Calculate as if it was in 1989 with this HP15C emulator

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Back then, your choice of calculator spoke volumes about your chops, and nothing was more convincing than the legendary Hewlett-Packard Voyager series of programmable calculators. From the landscape layout to cryptic touches to reverse Polish notation, everything about these calculators spoke of a serious goal.

Unfortunately, these calculators are hard to come by at any cost these days. So if you covet their unique appearance, your best bet might be to do as [alxgarza] and build your own Voyager series emulator. This particular version emulates the HP15C and runs on an ATMega328. Purists may object to the 192 × 64 LCD matrix display rather than the ten-digit, seven-segment display of the original, but the update doesn’t bother us at all. The PCB the emulator is built on is about the right size, and the keyboard is built from discrete switches that are as clickable as the originals. We also like the use of nothing other than through-hole components – it feels appropriately retro. The video below shows that the calculator is perfectly usable without a case; a 3D printed case is available, however, as is an overlay that replicates the keyboard of the original.

We’ve seen emulators for other classic calculators of yesteryear, including Sinclair, Texas Instruments, and even other HP lines. But this one has a really nice design that keeps us going.


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