Introducing Myself and My New HP 17BII+

[Archtop Bill]

Hi All,

I have used this forum as a resource for quite sometime. I thought I would say "Hi."

I have had a number of HP's over the years including a 41CX with card reader, 48SX, a couple 48GX's, a 95LX and a couple 12C's (replaced my made in the US with an import when I lost the original in 2005).

I also own my father's 65, which is still functional.

I just picked up a 17BII+ Silver from Amazon. An incredible price for an HP with Solve and it prints to my HP IR printer.

I really put the thing through its passes this evening including running and printing amortization schedules, lots of Solve entering and just learning my way around. The good news, the thing did not seem to miss a single keystroke!

Bill

[rprosperi]

Welcome to the Forums Bill, thanks for the introduction.

Yes, the 17bII+ is arguably (just watch) the best hardware form-factor of the current HP lineup. Though not held in high esteem by many due to it's lack of "programming", it really is an excellent value, and comes with many more features and capabilities than most folks exepct from "just a financial machine".

You should explore the older forum for some great articles that really show how flexible and powerful the solver can be.

One warning though - the LET and GET functions in this version of the solver are buggy, and cannot by fully trusted. I can't seem to put my hands on the document created by Don Shepard (one of the solver gurus) which explains the exact issue; the new version ported for the hardware in the 17bII+ does an extra scan of the variables, as compared to the original algorithm, thereby messing up somehow. I'll try to find it and post it here soon.

Enjoy the Forums and contiune to share; it's the best way to get the most out of it.

[Archtop Bill]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for tips on this version of Solver. I will read up to avoid pitfalls.

Thanks again,
Bill

[Thomas Klemm]

(02-26-2014 02:07 AM)rprosperi Wrote:  Though not held in high esteem by many due to it's lack of "programming"

We had this discussion a few years ago:

Quote:Still, if you want to really impress me and, at the same time, make me a true believer of the 17's programming capability, write a version of the N-queens benchmark program for the 17bII+, execute it, and submit the time. ;^) As of yet, nobody has done this. Personally, I think this is a golden opportunity to prove all the naysayers wrong - if possible.

I remember having a lot of fun writing this equation for the 8-queens problem.

Cheers
Thomas

[Ken Shaw]

(02-26-2014 02:07 AM)rprosperi Wrote:  One warning though - the LET and GET functions in this version of the solver are buggy, and cannot by fully trusted. I can't seem to put my hands on the document created by Don Shepard (one of the solver gurus) which explains the exact issue; the new version ported for the hardware in the 17bII+ does an extra scan of the variables, as compared to the original algorithm, thereby messing up somehow.

The original forum post is here.

And Don Shepard's document is here.

[rprosperi]

Thank you Ken!

I've never met a more helpful and considerate group of folks as on this forum!

[Archtop Bill]

(02-26-2014 03:59 PM)Ken Shaw Wrote:  

(02-26-2014 02:07 AM)rprosperi Wrote:  One warning though - the LET and GET functions in this version of the solver are buggy, and cannot by fully trusted. I can't seem to put my hands on the document created by Don Shepard (one of the solver gurus) which explains the exact issue; the new version ported for the hardware in the 17bII+ does an extra scan of the variables, as compared to the original algorithm, thereby messing up somehow.

The original forum post is here.

And Don Shepard's document is here.

Hi Ken,

Thanks for posting the links. They are very helpful as I explore my new HP.

Bill