Thread: Casio fx-83ES-the one with a purple button at the top - fault or is it me?

I have a lovely Casio calculator, which does lots of wonderful things for me, BUT, it has also driven me to distraction, because it keeps miscalculating one particular , um, what do you call it, (sum?)

I've tried doing the same thing on my other (older) Casio calculator, and it comes out OK on that. The particular problem involves doing the following:

20 squared add 20 squared, then finding the square root of this answer, it keeps coming out as 5 point something instead of 28 point something

new note:
Actually, I've just found a way round this , which is to completely bypass the surd answer the calculator gives, by pressing "Shift, equals", from the start, in order to get a decimal answer right from the start.

The trouble with complicated calculators like this is, while such complexity can be useful, it can also be complex to operate, and thus easy to go wrong.]

To me, there's nothing more "natural" than the sequence "30 cos".

Data first --> then operate on it. Simple and consistent.

Bonus: using RPN will allow you to see ALL of the intermediate values, so it's well worth learning.

"Reverse Polish Notation" - Google Search

Originally Posted by Bill Zimmerly

To me, there's nothing more "natural" than the sequence "30 cos".

Data first --> then operate on it. Simple and consistent.

Bonus: using RPN will allow you to see ALL of the intermediate values, so it's well worth learning.

"Reverse Polish Notation" - Google Search

hello Bill,

Thanks for your interesting reply - I've never heard of "Reverse Polish Notation" before, blimey, what will they think of next! Myself, I had a Casio calculator for years, which had "Reverse Polish Notation", and I suppose I was quite used to it. But having spent 6 pounds on my new natural sequence calculator, I would like to be able to use it!

If you have a look at my original post, you will see that I've added to it, since I have now found a way to get over the problem. I don't understand why it works this way, it just does. But I'm very wary of this calculator, I still don't completely trust it, and will be monitoring it closely!

Hi Protractor!

I'm glad to have been of service.

RPN does indeed make using a calculator much easier, and I think it also makes it easier to keep an eye on every intermediate step in a long chain of calculations. Have a great day!

- Bill

P.S. I've never owned a Casio, but I do have a collection of calculators that go back to the mid-1970's. My current favourite is the HP-50G.

Originally Posted by Bill Zimmerly

Hi Protractor!

I'm glad to have been of service.

RPN does indeed make using a calculator much easier, and I think it also makes it easier to keep an eye on every intermediate step in a long chain of calculations. Have a great day!

- Bill

P.S. I've never owned a Casio, but I do have a collection of calculators that go back to the mid-1970's. My current favourite is the HP-50G.

Thanks for your reply. Maybe your old calculators will be worth a lot of money one day!

Protractor