NEW: HP 15C Collectors Edition

[Peet]

I think it's good news, that there's a reasonable scientific RPN calculator again, but unfortunately there are a few blemishes. In addition to the price, which makes the CE almost exclusively a collector's item for fans, I'm still missing a few points that would have made it interesting for me.

The price for a showcase object is quite appropriate for the elaborate packaging and the manual, but the price is a bit too high and the package too beautiful for an everyday use calculator.

With a micro SD for data storage and at the pricepoint of the HP-12C, an 11C or 15C would probably have a good chance of being interesting not only to collectors but also to new users.

But even for the collector's item, that certain something is missing. A display of function names instead of keycodes when calling up the program would be nice, but only if it wasn't realized by a horrible matrix display like the 35's.

The lack of an external data storage option on the other hand is a decisive K.O. criterion for me. What's the use of a huge program memory if I have to retype all programs after data loss?

[f16falcona46]

I got my 15C CE on the 28th of July but only got around to posting about it now (serial number 412, for the record...I wonder who has serial number 1?).

It's my first 7-segment display programmable (mainly used RPL previously, though I do have a 35s). It really brings back those middle school days where I sat down with my 48, opened the FAQ and the user guide on my computer, and just started exploring.

The pluses: it's got a great screen, and it's FAST! Sometimes, the 48G would take some time to load an INFORM or freeze for a moment for garbage collection. Not so on the 15C CE, everything I do happens near-instantly.

I also really like how integrated everything is. Like the 48G, pretty much every operation you can do from the keyboard can be done by a program. Complex numbers work great too (the litmus test for me is to see whether arcsin(3) returns a value or causes an error--sorry TI-36X Pro), although those are more reflections of the original 15C than specific to its remake. The keys are good, although some keys ("0" and "SST") had some bounce initially which went away after I pressed them something like twenty times each. Since these are basically the same as current 12Cs, fingers crossed that there won't be any issues in the future.

Minuses: the chief annoyance I have with the hardware specifically is that the key travel is so far that sometimes when I press a key, my finger hits the bezel or another key. My other gripes are with the original 15C, I suppose: mainly, the fact that it has 25 labels, unlike the 35s, which effectively has 999 labels per subroutine. No "ALL" or "Normal" mode either like on more recent calculators--although at least with the 15C you don't have to press left or right to see an exponent like on the 35s in ALL mode.

I wonder if there is an SDK for the 15C CE? On the other hand, I am afraid of permanently losing the original firmware if I try to do something with the SDK--so maybe I'll sacrifice a 12C first

Here's to hoping for future CE models (or a 50gii...OK, enough dreaming).

edit: is there any possibility of buying an extra manual by itself?

[Namir]

I believe you can download the TWO CE manuals from here!

[johnb]

(08-20-2023 07:34 AM)Peet Wrote:  The price for a showcase object is quite appropriate for the elaborate packaging and the manual, but the price is a bit too high and the package too beautiful for an everyday use calculator.

Too beautiful for an everyday use calculator?

LOL! Why wouldn't I want a thing of beauty, a joy to behold, every time I pull out my trusty portable computational device? (Guess I should also stop wearing my really cool-looking Citizen Skyhawk (watch) on a daily basis and put on my dumpy little Armitron?)

Okay, humor aside, I do understand what you're getting at. And, yeah, the 15c (in any of its incarnations) will never be a "mainstream" calculator outside of the time when nearly every engineer had either this or a 41cx.

And I, too, could wish for a lower price, but it's not out of line with the historical cost of HP calculators, nor with the cost of an original HP-15c purchased used in good condition. That's the thing about capitalism: the price one sets can be based on many factors, but ultimately, both seller and buyer mostly get what they deserve when they can settle on a price. (To be pedantic, that's obviously not true when someone doesn't deliver what they claimed, but that's not really applicable here.)


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[Edit: almost forgot...]

(08-20-2023 07:34 AM)Peet Wrote:  The lack of an external data storage option on the other hand is a decisive K.O. criterion...

This, on the other hand, I can fully agree with.

Would have been nice to have a tiny little USB-C socket on one side!
Or even an older micro-usb. (Is it worth the trade-off for the size reduction? I don't know.)

[Steve Simpkin]

(08-20-2023 11:03 PM)johnb Wrote:  …

(08-20-2023 07:34 AM)Peet Wrote:  The lack of an external data storage option on the other hand is a decisive K.O. criterion...

This, on the other hand, I can fully agree with.

Would have been nice to have a tiny little USB-C socket on one side!
Or even an older micro-usb. (Is it worth the trade-off for the size reduction? I don't know.)

You mean like this one (keep reading for Katie’s photos)?
https://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-51...l#pid46108

[Pekis]

Hello,
It's been a pleasure to fill it with my favorite programs/functions:
- DIV/MOD
- GCD
- LCM
- HMS+
- Add days to Date
- Difference between 2 dates
- Date's day of week
- Cumulative Normal distribution
- Inverse Normal distribution
- NPV (Max 40 cash flows or 20 cash flows with frequencies)
- Lambert function (incl arguments > 10^100)
- Successive approximations of a number with fractions
- Monthly or annual payments

I had to use an Excel sheet for tracking the programming flow but managed to only use 15/25 labels (along with max 51 memory registers and 573/1000 programming steps, in extended mode) ... Thank you HP !

[Eddie W. Shore]

I have been working in 15.2 mode and so far, so good.

[Gene]

Cmon Pekis !

Post that program in the software library so others can enjoy it :-)

[Peet]

(08-20-2023 11:03 PM)johnb Wrote:  Too beautiful for an everyday use calculator?

LOL! Why wouldn't I want a thing of beauty, ...

The part that ends up in the trash (packaging) doesn't have to be particularly pretty and increase the price accordingly. Functional is better for me at this point.
Even a printed manual in a foreign language is no added value for an everyday product for me.

[Pekis]

(08-21-2023 02:55 PM)Gene Wrote:  Cmon Pekis !

Post that program in the software library so others can enjoy it :-)

Done

[GregOldSchool]

My new HP15C Collectors Edition shipped from Barcelona on Tuesday August 22 and arrived today (Thursday August 24) at my home in Iowa. Serial number 00965.

Compares very well in look and feel with my original (and still going strong) 1986 HP15C. Very satisfied with tactile feel of the keys. Feels very close to my 37 year old original. The Collector Edition keys feel a tiny bit more springy but I’m splitting hairs here.

So far it looks like a winner!

[Valentin Albillo]

.
Welcome to the forum, GregOldSchool,

(08-25-2023 03:03 AM)GregOldSchool Wrote:  My new HP15C Collectors Edition shipped from Barcelona on Tuesday August 22 and arrived today (Thursday August 24) at my home in Iowa.

That's fast !

Quote:So far it looks like a winner!

It is, it is, an instant classic if I ever saw one; I pity those poor souls that hesitate to get a NIB one while they still can. Put it in 192-register mode (actually 195) and see my RPN program compute three 9x9 determinants per second.

That's fast, too !! ...

Best.
V.

[f16falcona46]

Looks like preorders are now being accepted on Royal's site

Unfortunately, considering the shipping cost, it's pretty much the same price as ordering from the UK

[jjohnson873]

HP site indicates more stock of the HP15c Collectors Edition in September. They "say" Pre-order, but there's no button to place a pre-order for this calculator. You can only share your email for notice of when it comes back into stock.

[rprosperi]

(08-25-2023 02:08 PM)jjohnson873 Wrote:  HP site indicates more stock of the HP15c Collectors Edition in September. They "say" Pre-order, but there's no button to place a pre-order for this calculator. You can only share your email for notice of when it comes back into stock.

BUT, things have improved... Page title corrected from "Financial Calculator" -> "Scientific Calculator" and if you do leave your email address to be notified, the reply one receives in response now says "Thank you for subscribing to the #HP 15c Collector's Edition - Preorder (HP15C#INT). We will email you once product back in stock", whereas until now it referenced the 12C coming back into stock.

They're slowly getting things in line with the precise and critical expectations of this crowd. It would seem laminator & shredder buyers are less demanding....

[twoweims]

I signed up to be notified of the pre-order this morning and received an e-mail link just a few minutes later.

Update: With tax and shipping, the HP Site is more expensive than I paid at the Calculator Store, leather case included!

[KlaasKuperus]

(08-21-2023 05:26 PM)Peet Wrote:  

(08-20-2023 11:03 PM)johnb Wrote:  Too beautiful for an everyday use calculator?

LOL! Why wouldn't I want a thing of beauty, ...

The part that ends up in the trash (packaging) doesn't have to be particularly pretty and increase the price accordingly. Functional is better for me at this point.
Even a printed manual in a foreign language is no added value for an everyday product for me.

Hi Peet!

Good comments. We've decided on the Collector's Edition for the 15C, as unfortunately these calculators are no longer 'mainstream'. But who knows!

I've read something on 50GII, if only!

[Thomas Radtke]

(08-25-2023 03:42 PM)KlaasKuperus Wrote:  [...] 50GII [...]

We're all ears.

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(08-25-2023 03:42 PM)KlaasKuperus Wrote:  

(08-21-2023 05:26 PM)Peet Wrote:  The part that ends up in the trash (packaging) doesn't have to be particularly pretty and increase the price accordingly. Functional is better for me at this point.
Even a printed manual in a foreign language is no added value for an everyday product for me.

Hi Peet!

Good comments. We've decided on the Collector's Edition for the 15C, as unfortunately these calculators are no longer 'mainstream'. But who knows!

I've read something on 50GII, if only!

What about a 41C Resurrection Edition, metal body, HP-IL on USB and all that jazz?

[rexbinary]

(08-25-2023 03:00 PM)twoweims Wrote:  Update: With tax and shipping, the HP Site is more expensive than I paid at the Calculator Store, leather case included!

I've been waiting to order in the US from Royal to save on shipping. I'm just going to save my money altogether now. I'll probably save it for one of those future updated credit card models from Swiss Micros.