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Calculators
6

Calculators

Calculators

(OP)
I have had my HP 15c calculator since 1984, when I was a grad student.  Yesterday, the zero key started getting "squishy" and it won't always produce a zero in the display.  I love my HP 15c, but I know it is no longer made.  Has anybody out there made the transition from an HP 15c (or 11c) to a newer model?  If so, which one?

DaveAtkins

RE: Calculators

I have had an 11C and have been using HPs since about 1975. I have a 32S at the moment (bought in 1991), and found no problem changing as they have all been (Reverse Polish Notation) RPN. The only problem is keying in the programmes (which vary slightly with each model).

I cannot use the ones with an equals sign (whatever they are called!)

StephenA

RE: Calculators

You might want to try to repair it first.  There's an interesting website:
http://www.hpmuseum.org/
that has a history of the HP calculators and a section on repairing them.
The reason you might want to repair it is that HP seems to be de-emphasizing the calculator business.  Their latest models don't seem as well made or thought out as their earlier ones.  I believe the they only make two scientific calculators and after I tried the 49, I returned it and got a 48GX.  Maybe you can get a used one.

RE: Calculators

2
I moved from an 11C to a TI something-or-other and then back to HP when the 48 came out.  My 48 started acting up so I bought a new one - an HP 48GX - love it.

Its got way more features than I'll ever use...but that's what turns us engineers on, right?

There's also a 49G out there but I think they discontinued it.

RE: Calculators

I think the 48GX has been replaced with the 48G2.

The later 48GX's that were made were not under as strict of quality control as the earlier 48GX's that were put out (so a guy at HP told me). I got a defective one last year and sent it back to HP, happened to another friend of mine also. I would try the new 48G2.

RE: Calculators

I have a HP32Sii and it is just starting to give up the ghost.  Unfortunately HP stopped making them earlier this year.  I need an RPN replacement, and I hear the new HP33S isn't much chop in comparison to the HP32Sii.  Are there any good news stories about the HP33S out there?  

RE: Calculators

I don't know about the 33S but the 48 and 49's are of course RPN.

Check out this site   http://www.hpcalc.org

RE: Calculators

Currently using 32S and have for past 10 years or more.  I have 3 of them now, and one is about to go.  I still have my 41CV and believe it or not, my original HP45 (purchased in 1975), though the batteries won't recharge for more than a few seconds.

The programs I used to run on my HP41CV I have largely ported to spreadsheets.  

I, too, am stuck to the RPN logic.  Casio tried one about 15 years ago, but it never caught on.

I really hate to see this era of calculators go away, though that is likely.  I had my HP45 rebuilt by HP about 20 years ago.  Not sure if they will still do that for calculators.

RE: Calculators

I use HP 41CV. It is over 20 years old. It is taped, bandaged and I was able to buy two other HP41CV to use as spare parts. To be honest, I do not think I can or I am willing to learn another calculator.

I love the reverse polish notation and it makes so much sense. When I retire, my HP will retire with me.

My two cents

RE: Calculators

Well, the trend seems to be driven by market forces.  I've got two kids who went through Jr. High and Sr. High School and most of the classes involving math require calculators and most of these teachers have no clue on how to use RPN with HP's.  

They usually have a list of graphing calculators that they "approve" and these are usually Texas Instruments, Sharp or Casio.

I got my son an HP 49G which allows switching between RPN and the traditional a + b = c method.  

So all calculator companies are forced to consider the the major market is driven by multitudes of kids going through schools where the teachers can't handle RPN.

RE: Calculators

I have a 15C bought new in the mid 80's for my brother who was  active duty U.S. Army, attending USMAPS, United States Military Academy Prep School. He decided after one year that he wasn't interested in that much math. The calculater has been in the drawer every since, I've used it about 3 or 4 times. Truly like new and now for sale.
Feel free to contact me.

regards,
John McCracken
1st Rate Fabricators
www.firstratefabricators.com

RE: Calculators

I don't totally buy the teachers don't teach RPN argument.  My generation was raised without training on any kind of calculator.  We formed the backbone of the HP market.  If something is easier to use, engineers will learn how to use it.
I was a late convert, after going through numerous Casios, TIs, etc.  It took me a couple of days of concentrating to teach myself how to use RPN and after that I couldn't use anything else.
JAE, I think your marketplace analogy is good in that engineers are just not that big of a market.  Plus, with computers, there's less and less manual calculations being performed.

RE: Calculators

JAE...I'm not smart enough to use the 48GX.  Maybe I can get one and get my son to teach me!

RE: Calculators

Have been using an HP 48G for about seven years, and am very happy with it.  Only use a fraction of its features.  I get mathematically dyslexic when trying to use my wifes Casio (non-rpn) calculator.

 

RE: Calculators

The schools are definitely a breeding ground for non-RPN neophytes who come out of it just not "feeling comfortable" with the RPN order of things.  Similarly, many schools in my neck of the woods use Apple/Mac computers in their labs vs. PC's although that is slowly changing.  

RE: Calculators

DaveAtkins,

You can still find a HP-15c calculator on eBay.  At a price tough.

RPN or not, mathematics are universal and if you want something one step ahead, buy yourself a little Pocket PC (perhaps the same price than a new HP-15c) and install the software Pocket 15C Scientific Calculator by Lygea.  Check it out on http://www.handango.com it's only $17.00!

That way you can have your old calculator back and all the benefits of a Pocket PC.

RE: Calculators

I have two cents worth of input here...

Back in the 801 I taught engineering courses at a community college. I was not impressed with the student’s high school training. They could not use a scientific calculator.

I spent three-class period and worked with them on how to use a scientific calculators.

I know things may have changes since then. I also acknowledge that the quality if students who attend community college is not the highest; but this argument is not always correct. Trust me on this one. I have seen some bright students go through the community college that I taught at.

You be the judge.

RE: Calculators

I've had an HP41CX for 20 years, and it is still working perfectly.  I am hoping it can last until retirement for me, but if it doesn't, I have one more I bought that is in great used condition.

I have had an older HP repaired by an individual, and he did a good job.  He has repaired other friends old calculators, also.  In addition, he sells "new" and repaired calculators.  His web site is...

www.fixthatcalc.com

good luck!

RE: Calculators

I like my TI-83.  I've used TI-89 and -93 but they aren't necessary if you're not a student.  I have plenty of graphing and programming power nad probably my fave is the equation solver.  It even has a periodic table under the neato bells and whistles button.


Not much of a fan of reverse polock notation, :-p

RE: Calculators

I just bought a hp 33s, I used the 48GX all through college and for the first couple of years in the buisness.  I liked it a lot, but I cannot use it for the PE Exam.  I think the 33s is the only RPN calculator you can use on the test is the HP 33s.  It also converts to the normal calculator operation, so my wife can use it too, kind of convenient.  It does enough for what I do, and it seems easier to program than the hp48gx.

akastud

RE: Calculators

Hi Dave!

I use a TI-30Xa. It has plenty of functions for me and is only about $10 or $15. Anything that needs programming or spreadsheets, I use my computer.

RE: Calculators

I wandered on in to the Civil exam with my 48GX.  Then again people even had solutions books with them and no one seemed to care.

Know what I want?  I want the RPN equivalent of a cheap nonprogrammable barely scientific calculator.  I use my fancy 48GX for arithmetic and I feel a little silly.

I fear that after hanging onto my dead 11C forever, I may have finally tossed it a couple of years ago.  Idiot.  But I had no idea at the time the thing would become such a commodity, nor that someone was out there who would fix it.

Hg, wallowing in regret.

RE: Calculators

(OP)
Thanks for all the great input.  My biggest shock is that 15c's are still available, mostly on e-Bay, with the going price as much as $350!  I'll say it again--$350!  I'm going to Staples this weekend to check out the 33s.

DaveAtkins

RE: Calculators

I used an 11C for about 15 years until the 3 key started to require extra effort so i retired it for a 32SII which i used for about 4 years until recently split my coffee into it ... looked at the new souped up HP's and am back to using my 11C believe it or not... if i had a nickel for every time i've pushed a button on these calculators the tax man would love me.

RE: Calculators

I can't find a "zero button" on my slide rule, much less one that is "squishy".

I use an HP 28S, but I keep the owner manual(s) handy in case I punch some wrong button and get myself off in some "never-never land," which can happen real quickly.

rmw

RE: Calculators

Try getting a palmtop with excel on it. Then you can do everything a calculator could do and more. I use an HP Jornada.

RE: Calculators

HP48G

RE: Calculators

A walk down memory lane. Anyone remember the early Bowmar Brain?
Talk about tactle feel, the keys clicked clearly as you pressed them.

Regards
pennpoint

RE: Calculators

a 'touchy feely' thread for sure.

RE: Calculators

Dave,

Staples does not carry the HP 33s, in fact I had a hard time finding it anywhere.  I finally picked it up off of HP's website, and it was mailed to me in about 3 days.

akastud

RE: Calculators

After it's days have finally come to an end, I will always have a special place in my heart for my 48SX.

RE: Calculators

I have never learned how to use RPN and had not given it much consideration until this thread started. The 1970's transition from a slide rule to the Texas Instrument "style" data entry was a fairly seamless event for me - the though process is similar for both. At that time, I viewed RPN as an unnecessary complication.

RE: Calculators

RPN is kind of like setting up an Excel spreadsheet (10 years ago I would have said Lotus).  First you put in the numbers, then you do stuff to them.

Hg

RE: Calculators

"standard" method -

    X  +  Y  =  Z

RPN method -

    X
   +Y
  -------
    Z

RPN is actually the way I was taught in 1st grade/2nd grade, etc. although I didn't really understand it at RPN.  

RE: Calculators

Best HP I had was the 27S.  Much quicker and user friendly than the 48GX for writing equations and solving.  HP discontinued it around the time when the 48's hit the market (for twice the price).

My first day on a job, the guy in charge of supplies and setting up workstations is installing an overhead light above my desk.  Using 2 hands to tighten up a nut&bolt, with a screwdriver dangling between his palm and little finger, the screwdriver slips. About 4 feet below is my HP27S.  Like a Spear, it plunges in and shatters the INPUT key.  He might as well have cut off my arm.

Anyway that's how I ended up with the 48GX, but similar to some of the other posts I'm mostly limited to the basic math.  I don't really like to recommend it because it seems so cumbersome to input custom equations, and I think it's slow to process them once you've got it entered without buying the extra memory card (over $100 dollars last time I checked).  But I don't know what else is out there.

RE: Calculators

The 48GX makes me nervous because even with simple arithmetic it takes a while to display things, so my typing can get ahead of it and I wouldn't even know.  I don't think it's a battery issue because from what I remember it's always been like this, and I've changed the batteries.

Anyone else have that?

Hg

RE: Calculators

Yes, my 48GX seems to hesitate but I've found that it still brings forth the answer correctly....just a lag due to the graphical display.

RE: Calculators

I notice that my 48GX slows down when I get a couple of hundred entries in the stack.  Clear the stack and see if that speeds things up.

RE: Calculators

I was dismayed when HP stopped making the HP32Sii, because I love its combination of speed, power, and RPN.  I consider it the gold standard, and dread the day when it gives up the ghost. I have also found that it's almost impossible for me to use a non-RPN calculator. I have held on to my HP11c as a backup, and I am impressed with its solid construction, something I no longer see in current calculators.

Does anyone have any experience with the new HP33S?  I don't like the way it looks for one, but I wonder about how it functions.

RE: Calculators

Ah, the Bowmar Brain....

Nowadays I get funny looks when describing someone who's "wicked smaht" as a "Bowmah"  
- as in "He's a wicked Bowmah!"

RE: Calculators

Customer reviews at Amazon.com on the HP33S almost universally critize this calculator for the decimal point being too small to see.  It also does not fit into your shirt pocket.

RE: Calculators

"HP" today is just a brand name, nothing more.

"HP" used to mean quality, innovation, and a strong, motivated, appreciated workforce.

They're not distinctive anymore and are simply another tech company, not THE tech company. Most of the older folks I know inside the company say "the HP way" seems to have died with the founders. Too bad.

I really, really miss my HP15 and its replacement HP32. If I'd known they were giving up on that line, I'd have bought some spares.

I just can't afford the eBay premium for a used calculator.

RE: Calculators

I agree with you, I am very troubled by the decline in quality at HP, and how with the HP33s they seem to be more concerned with the style of the calculator than its function.  I too wich I had bought at least one additional HP32sII, and I mean when they first started making them before they changed the color scheme and lessened the quality of eht keys.

RE: Calculators

wow, a thread on good old HP's. It's interesting how this topic elicited so much interest.

I have a collection of HP's in my desk drawer...42S (long minus batteries), a large graphing calculator (never used), and the two that I use daily: a 22 year old 15C and 12 year old business 17BII (can't beat those built in financial functions). The 15C has a few squishy keys but it seems like they usually get unsquishy after a year or so. Can't beat the 15C for overall speed and convenience. Anything more complicated than a few sines and cosines and I'll set up an Excel spreadsheet instead (although many years ago I used the programming features of the 15C all the time).

ahhhh....memory lane  (yes, I remember Bowmar Brains!)

RE: Calculators

My HP41 card reader stopped working. Now I need to load up some of my programs from magnetic cards. Ouch, I miss some of them so bad. I guess I have to look for a second hand one that is still operational.

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