The Museum of HP Calculators

HP Forum Archive 11

[ Return to Index | Top of Index ]

HP-33C HP-33E HP-34C HP-38C HP-38E Business vs. Engineering
Message #1 Posted by Norm on 23 Mar 2003, 7:29 p.m.

HP-33C HP-33E HP-34C HP-38C HP-38E

Those are the calculators of the 'spice' series?

Well I'm getting a little smarter, thanks to you guys, if I want a furry-carry-case or a battery lid or other bits & pieces, then even if my focus point is HP-34C I can buy any of the other 4 models, for cheaper than a HP-34C if I want some spare parts.

I quickly notice on eBay that the financial/business models are all 'like new in the carton' and appear never used, with every last manual and pamphlet present .

COMPARE THAT to the ENGINEEERING calculator, the HP-34C with the vast majority of ENGINEERING specimens having been worked to pieces 'til the power switch is worn out and the whole thing covered in 1/8" of grungy house dust slime, the books used 'til the pages fell out and scattered to the 4 winds.

If the business calculators are all 'like new unused' with all the books unread, compared to the HP-34C specimens all pounded to dust, then what does that say about the business majors vs. the engineering majors ?????

:o)

      
Re: HP-33C HP-33E HP-34C HP-38C HP-38E Business vs. Engineering
Message #2 Posted by Michael F. Coyle on 23 Mar 2003, 8:04 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Norm

Norm writes:

I quickly notice on eBay that the financial/business models are all 'like new in the carton' and appear never used, with every last manual and pamphlet present. ...ENGINEERING specimens having been worked to pieces 'til the power switch is worn out and the whole thing covered in 1/8" of grungy house dust slime, the books used 'til the pages fell out and scattered to the 4 winds.

If the business calculators are all 'like new unused' with all the books unread, compared to the HP-34C specimens all pounded to dust, then what does that say about the business majors vs. the engineering majors ?????

Engineers don't clean their calculators? :)

- Michael

      
Spice_Man's Series
Message #3 Posted by Spice_Man on 23 Mar 2003, 8:26 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Norm

Also add to that list the 31E, 32E, and 37E.

Spicey

      
It says that...
Message #4 Posted by Jeremy on 23 Mar 2003, 9:28 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Norm

Business majors discovered only too late that they don't like or don't want to learn RPN.

They bought them, and without really getting into them too much, they said, that's right: "Where's the = key?"

Rather than take a few seconds to figure it out (like a mistaken engineer might) the business major returns it and gets a TI. (or algebraic hp)

I know, I know. Quite a shame.

-Jeremy

            
Re: It says that...
Message #5 Posted by Andrés C. Rodríguez (Argentina) on 24 Mar 2003, 6:19 a.m.,
in response to message #4 by Jeremy

While I am an engineering guy, I must point that your theory about business and RPN seems to be contradicted by the long life of the 12C (Oh, if 11C and 15C have lived so long...)

Except that we conclude that business people just buy them, and not use them at all, so not to learn RPN... (?)

                  
Re: It says that...
Message #6 Posted by R Lion on 24 Mar 2003, 9:24 a.m.,
in response to message #5 by Andrés C. Rodríguez (Argentina)

Oh, if 11C and 15C have lived so long...

I wish !!

Raul

                  
And also... (was: It says that...)
Message #7 Posted by Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil) on 24 Mar 2003, 9:34 a.m.,
in response to message #5 by Andrés C. Rodríguez (Argentina)

Hola, Andrés; como estás?

let's also point out one important fact: both HP17BII HP19BII offer RPN and Algebraic modes, user selectible. Except for the HP49G that explicitly does that, all other scientific are RPN, RPL or Algebraic. Even if dealling with algebraic expressions (the only way I believe a calculalor should do) the HP28 and HP48 series are RPL only.

So, business people have RPN as a choice in both HP19BII and HP17BII. And I have the original HP17B manual that comes with the HP17BII: the fornt cover shows a calculator without [x<>y], [Rv] and [ENTER] inscriptions. Also, an extra RPN guide comes with it, and this extra manual has the HP17BII image in its front cover. I understand that the HP17B did not have RPN; seems that businees communitiy complained about it. Is it correct?

Luiz C. Vieira - Brazil

                        
Re: And also... (was: It says that...)
Message #8 Posted by Chan Tran on 24 Mar 2003, 10:09 a.m.,
in response to message #7 by Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil)

I witnessed many finacial professional using the 12C. Yes they do use it.

                        
Re: And also... (was: It says that...)
Message #9 Posted by Scuba Diver on 26 Mar 2003, 9:19 p.m.,
in response to message #7 by Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil)

Luiz, did I read your post correctly?

Did early 17BIIs come with a 17B manual?

I've heard this before, but didn't believe it (I chalked it up to a very disorganised friend that had both calcs and just mixed the manuals up).

B.

                              
Re: And also... (was: It says that...)
Message #10 Posted by Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil) on 27 Mar 2003, 6:39 a.m.,
in response to message #9 by Scuba Diver

Hello, Scuba;

That's right. I have an HP17BII with a Spanish HP17B Owner's Manual (Manual del Proprietário, 1st. Ed., November 1987, printed in Germany) and an additional HP17BII "How to use RPN" (Cómo Usar la NPI, January 1990, 1st eddition). The calculator's serial # is ID042XXXX. When I bought the calcualtor last year, all was fresh new, sealled in a blister, manuals shrik-wrapped and with a strong smell of ink solvent (some pages even firmly closed to each other, fresh new, never before touched).

I cannot tell you anything about English versions.

Something that bothers me is that all HP financial calculators use (surely, of course) english inscriptions for financial terms, wherever they are sold. The menu-based multilingual ones (HP17B/BII, HP19B/BII) have their manuals for local languages written with translated terms. I sometimes feel confused when reading the HP19BII Portuguese version Owner's Manual because I got used to identify financial entities by their English "shorten" terms and they were all translated to Portuguese. When I get the HP17BII Spanish version things ar a bit worse, because Spanish is almost completely readable if you are a native Portuguese speaker, but some specific terms are not easily understood and may even give you a false idea.

Well, this is not the subject but illustrates one fact. Hope this clears your doubts, Scuba.

Best regards.

Luiz C. Vieira - Brazil

      
Re: HP-33C HP-33E HP-34C HP-38C HP-38E Business vs. Engineering
Message #11 Posted by David Smith on 24 Mar 2003, 4:14 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Norm

Be VERY careful buying ANY spice series machines... even for parts. They are by far the most problematic of any HP calculator. Broken battery contacts, broken battery ribbons, broken battery door latches, cracked screw posts, cracked cases, bad LED segments, bad internal contacts, corrosion, corroision, corrosion, and more corrosion.

            
could a person solder the chips
Message #12 Posted by Norm on 24 Mar 2003, 4:22 p.m.,
in response to message #11 by David Smith

then I got Lucky ... I have got the earliest version of the HP-34C where they did not even solder the chips to the board and it works great!

Even if they aren't considered reliable, they sure had pretty cosmetics.

Since there is no longer any factory to swap out the old board for a new one, well, dould a person take an unsoldered version all the way apart, SOLDER the chips down in the early version, and then put it all back together again?

Seems like a good way to get a malfunctioning one going again ?

      
Re: HP-33C HP-33E HP-34C HP-38C HP-38E Business vs. Engineering
Message #13 Posted by John K. (US) on 25 Mar 2003, 2:32 a.m.,
in response to message #1 by Norm

> If the business calculators are all 'like new unused' with all the books unread, compared to the HP-34C specimens all pounded to dust, then what does that say about the business majors vs. the engineering majors ?????

I think that it says more about where/how they are used, rather than how much they are used. Judging by my own usage patterns as well as those related by others who post here, I'd say that a scientific/engineering model is far more likely to be used in the field or on the factory floor, or carried by a student (i.e. places where they're likely to get banged around or dropped) than a business model. The latter tend to live in offices, briefcase pockets, and meeting rooms.

Just my US$0.02 worth. :^)


[ Return to Index | Top of Index ]

Go back to the main exhibit hall