Woodstock LED question

[Mark Henderson]

In my Woodstock collection I have 2 distinct types of LED displays:

1. Small, round decimal point
2. Larger, triangular decimal point (dropped down a little relative to digits)

Did one pre-date the other? Which one?

[Adam Vaughn]

Both were made at the same time. The difference is due to the fact that, in Europe, the comma is used where a decimal point would normally be used in the US, and vice-versa. I'm not sure about the Woodstock series, but the Spice series calculators have a jumper inside which allows the display to show either one.
-Adam

[Michael de Estrada]

I have several Woodstocks, all made in the USA based on the "A" serial numbers, and they exhibit both types of decimal delimiter (period and comma), so I'm not sure that this is a strictly sales market issue. OTOH, it is definitely the case with Spices, and is indicated in the serial number with an asterisk (*) prefix.

Edited: 29 July 2011, 1:52 p.m.

[Mark Henderson]

Interesting... All the Woodstocks I'm looking at (and I have about 7...) are "A" models. Originally I thought the oldest models had the "comma", but now I'm thinking it's the later models (in my collection). I'll have to look at the S/Ns more carefully... Or is it by model? My HP25 and 25C both have "points". My HP21s, HP22s and HP29 all have "commas"... I prefer the "point", BTW.

[Michael de Estrada]

I don't think it's model-specific. My HP-25 has a comma and my HP-21, 22 and 29C have points.

[Kees van der Sanden]

Some time ago I repaired a few Woodstock models.
I observed that two different types of displays were used.
One was coded 1990-0495 and the other 1990-0559.
At first sight they look identical. Unfortunately I didn't
look for a difference on the point/comma.

[Kiyoshi Akima]

Okay, I realize the 19C is only related to the Woodstocks, but if you have one then look at the decimal point through a magnifying glass. It's neither a dot nor a comma.

[Mark Henderson]

Yes, the 19C is "Special" in this regard (that little HP logo)! There is also something else special about the 19C (compared to Woodstocks) - the decimal point takes up a whole digit position, like the Classics did (and I love that about Classics). Interesting that the 29C and 19C share so much but differ in this regard? IIRC correctly the HP-65 follows Classic convention, the HP-67 follows Woodstock convention (because the 67 is of course more related to Woodstock than to Classic).

[Michael de Estrada]

I'm not sure what difference you mean, but the displays on my 2 HP-67s look the same to me as all my Classics. The only change was the addition of a separate low battery indicator LED dot.

Edited: 29 July 2011, 5:55 p.m.

[Mark Henderson]

Yes, you are right of course, I did not recall correctly!