Re: calculator for FE Message #4 Posted by CME750 on 9 Jan 2004, 2:58 p.m., in response to message #1 by Gary
The options are not great. There are *no* RPN scientific calculators in current production that meed NCEES criteria. So you can either (1) wait for the forthcoming HP-33S, which should appear soon (February?) for about $65, or (2) look for an old discontinued HP model on eBay or elsewhere, typically for $200-300.
(1) HP-33S: Similar to old 32Sii. Will handle complex math (but not elegantly), has equation solver (but not for multiple equations), and numerical integration (but not symbolic). No support for units. Will have 31KB of memory; unfortunately, it appears that the programming capability will be severely crippled by a lack of labels and storage registers. It will be difficult to use more than 2-3KB effectively. Two-line display, but otherwise an unusually ugly design.
(2) Older discontinued HP models, such as 41 series, 42S, 32Sii, and 15C. The 41 and 42S are closest to the 48 (which replaced them); however, they may not meet NCEES criteria, because they have limited text-editing capabilities and (in the 42S) an IR transmitter. NCEES has not explicitly banned nor accepted these models.
The 15C has not been addressed either, but it appears to meet all NCEES criteria and should be OK. The 15C is popular with electrical engineers because it handles complex numbers and matrices very well. Has some programming capability as well.
The 32Sii is like the 33S described above; it is the only discontinued HP model that NCEES has explicitly accepted.
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