PE Exam Calculator
PE Exam Calculator
(OP)
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.
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.






RE: PE Exam Calculator
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
--------------------------------------
100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...
RE: PE Exam Calculator
RE: PE Exam Calculator
If you haven't already, you should make sure whatever you select will be allowed.
RE: PE Exam Calculator
I love this calculator and I used it in my work too.
RE: PE Exam Calculator
Good Luck!
RE: PE Exam Calculator
----------------------------------
Sometimes I only open my mouth to swap feet...
RE: PE Exam Calculator
RE: PE Exam Calculator
RE: PE Exam Calculator
I didn't try to take my Versalog 1460 into the exam, for fear that the proctors would confiscate it!
RE: PE Exam Calculator
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: PE Exam Calculator
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!!
RE: PE Exam Calculator
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: PE Exam Calculator
Good luck.
RE: PE Exam Calculator
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
RE: PE Exam Calculator
RE: PE Exam Calculator
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
RE: PE Exam Calculator
I used an HP model just for the unit conversions. That model is no longer acceptable.
RE: PE Exam Calculator
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.
RE: PE Exam Calculator
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
www.gke.org
--------------------------------------
100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...
RE: PE Exam Calculator
I used the HP33S this past October because I use HP calculators. I also bought the Casio model for a backup, I liked it also it was very easy to use.
After purchasing, make sure you practice with the calculator so you can perform all the functions you need without having to waste time looking at the instructions.
RE: PE Exam Calculator
p/r conversion is one of the few built-in "advanced" functions which I actually found useful on my PE exam. Because I anticipated there would be a lot of uses for it, I had learned exactly how it worked on my calculator, understanding how it handled each quadrant and conversions in both directions. I might have done just as well to spend the time practicing Pythagoras and arctan.
RE: PE Exam Calculator
RE: PE Exam Calculator