HP 32sii Fault
#1

Hello all,

I am an avid user of the HP 32sii, having had mine since 1995. Never have i been so amazed by a electronic device that is so old yet still remains head and shoulders above what else you can currently buy on the market! Of course this is all my opinion, but needless to say I'm a big fan of this particular calculator! RPN all the way!
To my horror ,today the calculator has developed a fault , all the pixels on the screen are continually illuminated and the calculator is now un usable.
Has anyone come across this type of fault and if so is it repairable? I've tried uploading a photo but it will only let me provided a web link which i don't have.
Another question is would anyone recommend a new/used model of HP RPN calculator that might be of interest to me , if the worst case scenario is that i have to replace mine. Although i would be just tempted to by a second hand 32sii unit. Is the 35s going to come close to my expectations?!

Thanks for reading .

Carlos

#2

Try the WP 34S.

- Pauli

#3

Hello,
Have you tried to adjust the contrast ?
Denis

#4

Quote:
Is the 35s going to come close to my expectations?!
If you don't mind the many bug, yes. It actually could have been a very worthy successor and it's a shame the bug were never fixed.

Have you tried shorting the batteries with a paperclip (just for a fraction of a second)?

#5

As suggested, try your contrast adjustments, (on button & minus key or plus key to darken).

Next try shorting the batteries as suggested.

Last option, Fixthatcalc. Randy often posts here and I have heard nothing but good about his services. He adheres to fixed rates that are posted on his site. Of course he restores your 15 year old calculator to working condition often nearly as good as new. However, it is still a 15 year old device and may fail to other issues in the near future (of course, the build quality of an Hp 32s is far above Hp's current quality standards for calculators, so even a repaired heavily worn Hp 32s may still outlast a new Hp 35s!!!)

If you fail to fix or repair your Hp 32s and you want to replace, another Hp 32s is certainly going to make you the most happy. However, they often sell at 2X of original cost for a used calculator.

If cost is an issue, a new Hp 35s is about $50. However a better buy in my opinion would be an Hp 48G. These often sell for about $50 too, and they have the same keyboard quality of your Hp 32s and are only a bit larger than an Hp 35s (which isn't as pocketable as your current Hp 32s!!).

The Hp 30B is a business calculator with trig and can be converted to an WP 34s (or purchased from Hpcalc.org). While it will be a step up from your Hp 32s in features, the quality of the Hp 30B calculator isn't quite the same (although it seems good). It appears to be a bit smaller, but that is only an illusion, it is actually a bit taller and equal in width to the Hp 32s.

If you didn't require trig functions, you could buy an Hp 17Bii, old stock and have the same case and keyboard with 7 K of RAM for equations and have a superior calculator for statistics functions. It is a business calculator with lots of features, buried in menus.

Good luck.

#6

First of all, I hope it is not a serious porblem and you manage to solve it by trying the tips given above.

However should you not be successful in bringing it back to life, there are several options.
To help you with your decision it would be useful to know what you need the calculator for, i.e. which features you need.
The wp34s is probably the most powerful pocketable RPN you can get at this point in time. And for a very reasonable price. The downside is (or might not be depending on your view) that you have to put some effort into making one.
A 35s might be an option if you can live with the bugs. A 48G or 49G or 50G is more powerful but larger. You get the idea...

#7

Quote:
The wp34s is probably the most powerful pocketable RPN you can get at this point in time. And for a very reasonable price. The downside is (or might not be depending on your view) that you have to put some effort into making one.

The easiest and most painless way to get a WP 34S with added clock/calendar crystal is to obtain it ready to go from hpcalc.org WP 34S page. This page also shows you the version 3.1 manual for free download, and the printed version 3.2 manual for purchase from another site. (NB: If one plans to use one's own printer and ink to print out the version 3.1 manual, it will likely be less costly in term of ink use to buy the printed (and larger, and most up-to-date) version 3.2 manual.)

#8

Thanks for the replies everyone.
I'm pleased to say that I've managed to sort the issue. All it took was to reset the calculator (Hold C then press LN) I also did the self test - 32SII-OK !!
Obviously the problem i was experiencing was just a minor glitch, but it took me by surprise as i always felt this calculator was bomb proof! and i had never experienced any fault with it, i think i had changed the batteries once in 18 years! I actually think the glitch i experienced was as a result of a low battery as the low battery symbol had appeared very briefly in the days up to it developing this 'all pixels on fault'
But again thanks everyone for the valued input .
I have to admit I'm not so convinced on the 35S . I have been on the market for a slightly more powerful newer unit (RPN) to my 32SII so I'm very interested to read about the WP34S. I can imagine the build quality might not live up to the 32SII but it looks like the kind of unit I've been looking for. Although the 48G also looks very interesting, i actually own the 49G which i didn't like much(from a quality perspective)
I'm a Mechanical Engineer by trade so in essence require a scientific calculator , Trig, Complex numbers etc etc

#9

You cannot fairly judge an Hp 48g with the FHBB (Frozen Hamster Butt Blue) Hp 49G. A 48G is of the same vintage and build as your Hp 32sii. The only drawback is that it aint a pocket calculator. I have two calculators at my desk, an Hp 32sii and an Hp 48Gx. The 48G is kind of like my reference books, there when I need her. I've got lots of simple programs in the 48G that just wouldn't fit in the meager amount of RAM of the 32sii. While I could easily just use the Hp 48G, I prefer a smaller less obtrusive calculator for general number crunching.

And I also have the FHBB Hp 49g, but it gets very little use. The keyboard is very tough to love for an Hp calculator elitist such as myself (and probably 98% of all user's here).

And I also have an Hp 50G. And while the Hp 48g is slow in comparison to an Hp 50G, I still like the features and feel of the Hp 48g for day to day use (If I had to graph functions, I would jump over the the Hp 50G quickly, but that isn't what I do).

#10

Maybe this problem is similar as your?!

This is a simple problem with this type calcs. My 17BII and my 32SII has similar. On our hungarian Google group helped me a member, but this English site may will helpful for you: LINK

Csaba



Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  HP 32sII with faulty keypad aurelio 6 2,518 09-21-2012, 05:08 PM
Last Post: aurelio
  HP 32sII Integration Error of Standard Normal Curve Anthony (USA) 4 1,601 03-14-2012, 03:18 AM
Last Post: Nick_S
  Find the hidden path game for HP-32sii Don Shepherd 0 1,014 09-27-2011, 09:46 PM
Last Post: Don Shepherd
  HP-32Sii jweisskohl 38 8,381 06-21-2010, 10:30 AM
Last Post: Katie Wasserman
  HP 32SII keyboard - dead column of keys fixed Jeff Johnson 2 1,180 03-27-2010, 02:34 AM
Last Post: geoff quickfall
  Hp 71b power fault Sean Connor 1 865 09-25-2009, 11:46 AM
Last Post: Bart (UK)
  HP 32SII Marnus Malan (RSA) 79 15,495 08-18-2009, 05:51 AM
Last Post: deleted
  HP 41CV intermitent fault Nigel Bamber 3 1,286 04-20-2009, 01:12 PM
Last Post: Geoff Quickfall
  How to open my HP-32SII Sören Nilsson 8 2,535 05-20-2008, 09:45 PM
Last Post: bill platt
  How to open my HP-32SII Sören Nilsson 2 1,176 04-07-2008, 07:11 AM
Last Post: Lyuka

Forum Jump: