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Programming an HP-15C (2013)
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- edeion 7y agoGiven how hard it can be for me to focus when the web is just one click away, these dedicated tools are such a boon. Plus the hacker touch of these programming languages has something lovely. (I don't get what's so funny with the 38x3, though...)
- cr0sh 7y agoYeah - I'm not mathematically inclined enough to understand what would be so funny about the 38x^3 denominator either? Unless it's something that would cause an error due to memory/register size constraints, or cause the calculator to sit there forever on some of the other larger squares or test values due to 1986 speed of the ALU or whatever is in the calc? My gut assumption is that it's some mathematics inside joke of some sort...
- gshubert17 7y agoI think the "someone who brought it back" is Swiss Micros, which makes a compatible calculator (which they call DM-15) as well as other models in the same family. They say their chip that emulates the original cpu is quite a bit faster than the original. https://www.swissmicros.com https://www.swissmicros.com
- drivers99 7y agoWow they also have one based on the 42S.
- GeorgeTirebiter 7y agoI also want to mention the HP-45 iPad / iPhone app; it runs the exact microcode of the original on a VM. (My buddy was involved in this, and makes some $ - but I bought it and really really like it, and this isn't an ad, etc, etc.)
- mschaef 7y agoI have a 42S emulator running on my iPhone, but it really isn't the same as being able to press physical keys on a hardware device. One of the charms of these devices was that they were built to last. ie: the keys were injection molded with two colors of plastic so they wouldn't wear down. So, while I still have a couple of working HP's from the 80's, I've been through a dozen or more mobile phones in about the same time...
- fmajid 7y agoThey're called doubleshot key caps. The better mechanical keyboards also use this method. The HP-15C and others in that line were exceptionally well made, with the PCB for the keyboard being ultrasonically welded for rigidity.
- lmilcin 7y agoI have actual 42S. The physical device lasts very well but the LCD fades out as it gets older. Right now mine does not have enough contrast to read it looking at it directly. You need to look it from downward angle and in perfect light. Other than that this is the best calculator ever made.
- drivers99 7y agoWow that sounds a lot more complicated than the one I had, HP 42S, because you had to use codes for the instructions instead of just pulling up the instructions in readable ASCII. I found this random example of entering a program on a 42S: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQMOOxup8bI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQMOOxup8bI Coincidentally, it even uses the FP (fractional part) and X=0? test that the OP mentioned. I wanted to see what programming the 15C looked like, so I found this as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4dF5nF8I88 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4dF5nF8I88 Looks like you can enter the program without knowing the codes, but reviewing the code just shows codes.
- mschaef 7y ago> Wow that sounds a lot more complicated than the one I had, HP 42S, Yeah... the 42S derives from the earlier 41 series, and the 41 series was the first to use alphanumeric symbolic names for programming commands. Prior to that, there was always a very direct correlation between the button you pressed on the keyboard and the way the command was encoded in memory. (Which made sense given how resource limited the earlier calculators were.) HP took this evolution one a step further with the HP28C, which was released a few years past the 41's. The 28C introduced a garbage collected heap and a tagged type representation for objects that gave you something essentially like a small RPN Lisp running on a handheld.
- ghaff 7y agoI used an HP41 for many years but it eventually died and I didn't really use an engineering calculator enough any longer to justify either repairing it or picking one up on eBay. I really liked the ergonomics and, although I have an emulator on my iPhone, it's not the same without the physical keys. I did pick up a 28 at one point but never really bonded with it.
- mschaef 7y ago> I did pick up a 28 at one point but never really bonded with it. IMO, the 28 and follow ons lost a lot of the focus of the earlier (more 'primitive') devices. They were more cumbersome to use, and whatever marginal improvement they offered in functionality didn't matter because everybody started to use PC's, laptops and the like.
- GeorgeTirebiter 7y agoI bought a 15C new. I still have it on my EE bench (replacing my slide rule, of course). Every 8 or 9 years I replace the three LR44 batteries. And writing little programs to tickle the Inner Nerd is always fun. HP: we miss you!
- MegaDeKay 7y agoMine was bought new well over 30 years ago. It is sitting on my desk within arms reach and I use it regularly. I have replaced the batteries two, maybe three times in all those years. The battery life of this thing is magical.
- lmilcin 7y agoI have been using HP 42S for the past 15 years and would not replace it for any other. It is a pity that the LCD fades out in these and now it is only possible to see it at specific angles.
- StreakyCobra 7y agoYou may be interested by this [1] The device is reliable, the screen is amazing, the USB connectivity brings a lot of value and the community on SwissMicros' forum are passionate HP people. I'm not affiliated with them in any way, just an happy geeky customer :) [1] https://www.swissmicros.com/dm42.php https://www.swissmicros.com/dm42.php
- golem14 7y agoSeconded. Their replicas are amazing, even better than the already awesome originals. I own a few, only god knows why :) Maybe I'll ask to be buried with them, so I can be dug up in a few thousand years and worry archeologists ;)
- cameldrv 7y agoRelated: it’s been sad to see the HP48 emulators bitrotting. m48 is no longer available on the App Store, and I can’t find anything that works anymore for the Mac.
- msla 7y agoThere's a port of Emu48 to MacOS https://sourceforge.net/projects/emu48mac/ https://sourceforge.net/projects/emu48mac/ Kinda Mac-related is i48 for iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/i48/id329454950 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/i48/id329454950 hpcalc.org has a list of emulators: https://www.hpcalc.org/hp48/pc/emulators/ https://www.hpcalc.org/hp48/pc/emulators/ Best seems to be Emu48, as mentioned above: https://hp.giesselink.com/emu48.htm https://hp.giesselink.com/emu48.htm x48 is open source, like Emu48: https://sourceforge.net/projects/x48.berlios/ https://sourceforge.net/projects/x48.berlios/
- cameldrv 7y agoUnfortunately I couldn't get any of em to build anymore. Emu48 is definitely the best, but it needs help to build on new MacOS. x48 doesn't build anymore, and is also X11 based, which is not great on Mac anymore either.
- watmough 7y agoGosh. I got lucky that the m48 from my 6s restored successfully to my 11 pro. Love that software.
- madengr 7y agoReminds me to start collecting HP calculators. I have a few, but would like to collect all of them and put them in a display case. Anything non-RPN is an abomination.
- rfdave 7y agoAre you familiar with www.hpmuseum.org? Collectors and users of HP calculators hang out there. Hp41.org is great for the HP41
- agumonkey 7y agoThe other day I ran into a guy throwing stuff at the junkyard, in the bag there was a calculator, so I picked it up. HP 40G .. I was so happy, until I put batteries in and realize there's no RPN in the rom. The device is unusable (to me).. poor HP
- pflanze 7y agoI'm currently implementing a concatenative language, and have added OP's program as an example: https://github.com/pflanze/copycat/blob/master/examples/hp.scm https://github.com/pflanze/copycat/blob/master/examples/hp.s... This is closer to how the later HP models worked, where naming and quotations are available (via « »). (I happen to have had an HP-15C as well as my first calculator :)
- slowhand09 7y agoUpvote because I still own and occasionally use my HP-11C. It may be on its 4th set of batteries, after 30+ years. I haven't written code on it for 20yrs, but the last was a sight-reduction program for celestial navigation. I do have and use emulation of HP-15C on every computer I cam, plus my phone.
- markandrewj 7y agoI have an HP 200LX that I acquired recently. I have been using it for writing mainly, it's pretty fun. I also have an old PCMCIA Ethernet card that I want to use with the 200LX so I can connect to IRC (mainly for Twitch chat).
- slowhand09 7y agoOn a different note, I stumbled on my TI-Programmer LED calculator and power supply a few days ago. I plugged it in, but no response. I guess rechargable batteries weren't meant to last nearly 40 yrs. I am now obligated to attempt resurrection. In case I need octal, hex, or bit operations.
- RedNifre 7y agoOh, yeah, I wrote a Brainfuck interpreter for those https://steemit.com/programming/@michaelzinn/babbage-s-difference-engine-in-brainfuck-on-a-calculator https://steemit.com/programming/@michaelzinn/babbage-s-diffe... I also did a C64 BASIC compiler in Idris for it, if you have a copy with over 800 lines of program memory you can play HAMURABI on it: https://forum.swissmicros.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2193 https://forum.swissmicros.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2193 I strongly recommend that calculator, it's a great programming toy.
- 0culus 7y agoI have both the HP15C and two HP16Cs, though I am not old enough to have bought one new. :o) Truly awesome calculators, even if they are a bit slow sometimes. The form factor of the Voyagers is amazingly perfect; in fact the ratio of the length to width is approximately the Golden Ratio if I recall. I use mine regularly as I prefer a tactile instrument. Plus the mental challenge of implementing programs in a constrained environment is invigorating.
- DNied 7y agoI use a magnificent HP emulator called nonpareil for almost all my RPN needs (the rest being covered by dc and xcalc -rpn).
- s_T_e_v_o 7y agoI still have mine and the user manual sits on a shelf in my basement. I bought mine in a private deal from a guy whose father was a distributor. Cost me $110 in 1984. It allowed me to invert a 4x4 matrix, thereby earning me an A in my power engineering class. I programmed a sinc function to the amazement of my linear systems instructor. And I programmed complex multiplication and division routines. This was pretty cutting edge back in the day, long before mathcad.
- JorgeGT 7y agoI have one from my grandfather and one from my father. Amazing things. I wonder what device I should leave for my future children! Maybe my Ti-83...