I think I will stick with a TI-89. No RPN, but that’s not necessarily a problem. More importantly, it has a CAS (Computer Algebra System). I wonder why CAS aren’t more common on such calculators. The technology exists since decades and it’s great. I know it’s not allowed in some school exams, but calculators already have exam modes.
The R47: A new physical RPN calculator
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Re: The R47: A new physical RPN calculator
#32There was a time when I would have salivated over this. But now I can run iPython on my phone, and have numpy, sympi, scipy, astropy and countless other packages. Physical keyboards are great for calculators - much better than virtual keyboards on phones. But the keyboard advantage seems to me most valuable for quick calculations, not elaborate things like this calculator offers. If I'm going to do matrix calculation…
Same. Although I have a few physical calculators, I rarely use them, because although for a simple calculation they're faster, when I'm already at a computer/phone, using that is faster, and when I want to do anything involving programming an actual programming langugage is better.
Re: The R47: A new physical RPN calculator
#33Honest question but who would need this these days? Would this calculator still be useful for professors/mathematicians/etc or is this more for HP calculator enthusiasts?
I use an HP-16 (the SwissMicros version, my originals are in boxes) and a 35s pretty much every day (these days, I'm writing firmware).
Re: The R47: A new physical RPN calculator
#34Is this the DM42n hardware with the R47 firmware preloaded? It looks identical, except for the colors of some of the keys, and I wouldn't think they'd have a separate hardware pipeline for it. I could be wrong, though! If someone were to obsess over their gear and tweak it until it was just so, this would be the company to do it.
Re: The R47: A new physical RPN calculator
#35I'm sort of surprised by SwissMicros focus on the 42. I have a 42S and a 48GX and the 48GX is IMO far superior in almost every way. My only complaint is that the UI can be sluggish in places, but with a modern CPU this would completely go away, and it does on the 49, which I also have, but unfortunately its screen died and the keyboard stinks. The 48GX was the last model I have where they actually built it with some quality.
Re: The R47: A new physical RPN calculator
#36I still have my HP 48G and love it. I don't use it much and take the batteries out so they don't corrode in the case. Every time I use for more than a couple of calculations I think how much I prefer a RPN calculator.
Mine is unfortunately now dead - the display has gone dark even though the device is functional. At some point I'll have to look into a repair or replace with something from SwissMicro.
Re: The R47: A new physical RPN calculator
#37Ooh, I'm going to have to download the emulator tonight and try this out. The swiss micro and 47calc sites both say "display with 4 stack levels", but I can't figure out if that is also the size of the logical stack. The shift key on my HP28C died last year. I never used the advanced features (eg the entire left-hand keypad), but loved its effectively infinite stack, and haven't been able to go back to an HP42, HP35s…
“Display with 4 stack levels” would accurately describe the hp 48 series, which had a screen that could show the top 4 things on the stack, but the stack itself had much larger capacity (maybe limited by memory? I can’t remember).
Re: The R47: A new physical RPN calculator
#38I'm sort of surprised by SwissMicros focus on the 42. I have a 42S and a 48GX and the 48GX is IMO far superior in almost every way. My only complaint is that the UI can be sluggish in places, but with a modern CPU this would completely go away, and it does on the 49, which I also have, but unfortunately its screen died and the keyboard stinks. The 48GX was the last model I have where they actually built it with some…
Still got my 48GX, 49G, 19BII and 28S. The 49G is the only that is unusable (rubber buttons? Really?).
49G aside, they all are good enough for use although probably no longer usable in some of their intended uses (re: any formal tests that would allow them?).
Re: The R47: A new physical RPN calculator
#39I have a few Swiss Micros, but rarely use them. Beautiful devices though. Built to last forever.
Re: The R47: A new physical RPN calculator
#40I still miss my 15C.
I still have mine from 1987. You can still buy the HP-15C Collector's Edition new, but it isn't as good as the originals with their perfect keyboards and the silicon on sapphire technology that gave them their incredible battery life. The SwissMicros DM-15L is also a worthwhile substitute.
I got the HP15C Collector's Edition, because I always lusted after those HP calcs, and never could afford one. People in this thread asking: why? Well, many of the calculators on screen are simply worse, or copies of decent calculators but you have to press every button with the freaking mouse. A dedicated calculator feels nicer. Copy&paste is nice with an on-screen calc, I admit.
I do have a few other calculators as well, so I'm definitely biased.