HP Forum Archive 10

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34C's going at a premium Message #1 Posted by Sambonator on 22 Feb 2003, 6:09 p.m. 34C's appear to be going at a premium. Maybe its time to dust off a couple of 34C's and put them up on EBay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11713&item=3008335071 Sam

Re: 34C's going at a premium Message #2 Posted by Bill Hemphill on 23 Feb 2003, 7:48 a.m., in response to message #1 by Sambonator I think the 34C was my third HP Calculator I ever owned. I still have the box it came in, but nothing else. Which is strange since I have kept other manuals even after the calculator died. I also cannot remember very much about it except for the fact that it had three function key- F, G & H. It must not have made much of an impression on me at the time I had it. Funny, because the HP-25 and HP-29C I remember everything about them. On high prices on e-bay - how about 177.50 for Card reader, not even new in box. See: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3008266515&category=11713

HP-34C the best of any of them Message #3 Posted by Norm Hill on 24 Feb 2003, 12:31 a.m., in response to message #1 by Sambonator HP-34C was the best of any of them. It had just the right amount of features & functions. I was there, back in '79, I remember the "HP-41" type guys, yeah they were real proud of those behemoths, except they could never figure out how to use them. I actually knew every button on my HP-34C because it was a cool, cool rig. And the manual was just the cat's meow also. There's few of the HP-34C around presently. They should make them brand new just the same.

Re: HP-34C the best of any of them Message #4 Posted by karl schneider on 24 Feb 2003, 1:10 a.m., in response to message #3 by Norm Hill When I was a young undergrad in 1981, I noticed an older student using a HP-34C (or similar) in the cafeteria, and peppered him with questions about it. He politely answered them, even though he was keying in programs for an exam. (He must not have been too time-pressed.) The machine looked intriguing, and when I finally had the funds to buy my own HP in Nov 1983, I had to choose between the 34C and the new 15C. I waffled, because I liked the classic look of the 34C, but was (thankfully) convinced by the clerk to buy the 15C, which was clearly the better product. Within the past year, I have bought both earlier-style and later 34C's, with the intent of keeping the later one and selling my older one on eBay after I perform some repairs. The 34C was a fine machine for its time, but suffered from some poor construction techniques. (The high inflation of the era may have prompted HP to try to cut costs.) The functionality was great, but almost every non-programming function was shifted (3 shift keys!). You didn't know which angular mode it was in, and you had to deal with $12 NiCd's that needed charging and died eventually. No, the 34C couldn't be sold as a new product today...

I bet the HP15C as a fair replacement (was: HP-34C the best of any of them) Message #5 Posted by Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil) on 24 Feb 2003, 1:32 a.m., in response to message #4 by karl schneider Hi; (Karl... where have you been? What destiny took your HP41?) I secnod Karls in his post. Despite of having an horizontal alignment (I think it's better), LCD for LED's (I never used a calculator under low-light conditions) and long-lasting discard-type batteries, everything the HP34C has will be fairly found in the HP15C. I mean everything+: memory, labels, math features, even conditional tests. I would never discuss the fact that the HP34C was the best available at its time, and the HP41 did not add significant improvements, if we consider no add-ons, just the plane HP41C. When I bought my HP41C in 1982 (in a savings promotion because of the HP41CV) the HP34C cost about 30% less. I had no doubts about: I wanted an alphanumeric display. And at that time I had many Casio and Sharp pocket computers to fight against my HP41. And we both won many challenges. BTW, I remember I saw a pocket Casio (or Sharp?) in the late 80's that came with resident C language. Does anybody remember its ID? Just a curiosity. Cheers.

Re: I bet the HP15C as a fair replacement (was: HP-34C the best of any of them) Message #6 Posted by R Lion on 24 Feb 2003, 2:17 a.m., in response to message #5 by Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil) "I remember I saw a pocket Casio (or Sharp?) in the late 80's that came with resident C language. Does anybody remember its ID?" http://www.rskey.org/z1.htm http://www.rskey.org/pb2000c.htm Regards Raul

Re: HP-34C the best of any of them Message #7 Posted by Ernie Malaga on 24 Feb 2003, 5:17 a.m., in response to message #4 by karl schneider >The functionality was great, but almost every non-programming function was shifted (3 shift keys!). You didn't know which angular mode it was in, and you had to deal with $12 NiCd's that needed charging and died eventually. These problems existed in the HP-67 too. Worse, since the batteries needed 14 hours to fully recharge, just so you could use the machine for a meager 3 hours. The rechargeable batteries of the Classic series were at the pinnacle of inefficiency, IMHO. Two years of daily 14-hour recharges soured me on rechargeable battery models, so I was as happy as a pig when the 41C came out, and bought one on the spot. But history is repeating itself. Just think of today's cell phones. The batteries always choose the worst times to die! 8^) -Ernie

Re: HP-34C the best of any of them Message #8 Posted by Ernie Malaga on 24 Feb 2003, 5:09 a.m., in response to message #3 by Norm Hill Norm: >I remember the "HP-41" type guys, yeah they were real proud of those behemoths, except they could never figure out how to use them. I guess, then, that I must be one of those "proud of my behemoth" machine, because I'll take a 41C/CV/CX over a 34C any day, no hesitation. As far as I can see, the 34C's only advantage is in the functions L.R., integration, and SOLVE. The 41C/CV/CX are expandable, however; just add an Advantage module and you have a machine that doesn't need 3 shift keys for basic functions... like [h] [SST]. Sorry, but I can't imagine the tedium of single-stepping in the 34C's PRGM mode a 100-step program! Just my $.02. -Ernie

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