viii Introduction
The HP-15C
Meanwhile the HP-15C took the groundbreaking features of the HP-34C,
including the root solver and numerical integration, expanded them, and
placed them into a slimline LCD package with incredible battery life. It
could be taken anywhere and seemed to run forever on one set of
batteries. It expanded upon the features of the HP-34C by:
Increasing program and data storage space;
Providing annunciators in the display indicating calculator status;
Featuring a U mode, where the first five keys at the top left can
begin the program execution of the label written above the key
rather than perform the function on the key;
Computing hyperbolic trigonometry functions and their inverses;
Adding combinations, permutations, and a random number
generator;
Extending the function set to work with complex numbers where
possible;
Introducing a broad array of matrix functionality;
Fitting it all in a four-ounce device.
The HP-15C had roughly twice the memory of the earlier HP-34C, with 67
total registers available for use as program or data. On the HP-15C, three
registers were permanently allocated for data storage, but the remaining
64 registers could be set aside for
data usage in any combination from 0
to 64, with registers being used for
program storage at the rate of 7 bytes
per register.
When placed in complex number
mode, the HP-15C’s four level RPN
stack extended to handle the real and
imaginary portions of a complex
number entered for computation—essentially creating a parallel stack
for the imaginary part of each complex number. Adding two complex
numbers together was therefore just as easy as adding two real numbers.
In fact, about the only mathematical operations that did not work with
complex numbers were the polar to rectangular conversion and its
inverse. Complex numbers were no longer complex at all.
HP-15C
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