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The R47: A new physical RPN calculator released today in 2025

https://www.swissmicros.com/product/model-r47
47•dm319•4d ago

Comments

dm319•4d ago
This is a project to imagine what HP would have made today had they still been making calculators. It is unusual for a newly designed RPN calculator to be released, although there have been several re-releases of older HP models, such as the HP-15ce, HP-16c, and a series of calculators made by Swissmicros - DM-15L, DM-42, DM-32, but all based on designs dating back 30-50 years.

The R47 has been many years in the making and is a small open source project which has collaborated with the Swiss manufacturer of calculators, SwissMicros. It has a superset of functions over older HP models and many more too, including complex solve, default 34 digit decimal precision, 1000 digit integers, graphing, extensive complex support, etc and is substantially customisable.

I have no affiliation with the project, but excited that there is a new RPN machine commercially available.

[0] https://youtu.be/5A-pmjawJg8?si=11Ehf5SnzkZF79-e

TheOtherHobbes•10m ago
I don't think HP would be making something like this.

The original calculators, from the discrete HP9100A onwards, pushed tech to its limits.

The HP65 (1975) was a jaw-dropping masterpiece. When most calculators were four function, and scientific calculators were still exotic, a pocket-sized programmable calculator with a magnetic card reader was beyond the imagination of most engineers, never mind most users.

This is more of a nostalgic tribute act. It's nice it exists. But it's looking backwards, not forwards.

macmac•4d ago
Already Out of Stock. I want one :-(
dm319•4d ago
The release day is meant to be today, the out-of-stock just means they haven't opened yet.

They've asked people to purchase a voucher on the C47/R47 site for an early-bird discount which will send some money towards the developers. This voucher can then be used to get the calculator once SwissMicros take bookings. The link is at the bottom of the Swissmicros page.

globular-toast•1h ago
I really want one, but 250 credits is quite a bit too much. Even at 100 credits I'd be questioning my sanity, to be honest.
NewsaHackO•1h ago
Its ~300 USD. I wonder who the target audience is.
ch_123•51m ago
There is a community of folks who are really into this firmware, and a lot of those people buy SwissMicros other models of calculators, (e.g. DM42 or DM32) and put keyboard stickers on it. This allows them to buy the model with the correct key legends up front.

The low volume and the relatively high build quality involved pushes the prices up.

fm2606•1h ago
I still have my HP 48G and love it. I don't use it much and take the batteries out so they don't corrode in the case.

Every time I use for more than a couple of calculations I think how much I prefer a RPN calculator.

ch_123•50m ago
The DB48X project created a HP48G/HP50G style firmware for SwissMicros calculators.

https://github.com/c3d/db48x

natas•10m ago
The db48x/db50x project seems to be more promising than C47/R47; although, I wish Swissmicros could produce a db50x version with the right layout (no stickies)
pavon•1h ago
Ooh, I'm going to have to download the emulator tonight and try this out. The swiss micro and 47calc sites both say "display with 4 stack levels", but I can't figure out if that is also the size of the logical stack.

The shift key on my HP28C died last year. I never used the advanced features (eg the entire left-hand keypad), but loved its effectively infinite stack, and haven't been able to go back to an HP42 or the like since.

I'm now using Plus42 on my phone with the big stack option, but would love to have a physical calculator again.

PopePompus•1h ago
There was a time when I would have salivated over this. But now I can run iPython on my phone, and have numpy, sympi, scipy, astropy and countless other packages. Physical keyboards are great for calculators - much better than virtual keyboards on phones. But the keyboard advantage seems to me most valuable for quick calculations, not elaborate things like this calculator offers. If I'm going to do matrix calculations, I want to be able to put the data into a file with a real, and familiar, editor. I want to be able to grab tables of data from the web. If I make a plot, I want to be able to save it to a PNG file. I want a high resolution color display. A phone running iPython/Python seems much better to me, especially since almost everyone who would want to do what this calculator does already has a smartphone. Also, I can ssh into my phone and interact with it using my desktop computer's keyboard and monitor, eliminating the phone keyboard limitations when a full sized computer is nearby.
drob518•59m ago
I still miss my 15C.
mprovost•25m ago
There's a really good emulator for the iPhone! Back when I bought it, it came from HP themselves, but a few years ago they sold it to another company which actually maintains it. They just released a major new version a few weeks ago.
fmajid•13m ago
I still have mine from 1987. You can still buy the HP-15C Collector's Edition new, but it isn't as good as the originals with their perfect keyboards and the silicon on sapphire technology that gave them their incredible battery life. The SwissMicros DM-15L is also a worthwhile substitute.
dripton•19m ago
Cool. I used an HP48SX in college, and when it finally died about 20 years later, bought 2 HP48Gs so I'd have a Lifetime Supply. (1 is on my desk, 1 is still in the box.) But I confess that hardly ever use my real HP48G anymore, because I have the Droid48 Android app, and the 99% perfect calculator that's always at hand is better than the 100% perfect calculator that's on a shelf way over there, most of the time.

So I doubt I'll buy this one, even though I'm happy someone made it.

_fat_santa•12m ago
Honest question but who would need this these days? Would this calculator still be useful for professors/mathematicians/etc or is this more for HP calculator enthusiasts?
_trampeltier•4m ago
I work in industry automation and use for every day calculation mostly my HP 35s, even I also have a HP 50g under my desk and more than a PC on my desk.

It's just for me the most easy way to calculate things with current and power for everyday use.

And .. even the basic Windows calc app is so slow to start, I already finished until the app started.

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