Help with my HP 49G

[CuriousChemist]

Hello all,

Recently I have been having some button issues with my HP49G. The arrow keys are not working, making it very difficult (read: impossible) to change settings and the like. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you!

[JimP]

I too had trouble with some of these calculators (HP 48G, HP 49g) and found that sometimes, pressing just below the display LCD at the same time as pressing the offending key did the trick. The internal contacts get worn, or fail at some level to register a key press (in the case of the 49g the keys could be a bit more stubborn). If you search around on this forum you may find additional hints on how to take the 49g apart and clean/adjust/re-bend the contacts -- I tried this and found it helped a bit, but it was only a temporary fix.

You might find it easier to splurge on a 50g -- everything will be familiar, but much faster.

Good luck -- from another chemist, who used to use a 49g in the lab back in the early years of the millennium!

[CuriousChemist]

Thanks for the advice! The pressure under the screen didn't seem to work (I'd seen that tidbit before), but I'll definitely look through the forum for instructions on opening and cleaning the interior.

I'll also look into the 50G recommendation. I do really like the 49G.

[grsbanks]

The pressure under the screen thing was for the 48S/SX/G/GX series of machines, which are original HP devices, whereas the others are completely different and made by a different manufacturer (Kinpo). Not sure about the 48GII but the 49's and 50 g are in fact ARM-based machines emulating the Saturn processor and running the HP firmware on that emulator.

Point is, the hardware is totally different. A trick that works for one has little to no hope of working for another

[brickviking]

(05-18-2017 01:21 AM)CuriousChemist Wrote:  Thanks for the advice! The pressure under the screen didn't seem to work (I'd seen that tidbit before), but I'll definitely look through the forum for instructions on opening and cleaning the interior.

I'll also look into the 50G recommendation. I do really like the 49G.

I would also highly recommend the 50G, as the manufacturers seem to have killed most of the keyboard problems that were rife with the 49G platform. Mine is great, though I don't hammer it. Can't beat that real HP key feel (I last remember it in my now-gone 34C), and the 50G comes close.

L'EDIT: I forgot to mention that the SD Card interface and USB made it the best purchase of a HP calculator bar none. Sorry to all you 41C[VLX]-lovers. The Prime wasn't out when I purchased the 50G, though I may well have stuck with the 50G anyhow.

(Post 64)

[Eric Rechlin]

(05-18-2017 07:09 AM)grsbanks Wrote:  The pressure under the screen thing was for the 48S/SX/G/GX series of machines, which are original HP devices, whereas the others are completely different and made by a different manufacturer (Kinpo). Not sure about the 48GII but the 49's and 50 g are in fact ARM-based machines emulating the Saturn processor and running the HP firmware on that emulator.

Point is, the hardware is totally different. A trick that works for one has little to no hope of working for another

Incorrect. The 49G hardware is actually very similar to that of the 48S/SX/G/G+/GX, and in fact uses the same CPU as the 48G/G+/GX. You're thinking of the 49g+, which was built by Kinpo with an ARM processor.

The workaround of squeezing the bezel on the 48 does indeed apply to the 49G, and I've used it with success on one that is failing.

[grsbanks]

By bad. Thanks for the correction, Eric.