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The HP-15C market.
There have been numerous auctions below $100. That hasn't happened, ever since Ebay was founded as far as I can remember!
Soooo, the 15C LE really has affected the market and it is NOT merely collectors looking for them. Many of us already believed this was the case (often based on our own experiences) but now there seems to be definitive proof.
The HP-67 market would be a different thing entirely...
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It's a supply and demand issue. HP has flooded the market with the 15C LE. Even the authorized vendors have dropped their prices. I was able to get a vintage HP-15C from eBay for $75. The machine was in a very good shape!!
:-)
Namir
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I spent several times that for a nearly-mint one a few years ago. No box or manual. Live and learn. Indeed, it is in the finest shape of any unit I have purchased--so much so I have been afraid to use it. It's only with the acquisition of the admittedly buggy LE that I gave myself a lot more 15C experience. But with the 34S, even the LE sits in its lovely windowed box, barely used.
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Although I checked and the 15C LE is no longer for sale on HP's website. At least it's not listed on the Home section any longer and the SMB section has a dead link to purchase it. SC has it listed now on clearance for $110. If it's truly not being produced that does not bode well for a firmware update.
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Strangely, now the SMB "Buy Online" link takes me to the 17BII+ page. HP's shopping web sites seem randomly generated at times.
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Quote:
The HP-15C market.
There have been numerous auctions below $100. That hasn't happened, ever since Ebay was founded as far as I can remember!
In the process of stopping myself from
bidding on a vintage 15c in relatively pristine shape which
inexplicably wound up with no takers at US$100, I'd noticed that.
Quote:
Soooo, the 15C LE really has affected the market and it is NOT merely collectors looking for them.
Somewhat mystifying in the present day given a UI hammered into
a 7-segment display and static annunciator icons. Then again I
suppose once the design of a wheel yields a round product,
it has essentially fulfilled its fundamental design goals.
Quote:
Many of us already believed this was the case (often based on our own experiences) but now there seems to be definitive proof.
Viewed from a different perspective
one of the most impressive yet seemingly under appreciated
achievements of the vintage 15c voyager,
is the realization of the end product in all of
its glory despite running an under 4KHz instruction rate NUT processor. And yes I'd expect a modern
32-bit data path 36MHz ARM processor
rattling around in emulation to do significantly better.
Yet normalizing computation relative to power consumption the
15c le only bests the 30 year old 15c design by
about a factor of 7.8.
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Your last point is interesting.
In a way, the 10 series happened right in a "sweet spot" which suited those products.