What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!

[0xdeadbeef]

I wouldn't call myself a collector. I just tend to fall in love with some calculators with alphanumeric display for some reason. Also bought an HP 42S recently but the display has very bad contrast.
Anyway, the TI-68 is notorious for having issues with the flex connector and going over the PCB connection with a soldering iron at ~150°C tends to cure it without melting the connector.
Worked for this one for sure. The display was barely readable with several columns and rows missing before:

[Specmaster]

Thats a neat trick, I've got a couple Texas Ti58's, A Silver Ti (can't remember the model number) in a clam shell case, a black Ti68, Ti86 and also a Ti92 but my daily calc is a Commodore SR4912 with red led display, neat.

[Nominal Animal]

Cypress FX2/LP mini eval board (link is to Sigrok wiki page). For USB high speed transfer experiments: perhaps I could cobble together a 1 Msps 8-16 bit ADC with a differential front-end for measuring unipolar signals up to 12 volts (15 volts) or so. Would be quite useful for measuring supply glitches on SBCs, as I lack proper test equipment. The ADC would use the measurement ground, isolated from the FX2 using e.g. Si86xx digital isolators, so technically the ADC does not even need to have differential inputs. The FX2 itself uses USB host power and ground. Power for the ADC and its analog front end (voltage divider and buffer opamp, or an inamp with sub-unity gain) would be from a battery, to avoid the noise from an isolated DC-DC converter.

[djos]

Another TI-68 for my little collection
This is the first model with the metal bezel and screws. The LCD had issues but after giving the flex connector some love (and 150°C), it looks like fresh from the factory.
Paid 10,50€ for it and couldn't be any happier.

I had that exact model in high school and college, in fact I still have it in a drawer in my study, fantastic calculator!

[0xdeadbeef]

Yeah, well, it has some weird limitations like supporting binary only to +/-511, limiting variable names to three characters (or so) and not being fully programmable (loops etc.), but it has pretty good support for complex numbers and it sure has style.

[Richard Crowley]

"Trying is the first step towards failure." - Homer J. Simpson

"If everything you try works, you aren't trying hard enough." - Gordon Moore

[djos]

Yeah, well, it has some weird limitations like supporting binary only to +/-511, limiting variable names to three characters (or so) and not being fully programmable (loops etc.), but it has pretty good support for complex numbers and it sure has style.

Considering it's ~1992 vintage is pretty decent imo.

[rdl]

I think I might have one of those TI-68 calculators. Seems like the display was badly discolored, but I haven't seen it in years. Stored away in a box somewhere probably. I know I have a TI-83 and a TI-30, so they're probably all in the same box. I may have to dig them out to take a look.

[djos]

I think I might have one of those TI-68 calculators. Seems like the display was badly discolored, but I haven't seen it in years. Stored away in a box somewhere probably. I know I have a TI-83 and a TI-30, so they're probably all in the same box. I may have to dig them out to take a look.

I think I've got a heavily worn TI-55 III somewhere too, that was my 1st TI calc - I traded an Armatron for it in High School.

[0xdeadbeef]

I think I might have one of those TI-68 calculators. Seems like the display was badly discolored, but I haven't seen it in years.

Again, missing or weak columns/rows of the TI-68's display are usually caused by the flex connector and can be cured with a soldering iron at ~150°C.
The display actually has a quite good contrast .. specifically for a matrix display of that period. The displays of e.g. the HP 42S and the TI 85 are barely readable in low light situations and/or under certain angles no matter what contrast setting you use and so you find yourself tweaking the settings all the time.

[beanflying]

My Plastic ran into the slightly infamous alice110.... on evilbay for the first time. Wonders should I start being a shill for $$ too All jokes aside nice range of 'stuff'.

Also took delivery of some Neons after a little bigclive inspiration. Bending jig for flowers made suits 3-6mm Neons or Leds and ran up a few samples.

[MosherIV]

Hi

Recently just got this


Was spares or repair. Sadly completely dead 

[Specmaster]

I snared this today on the evilbay for a good price, now I'm even better placed to calibrate my own meters 

[tooki]

Another TI-68 for my little collection
This is the first model with the metal bezel and screws. The LCD had issues but after giving the flex connector some love (and 150°C), it looks like fresh from the factory.
Paid 10,50€ for it and couldn't be any happier.

150C, yikes, what did you do to the poor thing then?

Repaired the hot-bar connected flat-flex. Dave does the same thing in this repair:

[djos]

I think I might have one of those TI-68 calculators. Seems like the display was badly discolored, but I haven't seen it in years.

Again, missing or weak columns/rows of the TI-68's display are usually caused by the flex connector and can be cured with a soldering iron at ~150°C.
The display actually has a quite good contrast .. specifically for a matrix display of that period. The displays of e.g. the HP 42S and the TI 85 are barely readable in low light situations and/or under certain angles no matter what contrast setting you use and so you find yourself tweaking the settings all the time.

My screen is still in perfect working order ... still running off batteries from College too! 

[rdl]

I actually got this last week, but one of the digits didn't light up. It took me until yesterday to get around to fixing it. I just wanted a basic calculator to keep by the living room computer with a display I could see in subdued light.

[Specmaster]

I think I might have one of those TI-68 calculators. Seems like the display was badly discolored, but I haven't seen it in years.

Again, missing or weak columns/rows of the TI-68's display are usually caused by the flex connector and can be cured with a soldering iron at ~150°C.
The display actually has a quite good contrast .. specifically for a matrix display of that period. The displays of e.g. the HP 42S and the TI 85 are barely readable in low light situations and/or under certain angles no matter what contrast setting you use and so you find yourself tweaking the settings all the time.

My screen is still in perfect working order ... still running off batteries from College too! 

So I should so, college was only a few months ago. 🤣🤣🤣

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

[djos]

I think I might have one of those TI-68 calculators. Seems like the display was badly discolored, but I haven't seen it in years.

Again, missing or weak columns/rows of the TI-68's display are usually caused by the flex connector and can be cured with a soldering iron at ~150°C.
The display actually has a quite good contrast .. specifically for a matrix display of that period. The displays of e.g. the HP 42S and the TI 85 are barely readable in low light situations and/or under certain angles no matter what contrast setting you use and so you find yourself tweaking the settings all the time.

My screen is still in perfect working order ... still running off batteries from College too! 

So I should so, college was only a few months ago. 🤣🤣🤣

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

Lol, that was in the 90's for me!

[Specmaster]

I actually got this last week, but one of the digits didn't light up. It took me until yesterday to get around to fixing it. I just wanted a basic calculator to keep by the living room computer with a display I could see in subdued light.

Yep, that's the big problem with LCD screens, hence my main calculator has LEDS nice, red glow and easy on the eyes.

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

[Specmaster]

I think I might have one of those TI-68 calculators. Seems like the display was badly discolored, but I haven't seen it in years.

Again, missing or weak columns/rows of the TI-68's display are usually caused by the flex connector and can be cured with a soldering iron at ~150°C.
The display actually has a quite good contrast .. specifically for a matrix display of that period. The displays of e.g. the HP 42S and the TI 85 are barely readable in low light situations and/or under certain angles no matter what contrast setting you use and so you find yourself tweaking the settings all the time.

My screen is still in perfect working order ... still running off batteries from College too! 

So it should be, college was only a few months ago. 🤣🤣🤣

Lol, that was in the 90's for me!

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

Mine was in the late 60s hence the red LEDS, my first foray into LCDS happened years after I left college but the trusty old Commodore SR4912 is still as good as new.

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

[rdl]

I forgot to add this photo of my TI-68 to my earlier post. The digits all work fine but there's a strange brownish discoloration across the bottom of the display. Whatever it is must be in or behind the clear plastic because it won't clean off.

[djos]

I forgot to add this photo of my TI-68 to my earlier post. The digits all work fine but there's a strange brownish discoloration across the bottom of the display. Whatever it is must be in or behind the clear plastic because it won't clean off.

Based on the surface bubbling, Looks like the original thin plastic film is still on the display and needs to be removed.

Edit, mine has a very faint brown tint too but none of the bubbling yours has.

[rdl]

Yeah, it does look that way in the photo, but it's just dirt and grime accumulated in the corners. I checked carefully. I started to take it apart for more cleaning then changed my mind. I got all the screws out (apparently mine is the "rare" first version, later ones had no screws) and popped open the two bottom tabs and it still didn't want to come apart. So I just stopped before I caused any damage. It's been in storage for nearly 10 years so I obviously don't need it to look nice. That it still works is good enough.

[0xdeadbeef]

Yeah, it does look that way in the photo, but it's just dirt and grime accumulated in the corners. I checked carefully. I started to take it apart for more cleaning then changed my mind. I got all the screws out (apparently mine is the "rare" first version, later ones had no screws) and popped open the two bottom tabs and it still didn't want to come apart. So I just stopped before I caused any damage. It's been in storage for nearly 10 years so I obviously don't need it to look nice. That it still works is good enough.

I was in the same boat: on the upper side above the display, the case just didn't want to come apart and it was a actually more of a pain in the you-know-what than with the later snap-fit case.
At some point I just didn't care and pushed a little further and it just snapped apart without any damage. Did I mention all the keys fell out while I fiddled with that case construction?
Again, in the snap-fit design of the later versions, the keys can't fall out since the PCB is held by heat-stamped pins - which of course that means that cleaning the keyboard isn't easily possible.

[ChrisLX200]

In a mad moment, bought an RC drone    I've been thinking about it for a year or so, watching them develop technically into the amazingly sophisticated machines they now are. There are many scenic places within 50 miles of where I live (edge of the Peak District National Park is only a few miles away) so many opportunities - if the weather co-operates of course.