OT: Rediscovering HP Calculators

ndzied1

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ndzied1
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Not sure if there are any other HP (RPN) calculator lovers out there but you can now get several types of classic calculator emulators on the iPhone and regular computers.

An especially nice and powerful one is called free42 which is available free here:http://thomasokken.com/free42/ and for a small fee for iPhone at the app store.

HP has released the 12c and 15c for iPhone which are supposedly exact ROM emulations but are a little more pricey.

I had a 41CX in college but foolishly sold it on eBay afterward. Seems I can only think in RPN so I had to purchase a 32Sii so I had something to use. Now I picked up a 35s which has a few flaws but they don't effect me. If anyone is looking to unload a 15c or 41 (or any other RPN calc for that matter) I'd be interested.

2b (ENTER) '2B (OR)
 
I still have my 48SX and 48GX from college days ... damn those things are almost 20 years old ... still kicking.

Love 'em.
 
15C rulz ! Damn, I also can only think in RPN because of HP.

I had a 15C, which I sold and got a 42S in stead. This because of it would display two lines of the stack AND both real and imaginary part of the numbers. However, I regret that I sold the 15C because the 42S eats batteries like crazy. It now stays in the drawer.
 
Dropped my 48SX many, many times, but alas, the last time was one to many. When I looked at replacing it about a year ago, they are a bit spendy on eBay for a used device, so I went with a new 50g. I've been pretty happy with it, the UI is a bit different, but the feel of the keyboard is almost as good as the old 48 series.
 
I love my 48GX. My parents gave it to me over a decade ago as a graduation gift from high-school. I didn't appreciate it at the time, but now I use it daily. I'm so used to RPN that it messes me up on regular calculators now though.
 
Peter Nachtwey said:
I bought it for $400 in 1972 I believe.
That was A LOT of money back then but it saved SO MUCH TIME.
Click to expand...

I think that's about what I paid for the 41CX around 1986. I think with the Math/Stat and Extended Memory Cards it was just over $400. I couldn't think of going through school without it. Now I leave the 32Sii at work and keep the 35s in the bag.
 
I bought a 41C when I was in college. I still have it, plus several packs and the memory expansion modules and keyboard overlays.

I later got a 42. I still have that one too.

I use a 48G now, but its starting to have problems, the ON button doesn't work very well and I have to press it several times to get it to turn on.
 
From the original HP35 Manual (the underlines are my own highlights) The last sentence sounds like where Apple may have gotten its product design inspiration...:

From the next section: Shirt Pocket Power
"Our object in developing the HP-35 was to give you a high precision portable electronic slide rule. We thought you'd like to have something only fictional heroes like James Bond, Walter Mitty or Dick Tracy are supposed to own.

The HP-35 has far more computational power than previous pocket calculators. Its ten digit accuracy exceeds the precision to which most of the physical constants of the universe are known. It will handle numbers as small as 10^-99 and up to 10^99 and automatically places the decimal point for you. It is the first pocket calculator to provide you with transcendental functions like logarithms and sines and cosines. The operational stack and the reverse "Polish" (Lukasiewicz) notation used in the HP-35 are the most efficient way known to computer science for evaluating mathematical expressions.

The HP-35 was designed with you, the user, in mind. We spent as much time on the keyboard layout, on the choice of functions, and on the styling as we did on the electronics."
​
Click to expand...

It really was a paradigm shifting device!
 
I have a 48G that I bought for college. Most people went with that other brand, TI I think, which I really didn't like. I think that the HP with RPN is faster, and anyone who did switch always agreed. But in the end, it's whatever is best for the individual.

A couple of years back I thought that they would discontinue my calculator and even though they have never versions, I still remember where all the keys are on this model so from all those engineering exams so I thought I better buy a spare. I picked one up new, and it sits in the closet. My 15 yr old piece runs fine, so I figure between this one and my new one tucked away, that ought to last me through a 35 yr engineering career. And I do hate using a regular calculator - it feels so clumsy to enter information. I think TI is like the VHS of calculators - it beat the BetaMax even if the technology is inferior!
 
I have a HP 32 (maybe the 45) series RPN programmable.

Still use it today, best calculator i have ever had.
 
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