My collection of HP calculators

There is new stuff here, and some links here, my wishlist here, and at hpmuseum.org you can find repair instructions.

The collection

On this picture you can see a range of HP calculators made from 1972 through 1993. I'm proud of having the real classics, HP-35, -80, -45, -65, -67, and -97. I still would like to get a working -55.

Among the recent additions there is an HP-75 with HP-IL peripherals. The peripherals include a tape drive and a thermal printer. All units are of course battery powered.

The above picture is not complete, one or two units are missing, and I'm not sure whether I should put the HP LX series among the calculators. It's more of a PC, and besides that it's my everyday tool for keeping track of my daily schedule.

Each of these calculators comes with it's own story. Quite a few of them were bought by me brand new or at clearance sales. Some are bought second hand or received as gifts on various occasions and still some were traded for other calculators. If you are prepared to make a deal, drop me a line .

Calculators on the picture ordered by manufacturing date

•   HP-80 Yes, this beauty is made as early as November 1972
•   HP-35 The most classic HP ever? This one dates back January 1973
•   HP-65 August 1973
•   HP-45 Information is missing on this one, but it's probably from 1974
•   HP-67 March 1976
•   HP-25A February 1976
•   HP-29C March 1976
•   HP-97 March 1977
•   HP-33E September 1978
•   HP-12C August 1982
•   HP-16C September 1982
•   HP-75C December 1982
•   HP-15C February 1983
•   HP-41CV May 1983
•   HP-71B February 1986
•   HP-28C June 1987
•   HP-48SX April 1991
•   HP-100LX June 1993

Some late additions are missing on the picture

•   HP-01 YES! I've got one. HP's only wrist watch. Came with a built in calculator. Not RPN, but still. Rated extremely difficult to find.
•   HP-48GX
•   HP-49G the most up to date tool for calculation
•   HP-95LX HP's first DOS-based palmtop
•   HP-200LX BIOS dated May 1994
•   HP OmniBook 300 HP's attempt to make a battery powered DOS 5 / Win 3.1 sub note book
•   HP OmniBook 800 yet another subnotebook, works OK with Windows NT4, 1.7 kilogram
•   HP 32s small general purpose calculator
•   HP-17b Business Consultant
•   HP 12c Platinum Edition financial calculator

The wish list

•   HP-41CX I really miss my old 41C, it was stolen around 1980, I converted it by installing the memory modules inside the case so the expansion ports could be used for the wand, printer and card reader.
•   HP-55 A classic. The first with a built in stop watch, not counting the HP-45
•   HP-70 This was an ugly one, it didn't sell well. It was an inexpensive financial calculator.
•   HP-85 A great machine for doing math and simple control applications on the desktop. But is it really a calculator? It's more of an early desktop computer with built in screen, printer and tape drive.

The mission

• To acquire at least one calculator every year
• To specialize in battery powered units
• To produce benchmarks on processing capabilities

Why?

This is what really got me interested in computing back in 1973, or was it 1974? This was really pre everything in microprocessors. I think Intel had the 4004 and 8008, but there was not an operating system in sight and there was definitely no languages. Did you say application? Don't bother. At these days the average computer addict called some LEDs flashing a major break-through.

Links to sources of information

• Hewlett Packard still has some information on the caclulators
• The story about how Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard started HP in a garage in Palo Alto, CA.
• The Museum of HP Calculators
• How to fix a broken HP-calculator
• hpcalc.org has a load of reference material and programs
• comp.sys.palmtops the newsgroup for palmtops
• comp.sys.handhelds the newsgroup for handhelds

You're #24610 to read this page, last updated 2006-03-04.

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