Tim Wessman Relocating Away from Fort Collins

[Leviset]

Tim,
Wish you and your family a peaceful transition.
I had to retire early in 2004, just 55, due to this bloody RA I’ve suffered from since 1996. As a Pure Mathematician I worked (both as a Contractor and a permanent employee) in IT starting programming in 1979 on an HP-97, then in the vanguard of the PC Revolution in 81/82.
Where I worked initially had an ancient Sperry/Univac Mainframe (with people in white Lab coats) and an environment where not even the Managing Director’s pass got him into the Computer Room (Old School). This was a subsidiary of Rugby Portland Cement, the Mainframe was based in London but I worked in the Head Office based in Lichfield, Staffs.
Someone had bought a Commodore Pet (to use with VisiCalc) and 5 HP-97s to try and localise IT. I thought back then (and still do) that these HP-97s were awesome.
I was part of the PC Revolution from 1981-86 moving and re-writing of the Mainframe software, closing down the Mainframe in London for good. An Old School Finance Director arrived in 1985 who immediately shut down all the hard PC work and systems, replacing them with an IBM System 38.
This new guy was a total control freak - I detested him from the moment I saw and met him. I managed to get 14 years of redundancy before ‘leaving’. There was a good outcome though as I dipped my toe for 6 years into the highly paid Contract work of the late 80s - I literally was earning 5X more than when I was a permanent employee
I think there may still be 4 unused HP-97s sitting in a cupboard; I have tried to write to them and buy one but I get no reply - I understand he may have blacklisted me before he retired.

I joined HPCC 3 years ago so I’m very new - never managed to get to meet any of you guys due to the RA; neither have I managed to get to the London to sign an ancient Member’s Book after I was made an Ordinary Member for some work I submitted about ‘The Sound of Lithium’.

So I’ve been looking for an HP-97 for nearly 3 years. I did get one briefly but nobody could get it to power up. I sent it to Spain (guy called Ignacio Sánchez) but he couldn’t fix it either - so I donated it to The University of Valencia Nuseum.
So I still need to get a reasonable priced HP-97, HP-42S and an HP-35.
Thanks
Dennis