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Disappointed in My Calculator — Parallax Forums

Disappointed in My Calculator

lardomlardom Posts: 1,659
in General Discussion
My 10 digit calculator returns "ERROR" if I key in a 10 digit binary number and then press 'DEC'. I don't get an error message from the 'HEX' key.
I could use the calculator app on my desktop but I've made up my mind to replace my handheld with a new one.
Sorry for the rant...😒
«1

Comments

  • Peter JakackiPeter Jakacki Posts: 10,193
    Let the Prop be your calculator, with a little aid from Tachyon.
    TF5> %1011100001010100001101011 . --- 24160363  ok

    btw, I was going to recommend RealCalc as I always use it on my phone but I just tried entering a long binary number and it only allowed 12 digits! What is that!?
  • lardomlardom Posts: 1,659
    Peter Jakacki wrote: »
    Let the Prop be your calculator, with a little aid from Tachyon.
    Tachyon is on my list of things to learn, especially now since it seems interest is turning from P1 towards P2. I have a long list of P1 projects and I feel like I have to learn everything immediately before P1 gets abandoned.
    Is there a link to Tachyon documentation?
  • yetiyeti Posts: 818
    edited 2020-11-18 15:57 
    $ dc -e '16o 2i 10010000110010101101100011011000110111100101100001000000101011101101111011100100110110001100100001000010000110100001010 d p Ao p P'
48656C6C6F2C20576F726C64210D0A
375902487384808155919402608170700042
Hello, World!
  • lardomlardom Posts: 1,659
    @"Peter Jakacki" I just downloaded "Realcalc".
    Thank you. 😀
  • JonnyMacJonnyMac Posts: 9,102
    edited 2020-11-18 20:26
    I'm a fan of RealCalc -- very handy for radix conversions when programming.
  • Wuerfel_21Wuerfel_21 Posts: 5,052
    I like using IRB (the interactive Ruby prompt) as a calculator. Mostly because it's there, could probably use any other REPL to similar effect.
    $ irb
irb(main):001:0> 0b1011100001010100001101011
=> 24160363
irb(main):002:0> 0b1011100001010100001101011.to_s 16
=> "170a86b"
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,173
    lardom wrote: »
    My 10 digit calculator returns "ERROR" if I key in a 10 digit binary number and then press 'DEC'. I don't get an error message from the 'HEX' key.
    ..

    I like this one
    http://www.zoesoft.com/console-calculator/ccalc-downloads/

    has no practical upper limit on digits, and allows a nice editor like cut/paste and can also do simple iterates
    Xtal=10M;N=0;;N=N+1;D=Xtal/N
{hit enter 5 times}
D = 10000000
D = 5000000
D = 3333333.33333333333333333333333
D = 2500000
D = 2000000

    CCalc repeats the statements after the ;; every time you hit enter.
  • Peter JakackiPeter Jakacki Posts: 10,193
    Click on my "links links" in my sig and look at the wikis on my Source Forge page and also my older but still relevant "Introduction to Tachyon Forth".

    Here's a binary you can load onto your Prop. Just connect a serial terminal, preferably a proper ANSI terminal like TeraTerm (please) at 115200 baud and start talking.
    binary
    binary
    neon.binary
    32K
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    My ancient Casio f-115M works fine with 10-digit binary-to-decimal conversions. I even bought a second one on eBay, so I could have one in the house and one in the shop.

    -Phil
  • lardomlardom Posts: 1,659
    @"Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)" I have a Ti-36X. It has keys for numbering systems and four logic gates. I recently started going through the Propeller manual to study Pasm. I 'need' a good programming calculator for assembly. My post was just a rant and my plan was to go to "Staples" but the forum came through. I really do appreciate the folks on this forum.
  • msrobotsmsrobots Posts: 3,709
    lardom wrote: »
    Peter Jakacki wrote: »
    Let the Prop be your calculator, with a little aid from Tachyon.
    Tachyon is on my list of things to learn, especially now since it seems interest is turning from P1 towards P2. I have a long list of P1 projects and I feel like I have to learn everything immediately before P1 gets abandoned.
    Is there a link to Tachyon documentation?

    Do not worry the P1 will not get abandoned. The P2 is overkill for some projects, sure it is new and shiny, but nothing beats the P1 for rapid development.

    My guess is that Parallax has no intention to stop P1 production.

    Mike
  • lardomlardom Posts: 1,659
    msrobots wrote: »
    Do not worry the P1 will not get abandoned. The P2 is overkill for some projects, sure it is new and shiny, but nothing beats the P1 for rapid development.

    My guess is that Parallax has no intention to stop P1 production.

    Mike

    🙂I'm glad there's a lot of excitement about P2. I think I'm reacting to the changes that I see. The OBEX was moved to GitHub. There are forum members whose usernames I don't see anymore. Add to that the discovery that my calculator was 'flawed'. I didn't really expect anyone to respond to my post. I'm glad they did.
  • Peter JakackiPeter Jakacki Posts: 10,193
    If P2 had simply been P1+P1 then it would have been available 10 years ago and many of those P1 users would have moved onto that P2 and then maybe P3 and by now P4 and your post about a calculator would be lost in the vast sea of posts
    Actually, I would still like to see the P1 upgraded, even a version with more memory but still with the same pinout and software compatible. This must be super easy compared to the P2 as it is now.
  • lardomlardom Posts: 1,659
    @"Peter Jakacki" Thanks again. I got the paid version of 'RealCalc' soon after downloading the free version. I never understood the need for octal or hexadecimal number systems until today. I was pressing keys in octal mode when it occurred to me that octal was for 8-bit systems 💡 and then I understood why there was a hexadecimal system.
  • Peter JakackiPeter Jakacki Posts: 10,193
    lardom wrote: »
    @"Peter Jakacki" Thanks again. I got the paid version of 'RealCalc' soon after downloading the free version. I never understood the need for octal or hexadecimal number systems until today. I was pressing keys in octal mode when it occurred to me that octal was for 8-bit systems 💡 and then I understood why there was a hexadecimal system.

    The paid RealCalc Plus version is worth the few dollars indeed. Normally I shy away from paid apps because they charge too much for too little, but not this one.
    So I guess you found the settings and enabled radix modes. You'll find the shortcut of holding a button down to access the shift function a lot easier than having to press the shift button.

    Octal made sense at the time because you didn't need special digits, just 0 to 7, and for 12-bit minicomputers this meant a 4 digit number from 0 to 7777 was all that was required. Along come 8-bit and 16-bit MCU chips and hex keypads were popular for entering machine code although I am sure that you could do it with long string of 1's and 0's :) But as you have groked, hex numbers are easier to remember and visualize than a long string of 1's and 0's, so it's very easy to translate $FC08 into binary in your head and vice-versa (1111 1100 0000 1000).
  • Shawn LoweShawn Lowe Posts: 635
    lardom wrote: »
    @"Peter Jakacki" Thanks again. I got the paid version of 'RealCalc' soon after downloading the free version. I never understood the need for octal or hexadecimal number systems until today. I was pressing keys in octal mode when it occurred to me that octal was for 8-bit systems 💡 and then I understood why there was a hexadecimal system.

    Well I just downloaded it as well. I like the functionality
  • Peter JakackiPeter Jakacki Posts: 10,193
    edited 2020-11-20 02:41
    Here's a screen shot of it in hex mode
    Screenshot_20201120_122659_uk.co.nickfines.RealCalcPlus.jpg
    Screenshot_20201120_122659_uk.co.nickfines.RealCalcPlus.jpg
    1080 x 2340 - 516K
  • lardomlardom Posts: 1,659
    Peter Jakacki wrote: »
    You'll find the shortcut of holding a button down to access the shift function a lot easier than having to press the shift button.
    Wow, I just tested it. That's a whole lot easier!
    It works for the logic gates too. I never paid much attention to the logic functions on my other calculators because bitwise operations had more to do with assembly than Spin but that was then.
  • Francis BauerFrancis Bauer Posts: 364
    When I need to work with Binary, Octal and Hex I turn to my faithful HP16C calculator that I have had since my days of working at HP.

    There is a great (free) Windows based emulator available for the HP16C here

    Check it out if you want to work with RPN and Binary, Octal and Hex numbers...
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2020-11-22 01:50
    Francis Bauer wrote: »
    When I need to work with Binary, Octal and Hex I turn to my faithful HP16C calculator that I have had since my days of working at HP.

    There is a great (free) Windows based emulator available for the HP16C here

    Check it out if you want to work with RPN and Binary, Octal and Hex numbers...

    Per @"Francis Bauer" - Be sure to play with all the features on the emulator - I like the "Classic" and "Naked" view the best (no menus unless you right click - see photo below).

    See also this link for the HP16C manual in pdf - http://pocketcomputerworld.free.fr/Manuals/HP-16C.pdf

    I have an 11C (scientific - still perfect since the early 80's) and a 12C (financial - which they still make).

    HP16C.JPG
    830 x 522 - 81K
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2020-11-22 01:57
    Peter Jakacki wrote: »
    But as you have groked, hex numbers are easier to remember...

    @"Peter Jakacki" - thanks for teaching me an new word! Here it may be spelled differently...

    Grok.JPG
    623 x 232 - 30K
  • Peter JakackiPeter Jakacki Posts: 10,193
    Whit wrote: »
    Peter Jakacki wrote: »
    But as you have groked, hex numbers are easier to remember...

    @"Peter Jakacki" - thanks for teaching me an new word! Here it may be spelled differently...

    Yeah, English is that kind of language that has many rules, but no rule for which rule to use :)
    He grokked that he choked because he smoked.

  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    @"Peter Jakacki" English.jpg
    English.jpg
    403 x 488 - 49K
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,241
    edited 2020-11-24 00:21
    All this talk of old calculators: I had to go get out my HP that was my dad’s. He called it the HP RPN.

    It’s pretty worn from years of use but works just fine!

    2400D95D-2C68-455A-AD46-C516ED3B5633.jpeg
    2400D95D-2C68-455A-AD46-C516ED3B5633.jpeg
    640 x 468 - 111K
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,451
    I had a HP-11C bought in 1981 with a bit of excess scholarship money when I entered college. I nearly cried when it stopped working in the mid 1990's. Since then I've gotten a limited edition HP15C which is HP's homage to the original 15C from the mid-80's and very similar to the 11C but with added matrix functions, but they didn't adjust the original Saturn firmware which is running 100x faster now in emulation and the keyboard isn't debounced adequately. I have been eyeing up the SwissMicros' line of HP clones but haven't pulled the trigger on one yet.

    My favorite thing about the 11C was being asked by another student if they could borrow my calculator, only to say "Sure!" and then behold their look of bewilderment as they tried to find the = key.
  • MicksterMickster Posts: 2,693
    There are several HP calc emulators on Google Play.

    I have Real Calc, HiPercalc but for programming, I tend to use BitCalc or CALC-P.
  • Cluso99Cluso99 Posts: 18,069
    I still have my trusty Faber Castel slide rule, but it’s locked away ;)
  • Shawn LoweShawn Lowe Posts: 635
    Cluso99 wrote: »
    I still have my trusty Faber Castel slide rule, but it’s locked away ;)

    One thing I have never learned to use- the side rule. Learned how an abacus works. Kids now days don't even know what either of those things are! Well most kids i guess lol
  • frank freedmanfrank freedman Posts: 1,983
    I use the HP4x series emulator on my note and iphones. Have the prime. Hate it, rarely use it. Should have gone 48g. Still have a yellow Picket 1010ES in black leather belt holster. Remember some, not much of the scales.
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,640
    edited 2020-12-01 18:50
    I loved my HP11C for years, but it died a couple years ago.
    Got a clone from some European company, but it died too...

    I've got my own RPN calculator for Windows here:
    http://www.rayslogic.com/Software/Rays_RPN/RayRPN_Windows.htm
    It's ages old, but still works.

    I'm tempted to turn it into physical form now using P2 and LCD screen... Been thinking about that...

    But, for programming, the one built into Windows has a pretty good programmer view.
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