HP 35s calculator

[HPButtonPusher]

I have quite a problem with the hp35s and the base mode/conversion function.

I would expect (as happens with most if not all previous hp scientific calculators) that when you change base the calculator changes base mode and all subsequent artithmetic or logic operations happen in that base.

The manual clearly states that the mode of the calculator changes to the selected base mode, as has always previously happened. But in operation this is clearly not the case. You can do base conversion but it is so convoluted that it is unusable.

As a design engineer who has been using HP RPN calculators for about 35 years. I ask the question

'Why make a simple often used task so complex with no user benefit?'

I buy and use HP calculators for RPN and qick base conversion/arithmetic 

For me, as a programmer, this flaw really makes the hp35s useless. 

[BartdB]

Yes, i was surprised too when i found that in a different BASE mode the 35s still assumes entries in decimal form. They have to be postfixed with the appropriate base designator (e.g. 50DBh where the "h" is found in the BASE menu item 6 - you can use the menu item number as a shortcut, e.g. BlueShift BASE 6 puts the h on the number).

This has been noted as a complaint in the following article:

HP-35s bug list (see last item at the bottom of the article).

If i want to convert several Hex numbers to Decimal, i put the calculator in that horrible mode called ALG (so I can get A-F using RCL) and DEC base:

e.g. 5B6F: 5 RCL B 6 RCL F BlueShift BASE 6 ENTER, displays 23,407.

Have you heard of the WP-34s? It is a re-programmed HP-20b or HP-30b.

See this WP-34s page.

It is an RPN calculator developed by HP enthusiasts for HP enthusiasts. The download includes a Windows simulator.

One can re-program a HP-20b or HP-30b yourself (see the Wiki and this Article ), or a European seller provides a pre-programmed 30b with overlay.

Help and discussions are available on the HP calculator museum forum.

Regrds,

Bart

[BartdB]

You will notice that the bug list has been around for more than 4 years, and HP has not done any fixes. It doesn't seem as though there will be.

In contrast see the WP-34s development team's commitment:

http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/hpmuseum/forum.cgi?read=212953#212953

Regards,

Bart