Public talk/meeting on HP calculators - Edinburgh (Scotland)

[Mr_F]

Hi everyone,

[I'm not really sure where to post this. I think the relevance to HP calculators is clear, but I'm not sure where to put an event that only a few members of this forum (in Scotland) can attend... I have posted in the main forum initially to get the word to members of this forum who are located in the Edinburgh area - but please move this elsewhere if that's not appropriate]

The Edinburgh local group of the IET (equivalent to IEEE) has listed a daytime in-person event to take place next month addressing calculators. Based on the description (below) there will be a focus on HP products. This event is free and open to all - just register using this link.

https://events.theiet.org/events/5000yea...-counting/

13 Nov 2024

2:00pm - 4:00pm

Venue location: Edinburgh Napier University, Craiglockhart Campus

Quote:This will be an interactive event in two parts. The first part will be a talk of about 55 minutes, synopsis below. The second part will combine refreshments with a chance to view the Speaker's calculator collection and for attendees to show off their own favourite calculator(s).

Everyone will be encouraged to debate topics like which company made the best calculators, in which exam/work task/domestic duty did a calculator help you the most and was Reverse Polish a godsend or the devil's work. The Speaker will be mounting a stern defence of Reverse Polish notation so come along and take sides.

Bringing a calculator to the event is not compulsory but is very much encouraged.

When James Gentles worked for Hewlett Packard (HP) employees could buy HP equipment at cost price. In the days before computers and printers one of the few worthwhile purchases was a pocket calculator. That is how James's fascination with calculators and his collection of electronic calculators started.

HP was a great innovator, taking a leading role in the Electronic calculator design and manufacture from the 1970s through to today. James was able to build up a collection of HP calculators ranging from the first scientific pocket calculator to one that could land a Space Shuttle (in an emergency!)

Aids for calculation have been around for 5000 years. From beads in the far east through the abacus and Napier's Bones through to modern mobile phones, the technology in our pockets for calculation has changed dramatically. However, the calculator has remained a convenient tool for Natural Philosophers and Engineers to take the drudgery out of arithmetic and mathematics and has been a constant for over 5000 years.

All of the above will be mentioned in the talk but most of the time will be spent covering the period from 1972 to 2010, the golden age of the electronic calculator.

Sit back and get ready for a 5000 year journey. Expect to meet people you know - John Napier, people you should know - Jan Lukasiewicz, and people who you don’t know - Chris Searle. They each were part of the story of the pocket calculator.

Chris Searle, who sadly died recently, was a BBC TV presenter who did a lot in the early 1980s to popularise home computing in the UK. I had not been aware of his involvement with calculators...

I expect to be available on that day, I have registered, and will be taking one or two of my machines. I hope this face to face meeting will be of interest to people who can get along. For me, it would be simply amazing to meet fellow HP calculator enthusiasts face to face for the first time!

I am very much looking forward to this event and can't get over how excited I am that it is happening just a few miles from my front door! :-)

If I can make it along, I will try to write up some notes here afterwards.

[dm319]

I am envious, it is too far North for me to get to! Have a great time!

[John Keith]

I'm envious too! 3000+ miles for me. Looking forward to reading your report.

[Namir]

The HHC conferences ARE THE BEST! Where else do you hear a presentation about a new class of polynomials used for curve fitting??? Not in Europe!!!!!!!!!!!!

Namir

[EdS2]

Sounds like a fascinating event! Too far for me, too.

Although Chris Searle was a well-loved presenter and did die recently, I do wonder if the reference is perhaps supposed to be Nigel Searle, who helped Clive Sinclair produce his marvel, the Sinclair Scientific. Fascinating story told at https://righto.com/sinclair

[Johnp_g]

(10-25-2024 10:47 PM)dm319 Wrote:  I am envious, it is too far North for me to get to! Have a great time!

And sadly it's too far South for me :-(

[nickapos]

I am pretty close, but I am working at that time unfortunately.

[dm319]

(10-26-2024 07:22 AM)Johnp_g Wrote:  And sadly it's too far South for me :-(

I think the Svalbard calculator conference is coming up soon anyway?

[Mr_F]

(10-26-2024 06:08 AM)EdS2 Wrote:  Sounds like a fascinating event! Too far for me, too.

Although Chris Searle was a well-loved presenter and did die recently, I do wonder if the reference is perhaps supposed to be Nigel Searle, who helped Clive Sinclair produce his marvel, the Sinclair Scientific. Fascinating story told at https://righto.com/sinclair

Nigel Searle's name has been fixed on the IET event page. I should have realised about the name confusion, because I've read into the Sinclair story a bit and have a copy of the June '74 edition of Wireless World in which Nigel Searle discussed factors around microprocessor selection for calculators while giving, in just a few lines, the merest hint of the creative genius that went into the implementation of the Scientific.

Thank you for sharing that link. What a masterpiece of reverse-engineering!