HP10BII or 17BII

[Bo K. Engelbrecht]

Hi everyone.

I am an old 41 guy, still using my 41CX that I bough to replace the 41C when it arrived years back.

My girlfriend (that is in the economic sphere) needs a new calculator. I have been looking around and it all boils down to old faithful HP.

I found two suitable machines for her (I am a RPN guy and she is a algebraic girl) the 10BII and the 17BII.

As I see it (in the store) the 10BII has a GREAT display (judging from my 42S the 17B is not?) but the 17B has the IR port that could be useful.

The cost is not a main factor.

Any recommendations?

Thanks for any advice!

[Gordon Dyer]

I have both... DEFINITELY buy the 17BII, it is a great calculator for finance. It has the traditional HP quality, it is easy to use with a wide range of functions.

The 10BII was a new attempt to give HP quality but it failed. The keys are unreliable and the ergonomics not as good as the 17BII.

The only disadvantage of the 17BII is a lower contrast display, but it has 2 lines with a soft menu system which is excellent. If you can't live with it then go for a 14B.

[Scuba Diver]

I agree with Gordon. I'd go for the 17BII.

I really don't like the 10BII, and the 17BII menu system keeps the keys from looking too cluttered.

B.

[Spice_Man]

I'm particular to the 37E and 38E/C, but given the choice between the 10BII and 17BII, the 17BII will get my vote. 10BII is a toy.

12C is always a great choice... are you sure she doesn't want to RPN with you?

Spicey

[Gene]

Although, I too dislike intensely the 10BII, I do not like the menu system of the 17BII type calculators.

I like the functions where I can get to them easily, not buried in a menu where I have to think..."Where is NPV?"

The 12C is still the star. I'm holding out for a hopeful 12c+ someday.

Gene

[Spice_Man]

Yet another option is the 10B. IMHO the 10B is better than the 10BII.

Spicey

[Bo K. Engelbrecht]

Thank you for all input.

Going back to my first post; screen versus printer, it seems like Spice_Man did find the solution. The 10B. It really looks (found several on Ebay) like a pleasant screen. But, I could not find any information about it like on the hpmuseum. When did HP halted production of this?

I was unaware of the 10B, but it looked like a _real_ HP to me.

The 14B (I only found one in Ebay) has this dot matrix screen I try to avoid (burned by the 42S)

OT: >are you sure she doesn't want to RPN with you?
Yea as much as _I_ want to do Algebraic with her! LOL

(I do love the form factor of 12C. Once a time I had a 16C and a 15C)

[Mike Sebastian]

Here is some information on the HP10B:
http://www.finseth.com/~fin/hpdata/hp10b.html

I believe the HP10B was discontinued a couple of years ago.

[Bo K. Engelbrecht]

Thanks for the link Mike.

Two issues reading the data for 10B;

The list says 'I/O none', looking on Ebay I spoted ads for the IR printer in the box and assuemd that it had IR, right?

The list also says 'A giant step backwards: to old, -12C style cash flows, a constant (K) and "M" register.'

A don't deal with economic figures (NPV on a button makes me shiver) so is this something really bad that would make the 17BII a better choise despite all?

[Gene]

The HP-10B has the same "red" I/O cover at the top of the calculator, just as all pioneer calculators did. However, there is no I/O printer mechanism inside. No I/O.

The other items:

M register is just a quick way to store into a memory M, to add to a memory M+ and to recall a memory RM. There ARE other numbered memory registers, but so what? It is often nice to have a single store, sum, and recall memory available with one keystroke.

The K (constant) key is a reasonable thing for a business algebraic calculator to have. Don't know why this would be a big deal.

The cash flow difference is because the HP-10B does not use list-based cash flows, but stores them in series just like the HP-12c does. No big deal, unless you are having to deal with multiple streams of cash flows, in which case, being able to name a series of cash flows and have more than one in the machine at a time is a good thing.

That doesn't seem to have slowed sales of the HP-12c, however.

So, HP-10B (original not the 10BII) is around $25-35 if you can find it, and the HP-17BII is around $60-80 where you can find it. Choice is yours.

Sadly, the low-end HP financial calculator does not compare with the Texas Instruments BAII Plus calculator at all. The $29 TI is a great calculator. Wish HP made one to compare with it.

Gene

[Christof]

I don't have a 10B, so I'm not sure about this part, but I *think* the 17BII has a lot more solver formula space/ability and appointments (you may use the appoinments only once every couple months, but when you need them it seems you need them)

As odd as it sounds, I use a 17Bii for the kitchen and the formula space is a really nice thing for timing dishes, calculating ingredients, and adjusting quantities for meal population.

I've also programmed in a library of conversions that I commonly use (including a sort of fake out for handling the way materials are measured in workshops down to 1/32") If you want to get into the really gritty bits, you can even use conditionals in your solver formulae.

It's not terribly complex to learn how to use- 2 hours solid and you'll have everything you need to know learnd and a small library of solver "programs" input. (note also that the solve rhere has all the capabilities of the 19Bii, even though they aren't all in the 17Bii manual)

Formula progam space in the solver (expecially 7KB of it) is what makes the 17Bii the best choice for me, but I don't know if the 10B had a reasonable amount of that. I seem to recall it not having conditionals, at least.

I understand the display cna be a bit bothersome to some people, but I've managed to solve that for desk use by making a mini "calculator wedge" that gives me a ~ 15 degree sloped non skid surface. I use this with my 42S, too.

The 10B just.... lacks power. I'd almost go with a TI ba35 at that point, too. *shrug*

[Bo K. Engelbrecht]

Thanks everyone!

I found a nice 10B for $26.99 at Ebay and will also try to get a 17BII to find out which one to keep, by hands on.

Bo