HP Forum Archive 19

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Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #1 Posted by Elliott W Jackson on 7 Mar 2009, 12:41 p.m. Any out there? With maybe just +, -, *, /, STO, RCL?

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #2 Posted by DaveJ on 8 Mar 2009, 7:57 p.m., in response to message #1 by Elliott W Jackson I'd be ecstatic with a scientific credit card size calculator, I don't care whether it's RPN or algebraic. I've only been waiting, oh 20 years or so... TRULY SMALL pocket size calculators have sadly never existed. Dave.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #3 Posted by bill platt on 8 Mar 2009, 8:17 p.m., in response to message #2 by DaveJ There were a lot of little credit-card calcs back 20 years ago, I saw radio smack version just last week--glued to a clipboard!

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #4 Posted by DaveJ on 8 Mar 2009, 8:33 p.m., in response to message #3 by bill platt Quote: There were a lot of little credit-card calcs back 20 years ago, I saw radio smack version just last week--glued to a clipboard! Yeah, but I've never seen a scientific version, they always 4-Bangers. Dave.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #5 Posted by Dave on 8 Mar 2009, 10:48 p.m., in response to message #4 by DaveJ Not RPN, but he may be talking about this one. I still have a radio shack version of this (EC-4009) I got in the mid-80s and wouldn't part with it for the world.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #6 Posted by Michael de Estrada on 8 Mar 2009, 11:08 p.m., in response to message #5 by Dave Wow! That is so cool!

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #7 Posted by Mike Morrow on 9 Mar 2009, 12:12 a.m., in response to message #5 by Dave The Radio Shack version of the Casio lacked, IIRC, combination and permutation functions. I have the Casio model that you show. These were sold new in 1985. I bought several to give as gifts. There was an earlier credit card Casio scientific available in late 1978! It is the fx-48. It doesn't have quite as many functions, and it isn't solar powered. It is very slightly smaller. I bought the one I have in January 1979. In 1983, Casio sold a scientific wrist watch calculator, the CFX-200. It was quite useful, and it isn't much larger than other digital watches. I've still got one, but the calender and DOW function does not work properly after 12-31-1999. Later, a more elegant model in the form of the CFX-400 came out. So the era of popular, consumer-grade, readily available scientific credit card or smaller calculators arrived more than 30 years ago and vanished more than 20 years ago. I suppose the market didn't support them. Edited: 9 Mar 2009, 12:59 a.m.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #8 Posted by Dave Shaffer (Arizona) on 9 Mar 2009, 4:42 p.m., in response to message #7 by Mike Morrow Quote: but the calender and DOW function does not work properly after 12-31-1999. Later, a more elegant model in the form of the CFX-400 came out. Set your unit to 1998 and all will be fine (except for the year, of course). See years matching 2009 if you want to pick a different year.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #9 Posted by Paul Dale on 9 Mar 2009, 5:50 p.m., in response to message #8 by Dave Shaffer (Arizona) Or subtract 28 from the year and watch the cycle repeat. - Pauli

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #10 Posted by Dave on 10 Mar 2009, 3:53 p.m., in response to message #7 by Mike Morrow Quote: The Radio Shack version of the Casio lacked, IIRC, combination and permutation functions. I have the Casio model that you show. These were sold new in 1985. I bought several to give as gifts. I checked my radio shack and it's actually the other way around. Mine has both of those as inv functions on parentheses keys, but I don't see them anywhere on the casio picture. Got mine in high school before I discovered HP. Once my science classmates saw it, several went out and bought them for $12-$15 in '84 or '85, IIRC. Now they show up on ebay now and then for several hundred dollars (almost vintage HP territory). So there's at least some demand for a small scientific like this. Anyway, thanks for the other info. These are great little calcs. Too bad they're extinct. The only thing I don't like is that dust easily gets in the display/solar panel.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #11 Posted by Chris McCormack on 10 Mar 2009, 8:53 p.m., in response to message #2 by DaveJ I remember my Dad showing me his pocket Casio in response to my HP-15C when I was an undergrad. I didn't remember the exact details, so I asked. Quote: I still have it. It is labeled "Casio Scientific Calculator fx-88." It is the size of a credit card, 88x59x4 mm. It is light powered: solar, fluorescent or incandescent light. It's probably 20 years old or more. The paint on the cover is deeply scratched. It still works. Its functions are: x!, x(square) and squareroot; log and ln; 10 the x power; e to the x power; hyp, sin and arcsin; cos and arccos; tan and arc tan); x to the y power and x to the 1/y power; cube root; and statistical functions mean x; sigma n, sigma n-1, sum of x; sum of x squares; random number generator and pi. I wouldn't trade it for my 15C, but he really liked it as a replacement for his shirt-pocket sized 6-inch slide rule! I was surprised that neither Google nor 'the auction site that shall not be named' seemed to know anything about that model Casio.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #12 Posted by Chuck on 11 Mar 2009, 7:48 p.m., in response to message #11 by Chris McCormack [self Deleted] I didn't see comment above concerning the fx-98 or radio shack ec-4009. oops. Edited: 11 Mar 2009, 7:53 p.m.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #13 Posted by Silvio A. Bensi on 13 Mar 2009, 12:28 p.m., in response to message #2 by DaveJ Five or six years ago I found a small chinese scientific calculator under the tradename KADIO. About a credit card size, +/- 6 mm thick, landscape form, silver painted plastic (black in the back). With P-R and base convertions capabilities. Despite the tiny keyboard, it was a pretty and cheap toy, so I could not resist and bought it. It fit nicely and easily in my shirt pocket. In the first day I put it in the pocket, one of the independent silicon keys popped out from the body. It lasted not more than 2 hours of continuous usage before the display fails... Well, the important is that someone has recently produced a credit card size scientific calculator.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #14 Posted by db (martinez, ca.) on 13 Mar 2009, 10:14 p.m., in response to message #13 by Silvio A. Bensi I found a Kadio at a kiosko in Chile a couple of years ago. It looked like a 4 banger voyager. I left it on the toy table at an HHC hoping that some genius would find a way to do what this thread is about but no dice. Maybe it fell apart on him after two hours.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #15 Posted by Alan on 10 Mar 2009, 3:50 p.m., in response to message #1 by Elliott W Jackson If you carry a mobile phone, another option might be to find an RPN calculator for your phone. Lygea do a few variations on the 12C, 10B, 10C, 15C etc. for Blackberry and Windows Mobile: http://lygea.com . I have the 12C and 10C on my BB Curve. They've moved the keys around to make better use of the Blackberry keyboard, and some features such as programmability are missing, so it's not truly 'emulated'. Still, it's great just to have an RPN calc with me whenever I need it.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #16 Posted by Dave on 10 Mar 2009, 4:00 p.m., in response to message #15 by Alan Quote: If you carry a mobile phone, another option might be to find an RPN calculator for your phone. Lygea do a few variations on the 12C, 10B, 10C, 15C etc. for Blackberry and Windows Mobile: http://lygea.com . I have the 12C and 10C on my BB Curve. They've moved the keys around to make better use of the Blackberry keyboard, and some features such as programmability are missing, so it's not truly 'emulated'. Still, it's great just to have an RPN calc with me whenever I need it. I love the lygea calcs as well. The Windows Mobile version of the 15C IS programmable just like the real thing. Simply brilliant. And of course you can have a 28/42/48/49/50g with emu48 for windows mobile. I run all of those on my windows mobile phone. I made a 49g KML that looks just like the lygea. Check it out HERE. And download it HERE. Edited: 10 Mar 2009, 4:41 p.m.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #17 Posted by DaveJ on 12 Mar 2009, 4:30 a.m., in response to message #1 by Elliott W Jackson Out of curiosity, I just got a volume price on this nice looking Kadio KD-1005 pocket scientific, almost certainly the smallest on the market today. An amazing US$0.55ea in 8K volume. Dave.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #18 Posted by Egan Ford on 12 Mar 2009, 12:37 p.m., in response to message #17 by DaveJ But its 1cm think. The credit card calcs that I remember were thinner.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #19 Posted by DaveJ on 12 Mar 2009, 5:01 p.m., in response to message #18 by Egan Ford Quote: But its 1cm think. The credit card calcs that I remember were thinner. Yes, this isn't a "credit card" calc. As far as I know there has never been a true "credit card" scientific calc. Those Casio's weren't credit card thin either. A true credit card calculator is one you can slip into your wallet. Only available as 4-Bangers unfortunately. Dave.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #20 Posted by Egan Ford on 12 Mar 2009, 5:26 p.m., in response to message #19 by DaveJ The screen on the iPhone is just a bit smaller than a credit card. So any usable emulator form factor on the iPhone would also work as a credit card calculator. That means I could have a usable 15C or 41CX in a credit card form factor. To fit in your wallet it'd have to have a membrane keyboard. To avoid battery thickness solar would be a plus. Of course BT for I/O. With e-Ink the keyboard could be virtual. Dave, I think I see your next great project.

Re: Credit Card Size RPN calculator? Message #21 Posted by DaveJ on 12 Mar 2009, 5:41 p.m., in response to message #20 by Egan Ford Quote: The screen on the iPhone is just a bit smaller than a credit card. So any usable emulator form factor on the iPhone would also work as a credit card calculator. That means I could have a usable 15C or 41CX in a credit card form factor. To fit in your wallet it'd have to have a membrane keyboard. To avoid battery thickness solar would be a plus. Of course BT for I/O. With e-Ink the keyboard could be virtual. Dave, I think I see your next great project. My next project is in next months Silicon Chip magazine :-> The uCurrent Not a calculator, sorry. But guess where the name came from... Dave.

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