After about 18 years or thereabouts, I replaced the batteries in my HP15C today. I turned it on the other day and the little asteric was blinking on the screen. Checking the book to see what this meant, as the time had been so long between the last time, it said this was a preliminary warning. So, rather than taking the chance of losing my stored survey program, even though after turning the unit off and on again, and the asteric was gone, I thought it better to be safe than sorry. The last time that I had to replace the batteries was in the 1994-1996 time frame. I've only had to replace the batteries 3 times since I bought the calculator in 1984. I will say the little pink Energizer Bunny and his drum earned their paycheck. I use this calculator daily, sometimes for just simple math and other times to do survey calculations rather than run them through a computer Cogo program.
This is one hell of a good calculator.
A local surveyor just bought 2 new ones for himself. What survey program do you use with yours?
Best calculator ever in its day in my opinion.. Not just what it could do but how it was built...the durability of it and the plastic keys ...you don't find the quality of that hard core scratch resistant plastic anymore that comprised those keys......
I bought some surveying book back then ...I can't quite remember the name....Dezign something or other where you punch in the codes in the programming of the calculator so you could do inverses, traverses etc...took me half a day to punch in those routines and it never friggen worked like it was suppose to ... I was like..crappola .. now i'm out 30 bucks ...but the calculator was and is the cats pajamas...I don't have it anymore...I left it on a rail when I was doing a ROW survey and it got ran over by a train but I do have the iPhone version of it and I use it today all the the time ... with some programs for smaller math routines ...
I don't have it anymore...I left it on a rail when I was doing a ROW survey and it got ran over by a train
Daryl,
I left mine on the top of the car when I was surveying in Kortrijk, still now exactly where I was ... went back the day after but couldn't find it back ... strong as it was I hope someone else is still using it.
Christof.
was lucky to find 2 of these at a yard sale, no batteries, but I took a chance and bought them both. Bought new energizer batteries - and they work!
price of HP 15C: one dollar each! score!
I found one in a thrift store once, but it was $2. I already had several 35's through 41's. I have a 33s now for daily math. About 5 years battery life with that one.
It was one I purchased in 1989 from Paul Rossini, Shreveport, LA 71118. It was advertised in POB about that time. His phone number on the program documentation is: 318-685-4830. Whether this is still good or not, I don't know. I do know that he is still around, or at least he was lasr summer. Jason Foose, the Mohave County Surveyor, contacted me regarding a 15C program and wanted to know if I thought it would be worthwhile for someone to develope one for the new 15C's. I told him about the one I have and sent him the info. He contacted Mr. Rossini and got permission to use his to aid in working up a version. I don't know what Jason has developed but, his contact info is: Jason Foose, Mohave County Public Works, 3675 East Andy Devine Ave., Ste C, Kingman, Arizona 86401, e-mail: jason.foose@co.mohave.az.us. Phone 928-757-0910.
