An Easy Course in Using the HP-12C

Rating:
Summary: A must-have for the CFA, but otherwise, look at HP 28s
Review: I guess most folk looking at this page are looking at calculators for the CFA in which case the 12C is an easy decision (because anything more advanced is disallowed). People will tell you the TI is easier to use but my HP 12C took me no more than a couple of hours to fully figure out. Your mileage may vary but I'd highly recommend it. If nothing else it will definitely impress your colleagues and seniors after the CFA when you use this workhorse instead of the TI contraption because the latter sounds like a cop out on to the easier path (I am serious).

You may want to take HP's RPN functionality for a ride, which may be overwhelming for the uninitiated at first. Try it on a few longish calculations. You will find it faster than the usual notation and less error prone (no brackets to keep track of, everything is linear, no storage). Once you get the hang of it, you will find it indispensible. I bet this is one of the top reasons why people who like HP 12C adhere to it for a long term.

If you are wondering what it looks and feels like, check this Flash-based replica of an HP calculator, google for "HP calculator site:flashkit.com" without the quotes.

If however you are looking at financial calculators in general for work or personal stuff, then I'd strongly recommend the HP 42s. This is because 28s was discontinued despite being the best that HP has ever produced, and the uber-powerful 48GX with the additional ROM card from springer/Holland is astounding but if you need that level of functionality then let's face it -- you need excel/mathematica/matlab on a powerful laptop:)).

So, in terms of immediate calculations, shape, portability, ease of use, simplicity and speed of getting, say, a Black/Scholes done, memorizing a smile, computing an implicit vol, memorizing an interest rate curve and a surface vol -- go with the 42s.

Oh, did I mention that HPs have the longevity of cockroaches? I've had mine for 10 years now. Buy a calculator you like and will use, otherwise it is an expensive coaster.

Rating:
Summary: Cannot and WILL NOT compete with the Tirone books.
Review: I have the Easy Course HP-12C book and Tirone's Professional real Estate Problem Solving book on the HP-12C. In terms of overall value, ease of use and technical value, the tirone book is far and away the better book. But, that is only the half of it! We called the publisher of the Easy course and asked them a few questions, or that is we tried to ask them a few time value of money questions on the hp-12c: their response was that they charge 60 dollars an hour for "consulting", and while they were not rude they were mercinary!
We then called Mr. Tirone's office (his number is in his books!) and ran several questions by him: he was courteous, gave us good advice, did not try to hit us up for any money, and equally important he was very conservative as to our spending more money on any calculator books unless it was (as he put it!) "clearly necessary", and that included buying his HP-17BII book.
Based upon Mr. Tirone's clear cut winning style we took a flyer and ordered his HP-17BII book from amazon.com. We found this book to be a classic, especially so when you figure into the price equation that you can call him without being hit up or hassled for money.
Terry Biernat

Rating:
Summary: I prefer the "Professional Real Estate Problem Solving" book
Review: I purchased the "Easy Course" using the hp12c several years ago. later I purchased another title from this site, Professional Real Estate Problem Solving Using the HP 12C. We prefer the Tirone book for anyone who has even a remote understanding of the HP-12C. Also, on a basis of sheer value, the Tirone HP-12C book is a much better buy: there is so much in Tirone's book: some of it you may never use, but most of it is truly a professional presentation of totally useful real estate and calculator technques from an expert. The explanations in the :Easy Course: are often confusing, though the authors seem to know the calcuator well.
We were skeptical of suggestions on another site that the author of Professional Real Estate Problem Solving gives support with his books so we called Mr. Tirone last week with several questions, including questions regarding what real estate investment analysis books he might recommend. The advice and time Mr, Tirone gave was worth more than the price of his excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: I prefer the "Professional Real Estate Problem Solving" book
Review: I purchased this book years when I was working in a accounting department of a mutual fund. Everyone had a 12C on their desktop, but only a superficial understanding of how it really worked. I wanted to know more, but didn't really enjoy using the manual that came with the calculator. The easy course 12C guide was the perfect answer for me as after using it I was able to program the calculator to perform calculations I had been doing by hand previously.
The early part of the book describes very clearly the logic of the calculator's operations such as exactly what happens (behind the scenes) in the registers when you enter numbers and press enter (and why this is important to understand).
The rest of the book explains interest rate concepts and how to perform financial calculations using 12C quite clearly; I also found the book's drawings by Robert Bloch to be both enlightening and witty.
I hadn't looked at the book for several years actually, but recently re-reviewed it before I had to analyze interest rates on equipment leases in my current job. I realize that many of the 12C functions are probably done today as Excel formulas or macros, but the concepts behind using a financial calculator I still find useful.
What I like about the book is that you can work through it in a space of a few lunch hours and it will provide a good introduction to financial calculators about as painlessly as one could reasonably hope for. For the time I put into it, I got a lot from this little book (which is why I've kept it in my library for 18 years).