Scientific Calculators

[rhino]

Okay . . . it's no secret that I'm a giant nerd.

I have the urge to add to my collection of scientific calculators. I'll be using it for working problems both for the classes I teach (physics, physical science, and some math) as well as my self-study I'm currently doing trying to relearn some of the engineering basics that have escaped my mind in the last 25 years.

No, I don't absolutely need a new calculator (just bought a new graphing Casio last week at STAPLES), but it will make me feel better.

I did my best work in college with an HP 11C, then in grad school with an HP 28 (their first graphing calculator that was a clamshell with keypad on one side and display and the other keypad on the other). It's been years since I used RPN logic, but it's very efficient and I'd like to renew my acquaintance.

Should I . . . go for the midrange HP 35S, which seems to be the modern equivalent of the old HP 11C or 15C, or should I go for the gusto with the HP 50G? The former is about 1/3 the cost of the latter, and would probably be easier to use for non-repetitive calculations since it looks (could be wrong) there are more functions with dedicated keys rather than menu choices (which is more common with graphing calculators).

Decisions!

Anyone have an HP (calculator, not computer) they'd like to send to a good home?

 

[Eddie]

Man up and go old school with a slide rule! You could be a prepper/physicist and be ready to solve complex problems in SHTF.

 

[rhino]

Man up and go old school with a slide rule! You could be a prepper/physicist and be ready to solve complex problems in SHTF.

Hah! I have a couple of those around here somewhere. One full size and one pocket size (naturally). I have completely forgotten how to use them, though.

 

[rhino]

Here is what seems to be the current Dream Machine:

HP 50G Graphing Calculator for Math, Science and Engineering in Graphing Calculators at JR.com

 

[indyjoe]

I pull out my HP48GX and it gives me chills of Engineering School. What a great calculator.

 

[downzero]

I guess I never really tried to break the mold. I have an HP 10B II business calculator that is great for stats, and I used a TI-84 in Calculus.

Well, for the first semester. My Calc II and III professors wouldn't allow calculators at all.

Never bought a TI-89 as they were banned in every math class and I never took a science class that required anything beyond taking derivatives.

 

[public servant]

 

[Woodsman]

I have a 48G setting here next to me, an 11C (I believe, the tag fell off long ago), a 32sII, and a 41C. I can't use a TI calculator to save my life. On the flip side, my daughter can't use RPN so we're even.

 

[rhino]

Ah, my fellow nerds . . . embrace the sweetness of RPN with me!

UPDATE!

I found my old HP 48SX last night. It works. Keypad is in good shape. That's the good news.

The bad news is, I have no idea where the THREE VOLUME SET USER'S MANUAL is. I can do simple stuff, but it's going to take a while to relearn how to use it without the manuals. I'm going to try to find .pdf versions online somewhere.

I'm getting emotional thinking of an intact, functional 11C. I bought mine at Service Merchandise in Terre Haute my freshman year. Oh, they had the 15C, but I couldn't afford it. I still remember how giddy I felt as I carried the box to my trusty Chevy Citation. I opened it and started calculating while I was still sitting in the parking lot.

I also used it extensively when I had a factory job in the summer of 1986. They had me doing some lab and testing work, and they had this crappy handheld computer programmed to determine the diameter of the bottle closures based on the measurements of two perpendicular chords. I programmed my HP 11C to do the same thing and it worked a lot more efficiently. Unfortunately I failed to keep the 11C inside of a plastic bag while I was using it, so it got stained with the white colorant they were using to color the polyproylene.

Ah, good times.

I still remember that the 41 was used as the backup computer system for early space shuttle flights. If something went wrong with the primitive primary system, they could use an HP 41 they had onboard for reentry and landing. Between that glory and the fact that every meganerd in America wore one on their belt, the HP 41 was a milestone in calculator history.

 

[XMil]

I'm a TI guy. I can do differential calculus, but RPN is beyond me.

I love my TI-89. 3D graphing, hyperbolic trig, included EE functions, built in statistic package, USB port, A FREAKING FREE C COMPILER!!!, data collection from external sensors, external keyboard, video out for presentations

You can't beat that with a hammer!

 

[Bubba]

Get a Curta. After all, what geek doesn't like to crank one out every now and then.

I went to my freshman year with one of these and a TI-92. I used the heavy hitter for calculus and trig, but went old school for simple manipulations for large data sets.

 

[Bradsknives]

I really didn't want to respond to this thread in fear of being called a nerd!

I'm still using my HP 28C that I purchased over 15 years ago.

 

[rhino]

I tried to rep all the enlightened HP users, but I've run out of juice for today.

Bradsknives ... I wore my 28C out back in the late 1980s or early 90s. I replaced with the HP 48SX, but the 48SX was dormant for more than a decade.

Bubba ... that curta thing is cool. My family has a mechanical calculator years ago that had little toothed wheels with numbers. You used what looked like pda stylus to poke into the little teeth to turn the wheels. It could add and subtract and I think multiply. I don't recall if it could divide, though.

 

[singlesix]

Ah, my fellow nerds . . . embrace the sweetness of RPN with me!

UPDATE!

I found my old HP 48SX last night. It works. Keypad is in good shape. That's the good news.

The bad news is, I have no idea where the THREE VOLUME SET USER'S MANUAL is. I can do simple stuff, but it's going to take a while to relearn how to use it without the manuals. I'm going to try to find .pdf versions online somewhere.

hpcalc.org - HP48 Software Archive

Surely you know about this site.

 

[Roadie]

Ah, my fellow nerds . . . embrace the sweetness of RPN with me!

UPDATE!

I found my old HP 48SX last night. It works. Keypad is in good shape. That's the good news.

The bad news is, I have no idea where the THREE VOLUME SET USER'S MANUAL is. I can do simple stuff, but it's going to take a while to relearn how to use it without the manuals. I'm going to try to find .pdf versions online somewhere.

I'm getting emotional thinking of an intact, functional 11C. I bought mine at Service Merchandise in Terre Haute my freshman year. Oh, they had the 15C, but I couldn't afford it. I still remember how giddy I felt as I carried the box to my trusty Chevy Citation. I opened it and started calculating while I was still sitting in the parking lot.

I also used it extensively when I had a factory job in the summer of 1986. They had me doing some lab and testing work, and they had this crappy handheld computer programmed to determine the diameter of the bottle closures based on the measurements of two perpendicular chords. I programmed my HP 11C to do the same thing and it worked a lot more efficiently. Unfortunately I failed to keep the 11C inside of a plastic bag while I was using it, so it got stained with the white colorant they were using to color the polyproylene.

Ah, good times.

I still remember that the 41 was used as the backup computer system for early space shuttle flights. If something went wrong with the primitive primary system, they could use an HP 41 they had onboard for reentry and landing. Between that glory and the fact that every meganerd in America wore one on their belt, the HP 41 was a milestone in calculator history.

Would this help?

Detailed information for HP 48G Series User's Guide

 

[rhino]

hpcalc.org - HP48 Software Archive

Surely you know about this site.

I'n there right now . . . I've found an index for the manuals, but no manuals yet. I'll keep a' lookin'!

 

[rhino]

Would this help?

Detailed information for HP 48G Series User's Guide

Thanks! I was looking specifically for the S/SX version, but I'll try to download this version when I have access to a fast connection and see if it will work for my 48SX too.

 

[Scutter01]

TI-Nspire.com - TI-Nspire Family by Texas Instruments - US and Canada

 

[singlesix]

TI-Nspire.com - TI-Nspire Family by Texas Instruments - US and Canada

A TI? What's next? Obama 2012 Stickers on the bumpers?

 

[Woodsman]

I bought mine at Service Merchandise in Terre Haute my freshman year.

Oh noooo, I'm a geek too. My 41c came from Service Merchandise also, except it was in Evansville on Green River Road. The 11C was the best darn calculator they made. The only reaosn I have the 32 model is the 11c was discontinued and I wanted a spare. How sad is that?