About 2 years ago I purchased a then-brand new HP 12C Platinum. After about a year or so I noticed some of the number keys had become crooked. Some were very loose. Over the last year this has become worse, and to make it more annoying some of the buttons (usually some numbers & operator keys) have become unreliable. Sometimes the keys work, sometimes they dont. I'm pressing some keys harder than I should to be sure they actually register and show the number on the screen. Some buttons dont click anymore, and barely move when I press them. Its like they're pushed in already and you have to press them the right way to get them to respond. This is very annoying. Other than buy a new calculator (I need a 12C for the CFA exams), is there a way to fix it? If not, should I buy a new one, ie 12C instead of 12C Platinum? Thanks.

I had problems with two recently-purchased 12C Platinums (one made Dec04 the other made May05). I ended up getting rid of them and bought the regular 12C. It's much slower, but other than that, it is very reliable and the buttons are true and fast and can keep up with fast fingers without having to worry about not registering the number, etc. So go buy a regular 12C and report back tomorrow.

BTW, a newly revised version of the 12C Platinum is now out IF you can get your hands on one. I'm told the STO and RCL buttons have teh ( and ) signs on them. I wonder if their keypads will be better.

Just curious...how did you "get rid" of the calculator? Do you toss them out, sell them on ebay, or just leave them in a desk drawer? I paid like $70 for it, other than some of the bad buttons it generally works okay. Seems like a waste to toss it out. Oh well...

By getting rid of I mean returned to seller, assuming the design of the keypad just wasn't for me since I'm more of a fast poker and not a pusher (buttons too hard to "poke" to register a number). Many folk won't have my problem due to the way they "push" the buttons. Since no one else ever complained about this keypad (or the 17BII+), I assumed, and still believe, that I am all along in this world when I say that I had a problem. I would never just throw away a calculator. I ended up getting a regular 12C because at the time I just wanted a working 12C but wanted it right away, and this worked for me. This is the only advice I can give to you (reason for my post).

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So go buy a regular 12C and report back tomorrow.

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Well I just got a brand new 12C, purchased off of eBay for a pretty good price. It was still in the blister pack. After opening it, I shook the calculator before I even turned it on. I could unfortunately hear some of the buttons rattle a bit. Oh well. At least the buttons are much more responsive to than my Platinum 12C. Anyway only tried a few functions so far, but I like it.

Gotta admit it wasn't an essential purchase. If I push the Platinum buttons hard enough they will usually register. However if the platinum really does break while I'm taking the CFA exam I would probably go on a shooting spree, so I view owning 2 calculators as insurance. There's also something I like about now owning a calculator that is only RPN mode. Makes me feel more like a serious finance guy, just like the big boys at work (investment co), many of whom have the golden 12C on their desks, haha.