Hewlett Packard HP-15C
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'Hewlett Packard HP-15C
- Type: Programmable RPN Electronic Calculator
- Size: 3 x 5 inches / 8 x 13 cm
- Serial number: 2529A14580
- Date of Manufacture: July 1985
One of the most functional calculators ever made, excepting the graphical models, perhaps. (And really, doesn't all that extra stuff get annoying? Don't you just sometimes wish for a good, basic solution to your number crunching needs without all these gubbins intended to get would-be college kids through their advanced placement tests? And without having to buy add-ons and peripherals and stuff?) Hyperbolic trig functions, matrix operations, HP's famous numerical integration and root-finding routines. And support for complex numbers. Real support. Most HP calculators use two stack levels for each complex number (reducing you to having two numbers on a four-element stack). In complex mode, the 15C grabs some registers from unallocated memory to set up a parallel imaginary stack.
Low-power design permits the calculator to go 6-12 months between changes of standard, store-bought, button batteries. With faux leather case.
A small group of dedicated lunatics afficionados are attempting to convince HP to bring back the 15C. (They still make the 12C, after all.) http://www.hp15c.org/. Sign the petition. You'll be glad you did. You'll certainly be sexier if you do. It worked for me. Really!
