The Museum of HP Calculators

HP Forum Archive 04

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Re: HP request on duplicate labels
Message #1 Posted by Dave Hicks on 14 Nov 2000, 1:37 p.m.

"Should HP be surprised that collector will make reproductions of these labels with or without their approval?"

I don't see how surprise or lack of surprise is relevant. A walk through the Beijing Silk Market will convince you that you can buy a fake of anything.

The issue is that the names and trademarks are theirs and they are legally protected. I asked permission for someone else to reproduce the labels. I was expecting a simple NO, but I was pleasantly surprised that the answer was OK with what I consider to be a minor limitation. If you think you can work a better deal, then by all means go ahead.

I also don't see how fake labels on real HPs would increase their "collectibility" or value - except perhaps for a short time before the market realizes that a "good" label is a matter of paying 28 cents rather than being lucky enough to find a mint sample.

      
beijing silk market
Message #2 Posted by db (martinez, california) on 15 Nov 2000, 12:37 a.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dave Hicks

dave; next time you are in china will you see if someone can run us off a few hundred 42's? and if they can tack on an rs232 or il interface they can call it a cp or zp or an xyz for that matter and i'll be proud to use it. oh no! i think i'm half serious.

            
Re: beijing silk market
Message #3 Posted by Dave Hicks on 15 Nov 2000, 11:01 a.m.,
in response to message #2 by db (martinez, california)

Sadly, I've spent most of my calculator-related time in China looking for Chinese calculators - preferably RPN, of course. Instead I keep finding calculators labeled in English.

It's strange to be stretching the limits of my Chinese, trying to explain to someone that I want a calculator labeled in Chinese rather than in English ;-)

                  
Re: beijing silk market
Message #4 Posted by db (martinez, california) on 15 Nov 2000, 10:44 p.m.,
in response to message #3 by Dave Hicks

dave; do the chinese make rpn calculators labeled in any language? this might be a find and a way to influence an existing company to make what we want to buy. it seems that your interests go beyond hp's; did you ever play with one of thoes national semiconductor rpn's with a three level stack and an led screen?

                        
Re: beijing silk market
Message #5 Posted by Dave Hicks on 16 Nov 2000, 11:39 a.m.,
in response to message #4 by db (martinez, california)

I didn't see any RPN calculators in China other than HPs.

I do have some National Semi models including one with a manual addendum (that looks like it was 10 copier generations away from an original page made on a typewriter that needed servicing.) The addendum says that to assure error-free computing, you should start the calculator with (from memory) On, Off, On, Off, Clr, Clr, Clr. Most reassuring…

Displays are OK not great, buttons are different from one model to the next but I wouldn't call any of them even fair. Programming on one consists of setting the switch to program and then keying in instructions with no visible feedback. Then you switch back to run and hope you got it right. No editing, no branching, no looping, no testing. Very cheap overall feel. (This is all from memory - they're packed away somewhere.)

When I pick up other potentially interesting calculators from the early HP era, I'm usually reminded of how special the HPs were. It's easy to take that for granted after decades of solid calculators with great buttons etc.

One RPN model I'd like to find is the Corvus 500. I'd also like to find its manual which John Ball described as "Just awful".


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