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    Re: TI-36X Pro Calculator for Sight Reduction
    From: Magnus Sjoquist
    Date: 2011 Oct 13, 09:15 +0200
     
    Good morning -
    At the Kalmar Maritime Academy (Linnean University, Sweden) only one calculator model was (is?) allowed during exams: Texas T1-30CX llB. It's quite a simple and cheap machine, affordable by all students (costs around 15 USD). Like many other calculators there is no problem to convert angles between radians, degrees etc. Including conversion from decimal degrees into dms. However, in CN calculations you often want to have the answer in degrees, minutes and decimal minutes, not degrees, minutes and seconds. In some cases (within calculations), this small difference can be of vital importance (for example when calculating azimuth angles closing up to 90 degrees). The problem is not a serious one once you are aware of the difference, but I have noted that some students are not. In situations when the azimuth changes rapidly (high altitudes and close to MP) a mistake can be "fatal" (at least during exams!!).

    Another "problem" is that you have to expressively tell the T1-30X llB that it should calculate the numerator and denominators separately before doing the division (by bracketing).

    From a brief reading of the manual (available on the net) the same goes for the T1-36X. (Be careful if you want angles/arcs in the format ddd mm,mmmm).

    At least, the T1-30X llB has no objection against expressions in input values format ddmm,mmmm or dd,dddd.... so once you have come to speaking terms with it, you are OK. ?

    /Magnus

    (happy user of HP 48GX)



    ----Ursprungligt meddelande----
    Från: jn.wilson@juno.com
    Datum: 2011-10-13 05:23
    Till: <NavList@fer3.com>
    Ärende: [NavList] Re: TI-36X Pro Calculator for Sight Reduction

    ?
    Greg:
     
    In my last CN class, many older students were having trouble punching in all the equations required by the Power Squadron. I noticed that one student had it easy, and also noted that his computer, a TI-36X, required half the keystrokes that the others did. The class equipped themselves with it, and that problem disappeared.
     
    Jim Wilson
     
    On 12 Oct 2011 20:09:43 -0700 "Greg Rudzinski" <gregrudzinski@yahoo.com> writes:

    The TI-36X Pro scientific calculator seems to work through sight reduction like a programable calculator when using the expression mode. Enter in an expression such as arc sin ( cos x cos t cos d + sin x sin d ) and it is stored automatically in the display history for future use even when the calculator is turned off then on. There are 8 variables available. In the above example x=Latitude t=meridian angle d=declination.

    This calculator goes for $22 new at Best Buy or online. Seems to be a good value for what it can do. My only criticism is that to convert an answer to degrees minutes and seconds requires six button pushes when most other calculators do it in one push.
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