Since graduating from Uni, I have been looking for a no holds barred calculator for daily EE work. I always saw Dave rave about the FX-61F being the only EE calculator with dedicated buttons for L, C and parallel circuits. I wanted one, but it is discontinued and 2nd hand ones goes for hundreds. This is a problem because I want at least 2 (office and home) calculators, and I wanted something more programmable anyways.
That is how I ended up with the HP prime. I got the G1 model new as it is cheaper (around 80USD) and more available where I live. I received it yesterday, and have since realised that the great programmability allows it to become a very efficient machine for EE use. I haven't touched a Fx-61F before, but reading the manual, I think my Prime mods make it just as efficient for electronics work, with the added bonus of solving unknowns.
There are two parts to my EE transformation of the HP prime.
1. Remapping buttons to launch menus for frequently used EE functions
2. Custom EE functions for defining L, C, parallel circuits and voltage dividers
Remapping Buttons
For the HP Prime, you can actually define your own keymap, and have custom actions be launched when buttons are pressed. You do this by:
- Writing a program / script that re-defines the keys and associated actions
- Hit Shift, Help, Shift, Help, so that the custom keymap is always active, even across reboots
I have remapped the following buttons, and have also put new label on the physical key of the Prime :
- Vars (Top left) -> Launches LCR menu, containing functions for:
- calculating Inductive and capacitive impedances
- finding resistive and reactive component of an impedance
- finding magnitude and angle of an impedance
- parallel any amount of impedances
- impedance voltage divider
- a b/c - > Launches the Units menu, allowing fast entry of EE units
- shift a b/c -> simplifies the unit of the previous answer (e.g. turning V/A into Ohms)
- and a few more shortcuts
I'll talk more about the custom functions I created for RLC impedances in the next post, which besides calculating (e.g. calculate Z from C and F), also allows for solving of unknowns (e.g. in a series/parallel/mixed RLC circuit, solve for C, given R, L and F)
I have tested my 2 programs (RLC and remapping) on both the PC emulator and the physical calculator.