Re: HP 42s vs. 48gx/49g/TI83+ Message #12 Posted by Fred Lusk on 30 Jan 2003, 10:12 p.m., in response to message #9 by Joe
Joe…
Regarding your question about the difference between scientific and graphing calculators…
As an HP-42S owner, you probably know that the main purpose of a scientific calculator is to handle scientific and engineering calculations (i.e. "number-crunching"). The original scientific calculator (HP-35) and some of its descendants were not programmable. Starting with the HP-65 and continuing to today, many if not most scientific calculators are programmable. Scientific calculators cannot draw graphs unless the user wants to calculate individual points and plot them on a piece of graph paper! The exception to the no graphing rule is the 42S which does have rudimentary (and slow) graphing capabilities with its two-line, dot-matrix LCD display.
A graphing calculator is really just a robust scientific calculator with the additional ability to handle graphing and graphics. Thus, graphing calculators can be considered a subset of scientific calculators. It doesn't necessarily have to be this way, but I don't know of a graphing business calculator.
Now let's consider the main differences between the HP-42S vs the HP48GX (I happen to own a 42S and a 48G+, which is similar to the 48GX but without the expandability):
The HP-42S has approximately 600 built-in functions (math, statistics, programming, printing, etc.) and about 8k worth of memory for programs and data. Since you have one, you probably have a pretty good idea of what it can do. If you have specific questions about the capabilities of the 42S and can't find what you need in the Owner's Manual and/or Programming Examples and Techniques book (both pretty well written, in my opinion), please ask here…there's a lot of 42S users to consult.
The HP-48GX has something like 2000 (!) built-in functions and comes with a base memory of 128k. Ram cards can be plugged in to increase that to several megabytes. There are also preprogrammed ROM cards available on a variety of subjects. The 48GX can do pretty much everything a 42S can do, and a whole lot more. The 48GX is a much more complex, as you can imagine, but not so complex that you can't learn how to use it (though this machine is handicapped by a poor Owner's Manual). It is also has a faster processor than the 42S. From the standpoint of your original question, the biggest difference is that the 48GX has a large, multi-line screen and is specifically designed to draw graphs and handle graphics. It is pretty easy and quick to draw function graphs using the built-in menus. Graphing the results of a program is more difficult.
As far as usability, I consider the HP-42S the best scientific calculator ever made, though it is missing a couple of key items from the 41 series machines (the 42S was a semi-lateral move from the 41CV). The 42S is easier to use as a calculator, while the 48GX is really a transitional machine between calculator and computer. The 42S is the top-end evolution of the traditional HP keystroke programmable design and migrating from the HP-55 to the 34C to the 41CX to the 42S was an easy transition for me. The 48GX uses a different programming paradigm that is both more powerful and harder to learn. None of my old programs translate directly to the 48, and I haven't had the time or the inclination to rewrite them. Thus, I use the 42S most of the time, and I use my 48G+ for the specialty stuff the 42S can't do. When my 42S dies, I will probably have to retire!
The reality is that you probably need both machines. That would make you a collector!
Good luck in your new career. After 15 years as an engineer, my dad switched careers and became a high school chemistry teacher. He bought a 35 while I was junior high school, and we have been hooked on them ever since.
Enough of this rambling…good night.
Fred
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