(11-01-2023 01:24 PM)Eddie W. Shore Wrote:  I would like to buy the cord need to flash the HP 15C CE.

(10-23-2023 02:02 PM)Divasson Wrote:  to put HP15c CE claims in perspective, there are 17 claims out of 1200 units shipped by The Calculator Store.

(11-01-2023 02:02 PM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  Wait and see...

(11-01-2023 04:47 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  It looks to be the same cable for flashing the 20b, 30b, 15C LE, etc., correct?

(11-01-2023 04:55 PM)lvt Wrote:  If you already have the 15C, would you still need the 16C?

(11-01-2023 01:49 AM)Valentin Albillo Wrote:  .
Hi, all,

As per the pic José Divasson (The Calculator Store) recently posted, namely ...



... the embedded HP-16C's catastrophic bug has been corrected for good by means of a patched firmware concocted by a well-know forum member (I wouldn't post his name without permission) so there you are, the HP-15C CE is now two calculators in one, both running much faster than the originals did.

And who wouldn't want a free (once you've paid for the 15C CE, of course) HP-16C running unbelievably fast and (with the help of Jose's 16C overlay,) virtually indistinguishable from the original, as seen in the picture above ?

If I were you I'd get one or several ASAP before the second batch is sold out and you're left biting your nails. Even as an investment to sell them out at much higher prices in the future it would make sense, this is no flimsy, buggy LE.

V.
P.S.: In order to get the bugless HP-16C the 15C CE must be flashed with the patched firmware, of course. I don't know if José or anyone else will either offer the service for a fee or else deliver already flashed 15C CE's to the new buyers, you'd have to find out for yourself.

(11-01-2023 05:24 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  Hello!

(11-01-2023 04:55 PM)lvt Wrote:  If you already have the 15C, would you still need the 16C?

Define „need“ ;-) Almost nobody really needs a pocket calculator in the year 2023 if we are honest.

But the HP-16C is maybe one of the calculators that is really useful to some people designing digital hardware and/or doing low-level computer programming. Because it can perform some clever calculations with hexadecimal and binary numbers that most calculator apps on one's mobile phone can't do. And neither Excel or whatever one uses on the computer in the office. And the normal HP-15C can't do that either, only our new 15C CE in HP-16C mode. So if you have one of those you probably don't need an extra 16C!

Regards
Max

NB: The HP-16C is one of very few calculators that I don't have in my collection yet. Because I missed some opportunities 20 years ago (I was very arrogant then regarding calculators and wouldn't touch anything that did not glow in the dark) and now prices have risen to a level that far exceeds my allowance for unnecessary toys...

(11-02-2023 01:42 AM)dmh Wrote:  Has the new cable been documented anywhere? How to build from scratch or modify the LE cable?

(11-02-2023 04:15 AM)Eric Rechlin Wrote:  

(11-02-2023 01:42 AM)dmh Wrote:  Has the new cable been documented anywhere? How to build from scratch or modify the LE cable?

If you are willing to permanently sacrifice an LE (20b/30b) cable, here are the steps:

1. Open the section with buttons (two #0 Phillips screws), desolder the serial cable, slide off the strain relief to reuse, cut a USB cable, slide the strain relief on the USB cable, and solder the USB cable on. Green from USB goes to TXD, white to RXD, and black to GND2. Red is unused.

(11-02-2023 05:00 AM)dmh Wrote:  Thanks for the detailed information and photos Eric !

A previous post mentioned a button was still used, which line has the button connected?

It appears the wiring is direct and not going through the chip at all now, is that correct?

So if you can roll your own pogo type connector could you could make a new cable the same way?

So, where do I get the firmware (original and patched) and what software is now required?

Thanks again.

(11-02-2023 06:05 AM)Eric Rechlin Wrote:  

(11-02-2023 05:00 AM)dmh Wrote:  Thanks for the detailed information and photos Eric !

A previous post mentioned a button was still used, which line has the button connected?

It appears the wiring is direct and not going through the chip at all now, is that correct?

So if you can roll your own pogo type connector could you could make a new cable the same way?

So, where do I get the firmware (original and patched) and what software is now required?

Thanks again.

The Reset button and Erase button are both still connected. You don't need Reset because you can just use the reset hole on the calculator instead, but the button is more convenient. It's connected in the same place as the old cable, which I believe is pin 2, which would be to the left of the black (ground) wire, lower left corner, in the last image above. I believe Erase is pin 6, which would be to the right of the black ground wire, lower right corner. It's also unchanged from the old cable.

Wiring is indeed direct, bypassing the chip. The chip was only used for the TTL to RS-232ish voltage level conversion. Since the new calculators speak USB directly there is no need for any level shifting.

As long as you have something to work for the pogo connector, which is the toughest part, you can make your own cable.

(11-02-2023 10:52 PM)dmh Wrote:  So the software looks like it can download the current image, is that correct?

Then I just need to find the patch details.

(11-03-2023 02:47 PM)ebs Wrote:  

(11-02-2023 10:52 PM)dmh Wrote:  So the software looks like it can download the current image, is that correct?

Then I just need to find the patch details.

According to The Calculator Store blog, the patch is just a change of a couple of bytes in the HP16C rom (but doesn't say which bytes), so it's possible to do it with a hex editor. No need to redistribute the entire firmware that would require HP/Moravia approval.

(11-03-2023 04:08 PM)Divasson Wrote:  [...] with this big memory, it is a pity to lose all programs every time you move back and forth from HP16c to HP15c, so working this weekend on backing up the user memory space to a file and restoring it later. (better solution: buy another !! )