Finally bought an HP-41

[codex99]

So after 30 or so years I finally bought my first HP 41

Here's a story:

After I got my first job I decided to buy an HP calculator to program some pharmacokinetic calculations. I went to a store called Service Merchandise (remember them?) and bought a brand new 48SX. I remember at the time, 1992, that they were clearancing their remaining 41CX's for something like 79.99, but, of course I wanted the new fancy calculator.

To be fair I love my 48SX. I still have it and still use it, but in the back of my mind I always wish I had bought one of those clearanced 41s (and looking at Ebay now, I wish I had bought all of them).

So a few weeks ago I bought a rebuilt halfnut 41CX and card reader. After playing with it I have to say this thing is an absolute joy to use. I have a lot to learn about the differences between the RPL 48 and the 41, but so far it has been fun.

Anyway, my kids are less than impressed with my new calculator, but I thought you guys would appreciate my story. I'm also interested in your stories about getting your favorite HP calculator.

[Garth Wilson]

Congratulations! The 41 will be a joy to use; and sharp engineers on this forum are still coming up with new modules for it!

(09-02-2020 11:21 PM)codex99 Wrote:  I'm also interested in your stories about getting your favorite HP calculator.

It's at http://wilsonminesco.com/HP41intro.html .

[John Galt]

I remember Service Merchandise as well as I remember EduCalc, where I purchased my HP-41CX. I paid a lot more than $80 plus more for two X Memory modules and an electronic E6B module whose name I don't recall. The 41CX itself was about $300 I believe.

It got me through graduate level engineering courses. I had a friend with a red LED display HP (a 35-ish model but I don't recall exactly) who was jealous about the 41CX he couldn't afford, and we had "contests" among ourselves to see who could come up with solutions more quickly. It was always more or less a tie but I think I let him win most of the time. Of course we challenged our TI aficionados also but there was no contest. They invariably blamed their losses on bad keys (bounced / ignored) but us HP snobs knew the real reason was RPN's superiority. Thinking back, we were kind of dicks about it. They just couldn't afford HP.

The bad news is that I sold it :-( the good news is that I kept all original boxes and manuals and got more than my money back when I did some years ago. Sold it to someone in Europe who was ecstatic.

Even better news is I'm looking forward to the DM41 when it comes out, which ought to do everything the HP41CX did and more.

My 48GX is obviously far more capable but programming isn't as simple or enjoyable. Perhaps it was more challenging to get the 41 to do what I wanted, even though RPL is practically limitless in its capabilities. Strange how I reach for different calculators to do different things. They each have their strengths.

[Diego Diaz]

Hi,

And welcome to our small, but still very active, 41's enthusiasts community. :-)

Cheers

Diego.

[Didier Lachieze]

(09-02-2020 11:21 PM)codex99 Wrote:  So after 30 or so years I finally bought my first HP 41

Congratulations for your new HP 41, it's a wonderful little device with endless capabilities.

Btw, are you related to this website?

[Garth Wilson]

(09-03-2020 03:16 AM)John Galt Wrote:  Even better news is I'm looking forward to the DM41 when it comes out, which ought to do everything the HP41CX did and more.

...minus the I/O, which is what I got the 41cx with HPIL and XIO for, so I could use it as a hand-held controller of lab equipment, using the HP82169A HPIL-to-IEEE488 interface converter. The 42, 48, 50, etc. could not do this. I think the 71 was the last one with HPIL.

[codex99]

Quote:Btw, are you related to this website?

Yes. That's me.

[HP67]

(09-02-2020 11:21 PM)codex99 Wrote:  So after 30 or so years I finally bought my first HP 41

Here's a story:

After I got my first job I decided to buy an HP calculator to program some pharmacokinetic calculations. I went to a store called Service Merchandise (remember them?) and bought a brand new 48SX. I remember at the time, 1992, that they were clearancing their remaining 41CX's for something like 79.99, but, of course I wanted the new fancy calculator.

To be fair I love my 48SX. I still have it and still use it, but in the back of my mind I always wish I had bought one of those clearanced 41s (and looking at Ebay now, I wish I had bought all of them).

So a few weeks ago I bought a rebuilt halfnut 41CX and card reader. After playing with it I have to say this thing is an absolute joy to use. I have a lot to learn about the differences between the RPL 48 and the 41, but so far it has been fun.

Anyway, my kids are less than impressed with my new calculator, but I thought you guys would appreciate my story. I'm also interested in your stories about getting your favorite HP calculator.

I bought my first HP, an HP 67 in 1981 for 450 dollars. At the time, the 41 was new and the guy at the shop pushed me to buy it instead of the 67. I wasn't having any of that new fangled LCD stuff, it looked crazy and while the 67 was a reassuring brick of a calculator (and to my eye one of the most beautiful HPs ever made) the 41 was light and just too modern. If I recall the price of the 41 (not sure what model but I think it was the C) was the same as the 67 I bought at that time.

I didn't have a 41 for almost another 40 years. I agree they're fun calculators. But I still love the 48GX more than the rest, even though the color scheme is ugly as sin. The only uglier one is probably the HP 50g blue

Great stuff, enjoy!

[Didier Lachieze]

(09-03-2020 06:40 PM)codex99 Wrote:  

Quote:Btw, are you related to this website?

Yes. That's me.

Great presentation of the HP-35 with a lot of historical details. And I like the design of your website.

[Maximilian Hohmann]

Hello!

(09-02-2020 11:21 PM)codex99 Wrote:  I'm also interested in your stories about getting your favorite HP calculator.

I never could afford an HP calculator when I really would have needed one in the nineteen-sevnties and eighties (school and university). Texas Instruments saved my day then.

I fot my first HP calculator in form of a very nice and perfectly working HP 25 which I found at the local flea market 20 years later for 4 Euros. I think it is still my preferred calculator from HP. My first HP-41 (out of five or six that I have now for the sake of the collection) came from a lot of junk that I found on eBay. It is a 41CX with card reader and some modules. I never liked it much I'm afraid (all 41 variants that is).

Regards
Max

[lrdheat]

I fondly remember the awe of seeing a handheld calculator that could calculate the trigonometric and logarithmic functions when my dad came home with his newly arrived HP-35 in June 1973. In the meteorology building at Florida State University, there were 2 HP-35’s in locked cradles affixed to desktops of small chairs for the benefit of the meteorology students in the study area. It seemed miraculous, coming from the slide rule era. I got an HP-67 in 1977 on an installment plan while at my first job at KDAL TV/Radio. My most ambitious project was not weather related...it was simulating the 1970 American League baseball season...I had the on base averages for each of the main player lineups of each team on the magnetic cards, one for each team. I had index cards that for each lineup that would determine the reason for reaching base, be it a walk, or 1b/2b/3b/HR. The program general random number, compared it to the on base percentage from the data on the magnetic card. If the random number was greater than the on base percentage, pi to the first 3 digits would display, then a 2 second pause for suspense, then a random number to compare to my index card to determine reason for reaching base. The indirect storage was used to keep track of outs, and to remember where in the lineup to go to when the 3 outs were made, and the other team was resuming!

The next miraculous advance that I wondered if I would see in my lifetime did not take too long to materialize...the capability to do symbolic math on a hand held! I am still marvel at this!

[codex99]

I appreciate everyone's answers.

My first HP was (I think) a 32E that my Dad found for me at a garage sale. I used it in pharmacy school in the 1980s until it died during a test (I don't mean the batteries ran out, I mean the calculator died). After that no old LED calculators for me! I think I switched to a Casio or a Sharp or something like that for the rest of school.

Then after school, as I wrote, I bought the 48SX.

My dad was a mechanical engineer and for years he had a 15C as his desk calculator. I always wanted one, but he wasn't going to give his to me. Then, in the late 90s maybe, I saw one at a flea market. The guy wanted 25 dollars for it, at least that's what I thought he wanted, but I didn't have 25 dollars in cash so I tried to bargain. I said could you do better on the price? He looked at me and said are you serious? it's 25 cents, what do you want me to do? So that's how I got my 15C.

After my dad died I inherited his 15C and that is the calculator that's on my desk now. it's my favorite for obvious reasons

[HP67]

Well, the 48SX is right there at the top of the list of the most beautiful HPs ever made. For me it's a toss-up between that one and the 67, but for different reasons.

The 48s might not be the fastest running calculators ever made but HP really nailed the UI. Everything is right where you need it. So they're among the fastest calculators to use.

[codex99]

(09-07-2020 06:45 AM)HP67 Wrote:  Well, the 48SX is right there at the top of the list of the most beautiful HPs ever made. For me it's a toss-up between that one and the 67, but for different reasons.

The 48s might not be the fastest running calculators ever made but HP really nailed the UI. Everything is right where you need it. So they're among the fastest calculators to use.

HP 67: I have to agree with you. As far as I'm concerned the 48 is the last great HP calculator. I know the 48G/X is a more powerful device but I just cannot abide with the 1990s teal/lavender color scheme.