New Ballistics Program for Graphing Calculators

[rcman50166]

I have already posted about this, however I only think it's proper to make a seperate thread for the program. The program is for use on Texas Instruments graphing calculators. The program is a ballistics calculator. It, however is designed with mostly potato guns in mind. It is an excellent theory tester as well as a design aid. I programmed it to a certian level of applications. This is so it doesn't limit what it can calculate based upon what type of cannon you're bulilding. Now for the specifications and requirements.

The ballisitc calculator has these capabilities & requirements:

converts units
includes air resistance (V 1.1, 2.0)
Inputs: force, acceleration, barrel length, velocity,drag coefficient (V 1.1, 2.0), mass, energy, angle
Outputs: velocity, height, distance, energy, time (V2.0)
NEW simulator! (V 2.0)
NEW Mirage OS (V 2.1)

Operating System Requirements:
Texas Instruments graphing calculators model TI-83, TI-83 Plus, TI-84 or TI-84 Plus.

Download & Transfer Requirements
Windows 95 or newer, a Calculator Data Cable, TI-Connect or TI-Graph Link (depending on transfer cable), 5000 bytes of ram & archive

How to Download and Transfer
How you download the program onto your calculator depends on the models and data cable you have. Most people have the Silverlink USB cable. If you don't have it or don't know, click here to find what cable requires what program. The Silverlink USB cable will require TI-Connect. TI-Graph Link does not work for this cable. TI-Connect is usable with most Windows and Mac operating systems. You must download TI-Connect from here. Once the program is dowloaded and opened, you need dowload the program on this page. When this is complete, you will need to click on the icon that says "restore" on it in TI-Connect. When you have found the program, click on it and press ok. The file will be transferred to your calculator. From here the instructions are the same for all cable types and programs. The ballistics calculator (V1.1) is grouped. The group will be called DISTANCE. To ungroup it you must go into your calculator memory by pressing [2nd] [+] and select option number 8. Press the right key to go over ungroup and select the file. After ungrouping the file, press the [PRGM] button to the right of the blue [APPS] button. From here you will be able to select and execute the program, titled DISTANCE as well, by selecting the program then pressing enter.

All program modifications are to be reported to me by e-mail followed by a copy of the program. There is a place in the program to place your name if a modification has been made by you, but I will always be the creator. (Don't try anything funny!) But enjoy and let me know how it works.

[Davidvaini]

well done, im working on a program right now that tells you how far your gun will shoot at a given angle. it will be a little different in which it accepts user stat plot data.

[rcman50166]

Sorry to burst your bubble but mine does that already.

[Davidvaini]

Sorry to burst your bubble but mine does that already.

lol sorry I forgot to add a part to my previous post cause im about to leave.

but yeah mine will be a quick and simple program that accepts user input stat plots to alter the equation.

turn it on... It says distance or angle... you choose one.. if you choose angle you type in your angle... say 45 degrees and I will give you the aprox distance in which your target will be fired... it uses stat plats for people that fire goofy objects. the person would type how far the object shoots at a bunch of different angles... something that cant simply be calculated.

For example.. You could attach a calculator with my program onto the top of a cannon used for airsoft.. you simply type in the targets distance (150 feet) and it will tell you that you will have to fire at a 25 degree angle...
something quick and easy that would give a rough estimate while in the field of combat.

[rcman50166]

Sounds very impressive. Perhaps you and me could unify our programs. I have all the physics and trig and you could cover the calc and stats. We could make one very large ballistics program juggernaut. Or perhaps we could group our programs together to make a program package.

Also I want to let everyone know that I have Ballsitics Calculator V2.0 ready. It now has a simulator that will visually show your round in flight. A table will then show you the flight position at a specific time. I'll explain more when I get it up. I'm on the final stages of programming.

[mark.f]

Nice. I just bought a TI-83 Plus yesterday (needed it for AP testing and later for college math courses) but I don't have a computer transfer cable. Could you perhaps include a file with the BASIC source code for people like me who would be willing to type the lines of code in manually rather than spend a few dollars on a USB cable?

From what I could gain by opening the program in notepad (not a whole lot except for text and some of the math) it looks good.

[MrCrowley]

Nice. I just bought a TI-83 Plus yesterday (needed it for AP testing and later for college math courses) but I don't have a computer transfer cable. Could you perhaps include a file with the BASIC source code for people like me who would be willing to type the lines of code in manually rather than spend a few dollars on a USB cable?

From what I could gain by opening the program in notepad (not a whole lot except for text and some of the math) it looks good.

I keep hearing about this TI-83, I thought it was some extreme calculator, but I just realised it seems to be no different from the ones I use. Except we buy ours in year 11(15-16year olds) and you seem to only need it for college math courses... Is the TI-83 a normal graphics calculator?

I'd find it difficult to get through the hard year 12 questions without one, so do you get graphics calculators for school or only college?

<A HREF="http://salestores.com/stores/images/ima ... g">This</a> is what we use down here.

[rcman50166]

I keep hearing about this TI-83, I thought it was some extreme calculator, but I just realised it seems to be no different from the ones I use. Except we buy ours in year 11(15-16year olds) and you seem to only need it for college math courses... Is the TI-83 a normal graphics calculator?

I'd find it difficult to get through the hard year 12 questions without one, so do you get graphics calculators for school or only college?

This is what we use down here.

The TI-83 is a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments that has a flash-based operating system. It is the standard for graphing calculators in the United States. There is a "plus" version of the calculator with a more modern operating system. The TI-84 is another very common grapghing calculator. It boasts a faster processor, more memory, and new features that the TI-83 didn't have.

All info on the two calculators can be found here

Nice. I just bought a TI-83 Plus yesterday (needed it for AP testing and later for college math courses) but I don't have a computer transfer cable. Could you perhaps include a file with the BASIC source code for people like me who would be willing to type the lines of code in manually rather than spend a few dollars on a USB cable?

From what I could gain by opening the program in notepad (not a whole lot except for text and some of the math) it looks good.

Sure I'll put up the code. I'll put it into a notepad document. It won't be up right now though because I don't have it on the computer I'm using. But be warned, there are about 3900 characters in the code, all of which you will have to program in by yourself if you really want to. It took me about a total of 14 hours to program this. I would just buy the cable if I were you.

[JDP12]

i have the ti-84 silver plus edition- i'm 15 years old and needed it freshman year in high school ( now currently a sophomore)

[rcman50166]

I just have the TI-83 Plus. Nothing special. I also got my first one (it was stolen and now I'm on my second) when I was a freshman. Didn't need it but I learned how to program it all four years in high school.

[mark.f]

I keep hearing about this TI-83, I thought it was some extreme calculator, but I just realised it seems to be no different from the ones I use. Except we buy ours in year 11(15-16year olds) and you seem to only need it for college math courses... Is the TI-83 a normal graphics calculator?

I'd find it difficult to get through the hard year 12 questions without one, so do you get graphics calculators for school or only college?

I actually just got this calculator yesterday. All up until now I've been able to do all the problems on paper and with a standard scientific calculator, but I finally actually am required to have a graphing calculator to take the AP Calculus test. It's only required for a few of the concept questions, but I think I will need it in college as well. So far me and my friend have just been holding "graph-offs" to see who can make the coolest looking polar or parametric graphs.

[rcman50166]

Hey All, V 2.0 is now up. The uprgrade now dispays flight time and has a simulator, NOT grapher. The difference is that the projectile is displayed leaving at the designated angle and it also simulates the flight time.

Will there be a V 2.1? I don't know, it depends whether you want to compensate for atmospheric pressure losses at different altitudes and the curvature of the earth. Both of which should not be a factor in designing a humble poatato gun. But if you need it in your design...wow

[potatoflinger]

Wow, looks pretty impressive!

How would I go about putting this on my calculator by typing in the code, like markfh11q said?

[rcman50166]

Ill put it up as soon as I figure out how make it a text document

[potatoflinger]

Ill put it up as soon as I figure out how make it a text document

But how would I put the text on my calculator?