Smartphones have replaced a desktop calculator for most folks these days, but sometimes that tactility is just what you need to get the mathematical juices flowing. Why not spruce up the scientific calculator of yore with the wonders of modern microcontrollers?
While you won’t be able to use Sci-Calc on a standardized test, this classy calculator will let you do some pretty cool things while clacking on its mechanical choc switches. Is it a calculator? Obviously. Is it an Arduboy-compatible device that can play simple games like your TI-84? Yes. Is it also a macropad and ESP32 dev board? Why not? If that isn’t enough, it’s also takes both standard and RPN inputs.
[Shao Duan] has really made this device clean and the menu system that rewrites main.bin based on the program selection is very clever. Escape writes main.bin back into the ROM from the SD card so you can select another application. A few classic games have already been ported, and the process looks fairly straightforward for any of your own favorites.
If you’re hankering for more mathy inputs, checkout the Mathboard or the MCM/70 from 1974.
Normal keyboard 40% will be ok. I love a chocolate layout.
Good mechanical keys is a good idea.
In my opinion rotor or potenciometer and keys upper then screen (on edge not top) and thin not fat device will be good idea. And add irda or usb for data AND power.
replacable motherborad. For example orange crab fpga or esp in feather stick size
this is fat device why not put feather format ?
for example some people put lora and make a lora mesh communicator, someone put stm and make a cnc router manipulator. (needed normal usb for puting gcode)
I really think such portable calculator etc type devices should run circuitpython or a similar python port. Just makes sense in my head
I’m a member of the crowd that sourced this project. Because I was more interested in the s/w hacking than building it, and because I’m lazy, I was bummed that I ended up with the kit rather than the assembled device I ordered. But, even though I’m not the best solderer, I’ll build some character and get with it.
I find the comments, other than cmholm, interesting. Someone builds something, hackaday reports on it, and every one says “I would like it better if….”. Then build it. You can even borrow from this and other related projects to produce the thing you want. And maybe hackaday will present it.
The then other people can tell you what you did wrong.
Just because we lack the skills / time / space / tools to make something better, doesn’t make the observations invalid. However, it’s also possible that every suggestion raised was considered by [shao duan] but rejected as “feature creep”.
In which case, some of these options may turn up in a version 2.0 sometime in the future.