HP 15C

HP-15C

The HP-15C is a high-end scientific pocket calculator with a root-solver and numerical integration. A member of Hewlett-Packard Voyager series of programmable calculators, it was produced between 1982 and 1989. The calculator is able to handle complex numbers and matrix operations. Although out of production, its popularity has led to high prices of $200–400 on the used market and a petition asking HP to restart production. The HP-15C was a replacement for the HP-34C.

HP 15c Limited Edition

After showing a prototype labelled "HP 15c+" at the HHC 2010, HP announced the HP 15c Limited Edition (NW250AA) on 1 September 2011. It is based on a flashable controller utilizing the same ARM7TDMI core already used in the 2008 revision of the 12C but in a different package, an Atmel AT91SAM7L128-AU running an emulator written by Cyrille de Brébisson to execute the old HP Nut code much faster than on the original hardware. The calculator was released alongside the HP 12c 30th Anniversary Edition. This model is powered by two CR2032 batteries, and can easily be differentiated from the original model by the "Limited Edition" script below the company logo as well as the black text on brushed metal back label, as opposed to the white text on black of the original.

Bugs and problems

HP-15C:

HP-15c Limited Edition:

Emulators

An official emulator for the 15C is commercially available from Hewlett-Packard for Android and iOS devices.

Clones

In 2012, SwissMicros (aka RPN-Calc) introduced a miniature clone named DM-15CC approximating the size of a ID-1 credit card (88 mm × 59 mm × 7 mm). It closely emulates the functionality of the original HP-15C by running the original ROM image in an emulator on an ARM Cortex-M0-based NXP LPC1114 processor. Newer DM-15 models feature a better keyboard and more RAM (LPC1115). With a modified firmware, the additional memory allows for up to 232 registers or 1603 programs steps. A DM-15 Silver Edition in a titanium case is available as well in three color variants (metal, brown, blue). Deviating from the original, these calculators feature a dot-matrix display, switchable fonts and clock speeds, and they come with an USB serial interface to exchange data with a PC etc. for backup purposes and possibly to communicate with applications (like PC-based HP-15C emulators) or to update the firmware. In 2015, SwissMicros introduced the DM-15L, a version of the calculator about the same size as the original HP-15C.