Re: HP33 programs? Message #4 Posted by Ron Ross on 4 Jan 2006, 10:38 a.m., in response to message #3 by paul c
I took the Power portion as that is what I now practice. I debated long and hard on which I should take. I have a much longer history with controls (but no formal eductation), and a wife who is a Comp Sci weiny and had a fair grasp of the Computer section. I settled on Power because that would lend me the most status in my present position.
You don't have to decide until the exam is passed out and you choose at that time. They give you ALL three exams in the same booklet in the afternoon, you choose the one you like best. Ideally, you have studied for one and just go after that. As for myself, I had decided to concentrate on the Power portion, but I still looked at the other two exams and contemplated a last minute switch (and probably for the best that I did not).
You are NOT going to be presented with any HIGHLY theoretical problems. If you are spending more than 5 minutes getting set up for a problem, you are doing it Wrong! (there may well be a 10 minute problem or two on the exam, but skip them, most are 5 minute problems and no ONE problem counts more than the next). There were 2 or maybe 3 FFT problems (of which I probably missed all three, though they were concept problems, not hard if you were sharp and know your FFT's) and maybe 2 or 3 EM problems (these were fairly easy).
I found a Schaum's on Power and another on EE, both of which were helpful for study. I also referenced them on a few problems.
Ideally (which isn't likely) you would buzz through the exam, only referencing the NEC code book on the few (3-5) questions on the NEC. However, the exam is so broad (the mornig exam is supposed to be broad, but even the afternoon exam has quite a bit of lateral material covered as well), that you should take an assortment of books. I took about 10. 3 handbooks, 2 or 3 texts, 2 or 3 Schaum's, 1 FE/EIT afternoon Electrical Exam practice book (found at Barnes & Noble), and the NCEES practice exam book (amazingly, it is very similar as they say, and it shows a sample exam of each electrical discipline as well).
As far as programming that miserable Hp33s, I did not bother. I did learn how to use its solver and its numerical integration features, both of which I did use on the exam. But I could have made use of the cheaper Casio Fx-115 just as easily.
While you could stuff a bunch of programs into the Hp33s, its retrieval system is awkward for any large amount of programs and you would best be sereved by learning a few extra new things and reviewing old rusty concepts you may have forgotten. And since you might damage or break the calculator and there being no way to archive or back up short of keying in one key at a time a program into a new calculator should the worst happen, I say forget about it!
Since the book shows how to program a 3x3 (which I feel is also worthless), I didn't bother to put anything in. (I probably had 3-4 equations for the solver).
Good luck!
I am sure there are other's on this site who can also give you advice on this exam (there certainly are others far more knowledgable on this site).
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