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The Best Calculators for Students and Professionals (Old tech remains relevant)
Popular Mechanics ^
| July 26, 2022
| ALEX RENNIE AND STEPHEN SLAYBAUGH
Posted on 10/05/2022 5:20:34 PM PDT by DoodleBob
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To: DoodleBob
...reverse Polish notation takes some time to figure out, but you can't go back once mastered.This! I use my HP 15C all the time. Reverse Polish is the only way to go. No parentheses, no equals signs, just start at the inside and work your way out.
I've had the 15C since 1985, and I dread the day it dies, because nobody makes a calculator with RPN now. Oh well, I've still got the old Pickett slide rule too, and log and trig tables in the CRC Handbook.
To: NWFree
I have a bunch of my Dad's (Stanford BS "55, Stanford MS EE "57) HP Calculators. I think they might be worth a little money, for collectors, I guess.
But I am handing them down to my son, Freshman at Colorado School of MInes, Class of 2027.
62
posted on
10/05/2022 6:12:58 PM PDT
by
Trailerpark Badass
(“There should be a whole lot more going on than throwing bleach,” said one woman.)
To: Leaning Right
I have 3 very nice slide rules left over from my undergrad days at the big U (early 70s).
They are absolutely not for sale at any price.
63
posted on
10/05/2022 6:16:32 PM PDT
by
Seaplaner
(Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never...in nothing, great or small...Winston Churchill)
To: DoodleBob
Saving, to read later. I first saw calculators in grade 7. As a senior, my dad bought me some HP calculator, my first. Very nice.
64
posted on
10/05/2022 6:18:12 PM PDT
by
NetAddicted
(Just looking)
To: algore
65
posted on
10/05/2022 6:22:48 PM PDT
by
algore
To: DoodleBob
The HP 12c's reverse Polish notation takes some time to figure out, but you can't go back once mastered. I've heard this dozens of times (in the 70s), however I've always observed extra steps.
And, for my RPN expert FRiends...
Invited (invited) <--/--> Corrections (corrections) course <--/-->of (of).
66
posted on
10/05/2022 6:24:02 PM PDT
by
Seaplaner
(Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never...in nothing, great or small...Winston Churchill)
To: DoodleBob
I’ve had a 12C for probably going on 30 years. I know HP has an upgraded version, but the fact the 12C is still selling tells you a lot. I think they were priced around $50-odd dollars back then (mine was a gift). Heck, the instruction book was bigger than the calculator.
67
posted on
10/05/2022 6:26:32 PM PDT
by
moovova
To: eyeamok
Why not use a slide rule insteadCalculators have electrolytes.
68
posted on
10/05/2022 6:27:53 PM PDT
by
DoodleBob
( Gravity’s waiting period is about 9.8 m/s²)
To: DoodleBob
The HPs use revers Polish notation, IIRC. They say it’s really quick when you get the hang of it. However, the TI-85 had functions that the HP couldn’t do, like the ability to solve X for complex numbers.
69
posted on
10/05/2022 6:37:45 PM PDT
by
Blood of Tyrants
(Inside every leftist is a blood-thirsty fascist yearning to be free of current societal constraints.)
To: jonrick46
70
posted on
10/05/2022 6:39:42 PM PDT
by
Blood of Tyrants
(Inside every leftist is a blood-thirsty fascist yearning to be free of current societal constraints.)
To: DoodleBob
To: Think free or die
I have mine as well. Cost me about $350 back then. That was real money.
72
posted on
10/05/2022 6:44:11 PM PDT
by
Romulus
To: Blood of Tyrants
I am still using my TI-85.
73
posted on
10/05/2022 6:44:47 PM PDT
by
jonrick46
(Leftnicks chase illusions of motherships at the end of the pier.)
To: EEGator
The TI-89 has a program you can install that has a lot of electronics/electrical engineering equations. I have not seen another calculator that has that for us electronics geeks. But I have not shopped for a calculator in years. Maybe things have changed.
74
posted on
10/05/2022 6:46:00 PM PDT
by
Wilhelm Tell
(True or False? This is not a tag line.)
To: DoodleBob
I use a calculator on my iPhone when I don’t have a computer near by. Here’s the
home/support page. There’s a small ad at the top of the calculator app which supports the developers. I assume there is a paid version, but I have no need for that since I am parked in front of a computer most of the time.
75
posted on
10/05/2022 6:46:42 PM PDT
by
ConservativeInPA
( Scratch a leftist and you'll find a fascist in )
To: Leaning Right
Very green solution. My old calculator was powered by a SUV.
76
posted on
10/05/2022 6:48:27 PM PDT
by
ConservativeInPA
( Scratch a leftist and you'll find a fascist in )
To: FreedomPoster
Man, I still have my old HP15C, I think it still works - changed the batteries a while back.
I’d love to have a real emulator for my iphone. I have one that does RPN, but doesn’t have that classic look.
I should probably check and see if I can find one now.
77
posted on
10/05/2022 6:51:18 PM PDT
by
Kommodor
(Solzhenitsyn was an optimist...)
To: DoodleBob
I had an HP-41CV to get me through E.E. school. Best calculator ever made. You couldn’t use it during a test though. If the instructor saw you using it, you were done right there. If another student saw you using it, they’d laugh at you. A calculator is not going to tell you how to solve a circuit problem, and the component values chosen by the instructor were such that you could do the math in your head. I remember spending hours programming it. Great fun.
78
posted on
10/05/2022 6:55:54 PM PDT
by
NurdlyPeon
(It is the nature of liberals to pervert whatever they touch.)
To: HartleyMBaldwin
Apparently the are still available from HP, but made elsewhere.
To: Wilhelm Tell
We could program it for different classes.
It was a huge advantage. I think almost everyone knew how.
80
posted on
10/05/2022 6:58:30 PM PDT
by
EEGator
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