# NCEES release updated calc list



## Undertaker (Nov 15, 2007)

I don't know if this was posted already.If not there we go. NCEES has the list of calculators for the April test.Looks like they include a new HP and all the Casio FX-115 models.

Calcs updated list


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## Capt Worley PE (Nov 15, 2007)

I'm glad they opened up, but now I'm pissed because I had to drop 34 bucks on a couple of TI-30 XII S calculators when I must have 3 or 4 TI-30X's and TI-30Xa's running around at the house and office. Plus, I've used a TI-30X since 1984 and am very comfortable with it.

Oh well. At least I'll have plenty of backups if I have to test again.


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## IlPadrino (Nov 15, 2007)

Mother Fletcher!

So HP comes out with a Retro calculator (though I admit, it does have quite an element of geek to it) and now my investment in the 33Ss I have is worthless. It seems the price of the 33S has dropped in half! What am I ever going to do with the two 33Ss I have now?

This has to be one of the more asinine policies of NCEES. I'd rather use my 48 or 49 any day!


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## Dark Knight (Nov 15, 2007)

IlPadrino said:


> Mother Fletcher!
> So HP comes out with a Retro calculator (though I admit, it does have quite an element of geek to it) and now my investment in the 33Ss I have is worthless. It seems the price of the 33S has dropped in half! What am I ever going to do with the two 33Ss I have now?
> 
> This has to be one of the more asinine policies of NCEES. I'd rather use my 48 or 49 any day!


Looks like the HP33S is still on the mix Sray. Besides, I don't think you will be needing your calc for the test again. :thumbs:


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## Dleg (Nov 16, 2007)

Oh hell yeah! Not only are my precious fx-115ES's back on the allowed list (why did they remove them for one exam cycle???), but I also am the proud new owner of an HP-35s "retro" calculator, which is not very retro except for the look and feel, which goes back to the best of HP.

ldtimer:

Why do I care? I'm a PE  Well, I also want to get my CPESC certification, and for some reason those guys have adopted the NCEES calculator list. The thought of having to buy yet another calculator was really pissing me off for some reason.for that exam


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## Capt Worley PE (Nov 16, 2007)

Not me, Sap. I'm a TI-30 guy from way back and I'm not going over to the HP(dark) side.


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## IlPadrino (Nov 16, 2007)

BringItOn said:


> Looks like the HP33S is still on the mix Sray. Besides, I don't think you will be needing your calc for the test again. :thumbs:


BIO,

I was going to sell them... I've been wanting the 35S for a bit. Now that the price of the 33S is around $30, I figure I'd be lucky to get $15 on eBay or EB.


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## IlPadrino (Nov 16, 2007)

Captain Worley said:


> Not me, Sap. I'm a TI-30 guy from way back and I'm not going over to the HP(dark) side.


There are two types of people in the world... those that love RPN and those that don't understand RPN.


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## Guest (Nov 16, 2007)

^^^ Touche!

Special Note: I taught my wife (a nurse) to use RPN and now she uses my HP for balancing the checkbook.

JR


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## Capt Worley PE (Nov 16, 2007)

IlPadrino said:


> There are two types of people in the world... those that love RPN and those that don't understand RPN.


I freely admit to not understanding RPN :dunno: .


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## roadwreck (Nov 16, 2007)

Captain Worley said:


> I freely admit to not understanding RPN :dunno: .


me too


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## Capt Worley PE (Nov 16, 2007)

A quick history of the TI-30. This is an interesting site if you wander around in it a bit.

http://www.datamath.org/Story/TI-30_Birthday.htm


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## Dleg (Nov 18, 2007)

My 35s came with a DVD with a short video on the history of HP calculators. I wonder if that was just for the first batch, or if you still get that with a purchase.

BTW, the video wasn't nearly as exciting as I thought it was going to be. I expected a bit more, but it was still kind of cool.

ldtimer:


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## jartgo (Nov 18, 2007)

Dleg said:


> My 35s came with a DVD with a short video on the history of HP calculators. I wonder if that was just for the first batch, or if you still get that with a purchase.
> BTW, the video wasn't nearly as exciting as I thought it was going to be. I expected a bit more, but it was still kind of cool.
> 
> ldtimer:


What are some of the big differences between the HP33 and the HP35? Can you assign multi-letter variables?


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## Dleg (Nov 18, 2007)

To be honest with you, I don't know. I didn't have a 33s, and I got my 35s after passing the PE, so I haven't dug very deep into its capabilities yet.

What I can tell you, though, is that it still has the tiny decimal point that people complained about on the 33s - sometimes I have a hard time seeing it.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Nov 19, 2007)

Captain Worley said:


> I freely admit to not understanding RPN :dunno: .


Yeah, me too.

All the old timer's love it. They all have that same boxy HP calculator from when they were in college in the 60s and it's intuitive to them.


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## Old as Dirt Geo (Nov 19, 2007)

After almost 30 years of using an HP calculator with RPN, I can't use anything else. My daughter laughs at me because I can't use her TI-83 when I helping her with her physics or pre-calc homework. I'm so happy that HP has come out with a new traditional style calculator. My first intro to HP was in high school chemistry in 1978 when a friend of mine brought his father's HP35. His dad was an engineer for RCA and my friend told me a HP calculator was state of the art computing for engineers. I remember I could wait to get an HP. Today I own a 41CV, 32sii, the dreaded 33s and I'm buying a 35s. One good thing about owning a RPN calculator is nobody ever borrows it.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Nov 19, 2007)

^ I can understand getting comfortable. I've used the same line of Casio scientific calculator since high school chem in 1995. I like it because you type in the numbers and operations as you would on paper.


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## Guest (Nov 19, 2007)

Old as Dirt Geo said:


> One good thing about owning a RPN calculator is nobody ever borrows it.


That's very true!!  Everyone at my job looks at me and says ... reverse polish wha?!! :huh:

JR


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## Flyer_PE (Nov 19, 2007)

Old as Dirt Geo said:


> Today I own a 41CV, 32sii, the dreaded 33s and I'm buying a 35s. One good thing about owning a RPN calculator is nobody ever borrows it.


:thumbs: for the 41CV. My current collection is: 48GX, 28S, 33s, and 41CV. I bought the 33s just for the PE and it has been retired to the back of the desk drawer. I bought the 41 in 1987 and it is still my primary calculator. I'm now proud to be an "old timer".

The funny part is that we only have one engineer in our company that's younger than I am and he's the only one using something other than a RPN calculator.

Jim


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## IlPadrino (Nov 19, 2007)

VTEnviro said:


> Yeah, me too.
> All the old timer's love it. They all have that same boxy HP calculator from when they were in college in the 60s and it's intuitive to them.


It's not complicated... instead of entering algebraically (2, +, 3 , =), you use a stack (2, enter, 3, +). The (2, enter) puts 2 on the stack. The (3) pushes the 2 down and puts the 3 on the top of the stack. The (+) tells the calculator to add the first two items on the stack, remove them from the stack, and put the answer on the top of the stack. It's a straight-forward process that's easy to see when the calculator shows the two stack positions (which the 33S and 35S do). Technically speaking, the stacks are registers (X, Y, Z, and T) and values are rolled through the stack as required by the operation. If you look at a users manual (try HP33S), you'll notice that the top of the stack (the X register) is actually on the bottom visually - but don't let that confuse things.

In simple equations, it's not much of a savings (keystroke-wise), but for more complicated calculations, it can be a great savings. The other benefit for me is that I tend to naturally think of things with stacks so it's very intuitive.


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## IlPadrino (Nov 19, 2007)

Wikipedia has a decent entry on Reverse Polish notation...


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## ktulu (Nov 19, 2007)

I went through all of undergrad and grad school with my 48GX. Now, it's a staple on my desk. I have the 33s POS (piece of shit) for the exam


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## csb (Dec 4, 2007)

I used to think I couldn't be an engineer if I didn't know RPN...turns out engineers use TIs too.

P.S. If I don't like this board, do I just start my own and whine? And make it look like this one?


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## C-Dog (Dec 4, 2007)

IlPadrino said:


> It's not complicated... instead of entering algebraically (2, +, 3 , =), you use a stack (2, enter, 3, +). The (2, enter) puts 2 on the stack. The (3) pushes the 2 down and puts the 3 on the top of the stack. The (+) tells the calculator to add the first two items on the stack, remove them from the stack, and put the answer on the top of the stack. It's a straight-forward process that's easy to see when the calculator shows the two stack positions (which the 33S and 35S do). Technically speaking, the stacks are registers (X, Y, Z, and T) and values are rolled through the stack as required by the operation. If you look at a users manual (try HP33S), you'll notice that the top of the stack (the X register) is actually on the bottom visually - but don't let that confuse things.
> In simple equations, it's not much of a savings (keystroke-wise), but for more complicated calculations, it can be a great savings. The other benefit for me is that I tend to naturally think of things with stacks so it's very intuitive.


Sort of like a spreadsheet?


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## IlPadrino (Dec 4, 2007)

C-Dog said:


> Sort of like a spreadsheet?


Well, maybe... but there are only a few cells to work with (the 33S has only 4 stacks/registers) and when you make an operation (which I guess is sort of like entering a formula in a spreadsheet with only one operator and two cell references which are always right before the formula cell), it replaces the reference cells. It's a bit of an analogy stretch but maybe...


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