HP-35 Bug: highest serial number?

[Mark Henderson]

Any ideas what the highest serial number got to for the HP-35s with The Bug? Were they all 1143s or did some 1230s also get it?

[Michael de Estrada]

I have a late version 2 (S/N inside battery compartment) 1249A08206 with "the bug".

[Mark Henderson]

Wow, that seems like a lot of units - we know the "week code" (1249 etc.") really wasn't the production week, but I guess the rest of the number couldn't be sequential, either? MoHPC and some other sources describe 20,000 - 25,000 original "buggy" units, but a quick look shows buggy units with S/Ns 1143Axxxxx, 1230A8xxxx, 1230A9xxxx, and your high numbered 1249A. Were the last 5 digits then really only recording a few thousand units? Interesting!?!

[Matthias Wehrli]

Without any doubt on the unit of Michael de Estrada:
It is very easy to exchange the mainboard of a non-bug unit with a bugy one or am I wrong?

[Michael de Estrada]

That scenario seems a little far fetched to me. Certainly, I didn't do this and I don't believe the prior owner did either. The calculator showed no evidence of being opened (intact original back label) and the front of the calc has all version 2 indicators (bump on 5 key, front label w/o 35). Unlike a Red Dot, where a fake might have great value, I don't think there's much to be gained by deliberately creating a buggy version 2. I have seen strange inconsistencies in serial numbers on other calculators, so I wouldn't put too much stock on that factor in this case.

[tomdrewski]

Quote:

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I have a late version 2 (S/N inside battery compartment) 1249A08206 with "the bug".

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ditto. 1249A00373