Unlikely Calc

[Bob Patton]

Returning from HHC, stopping for gas at grungy station, having to go in for receipt, there hangs a dusty blister pack. The owner was glad to get rid of the Canon F-603 and gave a 2 for 1 coupon for a local restaurant, making the calculator almost free. The F-603 was working.

What was your most unlikely find of a calc?

[Accutron]

I'm a vintage electronics dealer, so my entire business model relies on unlikely finds. Earlier this year I bought a mint condition HP-97 with manuals, Standard Pac and carrying case at a garage sale for $5. A few weeks later I went to a hoarder's garage sale and bought 15 graphing, scientific and financial calculators for $30. At Hamvention this year, I bought a HP-41C bug 3 complete in box, a HP-41CV halfnut, two card readers, printer, quad memory and statistics ROM for $60. The next day, I bought a Lanston Monotype Barrett adding machine in near-mint condition at an antiques fair for $10, completely functional and correctly performing a full carry. Last year I bought a "non-functional" brand new HP 48G on eBay for $12, which was only missing one of the foam-mounted contacts in the battery compartment. A couple weeks ago I bought a brand new Bohn Contex 10 with hard leather carrying case for $5 at an antiques mall that was getting ready to go out of business. I've bought countless numbers of all sorts of calculators and slide rules from Goodwill Outlet, all priced in the $1-$3 range. A few years back, my brother found two HP-9825's at Goodwill Outlet, and paid $3 each for them.

[d b]

I guess any flea market find is sort of random, but seeing a corner, and scoring a working 41cv in a box of old $3 tv remotes was my most surprising find.

[TASP]

Reading this thread is really exacerbating my CAS !!!!

[Bill Platt]

(10-26-2015 09:57 PM)Accutron Wrote:  I'm a vintage electronics dealer, so my entire business model relies on unlikely finds. Earlier this year I bought a mint condition HP-97 with manuals, Standard Pac and carrying case at a garage sale for $5. A few weeks later I went to a hoarder's garage sale and bought 15 graphing, scientific and financial calculators for $30. At Hamvention this year, I bought a HP-41C bug 3 complete in box, a HP-41CV halfnut, two card readers, printer, quad memory and statistics ROM for $60. The next day, I bought a Lanston Monotype Barrett adding machine in near-mint condition at an antiques fair for $10, completely functional and correctly performing a full carry. Last year I bought a "non-functional" brand new HP 48G on eBay for $12, which was only missing one of the foam-mounted contacts in the battery compartment. A couple weeks ago I bought a brand new Bohn Contex 10 with hard leather carrying case for $5 at an antiques mall that was getting ready to go out of business. I've bought countless numbers of all sorts of calculators and slide rules from Goodwill Outlet, all priced in the $1-$3 range. A few years back, my brother found two HP-9825's at Goodwill Outlet, and paid $3 each for them.

Dammit! I haven't been to the Dayton Hamvention since 1993! I need to go again!

[Accutron]

(11-03-2015 09:09 PM)Bill Platt Wrote:  Dammit! I haven't been to the Dayton Hamvention since 1993! I need to go again!

Hamvention is definitely the center of the universe for Dayton-area nerds. I've attended every year since 1991, and 2015 was my 7th year as one of the larger flea market vendors (and I don't give a spit about ham radio.) I find vintage HP calculators there almost every year, usually for disturbingly low prices.