Manuals for the WP34S / WP31S - Printable Version

Manuals for the WP34S / WP31S - Printable Version

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Manuals for the WP34S / WP31S - Didier Lachieze - 05-26-2021 04:55 PM

As a follow-up from this discussion on the SwissMicros forum here is an history of the different manual versions that I've tried to summarize here, I may have missed some and/or have wrongly captured the different versions details.

Please see the Project page for up-to-date information.

Q: Where can I find a user’s manual for the WP 34s / WP 31s?
The User’s Manual for the WP 34s / 31s is the work of Walter Bonin. This is the main reference for each of these two calculators and includes a huge amount of information covering all aspects of the products (software and hardware). This is the first stop if you have any question related to the WP 34s/31s.

WP 34s:
A pdf manual is available on Sourceforge for firmware v2.2 and v3.1 (here).
Starting with v3.2 the manual moved to a printed version and is not available freely in electronic format.
An electronic version of the manual is available for a ≥ 9 US$ donation on the Project page.
The electronic version I got in 2015 is: v3.3 - 339 pages - April 11, 2015. I don't have details about the electronic version currently available.

There have been different formats for the different versions, driven by the book shops where the manual were printed:

v3.2 was available as a print-on-demand large footprint
v3.3 was initially offered as a spiral bound A5 format. There were two batches with some slight changes in-between.
v3.3 is now offered as a print-on-demand book at the same supplier as v3.2 but with a reduced footprint.

For the WP 34S, the printed editions had/have:

244 pages (v3.2 large footprint – 8.55”x11”)
370 pages (v3.3 spiral bound batch 1 – A5) - Jun 6 2014
374 pages (v3.3 spiral bound batch 2 – A5) - Sept 9 2014
344 pages (v3.3 perfect bound – 6” x 9”) – Feb 11 2015 - Edition: 3rd revised edition
404 pages (v3.3 perfect bound – 6” x 9”) – Jun 11 2016 - Edition: 4
410 pages (v3.3d perfect bound – 6” x 9”) – Oct 15 2018 - Edition: 4 - see the Project page for a link to the order page

WP 31s:
A preliminary manual for the WP 31s v1.2 is available in pdf format on Sourceforge here.
The final WP 31s v1.2 manual is available as a printed book. There was an initial batch printed as a spiral bound A5 format, it’s now offered as a print-on-demand book at the same supplier as WP 34s v3.3. It had/has:

143 pages (v1.2 spiral bound – A5 )
150 pages (v1.2 perfect bound – 6” x 9”) Dec 11 2014 - see the Project page for a link to the order page

RE: Manuals for the WP34S / WP31S - Eric Rechlin - 05-27-2021 03:03 PM

I have two additional versions with different bindings that you don't have listed.

I have the 150-page 31S manual version 1.2, but it has a wire binding rather than a perfect binding, and is printed on A5-sized paper. It is dated with the addresses verified on 2014-07-04, and says to be for build 3671.

I have the 370-page 34S manual version 3.3, but it has a wire binding rather than a spiral binding, and is printed on A5-sized paper. It is dated with the addresses verified on "10.4.2014" (I'm assuming that means 10 April 2014 but I suppose it could also mean October 4, 2014), and says to be for build 3666.

I don't recall where or when exactly I purchased these.

RE: Manuals for the WP34S / WP31S - Didier Lachieze - 05-27-2021 04:19 PM

(05-27-2021 03:03 PM)Eric Rechlin Wrote: I have two additional versions with different bindings that you don't have listed.

I took the "spiral bound" description from Walter here. But I think it's the same as what you call wire binding. Here is my WP34S 370 pages (v3.3 spiral bound batch 1 – A5) manual:

So I may need to change "spiral bound" to "wire bound" if it's the correct terminology.

For the WP31S manual, please look to this post and check the picture. Is it the same binding as yours but with a different number of pages?

RE: Manuals for the WP34S / WP31S - Eric Rechlin - 05-27-2021 04:50 PM

Yes, mine looks just like the one in the photo but has 150 pages instead of 143. And yes, it appears he is incorrectly using the term "spiral binding" for wire bindings (also known as twin loop), when actually they are quite different. Spiral bindings can be wire or plastic, but the pictured books are not spiral bound -- they are more similar to comb bindings in how they attach, as there is no spiral.

Perhaps my books are the same as the ones you listed, just the listings were incorrect.