Collecting calculators... - Printable Version +- HP Forums (https://archived.hpcalc.org/museumforum) +-- Forum: HP Museum Forums (https://archived.hpcalc.org/museumforum/forum-1.html) +--- Forum: Old HP Forum Archives (https://archived.hpcalc.org/museumforum/forum-2.html) +--- Thread: Collecting calculators... (/thread-48460.html) |
Collecting calculators... - Michel Beaulieu - 12-03-2003 I begun "collecting" calculators about 5 years ago. Slowly, since that time, my collection grew up. Now, i have sevral calculators (about 120) still growing slowly. The "problem" is that i also have a lot of manuals, battery pack, chargers, parts, peripherals and all that stuff is all mix in my shack, on the desk, under it, in a closet, in some box, etc. My question is HOW TO ORGANIZE such a collection in order to have fun with it and to present it to me and others persons as a "great" collection. I was thinking about :
- writing some kind of "inventory" But i don't exactly know how to do these think and what else can be done to maintain a collection in a way that each calculator will be well treated and love as it should be ;-) I'm sure some of you have some tips or even giving me some address with exemple of what to do with all these beauties in that dark box! Well, they are not always in the box; each day i took one of these calculator and bring it with me at work, but you know i have my favorite and some are in the box longer than other; my 41CV is no in the bottom of the box... ;-)
Thanks for tips!
Re: Collecting calculators... - Katie - 12-04-2003 I asked myself exactly the same questions as you at about the same point (as far as number of calculators go) in my collecting. I ended up buying several nice glass and wood "curio" display cases and putting most of my collection in them. I also purchased a couple of wooden drawer sets to keep the chargers, manuals and accessories in -- so that they would be handy but out of sight. Finally, I rebuilt all the nicad battery packs and repaired all the broken calculators so that they all work and are all kept charged up. (This last part was, and still is, a huge amount of work and I'm rethinking that decision.) The furniture ended up costing a lot of money, in some cases more than the calculators that occupy them! But it makes my collection more accessible (to me and others) and it looks nice. Here are a few picutes: http://www.wass.net/pictures/c01.jpg http://www.wass.net/pictures/c14.jpg
http://www.wass.net/pictures/c21.jpg
Re: Collecting calculators... - V-PN - 12-04-2003 More closeups, Katie, please?
[VPN]
Re: Collecting calculators... - David Brunell - 12-04-2003 Hi Katie, In picture c14.jpg, the first calculator in the second row has 50+ white keys. What model calculator is that? Thanks, David
Re: You need a 1-900 number & a Web Cam! - Paul Brogger - 12-04-2003 Katie -- you've got to make some money on this! I would think a Web Cam at $.50/minute would help subsidize future purchases . . .
Re: Collecting calculators... - bill platt - 12-04-2003 Hi Katie:
Re: Collecting calculators... - Namir Shammas - 12-04-2003 Katie, That last picture shows HP machines that rule!!! I don't think the Smithsonian Museum has anything on you when it comes to calculator technology!! These pictures inspire me to quote Bogart in Casablanca "This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" :-)
Namir
Re: Collecting calculators... THE CHALLENGE - GE (France) - 12-04-2003 Let's try to identify these machines !
(only the first image for a start)
Level 1 :
Level 2 : Level 3 : printing... I don't know these
Level 4 : Omrons
Level 5 :
Level 6 : National Semiconductor
Level 7 :
Level 8 :
Level 9 : TI
Level 10 : TI
You can certainly improve on this. I leave the HPs for your pleasure.
Re: Collecting calculators... - Katie - 12-04-2003 David, You have good eyes! It's a Commodore N60. The M55 and S61 also have 60 keys.
-KT
Re: You need a 1-900 number & a Web Cam! - Katie - 12-04-2003 Paul, I'm not sure that the handful of voyeurs on this list can keep me in lifestyle that I am accustomed to :) -KT
Re: Collecting calculators... - Katie - 12-04-2003 Bill, You must live in southern CA. That snow was in early December of last year, just the first of many, many snowfalls that we had. I love snow, but by March I had my fill for a while.
-KT
Re: Collecting calculators... - Katie - 12-04-2003 I don't know think that the Smithsonian would really consulter the Calcu-pen for it's collection. But I like to have it to look at during dinner instead of fancy dishes. (The cabinets are in my dinning room.)
-KT
Re: Collecting calculators... THE CHALLENGE - Katie - 12-04-2003 There more pics there now to help you out: http://www.wass.net/pictures/more/
Re: Collecting calculators... - Katie - 12-04-2003 VPN- My website with manuals on it http://www.wass.net/manuals has closeups of those calcs that I have manuals for -- HP's/TI's not included. I don't have closeups but here's most my collection (for insurance purposes) as of about a year ago: http://www.wass.net/pictures/more/
-KT
Re: Collecting calculators... - Namir Shammas - 12-04-2003 Katie, My china cabinet is loaded with calculators and manuals!!! I look at it and remember Rodney Dangerfield saying "What a crowd!!!" :-)
Namir
Re: Collecting calculators... THE CHALLENGE - Namir Shammas - 12-04-2003 YOu take such nice pictures! Do you also have a camera collection? :-)
Namir
Amazing! - Emmanuel Verbeeck - 12-05-2003 Congratulations on this super collection! You should start your own museum ;-)
Re: Collecting calculators... - Paul Marin - 12-05-2003 Katie, Thanks for any help. Paul
PS I'm using 'AA' alkaline units at the moment and replacing them as I need them. Is this OK to do?
Re: You need a 1-900 number & a Web Cam! - bill platt - 12-05-2003 ......if you show the calculators in the nude......(the calculators, that is........) ;>0
Re: Collecting calculators... - bill platt - 12-05-2003 Hi Katie,
best regards,
Bill
Your pictures have another use . . . - Paul Brogger - 12-05-2003 I hope you don't mind your pictures being used to "set the bar" so far above & beyond my own meagre involvement as to render my hobby innocently quaint. As in, "You think I'm too involved in calculators? Imagine decorating the dining room like this!" }8^O
(Not that I've got anything against mixing keyboards and cheese boards, but as I'm sure you're aware, there are some who just don't get it . . . )
Re: Collecting calculators... - David Smith - 12-05-2003 Take two AA NiMH batteries (or NiCads) and weld a strap across the bottom (you battery store can do this for very cheap).
Clean the seam between the cells with alcohol. Rough up the seam with sand paper. Fill the top seam with paste epoxy and smooth it level with the batteries. Fill the half of the bottom seam with paste epoxy (the other half is left empty so that the ridge in the battery compartment fits into it). Voila... instant Spice pack... better than the originals.
Re: Collecting calculators... THE CHALLENGE - GE (France) - 12-05-2003 Thanks, now that's too easy :
Level 1 : Sharp PC1201 / Bowmar MX150 / OCW navigational LED ?? / Litronix 2290
Level 2 : TI 1200-series ? / something "La Femme" ? / Triumph Adler Lady / Triumph Adler Sir
Level 3 : printing... I don't know these
Level 4 : Omrons 88M / 88 / ?? / SR10 / 86 SR
Level 5 : Sinclair Cambridge programmable / Commodore MM3 ? / another MM3 ? / Hugues watch ? / Sinclair Enterprise programmable
Level 6 : National Semiconductor Financier / Financier PR / Mathematician / Mathematician PR / ? is this a 3500 ? / Statistician PR
Level 7 : Triumph Adler 81 / Elektronika MK61 / B3-something ? / Bowmar ? / 301 ??
Level 8 : APF Mark 22 / Teal 826 / APF ? / ?? / Unisonic ?
Level 9 : Longines Symphonette / TI 2550 / SR10 / 50A ?
Level 10 : TI Programmer LED / MBA / 55 ? / 58C ? / 59 ? Total 16/100, not brilliant !
Based on the rarity of some models you have, I guess lots of other models are stuffed in boxes somewhere... Re: Your pictures have another use . . . - Katie - 12-05-2003 Sure be my guest, I love to be the "bar". Your welcome to come and visit if you need to present an even more convincing case to whomever this quote is directed to: "You think I'm too involved in calculators? Imagine decorating the dining room like this!"
Re: Collecting calculators... - Katie - 12-05-2003 Like David said, or just use some AA NiMh batteries (in place of the rather expensive alkaline solution that you have) with an external charger. They cost maybe $10 for the batteries + charger on ebay/amazon/wallmart/etc and will last pretty close to forever.
Re: Collecting calculators... THE CHALLENGE - Katie - 12-05-2003 GE, you did pretty well on this. The closer pcitures will give you the rest of the answers I think. I really don't have boxes of calculators stored away -- just a few HP duplicates and some other duplicates. I've just been trying to only collect "interesting" or rare calculators. I also have a few specialty areas:
Sanyo ICC series All of the calcs that I collect (except the HP's) are pre-LCD machines.
Re: Collecting calculators... - Paul Marin - 12-06-2003 Thanks Katie and David. I appreciate your help alot. PS katie, impressive collection I must admit. I'd be too scared to own all that you have, because I'd try to use all of them :) Thanks for all your help. Hope your collection, especiallly your HP's getsbigger Bye
Paul
Re: Collecting calculators... - David Smith - 12-06-2003 You can recharge the NiMH cells inside the calculator with the standard HP charger just like the original NiCads. For 1800 maH NIMH cells it takes three times as long to fully charge them, but they run the machine for three times as long between charges.
The calculator I may never find... - Gene - 12-06-2003 Growing up, when I was about 11-12 years old, I remember going to KMart over the summer with my mom. She would go off to shop, but I would gravitate to the camera/watch area where they had these cool Unisonic calculators out. I remember turning them on and trying math problems to see if they would make a mistake. The first models had a funny key (square root) and I tried to figure out what it did. Over the course of the summer and next year, the models got more and more complicated. The model I want to find most of all is one I remember, but have never seen since...and people say it doesn't exist. It is the white whale to me. I am convinced there was a unisonic calculator with hyperbolics built-in. Anyone have a picture of it? There are (at least) 3 high end unisonics that I have seen. There is a #799, #1099 and #1299. These I either have or have seen. Any other REALLY high end Unisonics out there? Call me Ishmael...
gene
Re: Collecting calculators... - Paul Marin - 12-08-2003 David, Thanks for all your help David. Glad to know there are genuine people who can help:)
Paul
Looking for a (cross-dressing?) volunteer . . . - Paul Brogger - 12-09-2003 O.K. Anybody wanna volunteer to play the suspicious, uncomprehending spouse so we can go sneak an in-person peek at Katie's collection?
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