NEW: HP 15C Collectors Edition

[Valentin Albillo]

.
Hi, all,

My HP-15C CE arrived today, just 21 hours (!!) since Divasson (The Calculator Store, Barcelona, Spain) posted: "Arrived to Spain - now shipping to all customers !". That's incredibly fast !

It came exceedingly well packaged and protected, in immaculate condition, pristine packaging and calc. Also, it included batteries already installed, as expected, so I gave it a go. First impressions:

- The display looks very good, clear and very contrasty. The calc proper feels solidly built.

- I tried all the keys several times each, including 10 keypresses in quick succession for every digit. No problems whatsoever, i.e. no repeated keys, no debouncing problems. All keys seem perfectly Ok, no rattling either, they feel very close to the original unit.

- I tried a simple program which merely stored a given number of repetitions in register I and keep decrementing it in a loop till reaching 0. I timed it manually and it ran 5,000 loops in about 9 seconds, which is consistent with my expectations based on published messages.

All in all, I'm extremely pleased with it and have nothing but praise for José G. Divasson and his small familiar business (The Calculator Store) for delivering such a nice product so well protected in 21 hours flat since he told us they had arrived. Sending ~1,000 packages to customers must have been a logistic nightmare for him !!

BTW, mine is #00236, which as all of you know it's FP(√5) to three places (no decimal separator), which befits my icon here ...

Best regards.
V.
Edit: typos.

[Thomas Radtke]

(07-27-2023 08:20 PM)ozzy Wrote:  I guess software won't fix the keys not registering.

But then the problem might only be dirt. On my LE, keys always register, they just bounce on all keys from time to time. I have doubts this can be cured except by means of an update [that never came]. Will try cleaning it anyway since one user reported that his LE was ok, without much hope.

Really hope my CE will be ok.

[johnb]

(07-27-2023 05:07 PM)SAllendorf Wrote:  I received mine in the US Midwest yesterday (07/26) from Oxford Educational Supplies. "Collector's Edition Number 01753" - also a prime number.

Did you have to set up things through customs in order to get it delivered?

If so, what all did you have to do, and what were your final costs, if you don't mind me asking?

[SAllendorf]

(07-28-2023 03:55 PM)johnb Wrote:  

(07-27-2023 05:07 PM)SAllendorf Wrote:  I received mine in the US Midwest yesterday (07/26) from Oxford Educational Supplies. "Collector's Edition Number 01753" - also a prime number.

Did you have to set up things through customs in order to get it delivered?

If so, what all did you have to do, and what were your final costs, if you don't mind me asking?

I did not have to do anything beyond placing the order. Since the order is below 800 USD, no import fee is owed and the shipper+carrier take care of getting it through US customs.

I don’t have my invoice in front of me, but the cost was about 96 GBP (~124 USD) for the calculator + 25 GBP (~32 USD) for shipping. They used UPS and the package arrived about 52 hours after they sent it.

[SlideRule]

(07-28-2023 03:55 PM)johnb Wrote:  Did you have to set up things through customs in order to get it delivered?

If so, what all did you have to do, and what were your final costs, if you don't mind me asking?

Oxford Educational Supplies Limited

Did you have to set up things through customs
NO

what were your final costs
Unit Price = £95.83
S&H = £25.00
Invoice Total = £120.83

BEST!
SlideRule

ps: lived in OXON for 4 yrs. very close to Weston on the Green.

[Gene]

That’s GBP not US dollars, right ?

[ItsCosmo]

Got mine an hour ago, serial #00441 from Oxford Educational, delivered to US by UPS. No customs delays or extra charges. As far as comparisons go, I have only a Limited Edition to compare to.

The CE keys feel slightly more firm when pressed than the LE (in a good way) and I've experienced no missed keys or double keying at all so far. The display has higher contrast than the LE to my eyes. The bezel around the display has a more plastic-like look and feel, and the brushed appearance is more subtle. That's a little disappointing.

The yellow lettering is brighter and bolder. The printing on the keys is of somewhat better quality IMO. Overall quality feels the same to me, which I consider very good. The CE is 1g heavier than the LE.

The CE comes in the same "simulated alligator skin" display box as the LE. The manual has about the same number of pages as the LE manual, but it is in color! Very cool, can't wait to read it.

As far as function, well it's an HP-15c and without the LE's bugs. Feels like a good purchase, especially if you don't already own an original or LE.

[Matt Agajanian]

Hi. Any thoughts on how long the 15C CE be available?

[ctrclckws]

(07-28-2023 11:59 PM)Matt Agajanian Wrote:  Hi. Any thoughts on how long the 15C CE be available?

One report I think I read was that 10,000 will be available.
But who knows whether that is correct, or if another production run will be done.

[SlideRule]

(07-28-2023 10:07 PM)Gene Wrote:  That’s GBP not US dollars, right ?

OOPs! {yet another senior moment}; YES - GBP. THANKS for the considerate alert.

ps: post corrected with BOLD RED.

BEST!
SlideRule

[Valentin Albillo]

.
Hi, all,

Having posted my first impressions immediately upon getting my HP-15C CE delivered to my door just 21 hours after it reached Spain, there's a few additional comments once I've had the time to use it more extensively,

1. After 24 hours of heavy use, I've experienced no problems a all. The display is truly excellent, clear and contrasty, extremely readable, and the keyboard works perfectly: no missing keystrokes, no duplication, no undue bouncing; at least that's the case for my unit (#00236, which I ordered from The Calculator Store) and presumably might also be the case for its whole batch.
         
2. I say heavy because I've straightforwardly keyed in several highly non-trivial programs, using many advanced functions throughout, which ran perfectly, no problems whatsoever. I've also entered and verified hundreds of numeric values quickly and comfortably thanks to the awesome User STO/RCL instructions, which make the whole process as painless as can be. Mind you, I experienced not even a single error, every value entered was correct upon recall.
               
3. This CE calculator is a true speed demon: once I entered the required data, I was able to accurately compute the determinant of a 9x9 matrix almost instantaneously (a few tenths of a second, at most), which is quite remarkable for a handheld calculator of its size and concept, i.e. a portable emulation of a vintage ~40-yo original.
   

Tomorrow or early next week I'll post to this MoHPC forum the two programs I wrote specifically to test my CE, plus comments and sample runs. They'll work unchanged on any HP-15C clone (original HP-15C, 15C LE, 15C CE, DM15 64/128/229 regs, as well as assorted emulators running the original ROM as-is or patched for additional memory,) whatever the amount of RAM available in the particular device, physical or virtual.

In short, I'm extremely pleased, even more so than I was a couple' days ago. After using it I can't imagine using any other HP-15C flavour, this one is so good. And if you'd consider my heartfelt advice,

     Get yours while they last, lest you'd regret it very deeply if you don't. It's simply that much better than you'd think.

At least mine is. And why spend a fortune on eBay within a few years when you can get a NIB one for less than €130 right now ?

Best regards and have a nice weekend. I certainly will !
V.
Edit: typo

[rexbinary]

Does anyone know when they will be available on Royal's (https://hpofficesupply.com/) website?

[isanchez]

Hi!

just a few lines to say that I have received the HP15c collector's edition from thecalculatorstore.com
Very very quick delivery in a good package.
My first impressions are:
- it is very well packed, The box is very original (I would say luxury) and well solid. You can see the calculator through a transparent plastic cover. I believe this is not to be thrown away.
- The calculator looks nice: readable display, good keyboard feeling, the increased memory!!!
- The only aspect I believe it could have been improved is the metallic frame...it looks it is waiting for scratches! this is something they should have learnt from the original model.

I have to say that it is an excellent product, much better that the previous edition, much more quality in all aspects, in this recent one. Thanks José!!

Regards

Ignacio

[Chr Yoko]

(07-30-2023 07:48 AM)isanchez Wrote:  Hi!

just a few lines to say that I have received the HP15c collector's edition from thecalculatorstore.com
Very very quick delivery in a good package.
My first impressions are:
- it is very well packed, The box is very original (I would say luxury) and well solid. You can see the calculator through a transparent plastic cover. I believe this is not to be thrown away.
- The calculator looks nice: readable display, good keyboard feeling, the increased memory!!!
- The only aspect I believe it could have been improved is the metallic frame...it looks it is waiting for scratches! this is something they should have learnt from the original model.

I have to say that it is an excellent product, much better that the previous edition, much more quality in all aspects, in this recent one. Thanks José!!

Regards

Ignacio

Did you got any communication prior to delivery ?
Mine is still just on "payed" status.

[Divasson]

Hi,

We have a little more than 900 orders, of which we have already processed (packed and sent or awaiting pickup by carrier) 400. We expect to have finished the backlog by Wednesday.

We are sorry for the delay - and we're also sorry if you sent an order for something else: the HP15c is taking priority these days!

[spa1fwg]

Hi,

I have received today my new HP15c Collectors Edition with S/N 323, and appears as:

L/NO. 9C./323

9C what is it?

[John Cadick]

Is there any way to tell if my 15 CE has been shipped yet? The purchase shows on my account on the website, but no listing about shipment

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

Hi, Valentín,

(07-27-2023 11:27 PM)Valentin Albillo Wrote:  BTW, mine is #00236, which as all of you know it's FP(√5) to three places (no decimal separator), which befits my icon here ...

Perhaps you’ll like this π approximation involving both 5 and √5, wrought out especially for the occasion:


\(\frac{63}{5^2}\left({\frac{17+3x\sqrt{x}}{7+3x\sqrt{x}}}\right)\)

where

\(x=5+\frac{7}{5000000000+1000000\sqrt{5}}\)

This is based on one of Ramanujan’s (case x = 5).

Best regards,

Gerson.

[Valentin Albillo]

(07-31-2023 10:25 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:  Perhaps you’ll like this π approximation involving both 5 and √5, wrought out especially for the occasion:[...]

Awesome, Gerson, awesome, and yes, I like it very much !

This expression of yours would've been perfect for past July, 22^th aka Pi Approximation Day. Very close approximation indeed.

BTW, did you get your HP-15C CE already ? They seem to be selling like hot cakes, literally flying off the shelves (José G. Divasson posted above that The Calculator Store has already sold ~900 from the 1,000 units shipped from Moravia, and that was days ago) so I'm considering buying another one from them before they're gone for good, just in case.

Mine arrived some 6 days ago, looks great and works like a charm, and I haven't had this much calc-related fun since ages !

Best regards.
V.

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

(07-31-2023 11:00 PM)Valentin Albillo Wrote:  

(07-31-2023 10:25 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:  Perhaps you’ll like this π approximation involving both 5 and √5, wrought out especially for the occasion:[...]

Awesome, Gerson, awesome, and yes, I like it very much !

Thanks! I’m glad you have liked it.

On your brand new HP-15C CE you might want to try Ramanujan’s original approximation which fills up the display with the very same digits in Moravia’s advertising:

63 ENTER 5 √x 15 * 17 + * g LSTx 10 - / 25 /

(07-31-2023 11:00 PM)Valentin Albillo Wrote:  BTW, did you get your HP-15C CE already ? They seem to be selling like hot cakes, literally flying off the shelves (José G. Divasson posted above that The Calculator Store has already sold ~900 from the 1,000 units shipped from Moravia, and that was days ago) so I'm considering buying another one from them before they're gone for good, just in case.

Mine arrived some 6 days ago, looks great and works like a charm, and I haven't had this much calc-related fun since ages !

I have ordered mine from the same place you have, but I don’t expect to get it any time soon as Customs bureaucracy is somewhat complicated here. Anyway, by what I’ve been reading in this thread, it is worth the wait.
Don’t hesitate to get yourself another one if you have a chance. When the HP-15C was released I purchased three units from Samdon’s Cable, for their initial low price (under US$ 100.00 each, I think), before prices were raised. I have only one left, one went to my younger brother and one was sold to a friend with no profit. Yes, I still remember when I got my original 234B unit forty years ago, I still remember how it smelled like when brand new. But I don’t think I will read the whole manual again this time :-)

Best regards,

Gerson.