Hewlett Packard Programmable Calculators

When engaged in speaker system building sophisticated computer programs can be of great help. But sometimes these programs will not give all you want.

Although a spreadsheet is a very versatile tool I am always unsecure whether I have unwillingly destroyed a cell. So I often use a (programmable) caculator, preferable the HP42S. But this model is out of production and a used one is very costly.

I want to point the attention to a software solution, a HP 42S emulation working on a variety of platforms. There is a free solution FREE42.

It works on a variety of platforms:
- iPhone and iPod touch
- Windows,
- Pocket PC,
- Palm OS,
- Linux (x86),
- Mac OS X,
- Sharp Zaurus
and there is the source code.

The PC based emulation has some advantages compared to the original hardware calculator.
- increased speed
- increased memory (on my PC ca. 176 MByte instead of 7,2 kBytes !)
- saving of programs and configuration
- drag and drop of results
- use of printer output.

Compared to the simpler anniversary model HP35S the HP42S has better implemented functions and a more sophisticated programming language. Compared to the HP48GX the HP42S is easier to handle.

The HP42S has an easy to program menu structure which will be demonstrated by an example. This example program gives the relationship of the volume of a cuboid (?) box with the outer dimensions A, B, C and the wall thickness D. You can calculate any value you want. The menu key which is pressed without input of a number will imply the calculation of the corresponding item. The program is very short:

00 { 59-Byte Prgm }
01>LBL "BOX"
02 MVAR "a"
03 MVAR "b"
04 MVAR "c"
05 MVAR "d"
06 MVAR "Vol"
07 RCL "a"
08 RCL "d"
09 STO+ ST X
10 -
11 RCL "b"
12 RCL "d"
13 STO+ ST X
14 -
15 ×
16 RCL "c"
17 RCL "d"
18 STO+ ST X
19 -
20 ×
21 RCL- "Vol"
22 END

Short manual:
http://joselauro.tripod.com/42s.pdf
There are more Hewlett Packard calculator emulations:
http://www.hpcalc.org/hp48/pc/emulators/
____________
Peter

As far as I'm concerned, Hp calculators took a nose dive after they stopped producing the 32SII. (Just look what an unused 32SII goes for on the 'bay. :banghead:)

I ended up replacing it with a 35S, the logical successor, and well...:barf:

http://www.hp41.net/forum/fileshp41n...l-hp42s-us.pdf
358 p. - printed in USA 8/88
http://www.hp41.net/forum/fileshp41n...g-examples.pdf
236 p.

HP42S app works well on a smartphone (Android).
There is an updated version: 12-11-2014: release 1.5.5

http://thomasokken.com/free42/
____________
Peter

I still own 3 HP calcs.. Can't stand non rpn math, lol.

I died when I dropped and broke my HP28S from 1988 a few years ago. Paid through the nose for another one on EBay, but it's not the same - my buttons felt better. Still miss it:(

Happy 32SII user here. Still running the first set of batteries after - don't know... 25 yrs? :bouncy:

HP11C here.

before 1976 Attachment 64886 :blink:

HP25C from 1976 : the first "non volatile memory" with cmos technology. My parents were ruined to provide me my first calculator for my engineer studies :applaud:

HP15C around mid 80s :dont-know:

HP32S since 1987 :bouncy:

HP42S on my Iphone since today :wave:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ratitifb

before 1976 Attachment 64886 :blink:

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I still have my slide rule calculator and remember how to use it, only problem is print is too small for me to see well even with Rx bi-focals!

Regards, Ron

Old schoold dude!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ratitifb

HP42S on my Iphone since today :wave:

---

I'm glad that I could give a hint. :wave:
____________
Peter

I used a slide rule in high school and college in the '50's and '60's and kept one at school as an amazing artifact until I retired last year. It's good to have one around for green calculations. It also helped a few students understand what a logarithm is. I bought a used HP25 for some classes I took in the late '70's. It died of the battery disease. Sometime later I bought a 42S, which I still have and in more recent time a 48G for its graphing ability. I think I agree with the notion that the 42S was in some ways the peak of the art in general and the button art in particular.

RPN is one of those superior ideas that somehow elude the generality.

I never came near exhausting the capabilities of any of them except maybe the 25.

Yeah, I have a Sun Hemmi I keep around as a nostalgic relic. It was given to me by our next door neighbor when I was a kid, I've never used it to do any calculations. It is a nice unit.

For HP-15c
http://hp-15c.homepage.t-online.de/content_web.htm

Stéphane