HP-32S vs. HP-32SII
Message #1 Posted by Karl Schneider on 24 Mar 2005, 2:22 a.m.
I just received a nice 32S today (1990, with newer Pioneer display), and explored it to find all the differences against the 32SII. There were more than I thought!
Several people dabbled at this comparison in the Forum a few weeks ago, but I can't find the posts. Since the 32SII is not yet "enshrined" in the main pages of MoHPC, no automated comparison is available. Here's what I found:
HP-32S HP-32SII
One shift key Two shift keys
All menus in keyrows 3-6 Menu placement not organized
Some menus are two-level All menus are one level
Eight conditional tests Twelve conditional tests
(not available) Equations: editing and usage
(not available) Fractions: conversion and math
(not available) Population standard deviation
(not available) Some English-metric conversions
(not available) x-th root of y
(not available) Exchange x with letter variable
(not available) Roll up
The 32/32SII offers a nifty programming platform for reasonably compact computational tasks: Single-letter named variables and labels, alphanumeric display, fast processor, complex math functions, program management with catalogs.
However, when entering my 32SII/33S two-bus AC power-transfer program into the 32S, I was chagrined to find that the "Exchange x with letter variable" function was missing! I successfully devised a work-around at a cost of two labels and 11 bytes.
The incomplete set of conditional tests on the 32S (consisting of the eight tests offered by the 11C and 34C, instead of the full twelve of the 15C, 32SII, and 42S) might have caused other users some annoyance.
I hope to upload that AC power-transfer program to the MoHPC Software Library soon. It's a very good application for the 32S, 32SII, and 33S.
-- KS
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