HP 12c Platinum 25th Anniversary Limited Edition Hardwood Box Set

[HP-12C]

Hi

I saw this on another website, has anyone ever heard of this story before and can confirm if it is true?

thank you

Rare HP 12c Platinum 25th Anniversary Limited Edition Hardwood Box Set. Fewer than 20 of these were made in 2006 for internal promotion of the 25th anniversary of the HP 12C Platinum. Hardware box is felt-lined with a drawer; beneath the drawer are the manual and carrying case (see photos)

   

   

   

[rprosperi]

Looks legit to me, but only HP employees at the time would know for sure.

I want one. Of course!

[kmidson]

I just had to open an new account as my old login didn't work ...
This display box looks similar to one that i've had for years:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/keithmidso...586986282/

This sits proudly on my bookcase in my office (i've also got a glass display case of the best of my collection in the office as well).
Cheers,
Keith

[johnb]

Wow, I've never seen a Voyager in that odd blue livery!
Looks like a piece of hospital equipment.

What's the story behind that?

[HP-12C]

(10-13-2023 03:13 PM)johnb Wrote:  Wow, I've never seen a Voyager in that odd blue livery!
Looks like a piece of hospital equipment.

What's the story behind that?

As I understand it a few blue prototype managed to get out of the factory, very rare.

[kmidson]

(10-13-2023 08:22 PM)HP-12C Wrote:  [quote='johnb' pid='178493' dateline='1697209982']
Wow, I've never seen a Voyager in that odd blue livery!
Looks like a piece of hospital equipment.

What's the story behind that?

As I understand it some HP employees decided to experiment with some blue dye one day and produced at least three of these 12C's. They weren't considered prototypes or even something that was being considered for production, just an experiment. I ended up with one of them, which I obtained from a retired HP employee. I was told that one was destroyed or lost and the other is probably out there in the back of a desk drawer somewhere!

[aidanjbradley]

I just got hold of a mint 12C platinum that has a dark blue case, s/n CN32123958. single 2032
Are they really that rare?

[rprosperi]

(08-13-2024 03:25 AM)aidanjbradley Wrote:  I just got hold of a mint 12C platinum that has a dark blue case, s/n CN32123958. single 2032
Are they really that rare?

Do you mean the plastic portion of the device itself or the soft "leather" case? Either way, I don't think any cases are actually blue, though it could look that way in certain lighting conditions. If definitely blue, please post some photos, it would be quite interesting to see.

[aidanjbradley]

Hi Bob, yes it's actually blue!
I have 20 of the Voyager series which, apart from this oddball are either brown or black.
to eliminate color rendition variability I took side-by-side pix of all three in natural light.

[rprosperi]

Frustratingly, the image is not visible, at least not to me (using Firefox on Windows).

[Thomas Klemm]

---

(08-13-2024 09:25 PM)aidanjbradley Wrote:  

Code:

[img]http://https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1a7m00vsjrge1uwvfgsp4/IMG_6353.JPG?rlkey=sd2h0yja3s63hm8h1mx88lvj0&dl=0[/img]

Such links to dropbox don't appear to work, even when the proper URL is used.

---

When using the [img]-button, the protocol http:// is already put in the input field.
This leads to errors like this since people are not aware to replace it.
If possible, I suggest to remove it.
Furthermore, it should be https:// nowadays.

---

FYI: I've used Imgur Image Uploader to upload the image.

[RPNerd]

(08-14-2024 02:04 AM)rprosperi Wrote:  Frustratingly, the image is not visible, at least not to me (using Firefox on Windows).

That's because it's served over HTTP and not HTTPS. No self-respecting browser will go fetch content that is not served over a secure connection from a page that is.

[rprosperi]

Thanks Thomas!

Upon seeing these machines, I can say that I do in fact recognize the blueish-black case, though don't recall from where or when. I will look through my 12CP's to see if I own one and then compare dates, maybe HP ran them in this off-color for a while for some strange reason, or more likely, the contracted mfr ran a block of these due to supply issues and no one from HP noticed until they had shipped.

[aidanjbradley]

I looked at some other 12C platinums I have and found another blue one, so I don't think they're rare.
Thomas - thanks for the steer on proper image protocols.

[AnnoyedOne]

(08-14-2024 03:43 PM)aidanjbradley Wrote:  I looked at some other 12C platinums I have and found another blue one...

The image Thomas Klemm posted above looks dark blue on my screen. The same colour as the three HP-12C's that kmidson mentioned?

As an (ex) engineer I'm more of a function over form person. However this is interesting.

I wonder if all were made in the same factory (e.g. in China). I know from first hand experience that some "cut corners" to save costs etc. At one company I worked at we watched an online presentation about how to detect/counter such stuff. And that was over a decade ago.

[Ren]

I see differences between the boxes that HP-12C and kmidson posted.
Kmidson's has a brass tag on the top, the other is laser inscribed.
Kmidson's does not show the brass pulls the other one has.
Considering that laser cutter/etchers are readily available, and that a decent cabinet maker could produce a nice wooden box...
I see yellow flags waving!
Sincerely,
Ren

[Thomas Klemm]

(08-14-2024 09:34 AM)RPNerd Wrote:  That's because it's served over HTTP and not HTTPS.

Just look at the start of the URL: http://https://www.dropbox.com/...

---

The proper URL works for me: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1a7m00vsj...8lvj0&dl=0

But this is not an URL to an image.
If I open this image in a new tab, I get a very long cryptic URL:

But now we run into the well known problem of MyBB with long URLs.

As a workaround an URL shortener like tinyurl can be used:


Unfortunately these links become invalid after some time.

---

So, I don't really have a good solution.
What I can recommend though is to reduce the size of the image (e.g. here to 500x375 or 400x300), use 72dpi and upload the image as an attachment.

[rprosperi]

After digging out a handful of 12CPs, I think it may be as simple as this:

Initial versions (2) of the 12CP had a silver bezel, and this was on a blue/black plastic body. (HP was going for the Gold and Silver look for the pair of finance models)

Then the 25th Anniv Ed 12CP edition came out and the bezel was changed to solid black, and the plastic body color was changed to a solid black, to match the face. This black on black has been used ever since.

Does anyone have a 12CP that doesn't follow one of the above simple color schemes?

The 12C's that Keith Midson owns are not related to these normal production color schemes, those are units that were internal prototype and test shots with different color plastics for various reasons such as checking mold release, stress cracks, etc. though I've told it was also kinda cool to make colored shells.

[aidanjbradley]

Thanks for digging this up - makes sense to me!

[KimH]

Regarding the original picture and the wooden box

I have one just like that in the picture. Got it from a friend who was given it as he had been a key contributor on some project for the calculator team. Not sure how many were made, but very few…