XCALC has ENG notation (SCI, FIX, and BIN too, but no BinPt).
Should be several hours, no? My old WorkPad was certainly good for one work day.
I think one of my Fluke 77s followed it.
-- Keith
krw hath wroth:
No. I goofed. HP does that with some of their test equipment. However, all the calculators are apparently silk screen. Sorry(tm).
What got my attention was the lousy quality of the silk screening on the HP35s as compared to other HP models. For example:
Note the blue label "Sums" on the right center key. Some of the other keys have problems, but this is the worst.
It's a bit difficult to see in the photo, but the white silk screening seems somewhat thin as compared to my other HP calculators. I haven't tried hitting it with my usual cleaner as I'm worried about disolving off the silk screening.
Ummmm.... buy it this year (before Tuesday) so you can deduct it on this years taxes?
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
Bummer.
That's terrible! HP sure has gone down the tubes. Carley sure did some damage!
Way ahead of you (bought a new ThinkPad last month). ;-) Though I really need a calculator with a good binary mode. ...seems so simple to do, but I've never seen one. I generally have the laptop with me so XCALC does pretty much what I need. If I can get the '45 working reliably I may carry that in the laptop case. I'm still thinking about the '35s. Your information doesn't do anything for my case. :-(
-- Keith
krw hath wroth:
I don't think there's much wrong with the basic design or firmware of the HP35s. In fact, I like it. However, parts of the production quality puzzle is slightly lacking. I don't think you can blame that on Carly.
I seem to have accumulated a number of "programmers calculators". Most are antiques, but the HP16c, is the one that I sometimes use:
I think I have several of these (somewhere).
That works if you don't mind waiting for it to boot, load the program, complain about updates, etc. I like the calculator because it's instantly ready.
What I want is a conglomerated financial and scientific calculator. My HP12c financial does exponentials, but no trig functions. Close, but not close enough. I'm still searching for the ultimate hand calculator.
The HP35s has lots of nifty and handy features (exept no financial functions). For about $50, it's good enough.
If you want more features and horsepower, I suggest the HP50g (for 3 times the cost of the HP35s):
I have problems focusing my eyes on the 0.3" LED displays on the HP35 and HP45. I used to use those as my primary calculators or many years, but when my eyesight started crapping out, I had to switch to larger LCD displays. Grumble...
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
Is it a sin to just go and put a bunch of epoxy over the entire affair? Sure, makes it impossible to ever get apart again without a hacksaw, but at least you've put off the trip to the hardware store...
BAD! Any time you need to open one of those joints you should replace those crufty plastic gaskets... they compress correctly ONCE ONLY :-(
A little itty bitty drip can destroy a wooden house.
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
America: Land of the Free, Because of the Brave
It also has some rather serious bugs, though -- see the list at
I agree it's still a good calculator, but I'm been slowly switching back to a
50g. Definitely somewhat bulkier and spendier, but much, much more powerful. While it's not 100% bug-free either, AFAIK all the really *bad* bugs (similar to #15/#16) have been eradicated. (It's a complex enough device that some generally obscure bugs are pretty much inevitable and doesn't really lower my opininon of the design, whereas with the 35s those bugs are bad enough that HP should at the very least be letting people know about them if not immediately fixing them and offering replacements LIKE THEY DID WITH THE ORIGINAL HP-35 ALL OF 35 YEARS AGO, yet like most companies today HP in no way whatsoever publically acknowledges any of the bugs in the 35s. Sad...)---Joel
Does that include your call phone?
Just get yourself either a Palm-based (Treo) or Windows Mobile-based phone. All the power of a PDA and, since you're recharging it daily anyway, battery life is generally a non-issue.
You can even do some packet radio if you get bored one night stuck out in Kalamazoo:
There are LOTS of calculators for Palms and Windows Mobile PDAs out there, including plenty of HP emulators. I still prefer a real calculator since I like having all the physical keys, but the extra power of a PDA definitely gives a calculator a good run for its money.
I (accidentally, but stupidly) left my car unlocked at a hotel a couple months back and, while the dash-mounted radio wasn't swipped, my backpack and a duffle bag were. After the crooks took what they thought was valuable, they tossed the 'pack and bag on the street and they were later found by a business that contacted me and so I got some things back. There was a GPS receiver and a camera taken that were a bit painful in the wallet to replace, but there were a couple items of sentimental value that I was very happy to get back.
I'm sure they just immediately attempted to turn the GPS and camera into cash and then bought whatever they really wanted with the proceeds...
They also took a little single-cell "AA" flashlight, which I can't imagine would be saleable, so I guess they must have wanted it for themselves!
---Joel
[snip]
[snip]
They bought meth. They didn't want to -- they HAD to.
Please try and be a little more understanding.
Bob
Sure,
Tell me about it. I was remodeling the half-bath off the computer room (was my son's room) a couple of years back. I took out the commode and vanity and started tipping up the vinyl flooring when I found that there was nothing under it in the section that was under the vanity. The subflooring had all rotted out. It wasn't a compression fitting because the cheap particle board vanity would have told me something was amiss there. After ripping out the sheetrock behind the vanity I found a pinhole leak in the hot water supply. Not enough to drip on the kitchen ceiling below but enough to keep the subfloor damp.
I always wondered why they used commercial vinyl baseboard and had silicone caulk sealing the floor to the baseboard. Evidently the previous owners had tried to build a dike around the bathroom, perhaps thinking their kid kept spilling water on the floor.
-- Keith
"Joel Koltner" hath wroth:
Thanks and egads. I hadn't seen that list. I haven't run into any of those bugs but I can see where some might be problem.
I use mine for storing some very simple RF path path analysis and conversion programs. So far, no surprises. The rest are the usual on the fly fast calcs. I find myself using the fraction arithmetic fairly often when doing home repair and carpentry.
That would be nice, but I don't expect HP to admit that they have a problem. I also don't expect much support on a $50 product.
The original HP35 was also rather buggy:
Perhaps HP is trying to establish a tradition?
Misc on the original HP35:
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
Apparently there are problems (below), but I've always like HP calculators. I can't use algebraic ones, so HP is really the only game in town.
The downfall of HP I certainly do blame on Carly.
The laptop is always running, though perhaps asleep. When I'm working it's always sitting there, even though I'm working on another computer (they don't allow us load software on their systems).
Then people would just buy one. ;-)
Ok, you convinced me. I ordered one last night (to beat the IRS curfew). ;-)
I switched to bifocal reading glasses a couple of months ago. I'd not used glasses at all until February, when I couldn't read my laptop's screen anymore. :-(
-- Keith
Well, the NiCds have only been sitting in the drawer for 20 years (the last time I could buy batteries from HP). ;-)
Already did that. I bought two packs and two frames for AAA batteries.
No, the battery compartment was clean. The battery contacts look pretty well worn but still work. I'll likely try your gold leaf trick on them too.
Thanks. I'm pretty sure it's the switch though. It is a PITA to have the thing suddenly wink out.
Thanks again!
-- Keith
But that's not good enough. You can leave the HP11C on all day, weeks, months. I never had that one go blank on me because of battery exhaustion. When the asterisk flashes you can still complete a whole business trip without a mad dash to the supermarket. And good luck finding a new battery for the PDA in the boonies when it decides that it has had enough charge-discharge cycles.
:-(
In my travel bag there is a Harborfreight Cheapo. No tears if that gets "liberated".
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Yes. It runs a whole week on a charge. I bought one of the most frugal varieties, a bone simple Nokia 2115i. Actually with my usage pattern it needs recharging roughly every other month.
I prefer the real thing. HP brought back the HP12C, sadly not the HP11C.
Yeah, they are probably really handy for the next nightly coup :-(
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
My cell phone battery doesn't last years (like my 11C did) either. It simply gets recharged every night. If I had a PDA (not organized enough to use one) it would simply sit next to it.
I keep them in my tool boxes too. They're really bait (do you really use these?". The Flukes are kept out of sight.
-- Keith
I have the copy of xcalc that came with Slackware, and it looks algebraic to me. It has an '=' button but no "enter".
Cheers! Rich
It's done but sans epoxy :-)
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Actually I do use them. They are surprisingly accurate for mundane stuff like DC levels and currents. Just don't open one and see who they are built (I did). I've convinced a client to buy a bag full as well. Now we can place a meter anywhere we want because there are so many.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Interesting. There would not be a "=" Button in a clean RPN solution. Maybe the mode can be selected?
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
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