PE Exam Calculator

[bisonee]

This is kind of a proffesional question but I need some advice and I dont know where to ask. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for the best calculator to use for the PE exam. The options are:

Hewlett Packard – HP 33S
Casio – FX 115MS or FX 115MSPlus
Texas Instruments – TI 30X IIS
Texas Instruments – TI 36X SOLAR

On the EIT i was able to use the TI 92 so I am familiar with the TI. I guess I am looking for the one that is user friendly and yet can do most of the functions needed.

 

[Skogsgurra]

I think that the calculator chosen has very little to do with the outcome of the exam. If you think so, you have missed a big chunk of vital information. I would use a Slide Rule - if I were allowed to. ;-)

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...

 

[stevenal]

Probably not the best time to jump to RPN. Look carefully how they handle complex arithmetic. Make sure you can try them out. If no demo is available, buy several and return the ones not chosen.

 

[dpc]

It's been a long time since I took the exam, but I know there were some restrictions added years ago regarding programmable calculators and calculators with communications capabilities (usually IR).

If you haven't already, you should make sure whatever you select will be allowed.

 

[vaaoc1425]

I have passed PE recently. I have used the "Sharp Scientific" Calculator. A brand new one you can buy it at Wall mart or any Office supply store. I paid Nine dollars($9}. It is blue in color and it has two lines of large display. The highest function you ever need in an Electrical PE exam going back and fourth to Polar and Reactangulr coordinates. This one has it plus every thing else you need in a exam. Do not go and spend too much of money.

I love this calculator and I used it in my work too.

 

[wbd]

I passed the PE in April 2006 using a TI 30X and it worked just fine for me. I had put my other calculator away and used this one exclusively (both work & studying) so that I got real comfortable with it. I did not bring a second calculator to the exam but did bring spare batteries. I had bought the batteries a couple days before the exam, never needed them and returned them the day after the exam. They were almost as much as the calculator, which I still am using. I think it was around $14.
Good Luck!

 

[ScottyUK]

I have always found Casio calculators to be intuitive and easy to use. The one TI machine that I tried used to infuriate me with its subtly different way of entering calculations. Had I grown up with the TI then I am sure the Casio would infuriate me to an equal extent. I doubt any modern scientifc calculator will be missing any features you will need, so it is just personal choice. Use whichever you feel most comfortable with - the last thing you need to worry about in an exam is whether you can figure out how use the calculator. If it is a new type to you, spend an few hours using it to solve problems so using it becomes second nature instead of a conscious effort.


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Sometimes I only open my mouth to swap feet...

 

[wbd]

Correction to my post. It is a HP 9s calculator. Had a brain scram and calculator was at home, just checked.

 

[alehman]

http://www.ncees.org/exams/calculators/

 

[singlespeed]

I passed the Oct '06 exam (depth - Power) and used the casio fx115ms. The ability to handle complex numbers and solve simultaneous equations can be a real time saver. The test is not only about what you know, it's also about how quickly you can solve 80 problems.

I didn't try to take my Versalog 1460 into the exam, for fear that the proctors would confiscate it!

 

[itsmoked]

Pretty amazing.. You can't even take in pencils??? Nuts.

Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.-

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[DanDel]

Note alehman's post!! These are the only calculators allowed now.

It wasn't too long ago that you could use a graphing calculator, like a TI-85, but no more. They don't want anyone bringing in a calculator which can be used to record any test questions.

Obviously, the more familiar you are with a calculator, along with the amount of time it can save you on complex calcs, would determine which one to use, as long as it is on the list!!

 

[itsmoked]

Yes the <short> list.

Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.-

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[dinkelja]

Let us know how many people are asked to leave because they did not have an approved calculator. When I took the FE; of the 200 or so, about 10 people were thrown out of the PE exam section!
Good luck.

 

[SolarEngineer]

I used the HP33S and was satisfied with it, although it was a hassle to get used to RPN. The key was to use it for all my practice problems.

Once I finished the exam, I went right back my Casio fx260 ($10)...except when some one asks to borrow a calculator. I hand them the HP33S and they hand it right back.

John

 

[CJCPE]

My HP33S can be switched back an forth between ALG and RPN modes.

 

[Golestan]

Hi Guys,
I am also going to take the PE exam this April, so what is the consensus on the calculators?
I have always used the HP calcs. And the hp that I have now is 30S (not the 33S)-should I buy the 33S which is 3 times the price of other approved ones or a lower cost approved unit? I know also that it is a personal preferance after all.
thanks

 

[JLSeagull]

Familiarity is more important than price. If you are familiar with HP, use an HP; if familiar with TI, use TI.

I used an HP model just for the unit conversions. That model is no longer acceptable.

 

[wbd]

Golestan,

I have a HP-20S that I've had for some years but it was not an approved calculator. I bought the HP-9S and it worked fine for me on the exam. I took the Electrical - Power exam in April 2006.

 

[Skogsgurra]

A question from someone that is not familiar with the PE exam - at least not the way it is done in the US:

There seems to be a concentration on polar/cartesian and back conversion. I use Pythagoras and arctan for that. Doing it using built-in functions brings some uncertainty as to what actually happened. At least to me. I used to do those things using a slide rule (yes, quite a few years ago) and I now use any calculator that happens to be available when I need to do it. Manipulating the expressions and reducing them down to their simplest form makes the question about what calculator to use very academic (and that is not supposed to be a joke).

I am sometimes teaching control theory and filters to adult students and I invariably find that those who care about fundamentals and not so much about what calculator they use are those who get the best results.

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...