*> RPN is the only way to go.   <...>   In my humble opinion, HP15C is by 
far the best hand held computer ever made.*

When I was doing a lot of deeply embedded programming (8051s with 2k of 
ROM), my HP 16C was my ever-present companion.  It's still in perfect 
condition, and I've supplemented it with an app on my phone, and an 
emulator on my PC, both of which get frequent use still.  I also have a 
half-size fully functional model from SwissMicros 
<https://www.swissmicros.com/product/dm16l> - they have a lot of other 
drool-worthy products as well...

On Friday, December 27, 2024 at 2:33:38 PM UTC-8 Leroy Jones wrote:

> RPN is the only way to go.    I have been using my trusty old HP15C since 
> it was new in 1984.
> Wrote a short program for it that translates between decimal and 
> hexadecimal.
> When displaying a hex number, (two) digit places are used to display 
> 11,12,13,14,15 (more commonly called A,B,C,D,E.F)
> The program is set up so that when ever it is displaying one of those 
> jury-rigged hex results, the display blinks to remind me to read
> it as hex.    In my humble opinion, HP15C is by far the best hand held 
> computer ever made.
>
> On Friday, December 27, 2024 at 5:08:44 PM UTC-5 Mac Doktor wrote:
>
>> Some random thoughts...
>>
>>
>> On Dec 27, 2024, at 3:20 PM, newxito <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> - What happens if I enter 12.999? Is that even possible? 
>>
>>
>> - For subsequent calculations, does it use the displayed value or the 
>> entered/calculated value with all decimal places?
>>
>>
>> In fixed mode my RPN calculator displays everything you enter and then 
>> truncates that to two decimal places on both the display and internally. 
>> It's commonly used for financial calculations so I would assume it's 
>> rounded up.
>>
>>
>> - How is a result like 1234567890.65 displayed? 34567890.65 and overflow? 
>> 1234567890 with no decimals? Something else?
>>
>>
>> Normally you'd use scientific notation for floating point operations with 
>> lots of decimal places:
>>
>> 123.456 = 1.23456E2
>>
>> The snag here is that you don't have "E" or a minus sign for numbers < 0 
>> without alphanumeric tubes. Problematic.
>>
>> I suppose you could at least use neon lamps and optic fibers to create 
>> decimal points. Commas would be cute.
>>
>>
>> What would really interest me is an RPN calculator. My beloved HP is out 
>> of production and used ones are going for $125 on eBay. I programmed in 
>> FORTH back in the day (Apple ][+; I still have it) and became very 
>> comfortable doing stack-based math. Once you get used to RPN you never go 
>> back.
>>
>> With alphanumeric tubes you can also do hexadecimal, the other thing that 
>> I'd like to be able to never go back from. I hope that last sentence makes 
>> sense. RPN, hex, I'm there.
>>
>>
>> Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
>> "The Mac Doctor"
>>
>> https://www.astarcloseup.com
>>
>> "Would you like to see the relevant data?"—343 Guilty Spark, *Halo 2*
>>
>>

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