HP 32SII success and woes

[Sanjeev Visvanatha]

I acquired an almost new looking 32SII today. That is where my celebrating stops.

It did not have batteries, but I was assured that the self test passed.

I put in new batteries when I got home and powered it up. It says "memory clear", and after dismissing the message with ON key, I get what appears to be some gibberish on the screen:

   

The keyboard is unresponsive, the shift annunciators flash when the corresponding shift key is pressed. Funnily, the self test described in the Owner's Manual passes, and ends with "32SII - OK".

There is no way to turn off the calculator, since it does not respond to the OFF command from the keyboard.

I had a closer look at the battery compartment, and there is one funny little thing going on there. On one of my other Pioneers, there is a small metallic plate covering the top centre PCB twist clip. On this 32SII, that plate is missing. I am not sure what its function is on my other Pioneer. See photos showing the difference.

       

Does the gibberish on the screen mean anything to anybody? I could not see it as part of the error codes in the manual. Also, I cannot see any indications that the unit was opened up in the past.

Is this fixable, or is it a parts machine now? Thank you for any insight!