatic CSA-8 electro-mechanical calculator from the 1950s-1960s. At the moment addition and subtraction don't update the accumulator among othet issues, I hope just from seized gears. ⁨#antique⁩ ⁨#calculator⁩

@Mayana You should! And the cost of a razor is more than made up by the incredibly low cost of the shaving soap and blades. A basic Tech would be a great way to learn proper technique, and you might be surprised at how affordable some of these other blades can be at antique and thrift stores.

@PublicLewdness Basically an old, used car.

Cars continue to copy the smartphone business model, now have mandatory pre-installed services and apps (and the tracking that comes with them): #privacy https://www.thedrive.com/news/gm-makes-1500-onstar-subscription-mandatory-on-gmc-buick-cadillac-models

You have to hand it to them... #privacy https://www.engadget.com/amazon-one-palm-payment-whole-foods-california-195712253.html

The biggest challenge with filing expense reports is deciding which ⁨#antique⁩ adding machine in my collection to use to add up receipts. Today's winner is an RC Allen model 75. ⁨#vintagecomputers⁩

@mrdoornbos I have that R C Allen model! Very nice hand crank adding machine with subtraction feature. It is what I would reach for to balance a checkbook if I needed a paper trail.

@jonny See my previous thread to see a normal division.

@yaelwrites Eh I've found different people find different words offensive so the best course is to attempt to be respectful of what bothers others once they let you know.

Here's a bonus video of what happens when you divide by zero on an electro-mechanical calculator. #infiniteloop

My Marchant Silent Speed is all cleaned up and ready to go with the rest of my collection! #antique #calculator