Customer Reviews

Sharp EL-506WBBK Scientific Calculator

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sharp has created the first serious mathematical tool for under $30. Note this is a greatly expanded version of the EL-506VB with a $5 price break thrown in for good measure.

Here are the things it CAN'T do:
1) Graphing
2) Programming (you can program formulas, but no conditional branching)
3) Symbolic Computer Algebra
4) Chi Squared distribution (it will do normal probabilities)
5) Huge matrices (you're limited to four 4x4 matrices)
6) THAT'S ABOUT IT!

Guess what? All those things are best done on a computer anyway. You can get a free copy of MuPad (for noncommercial use), and have far better functionality than any calculator at any price, plus get your output in a form easily shared over the internet. What Sharp has done with this calculator, is give us the ultimate tool to keep NEXT to your computer, or take with you for "outside the box" mathematical doodling.

440 functions (it says 469 on the box -- I'm not counting!) and all easily accessible without menus within menus within menus, ala those cludgy graphing calculators. Oh, there are a few modes and such, but believe me, everything is within a few logical keystrokes. You can spend 30 minutes with the manual, and then THROW IT AWAY.

They did so many little things right. For example, when you do need a menu, you can scroll through all the options with the cursor keys, OR, if you already know your way around, you can just hit one digit that corresponds to your function. And insert mode is the default mode, as God intended it to be. THANK YOU SHARP! The principle is simple: the default should be to preserve information, not destroy it. The user should have to do something deliberately, to overwrite data.

And they took this design out of the world of "toy" and into the realm of "tool" by keeping the calculation history intact through the on/off cycle. If the calculator shuts off in the middle of some earth shaking computation, you just flip it back on again and keep going where you left off.

The keys actually have a little tactile feedback on this calculator. Not like an hp-48, of course, or even a TI-89, but better than most under $30 calculators. And this is just the koolest LOOKING little thing to ever dazzle your eyeballs.

Here's a partial list of function types:
- Arithmetic
- Numeric differentiation/integration
- Four types of random numbers
- 8 memories plus last Answer memory
- 4 formula memories
- Fraction calculations
- Binary, Pental, Octal, Decimal and Hexadecimal base conversions
- Decimal to sexagesimal (time) conversions
- 52 physical constants
- 42 metric conversion
- Engineering notation
- Solve for x (Newton's method)
- Single variable statistics, with normal probabilities
- Linear, quadratic, exponential, logarithmic, power and inverse regressions
- Simultaneous linear equations
- Quadratic and cubic equation solvers
- Complex number calculations
- Matrices (four 4x4)
- Lists (up to four with 16 elements and various operations)

No doubt about it, this is a ground breaking, price shattering tool. I do have one little nit, though. I wish numbers would appear in the top line with the rest of the formula as you enter them. Putting them on the bottom line does two things: 1) It erases the results of the previous calculation (you might want to copy parts of it into the current formula while "doodling"). 2) It removes the numbers from all editing functions, except for last digit DEL. Eg. You can't use the arrow keys to go back and insert a missed digit without some unnecessary tomfoolery.

Oh, and it would be nice to have more memory, so you could input slightly larger matrices (10x10 would be nice), and keep a longer calculation history (maybe keep results as well as formulas?). But all in all, hats off to Sharp. Right now, this is the ONLY serious calculator under $30.

The EL-506WB is a neat little gadget which I would've loved to own back in high school 20 years ago. It's not a graphing calculator and isn't trying to be one, but it covers most of the other bases fairly well.

My first calculator was a Sharp EL-506S circa 1981. There are a few similarities between the two, but the 506S was a traditional single-line "on-the-fly algebraic" LCD. It had many of the same functions as the 506WB, including rudimentary SD calculations.

The 506WB is light-years beyond in many other respects. It features entry, editing and storage of formulas, has nine variables for temporary storage, supports 4x4 matrices, numerical integration, hex/octal/binary numbers, metric conversions, complex numbers, and a raft of other functions.

Physically the calculator is excellent. Large keys with a solid feel, crisp display, and the calculator just plain looks good. The dual-power feature is great, as it will work reliably in all lighting conditions. Formula editing is very convenient, it was easy to jump right in and start using it. The keyboard layout makes basic calculations convenient.

But it has a few problems, and in many ways it's a step back from a similar 1990s calculator, the TI-68. Sharp's D.A.L. feature is very useful but hobbled by the lack of a full alphanumeric keyboard. For example, conversions and constants are selected with two-digit numbers looked up in a manual, and matrix and list operations are chosen from a menu which causes function-like text to be entered into the current equation!

It also has poor support for non-decimal numbers. It can't mix non-decimal and decimal numbers in the same calculation; instead the user has to finish the current calculation, then switch modes to enter the new number in the appropriate base and continue from there. Ugly.

The TI-68 did these things correctly, but the TI-68 has been discontinued for several years, was much more expensive, and had other drawbacks. (In 1996 it cost over four times as much as the El-506WB does today and didn't have solar cells.) The modern Sharp series, like most modern scientifics, is made as cheaply as possible. It's easy to see why, there isn't a huge demand for advanced scientific calculators anymore.

So why did I give it five stars? For my needs it's quite usable and it would be difficult to do much better for the same money. I'd rather buy an inexpensive calculator which does 98% of what I want instead of spending a lot more for one which does 99.5%. And, not having an alphanumeric keyboard and multi-letter variable names makes many common operations easier and more convenient. It's much closer to a simple calculator, and that's exactly what I wanted it for.

If I'm trying to do complex calculations I'll use a computer; safer, faster, more accurate. I don't use matrices, metric conversions or physical constants very often, and the EL-506WB has all the main features I wanted: readable two-line display with algebraic formula entry and equation editing, reasonably fast numeric integration, solar cell power with battery backup, solid keyboard, and good overall design. The fact it has all these other functions is just a bonus.

I work as an Engineer and I find the 32 physical constants and the 32 conversions to be invaluable. I've looked and looked around at those graphing calculators that brag all sorts of fancy functions useful to Scientists and Engineers, yet none of them have the constants and conversions that so often come in handy! I have used the older EL 506L for several years now, and this new edition can't be beat with the new features such as: Formula Memory for storing customized formulas, Multi-line playback replays entered equations, Continuous Calculation function that allows user to keep the prior result for the next calculation, Constant calculation, Differential and Integral Calculus functions, and 2 variable statistics.

The buttons are a perfect size for most fingers, are easy to push, and even have a slight contour to fit the finger tips. Access to different functions are logically laid out and easy to find and access. This calculator boasts a total of 326 total functions, and is a fantastic value.

UPDATE: June 08, 2008:

Sharp has also now produced a "Writeview" version of this calculator (like the Natural input/output VPAM view of Casio fame). It is only offered in Europe so far (and as of June 9th it is selling in the UK at Oxford Educational). It is called the EL-W506 and comes with 569 functions, etc. I am going to try to get a hold of one to test it out and see if they will ever offer it in N. America too!

I am a scientist and have had calculators made over the years by HP, Casio, TI, Sharp and others. I own 2 recently produced top-of-the-line graphing calculators and also have advanced mathematical software for plotting on computers, work stations, etc. It is within this context that I can readily say that for the little money demanded for this precision instrument that this calculator is terrific even if it isn't an RPN based calculator. There have been online reviews of the EL-506 WBBK from the UK that stated that this machine wouldn't do certain integrals or computed the incorrect answer after way too much time, but I have checked through that entire integral list and other detailed time tests and have found absolutely no problems whatsoever. Perhaps Sharp was listening and corrected earlier problems?
The only two small negative findings that I can report are the lack of an UNSHIFTED 1/x dedicated key and the fact that when you enter data to do a curve fit, you must reenter it again to try another type of fit (linear versus quadratic, etc.). If the memory is really so limited, Sharp should have also offered a "best-fit" curve-fit option that would compare all curve fit types for a single set of data. This "best-fit" feature has been offered by HP for example for many years now. I would definitely buy this product again, but it also seems solidly built and should last a long time. I have also compared this unit against similar new Casio scientific models and found the Sharp to be overall a better bargain and a more useful purchase.

Look at that price up there.

This calculator is a sophisticated number-crunching gizmo that will handle 99% of standard calculator use. Need a feature that's not available? Good news, this fella's programmable. It powers itself with freely available light, but yet has a battery for when lighting conditions are paltry. Its interface is lovely and thoughtfully conceived, it weighs less than your checkbook, and it's surprisingly durable: throw it around, let your Aunt Marge step on it, rub it with beef and give it to the dog for a while ... at the end it'll still work.

All of that, and it costs less than a pizza.

Back in 1972, Hewlett Packard released their HP-35 calculator (with the four standard arithmetic functions and twelve transcendental functions), and it cost $395. Don't forget inflation, because that translates to roughly $2100 in 2007. That calculator changed the world, and now here's a calculator that leaves the HP-35 in the dust -- in terms of speed and functionality -- and at less than 1/100th the cost.

Sure, there are lots of feature-rich calculators that you can buy in the check-out line at Walgreen's for only a few bucks, so you're probably wondering what makes this calculator so special. If you consider (a) its price, (b) its feature set, and (c) its overall utility, this calculator is currently at the apex, folks. By a *long* way. And its been there for several years. Speaking as a calculator snob, I'm usually unimpressed by anything less than a classic HP, but as far as the complete package goes, this calculator is surprisingly beautiful. I own two of them; one to keep in my bookbag, and another one "just in case".

With this guy, you're getting a lot of bang for very few bucks. It might not graph, it might not perform symbolic math, it might not use RPN or have a precision-engineered keypad with double-injection-molded keys -- and above all it's certainly not a computer -- but it's currently the best value out there in utility scientific calculators and nothing else comes close.

I wanted to give this calculator higher marks. On paper it appears to have alot going for it:

o two line display
o editable equation history
o persistent function memories (4)
o "440" functions
o bitwise logical operators and five number bases
o neat cheat sheet
o equation solver

However, the more I got to know this calculator the more I disliked it.

1. The large glass panel covering the display (and the top 1/3rd of the unit) is highly reflective and makes the display hard to read under flourescents.

2. The two line display is a source of continued frustration. The top line, which at first appears to be the input area, shares this function with the bottom line. Function key presses register immediately on the top line. The bottom line is for numeric input which only registers on the top line when a function key is pressed. Yuk! I often find myself having to delete redundant digits due to this input area confusion. Not so with the Casio Fx-115MS.

3. The {algb} function suffers from [2]'s poor functional separation of input/output. Prompting for variable input is severely restricted--only the numeric input line is available--thus no expressions, only simple numeric literals. To populate the variables with expression results you must first evaluate and store these BEFORE executing the {algb} operation.

4. The equation solver is also lame. No underlying algebraic rewrite rules are in effect as with the Casio Fx-115MS and HP 33s. So, if you want to perform a Time Value Money series, you will have to rewrite the equation yourself for each variable of interest (periodic payment, period interest rate, number of periods, principal, future balance).

With its beaucoup functions I'm sure this calculator has alot to offer engineers. However, the function memory and equation history persistence don't quite compensate for its disturbing lack of elegance.

I use one of these as a desk calculator, and it does pretty much everything one would want from a calculator before reaching for the PC. Very good value for money and an excellent display, large and sharp.

For science and engineering, student or professional, highly recommended.

I bought this calculator for my boyfriend, a chemist. He is absolutely THRILLED with it. It has 10 rolling memories. That is 2 more than his old calculator had. Plus it has all the bells and whistles that his little scientist heart desired. The item was as described. It arrived VERY quickly after I placed the order. I would use this seller again.

I a physics major in college so I use my calculator a lot. Originally I had a EL-506R which I used throughout high school and some of college, but I didn't have the constants and conversion sheet to figure out what numbers to use and it was starting to get pretty beat up so I searched the net for another, but the 506R doesn't seem to exist. That's when I bought this beauty. Not only does it have 12 more physical constants (now 52 instead of 40), but now I have the book that tells me how to get them.

I would describe this calculator as being able to do pretty much everything except graph, but it is so much smaller, cheaper and easier to work with than those junky graphing calculators people use. It also has line by line playback and editing which has saved me massive amounts of time during tests because I can go back and change a number in a long equation and solve it again instead of having to type the whole thing back into the calculator.

My only problems are that it uses the alpha button instead of 2ndF to recall the answer (unlike my old one) so I often get the error message when I try to do it with the 2ndF key, and that it does not have (that I have found) a button to convert to scientific notation so I find myself counting decimal places.

Major features I make use of:

52 physical constants
44 metric converstions
line playback and editing
cartesian - polar conversion
several stats (sovles sigma and such for data sets)
hex, bin, oct, and pent(??) conversions
trig and hyp trig
can solve 3rd power polynomials

This calculator is the BEST for any type of math student from middle school all the way up to college. The best feature of this calculator is its ability to perform matrix calculations and solve systems of equations. It has been really helpful for me when taking math tests as well as in math competitions. I strongly recommend this calculator for any high school sutdent taking higher math, such as Algebra 2, Precalculus, Trig, Calculus, or Statistics. If you're in math club and participate in math competitions, you'd better get this calculator fast!!