WP-34s Pocket Reference

A couple of months ago I ordered a Whiskey Papa 34 sierra from the HP Users’ Group. The calculator is a repurposed Hotel Papa 30 bravo (HP-30b) financial calculator into which is flashed an user-developed ROM that converts the financial calculator (yawn) into a significantly powerful scientific calculator (yay).

A friend introduced me to the unit last summer. I was immediately intrigued and decided I had to have one.

The 30b is one of the newer HP designs — light, inexpensive, and with marginal keys. It does not compare well at all with the classic HP designs. Even my HP-48GX has much better keys and a much better heft to it, although I do not particularly care for the larger form factor. The 48 is a big calculator, not a pocket calculator at all, and that is required because of that large screen for display of graphics.

But I digress. I can (and probably will) write about calculators at some length. I think that I mentioned that I purchased one of my long-past objects of lust, the Hotel Papa 41 Charlie Xray (HP-41CX), some time ago. Of all the calculators I have used over my long career, I still think that is one of the best, if not the best handheld.

The 34s is not nearly as expensive, it is small and light, and will likely serve as a carry calculator to go into my kit. The unit conversions built into the software are very useful. The 30b has a decent display that is legible even with old eyes. I think this will be a useful machine.

In my search for beginner’s reference material, I came across a pocket reference guide in PDF format (here). So I downloaded the files and set about creating a pocket reference for myself.

The instructions recommend hand stapling the booklet once printed and the first cut is completed. That means drilling holes for the staples and manually folding them. (This can be avoided if one has access to a saddle-stapler.)

I thought this was less than elegant, so I drilled my first instance of the manual and stitched the binding. The end result is not perfect. I expected this because such projects usually require an iteration or two to iron out any wrinkles. Therefore, I think I will make another sometime over the next few weeks and do a little better job on the stitching. I will also take the cover to the print shop and have it printed on card stock in color. I think a little more attention to the fold (probably need to score the pages at the fold before assembly) and a bit of bookbinder’s tape on the spine will produce a nicer finished product.

The end result fits into the calculator slipcase behind the calculator nicely.