Casio MS 8 TV

Casio MS-8TV Desk Calculator

For the last year or so I have worked full time selling on ebay, I started this up as a sideline initially but with the recession hitting my flooring business pretty badly, I found myself spending more and more time on ebay until it eventually became my full time job. I do all my own accounts for the business and keep a daily ledger so I know exactly where I am up to so a desk calculator is a must for me. I actually picked this up at a car boot sale a couple of years ago for 50p so it owes me absolutely nothing but I have seen it on ebay for £6.99 plus postage.

Features

This calculator is a pretty standard one really, it has all the usual features you would expect on a standard calculator, such as plus, minus, divide, equals etc., the plus button is larger than the other ones (about twice the size), there are also memory plus and minus buttons as well as the memory recall, although I don't tend to use these very often but they are present if required. Other keys include an 'on' button (fairly obviously), AC and C (also pretty standard) and a plus/minus button so you can work with negative numbers. The calculator is solar and battery powered and measures approximately 6" x 4" with the last 2" in length being angled upwards and housing the screen and solar panel. Mine is dark grey, but I have also seen it in silver, and the base has four 'popped out' feet, two of which are rubber non-slip ones.

There are also three tax buttons which come in really handy. You press the percentage rate set button for a couple of seconds and the current tax rate comes up on the screen, you can then type in your own tax rate and press the rate set button again, that is now the set tax rate. Now you can use this tax rate on amounts you wish, you simply type an amount in and then press one of the two green buttons at the top of the calculator, tax- or tax+, this then either minuses your selected percentage from the amount typed in or adds it. This is a really handy function for working out VAT, or ebay fees, or basically anything that is expressed as a percentage that you use a lot as it saves you typing in the percentage amount all the time.

In Use

So what is the calculator like to use? In all honesty it is absolutely fine, the buttons are a decent size and well spaced out making it easy to use quickly without hitting other buttons by accident. The larger plus button is very handy as that is the button I use most and it is very easy to hit when adding a lot of amounts up quickly. The display is a decent size and with the screen being angled up slightly it is very easy to see. Another great feature is the fact that it is solar powered as well as battery powered allowing the best of both worlds, the solar panel works pretty well although the screen can be a little dim at night when there is less natural light, which probably means I need a new battery to use the dual power mode, but it is still usable so I have not bothered just yet. The non-slip feet keep it pretty firmly rooted to the spot I put it in on my desk, so it does not move around when in use which is also very handy. As I have said already the tax buttons are a really nice feature for me, I did not buy this calculator because of this function, but if I were buying a new one I would defiantly look out for this feature.

Although I did not use the instruction manual (who would for a calculator?) I have just had a flick through it and it is very easy to understand, and the calculator is well made and very tough and durable. I have dropped it a number of times in the couple of years I have had it and it has not suffered at all, as far as I can see. The only negative point I can possibly come up with is that when I first got it I noticed that when using it very quickly the buttons would sometimes stick down, and then nothing else registered until you had got the stuck button back up. However this was only a problem for the first couple of weeks and then I think I must have got used using it and developed a knack of pressing the buttons in such a way that they did not stick any more.

Recommended?

So would I recommend this Casio calculator? Well yes I would really, although I must say at £6.99 plus £2.99 postage on ebay it seems quite a lot to pay for a pretty standard desk calculator really, and having had mine for so long, I don't think I would pay that much to replace it, if it were to stop working on me. If you can find one in a shop for three or four quid it is probably worth having or if you can find one on a car boot sale for 50p like me then even better! It is very easy to use and very durable so it ticks the right boxes in my opinion, it is also made by a reputable company which is always a plus point with any electrical item, although I don't think I would be bothering Casio's support line if it were to go wrong! Overall it gets 4 out of 5 stars from me and the only reason it lost one is because you have to learn how to press the buttons so as not to make them stick down.

Details

Casio MS-8TV
Two way power
Rating: solar cell battery DC 1.5v

Thanks for reading, John, also on Dooyoo