Re: What calculator should I get? Message #9 Posted by bhtooefr on 9 Feb 2007, 6:16 p.m., in response to message #8 by bhtooefr
Well, I went ahead and shelled out $20 for a "SilverLink" (the nickname for the USB link cable), and loaded RPN III on the 83+.
It hooks COMPLETELY into the OS. As in, start it up, and you're in RPN mode until you either close it out (and it doesn't respond to 2nd>Quit like most apps do) or use a function that requires algebraic mode.
If you use a function that needs algebraic mode (there are a lot), it drops into temporary algebraic mode, where the OS behaves normally... except when you enter it, it says:
Quote:
-Temp Alg. Mode-
[Clear] => Back
in RPN Mode
And hitting Clear... drops you straight back into RPN.
Everything behaves as expected.
Big thumb up to the developer!
For those that want to seriously try RPN, but don't know it, I'll second the recommendation for RPN III - basically, if you know your 83+, you'll know RPN III - except for the RPN part.
Now, when I was buying the graph link, they had an HP 12C display model (note that I didn't see any 12Cs for sale - only 10Biis), so I played around with it. First off, the batteries were dead. But, that didn't stop me from pushing buttons. The buttons had a certain... stiffness to them that felt unnatural. Now, I did feel a very satisfying click, but is a stiffness (pretty severe compared to a TI calc, for example) normal? Note that I'm not afraid of a little key stiffness - I'm a huge fan of IBM Model M keyboards, which are pretty stiff.
The calculator did look pretty beat on, though, and it was clear that they haven't maintained their calculator section that well - the requisite 83+ wasn't an 83+, it was an old original 83! (Funny part is, they sell the 83+, and not the 83...) And, the 84+ and 84+SE had dead batteries, and the 89 was dying. I didn't try the 86.
Anyway, if the Voyager having bad stiffness in the keys is normal, does the same apply to the Pioneer?
-Eric
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