Top 20 HP 12c Calculator Questions & Answers

You could buy it on Ebay or on the HP website:)

The calculator is doing exactly what you tell it to, You first input 1.06. Then you press the y*x key, which tells the calculator to raise the previous number on the stack to the 1.06 power. Then you input 10. The result of all this is 10, as your calculator shows. If you want to raise 1.06 to the tenth power, press 1 . 0 6 ENTER 10 y^x. My 12c shows 1.7908 for the above.

my hp 12c stuck on -8.08 and below that was the "user" and "f" that you had. I had just put in 2 new, fresh Sony 2032 batteries. When I replaced the Sony batteries with generic ones - the calculater worked perfectly. Interestingly, those Sony batteries work fine in other gadgets so I don't understand why my hp 12c had a problems with them. But at least I fixed the problem.

Couple of possibilities: Dodgy power is the first thing to address. Get a replacement battery - 3V lithium CR 2032 type. Swap it for the current one. Check, while the system is open, if the battery and/or battery contacts look dull, corroded, or tarnished. If they do, you can try cleaning the battery contacts with a pencil eraser, or some fine steel wool (non-soapy kind) or fine sandpaper to brighten it. 2) You can reset memory to see if that has an effect. With calculator off, hold [On], then press [-] at same time. Still holding [-]. release [On], then release [On] May blink or flash for a couple tens of seconds. This will erase everything in memory, programs and saved calculations. 3) The general self-test is doing the same process as in (2), but with the [+] or [x] key instead of the [-] key. Should take 20-30 seconds and all sorts of things will flash or light up on the display while this happens. If the system thinks it's fine, you'll end up with the normal start display. Otherwise, there may be error messages. At that point, you might have to contact HP. 4) You can view the use manual (all 170+ pages of it) at http://www.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00363319.pdf . Lord knows if the addresses for service are still valid. Good Luck !

1. On the HP 12C the default separator is a comma. 2. Turn the calculator off first by pressing [ON]. 3. Press and hold [.] (that is, the decimal point key) and then press and release [ON] to change the digit separator from a comma to a point. 4. Perform the same steps again to change the point to a comma.

Press g then 5 to switch from day-month-year to month-day-year. Press g then 4 to switch back.

there should be a battery already installed in this calculator...

If you mean it is not showing everything after the decimal point, you can change that by pressing the [f] key followed by the number of decimal places to display. For example, to restrict it to 2 places, press [f][2]. If you want to see 4 places, press [f][4]. To show all possible decimal places, use the sequence [f][9]. From the manual (http://www.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00363319.pdf): "To display a different number of decimal places, press f followed by a digit key (0 through 9) specifying the number of decimal places. In the following examples, notice how the displayed form of the number inside the calculator - 14.87456320 - is rounded to the specified number of digits." "Although nine decimal places were specified after f, only eight are displayed since the display can show a total of only 10 digits. " The standard display format, plus the specified number of decimal places, remain in effect until you change them; they are not reset each time the calculator is turned on. However, if Continuous Memory is reset, when the calculator is next turned on numbers will be displayed in the standard display format with two decimal places shown. If a calculated answer is either too small or too large to be displayed in the standard display format, the display format automatically switches to scientific notation. The display returns to the standard display format for all numbers that can be displayed in that format. http://www.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00363319.pdf

Your HP 12c Platinum is in Algebraic mode. To switch back to RPN mode, press f then CHS.

From page 31 of the manual in English, available on HP's website at the link below: Number of Days Between Dates To calculate the number of days between two given dates: 1. Key in the earlier date and press [ENTER]. 2. Key in the later date and press [g][?DYS]. The answer shown in the display is the actual number of days between the two dates, including leap days (the extra days occurring in leap years), if any. In addition, the hp 12c also calculates the number of days between the two dates on the basis of a 30-day month. This answer is held inside the calculator; to display it, press [X><Y]. Pressing [X><Y]again will return the original answer to the display. http://www.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00363319.pdf

That's the low battery indicator. "Supposed to" and "Do" are two separate things. It could be that one or more of the batteries has lost its juice sitting on the shelf. Pull the batteries out, wipe them clean, wipe the battery contacts clean, and try again. Swap the positions of the batteries. Try the old batteries again.

Press f then 2.

There is no contrast adjustment possible with the 12c. Most of the time, faint displays are due to weak batteries or poor contact with the battery or batteries.

That's the low battery indicator. Pull the batteries out, wipe them clean, wipe the battery contacts clean, and try again. Swap the positions of the batteries. Try the old batteries again. If you have another set of batteries, try them.

Use the square root function. It's the g-shifted function of the 1/x key (second key from the left on the second row).

Turn calculator OFF. Press and maintain pressure on the - (Minus) key, then press the ON key

I take it you mean a 12C Platinum. Press f ALG. ALG is the f-shifted function of the EEX key, just above the double-size ENTER key. This will switch the 12C Platinum from RPN mode to Algebraic mode, and ALG indicator will light up instead of the RPN indicator. To switch back to RPN, press f RPN. RPN is the f-shifted function of the CHS key just above the EEX key.

Use the x^2 function on the g-shifted '*' key (multiplication). Press 4 g * Alternative, just multiply 4 by 4.

The calculator is set to handle payments at the beginning of the period instead of at the end. To switch to the end mode, press g END (END is the g-shifted function of the 8 key).

You can't it's an international symbol -decimal POINT.