Calculator like HP10BII but scientific and RPN

[Gerardo Rincon]

I really like the simplicity of the HP 10BII - it is great for work. I wish there was the option to use it in RPN mode (it already has an Input Key that maybe could have worked as an Enter Key as well). The keyboard feel of the 10BII is very nice as well.

It would also be great if there was a Scientific Calculator simple like the 10BII with some stats and RPN.

[Dave Johnson]

Hey..Please don't give HP ideas like this.....The HP10BII will not function for more than a few months (display stops functioning, keys get mushy and not responsive) I have experienced this with several... Try to 35S....

[Gene Wright]

Hey Dave.

Which version of the 10b2 are you referring to? The one done out of Australia or the new industrial design launched about a year and a half ago?

The earlier one really is / was a mess. The new industrial design has been rock solid for me. I've banged on it over and over again and never had any problems at all.

By contrast, the ACO version of the 10b2 was junk a week after I got one.

So... which have you had a problem with? If the new ID, then that's news to me! :-)

[DaveJ]

Quote:

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Which version of the 10b2 are you referring to? The one done out of Australia or the new industrial design launched about a year and a half ago?

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Ok, my ears just pricked up. Some aspect of the 10BII design came out of Australia??

Dave.

[Paul Dale]

HP's calculator group was based in Melbourne for a few years. They closed down about 8 years ago from memory.

I was contracted to do a network bootloader for them for a never realised device running uClinux. I think I've still got the box of prototypes and development boards something.

- Pauli

[DaveJ]

Quote:

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HP's calculator group was based in Melbourne for a few years. They closed down about 8 years ago from memory.

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Yes, I know that much, I actually applied for an advertised calculator design job there at one stage! They closed shop about 6 months later IIRC.

The 10BII is that old? (I'm not into financial calcs so haven't a clue)

Dave.

[Bart (UK)]

I have a new version 10Bii and it feels quite solid.

[Dave Johnson]

The 10BII I had issues with was a few years ago and not the most recent one so I hope they have improved it but once I've been burned I don't recommend items!

[Gene Wright]

Ah, then you should try again.

The ACO version of the HP 10BII was a truly awful design. Think 49g with its rubber keys vs. what the 50g is today.... the 50g is MUCH much better and nothing like the rubber key monster.

You can find a current industrial design HP 10BII on ebay for $15 or less.

[Bart (UK)]

Quote:

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You can find a current industrial design HP 10BII on ebay for $15 or less.

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Yep, I got mine for £5. Only has very minor scratch on the metal above the screen.

[Katie Wasserman]

The new 30b has nice "clicky" keys, great stats and RPN (and programmablility and trig functions). You can customize the keyboard to a limited extent and it's just slightly larger than the 10bii.

Most of the functions that you don't want are hidden in menus so if you ignore them you'll have a simple calculator.

-Katie

[Gerardo Rincon]

On simple thing I don't like about the 30B or 20B is that the % change is not available in a top key. It is buried in menus and take and bunch of key strokes just to do a % change. In general I really like the 30B. I hate the keyboard of the 20B. I like the "look" of the 20B

Edited: 14 Apr 2010, 7:45 p.m.

[Bruce Bergman]

You can reassign the "%" to any key you like. Easy peasy.

Get the 30b -- it's amazing.

Thanks, bruce

[Gerardo Rincon]

can I assign the % change? how you do that? I am not a programer.. How would I enter both values to get the % change?

[Howard Lazerson]

Where to buy ???
amazon and hp store dont have the 30b, thanks, Howard

[Katie Wasserman]

%-change is really an interactive menu on the 30b. If you want the good old RPN way of doing it you need to write a little program and assign that program to the '%' key.

I do this (assuming you're in RPN mode)

Enter program mode by pressing SHIFT Keypad.
Choose a program slot (0 is the default) and press INPUT. Then enter the following steps. (You'll need to press the up arrow to get to line 0.)

0  %       ; line zero is the (optional) key assignment location

1  ) Swap  ; this is just swap but shows the ')' too

2  -       

3  ANS      ; same as LASTx in RPN mode

4  /

5  1

6  0

7  0

8  x

9  Stop     ; (This is SHIFT-HOLD RCL)

Press SHIFT Keypad again and you'll see: 10.126 (10 bytes used, checksum = 126)

Use the above program like you would %-change on most HP RPN calculators:

4
INPUT
5
%

and you'll see:
25

-Katie

Edited: 14 Apr 2010, 11:00 p.m.

[Gene Wright]

In RPN mode, you would enter both numbers and then execute the program that is assigned to the key you want to execute the % change function.

Suppose you want it to be shift-hold 1 --- you don't plan to use RAND very much. If you want to replace NPV, then press NPV when step 0 is showing and you would then start the program when you press the NPV key.

Program:

001 ) SWAP

002 -

003 shift ANS

004 /

005 1

006 0

007 0

008 x

009 STOP

now press down down up so that step 001 is showing.

press shift and hold it and press 1. SH1 shows up on line 0 of the program.

The program takes 10 bytes.

In run mode, key 30 = 25 = then shift hold 1. The answer of -16.67 is shown in the display. % change is 16.67% down.

[Gene Wright]

Heheh. Katie beat me to it. Good to see our programs are the same. ;-)

[Katie Wasserman]

That's the problem with this forum, everyone is so damn responsive we duplicate each others work.

-Katie

[Gene Wright]

That's the problem with this forum, everyone is so damn responsive we duplicate each others work.

-Gene

[Tim Wessman]

Whoa, Magic!

TW

[Gerardo Rincon]

Katie and Gene,

I just have to say again: thank you for the program you wrote for me - It's awesome! I use it all the time.

mac

[Gerardo Rincon]

Katie and Gene,

Thank you so much fo the explanation! It works!

One more question: will this program ever be earse (by itself) I know I can use the reset button and erase Program 0. If I have to replace the batteries, would it erase?

Edited: 15 Apr 2010, 8:18 a.m.

[Gene Wright]

Katie will probably have answered this before I click "I agree. Post Now" but here goes.

It should not erase if you replace the batteries one at a time. If you remove BOTH batteries before replacing either, then all bets are off.

You can learn a great deal about programming the HP 30b by going here:

HP 30b learning module material

The last 6 on the list include programming related material.

[Gerardo Rincon]

Great information!