I have now written 3 exams with one calculator - and shockingly the batteries did not die once.
Lots of practice work with HP12C but not enough to kill it.
Maybe they lasted only because I spent so much time worrying about…
Same, bought a spare pack on level 1 and tried to replace the batteries, but it seems quite difficult to do it on hp12c… luckily, they havent run out after over 2 yrs
i don’t think i’ve heard of anyone who has ever had to replace a battery.
12C batteries will outlive you.
I used my TI-BA2 from undergrad, and let’s just say I’m old enough to remember when MTV played music videos.
Mine hasn’t run out either - pretty impressive. However, I don’t like TI-BA calculator so much. The keys are very hard to hit accurately.
Same boat as this. I was a teenager for TRL. I was starting to wonder of if I needed to buy an extra or replace, but decided against it after establishing my risk tolerance.
Brought a calc, 3 pencils and an eraser same as every level.
Always have a chuckle at the candidates that have a pile of redundant back up gear. I guess disaster could have struck but chances are so low. In my mind, obsessing over that stuff just makes you psychologically jinx yourself.
^Haha. Yeah. I see people carrying 8+ pencils and i’m like WTF. But to each their own.
8 pencisl makes sense. Always a fresh pencil, writes faster, no need to sharpen. Just use and ditch.
I was never too worried about the batteries dying. I always figured the display would gradually fad out over several hours, not immediately shut off.
Slightly dull pencils fill in scantrons faster.
on another note, I noticed a much larger % of L3 candidates using 12Cs compared to L1 and L2, closer to 50%, maybe a bit higher in my section whereas L1 and L2 were like 25% 12C
Using a 12C is a badge of honor-- because it’s a stone age piece of technology just like the CFAI is by still giving paper/pencil exams.
Walking to the bathroom for the Nth time, I saw one person’s desk with 12 pencils and 6 12c batteries – no kidding. What on God’s green earth he (or she – they weren’t sitting when I passed) was doing with more than 1 spare battery is beyond comprehension.