HP 35s Review

A quick review of the calculator. I don't know that this was needed especially after the TI 36X Pro comparison but I just wanted to compile a few summary thoughts. I don't think it's a very good review, but a more thorough analysis of its functionality can be seen from the other videos.

It's a good calculator, certainly a good enough one for a specific exam, but it had potential to be a great calculator and just missed it.

[warplanner]

Logan, I realize that I am speaking to you across half a decade but wanted to thank you for your videos. Being a Bus Ad major in college and software developer for more than 45 years, I was indelibly an "infix" guy. But, as retirement approached and I was able to delve deeper into one of my favorite pastimes - amateur radio - I had this urge to learn RPN for the sheer sake of mastering the venerable HP calculators of the days of yore. (I also developed a Jones for slide rules and have a modest collection of same.)
The collector values of the old HPs are prohibitive, so I bought TWO HP 35Ses - one for the bench and one for the office. Thanks to your videos and that short treatise on HP RPN by the Norwegian gentlemen, I am slowly maturing. But being still unsophisticated, I have found these little beasts to be great fun and the formula and SOLVE features more than adequate for my needs.
The tidbits that your videos reveal are invaluable; I marvel at their consistency and your patient narrative.
Sincere thanks!
~K6WHP

[The-Friendly-Grizzly]

I barely scratch the surface of what a 35S will do, and I am far from a whiz on RPN, but I discovered an advantage to them. Folks in the office who mooch your calculator "for just a few minutes" will borrow your HP... once.

[etch]

0:24 F..k NIce. On a HP33s only the backspace is working. Why are my errors always in the beginning?

[walterwhite]

I own several HP35S machines, and would like to determine year of manufacture (from the serial number). Can anyone help out? Thanks

[enginerdy]

This was my daily driver for a long time until I got a DM42 very recently. Still getting used to it since I've been using a 35s since like 2008. It got me through FE, PE, and ham extra exams, but recently one of them has been kindof flaky and I needed something nicer to fill the gap between a pencil and Matlab.
It's sad that HP doesn't really have a model that fits that description anymore.

[SmithSurveying]

I have learned so much from your videos man. Thank you for making them :]

[lowellmccormick]

To execute a routine on the 35S, the ENTER key has to be pressed in the sequence, which adds an extra stroke. The 32SII only requires the XEQ key followed by the assigned key to run the routine. No Enter key required. I used the 35S for a few years and the Enter key crapped out so I bought another. But then I went on ebay and bought a 32SII and keep the 35S in the drawer as a backup. I miss my 41CV but I like the 32SII more.

[mistermac]

Is there a "Swap" feature on the HP35s that allows you to swap two numbers in the stack w/o rolling through all 4 items in the stack?

[joro]

Anyone have this problem? My HP 35s sometimes misses the zero when you press it. It clicks but does not register the zero on the stack. This is really troublesome because I will be using it for an exam and don't have time to watch the keyboard. I took it apart, got the rivets off, cleaned out all of the crumbs/keyboard and somehow got it back together working. It still does the same thing. Otherwise it works great and i need a backup calculator for the surveying test i will take soon. I'm still using my HP11C which still works great and is so reliable.

[DANNY]

Bought one of these, sometimes the keys would register, sometimes they wouldn't...I ended up looking at the screen way too often and lost confidence in the machine over time.

[wesselschalkwyk]

Hi. Lovely calculator. Does it have a display backlight and if so how do I turn it on?

[BigAsHell]

For the hp 35s where do you get all your programs from? I am looking to find programs for the hp 35s so I can program it for the fe civil exam. Also does the keyboard work good, I heard people had problems registering keystrokes with it?

[BeHappyByChoice]

What would be a GREAT handheld calculator that doesn't compromise on features just so it is allowed in schools/exams, etc. You made the comment that this unit could have been better if it wasn't built with exams in mind. Thank you.

[chapotito]

The awkward way HP did this calculator was purposely dumbed down and made hard to do the programming so NCEE would accept a fully programmable calculator.  Any better than that, and NCEE would not accept it.  They do not accept the HP 32s or HP 32SII and they do this one.

[aurora-cchk]

how do you even turn on this calculator?

[alejandroprieto]

Hello. I'm wondering about who is newer the 35s or the 42s? Which you could recommend ?

[BlastFromYesterday]

What do you do to get the most out of a calculator? Or do you think it suffices to use it just for what you need it?

[eder]

I need to find the key (:) can you help me? Thank you