The Magic behind V'Ger...The HPs Voyagers

[Matt Agajanian]

Hi all.

A while ago, there was a thread at the old forum about why the HP Voyager series was so aestethically pleasing. We concluded that the key to their appeal was because the form factor had proportions akin to the Golden Ratio. Was this design sizing intentional?

[Raymond Del Tondo]

(04-24-2014 06:36 PM)Matt Agajanian Wrote:  .." V'Ger"..

Don't confuse V'ger with Voyager, as "V'ger" was associated with the FHB/Bluebutt/Rubber Duck at some time during development;-)

[Matt Agajanian]

(04-24-2014 07:41 PM)Raymond Del Tondo Wrote:  

(04-24-2014 06:36 PM)Matt Agajanian Wrote:  .." V'Ger"..

Don't confuse V'ger with Voyager, as "V'ger" was associated with the FHB/Bluebutt/Rubber Duck at some time during development;-)

Actually, Trekkie that I am, I was referring to the movie featuring The Flying Toupee crew of the Enterprise. We all know Shatner wears a rug. Don't we?

[Thomas Klemm]

(04-24-2014 07:41 PM)Raymond Del Tondo Wrote:  FHB

Always makes me chuckle. Do you happen to know who came up with that?

Cheers
Thomas

[Raymond Del Tondo]

(04-24-2014 08:00 PM)Thomas Klemm Wrote:  

(04-24-2014 07:41 PM)Raymond Del Tondo Wrote:  FHB

Always makes me chuckle. Do you happen to know who came up with that?

Cheers
Thomas

Hi Thomas,

not exactly, but I think it was TinyWanda, a frequent comp.sys.hp48 contributor at that time.
A quick goo search confirmed it. He was one of those who brought color and life into c.s.hp48, had exciting ideas and often commented in a somewhat bracing manner:-)

Cheers

[Jake Schwartz]

Quote:Do you happen to know who came up with that? ("FHB")

I think Gene oughta chime in here.....I believe it was him.

Jake

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

(04-24-2014 08:00 PM)Thomas Klemm Wrote:  

(04-24-2014 07:41 PM)Raymond Del Tondo Wrote:  FHB

Always makes me chuckle.

I like 'em! Aren't they beautiful?

Cheers,

Gerson.

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(04-24-2014 10:19 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:  

(04-24-2014 08:00 PM)Thomas Klemm Wrote:  Always makes me chuckle.

I like 'em! Aren't they beautiful?

Cheers,

Gerson.

Me too...

[Matt Agajanian]

(04-24-2014 10:19 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:  

(04-24-2014 08:00 PM)Thomas Klemm Wrote:  Always makes me chuckle.

I like 'em! Aren't they beautiful?

Cheers,

Gerson.

Cute kids. Yours?

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

(04-24-2014 10:43 PM)Matt Agajanian Wrote:  

(04-24-2014 10:19 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:  I like 'em! Aren't they beautiful?

Cheers,

Gerson.

Cute kids. Yours?

Yes! One of them bought last year, still in its blister case, just a few blocks from home. The other, a gift from a friend, arrived the following week :-)

[Joe Horn]

(04-24-2014 08:40 PM)Raymond Del Tondo Wrote:  

(04-24-2014 08:00 PM)Thomas Klemm Wrote:  Always makes me chuckle. Do you happen to know who came up with that?

not exactly, but I think it was TinyWanda, a frequent comp.sys.hp48 contributor at that time.
A quick goo search confirmed it. He was one of those who brought color and life into c.s.hp48, had exciting ideas and often commented in a somewhat bracing manner:-)

Yes, "Frozen Hamster Butt" was coined by TinyWanda, aka Babynous, aka TranslucentAmoebae, aka chrstphre, aka Chris Campbell, a brilliant programmer featured on HP-48 Goodies Disks #9 and #10, and long-time contributer on the comp.sys.hp48 Usenet newsgroup.

[Thomas Radtke]

(04-24-2014 06:36 PM)Matt Agajanian Wrote:  We concluded that the key to their appeal was because the form factor had proportions akin to the Golden Ratio.

Maybe this was just a jump to conclusions ;-).

Voyager housings are pleasing from many perspectives. The small form factor, solidity, good arragement of the various components plus a use value that adds to the good impression of the hardware made and make them very attractive. And then there's *nearly* a Golden Ratio. You decide what appeals it to you.

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

(04-25-2014 11:51 AM)Thomas Radtke Wrote:  Voyager housings are pleasing from many perspectives. The small form factor, solidity, good arragement of the various components plus a use value that adds to the good impression of the hardware made and make them very attractive. And then there's *nearly* a Golden Ratio. You decide what appeals it to you.

There's more:



HP-16C.. 2403A02548. 3.1415
HP-15C.. 2343B75099. 3.1415
HP-15C.. 2905B29505. 3.134
HP-12C.. CN04808261. 3.1345
HP-11C.. 2540B16771. 3.1345
HP-12C+. CNA83816873 3.133
HP-15CLE CNA13207R7. 3.1405

[rprosperi]

(04-25-2014 02:19 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:  There's more:

HP-16C.. 2403A02548. 3.1415
HP-15C.. 2343B75099. 3.1415
HP-15C.. 2905B29505. 3.134
HP-12C.. CN04808261. 3.1345
HP-11C.. 2540B16771. 3.1345
HP-12C+. CNA83816873 3.133
HP-15CLE CNA13207R7. 3.1405

Gerson: Your mathematical (and other, related) observations continue to amaze and amuse me. Thanks for that!

I'm not sure if I've ever measured any of my calculators to 5 decimal places. No, strike that. I'm sure.

Except for the 11C outlier, it appears the Voyagers were shrinking over the years. No doubt when the 15CLE came back, the orginal dimensions were lost, and this was approximately the right size. Probably doubted you had a micrometer ready.

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

(04-25-2014 02:57 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  

(04-25-2014 02:19 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:  There's more:

HP-16C.. 2403A02548. 3.1415
HP-15C.. 2343B75099. 3.1415
HP-15C.. 2905B29505. 3.134
HP-12C.. CN04808261. 3.1345
HP-11C.. 2540B16771. 3.1345
HP-12C+. CNA83816873 3.133
HP-15CLE CNA13207R7. 3.1405

Gerson: Your mathematical (and other, related) observations continue to amaze and amuse me. Thanks for that!

I'm not sure if I've ever measured any of my calculators to 5 decimal places. No, strike that. I'm sure.

Except for the 11C outlier, it appears the Voyagers were shrinking over the years. No doubt when the 15CLE came back, the orginal dimensions were lost, and this was approximately the right size. Probably doubted you had a micrometer ready.

It appears the official dimensions are 5 x 3 1/8 x 5/8 inches, judging from this reference:

A look inside Hewlett-Packard's HP-11C, by Howard W. Markstein

It is possible, however, that this difference (approximately 25 thousandths of an inch) is due to the tolerance in the making process and thermal expansion (December, when those measurements were taken, is a particularly hot month here - about 90 °F)

Philippe Cairic has noticed the Pioneers have about the same width:

http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/...ead=235800 (Message #11)

Best regards,

Gerson.

P.S.: In this cold afternoon (17 °C = 62.6 °F :-) I get 3.1390 mm and 3.1375 mm for the HP-16C and HP-15C LE, respectively, using the same tool.

[Eddie W. Shore]

(04-25-2014 02:19 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:  

(04-25-2014 11:51 AM)Thomas Radtke Wrote:  Voyager housings are pleasing from many perspectives. The small form factor, solidity, good arragement of the various components plus a use value that adds to the good impression of the hardware made and make them very attractive. And then there's *nearly* a Golden Ratio. You decide what appeals it to you.

There's more:



HP-16C.. 2403A02548. 3.1415
HP-15C.. 2343B75099. 3.1415
HP-15C.. 2905B29505. 3.134
HP-12C.. CN04808261. 3.1345
HP-11C.. 2540B16771. 3.1345
HP-12C+. CNA83816873 3.133
HP-15CLE CNA13207R7. 3.1405

The length of the narrow side is close to π inches - was this by design? Either way that is super cool.

[walter b]

Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:In this cold afternoon (17 °C = 62.6 °F :-) ...

That's moderate, Gerson, "cold" would be -17°C. Just for sake of calibration.

d:-)

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

(04-25-2014 04:29 PM)walter b Wrote:  

Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:In this cold afternoon (17 °C = 62.6 °F :-) ...

That's moderate, Gerson, "cold" would be -17°C. Just for sake of calibration.

d:-)

Ok, I'll lower that to +12 °C (but where I came from, only 200 km north from here, just above the Tropic of Capricorn, 17 °C is considered rather cold - right now 16 °C here and 24 °C there). -17 °C would be freezing freezing cold :-)

[r. pienne]

(04-25-2014 04:28 PM)Eddie W. Shore Wrote:  The length of the narrow side is close to π inches - was this by design? Either way that is super cool.

Or 8 cm, which would be a really lucky size in China. Where are current Voyagers made?

R.

[Raymond Del Tondo]

(04-26-2014 10:50 PM)r. pienne Wrote:  Or 8 cm, which would be a really lucky size in China. Where are current Voyagers made?

In China;-)