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Triumphator

The Triumphator KA
   Video
The Triumphator CRN2
   Video
The Triumphator KN
History
Models
Manuals
Promotional material
Articles and advertisements
Patents
Links

The Triumphator KA

The Triumphator KA is the successor to the Lipsia Addi 7. KA stands for Klein Addierer (small adder). It has an 8-digit register,with 8 input levers. It functions in much the same way as the Addi7. When you set the levers to a particular number, that register is immediately updated. You can then reset the input by pressing the large button marked I, after which the next number can be entered and added to the register. The button marked II will clear the register.

It can also subtract. To do this hold down the minus button while setting the input to the number you want to subtract. This will not yet affect the register. Release the minus button and manually set all the input levers back to zero. This subtracts the number from the register.

The levers should be moved individually. If you move several levers simultaneously, a carry operation may get lost so that the wrong answer is computed.

I own two of these machines. The first one shown below has serial number 013930. The serial number can be found stamped into the bottom of the base.

The upper casing is plastic with a metallic coating, but the base is metal. The mechanism is identical to the Lipsia Addi 7, except for a minor change to the clearing mechanism. A push of the clearing button is converted by a rack and pinion into a full rotation of the clearing axle.

Here is my other machine. It has a slightly different colour scheme, with metallic grey case and the slotted plate between the levers is light grey instead of dark green.

Its serial number is 015615. I think that no more than about 17000 were made, so this is towards the end of the production, probably around 1960.

Video

The Triumphator CRN2

The Triumphator CRN2 is a pinwheel calculator. It is rather large, though the number of digits in the registers are rather standard. There are 10 digits of input, 8 digits in the counter, and 13 digits in the output register. The rounded upper casing is moulded plastic with a metallic coating, but the rest is metal.

Almost all the controls are on the right hand side so that it can easily be operated with one hand. The carriage shift is performed using a lever below the crank, very similar to the Schubert DRV. There is a clearing lever for the input, and on the carriage there is a clearing lever with next to it two switches with which you can select whether the counter, the output register, or both are to be cleared. The switch next to the main crank selects the direction of the counter. It has a back transfer mechanism - pressing the R button and clearing the output register will transfer the output to the input.

The serial number is 260,641 which seems to be one of the lowest numbers for this model, suggesting that it was one of the first to be produced. Production started in 1957 or 1959 (sources disagree on this) and continued till about 1965. Later versions have some minor changes. In particular, the indicator for the carriage position has been moved from the right to the left side of the input pins, and the upper casing no longer surrounds the right side of the input pins. See the model KN below for these changes.

The carriage can be secured for transport with the screw accessible through the hole in the bottom plate marked with an arrow. If not secured, the carriage can be released and slid off to the right using a switch on the underside of the right hand side of the carriage. Removing the casing involves unscrewing a lot of screws, as the four feet have to be removed, each with two screws. Later versions have extra holes in the bottom plate to give access to the screws of the upper casing.

Video

The Triumphator KN

The Triumphator KN pinwheel calculator is the simpler version of the CRN2 above. There are 7 digits of input, 6 digits in the counter, and 11 digits in the output register. The rounded upper casing is moulded plastic with a blue-green metallic coating, but the rest is metal.

The controls are identical to the CRN2, so the carriage shift and counter direction switch are next to the crank, and there is a register clearing lever on the right of the carriage. There are two main differences. Firstly there is no back transfer mechanism, and secondly the input clearing is outside the case instead of built in.

The serial number is 505,819 which seems to be one of the highest numbers for this model, suggesting that it was one of the last to be produced. Production started in 1957 or 1959 (sources disagree on this) and continued till about 1965.

The carriage can be secured for transport with the screw accessible through the hole in the bottom plate marked with an arrow. If not secured, the carriage can be released and slid off to the right using a switch on the underside of the right hand side of the carriage. The bottom plate has three unmarked holes for the screws that hold the upper casing.

History

Triumphator is a company that was based near Leipzig in (East) Germany. It was founded in 1900 as Leipziger Röhrenwerke GmbH, and made vacuum tubes. In 1904 they started manufacturing pinwheel calculators under the brand name Triumphator. This development was led by Otto Holzapfel, an engineer who had previously worked at Grimme Natalis (Brunsviga). Their pinwheel machines were the first to have a an input display register, and a counter with a full carry mechanism that worked in both directions. In 1907 the company changed its name to Triumphatorwerk mbH, and with only minor name changes continued producing calculators until the late 1960s. During most of that time the factory was in Mölkau, just East of Leipzig.

Leipzig is in East Germany so after the second World War the calculators Triumphator was producing were now mostly for use in the Eastern Bloc, though some were exported to the West. In 1969 the Triumphator company was taken over by VEB Buchungsmaschinenwerk Karl-Marx-Stadt, and Triumphator then ceased to exist as a brand.

Models

Below is a table listing some of the pinwheel calculator models that Triumphator produced. The Functions column in the table indicates with an I that the model has an input display register, and with a C that it has a carry mechanism in the counter.

Manuals

Gebrauchsanweisung für die Rechenmaschinen Triumphator bauart Modelle H und K    (PDF, 4.48 MB or archive.org)
Form. No. 446.
1920-1938
8-page stapled booklet
148mm × 210mm

This is the basic manual for the Triumphator models H and K, in German. It briefly explains the four arithmetic operations, and has some oiling instructions. The booklet has no copyright date so could have been printed any time between 1920 and 1938.

Gebrauchsanweisung für die Rechenmaschinen Triumphator CN1 und CRN1    (PDF, 10.5 MB or archive.org)
VEB Triumphator-Werk
1954
22-page stapled booklet
149mm × 210mm

This is the manual for the Triumphator models CN1 and CRN1, in German. It explains the controls of the machines, the four arithmetic operations, and even square roots. The booklet has no copyright date, but the printing code on the rear cover suggests it was printed in 1954.

The manual also came with the paperwork for a CRN1 machine consisting of a packing list and a guarantee, further confirming that the manual is from 1954.

Promotional material

Triumphator CRN1 Leaflet
VEB Triumphator-Werk
1954
Folded leaflet
Folded 148mm × 213mm, unfolded 296mm × 213mm

This is a leaflet for model CRN 1 pinwheel calculator, though it also mentions model CN 1.

Articles and advertisements

Here are a few adverts and articles that mention Triumphator which I found in books and online newspaper and magazine archives.

Patents

Here is a selection of patents relating to Triumphator pinwheel calculators.

Here is the patent for the Lipsia Addi 7, the predecessor to the Triumphator KA.

Links

• Rechner Lexicon has a page about Triumphator, with links to various models such as the Triumphator CRN2, the Triumphator KN, the Triumphator KA and an interesting article about similar small adders.
• Rechnen Ohne Strom has a page on Triumphator pinwheel machines including the CRN2, KN, and a page on lever adders which features the Triumphator KA.
• Rechenmaschinen-Illustrated has a page with various Triumphator machines and further pictures of the Triumphator CRN2, Triumphator KN and Triumphator KA.
• Wolfgang Blümich has a page on pinwheel calculators which features Triumphator machines, and a page on lever adders which features the Lipsia Addi 7 and Triumphator KA.
• Rechenwerkzeug has a Lipsia page that includes an Addi 7 and a Triumphator KA.
• Christian Hamann has a Triumphator CRN2 and a Triumphator KA amongst others.
• Industrie- und Filmmuseum Wolfen has a Triumphator CRN2 and a Triumphator KA

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