Your best deals

[Garth Wilson]

I don't know why the bulleted list feature isn't working for me, so I'll just separate the points as paragraphs.

I started with a TI-58c in Dec '81. My programs quickly outgrew its memory size; but an old radio amateur had a TI-59 and printer and three extra modules and a few solutions books which he said were more than he needed, so he offered to trade all that for my 58c plus $100. Obviously I couldn't resist.

When I got my HP-41cx in 1986 from EduCalc, the Advantage module was being given away with it, free, so I got that.

When EduCalc was closing out the ZENROM module, they offered it for $25. Got it.

My 41cx was being used at my employer all the time for controlling an automated production test set-up, so the boss offered to buy it off me and suggested I take the opportunity to move up; so I sold him the 41cx for what I paid, and got myself a 71B. Years later when they were no longer using the 41cx, I offered to buy it back, and the boss said, "We don't need it anymore. Just take it."

Some years later, someone said he had a HP-75 he had no use for, and offered to just give it to me. I don't think I even had to pay shipping.

The same man told me where I could get another HP-71B for $25, absolutely brand new. This was obviously before eBay, but long after the 71 was out of production. I thought it wouldn't hurt to have a backup, so I got it. Even the lexan overlay smelled brand new.

At an electronics surplus store, I found an HP82161A digital microcassette drive for something like $25, used, which had the stickers from what was apparently one of the local aerospace companies. I grabbed that too.

A friend had the HP92198 80-column HPIL video interface and said he didn't need it anymore, so he gave me that, free, along with the Zenith monochrome monitor. The interface today goes for $600-$700 on eBay.

I got a card reader for the 41 for $60 on eBay, recently reconditioned. I just wanted it for the shell to install the MLDL2000 or something like that, but I never did that. I now have a Clonix-D from Diego instead.

Someone on this forum gave me a bar-code wand for the 41, free, including shipping. I don't know if he wants to be named, but he knows who he is. Thankyou again!