HP Forum Archive 08

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Another 19BII Question Message #1 Posted by Scuba Diver on 16 Aug 2002, 10:33 a.m. Hi everyone! I'm Brendan...you'll remember me from such famous messages as "Brand new 19BII; they don't make 'em like they used to!" and "Mint HP41CXs on ebay". My 19BII predicament reared its ugly head again today on my way to work when I noticed a new 19BII for sale in a shop window. I knew that the unit had been sitting around for a while because it was in an actual box (as opposed to those nasty plastic contraptions that the new cals are delivered in...I always seem to cut myself when I open those!) Anyway, I took a look at the unit, and it's old (built in late '96), but perfect (the keyboard feels the way an HP keyboard should feel!) The store told me that it is new; the manual is still sealed, etc. I'm sure they're right, since the calc doesn't look like it's ever been touched (although you never know with those electronics stores!) Here's the interesting thing. I looked at the serial number; it was stamped "Made in Indonesia" yet the serial number read 3642BXXXX. Isn't B for Brazil? What should I make of this? A 6-year old calc which was made in Brazil yet marked made in Indonesia? We have a mystery on our hands; where's Columbo when you need him? Heck, I'll even take Angela Lansbury at this point! Also, this unit comes with the old-style battery cover (located on the side of the unit). Are they really as unrealiable as everyone makes them out to be?

Re: Another 19BII Question Message #2 Posted by W. Bruce Maguire II on 16 Aug 2002, 4:18 p.m., in response to message #1 by Scuba Diver Brendan wrote: Also, this unit comes with the old-style battery cover (located on the side of the unit). Are they really as unrealiable as everyone makes them out to be? Not for me! I used my 28s for many years in college, and I never had any problem with the battery door. But then again, I didn't go throwing it against brick walls either... ;-) Bruce.

Re: Another 19BII Question Message #3 Posted by Ron Ross on 16 Aug 2002, 5:01 p.m., in response to message #2 by W. Bruce Maguire II I think a lot of people ruined their doors by changing their batteries in haste. No one wants to lose all that programming. But if your careful and take your time to change out batteries, the door is probably ok. However, you will lose programs if you take to long.

Re: Another 19BII Question Message #4 Posted by Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil) on 16 Aug 2002, 5:34 p.m., in response to message #3 by Ron Ross Hi; I have recently add a new HP19BII to the other calcs, and I also noticed that the manual was printed in Brazil, while calculator was Indonesian. The manual was an 1994 edition, and came with the Edisa label (Edisa was the name adopted by the HP representation in Brazil at that time), although calculator's serial #n reads ID11200080 (late 2000). It seems to me that, not specifically in your case, some older models still under production (maybe in stock for a long time) are receiving some sort of makeup to look as new. About being made in Brazil, we had some HP calcs being produced (electronics imported) in here for some time, and they were somewhat reliable. I believe HP used to take care of this at that time, even for products assembled elsewhere but USA. Just to add some info... Cheers.

Re: Another 19BII Question Message #5 Posted by Scuba Diver on 18 Aug 2002, 3:00 p.m., in response to message #4 by Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil) Luiz wrote: "About being made in Brazil, we had some HP calcs being produced (electronics imported) in here for some time, and they were somewhat reliable. I believe HP used to take care of this at that time, even for products assembled elsewhere but USA." That would explain it. They imported the body from Indonesia and assembled it in Brazil. The machine is great! The keys are firm and responsive...very well made unit! I have also noticed that the colour scheme on the new machine differs from that on the older one (no, I did not misspell colour...that's how us Canadians spell it). The newer machine has a black case and the keys are black as well; contrast that with the older 19BII which has the characteristic brown case and grey keys. Now that I have a "new" older 19BII, I'm going to be selling my brand-spanking new one. Do you think that this tag line will bring the bidders in? "Barely used 19BII in mint condition...keyboard lacks the usual HP feel and provides the user with the sensation of sticking their fingers into overcooked oatmeal." I think I missed my calling...I should be in marketing. B.

Re: Another 19BII Question Message #6 Posted by Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil) on 19 Aug 2002, 12:30 a.m., in response to message #5 by Scuba Diver Overcooked oatmeal??? I would never think about oatmeal, even if it is overcooked, when pressing keys... (that's funny! We need this sort of lines in here, so we feel human beings surround us. No pun intended here, Scuba; I like reading good stuff like this, too) Well, people "taste" what they want to, right? About the colo(u)r scheme (how is it color spelled in French?): I never had an HP19BII before, but my old HP28S (recently stolen) had that brown color. Now that you mentioned, I can see the contrast of the yellow (light orange) and black. And if there is something I really appreciate in the new clamshell is the battery compartment. I never liked the fact that the HP28S' door should also be active (electrical contact), and the new design seems to be more efficient. At least for me; if the batteries' compartment door is broken OR lost, the calculator will operate, no troubles at all. In the former design, that would be a headache. Cheers.

Re: Another 19BII Question Message #7 Posted by thibaut.be on 19 Aug 2002, 4:36 a.m., in response to message #6 by Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil) Colo(u)r is spelled "couleur" in French...

Re: Another 19BII Question Message #8 Posted by Scuba Diver on 19 Aug 2002, 12:40 p.m., in response to message #7 by thibaut.be In Canada, we use British English. If you go into a bookstore and purchase a dictionary, you'll get one in British Englih. Some specialty stores do carry a few American English dictionaries (if you need one). We are taught British English in school, so most people use that when writing (eg. queue, neighbour, colour and odour). There are some examples of American English here, however; newspapers use some American English (eg. if they publish a story written by an American newspaper) and some American companies forget the linguistic differences and publish their Canadian marketing information in American English. Conversational American English is very similar to conversational Canadian English. There are a few differences, and I have noted the major ones below: 1) Canadians often add "eh" to their sentences. One purpose that "eh" serves is to convert a statement into a question. For example, "Joe's going to the theatre" is a statement, but "Joe's going to the theatre, eh?" would require the listener to either confirm or deny this fact. 2) Canadians refer to the last letter of the alphabet as "zed" not "zee". 3) I have never met a Canadian who referred to a group of people as "y'all". Well, actually I do know one, but her father was a draft dodger; once Carter pardoned them, they moved back, so I guess she doesn't count. That's about it. Who would have thought that a visit to the HP forum would provide you with a lesson in linguistics? B.

Re: Another 19BII Question - still??? Message #9 Posted by Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil) on 19 Aug 2002, 2:49 p.m., in response to message #8 by Scuba Diver Hi; I must confess I love this subject: communication in other languages. I feel myself as a fortunate person because I was born in Brazil (I'm proud of it for many other reasons than this one). If I was born in any other country where Portuguese is not spoken, I'd never learn it. I swear. It's hard to understand, hard to use, hard to read and write... but as I already know it, the challenge of studying other languages becomes acceptable. Back to business, I saw an old HP19BII today with the batteries door broken. The owner was angry a lot, because when he stores the calculator for some days, it sometimes wakes up with the memory lost (bad contact). I shown her the new model, and she is getting a new one in a hurry. I asked about the broken-door one, and she told me she will keep it for personal reasons (sob!). I still believe the best thing HP did was redrawing the clamshell's batteries compartment.

Re: Another 19BII Question - still??? Message #10 Posted by Scuba Diver on 19 Aug 2002, 4:12 p.m., in response to message #9 by Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil) Luiz, there is quite a large Portuguese population in my city (from the Azores mostly) and most agree that the Brazilian accent is very beautiful...they prefer it to the continental accent (Lisboa/Lisbon). A few postings ago someone mentioned that the battery door is fine as long as you take your time changing the batteries. I thought I would test this, so I swapped the batteries in my 2 19BIIs. I probably spent about 2 minutes doing it, and the memory was intact in both units. In retrospect it probably wasn't the greatest design, but I'll just take care when changing batteries and it should be fine. Gee, get your friend to send me an email...maybe I can offload my "oatmealy" 19BII!!! :) B.

Re: Another 19BII Question Message #11 Posted by Gordon Dyer on 20 Aug 2002, 8:28 p.m., in response to message #8 by Scuba Diver None of you speak properly over that side of the Atlantic! Over here overcooked oatmeal is Scotts Porridge. Some of you did make very good calculators... Gordon (1/4 Scottish)

Re: Another 19BII Question Message #12 Posted by Scuba Diver on 21 Aug 2002, 7:48 a.m., in response to message #11 by Gordon Dyer Us Cannucks call it porridge as well, but I didn't think the readers south of the 48th parallel would know what that is! Of course, the Scots provided us with quite a few things...golf and Robbie Burns just to name two. I'm a bit dubious about the food, however. Haggis and tablet??? :) Brendan

porridge Message #13 Posted by Ellis Easley on 21 Aug 2002, 10:55 a.m., in response to message #12 by Scuba Diver I've made porridge by following the instructions on a can of oats from Scotland. The oats are cut but not rolled, and take about 20-30 minutes to cook. Very tasty! Here in the US, most oats are rolled (smashed flat), take from 0 to 3 minutes to cook, and the result is called "oatmeal". Is "porridge" typically made from the more whole grain, or is it just another name for oatmeal?

Re: Another 19BII Question Message #14 Posted by Scuba Diver on 19 Aug 2002, 12:44 p.m., in response to message #6 by Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil) Liuz, I agree. We're all human beings who share a common interest. We should inject humour into converastions whenever possible (oops, should I have spelled that humor?? Hehehe) For most of us, this is a hobby. Hobbies are meant to be fun. As long as we treat everyone with respect, we're not doing any harm to anyone. B.

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