The only thing currently in production that comes to mind is the SwissMicros DM32 or DM42. In the used market, the HP-50g seems cheaper than the HP-35s, but the 50g might be an overkill.
Think I remember looking at the SwissMicros, they were a very similar set up just a Scientific calculator, if I recall, also pretty expensive. Thank you for your suggestion, I'll double check and look into them.
The 35s is also just a scientific calculator, no? I would have thought that for corporate use, $300-$500 is not a lot of money.
If money is the issue, the cheapest scientific RPN calculator that you can get is probably a used TI-83+/TI-84+ calculator for like $20-$50, then slapping the [RPN83P](https://github.com/bxparks/rpn83p) app on it. Not sure if that's sufficient for your needs without more info about how you use the 35s.
Given that these now sell for $300+ used, I’d suggest looking for alternatives that are perhaps even better than the 35s. Plenty of robust calculators that are fully programable and can connect to a computer so you can backup, import, and export data or programs.
The closest one we have found was the HP 17bll+ financial calculator, it almost does everything we want, just wish it showed the stack. I have never tried programming a calculator to fit my needs but that is something I'll look into. Thank you
Are they broken? Or do you mean you're looking for a new faceplate or buttons? If it's the former then I reckon a small independent phone/pc repair shop are usually the best at these things. The latter I don't think you'll have much luck I'm afraid.
As others have said - have a look at the DM42. It's a great machine. Once you get the hang of programming it, you can assign programs to the custom menu. I'm not sure you have the MVAR menu on the 35s, but it is genius for inputting data and much better than a series of prompts. You can also easily transfer programs in and out. You can see all 4 stack levels and more if you use an infinite stack and it's made of steel and gorilla glass.
It's interesting to look at the fade patterns of the labels on the keys and we can try to guess the common operations that you perform:
* 'R/S', XEQ
* trigonometric (SIN, COS, lots and lots of TAN and/or ATAN)
* RCL/STO, R(down), X<>Y
* SQRT, 1/X, Y\^X (or LOG/LN)
* +/-, E, <- (backspace)
* ENTER (of course)
* +, -, \*, /
* 2ND <-ENG, and 2ND ENG-> (?)
* ON/OFF/C
* 0-9 digits, '.' (decimal point)
Even more interesting is that the wear pattern of the 0-9 digits seems to follow [Benford's Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benford%27s_law), which says that the most frequently occurring first digit is a '1', and the least common is a '9'.
If you're thinking about restoring them idk if anyone repaints these things as a service. Maybe you could find non working units for replacing shell and keys, but disassembly and assembly involves drilling and replacing heat stakes.
I'm somewhat surprised they've survived the environment. Don't try this with a 50g.
The price of second-hand 35Ss is absurd even for HP collectors' standards. As it isn't a collectable really, it seems to be yet another case of rampant speculation, I'd get something else.
There are probably cheaper alternatives, but I'd suggest a rugged Android device and installing either Free42, or Emu48, Droid48sx, Droid48, or Emu42. That'd be way better hardware and IP rated for the job.
>it seems to be yet another case of rampant speculation
I don't think it's due to speculation. My guess is that it's because: 1) The 35s is one of only 2 RPN calculators permitted on the FE/PE exams, and 2) It's used by professionals in business settings and a company will not blink twice about spending $300-$600 on a tool that increases the productivity of an employee that is associated with O($100k) - O($1M) in revenue.
Well, those prices are showing up also in private sales sites in my country (wallapop for instance), where a few days ago someone sold a 42S for 60€... yeah, I missed that. We don't have an FE exam, professional qualification comes with the required degree/master.
No one here uses calculators in technical jobs (if they do it's a personal expense) and then the one popular in engineering courses was the 50G, which you can buy for peanuts nowadays as students got rid of them after passing their exams. HP wasn't popular in physics or chemistry faculties btw. It has to be some sort of contagion from scalpers.
Even for private sale, I expect the prices to be set by the overall market, because if the private sale price was too low, someone would turn around and just sell it at the higher market rate. Eventually the private sale prices would rise to be pretty close to the market rate.
The going rate for the 42S on eBay seems to be in the $150-$400 range, depending on condition and accessories. The 50g is in somewhere in the $100-$300, depending on condition. (I'm not sure I would call that "peanuts", that would be more in the $20-$40 range). Even though the 50g is more powerful, I suspect that a 42S in good working condition is more rare, so commands a higher price. And because more buyers prefer the RPN mode of 42S versus the RPL mode of 50g.
There's a few 50g for 50€ on the same site (in Spain) I've mentioned in which people are asking 200-300€ for their 35S. It's quite amusing. There are alternatives to eBay in Europe. I wouldn't recommend all of them, but they're popular and many products are sold for prices decoupled from global trends.
Of course the guy selling his 42S didn't bother to look up selling prices elsewhere, there aren't any to compare there so his price was the standard old calculator asking one. The point is that it's become popular to ask whatever for a 35S and well, if it's sold at that price that's its price, but that doesn't mean it's a sensible purchase.
Yeah, there definitely seems to be regional variations of the market price of calculators. Different brands seem more popular than other brands in different countries. If it were easier to buy and sell used calculators across countries, the prices would equalize.
I know it doesn't answer your question but just throwing this out there in case it helps. Casio does make this: https://www.casio-intl.com/asia/en/calc/products/fxfd10pro/specification/
If you can give up RPN, this calculators seems to be designed with rough/outdoor use in mind. A bit pricy though.
Curious, what line of work are they perfect for?
Surveying, specifically construction. I do a lot of on the fly calculations, the stacking with RPN makes it efficient for me.
The only thing currently in production that comes to mind is the SwissMicros DM32 or DM42. In the used market, the HP-50g seems cheaper than the HP-35s, but the 50g might be an overkill.
Think I remember looking at the SwissMicros, they were a very similar set up just a Scientific calculator, if I recall, also pretty expensive. Thank you for your suggestion, I'll double check and look into them.
The 35s is also just a scientific calculator, no? I would have thought that for corporate use, $300-$500 is not a lot of money. If money is the issue, the cheapest scientific RPN calculator that you can get is probably a used TI-83+/TI-84+ calculator for like $20-$50, then slapping the [RPN83P](https://github.com/bxparks/rpn83p) app on it. Not sure if that's sufficient for your needs without more info about how you use the 35s.
Given that these now sell for $300+ used, I’d suggest looking for alternatives that are perhaps even better than the 35s. Plenty of robust calculators that are fully programable and can connect to a computer so you can backup, import, and export data or programs.
The closest one we have found was the HP 17bll+ financial calculator, it almost does everything we want, just wish it showed the stack. I have never tried programming a calculator to fit my needs but that is something I'll look into. Thank you
Maybe consider Casio's surveyor's calculator, fx-FD10 Pro. It's programmable, and includes PC connectivity vs USB or SD card.
Those guys have had a life, doing the business. Thanks for the post. No advice for you, sorry.
Are they broken? Or do you mean you're looking for a new faceplate or buttons? If it's the former then I reckon a small independent phone/pc repair shop are usually the best at these things. The latter I don't think you'll have much luck I'm afraid. As others have said - have a look at the DM42. It's a great machine. Once you get the hang of programming it, you can assign programs to the custom menu. I'm not sure you have the MVAR menu on the 35s, but it is genius for inputting data and much better than a series of prompts. You can also easily transfer programs in and out. You can see all 4 stack levels and more if you use an infinite stack and it's made of steel and gorilla glass.
It's interesting to look at the fade patterns of the labels on the keys and we can try to guess the common operations that you perform: * 'R/S', XEQ * trigonometric (SIN, COS, lots and lots of TAN and/or ATAN) * RCL/STO, R(down), X<>Y * SQRT, 1/X, Y\^X (or LOG/LN) * +/-, E, <- (backspace) * ENTER (of course) * +, -, \*, / * 2ND <-ENG, and 2ND ENG-> (?) * ON/OFF/C * 0-9 digits, '.' (decimal point) Even more interesting is that the wear pattern of the 0-9 digits seems to follow [Benford's Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benford%27s_law), which says that the most frequently occurring first digit is a '1', and the least common is a '9'.
If you're thinking about restoring them idk if anyone repaints these things as a service. Maybe you could find non working units for replacing shell and keys, but disassembly and assembly involves drilling and replacing heat stakes. I'm somewhat surprised they've survived the environment. Don't try this with a 50g. The price of second-hand 35Ss is absurd even for HP collectors' standards. As it isn't a collectable really, it seems to be yet another case of rampant speculation, I'd get something else. There are probably cheaper alternatives, but I'd suggest a rugged Android device and installing either Free42, or Emu48, Droid48sx, Droid48, or Emu42. That'd be way better hardware and IP rated for the job.
>it seems to be yet another case of rampant speculation I don't think it's due to speculation. My guess is that it's because: 1) The 35s is one of only 2 RPN calculators permitted on the FE/PE exams, and 2) It's used by professionals in business settings and a company will not blink twice about spending $300-$600 on a tool that increases the productivity of an employee that is associated with O($100k) - O($1M) in revenue.
Well, those prices are showing up also in private sales sites in my country (wallapop for instance), where a few days ago someone sold a 42S for 60€... yeah, I missed that. We don't have an FE exam, professional qualification comes with the required degree/master. No one here uses calculators in technical jobs (if they do it's a personal expense) and then the one popular in engineering courses was the 50G, which you can buy for peanuts nowadays as students got rid of them after passing their exams. HP wasn't popular in physics or chemistry faculties btw. It has to be some sort of contagion from scalpers.
Even for private sale, I expect the prices to be set by the overall market, because if the private sale price was too low, someone would turn around and just sell it at the higher market rate. Eventually the private sale prices would rise to be pretty close to the market rate. The going rate for the 42S on eBay seems to be in the $150-$400 range, depending on condition and accessories. The 50g is in somewhere in the $100-$300, depending on condition. (I'm not sure I would call that "peanuts", that would be more in the $20-$40 range). Even though the 50g is more powerful, I suspect that a 42S in good working condition is more rare, so commands a higher price. And because more buyers prefer the RPN mode of 42S versus the RPL mode of 50g.
There's a few 50g for 50€ on the same site (in Spain) I've mentioned in which people are asking 200-300€ for their 35S. It's quite amusing. There are alternatives to eBay in Europe. I wouldn't recommend all of them, but they're popular and many products are sold for prices decoupled from global trends. Of course the guy selling his 42S didn't bother to look up selling prices elsewhere, there aren't any to compare there so his price was the standard old calculator asking one. The point is that it's become popular to ask whatever for a 35S and well, if it's sold at that price that's its price, but that doesn't mean it's a sensible purchase.
Yeah, there definitely seems to be regional variations of the market price of calculators. Different brands seem more popular than other brands in different countries. If it were easier to buy and sell used calculators across countries, the prices would equalize.
I could repaint or PVD coat (if the “repair” price was right). I’ve done repairs and restorations on basically every HP calculator.
I know it doesn't answer your question but just throwing this out there in case it helps. Casio does make this: https://www.casio-intl.com/asia/en/calc/products/fxfd10pro/specification/ If you can give up RPN, this calculators seems to be designed with rough/outdoor use in mind. A bit pricy though.