How do you use your calculator(s)? (or did*)

[pier4r]

Alongside the ongoing thread about which calculator you own, it would be interesting also to know how you use them (now or in the past, if you used them at all).
Of course even if you report the usage of one calculator it is enough, you don't have to list them all.

I searched with google on hpmuseum.org and I got very little results, although interesting. If you want to try yourself my search string was: site:hpmuseum.org use calculator . Hence I think that a new topic, that hopefully won't be limited in time, may be interesting.




pier4r:

Real calculators:
- ti 34 (1987) to compute some stats on the monthly expenses. At the moment nothing more. Typing long formulas without the ability to see the formula typed is really frustrating.
- sharp 506w to refresh some math and help me poke around some formulas to get an idea how they work. Also it is the preferred device for simple computations due to the possibility to review the formulas.
- ti nspire handheld: tried to use lua without TI software. It is possible (and it is quite fast) but very clumsy. In storage.
- ti 89. used very a little. I will have to check it if I have time.
- hp 50g. In the past I used to solve some math problems for the university, to understand them better. Now it is mostly programming as mental exercise and refreshing some math. Furthermore I started, thanks to the 50g storage capabilities and the amazing standard library of RPL commands, to collect data about how I value my actions. This project is a life long project so the 50g will always work unless I get bored.
- hp50g no 2. For newRPL, for tasks where userRPL is too slow.

Virtual calculators
- hp prime (windows, android). Planned to do some intensive simulations (about bitcoin price for example) since it can run easily on different devices, but not yet started. The idea is to have a programmable math environment geared towards math functions with enough memory that can run on different devices. The strong point is that it can run on android devices that are fanless (and mobile, plenty and powerful) without much effort on my side.
This instead of finding scientific libraries for this or that programming language that then may not run (or they are unavailable) for the same programming language on another OS. The HPPL is quite appealing since it resembles Pascal.
- free42. I check from time to time if it can replace the 506w, but so far aside from simple calculations, the 506w seems more practical (mainly due to the tacticle feeling).

[DA74254]

There is a thread here. I remember it because it was the very first one I made a post in

"How and why do you use your HP calc?"
http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-9070.html

Since the only "redefinition" of how and why in my case is due to the aquirement of the SM DM42, I guess the DM wil be used the most for the mentioned fuel calculations along with the free42 app.

Mainly the CAS is used with the Prime. The "exact" RPN calculations has been performed with the 50G and I've used the 35S for "easy programming".
As of now, I guess the DM42 will be the main workhorse for astronomy, geography and electronics computations with the Prime for CAS and graphs.

The 50G (and the 28S) will always be held "in good shape" and used every now and then. I guess my 49G+ will be the newRPL playground.

Here's my original post in the other thread:

Quote:Actually not my first post here on the forums, but I've absolutely lost and cant recall neither my nick, nor my pwd, so a "new" username..

Anyway, Why, what and where:
I am a ships engineer (working in the engine room).
My very first HP was a 28s, which I bought used from a friend when studying to chief engineer in '92-93. I still have that one, though my collection has increased significantly.

At work (for fuel calculations and other "engineering" calculations) I shift between my Prime and the Free42 on my phone.
At home, for my hobbies (electronics, astronomy and general math "playing") I use any of my calcs in no particular order. I actually love the CAS on the Prime (even though it's not RPN), but use my 28s, 50G and 35s, whichever is closest to my hands when needed.

On my PC/Laptop I use Maxima (http://maxima.sourceforge.net/) and for astronomy MICA (http://aa.usno.navy.mil/software/mica/micainfo.php).

As a hobby, I frequently program all my calcs

[Trond]

I use HP 35S quite a lot at university, to quickly check on test/homework score means and SD for students, summing up each individual score on a test, etc. I sometimes use some of the others for this as well (HP 42S, HP 32SII). The HP42S I have mostly used to refresh mathematics with, to play around with some functions that I find interesting (sometimes related to biology). One reason I rarely take it to my work is that I don't want to lose the 42S. HP 32SII and 35S are also handy for quick conversions. More recently I have also used 41CV for all of the above (with programmed conversions).

[pier4r]

Completely forgot the other thread (and Google did not help ). Well then since there is a link we can keep one active if there is enough participation.

[brickviking]

I've already approached the "what do I do with my HP calculator..." in the other thread, so I'll approach the "did" portion of this question (and the non-HP calculators), as I've had a HP-34C in the past and still have the fx-9750G+ and the GII.

In the past, I mainly used calculators in the supermarket to add up totals; here's an extract from a blog article I wrote back in 2008 about the fx-9750G+, fx-82MS and others:

(09-15-2008 10:00 AM)brickviking Wrote:I was using the FX-82MS to motor around the supermarket, adding up what we'd bought, in about seven different categories. I came across a nice way of doing this, (with keys in []):

[ALPHA] A + ([ALPHA] X × 1.175) [SHIFT] [STO] A which looks like this, once it's in the top line of the 82MS: A+(X×1.175)->A

Basically, that takes whatever's in register A, adds (X multiplied by 1.175) to it, and sticks the result back into register A. A variant on this removes the multiplication, and simply acts as an addition, storing the result back into the register:
[ALPHA] A + 2.25 [SHIFT][STO] A which, again, looks like this: A+2.25->A

I simply used the six letter registers for different categories of goods, used the X and Y registers for price-per-kilo costs, and combined with the previous formulae, substituting register letter as I went. Once I'd finished I could get a grand total simply by adding together the entries in the six registers, thus: A+B+C+D+E+F=

…
This calculator (the HP-34C) had the ability to store a key sequence, and also had multiple registers I could stuff numbers into and retrieve from, in addition to a prompt for number, so it had nearly everything I needed, except for reliability. The calculator was getting long in the tooth when I got it, and it was showing it - with occasional times where I couldn't see the display, the Run/Stop switch wouldn't always make the calculator change modes, and the battery hatch was falling off. In the end, the calculator was retired into the bin, though I wish now I'd kept it.

The program I generated for the HP-34C was previously generated from that sequence of instructions I'd used for the 82MS:

1. Prompt for a value
2. Read value from the user
3. Add that value to a running summation
4. Go back to step 1
   

I think I may have made a modification on this that took two vars off the stack, multiplied them together and added them to the running total but I no longer have the 34C, nor the programs I wrote.

Because of the programmability of the 9750G+, I was able to seriously expand the "program" I'd used on both the 34C and the 82MS, to the extent where I was able to actually release my program as a fully working program to casiopeia.net. I've since bought a 9750GII with USB connectivity, which allowed me to upgrade the program further and add features far faster than with the original G+. These days, the GII is now my fortnightly grocery "driver" as it's definitely faster at running my "little" program. As I said in the other thread, my HP-50G gets used for aircraft stuff, grocery total holding and unit conversions.

(Post 146)

[larthurl]

(12-17-2017 03:19 PM)pier4r Wrote:  Alongside the ongoing thread about which calculator you own, it would be interesting also to know how you use them (now or in the past, if you used them at all).
Of course even if you report the usage of one calculator it is enough, you don't have to list them all.

I searched with google on hpmuseum.org and I got very little results, although interesting. If you want to try yourself my search string was: site:hpmuseum.org use calculator . Hence I think that a new topic, that hopefully won't be limited in time, may be interesting.




pier4r:

Real calculators:
- ti 34 (1987) to compute some stats on the monthly expenses. At the moment nothing more. Typing long formulas without the ability to see the formula typed is really frustrating.
- sharp 506w to refresh some math and help me poke around some formulas to get an idea how they work. Also it is the preferred device for simple computations due to the possibility to review the formulas.
- ti nspire handheld: tried to use lua without TI software. It is possible (and it is quite fast) but very clumsy. In storage.
- ti 89. used very a little. I will have to check it if I have time.
- hp 50g. In the past I used to solve some math problems for the university, to understand them better. Now it is mostly programming as mental exercise and refreshing some math. Furthermore I started, thanks to the 50g storage capabilities and the amazing standard library of RPL commands, to collect data about how I value my actions. This project is a life long project so the 50g will always work unless I get bored.
- hp50g no 2. For newRPL, for tasks where userRPL is too slow.

Virtual calculators
- hp prime (windows, android). Planned to do some intensive simulations (about bitcoin price for example) since it can run easily on different devices, but not yet started. The idea is to have a programmable math environment geared towards math functions with enough memory that can run on different devices. The strong point is that it can run on android devices that are fanless (and mobile, plenty and powerful) without much effort on my side.
This instead of finding scientific libraries for this or that programming language that then may not run (or they are unavailable) for the same programming language on another OS. The HPPL is quite appealing since it resembles Pascal.
- free42. I check from time to time if it can replace the 506w, but so far aside from simple calculations, the 506w seems more practical (mainly due to the tacticle feeling).

Wow, Great question.

HP-65 - 1976-1978 - Used it to learn programming. Math calculations and general stuff since I was an engineering assistant at a civil engineering firm
hp-67 1978-1980 same as above. Enjoyed additional memory and more advanced programning
HP-41c - 1980-1987 - data entry simulation, data capture and data analysis for my MS degree (compared Algebraic and RPB entry methods). Also did various statistical and data analysis functions as a research Psychologist at Bell Labs.
HP12c,15c - 1987-2000 general use
HP-42s - 2000-2012 general use
2013 - rediscovered HP calcs. Built up collection, rotated thru HP-35, HP-45, HP-65, HP-67, HP-41*, 11,12,15,16, 42s

What a long strange trip it's been.

.....Art

[rprosperi]

(12-17-2017 11:57 PM)larthurl Wrote:  What a long strange trip it's been.

Just use WALSTIB.

It's shorter, more intriguing and well, more Dead.

[Dave Frederickson]

(12-18-2017 12:05 AM)rprosperi Wrote:  

(12-17-2017 11:57 PM)larthurl Wrote:  What a long strange trip it's been.

Just use WALSTIB.

It's shorter, more intriguing and well, more Dead.

In case you didn't know, Bob's a Grateful Dead fan.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=WALSTIB

[JimP]

Great question! These days I mostly use my Hp Prime for everything at my desk, whether it’s for simple calculations, limited financial calculations, or for specialized equation solving. The best part is the brightly lit display, which for older eyes, really helps!

I tend to carry a smaller machine with me when traveling — maybe a DM15L or my WP34s. Other calculators are dotted around the house for quick access. HP35s behind the living room bar because you never know when you’ll need some of its useful functions. TI-36X Pro in the kitchen for quick conversions — metric to Imperial etc. And sometimes I’ll just pull out the 50g because it is second to none in capability and is kind of fun.

The TI-89 is pretty much an abandoned astronaut — it just takes up space. But my college calculator, a TI-58 (sadly not a 58C) completely got me through a B.S. degree with assorted electives in statistics, math, and other stuff in addition to chemistry! It even got me through a Ph.D, so I have fond memories of that one.

[pier4r]

(12-18-2017 08:19 AM)JimP Wrote:  HP35s behind the living room bar because you never know when you’ll need some of its useful functions.

"This drink is too warm".
"I have 1cm^3 ice cubes at -2 C (no freedom units here. SI or the door), how much drink did you get?"
"It is likely 150 ml"
"Temperature?"
"more or less 20C"
"Alcohol?"
"Likely 20%, I'd like to keep it over 15% though"
"So now the problem is to bring the drink to 12C with ice cubes before they dilute enough to lower the alcohol content under 15%. Let me pick my trusty 35s."

Serious note: I did not solve the problem, yet. So it is really something for the 35s and it proves that "mundane" bar solutions or cocktails are not mundane at all.

[franz.b]

I use my hp50g and the 48g emulator to explore the math I encounter in my work and which brings my mind to general problems. I also use it to calculate the correct aspect ratio of movies that I code and to calculate the correct proportions to vary the recipes of cooking :-)

[jthole]

I mainly use my HP 12C for work, and that's mostly for time and money related calculations plus some basic statistics. I have a DM15L which I use for fun. Before I had the physical calculators, I used smartphone apps and a X11 RPN calculator to do simple calculations. And before that I had a Casio programmable which I used for many things (when I was still in a very technical job).

[Benjer]

4th grade through 7th grade ('94-'97):

TI "Hot Calc" (go ahead and laugh)

8th grade through 10th grade ('98-'00):

TI 30Xa

11th grade - present ('01-present):

-TI 89 in the class room (I'm currently taking college classes)
-HP Prime at home (not allowed on exams)
-TI 68 for basic calculations in the classroom or for homework

At work (I'm an estimator) I use a TI-5040 for basic calculations at my desk.