HP Forum Archive 16

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Interesting auction Message #1 Posted by Michael Eckstein on 10 Oct 2006, 4:35 p.m. But auction was ended early ...

Re: Interesting auction Message #2 Posted by Namir on 10 Oct 2006, 9:51 p.m., in response to message #1 by Michael Eckstein Am I missing something about the auction? What makes it interesting?? I don't see anything special about the description or the opening bid price. Namir Edited: 10 Oct 2006, 9:52 p.m.

Re: Interesting auction Message #3 Posted by Paul Dale on 10 Oct 2006, 9:54 p.m., in response to message #2 by Namir The TI case perhaps? - Pauli

Re: Interesting auction Message #4 Posted by Han on 10 Oct 2006, 10:19 p.m., in response to message #3 by Paul Dale Aha... like Namir I was having trouble figuring out what exactly was so interesting. So very interesting indeed. =)

Re: Interesting auction Message #5 Posted by Namir on 11 Oct 2006, 12:56 a.m., in response to message #3 by Paul Dale I never saw the images associated with the auction. I will take others' word for it. Namir

Re: Interesting auction Message #6 Posted by Greg Whitfield on 10 Oct 2006, 10:55 p.m., in response to message #1 by Michael Eckstein The case in this auction looks like the one I have for the Texas Instruments SR-11, my very first calculator. I received it as a birthday present from my parents in 1975. I no longer have the original calculator (I took it apart when it quit working around 1977), but I did purchase another one last year for sentimental reasons and that's what the case looks like. -Greg

Re: Interesting auction Message #7 Posted by Massimo Gnerucci (Italy) on 11 Oct 2006, 12:09 a.m., in response to message #1 by Michael Eckstein Yeah Michael, I was keeping an eye on it too but... probably someone got it with a direct offer to the seller. Shame on our fellows though! Beauty is in the eye of the beHOLdEr. ;-) Greetings, Massimo

Re: Interesting auction Message #8 Posted by Ron (another beHOLdEr) on 11 Oct 2006, 10:06 a.m., in response to message #7 by Massimo Gnerucci (Italy) Did y'all see National Treasure? Remember the part where the young guy reminded the others about the origins of daylight savings time? That's me, now. I am the least of all collectors in this community, and I knew right away what was interesting. If it was an interesting 35, my first thought was of a red dot... So this is what y'all feel like all the time, huh? :^) What I also found interesting though, is the wear in the area of the on/off switch. I wonder if someone (not the obviously unknowing seller) manufactured a red dot from a non-dot. I realize the on/off switch naturally gets a lot of wear - This one just looks a little excessive. I would have taken a low$ chance on it, myself; but is there another way to know for sure? Other opinions on the amount of wear?

Re: Interesting auction Message #9 Posted by Jeff O. on 11 Oct 2006, 2:11 p.m., in response to message #8 by Ron (another beHOLdEr) The wear does not look that unusual to me, but that may just indicate that I am easily fooled. However, if you were going to fabricate a red-dot by drilling the hole, it seems like the last thing you'd want to do would be to draw attention to the area by adding fake wear. The unit does have the serial number label in the correct place between the two lower feet. According to A Guide to HP Handheld Calculators and Computers by W. A. C. Mier-Jedrzejowicz, the serial number label was moved into the battery compartment when the first version 2 (non-red-dot) units were produced. The format of the serial number itself also looks authentic, i.e. the 5 numbers after the printed "1143A" appear to be stamped on in figures about 1 mm high, and the first number looks like a 0. The back label with the instructions appears undamaged, but I do not believe that it is the label that originally came on the unit. As near as I have been able to determine, the original back label on red-dot units (and on at least some version 2 units, mine included) say "HP-35 INSTRUCTIONS" on top, not “HEWLETT*PACKARD HP-35 INSTRUCTIONS”, and MADE IN USA PATENT PENDING 3.75 V 500 MW is not shown on the bottom of the original label. That doesn’t mean that I think this particular unit is a fake, however. I think it just means that it was sent back to the factory to fix the bugs, and HP replaced the original label with a new one of the latter style. Regarding the auction and why it ended early, perhaps the seller figured out that the unit was special and took it off to re-list it with a better description (and a higher starting bid). Of course, it is possible that somebody offered him/her $100 for the unit and he/she accepted, not knowing the true value.

Re: Interesting auction Message #10 Posted by Tom Lianza on 11 Oct 2006, 2:14 a.m., in response to message #1 by Michael Eckstein The calculator is an HP35 "red dot". It is very rare and it contains all the original bugs that came with the first generation hp35. That is what is interesting about the auction...

Re: Interesting auction Message #11 Posted by Namir on 11 Oct 2006, 2:20 a.m., in response to message #10 by Tom Lianza Are you the owner of that machine? The auction text does not mention the "red dot" feature. Namir

Re: Interesting auction Message #12 Posted by Pascal on 12 Oct 2006, 6:48 a.m., in response to message #1 by Michael Eckstein Maybe it was Coburlin who asked the seller, as he usually does, "how much for a buy-it-now price" and he sold it to him for $50 ! Bad joke, sorry .. Edited: 12 Oct 2006, 6:48 a.m.

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