CALCULATORS

[DVINNY]

I have an idea. I think that TI-86's and HP's should be allowed in the exam.

If NCEES is worried about sneaking in or out information, then they can CLEAR the calculator as you come in, and clear it again as you leave. I would pay extra for the exam fee so that they could hire a proctor to do just that.

If I would have had my TI-86 for that exam, I wouldn't be feeling nervous at all about my results. I hate the fact that I've used a certain calculator for 10 years, know it in and out, and am not allowed to use it. That bites.

 

[Road Guy]

totally agree, I hated not to be able to use my HP48SX, Supposidly its not what you bring in, but what you might take out.

I used the HP33S and it took me a while to get used to it, even had to look up a few things in the manual during the exam

 

[JoeysVee]

I think they had too many instructions and checks as it is. I was in that room for 11 hours including instructions, lunch and testing. Clearing everyones calculator would just add to that.

I actually think this is the fairest way. Nobody has the Chetech (sp?) equations as an advantage so your all on equal footing.

But what do I know?

 

[Road Guy]

i started to buy the calculator that had all the forumulas plugged into it already (it was an extra $100) but after taking the test I dont think I would have used them that much, on my HP48 the biggest thing I would have liked was the unit conversions and the larger screen to be able to keep #'s on the screen as you work the problems.

also having "finance" type applications would have been nice as well

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I used a Casio fx-115MS I think it was called.

I had a Casio scientific calculator in high school I used before I got into the TI graphing calculators. The button layout and logic behind the commands on the Casio I bought was similar to the old one I had, so it was a natural fit quick.

 

[petergibbons]

I had to resurrect this thread. I can't say enough good things about the TI-89. I get a warm and fuzzy feeling every time I think about it.

 

[redrum]

HP48 > All others

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

The TI-89 is a wonderful piece of machinery. :bow:

 

[moodyj2000]

I have a HP-49 (pos!) and a TI-92 (I love it) that I used to use on a daily basis. I took the plain old TI-30XA into the exam and passed and now that is my favorite calculator. I was thinking of having in gold plated and framed.

Back when I took the FE, a long while back, I used the TI-92 right up until the proctor came around and confiscated it. I was pissed, not because I was using it for anything special, but because it was what I was comfortable with. I am no egghead and had not taken the time to program the damn thing. I just liked the layout and the ability to scroll back through previous equations. The reason given was that it had a QWERTY keyboard on it. They were concerned that I was going to type the test in and walk out. The funny thing is that when I looked around the room everyone had HP-48's and TI-89's, both of which had the capability to type in strings of information and store it. This was before the great calculator ban and I new then it was only a matter of time before they figured it out and banned all of them.

As soon as they figure out someone could modify a TI-30 case to contain a camera everyone still needing to take the exam better get familiar with two words, "Slide Rule."

 

[petergibbons]

I like the "pretty print" function of the TI-89 where all of the equations that you type in look like they are right out of a textbook so there is no question that you typed the equation in correctly. I also like it's ability to solve simultaneous equations, do diff. equations, and it's equation solver. The thing saved me on the math portion of the FE. Going from a TI-36x to a TI-89 was like going from a Chevette to a Cadillac for me.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

^ That is why I always liked using MathCAD on my assignments in grad school.

You just plug things in symbolically and can look at it to make sure its right.

Its so much better than

d/dx(x^2+4*x-3),1,3

 

[Road Guy]

my biggest bief with the calculator is with the HP 48's I could see 4 lines of "data" and keep/swap, stuff without hitting "store" "recall" all the time.

I have used an HP with RPN since 1992 so I used the HP 33 for the exam, its close, but no cigar. Using a calculator without RPN is like writing left handed to me.

But they should let "engineers" use the calculator they are familiar with. and penalize severly those cought typing stuff in during the test. Not the shotgun mentality where we penalize the 99% to make up for the lack of disciplining the 1% who are selling exam info to book publishers after the exam...

 

[DrFranz]

I have used the HP 48 since 1993, but for the test, I went to WalMart and got the cassio calc 1 day before the exam... so I could return it that saturday didn't feel like having a calc I was never going to use and it worked fine, since all calc's have the same principles... I personally have no problem with using the simplest calc, since sometimes in the field we even have to do the calculations by hand...

my 2 cents

 

[Mike in Gastonia]

But they should let "engineers" use the calculator they are familiar with. and penalize severly those cought typing stuff in during the test. Not the shotgun mentality where we penalize the 99% to make up for the lack of disciplining the 1% who are selling exam info to book publishers after the exam...

How many people took the exam with you? And how many proctors? I thought I heard a lot of complaining about proctors hovering over people during the exam. I would think it would be extremely difficult to "catch" someone entering data into their calculators. Plus, with wireless technology, you just got to have some restraints.

Wouldn't surprise me if the calculator policy gets tougher before it gets easier. I expect before long, they'll just supply the calculator with the exam and everyone will have to use the same one.

But you are right about punishing everyone for the transgressions of the few. We're going through that right now in our neighborhood. We get a lot of through-traffic and speeders so they put in a bunch of stop signs. What a joke! The only people that are actually stopping are the ones that live in the neighborhood and weren't speeding to begin with!

 

[cdhanners]

What the hell is d/dx......? Never heard of that. :suicide:

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

^ Haha, I just got nailed speeding when I was on vacation last month. The Sheriff's Dept much get rich off tourists like me.

As for the supplied calculator policy, it doesn't seem like a stretch. Although they would have to let people know in advance what calculator they would supply, so examinees could get familiar with it.

 

[Road Guy]

I wonder if NCEES asked HP & TI to make a version of the HP48 or TI-89's that would function the same but would not allow "typing" of text, if they would be resposnive to that request?

I dont think it would have been my saving grace, but would be nice

 

[DVINNY]

Wouldn't surprise me if the calculator policy gets tougher before it gets easier.  I expect before long, they'll just supply the calculator with the exam and everyone will have to use the same one.

I think this would be a great idea to be quite honest, with the exception of using the same one.

I'd pay an extra $100 for exam fee, if they will let me use a TI-86 that they provide.

Or, my idea is that they let you "check in" early, and they have knowledgable proctors who would ERASE your calculator when you come into the room, and then again when you leave. To assure nothing is comprimised.

But thinking of it. They could keep the ZERO ELECTRONICS allowed policy, and provide various types of calculators to the test takers.

It would be easy to put a line on the application that states "CIRCLE THE CALCULATOR YOU WILL USE ON THE EXAM" then have a choice of the popular ones. That way, the board knows going into exam day, how many they need.

Like I said, I'd be willing to pay for the damn thing. Just let me use it.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

What the hell is d/dx......? Never heard of that. :suicide:

Differential calculus my friend. I loved diff calc. Inegral calc sucked pig balls.

 

[cdhanners]

VTEnviro, it was intended as a joke. I three calculas courses, two courses in ODE and one course in PDE. This was followed up by a course in which includes Fourier and LaPlace series and transforms, Bessell Functions, and some advanced Matrices.

ODE = Ordinary Differential Equation

PDE = Partial Differential Equation

Sounds fun dosen't it. I used to feel like Good Will Hunting.