HP-65 40th anniversary edition

[Don Shepherd]

January, 1974, the machine we all drooled over was born; the birth of the handheld programmable calculator. Come on HP, forget about that Prime nonsense and give us something to worship for the next 40 years.

[Namir]

In 1974 the HP-65 was king, since the PC industry was being born. A handheld personal programming machine captured our interest and desire to own. The HP-65, despite its highly limited resources by today's machines, was a quantum leap in being able to solve some of our basic calculations using a programmable machine. It ruled supreme until the better HP-67 was introduced.

The electronics industry reflects Voltaire's golden rule, "The better is the enemy of the good". This holds true for hardware, software, and for algorithms.

Namir

[JuanJ]

(01-15-2014 07:21 AM)Namir Wrote:  The HP-65, despite its highly limited resources by today's machines, was a quantum leap in being able to solve some of our basic calculations using a programmable machine. It ruled supreme until the better HP-67 was introduced.

The electronics industry reflects Voltaire's golden rule, "The better is the enemy of the good". This holds true for hardware, software, and for algorithms.

Namir

Hello,

Perhaps the best feature was the ability to program almost every thing, despite the limited memory and the partially merged keystrokes.

My HP-65 turned 40 last August. I use it daily at home and I like it.





Juan

[Michael de Estrada]

Back then I was a young engineer who couldn't afford the cost of the HP 65, and had to wait until the introduction of the HP 34C to buy my first programmable calculator. I had to wait another 35 years before I could buy a used HP 65 for restoration as a calculator collector-hobbyist.

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

(01-15-2014 06:57 AM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  Come on HP, forget about that Prime nonsense and give us something to worship for the next 40 years.

Something like these? ;-)

[aurelio]

(01-15-2014 08:17 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:  

(01-15-2014 06:57 AM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  Come on HP, forget about that Prime nonsense and give us something to worship for the next 40 years.

Something like these? ;-)

Found last 5 pieces in a Never Never Land shop, for a few lucky people

[Don Shepherd]

(01-15-2014 08:17 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:  

(01-15-2014 06:57 AM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  Come on HP, forget about that Prime nonsense and give us something to worship for the next 40 years.

Something like these? ;-)

Oh my gosh, five shift keys! There is beauty in simplicity.

[walter b]

(01-15-2014 09:35 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  

(01-15-2014 08:17 PM)Gerson W. Barbosa Wrote:  Something like these? ;-)

Oh my gosh, five shift keys! There is beauty in simplicity.

Like your avatar

[Don Shepherd]

(01-16-2014 05:30 AM)walter b Wrote:  

(01-15-2014 09:35 PM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  Oh my gosh, five shift keys! There is beauty in simplicity.

Like your avatar

Yours is pretty good also.

[Jake Schwartz]

(01-15-2014 02:39 PM)JuanJ Wrote:  Hello,

Perhaps the best feature was the ability to program almost every thing, despite the limited memory and the partially merged keystrokes.

My HP-65 turned 40 last August. I use it daily at home and I like it.


Juan

Since the official intro date of the HP-65 was 19 January 1974, I am confused as to how yours turned 40 in August of 1973. Would it have a 1973 date code in the serial number?

Thanks,
Jake

[Gerson W. Barbosa]

(01-15-2014 02:39 PM)JuanJ Wrote:  My HP-65 turned 40 last August. I use it daily at home and I like it.

My HP-15C, this one, turned 30 years old last month. . . and I completely forgot about it! I hope it doesn't mind :-)

It helped me at college (EE) during my first year and helped my younger brother all through his Civil Engineering course and during the first 12 years of his professional life (until I got hold of it again). Still working great! I don't use it on a daily basis lately, however.

Regards,

Gerson.

[Michael de Estrada]

(01-16-2014 08:48 PM)JuanJ Wrote:  Serial number on mine is 1333A0..., which puts the production date around August 1973.

Those "date codes" are pretty much meaningless, and tell you very little about when the calculator was actually manufactured. I have four HP 80 calculators ranging from the first version 1 all the way up to the last version 4. They all have exactly the same S/N prefix "date code" of 1247, but clearly they were not all manufactured in the same 47th week of 1972. I suspect that HP simply printed out a bunch of blank S/N labels with the "date code" somewhat close to the printing date, and then added the sequence number that follows the country code during the actual production runs. One thing is certain; the calculator manufacturing date is later than the "date code." Notice that the 1333A on your S/N label is printed in a different font than the sequence number. BTW, the S/N on my HP 65 is also 1333S....

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(01-16-2014 09:08 PM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  Notice that the 1333A on your S/N label is printed in a different font than the sequence number. BTW, the S/N on my HP 65 is also 1333S....

I have a 1333A0, a 1333S0 and a 1604S0

[Michael de Estrada]

(01-16-2014 09:49 PM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  

(01-16-2014 09:08 PM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  Notice that the 1333A on your S/N label is printed in a different font than the sequence number. BTW, the S/N on my HP 65 is also 1333S....

I have a 1333A0, a 1333S0 and a 1604S0

I also have a 1333A0xxxx and a version 2 with the S/N label 1603A0xxxx located outside the calculator and between the two lower feet. So, we have almost identical date code prefixes.

[Jim Horn]

Regarding HP calculator serial number date codes - the HP's fiscal year began either October 1 or November 1 of the *previous* year (sorry I no longer remember which). So that may explain some of the discrepancies...

[Eddie W. Shore]

Happy Birthday HP 65! https://twitter.com/onthisdayinmath/stat...0992924672

I don't have an actual 65, but I have a third-party app (not the same, I know). I remember someone won an HP 65 at last year's HHUC conference.

[JuanJ]

(01-16-2014 09:08 PM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  

(01-16-2014 08:48 PM)JuanJ Wrote:  Serial number on mine is 1333A0..., which puts the production date around August 1973.

Those "date codes" are pretty much meaningless, and tell you very little about when the calculator was actually manufactured. I have four HP 80 calculators ranging from the first version 1 all the way up to the last version 4. They all have exactly the same S/N prefix "date code" of 1247, but clearly they were not all manufactured in the same 47th week of 1972. I suspect that HP simply printed out a bunch of blank S/N labels with the "date code" somewhat close to the printing date, and then added the sequence number that follows the country code during the actual production runs. One thing is certain; the calculator manufacturing date is later than the "date code." Notice that the 1333A on your S/N label is printed in a different font than the sequence number. BTW, the S/N on my HP 65 is also 1333S....

Hello,

I had to delete the original reply. Never try to access this forum from an Android device, ask me how I know.

Yes, the serial number is 1333A0... I understand about identification limitations, and prefer not to overthink it. These numbers are intended to track down assets/devices/equipment to some extent, nothing else. I know the HP-65 was available in 1974, but I like to think it was made the year before. Anyway, there must have been a production run during the second half of 1973 to meet demand after its introduction in 1974.

Numbers aside, my 65 was well used by its first owner and then put to storage in a garage. I bought it some 12 years ago, complete with some accessories and Application Pacs, as well as software written by the previous owner. I enjoyed repairing the card reader. The motor's worm gear required some cyanoacrylate layers, as indicated in the Museum's article, to fit the reader assembly properly. The calculator has performed flawlessly ever since.

It went to storage (again) but a few years ago I brought it back and now it sits on my desk at home. It gets used often, sometimes daily.





Juan

[W_Max]

Wow! Great day! First soviet RPN calc B3-21 (1977) congrats HP-65 with birthday!

http://maxes.ho.ua/Pics/Calcs/B3-HP40.jpg

Finally, they met...

[Eddie W. Shore]

(01-19-2014 05:30 PM)W_Max Wrote:  Wow! Great day! First soviet RPN calc B3-21 (1977) congrats HP-65 with birthday!

http://maxes.ho.ua/Pics/Calcs/B3-HP40.jpg

Finally, they met...

The presence of e^(ix) (shift function of 2nd row, 5th key) suggests that the B3-21 is capable of complex numbers. Interesting that the B3-21 does not have the tangent function, instead of having the user to use e^(ix) then divide function sequence. (http://www.taswegian.com/MOSCOWx/b3-21.html)

Out of curiosity, what are B/O, C/N, and NN? Apologies if I did not write those symbols correctly.

[walter b]

(01-22-2014 01:53 PM)Eddie W. Shore Wrote:  Out of curiosity, what are B/O, C/N, and NN? Apologies if I did not write those symbols correctly.

Hmmh, I'd guess they read like W/O, S/P, and PP in the reduced English letter set (Remember pi? Here it is again). I don't know enough Russian, however, to tell you the meanings. S/P may correspond to Run/Stop, but that's really only guesswork.

d:-/