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How many of you do this?
Message #1 Posted by Dan Lewis on 11 Jan 2013, 10:33 a.m.

How many of you actually carry your HP on your belt (or in your briefcase/purse etc.) daily? Some of my friends laugh at me for doing it, but I (and everyone in my engineering classes) often need to calculate on the spot and I always end up having the answers before everyone else.

Just curious...

      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #2 Posted by Johnny Bjoern Rasmussen on 11 Jan 2013, 11:26 a.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

Well not in my belt but I always have a couple of HP's in my bag at work. Right now the bag contains both an HP-10C and an HP-48G. By next week it can be two others - who knows! But way back when I studied I sometimes carried my HP-48SX in the belt at the labs.
Never mind the others - do what you find most sensible for you. Be proud of owning and using a vintage calculator. It is no worse than allways carrying a cell phone is it? Some people also carry their cell phones in a belt holster. So what's the difference?
Cheers and a nice weekend!
Johnny

Edited: 11 Jan 2013, 11:28 a.m.

            
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #3 Posted by jonathan G harris on 11 Jan 2013, 11:32 a.m.,
in response to message #2 by Johnny Bjoern Rasmussen

I keep my 50G on my desk at work in one of the old zipper cases and I carry my HP 35s in my briefcase daily. I also sometimes carry my HP15C in my shirt pocket...

      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #4 Posted by Bruce Bergman on 11 Jan 2013, 11:44 a.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

I used to! All through high school I had first a 25c on my belt, followed shortly after a 19c (printing?! on your belt?! amazing!), and then later the 41c for quite a number of years.

I often regale my children with how geeky I was back then, and they ask me to "show us daddy!" by putting my 19c on my belt and wearing it around. ;-)

Now I just wear my Android, with calc inside, on my belt...

            
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #5 Posted by hpnut on 11 Jan 2013, 12:03 p.m.,
in response to message #4 by Bruce Bergman

Quote:

Now I just wear my Android, with calc inside, on my belt...


now, that's sad :-(

      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #6 Posted by Marcus von Cube, Germany on 11 Jan 2013, 12:38 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

Even if I use it rarely I have my WP 34S in my bag.

      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #7 Posted by Maximilian Hohmann on 11 Jan 2013, 12:49 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

Hello!

In this part of the world (Germany) it is very unusual to carry anything on one's belt. Only in the last few years, some people started attaching their cellphones to their belts. In my 50 years on this planet I have never seen anybody carry a calculator that way, really never, not one! Probably most HP users (me included until very recently) did not know that the loop on their calculator cases was meant for the belt...

Maybe it's time to start a new fashion by attaching a calculator to my belt :-) If I had to chose one, it would be an HP-25.

Regards max

            
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #8 Posted by Graham D. Wilson on 11 Jan 2013, 2:03 p.m.,
in response to message #7 by Maximilian Hohmann

Yes, well... I'm embarrassed to report that I have done this

I was conscripted into the field artillery corps of the South African Army in 1978/9. We used HP25Cs for trajectory calculations for light to medium atillery. And as an 18-year-old knowitall I swaggered among my "gunner" buddies as the fire control expert - RPN in my head and my HP25C at my side, secure in its case firmly looped around the belt of army uniform.

I did this on several occasions after which the novelty disppeared and just left the HP in the fire control post. I couldn't read the LED screen in the bright South African sun anyway.

            
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #9 Posted by jonathan G harris on 11 Jan 2013, 2:26 p.m.,
in response to message #7 by Maximilian Hohmann

Yeah, I have downloaded a HP emulator app for my smartphone. I just prefer the actual calculator in my hand when doing calculations for work. Especially when I am in locations of extreme heat at remote sites. That's when the HP 15C LE that I have comes in handy. It fits in my shirt pocket, takes extreme effort to make it fall out and I can do my job without knowing it's there which is really nice when switching HV equipment, or on top of a autotransformer or squeezed in somewhere testing current transformers (CT).

                  
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #10 Posted by Dan Lewis on 11 Jan 2013, 2:38 p.m.,
in response to message #9 by jonathan G harris

So, it looks like some of you do anyway!

I can safely say that I'm not embarrassed to carry it there, even if I get called "Batman" sometimes (I clip my ham radio to my belt too). I really enjoy using a classic HP over a new model like the 35s, it just "feels" better. That being said, I would also much rather use the 35s than an emulator or smartphone calculator.

I usually have at least two HPs within three feet of me at any given time :)

Thanks for your comments and have a good weekend!

      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #11 Posted by Harald on 11 Jan 2013, 5:41 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

I have never worn a calculator on my belt - and also I have never seen anyone else do that. I do carry around my 15c in my shirt pocket a lot though. At work the 15c, or sometimes the WP34S sometimes is always with me. When I started my current job, people thought it was geeky - now it has caught on with the colleges and they bring their calculators into the meetings as well. Probably because they don't want to be confronted with results of quick calculations they can't verify :)

Lets put it that way: For my brain to function properly, I always need a calculator in my hand :)

            
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #12 Posted by Eddie W. Shore on 12 Jan 2013, 10:10 a.m.,
in response to message #11 by Harald

Quote:
I have never worn a calculator on my belt - and also I have never seen anyone else do that. I do carry around my 15c in my shirt pocket a lot though. At work the 15c, or sometimes the WP34S sometimes is always with me. When I started my current job, people thought it was geeky - now it has caught on with the colleges and they bring their calculators into the meetings as well. Probably because they don't want to be confronted with results of quick calculations they can't verify :)

Lets put it that way: For my brain to function properly, I always need a calculator in my hand :)


:) I am the same way, I have to have a calculator around me or I go nuts.

      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #13 Posted by Les Bell on 11 Jan 2013, 6:28 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

In my student days (1974) I had my HP-45 in its hard leather case on my belt, just like you - I never knew when it might be useful in a lab exercise or class (the alternative was a slide rule!). A few years later, I was wearing my HP-65 in its soft leather case, exactly the same way. I occasionally dangled my 41C's vinyl case by its belt loop, too.

These days, my belt is adorned with my ID/access badge, Leatherman tool and a Galaxy Nexus phone with go41cx. I just wish I could find a decent belt-clipped phone case that wouldn't break when I turn sideways to get out of my car seat. But from a computational point of view, the GNexus with go41cx (and browser access to my Sage server) is by far the most powerful device I've ever had there.

However, at different times my laptop backpack may also contain a 41CX, 15C-LE, 16C, 48GX or 34S, depending upon what I'm up to that day.

Best,

--- Les
[http://www.lesbell.com.au]

      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #14 Posted by Eddie W. Shore on 12 Jan 2013, 10:09 a.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

Dan,

I've actually never worn a calculator on a belt. If I was, it would have to be stored in a belt-friendly case. I carry calculators in my pockets (and travel bags) allthe time. The HP 50g is always with me in my travels and is often accompanied by the 15C, 32S, 39gii, 71B, or 12C (not all in the pocket, of course).

I don't get people laughing at me but often I get the compliment that I am good at math.

      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #15 Posted by Fred Lusk on 12 Jan 2013, 2:43 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

From my junior year in high school (1974-75) through college graduation (1980), I wore a calculator on my belt. I started with an HP-35, but for most of those years it was an HP-55.

I figured it was a chick magnet. But, I'm a nerd, so what did I know? :-)

BTW, now lots of guy wear smartphones on their belt, which makes it much harder to determine who is/isn't a nerd.

            
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #16 Posted by Palmer O. Hanson, Jr. on 20 Jan 2013, 9:48 p.m.,
in response to message #15 by Fred Lusk

Quote:
I figured it was a chick magnet. But, I'm a nerd, so what did I know? :-)
Back in 1946-1950 a few of my fellow engineering students carried their slide rules on their belts. I admit that I was a nerd before they even had the name for it, but I didn't have any illusions about a slide rule on one's belt as a "chick magnet." If anything I suspected that it would be a chick repellant.
      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #17 Posted by aurelio on 12 Jan 2013, 2:46 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

At school in the far 1977.......I was so proud of the HP 25c that my father gave me and so worried by the thought to loose it! It was for me like to wear a weapon, somebody of my classmates told me...... Actually it was only matter of a couple of days just 'cause it took place in the bottom of the bag with my books..........

.............and it is still now there, every day with me on the job

Edited: 12 Jan 2013, 2:47 p.m.

      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #18 Posted by chris smith on 12 Jan 2013, 3:45 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

I am currently the only person in my company that uses a calculator (everyone else uses mathematica/matlab or isn't involved in numbers).

Its enough of a talking point when I whip out my 50g and solve a problem before they've started mathematica and loaded up their crap and remembered how to enter the problem at hand.

In an ideal world, you would gain respect for such things attached to your belt, but I'm treated like a lepper by my iPhone clutching peers, so its consigned to living in my rucksack.

long gone are the days of the bat belt and pocket protector.

Edit: just to add, I used to work for a large defence contractor in the UK in the 90s. The engineering guys there regularly carried 48 series and TI85 units on their person, although I think I only saw one use it to divvy up the company cafe bill.

Edited: 12 Jan 2013, 3:48 p.m.

            
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #19 Posted by aurelio on 12 Jan 2013, 5:00 p.m.,
in response to message #18 by chris smith

Quote:
The engineering guys there regularly carried 48 series and TI85 units on their person, although I think I only saw one use it to divvy up the company cafe bill.
:-)
                  
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #20 Posted by LHH on 12 Jan 2013, 6:00 p.m.,
in response to message #19 by aurelio

Yes, I'm embarassed to admit the number of times I've used my HP calcs while paying bills may actually exceed the number of times I have used them for truly scientific purposes. Of course I pay bills twice a month and am usually only doing new design work 3-4 times a year. Wouldn't be without them though! My favorite bill-payer is the 97 (97S I/O actually, with umbilical removed).

BTW, I was proud to carry my Post Versalog slide rule(s) on my belt as a Freshman at Texas Tech in 1964. I still have them and admire them from time to time, very well made. Talk about goofy though! I did carry the cardboard mock-up HP sent while waiting for my 35 in my front shirt pocket. I'm pretty sure I used the belt pouch too once the calc arrived.

Edited: 12 Jan 2013, 6:05 p.m.

                        
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #21 Posted by Chris Smith on 12 Jan 2013, 7:16 p.m.,
in response to message #20 by LHH

Another non scientific use for my 50g: stop kids fighting.

I wrote a coin tossing program that pushes "heads" or "tails" on the stack randomly resulting in decisions made instantly by a neutral 3rd party...

<< RAND .5 > "heads" "tails" IFTE >>

They just don't argue with it unlike if I toss a coin myself.

      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #22 Posted by Richard Garner on 12 Jan 2013, 9:45 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

I started using a belt pouch as a freshman in high school, 1979, made from an old pair of jeans. Carried a Sharp 503 then a Commodore SR9190R. In college I started making them out of suede leather for a TI59. Then in the second year of college I got a 41CX and had 2 pouches, one for the 41 with cardreader and a second for program cards and moduals. Even now if I go into the field I may clip on may 48GX. But most of my time in spent in the office at a CAD/GIS Workstation. But I usually have a 42S or 15C in my jacket pocket or a 48 at arms reach on my desk.

      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #23 Posted by Antoine M. Couette on 12 Jan 2013, 10:36 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

Hi to All

Always carry HP48GX (loaded with Hrastprogrammer HP41/X/Y/Z Emulator + own Nav Software) in A340 aircraft, and will use it now and then for Celnav Computations, essentially for Stars and/or Planets identification.

From UT1, A/C position, observed Azimuth and Height (both from eyesight), I get (approximate) Body Declination and Right Ascension. Easy then to go backwards into my Stars List and see which Body fits it best.

A few weeks ago, on a night trip from Paris CDG to Mauritius Island MRU, I was able to positively identify GIENAH and MENKENT, which I had not shot with my sextant for decades ... They have not changed, at least themselves :-)

Antoine M. "Kermit" Couette

Edited: 12 Jan 2013, 10:38 p.m.

      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #24 Posted by Jeff Brower on 13 Jan 2013, 1:40 a.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

Used to do that with my 41 years ago when it needed to be with me, but these days a 15c is always on the desk at work or in my pocket when around the shop.

There is nothing better than a well made tool.

uh, what I meant is that there are not many things better than a well made tool.

      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #25 Posted by Nick_S on 14 Jan 2013, 2:18 a.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

I carry an HP15c LE in my jacket pocket as I work with statistics and in a meeting or seminar I will often run a quick sample size, odds ratio or confidence interval calculation.

Nick

            
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #26 Posted by Wolfgang on 14 Jan 2013, 1:46 p.m.,
in response to message #25 by Nick_S

I never had carried a calculator that way. However I can not be without a calculator and have always one on me. (At work of course) My preference currently is the HP35s and a HP50g if I need better IO for my programs. I do love to bring in my old calculators as "backup" . If I put a calculator in my shirt pocket, then this is nowadays the HP35s. I may consider a HP15c LE if they would not be so excessive expensive.

      
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #27 Posted by Adam Vaughn on 14 Jan 2013, 2:47 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Dan Lewis

I've never carried a calculator on my belt, since only my HP-35 and some of my TIs have cases which allow for that. However, I do still occasionally wear one on my wrist! Namely, one of these, a Casio DBC-W150:

Have had it for around a decade now, and it's getting a bit beat-up (and a little flaky), so I don't wear it too often. If I had a HP-01, I'd probably be too scared to wear it on my wrist on a regular basis due to the rarity of the thing, but I'd probably do it at least once. ;)

            
Re: How many of you do this?
Message #28 Posted by Dave Britten on 16 Jan 2013, 1:45 p.m.,
in response to message #27 by Adam Vaughn

I've got a DBC-150 that I basically only ever take off to bathe/shower/repair heavy machinery. And I pretty much use everything on it. I love the two-week preview that the scheduler gives you. I can put important events in there, and keep them from suddenly sneaking up on me.

It's sitting out in my car right now; I need to buy a new band after work.

It's a shame Casio has discontinued most of their Data Bank models.


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