HP-97S
| Industry | Electronics, Computer hardware |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 1, 1939 in Palo Alto, California, United States |
| Products | Calculators, computers, printers, software |
| Website | www |
The HP-67 is a handheld calculator introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1976, featuring magnetic card programmability and initially priced at $450. A desktop counterpart equipped with an integrated thermal printer was marketed as the HP-97 and retailed for $750. Collectively, these models are referred to as the HP-67/97 series.
Developed as advanced successors to the HP-65, the HP-67 and HP-97 incorporated advancements derived from HP's "20-series" calculators such as the HP-25 and HP-19C. Both units share identical functionality, facilitating program exchange through magnetic cards.
Features
The HP-67 and HP-97 deliver an extensive array of scientific, statistical, and engineering capabilities, including trigonometric functions, logarithms, exponentials, coordinate transformations, averages, and standard deviation calculations.
Their program storage capacity is 224 eight-bit words. This expanded memory compared to the HP-65 allowed every instruction, even those requiring multiple keystrokes, to be stored within a single cell through "fully merged keycodes." Programming supports up to 20 labels, subroutines nested three levels deep, four flag registers, eight comparison operations, and sophisticated indexing and looping mechanisms.
The LED display spans 15 digits, broader than earlier models, with a dedicated digit for the decimal point. On the HP-67, keys can perform up to four distinct functions accessed via prefix keys labeled "f," "g," and "h" (gold, blue, and black respectively). The larger HP-97 features more keys but with two functions each. Both devices include software that manages magnetic card operations and replicates the HP-97’s printing features on the HP-67’s display.
Power for the HP-67 is supplied by three AA nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries. Due to its thermal printer’s higher power requirements, the HP-97 uses a larger battery pack accompanied by a charger.
Memory and programming
The calculator’s 26-register data memory consists of ten primary registers for immediate access, ten alternate registers, and six additional registers accessible via user-defined keys A through E plus an index register. This setup allows all 26 registers to function collectively as an indexed array. Unlike subsequent models, this memory was volatile and erased when powered off. The alternate register set facilitated statistical computations.
Equipped with a built-in magnetic card reader/writer, the devices allowed storage of programs and data on magnetic cards, supporting data combination from multiple cards. This magnetic card format was later adopted by the HP-41C series, ensuring software compatibility through card readers. Hewlett-Packard also provided pre-recorded magnetic card packs tailored for applications in fields such as surveying, medicine, civil engineering, and electrical engineering. Cards could be protected against overwriting by removing a specific corner.
In addition to official software and support from HP, a dedicated user group known as PPC produced the PPC Journal and developed hardware enhancements like the "Blackbox," which enabled pseudo-alphanumeric display capabilities on the HP-67/97 calculators.
An alternative version featuring an additional rear-facing display was manufactured by Educational Calculator Devices under the name EduCALC 67 GD.
HP-97S
In 1977, Hewlett-Packard released the HP-97S, an upgraded desktop model that included an extra parallel input/output port (40 lines supporting 10 digits in 4-bit BCD plus 5 control lines) designed for external data acquisition. This model was priced at $1,375.
See also
External links
- HP 67/97 – HP Calculators Museum
- Inside HP Calculators
- Hewlett Packard Calculator Club website
- PPC Journal archives on CDROM
- http://www.cuveesoft.ch (Calculator Simulators)
- (Instruction Manuals)