Calculators?

[EricH]

I'm assuming that almost everyone here has a calculator. So, here's the question: What do you use, and what is your best tip for it?

Explanation: What kind of calculator (include the model, if possible) do you use? What tip or advice would you offer to a beginner on the calculator?

Go ahead and make comments on how your experience with someone else's calculator type was (if you had one), include all the goodies, or tell how many you have. Or anything else that would further the discussion.
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One of my calculators (the one I use most often right now): TI 84 Plus Silver. Tip: Be careful on entering data for graphing. Enter it wrong and you get an error or a wrong graph (painful experience earlier today ).

[Eugenia Gabrielov]

I use a variety of calculators.

TI-89: A phenomenal machine. Not acceptable on ACTs, highschool kids. I personally recommend starting on a TI-83 or a TI-84 before you delve into 89, because it's an incredibly powerful calculator with some stuff that is more user-friendly, but other stuff that's more complicated. High on my recommendation list.

Tip: If you're new to TI's...you might have a lot of fun with the graphing interface. Lots of options, so get to know it well.

TI-84+: This is an awesome calculator. I am more comfortable with it than my TI-89, just because I like the layout a bit better and some of the functionality. It's suitable for ACTs which is a plus, and it serves as my "at-home" calculator. It is EXTREMELY user-friendly, but powerful.

Tip: This is a great backup calculator. There's not much I can specifically say on tips, it's just very functional.

TI-83, TI-86: I don't really use these two anymore. Neither tops off the 89 or 84 in anything. It's a nice beginning, and a bit less expensive, but the power isn't up to par with 84 or 89.

Tip: If you're not used to TI's it's a decently cheap place to start (relative to 89)

[Clark Gilbert]

Originally Posted by EricH

I'm assuming that almost everyone here has a calculator. So, here's the question: What do you use, and what is your best tip for it?

Explanation: What kind of calculator (include the model, if possible) do you use? What tip or advice would you offer to a beginner on the calculator?

Go ahead and make comments on how your experience with someone else's calculator type was (if you had one), include all the goodies, or tell how many you have. Or anything else that would further the discussion.
_______

One of my calculators (the one I use most often right now): TI 84 Plus Silver. Tip: Be careful on entering data for graphing. Enter it wrong and you get an error or a wrong graph (painful experience earlier today ).

I just picked this one up a few semesters ago and I LOVE it. It's a Casio Fx-300MS (dual line display & two way power). It's cheaper than most Texas Instruments and the keys are easy to read and use.
http://world.casio.com/edu/product/c...up_fx300ms.jpg

My best tip for this calculator is use the parenthesis so you can calculate long equations all at once and the "replay" function is awesome for going back and checking what you did on other calculations. This calculator works with statistics, but data entry is MUCH easier with a TI-83(84,89).

[Jeff Rodriguez]

I used a TI-83 for the first time in a few years last week. I was confused for the first 10 minutes or so. After awhile it all came back to me and I got the hang of it.
Normally I use basic calculators, either on my PDA, cell phone or the one built into windows.

[sanddrag]

I use Windows Calculator a lot. But the calculator I use most is my trusty TI-30XA. Second year in college and it is still perfect for all my needs. Actually, I don't think I've had a single test yet that has allowed programmable (graphing) calculators. I will not buy one of those TI-80whatever gizmos until I absolutely have to. I hate them (except the games, those are cool). The manual is like as thick as a novel. I see 7th graders getting their parents to buy them these fancy $90 calculators when somehow I've made it into my second year of college with one that I believe retails for <$10. Also, you should watch me wiz by all the dummies on their graphers when it comes to getting an answer out fastest.

My TI-30XA and a free program called Graphmatica (used rarely) have fullfilled my needs just fine so far. I wish it had more memories (only 3) but I manage.

For those of you using a regular scientific calculator like mine, be sure you know how to use the memories and be sure you know your order of operations. Rounding numbers in the middle of lengthy calculations and entering numbers in the wrong order are the two most common sources of error (for me anyway). Memories are wonderful. Use them as much as you can. And if you don't have anything to put in there, store some constants like Avogadro's number or something like that so you don't forget (well, that one you should know in your head).

I wish I could replace number Pi in memory with another user controlled memory because I can remember the first 10 digits of Pi easily but I always need more memories when doing calculations.

[EricH]

My other two calculators:

(I forget the name)solar powered four-function: old, very old.
Tip: Use very strong light. It does not have a battery.

My second (current backup) calculator: scientific.
Tip: don't try to do long equations; it will take you forever to go from end to end.

Oh, and my TI-84 has a USB cable so I can get screen shots onto the computer or get other goodies from the company, and it wasn't much more expensive than a TI-83.

[Billfred]

I use the TI-83+ I've used since tenth grade. Works great for everything I do, except accounting (and that's because they require a four-function calculator in their uber-standardized testing setup).

As a tip, resist the urge to get the games that will likely be floating around a bunch of TI-83+ owners. I speak from experience on this.

[Tristan Lall]

Casio fx-991s. I've been using one (well, actually, this is the second) since 5^th or 6^th grade. It's out of production, and lacks some of the more esoteric features, but the layout is good, it's compact, and quite durable. It can't do differentiation or integration, and it doesn't have the equation line above the mantissa; otherwise, it's pretty much the same as any other good scientific calculator. I never much liked the TI interface on the graphing calculators; unfortunately, it's pretty much the only game in town. At least the new models are fast enough that they don't get annoying for simple tasks. I've never owned one, though, unless the TI-83+ emulator software counts. Now, if only I could get it to run Wolf83.... (That's essentially Wolfenstein 3D for the calculator.) If I'm on the computer, I tend to use GraphCalc; it's full of little bugs, but works very well for simple (scientifc) calculations and, as its name implies, 2-D and 3-D graphing. I end up using Mathcad, much as I don't like the interface, for solving more complex problems on the computer.

Edit: This one....

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Eugenia Gabrielov

TI-89: A phenomenal machine. Not acceptable on ACTs, highschool kids. I personally recommend starting on a TI-83 or a TI-84 before you delve into 89, because it's an incredibly powerful calculator with some stuff that is more user-friendly, but other stuff that's more complicated. High on my recommendation list.

It's a really useful calculator... but most college professors won't allow you to use them on an exam (assuming they allow you to use calculators at all).

I use a -89, -83, and an old HP 12c calculator (for some reason, RPN has grown on me for simple math)

[Denman]

i have the one that was just before the one that clark gilbert posted (the casio one)
very good especially once you get to learn it
i've lost the manual and the cover (i must have had it a good 7 or 8 years now)
Learn your way around it ad its godlike!
i also have this colour graphics calculator (casio fx something or other power colour graphic)
i really can't find it online. Its sitting on my desk in my hall as i have no need for it today. you can get support for it online and transfer programs off your pc into the calculator. Sadly i'm not allowed it in about half my exams but hey.
Tip
Learn where the functions are, there are so many its all catergorized
otherwise, here on the uni pcs there is the godlike math program of Maple 10

[KTorak]

I like my TI-84+, it's a good calculator (use it in Honors Algebra II currently).

Best tip....ztris is a fun Tetris game to play when you're bored in class...lol. Actually, my best tip would be find someone who knows how to use it and have them teach your basic functions, becuase some things the your obviously expect are well hidden, and theres a lot of functions that most people have no idea that their calculator can do.

[Katie Reynolds]

Really, it depends what you're going to be doing with your calculator - I'm lovin' my TI-89. It's pretty easy to use, and the graphing interface is awesome.

Before that, I had a TI-83+ that worked great for me ... until I lost it. The reason I upgraded to an 89 when I needed a new calculator was because I was leaving for college in a year, and knew I would be taking a few math-intensive courses. The 89 was only $35 more than the 83+, so it was well worth it (to me).

If you're just going into high school, you'll be great with a TI-83 Silver Edition. There are a lot of cool things the come with that one (including more memory than a regular 83 and a periodic table for chem! oooh!) If you're in college - or close to it - I'd recommend an 89.

Tip: If you get a TI of any kind, check out the (free) extra programs on Texas Instruments' website you can download. My favorite is the polynomial equation solver (works great for quickly solving the quadratic equation!) - you can also download games, but there isn't a *whole* lot of memory, so if you have a lot of games you might not be able to fit a lot of good, usable programs. Oh, and any of the "silver"/"platinum" editions of TIs have more memory than the "regular" models.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

I have had an FX850P Casio calculator/computer for many years. I don't know why they never took off. It runs basic, does macros, and allows you to write and store formulas in a library for recall as a calculator function later. You can write long formulas with variables and enter the data as you make calculations. Although much of what it does is now handled by a laptop, it is smaller than many scientific calculators today. In addition to all of the above it also has a function library built in that will make calculations such as quadratic equations, Bessel functions, LaPlace transforms, conversions of any unit between standards, calculate areas, do statistics and it even has a periodic table built in. I have an interface for it that will store all saved memories to cassette tape and talks to a printer. You can even stack formulas so that you enter data in one, it makes the calculations and continues to enter the answers into the next formula. It was sold for a short time through Radio Shack under their own name but I bought mine under the Casio brand from an outlet here in Chicago.
Here is a spec sheet...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_FX-850P
BTW I have formulas for speaker system design and layout, dB to voltage conversions, resonant circuits and antenna designs loaded in as well a program for calculating billing info (hours worked, miles traveled, expenses, parts, totals).

[KenWittlief]

Ive owned my sharp EL-5020 for so many years now I can do math and Hex conversions without looking at the buttons Im pushing

there are many calculator programs for PDAs out there, but I find myself reaching for the old reliable scientific calculator with the real buttons and the simple 10 digit LCD most of the time.

[ebmonon36]

I use an old school TI-83 with 3 rows of pixels out. It's a hand-me-down from my sister. It's covered in fruit stickers and other random stickers and is about 8 years old now. For classes that dont allow graphing calculators, I use my TI-30XIIS.

To all of the high school students - if you use your calculator all of the time for math, make sure that you can do the math without it. I don't know how other colleges are, but at Purdue I have yet to take a math class where calculators are allowed.
Eric