RPN family · Pro

RPN Advanced 42 quick reference

RPN Advanced 42 is a menu-driven RPN calculator: you enter numbers first, then press the operation, using a four-level stack. Shifted keys open menus whose six labels sit above the top row of keys. It handles complex numbers, matrices, base conversion, statistics, a solver, integration and programs.

Main screen: Press EXIT (once or twice) to close any menu and return to the plain stack view of Y and X. · Shift layer: ⇧

Open in Trident

Keys

Menus and screens

Menu screens

When a menu is open, line 1 shows X and line 2 shows six labels. The six top-row keys (Σ+, 1/x, √x, LOG, LN, XEQ) pick them. ▲ and ▼ move between pages; EXIT goes back.

MODES, DISP, CLEAR

Shift +/− opens MODES (angle, rectangular or polar). Shift E opens DISP (FIX, SCI, ENG, ALL). Shift ← opens CLEAR.

MATRIX, STAT, PROB

Shift 9, shift ÷ and shift × open menus for matrices, statistics and combinations, permutations, gamma and random numbers.

BASE, CONVERT, FLAGS

Shift 4, 5 and 6 open number-base work (hex, binary and logic), unit-style conversions and flag control.

PGM.FCN, TOP.FCN, CATALOG

Shift 3 lists program functions, shift 0 the top-row function menu, and shift + browses a catalog of program, real, complex and matrix functions.

SOLVER and ∫f(x)

Shift 7 and shift 8 ask you to pick a program, then solve for a variable or integrate it.

Program mode

Shift R/S turns program (PRGM) mode on or off. Keys are recorded as numbered program lines; use ▲ ▼ to move through them.

Modes and settings

Display format

Shift E opens DISP: FIX, SCI, ENG or ALL controls how many digits you see. The default is four decimals.

Angle mode

Shift +/− opens MODES: DEG, RAD or GRD. The default is degrees.

Complex numbers

Shift STO makes a complex number from X and Y. Choose rectangular or polar form in the MODES menu.

ALPHA mode

Shift ENTER turns on ALPHA, where the top-row menus type letters for names.

Tips

• Work from the inside out: for (3 + 4) × 5, press 3 ENTER 4 + 5 ×.
• The shift key is a toggle: press it once, then the key you want. The shift indicator shows it is armed.
• Shift x⇄y brings back the previous X (last X), which is handy for fixing a mistake.
• In a menu, watch the second line: the label above a top-row key is what that key does right now.
• For STO and RCL you can type a register number or a name; press ALPHA to type names.
• Use shift 9 for matrices, then NEW to make one and EDIT to fill in its values.

Guides for this calculator

• Solve a quadratic equationFind the roots of x² − 5x + 6 = 0 with a polynomial solver or the quadratic formula.
• Find the midpoint of a segmentAverage the x values and the y values of two points to find the point halfway between them.
• Set degrees or radiansTell the calculator whether angles are measured in degrees or radians before you use sin, cos or tan.
• Find sine, cosine and tangentGet sin, cos or tan of an angle, here sin 50, cos 50 and tan 50 in degrees.
• Find an angle from a ratioUse the inverse trig functions (sin⁻¹, cos⁻¹, tan⁻¹) to turn a ratio back into an angle.
• Convert between degrees and radiansChange an angle from degrees to radians and back with the calculator.
• Solve a right triangleFind a missing side from the hypotenuse and an angle, and a missing angle from two sides.
• Use the law of sinesFind a side of any triangle when you know the opposite angle of another side and its length.
• Use the law of cosinesFind the third side of a triangle when you know two sides and the angle between them.
• Secant, cosecant and cotangentGet sec, csc and cot by taking the reciprocal of cos, sin and tan.
• Convert between polar and rectangularTurn a point (x, y) into a distance r and an angle θ.
• Work with logarithmsFind log base 10 of a number and undo it with 10 to a power.
• Natural logs and the number eUse ln and eˣ, the natural log and its inverse, based on e ≈ 2.71828.
• Logarithm with any baseFind a log such as log base 2 of 20 by dividing two natural logs.
• Exponential growthFind what a quantity grows to at a fixed percentage rate, and how long it takes to double.
• Complex numbersMultiply complex numbers like (3 + 4i)(1 − 2i) and find a size (modulus) such as |3 + 4i|.
• Enter and multiply matricesStore the matrix [[1, 2], [3, 4]] and multiply it by itself.
• Matrix determinant and inverseFind the determinant and inverse of [[1, 2], [3, 4]].
• Sum a sequence or seriesAdd up the first terms of a sequence, such as 1 + 3 + 5 + … + 19, which comes to 100.
• Solve an equation numericallyFind a root of any equation by giving a starting guess and letting the calculator home in on the answer.
• Integrate on an RPN calculatorWrite a short program for your function, then integrate it between two limits.
• Find the mean and spread of one listGet the count, sum, mean and standard deviation of a list of numbers in one go.
• Summarise paired data (x and y)Get the means, spreads and cross-product sum for two lists of numbers that go together.
• Fit a straight line to dataFind the least-squares line y = ax + b that best matches a set of points.
• Measure how strongly two lists are relatedFind the correlation coefficient r, which runs from -1 (perfect downhill) to +1 (perfect uphill).
• Count arrangements and selections (nPr and nCr)Count how many ways to arrange or choose items from a group.
• Calculate a factorialMultiply a whole number by every whole number below it, such as 6! = 720.
• Find a weighted meanAverage values when some count for more than others, such as graded work with different weights.
• How the RPN stack worksEnter numbers first, then the operation. Learn what ENTER, swap and the stack do.
• Solve an equation with your own programWrite the equation as a program, then let SOLVE find where it equals zero.
• Named programs with variablesWrite a program with a text name and a variable, store a value and run it.