What has been the most you ever paid for a calculator?

[Don Williams]

Interesting question. I couldn't rely on memory so I had to go look it up in my provenance records.
Restricted to handheld calculators - not handheld computers or desktops.

$375.00 USD for an HP 94E - purchase circa 2006

close second

$325.00 USD for an HP Expander _ approximately same time frame

Both probably scarce or unattainable now.

[HP-Collection]

Definitivly my HP95C in 2016.

[rprosperi]

(04-05-2019 08:17 AM)HP-Collection Wrote:  Definitivly my HP95C in 2016.

Show off! Lol....

[Xorand]

A tie between the first and last new calculators I've purchased - US $150.

1976 - Texas Instruments SR-51A
2017 - HP Prime

I no longer have the original TI, but recently found a pristine one on eBay, restored the battery pack and it works great.

I kept the Prime for a year or two but sold it. I just couldn't read the orange lettering on the thing, so it was fairly annoying to use. It felt like cheating writing stuff in the emulator on my PC and downloading it to the device.

[lrdheat]

>$400 for hp 67 in 1976. Took out a loan if I remember correctly! Wish I still had it...a beautiful instrument!

[grsbanks]

(04-05-2019 01:46 AM)BarryMead Wrote:  In 1972 I bought the original HP-35 for around $400.00 US. When they offered to upgrade the firmware for free, I could not part with it during the school year, so by the time summer came around the free firmware upgrade offer had expired and I had to pay an additional $135.00 to have the firmware upgraded getting rid of the exp(ln(2.02)) bug. So the total cost was about $535.00

Mine still has that bug.

With so many of them having had the firmware update back in the early '70s, I wonder if the existence of that bug in a 35 nowadays actually adds to its value?

[rprosperi]

(04-07-2019 01:11 PM)grsbanks Wrote:  

(04-05-2019 01:46 AM)BarryMead Wrote:  In 1972 I bought the original HP-35 for around $400.00 US. When they offered to upgrade the firmware for free, I could not part with it during the school year, so by the time summer came around the free firmware upgrade offer had expired and I had to pay an additional $135.00 to have the firmware upgraded getting rid of the exp(ln(2.02)) bug. So the total cost was about $535.00

Mine still has that bug.

With so many of them having had the firmware update back in the early '70s, I wonder if the existence of that bug in a 35 nowadays actually adds to its value?

Absolutely YES!

It isn't logical that a known-defective machine is better, and arguably can be defended as these are theoretically more rare than fixed ones, but it makes perfect sense that they're worth more to an HP collector as this little bug embodies so much of what makes these machines so treasured: vintage, algorithms, candidate for a free bug fix from HP, etc. I still want one to augment my other 35 that does not have the bug...

[DA74254]

Bought my first "expensive" HP (28s) in 1992 and paid NOK 900,- second hand. (US$110-ish)
I paid NOK 2.159,- (US$270-ish) when it was released in 2003.
Then the Primes G1 and G2, both abt €150-ish (incl shipping) in 2013 and 2018 respectively)
And the DM 42 for CHF 208,- incl shipping in 2017.

[badaze]

Sharp PC 1500A. Bought 2.000 French Francs in 1984 nowadays 600€ !
Recently. DM 42 and HP 41CX more or less 200€ each.

[freelanzr]

After Shipping & Tax:
$261 DM42

Others > $100:
$208 (used) HP-42S
$164 TI-89 Ti
$156 HP 48G
$150 TI-nspire CX CAS
$149 (used) HP-32SII
$148 (used) HP-48SX
$129 (used) HP-32S
$127 HP Prime
$105 HP 50g
$105 (used) HP-28S

[toml_12953]

(04-07-2019 01:11 PM)grsbanks Wrote:  Mine still has that bug.

With so many of them having had the firmware update back in the early '70s, I wonder if the existence of that bug in a 35 nowadays actually adds to its value?

It certainly does! You're sitting on a goldmine! I've seen them go for $1500.00 locally. I've never seen one on TAS so I can't say what they're going for in the broader market.

[TheKaneB]

130 Euro for a brand new HP Prime from the very first batches.
The best value I think was a "broken" 15C for 20 Euro, which I "repaired" by changing its 30 years old batteries with fresh ones

[grsbanks]

I think the most I must have paid is around €300 for a 41CV with a card reader, a bunch of modules and books in a private sale from a guy in Sweden.

Next must be US$180 for a blue HP 50g in Tim Wessman's pre-relocation clearance sale

[RNav]

1987... HP 28C for EE Circuit Analysis... I was blown away by the capability of solving Matrix Algebra with Complex Numbers... $200
1988... HP 28S... I was addicted to power... $200
1990... HP 48SX... Kicked off grad school... $350

Just ordered a DM42... $215 shipped

[Gilles]

For sure it was my HP48SX in 1990 when I resumed my engineering studies. I dont remenber the exact price but it was something like ~ 400€, perhaps more :O

in 1982, I purchased a Casio FX602P for ~150€ to replace my FX502P. I was student and remenber i worked in the summer to have the money for it. So I remember _exactly_ the price : 990.Francs ;D

This two units works perfectly well so many years after
But the HP48SX is now much slower than it was in my memory ;D

[Willy R. Kunz]

1700 Swiss francs on June 12, 1973, for an HP-35. That's almost exactly $3000 of today's dollars. The price included a special rebate offered to students of ETH Zurich. (And no, I didn't have the money, but that's another story.)

[grsbanks]

(04-15-2019 01:03 PM)grsbanks Wrote:  I think the most I must have paid is around €300 for a 41CV with a card reader, a bunch of modules and books in a private sale from a guy in Sweden.

That 41CV is definitely the most expensive calculator in my collection now because it received a brain transplant a few weeks ago. About €450 later (cost of the board plus import duty) it is now a 41CL.

[coitboy2000]

I just beat my record. Just paid AU$500 for a mint HP-71b in box with quick start guide, ref & owners manuals, 3 spare port covers, 5 overlays, HP-IL module, 3 x CMT 64k Eproms, 4k Module and 2 HP-IL cables.

I am in so much trouble at home.

Richard

[rprosperi]

(07-08-2019 10:39 AM)coitboy2000 Wrote:  I just beat my record. Just paid AU$500 for a mint HP-71b in box with quick start guide, ref & owners manuals, 3 spare port covers, 5 overlays, HP-IL module, 3 x CMT 64k Eproms, 4k Module and 2 HP-IL cables.

I am in so much trouble at home.

Richard

Very nice!! And what's a little matter of divorce in the light of acquiring a complete 71B system with all the trimmings?

More seriously, what are the overlays for and what's on the EPROMS? Perhaps some are previously unknown and if so, hopefully could be shared with the community?

Do you have PIL-Box? Just holler if you need help or advice of exploring or extracting the files, etc.

And welcome to the Titan club!

[coitboy2000]

Alas the cmt roms are the same three AMP roms already on the way to Sylvain to flash with something more useful.

https://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-13...#pid117715

I havent got this HP-71b yet but if they are any different to the previous roms I posted I will happily share them on the forum.

I may need to sell one of my 71b's now. No one needs three right ?

Richard

(07-08-2019 01:25 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  

(07-08-2019 10:39 AM)coitboy2000 Wrote:  I just beat my record. Just paid AU$500 for a mint HP-71b in box with quick start guide, ref & owners manuals, 3 spare port covers, 5 overlays, HP-IL module, 3 x CMT 64k Eproms, 4k Module and 2 HP-IL cables.

I am in so much trouble at home.

Richard

Very nice!! And what's a little matter of divorce in the light of acquiring a complete 71B system with all the trimmings?

More seriously, what are the overlays for and what's on the EPROMS? Perhaps some are previously unknown and if so, hopefully could be shared with the community?

Do you have PIL-Box? Just holler if you need help or advice of exploring or extracting the files, etc.

And welcome to the Titan club!