HP 12c 30th anniversary model ? get one or not ?

[Gene]

I know this is just a 12c+ with a box and 30th anniversary written on it. Absolutely nothing else different from a regular 12c+ (Note: 12c+ refers to the faster ARM-based 12c as opposed to the much slower older 12c models).

But I was asked to go to New York when this was introduced to talk about this with journalists from various financial outlets just a few blocks from Wall Street. No, I wasn't given one when I attended. Short supply you know. :-)

So, what do you think? Feel free to vote in the poll *and* post your thoughts.

Buy one at about $40-50 or not ?

[SlideRule]

I have one , as well as the 25AE model.

Best!

SlideRule

[Katie Wasserman]

(07-17-2014 09:05 PM)Gene Wrote:  I know this is just a 12c+ with a box and 30th anniversary written on it. Absolutely nothing else different from a regular 12c+ (Note: 12c+ refers to the faster ARM-based 12c as opposed to the much slower older 12c models).

But I was asked to go to New York when this was introduced to talk about this with journalists from various financial outlets just a few blocks from Wall Street. No, I wasn't given one when I attended. Short supply you know. :-)

So, what do you think? Feel free to vote in the poll *and* post your thoughts.

Buy one at about $40-50 or not ?

Am I missing something here? Does this poll imply that you never acquired a 12C 30AE? If so, I'm shocked that HP didn't send you a complementary one (more like a case of them) when they were made available. In all honesty, who deserves one more than you?

Back in the day, I gave a talk about AI (artificial intelligence) at HP's offices in NY. The talk was to prospective computer systems customers as HP was sponsoring a series of "what you can do with a computer" lectures. As appreciation they sent me one of their HP28C's as soon as it became available along with an HP82240A printer. (Of course, this was all I got in the way of compensation.)

To address the question at hand. These seem to be very available, unlike the 15CLE, so I wouldn't spend more than $40.

[rprosperi]

As noted by Katie, you are about the last person that should have to buy one of these. That said, if HP didn't provide one, is there really any question about getting one? They are lovely, and smoke the pants off all the other 12C variants in any performance test. Though I wonder who among us could determine how accurately this machine emulates a "real" 12C. Hmmm.....

[Gene]

Oh dear. I didn't write what I did in order to say poor pitiful me for not being given a free 12c 30a model. Not at all. :-(

I was just explaining that I was honored to be where it was announced (along with the 15c LE but the wall street people were much less interested in that). At that announcement, they had one 12c 30 and one 15c LE present which were raffled off to the journalists. Tight supply. I just never got one and wasn't **that** worried since it is a 12c+ in a different skin, and I have a 12c+. :-)

So no whining here. Really.

Just curious about whether $40-50 would interest people. Trying to make up my own mind.

Katie, I have not seen many of these around at all for less than the $70-80 price range. TAS has had a few recently down around that $40-50 range, but if you know of a secret cheap source... ;-)

Apologies all for the misconception!

[walter b]

As you wrote, it's just an HP-12C+ in a different skin (or a different packaging, actually). Personally, I've got an HP-12C (just to have my line of Voyagers complete) and an HP-12C "25th anniversary edition" (since I thought it's something special). I won't throw my money to HP in 5 years intervals for buying the same product - and business and finance calcs are really not top priority on my list (but I think those guys desperately need more of them, remember 2008!). YMMV

d:-)

OTOH, I'd have appreciated an HP-42S "25th anniversary edition". But alas, that wasn't made by HP. Another indication for the changes in the last 25 years. We should be optimistic but if that's the kind of progress we're going to experience ...

[Katie Wasserman]

(07-18-2014 01:28 PM)Gene Wrote:  Oh dear. I didn't write what I did in order to say poor pitiful me for not being given a free 12c 30a model. Not at all. :-(

Sorry to jump to conclusions.

Quote:Katie, I have not seen many of these around at all for less than the $70-80 price range. TAS has had a few recently down around that $40-50 range, but if you know of a secret cheap source... ;-)

No place special I just see them on Amazon for $80, WalMart had them for $60 and they're going for $18 to $75 NIB on ebay regularly in the past couple of months.

[jebem]

I'm not sure about what versions are available of the original HP-12C.
What identifiers should one look for this specific model edition?

Is the 30th AE known as "12C Platinum Calculator"?
Or are there Platinum editions that are not related to the AE edition?
I just saw Hp 12C Platinum Calculator 25th Anniversary Edition as well... I really need to do some more research on this.

EDIT: never mind. Found it.
So this "HP 12C Calculator 30th Anniversary Edition" is the more recent 12C edition, using a "12C+" arm processor, and the other models like the 25th Anniversary or the Platinum's were another variants of the original 12C, right?

[Dave Frederickson]

So how many different versions of the 12C are there? I know there are three different battery covers and different button battery contacts.

Dave

[rprosperi]

(07-18-2014 04:55 PM)Dave Frederickson Wrote:  So how many different versions of the 12C are there?

Dave

There are at least 8 or 9 different versions, if you include major manufacturing changes. Heck there are even 3 different verisions of the "Silver" Platinum series. A member has posted photos of his 12C collection, and there are probably 18 or 20 in the shots, but those do include some prototypes, including one with all BLUE keys.

The 12C is usually ignored by most of us (for good and bad reasons), but it actually has the richest history of varieties made of all HP calculator models. Then again, a 30+ year manufacturing history can do that.

[Mark Hardman]

(07-18-2014 05:46 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  

(07-18-2014 04:55 PM)Dave Frederickson Wrote:  So how many different versions of the 12C are there?

Dave

There are at least 8 or 9 different versions, if you include major manufacturing changes. Heck there are even 3 different verisions of the "Silver" Platinum series. A member has posted photos of his 12C collection, and there are probably 18 or 20 in the shots, but those do include some prototypes, including one with all BLUE keys.

The 12C is usually ignored by most of us (for good and bad reasons), but it actually has the richest history of varieties made of all HP calculator models. Then again, a 30+ year manufacturing history can do that.

Eric's HP Voyager Calculator Variants page lists 11 HP-12C/HP-12c Platinum variants.

The page was last updated July 28, 2009 so is missing some of the more recent versions.

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(07-18-2014 04:55 PM)Dave Frederickson Wrote:  So how many different versions of the 12C are there? I know there are three different battery covers and different button battery contacts.

Dave

Keith's photo.

[rprosperi]

(07-18-2014 07:07 PM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  

(07-18-2014 04:55 PM)Dave Frederickson Wrote:  So how many different versions of the 12C are there? I know there are three different battery covers and different button battery contacts.

Dave

Keith's photo.

That's exactly the one I was recalling, thanks Massimo. And I was wrong; one of the keys is yellow (for shift).

[Dave Dirckx]

It's one of my favourites, good quality and nice finish.

[jebem]

(07-18-2014 05:46 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  

(07-18-2014 04:55 PM)Dave Frederickson Wrote:  So how many different versions of the 12C are there?

There are at least 8 or 9 different versions (...)

And if I'm not mistaken from what I have read and saw today in old published text and pictures, there at least three different firmware releases:
RPN mode only, RPN and Algebraic without and with parenthesis.

According to this old post from 2006 by Luiz Vieira from Brazil, it is not only the Algebraic capacity enabled in some models, HP did implement Backspace and Undo in some of the models:

Model Operation Mem prgm CashFlow Extras
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
HP12C Gold RPN 99 stp 21
HP12C Platinum (first) RPN+ALG 399 stp 31
HP12C Platinum (second) RPN+ALG 399 stp 81 ( ) [<-] undo
HP12C Plat 25th. aniv. RPN+ALG 399 stp 81 ( ) [<-] undo
HP12C Prestige RPN+ALG 399 stp 81 ( ) [<-] undo
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the above list, the obvious model missing is the 30th Anniversary.
As I see from this model pictures, it is only RPN as the parenthesis are missing.

[Sylvain Cote]

(07-18-2014 04:55 PM)Dave Frederickson Wrote:  So how many different versions of the 12C are there? I know there are three different battery covers and different button battery contacts.

Dave

Hello Dave,

To my knowledge, there are 16 Voyager (11 x 12C) calculators that was sold over the years.

https://db.tt/vRF0qHW7

On top of theses you have to add the prototypes (clear cases, blue keys, etc) and the specials versions (commemorative, etc)

Sylvain

[Gene]

There is a mistake in the picture labeling. :-)

The 12c 30th is not in any way related to the Platinum line. The platinum line *always* has an algebraic side to the OS, and the 30th does not. It is a 12c+ aka the original 12c binary running on the ARM processor at lightning speed.

[Sylvain Cote]

(07-19-2014 12:52 PM)Gene Wrote:  There is a mistake in the picture labeling. :-)

The 12c 30th is not in any way related to the Platinum line. The platinum line *always* has an algebraic side to the OS, and the 30th does not. It is a 12c+ aka the original 12c binary running on the ARM processor at lightning speed.

Yep! you are right, my mistake.

Here the list that matches the 12C of the pictures (not sure about the dates thought)

Code:

HP-12C Model           Serial   Manufactured       Battery  Keyboard
------------------- ----------- ------------------ -------- -------------
BLACK                2726A05267 1987 W26 USA       3*D357   RPN
BLACK                3147B07343 1991 W47 BRAZIL    3*D357   RPN
BLACK                3406S02180 1994 W06 SINGAPORE 3*D357   RPN
BLACK                3613M00034 1996 W13 MALAYSIA  3*D357   RPN
BLACK               4CY02805585 2000 W28 CHINA     2*CR2032 RPN           
PLATINUM BLACK      CNA22102BP  2002 W21 CHINA     2*CR2032 RPN/ALG/BKSP  
PLATINUM SILVER      CN32109645 2003 W21 CHINA     1*CR2032 RPN/ALG       
PLATINUM SILVER     CNA60101435 2006 W01 CHINA     1*CR2032 RPN/ALG/BKSP  
PLATINUM BLACK 25TH CNA62012845 2006 W20 CHINA     1*CR2032 RPN/ALG/BKSP  
PRESTIGE GOLD       CNA84103725 2008 W41 CHINA     1*CR2032 RPN/ALG/BKSP  
BLACK 30TH          CNA13101TY  2011 W31 CHINA     2*CR2032 RPN

Sylvain

[Gene]

One other note - the prestige gold line is a "platinum" variation. It has RPN and algebraic.

[Katie Wasserman]

I see that a 2/3 majority says you should buy. Does that help with your decision?