Online Emulator

Check out this online TI-83 Plus emulator! This just came across my radar from Hackaday.

It requires that you upload a (legally acquired) rom, but once you do, this seems like it would be a very good ‘on-the-go’ resource for presentations, teaching, or just any other time and place when you might need at graphing calculator.

I don’t have a TI-83 plus rom lying around, and I tried a regular TI-83 rom (which I did happen to have) but it didn’t seem to work for me. Hmm.

Mobile Devices

[updated] I now recommend Wabbitemu as the best emulator on the computer and for Android devices. It accepts a very wide range of rom files and has a nice feature set. The whole process is pretty user friendly. Here’s a link to the app in the Google Play store and here’s their website where you can download the desktop app.

Another great emulator for Android is Andie Graph which can be obtained in the following way (instructions come from our student, Jim Best):

1. Download the app “Andie Graph” on your market for the phone
2. Go to this link on the phone to download the ROM.
3. There will be ads promoting other products so click on the bottom link that says DOWNLOAD.
4. Once this has finished downloading, Run “Andie Graph”
5. Go to settings by pushing the little icon on the phone itself that looks like a garage door or a tool box.
6. Go down to ROM and select the ROM you downloaded. If the app doesn’t find the ROM, then you can search for it from the app in the phone.

Jim also suggests this calculator if you have an Apple product:

There is an app that is a type of TI-83. It is called RK-83 on the app store for apple products such as the iPhone and iPod touch. This is a $0.99 app that has the same functionality as a TI-83. It does not have the best of reviews but for $0.99, its worth a shot. There is also an app by the same creator that has better reviews but it is an 89.

Of course, there are scads of other great calculators out there if you’re willing to give up the look and feel of the TI experience. Desmos is a popular choice and works nicely on all platforms but isn’t a powerhouse of a calculator.

Plain-old Software

And as far as plain-old desktop software goes, here are some great emulators:

• Wabbitemu, mentioned above, which emulates dozens of TI calculators if you supply the rom.
• TI-83 Emulator by Rusty Wagner and ROM here (only if you own the calculator!)
• TI-89 Emulator by Rusty Wagner
• TI-SmartView (for purchase)

I actually prefer the Wabbitemu and Rusty Wagner emulators to the TI-SmartView emulator, even though our school has purchased copies for all of the math teachers.

Rom Files

In almost all the above cases, you’ll need to obtain a rom file for the calculator you’re interested in emulating. This is like the brains of the calculator. The emulator is just the pretty buttons and interface that run on top of the rom.

To obtain the rom file for your calculator, follow the instructions at ticalc.org here. I actually preferred using the instructions here for my TI-84 Plus SE. You can create your own rom file, or you can try to hunt for a download somewhere. This page has a bunch of downloads, but it’s not comprehensive. Remember that, legally, you must own the physical calculator if you download and use one of these rom files.