I will try to get the NiCd batteries tonight at my local Radio Shack. Still, I don't know if the fact that calc's current battery pack is dead was the cause for the display of the calc to go haywire. As I mentioned before, there's no response to key presses except that, sometimes, the display will go blank after too many key presses. The keys, though, still have the clicky feedback you get from the old models of HP's and the calc looks brand new.
I very much appreciate your responses to my queries and will keep you posted on any developments with my brand new HP-33C.
(BTW, I just bought a brand-new, in the box, HP-42S, complete. The serial number starts with ID027, which indicates that this unit was manufactured in the 27th week of Y2K. The manual, still shrink-wrapped, ia a little yellowish, and is dated 1/92. Sometimes it pays to venture into these vulture-like electronics stores that take advantage of tourists. I only paid $59.95 -$64.93 with the NY State sales tax- and I'm thrilled by the deal, after seeing these go for close to $200 at eBay.)