UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Peeling away my life one layer at a time. Dispose of data books?

TonyDuell · 19th Jun 2019, 6:07 pm

The price of vintage calculators is like the price of vintage radios, or indeed valves. Most are worth a few pounds. But there are odd models that are worth a lot more. We all know, for example, that PX4 valves are worth serious money to audio enthusiasts, but a box of TV valves is going to fetch a fiver at most.

So most calculators, handheld and desktop, are worth a few pounds to a few ten's of pounds. There are some that are worth a bit more. Of the ones that I would pay serious money for (getting towards £1000), they would include any valved Anita (as anything digital using valves is uncommon), the HP9821 (it's the one member of the HP9810/HP9820/HP9821/HP9830 familiy that I am missing).

Never seen a CIP2200, but if schematics are available I can think of a dozen people who can fix them. If schematics are not available I can think of a couple of people who would get it going.

Personally I prefer data on paper, so CD-ROMs do not really interest me. But please list what you have (in the for-sale section), I suspect somebody will want them.

And no, most people do not appreciate vintage computers, or test gear or telegraph instruments, or many such things. But in my case I've made a will leaving everything to a friend who realised that there are things here (machines, books, etc) that are rare and should be preserved. No, I don't really worry what is going to happen to the dozen or so BBC micros, or the shelves of magazines that are already scanned on the web. But it is rather more important that machines where the total known number is in single digits are saved.

19th Jun 2019, 6:07 pm	#32
TonyDuell Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Biggin Hill, London, UK. Posts: 5,208	Re: Peeling away my life one layer at a time. Dispose of data books? The price of vintage calculators is like the price of vintage radios, or indeed valves. Most are worth a few pounds. But there are odd models that are worth a lot more. We all know, for example, that PX4 valves are worth serious money to audio enthusiasts, but a box of TV valves is going to fetch a fiver at most. So most calculators, handheld and desktop, are worth a few pounds to a few ten's of pounds. There are some that are worth a bit more. Of the ones that I would pay serious money for (getting towards £1000), they would include any valved Anita (as anything digital using valves is uncommon), the HP9821 (it's the one member of the HP9810/HP9820/HP9821/HP9830 familiy that I am missing). Never seen a CIP2200, but if schematics are available I can think of a dozen people who can fix them. If schematics are not available I can think of a couple of people who would get it going. Personally I prefer data on paper, so CD-ROMs do not really interest me. But please list what you have (in the for-sale section), I suspect somebody will want them. And no, most people do not appreciate vintage computers, or test gear or telegraph instruments, or many such things. But in my case I've made a will leaving everything to a friend who realised that there are things here (machines, books, etc) that are rare and should be preserved. No, I don't really worry what is going to happen to the dozen or so BBC micros, or the shelves of magazines that are already scanned on the web. But it is rather more important that machines where the total known number is in single digits are saved.