My first programmable device purchase: Texas Instruments SR-52 Programmable Calculator. (Summer of '75, $395)

It had 224 steps of program memory with 20 memory registers.

Also had a motor-driven card reader for non-volatile storage.

With work, and a lot of squeezing, a two-card program (448 steps) could solve a 4x4 determinant in about 3 minutes.

It had a game "Lunar Lander" that provided hours of distraction.


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