Unicom was bought by Rockwell International at around the same time as it purchased Sumlock Anita ('72/'73). At that time it already had a portfolio of calculators, such as the Unicom 201, which was rebadged as an Anita 201 in the U.K. after the merger of the companies. This Unicom 104 uses a Rockwell I.C. (the same one as in the Anita 811), but has no switches for rounding or memory---both are always enabled. This gives for an irritatingly inaccurate result, and for all results from pressing the equals key accumulated into the memory. It does have a memory indicator though (unlike the Anita 811), with a dot in the far left display segment being illuminated. But since this is almost always on, it is not very useful. It also lacks a percent key, which the I.C. is capable of utilising, so this model really only uses a subset of the capabilities of its processor.

Another unusual feature of this calculator range (including the Unicom 102) is the detatchable battery compartment. The whole bottom section removes with pins that plug in the main body, and two tabs either side to guide it and clip it in place. This is shown in the image on the right (click for a larger picture). As I recall (I used to own a 102) these tabs easily broke off, so I suspect unbroken units are quite rare.

Try it out---it works!

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