Dead HP 32SII calculator

Matthew Stevens

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May 6, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/6/96

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I have an HP 32SII calculator. It is about 3 years old. This morning it died.
Thinking it was the batteries I replaced them. It's still dead. I rang HP in
Melbourne and for the trivial sum of $100 they'll send me a new one if I send
them the dead one. This is close to extorsion, I think.

Q1: Has anyone else experienced the sudden and inexplicable death of an HP
calculator? What did you do to get it working again?

Q2: Is $100 a reasonable price for a new calculator when it would surely be
much cheaper to repair it? New it is $125. I don't want a new one. I just want
this one working.

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Michael Heinz

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May 6, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/6/96

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Matthew Stevens <m...@zeta.org.au> wrote:

>Q2: Is $100 a reasonable price for a new calculator when it would surely be
>much cheaper to repair it? New it is $125. I don't want a new one. I just want
>this one working.

You need to review the basic economics involved here. Consider: the
calculators are designed to be inexpensively manufactured. This means
that they are highly miniaturized and they are assembled by robots or
other automated equipment, using soldering techniques not easily
replicated by hand. Many of the calculators cannot even be
disassembled without damaging them. (for example, the HP48 series)

Now, consider what this means to a repair technician - an hour or two
of work to take the calculator apart without damaging the case too
badly, followed by an hour or two of diagnostics work, followed by an
hour or two of repair work. - At $25 US dollars an hour, that's
$75-$150 dollars. And you get back a calculator that is now
cosmetically and structurally flawed from the disassembly process.

HP (and other manufacturers) does the only reasonable thing here -
they sell you a new calculator at a reduced cost. They only make you
send the old one back so people can't rip them off by buying new calcs
at below retail cost.
Michael Heinz, mhe...@ssw.com

YOW!! Everybody out of the GENETIC POOL! -- Zippy The Pinhead

Matthew Stevens

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May 7, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/7/96

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Thanks to those kind folks who answered my query about my dead HP32SII
calculator so promptly. The solution, it turns out, was to short the battery
terminals with a coin. It's going again.

Acceptable Risk

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May 8, 1996, 3:00:00 AM5/8/96

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On Mon, 06 May 1996 17:05:48 +1000, Matthew Stevens <m...@zeta.org.au>
wrote:

>Q2: Is $100 a reasonable price for a new calculator when it would surely be
>much cheaper to repair it? New it is $125. I don't want a new one. I just want
>this one working.
>

I have an HP 27C (LED Display, old, OLD, OOOLLLDDDD...) And it still
works... I'd get the new one. The way they're designed, replacing one
part basically pays for a new one after HP adds their
labor/parts/shipping/gratuity/etc (BTW, the 42SII is really killer. If
you decide to get a replacement, I'd look at that. I love mine...)
Bummer that you're having so much trouble with support tho...

>>>>>>>Acceptable Risk<<<<<<<<
>>>Have a nice day, and duck!<<<
>>>>>>>ri...@alpha.c2.org<<<<<<<

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Bruce C. Dillahunty

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Jun 13, 1996, 3:00:00 AM6/13/96

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Thanks to all who were involved in this fix... I finally have my
HP32SII back... I've missed it for a long time. Does anyone know why
it works?

Bruce