Retro Review: Texas Instruments BA II Financial Calculator
(1984)
 |
| BA II: Finance Mode |
 |
| BA II: Statistics Mode |
Company: Texas Instruments
Mode: BA II
Year: 1984
Batteries: 2 A76 batteries, or 2 357 batteries
Memory
Registers: 1 (only 1, other variables
can’t be recalled)
Where’s the Plus?
This review isn’t
about the BA II Plus, this is an earlier model.
I purchased the BA II from a box in the Azusa Swap Meet last Sunday
(January 28, 2017) for 1 dollar.
Thankfully the previous owner did not leave the old batteries so I didn’t
have to worry about battery corrosion. The
previous owner (or one of them) has their name and address on the
calculator. Obviously for privacy issues
I took of a couple of stickers containing the address.
The BA II is
the second generation of the TI Business Analyst II (released in 1978). The first generation of the Business
Analysist II sold for $40-$45 new. The
Datamath page for the TI Business Analyst II:
http://www.datamath.org/Sci/Slimline/Business-Analyst-II.htm
Three Modes
The BA II has
three modes which cycle by the key sequence [ 2nd ] [ FIX ] (Mode):
‘Profit Mode (no
indicator): Profit Margin mode. Only the [CST] (cost), [SEL] (selling price),
and [MAR] (margin) keys are active.
Solve for the following variables by preceding the key by [ 2nd
].
‘Finance Mode
(FIN indicator): Time Value of Money
mode. Only the [ N ], [ %i ], [ PMT ], [
PV ], and [ FV ] keys are active. Solve
for the following variables by preceding the key by [ 2nd ] or if
you are working with beginning of period annuity by using [DUE] instead. Also, the P/I (Principle and Interest of a
single payment) and Acc/Bal (accumulated interest and balance) are also available.
‘Statistics
Mode (STAT indicator): Statistics Mode, including linear regression. The equation is y = a + b*x where a is the
intercept and b is the slope. Mean,
deviation, and predictions are also available.
Other Functions
Percent
Change: Δ% has the syntax (new number [
2nd ] [ % ] (Δ%) old number [ = ])
Fix Modes: FIX 0-7 will fix the number to that decimal
places. Using FIX 8-9 engage floating mode.
Early Installment Weirdness
1. There is no
[CPT] button like it would be prevalent on later Texas Instruments financial
calculators.
2. The sign of
cash flow conventions are not followed.
See the example below:
Example: Calculate the monthly payment of a $174,000
loan. The loan is for 30 years, 4.65%
annual interest, and no balloon payment (FV = 0). Assume that FIX 2 is in affect and Finance
mode is selected.
Remember N is
the number of payments and %i is the periodic interest rate (in this case
monthly).
Keystrokes:
174000 [PV]
30 [ * ] 12 [ =
] [ N ]
4.65 [ ÷ ] 12 [
= ] [ %i ]
[ 2nd
] [ PMT ]
The result of
897.21. (There is no negative sign for
outflow like in more current financial calculators, including the HP 12C)
Principal/Interest
at the 60th payment:
Keystrokes:
60 [ 2nd
] [ x<>y ] (P/I)
Returns: 280.11 (principal) [ x<>y ] 617.10
(interest)
Accumulated
Interest and Balance after 60 payments:
Keystrokes:
60 [ 2nd
] [ K ] (Acc/Bal)
Returns:
38804.61 (accumulated interest) [ x<>y ] 158,972.13 (balance)
My
recommendation is to write down your answers and key in the time.
Final Verdict
The BA II is a
good entry-level financial calculator.
Being it is a 1984, the patience will be required for some
calculations.
Eddie
This is Edward
Shore, 2017