Casio FX-502P series
The FX-501P and FX-502P were programmable calculators, manufactured by Casio from 1978/1979. They were the predecessors of the FX-601P and FX-602P. It is likely that the FX-501P/502P were the first LCD programmable calculators to be produced as up until 1979 (and the introduction of the HP-41C) no manufacturer had introduced such a device.
Casio FX-502P series

Piotr433 · CC0
- Name
- CASIO FX-501P / FX-502P
- Field
- programmable calculator
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Casio FX-502P series. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q5048920 · wikipedia · Casio FX-502P series
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — CASIO FX-501P / FX-502P • Type — Programmable scientific • Entry — Infix • Introduced — 1978 • Manufacturer — Casio • Display Type — LCD seven-segment display • Precision — 12 digits mantissa, ±99 exponent • Display Size — 10 + 3 Digits • Prog Lang — Keystroke (fully merged, Turing complete) • Memory Data — 11 (FX-501P), 22 (FX-502P) • Memory Step — 128 (FX-501P), 256 (FX-502P) • Conn1 — Compact Cassette • Via1 1 — FA-1 • Ports — one vendor specific • Supply — 2×"G13" or 2×"LR44" • Power — 0.0008 W • Weight — 141 g, 5 oz • Dimensions — 15.24×7.6×1.2 cm, 6"×3"×½"
Arithmetic
Arithmetic
The FX-502P series use algebraic logic as was state-of-the-art at the time.
Display
Display
The FX-501P and FX-502P featured a single line 7-segment liquid crystal display with 10 digits as main display. An additional 3 digits 7-segment display used to display exponents and program steps when entering or debugging programs and 10 status indicators. The display was covered with a yellow filter, They were the first Casio calculators to implement engineering notation, and the first calculators in general to implement an engineering notation with shift facility (following Hewlett Packard calculators implementing the first engineering notation in general, and some Commodore and Texas Instruments calculators implementing variable scientific notation with exponent shift facility).
Programming
Programming
The programming model employed was key stroke programming by which each key pressed was recorded and later played back. On record multiple key presses were merged into a single programming step. All operations fitted into one program step. The FX-501P could store 128 steps, with 11 memory registers. The FX-502P had twice that capacity with 256 steps and 22 memory registers. Conditional and unconditional jumps as well as subroutines were supported. The FX-502P series supported 10 labels for programs and subroutines called P0.. P9. Each program or subroutine could have up to 10 local labels called LBL0.. LBL9 for jumps and branches. The FX-501P and FX-502P supported indirect addressing both for memory access and jumps and therefore the programming model could be considered Turing complete. Since the FX-501P and FX-502P only employed a seven-segment display each program step was represented by a special 2-digit codes made up of the digits 0.. 9 and the character C, E, F and P. The calculator came with a special overlay so the user did not need to memorize the mapping between code and actual command. What differentiated the FX-501 / FX-502P from its competitors was that programming was retained in a battery-buffered memory when the calculator was turned off.
Programming example
Programming example
Here is a sample program that computes the factorial of an integer number from 2 to 69. For 5!, the user would type 5 P0 and get the result 120. The whole program is only 9 bytes long. • Key-code — Display-code — Comment • P0 — call the program with the P0 key • C6-00 — stores the value in register 0 • 01 — starts with 1 • F0-00 — label for the loop • E1 — multiply • C7-00 — with M0 • FF-01 — Decrements M0 and skips next command if M0=Zero • GOTO — F1-00 — Go to LBL0 • E5 — end of loop, the machine has calculated 1 \times n \times (n - 1) \times \cdots \times 2 \times 1 =n!
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Casio FA-1 • Type — Compact Cassette Interface • Introduced — 1979 • Manufacturer — Casio • Conn1 — FX-502P series and FX-602P series • Conn2 — Compact Cassette • Via2 1 — Line-Out: 3.5 mm TRS connector • Via2 2 — Mic-In: 3.5 mm TRS connector The FX-501P and FX-502P used the FA-1 to store program and data to Compact Cassette using the Kansas City standard. The FA-1 also enabled the calculators to generate musical notes. The FX-501P was used on the 1981 song "Pocket Calculator" by electronic music group Kraftwerk.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Casio FX-502P series, revision 1353266080 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
General reference
Connections
Knowledge graph
Connections
Each connection was recorded deliberately, with the basis for it kept on the internal record.
Broader subject
1- programmable calculatorTerminology
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Scientific instruments
736 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Casio 9860 seriesTerminology
- Casio AL-1Terminology
- Casio fx-3650PTerminology
- Casio fx-39Terminology
- Casio FX-602P seriesTerminology
- Casio FX-603PTerminology
- Casio fx-82 seriesTerminology
- Casio FX-850PTerminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with Casio FX-502P series?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.