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Recommend a hex calculator?

I'm shopping for a good hex programmer's calculator and I'm not finding much.

HP's offerings are shockingly bad. They require multiple keystrokes per digit to enter hex numbers and switching bases is completey cryptic. On the the 35s you press [base][7] when you want base 10. If you want base 2 you press [base][8]. If you want base 8 you press [base][3]. For base 16 you press [base][2].

It doesn't even seem to be consistent. According to the documentation, sometimes you press [base][1] to get base 10, and sometimes you press [base][7]. WTF?

TI's offerings are also shabby but not nearly as bad as HP's. They at least have a model where you can enter hex numbers with one keystroke per digit.

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Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow! The entire CHINESE
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Reply to
Grant Edwards
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I've been using a Casio FX-115D for more than 5 years, so it may no longer be available.

Mode-0 for decimal Mode-1 for base N (hexadecimal by default).

In base N mode 6 of the scientific function keys are used for A through F digits, with a single key press.

It takes only a single key press to convert from hex to decimal You can also do octal and binary---but I never use those.

It has a little solar panel, so I've never had to put batteries in it. IIRC, it was about $20.

I think there are still variations of the FX-115 out there for about $20.

Mark Borgerson

Reply to
Mark Borgerson

I am using a Texas Instruments TI-36X Regular scientific calc functions + 2-key presses to switch bases (Dec, Hex, Oct) Arithmetic + AND, OR, XOR, XNOR. Not great, but good enough. (At around $15?)

Roberto Waltman

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Reply to
Roberto Waltman

The 36X doesn't look bad. It's almost as good as my old TI-34 (which is about as good as I've used except for an HP model (11 or 16?) that I haven't seen around for 20+ years).

I was looking at the two-line 36X-II, but it requires two keystrokes for digits A-F in hex mode.

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Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow!  Do you need
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Reply to
Grant Edwards

Ah yes, I think I remember using one of those many years ago. It always took me two or three trips through the mode list to find the one I wanted, but once in base-N mode it was decent.

Thanks for reminding about the Casios.

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Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow!  Clear the
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Reply to
Grant Edwards

The HP 6S has a good HEX mode ?

-JG

Reply to
Jim Granville

I *hate* the Casio method of requiring a "mode switch" to change from "computation" mode to "base" mode. Work through a chain of calculations and need to convert the result to hex? Better write it down first or remember to save it in a register. Forgot? Oops, do it all again.

The Sharp, TI, and HP calculators I've used recently (certainly not all of them) do let you use [meta-key]+[hex] to swap bases without losing the current result, a method I overwhelmingly prefer.

What you probably really want is an HP-16C (or its direct lineal descendant which, unfortunately, doesn't exist either).

The best I've found recently, though, is the freeware EasyCalc for the Palm OS. One of the few that preserve a radix-point when shifting bases.

--
Rich Webb     Norfolk, VA
Reply to
Rich Webb

Plenty of new TI-34's on ebay.

I prefer the 34. I think the 36 requires you to specify which memory when doing a STO or RCL, which I find annoying.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

Yea, that's one of the things I don't like much about the Casios.

I think I'll browse eBay for a new TI-34.

I had one of those back in the Early 80s, but it belonged to my Employer, and they kept pretty close track of them (IIRC, they cost well over $100 each).

Interesting.

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Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow!  Yow! I just went
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Reply to
Grant Edwards

It looks like the new ones all TI-34II's which don't have support for hex/octal/binary. I see two used TI-34's. One of them claims to be "new" but it's clearly not in it's original packaging. It's a gift for somebody, so used is out of the question.

The TI-34 is probably my favorite except for the old HP-16, but finding one of those isn't easy.

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Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow!  I want you to
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Reply to
Grant Edwards

Doesn't seem to work that way on my FX115. If I do a series of calculations in Mode 0 (decimal), then press mode, 1, the number appears in hex. If I then press mode, 0, the number is converted back to decimal. Hex number do only work with integers, though, so converting to hex truncates an FP number with a fractional part. When you go back to decimal, you end up with the integer.

Which Casio were you using? Switching modes on the FX-115 certainly doesn't lose the current result.

Mark Borgerson

Reply to
Mark Borgerson

This is comp.arch.embedded: make your own!

The low end HP-33s is crummy in many other ways (large programming memory, but only 26 variables, no casio-like editor), but it at least allows you to switch bases easily and allows you to enter digits with only single key-presses.

--
/*  jhallen@world.std.com AB1GO */                        /* Joseph H. Allen */
int a[1817];main(z,p,q,r){for(p=80;q+p-80;p-=2*a[p])for(z=9;z--;)q=3&(r=time(0)
+r*57)/7,q=q?q-1?q-2?1-p%79?-1:0:p%79-77?1:0:p158?-79:0,q?!a[p+q*2
]?a[p+=a[p+=q]=q]=q:0:0;for(;q++-1817;)printf(q%79?"%c":"%c\n"," #"[!a[q-1]]);}
Reply to
Joseph H Allen

I have the fx-115W. When you switch between "base" mode and "comp" mode the display goes to zero and you lose the edit line. However you can hit "Ans" to get back the previous result. I think my old Fx-4000 does this too.

--
/*  jhallen@world.std.com AB1GO */                        /* Joseph H. Allen */
int a[1817];main(z,p,q,r){for(p=80;q+p-80;p-=2*a[p])for(z=9;z--;)q=3&(r=time(0)
+r*57)/7,q=q?q-1?q-2?1-p%79?-1:0:p%79-77?1:0:p158?-79:0,q?!a[p+q*2
]?a[p+=a[p+=q]=q]=q:0:0;for(;q++-1817;)printf(q%79?"%c":"%c\n"," #"[!a[q-1]]);}
Reply to
Joseph H Allen

Obviously different calculators despite the '115' part of the model number. My FX-115D only has a one-line display and there is no 'answer' button. Seems that they've taken a step backwards in the last few years.

Mark Borgerson

Reply to
Mark Borgerson

Casio have a range of calculators available that are not only capable of doing the hex, octal and binary and converting between the bases but are also solar powered.

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Reply to
Paul E. Bennett

I like RPN for the Palm, it isn't free but doesn't cost much.

Leon

Reply to
Leon

Sharp also has a number of calculators that have the same capability. I have an older EL-506A which I find very convenient to use but it has developed a glitch which is sometimes disabling.

I recently obtained EL-506W that is much the same but is solar-powered with backup batteries but it more of an algebraic notation and not quite as convenient. I agree with others who think the "ANS" key is a step backward.

Reply to
Everett M. Greene

There's another HP clone for iPAQ, IIRC.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

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Reply to
Spehro Pefhany

I have the pleasure of having two HP-16s in my possession, but I also use a HP-16 simulator on both my Pocket PC and my Windows PC:

formatting link 

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Dan Henry
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Dan Henry
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Brendan Gillatt

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