scientific calculator with engineering notation keys  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: RoadRunner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2016, 07:52:05 am
content: I am looking for good large display(graphical is preference) , scientific calculator with dedicated (or even with press of shift like in casio fx-991ms) keys.i know it can be done using exponent key. I just love have dedicated keys.every suggestion will be helpful.

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2016, 01:34:55 pm
content: Are you talking about a dedicated key to enter the exponent like the HP48-GX 'EEX' key?

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2016, 02:28:06 pm
content: Quote from: rstofer on October 04, 2016, 01:34:55 pmNo he means like this to have dedicated units buttons with shift like on this Casio .. mega, kilo, nano, pico...It is useful ...

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2016, 03:14:35 pm
content: Got it!That would be a pretty nice feature for engineering students. I sure haven't run across it.

author: RoadRunner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2016, 05:57:38 pm
content: the only new calculator which i see has this feature is ,casio fx-991ms.don't know why they dropped it on new models .

author: mathsquid
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2016, 08:47:21 pm
content: The casio fx-9750GII does engineering prefixes. It doesn't have dedicated buttons, but the function keys below the screen can do it.

author: kulky64
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2016, 09:04:28 pm
content: Quote from: Gaurav on October 04, 2016, 05:57:38 pmI have fx-991MS and as far as i remember I never used this function. It takes two button presses to insert your prefix, same as pressing "EXP" button and some number.

author: RoadRunner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2016, 06:53:14 am
content: Quote from: mathsquid on October 04, 2016, 08:47:21 pmthis seems to be really nice calc. i think i found what i was looking for.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2016, 07:12:27 am
content: Quote from: Gaurav on October 04, 2016, 05:57:38 pmThe FX-115MS Plus has engineering units too.It's never been a common feature and I don't know why either. Perhaps by far and away the biggest market for scientific calculators is for academic use, where engineering units just aren't used that frequently?

author: setq
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2016, 07:24:01 am
content: Japanese still use calculators for a lot of things so always look in that direction.

author: RoadRunner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2016, 07:43:47 am
content: Quote from: AndyC_772 on October 06, 2016, 07:12:27 amyou are right , sci calc are more of academic thing, because i have been using this feature since i was in college , i just seems to like it.Quote from: setq on October 06, 2016, 07:24:01 am

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2016, 04:47:40 pm
content: While they do not support the general use of the SI prefixes, one feature I have always liked in the HP48 and HP50 is that they support engineering notation where the power of 10 exponents are displayed in multiples of 3.

author: setq
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2016, 05:27:40 pm
content: 50g is nice. It supports full SI unit notation and units are typed so you can enter "12_m" "1000_pm" / and it'll work out and factor the units.Problem is that you end up in a unit hole occasionally where you end up with 1 square decameter amp volt to the power 2 and wondering where the hell that came from!Actually I suddenly wish I hadn't sold mine.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 06, 2016, 06:18:38 pm
content: I'm a big fan of the fx-991MS. I permanently have it in ENG mode, so results are always printed on the screen with actual engineering units from any calculation and the two button press for input is so fast.My old Casio CFX-9850G had either 2 or 3 button input, but I don't remember it being able to display engineering units as the result by default, it'd use scientific notation but fixed at x10^-3, -6, -9, -12 etc.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 06, 2016, 06:25:30 pm
content: Quote from: kulky64 on October 04, 2016, 09:04:28 pmThe nice feature is you can permanently set it to output engineering units too!

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2016, 06:33:38 pm
content: Quote from: David Hess on October 06, 2016, 04:47:40 pmThat is a very handy feature. It's been decades since I seriously used FORTRAN and I discovered the other day that that feature has been added to FORMAT statements. Very nice!My HP 48GX will remain my favorite calculator despite owning an HP Prime and a TI NSpire. Sure, the graphics are better on the NSpire and the Analyze Graph feature is magnificent but I am just plain FAST on the HP48 GX.

author: Berni
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2016, 08:45:40 pm
content: That would be pretty neat to have but as long as there is what they call "engineering notation" where the power of 10 exponents go in multiples of 3 i am fine with it.I still use a basic TI 30X calculator. Gets the job done for everyday calculations. In uni i used to use a TI nspire, pretty impressive the stuff it can do but it takes forever to get anything done on it. Just waiting for the thing to boot takes a long time, later on that clumsy keyboard doesn't do any favors to speed. But when needing to solve the more fancy pants math you come across in school it helped a ton solving big convoluted systems of equations, working with matixes, complex number math etc. But in my day to day job it rarely goes beyond ohms law.

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2016, 10:10:24 pm
content: Quote from: setq on October 06, 2016, 05:27:40 pmBut it does not support general use of the SI prefixes like Gaurav originally asked about. The factor-label/dimensional-analysis notation works well enough but I find that it usually gets in the way so I only use it for conversions.I would not mind being able to use SI prefixes in addition to engineering notation but I did some searching and apparently there is no way to add this to the HP48/HP50. Just the other day I was using femtoamps and attoamps and this would have been handy.Quote from: rstofer on October 06, 2016, 06:33:38 pmThe HP50G is a worthy replacement for the HP48 with a lot of improvements. My only complaint about it is that despite having 40 times the processor performance, it has much greater maximum key-press latency.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 06, 2016, 10:32:55 pm
content: FX-61FIt even has a parallel button!

author: setq
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2016, 06:31:20 am
content: That's pretty neat! I had to write one when I had an HP50g

author: RoadRunner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2016, 06:38:29 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on October 06, 2016, 10:32:55 pmi would love to have calc like this , too bad they don't make calc for electronics use any more.

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2016, 08:23:05 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on October 06, 2016, 10:32:55 pmIt's in a good shape, like mine, I also have original etui for it.. First owner, it's been more than 25 years I guess... Still remember my professor's face when he saw it first time.. he let me use it after he tried it, big smile on his face... he just asked where did I get it from ..

author: Berni
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2016, 08:31:41 am
content: Yeah id buy one if i could find it.Anyone here looking for a kickstarter idea?

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2016, 08:49:38 am
content: Quote from: Berni on October 07, 2016, 08:31:41 amI'w been thinking about it for some time.. For me it even wouldn't have to be so thin and light.. Just to have same functionality...

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 07, 2016, 01:28:58 pm
content: Quote from: Berni on October 07, 2016, 08:31:41 amI've always thought about it...

author: setq
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2016, 01:30:36 pm
content: Someone has already worked out how to repurpose an HP calculator and replaced the firmware on it:http://commerce.hpcalc.org/34s.phpPicture:http://commerce.hpcalc.org/images/34s-front-medium.jpgMay be possible to do the same with another unit and avoid the hardware build.

author: RoadRunner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2016, 02:36:21 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on October 07, 2016, 01:28:58 pmwe would love see eevblog calculator.

author: mathsquid
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2016, 12:10:03 am
content: Quote from: Gaurav on October 07, 2016, 02:36:21 pmSeconded.

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2016, 12:51:41 am
content: Quote from: Gaurav on October 07, 2016, 02:36:21 pmI just think the practical way to do this is to make a phone/tablet app. It is really hard to make a quality calculator with labelling that does not wear off and buttons that keep working reliably. It needs to have very long battery life (or solar power). Otherwise you have one more device that needs to be regularly charged and I have too many of those now.The HP CAS (Computer Algebra System) used in the HP 49G/50G is open source so perhaps that can be used somehow. Using a touch screen phone/tablet, you get the possibility of interactive graphing. You get a fast processor.Using a phone also gives the possibility of connectivity. Back in the late 70's/early 80's, I used to use the HP 9825A desktop calculator that was a computer/calculator that also had the option of GPIB/Serial/Parallel connectivity. So you could capture readings from a HP voltmeter into an array, and then use the calculator or embedded HP basic to crunch the numbers. I just loved using the 9825A.Otherwise, if I need electronic calculations embedded in an ordinary calculator, I just program one of my HP calculators with the wanted functions. My HP49G labels the F1-F6 function buttons with the commands I have programmed, so works great.

author: mathsquid
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2016, 12:47:23 pm
content: Quote from: amspire on October 08, 2016, 12:51:41 amYou make some excellent points about the difficulty of making a calculator, but I making an app instead of a physical calculator completely negates the entire cool factor of such a device. There are already many calculator apps out there. As you mentioned, that would be the practical way to go about solving this problem. We already have practical--we want something cool.Besides, Dave has already done a lot of work on the µCalc (see episode 130). I'd be really interested in buying one he made them available, or if he made it into an upgrade kit to put into an existing calculator shell, similar to the HP project someone linked to in a previous comment.