Author Topic: What calculator do you use ?  (Read 173342 times)

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Offline odessaTopic starter

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What calculator do you use ?
« on: April 17, 2012, 07:24:59 am »
Hi Guys,

I want to buy a good calculator for electronics use, anyone have any suggestions or recomendations ?

Thanks

Jay
« Last Edit: April 17, 2012, 07:30:30 am by odessa »
When  I die I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my Grandad ... Not all shouting and screaming like the passengers on his bus.
 

Offline Rerouter

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2012, 07:27:39 am »
fx-82AU, its been superceded, but i'm just used to that model, a good scientific calculator
 

Offline RCMR

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2012, 07:59:08 am »
I still use the old Casio FX115 I bought way back in the 1980s.

Does multiple base math and is solar powered.

I'd rather have something that handled RPN but the Casio is what I have.
 

Offline G7PSK

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2012, 08:06:15 am »
Microsoft mathematics, and it's free.
 

Offline Psi

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2012, 08:17:53 am »
calc.exe  :D

Yeah, its sad.  My fx-82 died.

I'll probably by an HP RPN sometime
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Offline amspire

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2012, 08:31:01 am »
I would definitely get the re-issue of the HP15C while it is available.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/calculator/Scientific/1/storefronts/NW250AA%2523ABA

It is not a graphing calculator, but it in many people's opinions the HP11c and the 15C were the best calculators HP ever made. Very long battery life, a great size and form factor. Great keys.

It is RPN which I would always go for personally, but you may want a standard algebraic calculator.

Richard.
 

Offline tnt

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #6 on: April 17, 2012, 08:43:41 am »
Usually I use ipython on my laptop :)

But for hw, I like the TI89 because it supports units, so you can get a quick check whether the math you just did make sense or not. And there is plenty of mod for it as well, including RPN modes.
 

Offline odessaTopic starter

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #7 on: April 17, 2012, 09:41:41 am »
Thanks guys, very helpful...

Can't believe how expensive those HP's are  :o

I'm gonna go for the Casio Fx

Cheers  :)
When  I die I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my Grandad ... Not all shouting and screaming like the passengers on his bus.
 

Offline mikeselectricstuff

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #8 on: April 17, 2012, 09:46:35 am »
I like The Casio CM-100

AFAIK the only calc that has hex and logical functions as primary buttons as opposed to being buried.
A bit short on maths functions though.

They do seem to have a habit of spontaneously evaporating - I've had 2 over the years & managed somehow to lose both, despite them never going out of a (non-shared) office!
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Offline Lightages

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #9 on: April 17, 2012, 09:55:10 am »
The HP35S that is out now is one of the closest to the old HP designs where they cared about useability. I will be buying one myself.

I have an old HP32SII which is a very nice little calculator.

I also have an HP48GX, and on any computing device that I can find an emulator for it I also have it installed. Right now an HP48 emulator is on all my computers and all my androids.
http://www.hpcalc.org/


As you can see I really like RPN calculators. They are just easier to use when thinking through a problem. I also like HP for the most part.

 

Offline odessaTopic starter

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #10 on: April 17, 2012, 10:02:32 am »
I'll be honest ... I had to google RPN  :D

Also my teenage daughter has been a great help showing me how to use a scientific calculator ... .god I feel old  :(
When  I die I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my Grandad ... Not all shouting and screaming like the passengers on his bus.
 

Offline Jad.z

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #11 on: April 17, 2012, 10:06:41 am »
I've been using (Casio fx-991EX plus) for more than 3 years now and I'm pretty pleased with it.

 

Offline cybergibbons

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #12 on: April 17, 2012, 10:18:05 am »
The 6 key has just failed me on my trusty Casio FX-9700G graphic calculator after 19 years and one drop from a 12 storey building. Going to take it apart and see if I can repair it.

I am now using sage maths to replace it. Incredibly powerful and free. Similar to Mathematica in many ways.

However, I am tempted to get a HP-50G as I'm struggling with breaking away from a physical calculator.

All the ipad calcs seem to either be crap or don't break away from the constraints of a physical calculator.
 

Offline Psi

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #13 on: April 17, 2012, 10:19:10 am »
I would definitely get the re-issue of the HP15C while it is available.

Dad has bought one of those, quite nice.
Greek letter 'Psi' (not Pounds per Square Inch)
 

Offline saturation

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #14 on: April 17, 2012, 10:50:55 am »
Unfortunately, choosing a calculator is a touch complicated if you're in school. 

For general purpose electronics use, any scientific calculator will do.  I like the Casios, FX 260 is as close to ones I used heavily in school in the 1980s [ older Casios are more durably made and keys laid out better, I still use my 30+ year old college Fx-100 today]. 

This is really for bench fixups, back of napkin designs or estimates.  Portability, maintenance free, and low cost are most important, this is about $8 at Walmart or $11 at Amazon, fully solar no batteries.  Its very light too, and wont' load your shirt pocket, so I have 3: one in the lab, one in my work bag and one in the living room:



For just $1-3 more you can get another with gobs of added functions, even graphing, but it also makes the calculator bigger, adds more keystrokes, and hard to shirt pocket.

You don't really need more than ~ 8 bit accuracy for making back of envelope calculations.  if you need to do more complex or accurate calculations, its best to use a PC so the outputs are fed into SPICE or other simulator, has superb graphing, and the free Windows calculators provide all the basics.  Also if you track calculations with a 'paper tape' on a PC its far easier to manipulate.

For school, learning math concepts and being that some classes do not allow you to use a PC, PC provides far better graphing capabilities, you have to go with what the class recommends.

« Last Edit: April 17, 2012, 01:00:55 pm by saturation »
Best Wishes,

 Saturation
 

Offline Psi

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #15 on: April 17, 2012, 11:00:17 am »
Ya have to be careful with with using an RPN calculator for school.
They can sometimes be banned due to their programmability.

You don't want to get used to using RPN and then on the day of the test find out you can't use it.

Also the teachers don't like you using a better calculator than theirs.  8)
« Last Edit: April 17, 2012, 11:03:17 am by Psi »
Greek letter 'Psi' (not Pounds per Square Inch)
 

Offline Kevin.D

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #16 on: April 17, 2012, 11:11:02 am »
Still use use my trusty Casio fx451m solar/battery powered .bought in the early
80s for tech college ,  it's still going perfectly after 30 years of regular use !!.(I have only renewed the battery once  in the 90's) . they really made em well .!! 

 

Offline Teknotronix

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #17 on: April 17, 2012, 11:34:44 am »
fx-100AU
Don't drone me bro!

 

Offline rsjsouza

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #18 on: April 17, 2012, 11:48:19 am »
I "grew up" programming my dad's TI-59 (479 programming steps and 100 numbers stored!), moved to a Casio fx-39 (fluorescent display - yeeees!) and then got a HP48SX that helped me through college. I then got a TI89 Platinum as a gift from a friend and my wife gave me her HP48GX after my SX died...

I also use a HP48 emulator on my phone, which runs faster than the 4MHz Saturn processor of the real deal. However, doing calculations on a real keyboard is a lot better.

Also, although the TI89 is an excellent calculator, once I got used to RPN it is hard to give up...
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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #19 on: April 17, 2012, 11:53:01 am »
its best to use a PC so the outputs are fed into SPICE or other simulator

Hmm I need to learn to do that....
 

Offline robrenz

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #20 on: April 17, 2012, 12:02:23 pm »
I have had practicaly every HP calculator from the 25 up to the 48Gx  I stopped there because for my taste HP started going backwards after that point.  I also have a free 48GX emulator on my laptop it is awesome!  If I try to use a non RPN calculator I freeze and someone has to come over and reboot me.

If things get real ugly I use my sons student license of maple (Double awsome)

« Last Edit: April 17, 2012, 12:05:51 pm by robrenz »
 

Offline PedroDiogo

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #21 on: April 17, 2012, 12:02:47 pm »
I have a TI-89 Titanium, however I rarely use and will probably sell it very soon.

For my day to day work I use my computer, which is always with me anyway, and Matlab that works perfectly for simple and complex calculations.
 

Offline free_electron

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #22 on: April 17, 2012, 12:19:16 pm »
A freebie i got at a fuel station. It has +, -,/,* mc mr m+ and square root.
If i need a bit more i have an HP20c so i can do log to do db calculations
It does hex calc also.

Anything more complex ? Not worth spending time on.  Send it through the computer.
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Offline EEVblog

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #23 on: April 17, 2012, 12:24:24 pm »
There is only one calculator designed specifically for electronics, the Casio FX-61F:



The end  ;D

Dave.
 

Offline robrenz

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Re: What calculator do you use ?
« Reply #24 on: April 17, 2012, 12:33:19 pm »
LET THE CALCULATOR WARS BEGIN!! ;D


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