I admit that I have a weakness for calculators - both new and vintage. My nerd gene is pretty dominant, so I'm putting it down to that. They'll have a cure one day I'm sure, but until then I can't wait for my new HP41CV to arrive. I landed it horribly cheaply... HP calculators are usually going for a fortune on eBay these days.
A couple of my favourites in my collection, some from from way-back:
Elektronika MK-61 (Russian RPN calculator from the mid-80's)
I've always loved HP's tactile keyboards and RPN logic rather than algebraic. The Russian MK-61 is really interesting too - and being heavily influenced by HP, the Russians made a fine calculator that's ultimately hackable. They didn't provide any safety features in the design, so you can access a pile of undocumented functions. I really like the green vacuum fluorescent display too.
Hmmmm... HP35 - the original hand-held scientific calculator.... I want one.... and a HP67CX... and a....
I have a dozen other "lesser" algebraic calclators floating around, like a couple of T.I.'s etc, (them's fightin' words to a T.I. owner - LOL!) but they don't hold the fascination for me for some reason. I wouldn't mind a Casio FX-702P programmable though - just because I had one years ago and loved it.
They're actually quite hard to get in excellent condition. There are a few about on FleaBay, but they're pretty-well stoofed cosmetically. I can wait though...
Damn it! You've got me reading interesting stuff now:-
"The earliest production HP-35 units had a small hole to the right of the on/off switch. When the HP-35 was turned on, a red spot showed through this hole. This was soon removed - you could see the HP-35 was on anyway, because the display lit up! Even if the batteries were low, you could see the switch was at the side marked ON."
"I believe only about 10,000 of these "HP-35 with a hole" were made - but owners knew they had a collector's item, so they are nearly all still in existence. Ones in reasonable condition sell for at least $250 in the US - about £200 in the UK. One with its original plastic carrying box, leather case, AC charger, manual and stick-on "PROPERTY OF" labels can sell for $350 or more."
My first calculator was the size of half a house brick, took several AA batteries, had the green tube type display and would do +, -, * and / AND %!! Luxury! early 70s.
I remember the engineers spittin' chips. They paid big bucks for their HP35s, then the HP45s came in well under that price.
I wouldn't mind a Casio FX-702P programmable though - just because I had one years ago and loved it.
I have a Casio FX-850P, a newer version of the FX-720P. It still works if prodded though the screen has issues. I bought it back in 1989 and have only just recently upgraded to one of those TI-nspire calculators. I'm by no means a TI fanboi (I used to own a nice Sharp scientific calc (EL-??? can't remember) before it got run over when it fell out of my bike bag) I just needed something with graphing and it was the only one I could get at short notice.
The problem with the TI-nspire is that if you haven't used it for a few days it needs to "boot up" which takes a good minute.
HP calculators are usually going for a fortune on eBay these days.
Classic!!!
I also have a couple of Seikos from the late 70's too. Add to those - a pile of retro knock-offs. LOL!
