I have an HP 30S (Hewlett Packard) that has many built-in measurement conversion functions, as well as the standard arithmetic, trig, and some statistical and other functions. It has a 2 line display which allows you to edit an equation after you've entered it. All for less than $20! I think it was about $18 - I bought it 2 months ago. HP also has other more basic and more advanced calculators with measurement conversion functions.
This one is a little confusing with many functions accessed through "2nd" and "Mode" keys, but it's not too hard to figure out (if you have the patience). I really haven't used the measurement conversion functions much, but there are certainly some very interesting features. For example, you can enter 500 feet, then cycle through the converted values for: m (152.4), yard (166.6666665), mile (0.09469697), km (0.1524); all with the repeated pressing of one button. It enables easy conversion between the following units: - inch, cm, mm, mil - feet, m, yard, mile, km - feet^2 (square feet), m^2, yard^2, mile^2, km^2, acres, hectares - lb, kg - Tr.oz, oz, pound, g - � F, � C - gallon, liter, B.gal, pint, fl.oz - Cal, kJ - atm, kPa, mmHg, cmH2O Obviously HP put some thought into making this a useful device. David Shatto Los Angeles On Mon, 04 Aug 2003 13:31:18 -0400 "Howard Ressel" wrote: > I use a Conversion Calculator Plus 1-Step marketed by SE Kaps in San > Deign. I have seen a similar metric calculator marketed under a > different name (same calculator made in China different color). Its > about $40. Its a good conversion calculator but it doesn't function well > as a regular calculator (poor key layout, no trig or advanced function). > The screen display is poor quality and the LCD can fail after a few > years giving false readouts. > > We also use a Radio Shack Cat. No. 65-828 converter. Its simple but > limited (IE. converts cm-in. but not mm) and its a bit harder to use. > > Does anyone have suggestions or recommendations for metric conversion > calculators other than what I mentioned above? (And no comments that we > shouldn't need them since we are working only in SI, reality doesn't > work that way). > > > > Howard Ressel > Project Design Engineer, Region 4 > (585) 272-3372 >
