Calculator bit the dust..... 17

[knelli]

Hi all,
I am on my third TI-85 and the display is failing . I looked at other TI models including the TI-83, TI-84 Plus C SE and TI-89 Titanium. I was able to emulate those models on my phone to see if I'd like them. I still prefer the TI-85, and really want something that does conversions easily. I found the conversion programs on the above models to be cumbersome.

What I would like a calculator to do:
I like a large display and history (like TI-85)
trig and scientific functions
x^2 button square root
^ button so I can do whatever root I need (like x^(1/4))
Conversions, including ft^2 to acre and gal to ft^3 (love the conv menu on the TI-85)
solve quadratic/simultaneous equations easily

It would be nice to have something to do decimal to fraction or add feet and inches and give answer in fraction form.

Should I get an old TI-86? Do they have better longevity than the TI-85?

I do like the RealCalc app for android. Anyone know if it is based on a calculator model?

Anyone have the TI36x Pro? CANON F-792SGA? Looks like the TI36x pro conversions are very limited.

I know a lot of you like the HP with RPN, but I'm not looking to go that route.

 

[Archie264]

Well I’m glad we can have fun with this and I think thread proves, if nothing else, that we’re real engineers. Who else would put this kind of energy into discussing calculators? (Hopefully no one.)

 

[PMR06]

All this TI vs HP/RPN discussion will be a thing of the past anyway. Common Core is teaching a new generation of future engineers how to really do math!

 

[CELinOttawa]

Common Core? No, I don't Google....

 

[PMR06]

@CEL, It's an American Democrat thing...

 

[Archie264]

PMR06,

Now there's a topic! I know a high school math teacher who's been forced to adopt that system and it's caused her no end of grief. It's not really about teaching so much as it is about political indoctrination. For those so inclined you could check out an article in today's "TAS" that documents that. (I've abbreviated the publication so as to not be too overtly political and to make it available to only those with an express interest in reading about it; I know this is a technical forum. It's still worth knowing, though, what's being put through under the guise of math education...)

 

[hawkaz]

A few years back, my daughter was doing homework and blurted out "Man- I love my calculator". I told her that she was a natural for engineering. She chose to pursue her Phd in immunology instead- What a waste. She could have been productive in something that really matters instead of trying to prevent pandemics and whatever else those people do.

 

[Archie264]

Well...maybe preventing a pandemic might be a good thing...

 

[paddingtongreen]

My first calculator was the TI SR50, The alternative was the HP35. HP says it cost $395 but I remember it being more because they took rooms in the big hotels and gave a big sales pitch, the SR50 was $175 mail order. This was when I was making about $7.50 an hour, a good wage at the time. Years later, the boss of one of our analysis groups insisted that I see how much better RPN was. He was correct but my mind and fingers were already trained to work with algebraic without me having to think too much, if I tried to switch would have needed a new calculator and it would have slowed me down.

The SR50s were being ripped off in the mail, I ordered four of them for me and some colleagues, when the third mailing arrived the price had dropped to about $125.

Michael.
"Science adjusts its views based on what's observed. Faith is the denial of observation so that belief can be preserved." ~ Tim Minchin

 

[MJB315]

Viva TI-36x Solar! We are one. Errr 1.

"We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us." -WSC

 

[tempeng]

Vote in for the Casio fx-85GT plus. Solar and battery powered, good display size and a "replay" function (which is handy).

The main selling point for me, is that it presents the equations similar to how I would write them by hand where as RPN just spits numbers at you with blatant disregard of social etiquette.

RPN also sounds like some sort of stress related injury.

 

[LittleInch]

I've still got my trusty Casio fx 3600P - P being programmable with 36 steps! Must be clocking on for 30 years old(!!) Forgotten how to do any of that, but it does a lot of what you were looking for but none of that reverse polish stuff or history. Lots of storage for constants though.

My motto: Learn something new every day

Also: There's usually a good reason why everyone does it that way

 

[cebryan]

I have a TI-36X that sits on my desk, but every now and again I break out the beast - my TI-92 Plus. And it never fails that someone walks by and stops to ask "what is THAT?" I'm going to cry when it breaks, but it's been through high school, college and field tested and it's still spitting out integrals and graphing differential equations.

 

[Hokie93]

I have been an HP user since college and cannot use anything but an RPN calculator. My current calculator is an HP 35s.

When I starting my career 20+ years ago, the president of the firm had an HP calculator that was hinged, like a book. I think it had keys on the left hand side and a screen and more keys on the right hand side, or vice versa. I don't know the model number of that beast but it was an impressive looking device. He is retired now but I suspect he still has that calculator.

I haven't seen this much discussion on this site since the last ASD versus LRFD debate.

 

[msquared48]

If I recall Hokie, the HP35's had gold circuitry.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[jimstructures]

Hokie93

That was a HP 28s (there might have been another version HP 28c?) that was a clam shell type case with keys on both sides and a 4 line screen that had graphic capability. It was a pre-curser to the HP 48s & HP 48g. It had many functions and menus like the 48 but never really caught on.

Jim

 

[CELinOttawa]

Hey, where are the Electrical Engineer members who were responsible for designing these things? Isn't some Engineer going to come on and defend some horrible piece of crap as being undervalued and a diamond in the rough???

 

[hetgen]

I'm waiting for someone to post this :¬

 

[loki3000]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI-Nspire_series

n-spire looks nice and plenty of features (like usable graphs and usable integration if you need it). but i suppose they are rather pricey.

first calc i ever had was hp20s. used it until electronics went haywire and didn't produce reliable results anymore.

 

[MillR]

My calculator life motto is: Get the $8 solar calculator and don't buy the replacement insurance. Go ahead and pour my coffee on it. Lose it in my desk pile. Buy a few more. Pass out extra $8 calculators to my children and friends.

 

[sturr]

My HP41CV is 26 years old and still working perfectly! I hope it never dies!