Wow, that sure brought up some memories. Paul, I think I started out on the
same National Semiconductor model that you did. Then I graduated to an HP-25,
because it was programmable. It cost me a week's salary. Which, as a public
radio announcer in 1976, meant eating spaghetti for a couple of weeks. I
actually used it at work, because I quickly realized that the decimal degrees
<-> HMS function in a simple program would add up music timings.
I had earned a BFA in theater and music, so I didn't take much math in college.
I also had a tendency to reverse numbers or misinterpret the number of zeros.
The calculator pretty much compensated for that. I was able to teach myself
quite a bit of math, not to mention some programming. All of which stood me in
good stead when I couldn't make a living in the arts, and became a computer
nerd.
I later progressed to an 11c, then a 32s (which I still use most of the time at
home), and then I collected several others. They all work. My original 25 still
calculates, but the program memory no longer works and the keys are getting
intermittent.
I know they still make RPN calculators, but the quality of manufacturing is a
shadow of its former self, and some bugs have crept into the newer models.
There is even a hobbyist-created model called the WP-34S. You get one of the
inexpensive business calculators, reflash the ROM, stick on some custom key
labels, and you end up with the synthesis of several of the best HP
calculators. I've got one of those, too. :-) I waited too long before ordering
the programming cable, and they ran out. I ended up sending the host calculator
to Cincinnati, where a kind soul from the hpmuseum.org user group flashed it
for me.
http://commerce.hpcalc.org/34s.php
http://hpmuseum.org
--Peter, dictating to my iPad
(If it misconstrues, please excuse)
> I've also got a couple of early TI calculators if I need an equals
> key. I never use them.
> Jim Nichols Tullahoma, TN USA
On 5/21/2015 11:22 AM, Jez Cunningham wrote:
I use a 20S - because it has an equals key and my wife can also work it... On
21 May 2015 at 15:53, Jim Nichols <jhnichols [at] lighttube.net> wrote:
Nice shot. I've got a 32S on my desk that I use every day. :-) Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA On 5/21/2015 3:43 AM, Peter Klein wrote:
This ought to warm the cockles of some of your hearts.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563@N04/17911267022/ They don't make 'em
like that anymore, but at least there's an app. --Peter
--
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