Top three calculators ?

[Ren]

(08-27-2021 03:52 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  Hello!

2. A Chinese novelty "clamshell" type calculator with an electrically erasable notepad in the lid (https://de.aliexpress.com/item/100500261...4c4dA9TF4c)

Regards
Max

Interesting!
Thanks for sharing the link!

[Geoff Quickfall]

For mine:

The:

1. DM42; physical form for the flight bag and soft keys.

2. 41CL v5; because it is the ultimate 41C that I grew up with and HPIL (lab worker)

3. DM41; because it is a 41 emulator but it lacks the HPIL

4. HP 67; cause I like LEDs and card readers; the wow factor.

5. HP29C; Panamatik LP and original Panamatik with the GPS installed and cause they have LEDs.

Now these are tied and not really the top three but the top 5.

Cheers, Geoff

[polbit]

To me this can be answered in two ways:

My historical favorites:

1. HP 28C/S - What started my love of RPN and HP, in high school. Lot's of good times
2. HP 48SX - My inseparable companion in college
3. HP 71b - Saw an ad in Trading Times - someone was selling them for $20 apiece, NEW. This is back in late 90s. He came over by the office and me and my co-workers bought them all, I think 12 in total. I don't think any of us actually used them for anything professionally, but it became my favorite tinkering tool.

Currently useful:

1. HP 50s - Just very used to it, but even with that, I usually do everything on the computer these days...
2. HP 71b - Still my favorite tinkering tool, it's a timeless design.

And a bonus - if I had my dream machine:

1. HP 50S guts in 48SX case/colors
2. HP 71b with 4MHz Saturn and 2 line display...

[Nihotte(lma)]

(04-02-2018 04:07 PM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  So what are your top three calculators, based on daily usage ? Here are mine currently:

I'd like to detail my favorites in two ways too !

In the working daily usage optic, I can make my list as this :

- HP12C (Platinum or original, or HP17BII sometimes) always in RPN mode
So easy to keep in the pocket... And still quite easy to replace in this days
- HP10BII+ each time I don't want to leave a random chance of the failed keying in
Its major fault that's it doesn't have RPN, I think...
- HP35s
It's fine to use it with 2 lines on the screen and a huge memory. And its instruction set is quite comfortable too

But, for fun and memories optics, this is my list :

- HP15C
The must, but in snail mode, of course !
- HP41CX and Advantage Module
Focal and alpha inputs; and so much possibilities !
- HP48GX
Huge memory, RPL and graphic possibilities; and speed too

Keep yourself healthy !

Laurent

[Helix]

I have already replied in this thread, but because I have more calculators now, here is my new top three:

1. HP 67 upgraded with Panamatik HC-67E ACT. I like very much the LED display, and the new ACT chip provides continuous memory, a convenient way to load and store programs (I'm not a fan of card readers), and several new and useful features. It's my first calculator for simple calculations.

2. HP 50g for more complex or serious tasks.

3. My other calculators are not for daily usage, but it could be the SHARP PC-E500S.

[Alejandro Paz(Germany)]

I have several calcs on my desk, I grab whatever is reachable:
HP-12C
HP-41CV
A HP 39gs with newRPL (the kids play with it and it reboots and resets the fonts , I have to fix the keyboard layout )
My own HP-67 clone (uses an orange OLED display and has no labels on the key, how needs those
anyways ?), the real 67 sits in a box, has no battery cover, I forgot it when I moved here and no battery pack, need to print those.
The Droid48 on Android (duh), the 48 GX I got 25 years ago has a dead key column , sad days.

[Liamtoh Resu]

The top three varies with the prevailing wind here.
Today is 20211022.

1. DM15L

2. HP Prime

3. HP-12C (a used, old style one picked up from amazon recently).

The others on deck include HP-38G, Casio CG 50, HP-50g.

There are others that I grab occasionally.

Cheers.

[Alevin]

Out of the HP and RPN universe, but my #1, 2 and 3 is the popular and best seller

CASIO FX-880P

Pocket Computer style from the 80`s. Not the most powerful of the era, but unbeatable as product balanced in performance, usability, and size/weight.

Light weight (6.0 oz with batteries, without hard case) compact size (3½"×7"×½") thin enough to be carry in a shirt pocket without rip it.

BASIC programmable, simple to use in all modes. Direct scientific functions in a separated keyboard plus full alphabetic keyboard.

Generous LCD screen 2 lines x 32 characters (not graphic)-

32 to 64 KB RAM, plus 116 built in functions in ROM. (FX-880p is an updated version of CASIO FX-850P from 1987, launched with only 8KB RAM).

CASIO FX-880P copied and improved the SHARP PC-1450 design concept from 1985.

Nowadays in Europe, FX-880P is quite easy to find second hand (from 70 to 200 euros), and virtually bought immediately, not by nostalgic users, but by users than still make CASIO FX-880p its main calculator for daily work, either at desk or out of the office (grab an go).

[Ren]

(09-10-2021 08:34 AM)Alejandro Paz(Germany) Wrote:  A HP 39gs with newRPL (the kids play with it and it reboots and resets the fonts , I have to fix the keyboard layout )

Your kids play with an HP calculator?
You are one lucky man!

[tangdfx]

My list is below：

1 HP97C with a clock and continues memory
2 HP67C with continues memory
3 HP19C small printer calculator

[Maximilian Hohmann]

Helo!

(03-27-2022 06:25 AM)tangdfx Wrote:  1 HP97C with a clock and continues memory
2 HP67C with continues memory
3 HP19C small printer calculator

Just curious since I've been collecting calculators since decades and never heard of the first two: Are these emulations/simulations running on smartphones/computers or modified calculators?

Regards
Max

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(03-27-2022 12:08 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  Helo!

(03-27-2022 06:25 AM)tangdfx Wrote:  1 HP97C with a clock and continues memory
2 HP67C with continues memory
3 HP19C small printer calculator

Just curious since I've been collecting calculators since decades and never heard of the first two: Are these emulations/simulations running on smartphones/computers or modified calculators?

Regards
Max

http://www.teenix.org

[Maximilian Hohmann]

Hello!

(03-27-2022 12:32 PM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  http://www.teenix.org

Thank you - I completely missed that. Probably because I never came across an HP-67 or 97 that did not work, so I never needed to look for a replacement board. But good to know just in case!

Regards
Max

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(03-27-2022 04:00 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  I completely missed that. Probably because I never came across an HP-67 or 97 that did not work

I did, alas. ;-)

[Postfix]

These days my favorites are:

1) HP12C (the original as well as the Platinum model, mainly for simple everyday calculations and for recreational programming)

2) HP32sII (IMHO the sweat spot of all scientific RPN models, and its keyboard is so much better than any of the SM clones)

3) Casio fx-3650PII (reliable keys, but definitely not a dedicated engineering tool, nevertheless programming is fun, and it has logic functions missing on the HP32sII)

Position 3 changes regularly, but 1 and 2 have been fairly consistent over the last 10 years. All serious numeric work is done on the computer. In the past this was partially the task of a Casio fx-850P (expanded to 32 kB) and an HP48G. The latter still resides in the drawer in case the other calculators fail.

Regards,
Thorsten

[BitWiz]

#1 - HP-41 (any color, any flavor). Currently I have a 41CX Hypered (2.3X) & NoV-64D.
I'm hoping to get a CL if I get lucky.
#2 - HP-16C - This was my main work calculator from the time I bought it in the 80's until I got my
first smart phone.
#3 - There was an amazing calculator program for Windows Phone (no comments) but that has long
the way of the Do Do bird. I am still looking for a decent flexible calculator for Android. Currently
I'm using NeoCal which meets my needs but is only mediocre.

My first calculator was an HP-21 in 1975. So there will always be a very special place in my heart for the HP-21.

I went through all of the iterations of the 48 and I still have my 48GX. But it was never more than a fancy toy to me. IMHO the HP-41 is the best calculator ever built. Doubly so if you consider the technology at the time it was built.

[carolinahomes]

Randomly searching, I came across this one yesterday where it is truly "form over function".

I plan to put it to use when someone asks me to put their financials in Round Numbers!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/296192605693

Btw, my top 3 are:

DM42 - an obvious choice
HP48SX with upgraded lcd - the GX was my first HS calculator
Rockwell 8R - the very first household calculator I recall playing with in the early 80's

[Johnh]

A nice old thread, and I see it was started with a question about our top three, in daily usage.

For me, a practising structural engineer, first would be my hp15CE, and since that's come out its superceded my hp35S. I still like that one, but its not quite as clear and direct and it's a bit more fiddly for daily crunching. I have just a handful of very simple programs on the '15. The '35s is much easier for more complex programs, but these days anything more than simple is better in a spreadsheet.

My number 2 is Panecal Plus on Android. This is a really great non-programmable, with ongoing editable record of the current calc at each step going back several pages until its cleared. Everything needed is easy to find and with a very clear font and buttons.

Equal second is an hp15c Android sim. I have Touch15, and it's a good alternative way to use a '15 eg in low light, or to develop programs, since unlike the real ones, memory can be saved and restored with multiple versions. Ive ported this program through several phones since buying it. These days it's TouchRPN and you get all the Voyagers for free with ads, and then you can pay for the ones wanted ad-free as needed.

[Dave Britten]

Ahh yes, this old thread!

These days, I'd probably break it down like so:

- Programmable, non-graphing - Casio fx-5800P. Has a lot of features I really like for programming repetitive calculations, and doing it succinctly.
- Graphing - Probably Casio fx-9860G Slim. I have four of them! I like the Casio graphers, and this is a wonderfully portable version. Somewhat more clumsy for program operation vs. the fx-5800P.
- RPN - Tough call, but I think the HP 32SII checks the most boxes for me. Honorable mentions: 15C, 42S.

For finance, the Casio fc-200 (not fc-200V) is probably my overall favorite, but given that it's mainly for financial duties, I wouldn't put it in the top 3 with the more general-purpose models.

I also really like the Casio fx-991EX and fx-991CW for quick calculations, but if I had to survive on my top 3 only, these wouldn't make the cut.

[KD8TZC]

Great old thread...

For me, the #1 spot changes from time to time as I will just keep one on my desk, and that generally is the #1 I use.

1 - HP41CV
2- HP12C
3- Free42S

#1 was one of the first HP's that I ever saw in HS and just wanted it as it was so cool at the time.

#2 I got my first year in business school and served me all the way through and well into my career. I still use it, and it is like a good ole friend that you just like to spend time with.

#3 I love as I wish I actually had a real 42S, but this I have on my phone and is my goto when I need to do things when I am away from my desk. I sometimes will use another HP iPhone app (10bII HD) for financial calculations as well, but I use that far less.

I didn't list a #4, but there are a number of other HP's that I rotate through on my desk too... HP15C, 16C, HP35S, HP45 (great when it is darker as it has nice bright RED numbers), HP21, and a few others.