Greetings all!
I finally got my hands on it! The Casio fx-7000GA calculator. OK, it is not the original fx-7000G that launched the world of graphing calculators, but it is the second edition of it. The 7000G was originally launched in 1985. After some research, i found that the fx-7000GA was first launched in 1990. The fx-7000G series continued with the fx-7000GB (1992) and the fx-7200g (1986). This series is like the Texas Instruments TI-83/84+ family (1996-present), except that the latter family eventually added flash ROM and textbook math input on its later models.
Why?
I spent a week playing with the Casio fx-3650P, a solar programming Calcualtor that is sold today (had to buy one off of eBay). And being a collector, the fx-7000G is on my wish list.
An excellent page on programming calculators: http://www.rskey.org/CMS/
The fx-7000GA arrived at my house on 6/14/2012. I was bummed at first because the calculator acted weird. Thankfully, three fresh CR2032 batteries later, the calculator is back in working order. However I read that the batteries get used quickly. Bummer.
I am amazed on how light the fx-7000GA is. I was expecting a heavy machine, being one of the first graphing calculators to ever be mass produced. However the calculator is thin, which hopefully you can see in a picture comparing the fx-7000GA and the TI-84+ below.
Features of the FX-7000GA
Graph Types: Function, Scatterplot, Histogram
Memories: 26, but can be expanded to 78
Program Steps: 422, 10 program slots
Linear Regression
Base Operations: Decimal, hexadecimal, octal, binary
The fx-7000G's smaller cousin, the fx-6300G, which I got several years back in Hollywood, CA (new of the box!), has only 400 program steps but adds the XNOR function. The fx-6300G has a lot of clones.
Programming Language
The programming language is a simple, tokenized one. Tokenized means that symbols and characters are used instead of words to symbolize commands. This minimizes the memory used in programs. This type of programming language is prevalent in today's graphing calculators from Casio. It also requires us bloggers to purchase and use Unicode apps to get these symbols.
The commands featured are:
: This colon separates commands.
? Input Command. The calculator prompts for a value.
"prompt message"? Input Command with a prompt message.
◢ Output Command. The calculator stops and shows output. Continue the program by pressing EXE. On the fx-3650P and fx-6300G, when ◢ is encounter during program execution, the calculator stops and a Disp indicator is present.
Goto n The Goto command, n is any number 0-9.
Lbl n The Label command, n is any number 0-9.
⇒ The Jump command. This is the basic If-Then-Else structure. On the fx-7000G and fx-6300G, the command is entered by pressing SHIFT, 7.
Syntax:
test statement ⇒ do if test is true : skip to here if test is false
Isz and Dsz Increase and decrease a memory, by 1, respectively. This is akin to the For-Next loops.
Syntax:
Isz var : do if var ≠ 0 : skip to here if var=0
Syntax is the same for Dsz.
My next blog entry will have some of the programs I entered over the last few days since I got the fx-7000GA. Until then, Cheers! Eddie
This blog is property of Edward Shore. © 2012