Elektronika MK-52 - Additional Information

Additional Information

Bitwise/binary operations:

The MK-52 is fully capable of performing binary number operations. The following example demonstrates the OR logical operation between the binary numbers '111000' and '100001':

First, the numbers are made into groups of four digits, adding leading zeros if necessary, i.e. making '111000' into groups of four gives '0011' and '1000'.

The equivalent decimal values of each of these four-digit binary numbers are '3' and '8', which gives a hexadecimal number of '38', equivalent to the binary number '111000'. Similarly, '100001' is equivalent to '21' in hexadecimal.

Binary numbers are input into the machine as hexadecimal numbers prepended by an '8.'.

So, the numbers '8.38' and '8.21' are entered into the MK-52 and the OR operation is performed on them. The OR operation is achieved by pressing, then (which looks like ).

The result displayed should be '8.39'. This translates to the two binary number groups '0011' and 1001 and, hence, the binary number '111001', which is the result of the OR operation performed on the two binary numbers '111000' and '100001'.

The following list details the MK-52's graphical representation of hexadecimal numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, -, L, C, T, E, (blank). Normal hexadecimal representation is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E.

Games:

There are a host of games available for the MK-52 (as can be found from one link below). The MK-52's undocumented functions tend to be heavily used in the various games of the machine due to their use in producing unusual calculations and specialised displays. A simple example of the modification of the display may be observed by the repeated squaring of, say, 1 x 10^50 (ignoring error messages).

Colours:

The MK-52 was available in a variety of colours. Known colours are: black/grey, turquoise/blue, white/grey and orange.

Schematics:

In what would be considered an unusual practice today (but was common for Soviet electronics), technical schematics were provided for the MK-52 when it was purchased, prompting user modification and repair of the machine.

EGGOG:

To the amusement of many, when an error is encountered on the machine, the display produces a message similar to the English 'Error'. The word, written in this fashion, cuts down on the number of display segments used to display the error message. The result is that, in Russian, this spelling is not pronounced 'error', but 'eggog'.