17bii, 17bii+ and 30B, or "Why did the 30B die?"

[Dave Britten]

(08-02-2017 03:35 AM)Zac Bruce Wrote:  I'm looking for some insight as to whether there were any functional differences between the 17bii and the 17bii+, aside from the solver (LET GET) which I am already aware of. Looking through the manuals there seems to be little if any difference. I have noticed some loss of functionality coming from the 19B however.

I believe the only two notable differences are the inclusion of more memory (32 KB vs. 8 KB), and the currency conversion function also seen in the 19B/19BII. So nothing significant. If you want a big upgrade over the 17BII, pick up a 95LX. The combination of a big-screen 19BII (I think it might be lacking one or two features from the "real thing") and Lotus 1-2-3 is outstanding for finance.

(08-02-2017 06:03 AM)JimP Wrote:  The HP 27S, if you can find one, is an intriguing machine that does much, probably more, of what the 10BII+ does -- its a 'do everything' machine, but also has that 7K solver capability. Plenty of scientific functions plus TVM all built in. No bond calculations, or Black-Scholes, but that's doable with the solver.

The 27S is great; I carry one around with me daily. I needed something that could record a few separate lists of numbers (medical data) throughout the day, and I figured I might as well get a calculator that has the same solver, TVM, and amorts as the 17BII, but also scientific functions, stats, probability, binary/base conversions (I'm probably the only CS major here that cares about financial calcs), etc. The only downside is that it's algebraic.

(08-02-2017 12:14 PM)Zac Bruce Wrote:  This problem with the keyboards; I thought that the 30B's were a big improvement over the 20B's? And if I buy a new 30B from a retailer, is this something that is going to show itself straight away, or do they deteriorate over time? I'd hate to think I'd throw down $75 on a calculator that is going to end up junk in a short period of time. Actually I'm still pretty upset about the $30 I spent on the 300s+ which was junk when it came out of the packaging...

I bought a 30b for conversion to a 34S, and the one thing holding me back from using it regularly is that the keyboard is just awful, even right out of the package. At least two keys often fail to respond unless pressed with substantially more force. It's a neat toy, but it's just not trustworthy.