HP Voyager
The Hewlett-Packard Voyager series of calculators were introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1981. All members of this series are programmable, use Reverse Polish Notation, and feature continuous memory. Nearly identical in appearance, each model provided different capabilities and was aimed at different user markets.
Models
The Voyager series of HP calculators included five models, some of which were manufactured in multiple variants :- HP-10C - basic scientific calculator
- HP-11C - mid-range scientific calculator
- HP-12C - business/financial calculator
- HP-15C - advanced scientific calculator
- HP-16C - computer programmer's calculator
HP-10C
HP-11C
The HP-11C is a mid-range scientific programmable calculator.[|HP-12C]
The HP-12C is a popular financial calculator. It was such a successful model that Hewlett-Packard redesigned it from scratch, added several new functions, and reintroduced it as the HP 12c Platinum in 2003, along with the HP 12c Prestige. Over the years, a number of anniversary editions of the calculator were also produced.The HP-12C is HP's longest and best-selling product, in continual production since its introduction in 1981.
HP-15C
The HP-15C is a high-end scientific programmable with a root-solver and numerical integration, produced between 1982 and 1989. It is also able to handle complex numbers and matrix operations. Although long discontinued, its continued popularity among users triggered Hewlett-Packard to offer a HP 15c Limited Edition remake of the calculator in 2011, followed by an HP 15C Collector's Edition in 2023.[|HP-16C]
The HP-16C is a computer programmer's calculator, designed to assist in debugging. It is able to display, compute, manipulate, and convert numbers in or between different numeric bases relevant for programming, including hexadecimal, decimal, octal, and binary. The display would use "h" to indicate hexadecimal, for example. A number of specialized functions are provided to assist the programmer, including left- and right-shifting, masking, and bitwise logical operations. HP has never made another programmer's calculator, but the 16C's functions have been incorporated into later calculator models.Features
Arithmetic
Hewlett-Packard retained the numerical analyst William Kahan of UC Berkeley, the architect of the IEEE 754 standard for floating-point arithmetic, to design the numerical algorithms implemented by the calculators. He also wrote parts of the manuals.Programming
The HP Voyager series calculator are keystroke programmable, meaning that it can remember and later execute sequences of keystrokes to solve particular problems of interest to the user. These keystroke programs, in addition to performing any operation normally available on the keyboard, can also make use of conditional and unconditional branching and looping instructions, allowing programs to perform repetitive operations and make decisions.The available programming features differentiate between the various HP Voyager series calculator systems.
| Function | HP-10C | HP-11C | HP-12C | HP-15C | HP-16C |
| BSP / ← | |||||
| LBL | |||||
| GSB/RTN | |||||
| x≤y, x=0 | |||||
| x=y, x≠y | |||||
| x<0, x≠0, x>y, x>0 | |||||
| x | |||||
| DSE, ISG | |||||
| DSZ, ISZ | |||||
| SF, CF, F? | |||||
| I |
Legacy
Models
The HP-12C and its derivatives remain in widespread use today and is still available from Hewlett-Packard.In 2011, the long-discontinued HP-15C was re-released as a "Limited Edition" that has since again been discontinued.
In 2023, the HP-15C was briefly released one more time as a Collector's Edition.