Calculators have Soul!

General discussion about calculators, SwissMicros or otherwise
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amafan
Posts: 87
Joined: Tue Sep 29, 2020 11:40 pm

Calculators have Soul!

Post by amafan »

Brief history. Got my engineering degree in 1974 from Cal Poly SLO. I used and still have my K&E Decilon slide rule. In '72 when the HP35 was introduced it sent tentacles out that captured my soul. Alas, it was out of reach. Did my senior research project on discrete computational engines and mutliplexed serial communication.

I'm 70 now and I am increasing drawn back to that time which was one of my life's epiphanies. Last year I acquired a fully functional HP35. Just holding it brought tears to my eyes. Since then I have acquired a good number of HP calculators. Each has its own panache and soul. However none match that of the 35, at least to me. It feels like the energy of the ages is channeled through this machine. Holding it evokes the engineers who gave it birth and the souls of those who used it in the interim. I don't know how else to describe it.

I am so glad there are others like me who feel this draw. Please be well and know you are not alone.

P.S. Yes, I also like wine which lets me post drivel such as this.
DM42 (#6476), DM41X (#458), DM15, 12 - HP 12, 17BII, 35(2), 45, HP 27S, 28S, 30B, 41CV, 41CX, 42S, 48S, 35S, HP10bII+, 12C PLAT
I may have a problem!
rprosperi
Posts: 1703
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 7:48 pm
Location: New York

Re: Calculators have Soul!

Post by rprosperi »

Heartfelt drivel, such as this, is truly appreciated by many here. Thanks. :lol:
--bob p

DM42: β00071 & 00282, DM41X: β00071 & 00656, DM10L: 071/100
coolepascal
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2020 11:21 am

Re: Calculators have Soul!

Post by coolepascal »

Hi amafan,
With 55 just a younster here.

My DM-42 makes me lyric and certainly is threated like a baby.
Being an electronics/firmware engineer it's probarly overkill, but next to being a good and easy calculator
it is a nice toy it you like to fiddle with the programming functions, which i sometimes find challenging and therefore interesting.
Soul: Certainly Yes !

As well I do have a DM-15 which i like on my desk as a neat little calculator but i find programming it cumbersome.
For a quicky i prefer this one, if i have to make larger calculations i love the convenience of the large stack presenting display
Soul: Hmmm i like it... thats about it.

I also have a HP 35s (still commonly for sale) which of cource is a total different beast of yours
Although i like the quality of the HP, it does not in any way tickle me.
This calculator has a lot to offer but I find id difficult to find my way on it and only use if for verry basic calculation.
Tried programming it once, but also lacking backup optiions it's not my thing.
I mean... it does have a infix (Algorimic) input mode..... WHY ?????
Soul: Certainly No !

Also in my collection
ЭЛЕКТРОНИКА MK-52
This is only usefull as a gadget. It's fun to play with and i think back in time many Russians would have adored it,
But the build quality is awfull making it difficult to use as you never sure if a keypress was once, twice or zero.
It does have a weird kind of eprom memory that enables you to store your program, verry challenching to use but hey
the Ruskies whent to space with it.
Still it's a geeky device to play with.
Soul: Yes

Finaly
ЭЛЕКТРОНИКА MK-61
It's the smaller brother of the MK-52 with a kinda HP formfactor and furthermore the same horible build quality.
Like the MK-52 it also is far from accurate:
Sin^-1( Sin( 45 ) ) ---> 45.000002
2 ^ 16 ---> 65535.995
It also lacks the odd eprom memory, so after switching of the power, your program and memories are lost.
Soul: Nope

This of course is al a personal view.
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