HP 12C Platinum Calculator

Product Information

Due to its simple operation for key financial calculations, the calculator long ago became 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. In 2012, SwissMicros (aka RPN-Calc) introduced a miniature clone named DM-12CC approximating the size of an ID-1 credit card (88mm× 59mm× 7mm). In contrast to the preceding revision, it supported two parallel CR2032 cells, of which only one was necessary to run the calculator.

The HP-12C is one of only four calculators permissible in the Chartered Financial Analyst exams, the others being its sister, the HP12c Platinum, and the Texas Instruments BA II Plus and BA II Plus Professional. The first HP12c Platinum version (F2231A) did not have parentheses, which often led to awkward key sequences to solve problems in algebraic mode. The 2×3-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.Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. 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 HP12c Platinum is similar in appearance and functionality to the 12C, and is designed to mimic the 12C whilst extending its capabilities in various aspects. HP has (as of 2015) never made another programmer's calculator, but has incorporated the 16C's functions in later calculator models.

It was equipped with a Sunplus SPLB20D2 [1] [18] with a 6502 core, larger memory (for up to 30 CFj registers [17] and 400 program steps) and more built-in functions. In 2001 (from serial number CN11500001 [1]), the CPU was changed to a 3V 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). Since 2005, newer versions (F2232A) of the HP12c Platinum have parentheses on the blue-shifted functions of the STO and RCL keys. Designed to be an introductory calculator, it was still costly compared to the competition, and many looking at an HP would just step up to the better HP-11C. Martin: Printing Financial Calculator Sets New Standards for Accuracy and Capability, HP Journal, October 1977 (29), pp.By design, the HP-12C rounds up the number of payments to the next integer, which produces meaningless results when calculating fractional periods. The HP-10C is the last and lowest-featured calculator in this line, even though its number would suggest an earlier origin.

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. It can display numbers in hexadecimal, decimal, octal and binary, and convert numbers from one base to another. 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.The calculator's part number and physical appearance didn't change except for a "Rev 2" plate on the bottom side. 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). Poor sales led to a very short market life, making it one of the most difficult of the series to find today. It features a gold-colored plate like the original 12C, but is otherwise like the fourth HP12c Platinum model (F2231AA).

Although long being discontinued its continued popularity among users triggered Hewlett-Packard to offer a HP15c Limited Edition remake of the calculator in 2011 and a HP15C Collector's Edition in 2023. HP also released a software development kit (SDK), making it possible to make new and custom operating systems.Based on the same processor, a limited HP12c 30th Anniversary Edition (NW258AA) was introduced in 2011. The HP-15C is a high-end scientific programmable with a root-solver and numerical integration, produced between 1982 and 1989. A number of specialized functions are provided to assist the programmer, including left- and right-shifting, masking, and bitwise logical operations. Proponents, however, are quick to note that the HP-12C continues to be both the de jure and de facto standard of high finance. In February 2016, SwissMicros introduced the DM12L, a version of the calculator about the same size as the original HP-12C.