Retro Review: Panasonic CompuVoice JF-721U
My partner, Chris, gave me this calculator as a Christmas present. Thank you and love you, Chris!
Quick Facts
Model: JF-721U
Company: Panasonic
Timeline: early to mid 1980s
Type: Four Function Calculator, Stopwatch, Timer, Clock, with Voice
Number of Digits: 8
Power: 3 AA batteries
An All-In One Calculator
This is like a dream machine: a calculator, a clock, stopwatch, timer, and it talks, and it came with a beautiful brown leather power that shows the clock and a button labeled [ TIME ], when pressed the calculator reads the time. [ TIME ] is located on the upper left hand corner of the calculator next to its speaker.
Chris definitely did well!
The voice is a male machine voice, loud and clear.
The Three Modes: LOCK, COMP-TIME-STOP WATCH, and SET
The switch on the JF-721U selects the calculator's three modes: LOCK, COMP-TIME-STOP WATCH, and SET. Let's go through these modes one by one.
LOCK Mode
LOCK mode is basically the calculator's sleep mode. The display shows the clock and the only key that operates is the [ TIME ] button.
COMP-TIME-STOP WATCH Mode
On this mode, we can run the calculator, timer, and the stopwatch.
Timer: The timer can be set in hours (h) and minutes (m) only. To set the timer, press the [ SET ] button, enter the time desired in hh-mm format, and press [ S/S ]. The [ S/S ] acts as the start/stop button.
Stopwatch: The stopwatch is actived by pressing the [ SET ] and [ S/S ] keys in sequence to start the stopwatch. The stop the stopwatch again, press the [ S/S ] key and record the time. If the voice is turned on, the final time will be read. We can start and stop the stopwach as many times as we want.
To cancel the stopwatch without seeing the result, press the clear [ C ] button.
Calculator: The JE-721U is a four-function calculator. The calculator is activated by the clear [ C ] button. There are three standard memory keys: memory plus [ M+ ], memory minus [ M- ], and memory recall-clear [ MRC ]. The number in the memory register is retained as long as there is battery power.
One curious thing with the percent key, [ % ], is that the key only works with multiplication and division problems.
To add a percent:
Enter the number, press [ × ], enter the percent, press [ % ], press [ + ]
To subtract a percent:
Enter the number, press [ × ], enter the percent, press [ % ], press [ - ]
The calculator's change sign key is labeled [ (-) ].
In this mode, the calculator's voice is toggled on and off by the [ VOICE ] key.
The hour [ HOUR ] key is also available. If the hour key is on, then the calculator will announce the hour.
SET Mode
We can set the clock and the alarm in SET mode. In this mode we can set the clock and an alarm.
To set the clock: press [ SET ], enter the hour and minute, and then the [ TM ] key.
To set the alarm: press [ SET ], enter the hour and minute, and then the [ ALM ] key.
In this mode, the decimal key, [ . ], switches between AM/PM.
If this calculator can handle military time (00:00 to 23:59), I don't know how to set it. Also, the calculator is a clock only, so for daylight savings time, the time must be manually set.
Final Thoughts
I like this calculator. The voice is loud and clear and the time functions are really nice additions. I imagined the CompuVoice calculators set on the desks of professionals and were companions of travelers back in the 1980s.
Eddie
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