HP 15c re-release, Anyone still using calculators 19

[Celt83]

For those looking for an updated RPN calculator there is a new version of the HP 15c that was released recently that looks to fix some bugs and significantly increase computation speed.
Link

Anyone still using handheld calculators beyond just punching in numbers these days?

I went on a bit of a “calculator” history detour a year or so back that had me using a slide rule for a bit, fascinating tools, and then transitioned to a keystroke programmable HP 11c and decided to treat myself recently and purchased one of the Swissmicros DM42.

 

[Ussuri]

May as well throw my tuppence worth in.

Calculator: Casio fx-9860GII
Calculator app: Ncalc FX
Pencil: Rotring 600, 0.5mm, Lead grade H.

 

[dik]

The Casio fx-9860GIII comes with Python...

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[TLHS]

I use an HP48 app on my phone. I don't really use a physical one anymore, because if I'm at my desk I'm probably on my computer and I can just type it into the SMath scratch work window I pretty much always have open and if I'm on the move I'm not bringing a calculator if I have a phone.

 

[wrantler]

 

[JedClampett]

My inventory of calculators:
[ul]
[li]15C for everyday.[/li]
[li]48GX for special occasions.[/li]
[li]32SII in a hard plastic case for travel.[/li]
[li]Prime as an extra which I don't like and never use.[/li]
[/ul]
I've got more calculators than I need, but less than I want.

 

[XR250]

I'm pounding it out on my calculator all day long and the 40+ year old 11C still works perfectly. What a testament to a beautifully engineered piece of equipment.
The new 15C is on order. Not sure why other than sometimes I can input faster than the 11C can process and I have to wait or just a new N+1 distraction.
I figure I can make 25 cents a day extra in billings on the new calc due to the improved speed.

 

[Agent666]

48GX for special occasions.

Curious what constitutes a special occasion,..

https://engineervsheep.com

 

[fel3]

Agent666…

Perhaps Jed means birthdays and anniversaries?

============
"Is it the only lesson of history that mankind is unteachable?"
--Winston S. Churchill

 

[Aesur]

Having an HP is like having a car with a manual transmission. No one can borrow it.

This is one of the best feelings, my wife has grabbed my RPN calculator off my desk a few times to add stuff up and just looks at me shocked that my calculator "doesn't work right".

 

[civeng80]

My first calculator was the HP45 back in the 70s. I regretted buying it because soon after the HP25C came out which was programmable and much better.

 

[IRstuff]

The 45 was the bomb when it came out, but it seemed to me that the HP-65 was the better programmable calculator, since you could store programs offline on those magnetic strips, and that feature was the primary attraction for the HP-41C, which I bought when I got my first real job. I likewise bought the 25C in the interim, since that was all I could afford as a student.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list

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[dik]

Weddings, funerals, coming out parties... you know...

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[JedClampett]

The 48GX is a powerful tool that can be programmed, do unit conversions, graphical stuff, etc. It's a lot more than I need day-to-day, plus I worry about wearing out the keyboard from using it. Special occasions are not weddings, birthdays, showers, means, but could be. For instance, yesterday I needed to convert in/second to mm/sec, and my desktop conversion tool doesn't have those units. So out came the 48GX.
Daily calculator is a 15C. It's fine for figuring out the area of a circle.

 

[dik]

You cannot escape... I was searching for information about the DM42 calculator a few days back... Amazon just showed up with a link for me to buy one...

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[271828]

I just looked at the DM 42. It has e^x as a second function. I use that a LOT more often than LN(x). I also just noticed that HP-42S has that. I guess if both of my 32s models die, I'll get another 32s or maybe at 15c.

Am I the only one who uses what was chosen as first vs second functions as a criterion for picking a calculator?

 

[swearingen]

Picked up a 48SX and 2 years later upgraded to the GX in college. Now use a 48G (only accesses 32k of RAM instead of 128k - much faster).

It's on my desk and used often for two reasons:

1. It is great to bang out some quick numbers to get in the ballpark before getting serious on the computer.​

2. The 48s have the ability to remap the keyboard. I remapped my main operator keys long ago to recognize if I was putting in feet/inches and treat them as such. It allows me to do feet/inch calcs quickly with no mistakes which is very useful.​

Also, RPN is the absolute king. I have challenged many a rookie engineer that disparaged my calculator to a large formula test and I've always won by a long shot. I even tell them I will use only one finger...

As for pencils, now that I have discovered Pilot's Frixion line of colored, erasable pens, I doubt I'll ever go back. Any manual sketching or markups I do these days (which is getting rarer, I admit) is done using these.

-5^2 = -25 ;-)

 

[IRstuff]

Last time I even bought a calculator was when my kids were in high school; since they went in a different direction than engineering, calculators in the house are gathering dust.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list

http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm

 

[BridgeSmith]

I'm much the same as you, swearingen, except I haven't remapped anything on my 48G. I use it pretty much every day, mostly for simple calcs I'm doing on paper (lately with those frixion erasable pens). I also use it for unit conversions alot.

I do have to say, when I borrowed an HP 32S for the PE exam, I found having the Hours, Minutes, and Seconds as main buttons was handy for converting between decimal degrees and degrees/minutes/seconds.

 

[ChipB]

What is it with engineers and bikes?
I have a Colnago CT-1 (Campy)
A Cannondale Six13 (Campy)
A Kona Jake the Snake Cyclocross bike
A Catamount MTB
2 Santa Cruz MTBs (one is a 29)

Calculators:
1 HP48GX
3 HP48G
I HP 49G+ (The buttons suck.)
An HP 35s
AND......
A Deluxe Edition HP 15C that I bought as soon as it came out.
I started engineering school with a 15C which got stolen, so I saved my money and bought the 48GX

 

[KootK]

What is it with engineers and bikes?

I feel that many engineers share a conception of what constitutes beauty and that it includes well crafted tools that do what they are designed to do without needless complexity. For me, my 32S and my '78 Zullo both fall into exactly that category.

I've heard wonderful things about electronic shifting and I look forward to trying it. At the same time, there is a part of me that is loath to trade a simple, mechanical solution that works flawlessly for an electrical solution that involves wires, batteries, motors, and blue tooth.

I understand that electronic shifting adds some non-trivial functionality and that it's proven to be sufficiently reliable. But is it still beautiful?. Not for me... yet.

Mrs. KootK can never know what I paid to get a set of NOS 7sp Shimano 600 shifters shipped up here.