Re: what should a new RPN machine contain? Message #3 Posted by John Smith on 6 Mar 2003, 1:16 p.m., in response to message #1 by Robert Burnham
Unfortunately, the best machine for your needs seems to be the Voyager series' HP-10C !!
Why ? Let's see:
- very small and lightweight, ultra-easily pocketable, one of the smallest HP calcs.
- clear, contrasty segmented LCD display, very easy to read in almost all light conditions this side of utter darkness
- excellent, classic keyboard, molded keys that won't wear off, ever
- incredibly low battery consumption: even using it heavily each and every day, you won't have to change batteries in at least 4 or 5 years, up to 15 years on record !
- only a single prefix key: keyboard totally uncluttered,
many keys have just one function, none more than two
- fully adequate instruction set, including all typical scientific functions, plus linear regression, statistics, factorial, hms conversions, etc.
- classical, 4-stack + lastx RPN, and simple keystroke programmability, for when you need it. Also, memory automatically repartitions between up to 70 program steps, or 10 storage registers (with STO+,STO-,STOx,STO/ storage arithmetic), or any combination in between.
The caveat ? Incredibly hard to find, and then usually at outrageous prices ... but it certainly *is* what you want, so if you can afford one, don't hesitate !
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