Hp12c Calculator Emulator

[Gabelo Camphire]

Onthe web site where you can get this emulated HP-12C (see links below) it says that this is a toy. Well, is it? I spent about 30 minutes playing with this emulated calculator trying various financial calculations related to TVM (Time Value of Money), IRR (Internal Rate of Return), cash flow calculations, loan payments, and a few more financial calculations. The real HP-12C is programmable. I did some simple programming on this emulated HP-12C and that works as well. Also note, this is a RPN (Reverse Polish Notation) calculator. So, if you have never done some basic arithmetic using RPN, well, here is your chance.

Now I was on a roll. What other calculators can I emulate? What about a high-end calculator like the Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus Silver Edition Graphing Calculator? Feast your eyes. Here it is running on my Windows 7 machine.

I gave this calculator quite a workout including programming this emulated calculator in TI-BASIC. The real version of this calculator can also be programmed in Z80 assembler language. The real calculator has a USB interface allowing you to exchange programs between the calculator and a personal computer. The emulated TI-84 to the left does not seen capable of this data transfer. If it was, I would have tried some Z80 assembler code which I was able to snag on the Internet.

The basic financial capability of the TI-84 far exceeds that of the HP12-C. Not only can the TI-84 do the same financial calculations (and more) compared to the HP-12C but it can also graphically display the results and transfer data to and from a personal computer.

So, when you play with the emulators mentioned in this posting or use software licensed under a Free Software License take a minute to think about the people behind the vision, technology, and effort.

When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for this service if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things.

To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid anyone to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights. These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if you distribute copies of the software, or if you modify it.

For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that you have. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the source code. And you must show them these terms so they know their rights.

The HP-12C is a financial calculator made by Hewlett-Packard (HP) and its successor HP Inc. as part of the HP Voyager series, introduced in 1981. It is HP's longest and best-selling product and is considered the de facto standard among financial professionals. There have been multiple revisions over the years, with newer revisions moving to an ARM processor running a software emulator of the original Nut processor. Critics claim that its 1980s technology is antiquated, but proponents point out that it is still the de facto and de jure in high finance.

The HP-12C is HP's longest and best-selling product, in continual production since its introduction in 1981. Due to its simple operation for key financial calculations, the calculator long ago became the de facto standard among financial professionals.[4] Its popularity has endured despite a relatively simple but iterative process such as amortizing the interest over the life of a loan, a calculation that modern spreadsheets can complete almost instantly, can take over a minute with the HP-12C. The 1977 October edition of the HP Journal contains an article by Roy Martin, the inventor of the simple method of operation used in HP financial calculators, which describes, in detail, the mathematics and functionality built by William Kahan and Roy Martin that is still used today.[5]

There were at least nine hardware revisions of the HP-12C since 1981 (including one special issue). Over its lifespan, the proprietary bulk CMOS HP Nut (originally the 1LF5, then 1LM2)[1] processor's technology has been redesigned to integrate all the circuitry into a single chip (first the 1LQ9, then 1RR2)[1] and to refresh the manufacturing process (as the foundry could no longer manufacture the necessary chips, having moved on to making higher-density chips). However, HP's market research found in the late 1980s that users did not trust results obtained too quickly and so the CPU speed was never improved from the original 884 kHz, but the speed could be increased by a user modification.[6] In 2001 (from serial number CN11500001[1]), the CPU was changed to a 3 V process (Agilent 2AF1-0001,[1] later a Marvell 2AF1-0002[7]) and the battery was therefore changed to a single CR2032 cell replacing the three LR44 cells previously used (F1637A).

The internal hardware of the HP-12C changed again in 2015, when the design switched to use an Atmel ATSAM4LC2CA-AU processor with ARM Cortex-M4 core.[2] The calculator's part number and physical appearance didn't change except for a "Rev 2" plate on the bottom side.[2] It continues to use two parallel CR2032 cells.[2] The firmware reports a 2015 build date.[2] Serial numbers starting with "PHA", "9CJ", "7CD", or "3CD" rule out the older model variant.[2] The 23-pin flash port now uses the USB protocol instead of a TTL serial protocol;[2] in addition to this, the calculator's circuit board features an unpopulated mount for a Micro-USB connector.[2]In 2022, the HP Development Company, L.P.'s licensees Moravia Consulting spol. s r.o. and Royal Consumer Information Products, Inc. released a minor revision of the HP 12C without "Hewlett-Packard" on the frontplate and with a screw added to the battery compartment cover.[15]

The HP-12C is one of only four calculators permissible in the Chartered Financial Analyst exams, the others being its sister, the HP 12c Platinum, and the Texas Instruments BA II Plus and BA II Plus Professional.

Often referred to as a tool for "Old-ie Time-ies," critics of the HP-12C claim its early 1980s technology and style are antiquated. Proponents, however, are quick to note that the HP-12C continues to be both the de jure and de facto standard of high finance.[16]

The HP 12c Platinum is similar in appearance and functionality to the 12C, and is designed to mimic the 12C whilst extending its capabilities in various aspects. The calculator was introduced in 2003, is visibly distinguished by its silver-colored upper half as opposed to the gold-colored plate on the original 12c. There are six variants of the HP 12c Platinum (including two special issues).

The first HP 12c Platinum version (F2231A) did not have parentheses, which often led to awkward key sequences to solve problems in algebraic mode. Since 2005, newer versions (F2232A) of the HP 12c Platinum have parentheses on the blue-shifted functions of the STO and RCL keys. They also support undo and backspace and provide memory for up to 80 CFj registers. The firmware changes increased the ROM size beyond the capabilities of the original processor, so it was replaced by the Generalplus GPLB31A (still with 6502 core),[1] which is also faster.[20] It was manufactured by Kinpo Electronics.

In 2006, Hewlett-Packard released a limited edition of the 12c Platinum to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original 12C's introduction. The HP 12c Platinum 25th Anniversary Edition also has the parentheses feature and features the GPLB31A processor as well.

The latest hardware revision of the 12c Platinum was introduced in 2007 (F2231AA).[21] As in the later revisions of the 12C, it features two parallel rather than only one CR2032 cells, but it continues to be based on the GPLB31A processor. In 2008, the HP 12c Prestige (F2233A)[22] was released. It features a gold-colored plate like the original 12C, but is otherwise like the fourth HP 12c Platinum model (F2231AA). In 2022, alongside the latest revision of the original 12C, Moravia and Royal also released a mostly cosmetic update of the 12c Platinum, with the words "Hewlett-Packard" removed from the frontplate, subtle adjustments to the layout and contact information on the rearplate, and a screw added to the battery compartment.[15]

By design, the HP-12C rounds up the number of payments to the next integer, which produces meaningless results when calculating fractional periods. Consequently, solving for n returns a value that is mathematically incorrect when compared to the standard annuity formula and different from the value returned by other financial calculators, Excel, etc.[23]

In 2012, SwissMicros (aka RPN-Calc) introduced a miniature clone named DM-12CC approximating the size of an ID-1 credit card (88 mm 59 mm 7 mm). It closely emulates the functionality of the original HP-12C by running the original ROM image in an emulator on an ARM Cortex-M0-based NXP LPC1114 processor. Newer DM12 models since 2013 feature a better keyboard and more RAM (LPC1115). A DM12 Silver Edition in a titanium case is available as well.[26] In February 2016, SwissMicros introduced the DM12L, a version of the calculator about the same size as the original HP-12C.Deviating from the HP original, these calculators feature a dot-matrix display, switchable fonts and clock speeds, and, based on a Silicon Labs CP2102 converter chip,[27] they come with a USB (Mini-B)[28] serial interface to exchange data with a PC etc. for backup purposes (and possibly to communicate with applications like PC-based HP-12C emulators) or to update the firmware. Powering via USB is not supported.

Computer operating systems as far back as early Unix have included interactive calculator programs such as dc and hoc, and calculator functions are included in almost all personal digital assistant (PDA) type devices, the exceptions being a few dedicated address book and dictionary devices.

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