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My HP story

Posted by Howard on 28 Mar 2003, 6:41 a.m.

In 1975 I was a Shift Operator at at a powerhouse. It was a real easy job. I had never finished high school but was earning the equivilent of an engineer with about 15 years experience. I had a lot of time on my hands and I started to study the subjects I had not done before. I was very interested in mathematics but in the end I studied to matriculate as a mature student. In the end I studied law and became a barrister. I now am a lawyer for the Aboriginal Legal Service here in Brisbane Australia. Anyway, when I was studying mathematics I purchased a HP32E (it was the only HP they had). I immediately fell in love with RPN. It seemed so natural. In fact I didn't have to learn it. It was so easy. The 32E got lost in my divorce. But I still had the passion for HP calcutalors. A lot of water passed under the bridge. I didn't study any more maths. I'm 59 and at my age you get nostalgic for your youth. I discovered Ebay and purchased a couple of HPs. I have quite a collection now. HP67 HP65 HP32SII HP42S HP45 HP33C HP34C HP41CX - Advantage pac, Finance pac, Maths I pac, card reader HP41CV HP19BII HP12C HP48S HP30S. The card reader for HP41 but it is defective and I'm looking in to fixing it.

The HP67's card reader has a problem but I'm working on it.

My main problem now is that my calculators are much smarter than I am. I do not understand some of the functions - matrices, complex numbers etc. So now I have had to buy a mathematics book to understand my calculators.

There is something of a reverse situation here - most people buy a calculator to do the maths that they already know, I'm studying maths to use the calculators the I already have. Anyway I don't care it is a great interest.

By the way the book I eventually purchased was; Mathematics: From the birth of numbers by Jan Gullberg. It seems to cover all subjects but not in boring depth.

I recently got the handbook for the HP41CX and all the pacs. There is no doubt that the newer HPs can do all the things that my 41CX can do (and much fastr) but I find that the fact that the 41CX could do these things in the 70's is fantastic. I'm just overawed by the technology. The 41 is a lot easier to use than the later calculators. I would say without a doubt the the 41 with my packs is the best of all the HP calculators. Another thing, apart from the 41cx, the led HPs are much better than the later models. I get sort of goose bumps when I use my 33C, 45, 67 & 65. That technology was great and strangely, because the advance in technology has made them redundant, they hold even greater interest for me. All the best, Howard W Jones.

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