HP Forum Archive 15

[ Return to Index | Top of Index ]

NEW HP 20S ? Message #1 Posted by Walter B on 24 July 2005, 1:23 a.m. Perhaps I missed something. Please look at this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5792137082&category=58039&rd=1 Until now, I thought the only Pioneer with this colour scheme was the late HP 32SII. Does anyone of you know the production dates of these HP 20S? Thanks in advance!

Re: NEW HP 20S ? Message #2 Posted by Karl Schneider on 24 July 2005, 2:23 a.m., in response to message #1 by Walter B Walter -- That's what I believed, also. I'd guess that it's a warranty-replacement unit made in Indonesia (ID). I have an ID 20S with the yellow-and-blue scheme made in 1997. My co-worker has an ID 32SII (yellow-and-blue) made in 1998; my ID 32SII (green-and-lavender) is from 2001. So, sometime between 1998 and 2001, HP made the decision to abandon the sensible colors on the 20S and 32SII in pursuit of trendiness and maybe lower production costs. -- KS

Re: NEW HP 20S ? Message #3 Posted by Julian Miranda (Spain) on 25 July 2005, 2:44 p.m., in response to message #1 by Walter B I don't know in the USA, in Europe you could buy one new at the stores.

Re: NEW HP 20S ? Message #4 Posted by Norris on 26 July 2005, 1:47 a.m., in response to message #3 by Julian Miranda (Spain) The collection at www.rskey.org shows two types of 32SII. The older type (brown bezel, yellow/blue labels) is dated 1991-1999. The newer type (silver bezel, teal/lavender labels) is dated 1999-2002. If rskey is correct, then the 32SII was redesigned in 1999. This is consistent with my old-style 32SII, which is dated mid-1998. The redesign may have coincided with a packaging change in the US, from cardboard boxes to clear blister packs. The 20S was apparently redesigned at about this time as well. The 20S underwent the same change in label colors (though the bezel stayed black). I have a 20S with teal/lavender labels dated mid-2001. Curiously, the 20S owner's manual apparently did not get updated to reflect the new color scheme. The front cover of the manual that came with my teal/lavender 20S shows a model with yellow/blue labels, and the text inside explicitly refers to the yellow/blue labels. The manual is Edition 6, dated 11/94. I can compare the two 20S color schemes by placing the calculator and the manual side by side. The yellow/blue scheme appears to be much superior.

Re: NEW HP 20S ? Message #5 Posted by Frank K on 26 July 2005, 8:43 a.m., in response to message #4 by Norris Yes, somehow, HP forgot these legends needed to be clearly seen rather than just an aestetic accent color, happened on the 10B also with the change from gold to green legends on the black background.

Re: NEW HP 20S ? Message #6 Posted by Hugh Evans on 26 July 2005, 8:48 a.m., in response to message #4 by Norris From an optical standpoint the blue and yellow color scheme is superior for only one reason: whoever selected them obviously did their homework on LAB colors and how to properly use the system. I'm planning to write a short article about color selection for the OpenRPN site. The later scheme could have worked just as well had higher luminance values been selected. Here is the set from OpenRPN. Blue and yellow-orange will be the standard colors. Green may be used for alpha labels. Various combinations could be selected for color visual impairments as well.

[ Return to Index | Top of Index ]

Go back to the main exhibit hall