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EugeneNine · 03-16-2017, 09:25 PM

I defiantly wouldn't scrap it, too much sentimental value.

I'm just trying to remember how to use it again Smile

brickviking · (This post was last modified: 03-18-2017 02:24 AM by brickviking.)

(03-16-2017 05:15 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:
(03-16-2017 05:01 PM)EugeneNine Wrote: I've been wondering though, ... Is no one using the older models much anymore? Is my 48SX more of a collectors piece than a tool now.

I keep a 48SX with a 128 KB card in it on my desk. That one's the best I've found in terms of the balance between functionality, usability, and durability. Don't scrap your SX and give in to the cult of the new!

I must say as a HP-50G owner that I certainly appreciate the USB connectivity and the ability to use off-the-shelf (at least for ten years ago) SD cards as storage, and not have to source a diminishing stock of rare-at-the-time cards. And what modern computers have serial as standard? I also appreciate the speed of the 50G. In saying that, if classic (H48SX classic??? HA!) calculators keep doing the job you need them to do and they provide reasonable speed, I say keep with them until they eventually fall over. My, this is a diversion, isn't it.

Something else I use my other calculator for (in this case, a fx9750GII) is to provide me with a grocery totalling program. I've mentioned this somewhere else in this particular forum, but effectively I can add entries to one of five categories, sum those individual categories for a grand total, and additionally provide a tax figure for that total. The app I wrote also includes the ability to use five temporary variables for later price calculation. When prompted for a price, I can multiply by one of these variables. Check out this link for further details.

(Post 57)

EugeneNine · 03-17-2017, 02:02 AM

I always wanted a memory card, never was able to get one, I see them on ebay or amazon but lots of $$$.

Its easy enough to make a pcb now a days I wonder if I could just make one.

Serial is not a big deal, $10 generic USB-serial adapter works fine. I use it for my tek scope too.

Dwight Sturrock · 03-17-2017, 09:57 PM

I programmed my HP42S back in the 1990's as a text editor. I bypassed the clunky 42S alpha entry menu mode and redefined the keyboard. Output to a personal computer was via the "HookUp", a IR to serial converter. The text was stored on the HP42S in a matrix since the 42S accepts alpha characters as matrix data. Have not used this program for many years, but maybe it has a future with the Swiss Micros 42S which MIGHT have direct alpha key entry.

PHP Code:

00 { 577-Byte Prgm }
01>LBL "TEXT"
02 1
03 STO 08
04 STO 09
05 FIX 03
06 0.888
07 STO 00
08 CF 81
09>LBL A
10 38
11 ALENG
12 X=Y?
13 GTO 75
14 AVIEW
15 GETKEY
16 XEQ IND ST X
17 GTO A
18>LBL 01
19  "A"
20 RTN
21>LBL 02
22  "B"
23 RTN
24>LBL 03
25  "C"
26 RTN
27>LBL 04
28  "D"
29 RTN
30>LBL 05
31  "E"
32 RTN
33>LBL 06
34  "F"
35 RTN
36>LBL 07
37  "G"
38 RTN
39>LBL 08
40  "H"
41 RTN
42>LBL 09
43  "I"
44 RTN
45>LBL 10
46  "J"
47 RTN
48>LBL 11
49  "K"
50 RTN
51>LBL 12
52  "L"
53 RTN
54>LBL 13
55  " "
56 RTN
57>LBL 14
58  "M"
59 RTN
60>LBL 15
61  "N"
62 RTN
63>LBL 16
64  "O"
65 RTN
66>LBL 17
67 ARCL 00
68 AOFF
69 ALENG
70 6
71 -
72 AROT
73 ASHF
74 RTN
75>LBL 18
76  "P"
77 RTN
78>LBL 19
79  "Q"
80 RTN
81>LBL 20
82  "R"
83 RTN
84>LBL 21
85  "S"
86 RTN
87>LBL 22
88  "T"
89 RTN
90>LBL 23
91  "U"
92 RTN
93>LBL 24
94  "V"
95 RTN
96>LBL 25
97  "W"
98 RTN
99>LBL 26
100  "X"
101 RTN
102>LBL 27
103  "Y"
104 RTN
105>LBL 28
106 RTN
107>LBL 29
108  "Z"
109 RTN
110>LBL 30
111>LBL 31
112 RTN
113>LBL 32
114  "-"
115 RTN
116>LBL 34
117 SF 81
118 ALENG
119 X#0?
120 GTO 75
121 CF 81
122 TONE 9
123 RTN
124>LBL 35
125  "."
126 RTN
127>LBL 37
128 1.007
129 STO 03
130 INDEX "TXTM"
131>LBL a
132 RCL "TXTM"
133 DIM?
134 RCL 09
135 X#Y?
136 GTO b
137 1
138 STO 09
139>LBL b
140 RCL 08
141 RCL 09
142 STOIJ
143 RCLEL
144 ARCL ST X
145 1
146 STO+ 09
147 ISG 03
148 GTO a
149 RTN
150>LBL 38
151  "'"
152 RTN
153>LBL 40
154 RTN
155>LBL 42
156  "!"
157 RTN
158>LBL 43
159  "?"
160 RTN
161>LBL 49
162 FS? 13
163 CF 13
164 FC? 13
165 SF 13
166 RTN
167>LBL 50
168  "�"
169 XEQ 34
170 RTN
171>LBL 54
172 CLA
173 RTN
174>LBL 55
175 CLA
176 PRON
177 1
178 STO 09
179>LBL e
180 1.007
181 STO 03
182 INDEX "TXTM"
183>LBL c
184 RCL "TXTM"
185 DIM?
186 1
187 +
188 RCL 09
189 X#Y?
190 GTO d
191 PRA
192 CLA
193 PROFF
194 RTN
195>LBL d
196 RCL 08
197 RCL 09
198 STOIJ
199 RCLEL
200 ARCL ST X
201 1
202 STO+ 09
203 ISG 03
204 GTO c
205 PRA
206 CLA
207 GTO e
208>LBL 56
209  "7"
210 RTN
211>LBL 57
212  "8"
213 RTN
214>LBL 58
215  "9"
216 RTN
217>LBL 59
218  "*"
219 RTN
220>LBL 61
221  "4"
222 RTN
223>LBL 62
224  "5"
225 RTN
226>LBL 63
227  "6"
228 RTN
229>LBL 64
230  "/"
231 RTN
232>LBL 66
233  "1"
234 RTN
235>LBL 67
236  "2"
237 RTN
238>LBL 68
239  "3"
240 RTN
241>LBL 69
242 1
243 ENTER
244 DIM "TXTM"
245 BEEP
246 RTN
247>LBL 71
248  "0"
249 RTN
250>LBL 72
251  ","
252 RTN
253>LBL 74
254 AOFF
255 EXITALL
256 RCL "TXTM"
257 PSE
258 RTN
259>LBL 75
260 ASTO 05
261 ASHF
262 RCL "TXTM"
263 DIM?
264 1
265 +
266 DIM "TXTM"
267 INDEX "TXTM"
268 STOIJ
269 RCL 05
270 STOEL
271 FC? 81
272 GTO A
273 GTO 34
274>LBL 39
275>LBL 41
276>LBL 44
277>LBL 45
278>LBL 46
279>LBL 47
280>LBL 48
281>LBL 51
282>LBL 52
283>LBL 53
284>LBL 60
285 RTN
286 END 

BruceH · 03-20-2017, 12:24 PM

I use mine to keep coin cell battery manufacturers in business! Does that count?

;-)

pier4r · (This post was last modified: 03-21-2017 07:44 PM by pier4r.)

(03-16-2017 05:01 PM)EugeneNine Wrote: I've been wondering though, and I probably should have started a new thread, I see quite a bit of new posts in the Prime section in the short time I signed up for the forum but not a lot in any of the other calculator sub-forums. Is no one using the older models much anymore? Is my 48SX more of a collectors piece than a tool now.

I suppose, as usual, that the last product gets more attention. Moreover for existing products a lot was written already (although new questions always exist).

My hp50g is far from being dismissed, I can barely make a dent in its math library (although I have to do my programs as well).

Once I will kow the math library of the hp50g inside out, then I will think about others. Not only hp but also, I'm interested by the nspire series. of course this means I will have to live 250 years.

bshoring · 03-23-2017, 09:03 PM

I remember using my HP-41CV as a text editor. Back in 1984 I needed to write a letter of resignation to my employer and my old typewriter (remember those) was out of ink, so I wrote it on the HP-41 with the full page HP-IL printer. It did the job.

Mark Power · 03-26-2017, 08:31 PM

I've done various non-maths stuff with my HP calculators. The most fun are probably these:

Metronome for the HP41
Machine Code Debugger for the HP41
Turing Machine simulators for the HP41 and the HP Prime
VT52 Terminal Emulator for the HP48 so that I could plug into the serial port of Unix servers
Racer (Outrun like) game for the HP Prime

HrastProgrammer · 03-28-2017, 07:56 AM

My non-math related development for HP-48/49/50 calculators:

Garth Wilson · 03-28-2017, 07:48 PM

(03-23-2017 09:03 PM)bshoring Wrote: I remember using my HP-41CV as a text editor. Back in 1984 I needed to write a letter of resignation to my employer and my old typewriter (remember those) was out of ink, so I wrote it on the HP-41 with the full page HP-IL printer. It did the job.

I wrote a very full-featured (for the time) text editor for my HP-71 and did an awful lot of typing of work memos and other things on it in the late 1980's, then decided I better slow down when they discontinued the 71, in case I'd wear out the keyboard and not be able to get a replacement. One of the countless things I wrote on it was a letter of resignation too.

I use the 41cx's text editor frequently, but it's so slow I can't imagine using it for something like a letter of resignation unless it was very short and to the point. At that point, you might as well write it on a Post-It note and stick it on the boss's door! Big Grin

pier4r · 11-19-2017, 02:55 PM

Maybe someone already wrote it, but I recently realized that calculators can be used to store sensible(i) passwords (of course, unless one has many calculators, it is not good to store passwords only in them).
If they are reliable and used from time to time there is a good chance that the password will be still there after years.

This especially for systems with robust and/or external memory like the 50g.

Instead data on a computer/tablet/mobile can get lost for many other reasons (first and foremost due to technological changes, resets due to software problems, data erasure by mistake and so on).

For example I was reading about bitcoins for long time savings and bitcoins expose all the problems that one has with digital files. See the discussion here: http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-9399.html .

Now assuming that the BTC protocol won't change and BTC nodes will be more or less trustworthy (those are bold assumptions), one way to store savings are paper wallets. A calculator can be a amazing sort of "paper" wallet if it has memory that lasts long. Plus this little data could make the calculator even more worthy than it is.

(i): although the utility of the data protected by the password is subjective. One could be extra paranoid about his data while literally no one else cares about it.

Gamo · 11-20-2017, 06:05 AM

Everything with numbers is math related, I use calculator with Random Function to do lottery random quick pick numbers.

Gamo

hth · 11-20-2017, 07:25 AM

I use my HP-41 to help me develop film. It tells me when to agitate and when to switch chemicals.

Håkan

ttw · 11-28-2017, 03:05 AM

I've got an HP Prime that fried a several thousand dollar computer when I tried to upgrade the Prime OS. It's currently a paperweight.

pier4r · 11-28-2017, 08:44 AM

(11-28-2017 03:05 AM)ttw Wrote: I've got an HP Prime that fried a several thousand dollar computer when I tried to upgrade the Prime OS. It's currently a paperweight.

ouch, and how?

jebem · 11-28-2017, 09:52 AM

(11-28-2017 08:44 AM)pier4r Wrote:
(11-28-2017 03:05 AM)ttw Wrote: I've got an HP Prime that fried a several thousand dollar computer when I tried to upgrade the Prime OS. It's currently a paperweight.

ouch, and how?

Make no mistake, this only shows that the Prime power has to be taken seriously Smile

4ster · 11-28-2017, 04:13 PM

My 41 makes my married life easier.

I make my coffee using a stove top Moka Pot - on a glass topped electric stove. When I first bought the pot I didn't bother reading directions, I just turned the burner on HIGH, thinking the quicker the better. What got me to read the directions was forgetting the pot was on the stove while I was off doing something else. I ended up doing a nice heat treat to the stainless steel bottom when all the water boiled away, it is now a permanent straw color. More dire, the glass top on the stove cracked from the excessive heat. That mistake cost me a new stove top and an evening's install to make the wife happy again.

The directions for the Moka pot say to run a medium heat and to turn the heat down before it starts gurgling at the end of the brew. So now, when making a pot, I turn the heat to 5. (I just noticed the stove dial goes to 11! ;-) It starts at LOW, then 1-9, and HIGH.) I then run a timer program on my 41-CX:

01 LBL 'MOKA
02 STOPSW
03 'HEAT=5: R/S
04 PROMPT
05 -0.0745
06 SETSW
07 RUNSW
08 END

When the countdown alarm sounds, I lower the heat and shortly thereafter the pot gently gurgles, indicating the coffee is ready. The coffee tastes better and the wife is happy!

ttw · 11-28-2017, 07:06 PM

I mentioned this here when it happened (probably on the Prime subforum). I inserted the usb cable into the Prime then put the other end into the usb port on the computer. There was a flash and the computer was dead. Some searching on the internet claims that this is not uncommon (not necessarily just with the Prime) when trying to power a device from a computer. It seems that the protection on the computer and the device may not be enough to prevent a short. It was a shocker.

Thus I did order another HP50g (which is bein used so much that the letters are wearing off) for preliminary work (successful ideas transferred to the PC).

Garth Wilson · 11-28-2017, 07:57 PM

(11-28-2017 04:13 PM)4ster Wrote: My 41 makes my married life easier.

<snip>

The directions for the Moka pot say to run a medium heat and to turn the heat down before it starts gurgling at the end of the brew. So now, when making a pot, I turn the heat to 5. (I just noticed the stove dial goes to 11! ;-) It starts at LOW, then 1-9, and HIGH.) I then run a timer program on my 41-CX:

01 LBL 'MOKA
02 STOPSW
03 'HEAT=5: R/S
04 PROMPT
05 -0.0745
06 SETSW
07 RUNSW
08 END

When the countdown alarm sounds, I lower the heat and shortly thereafter the pot gently gurgles, indicating the coffee is ready. The coffee tastes better and the wife is happy!

You can use XYZALM instead, and then you won't be not taking the 20mA of battery current to run the stopwatch. Do something like:

Code:

.0745   \ (for 7 min, 45 sec)

TIME

HMS+

0

0

0

R↑

XYZALM

Then you can even turn the 41 off, and when the time comes, it will turn itself on and sound the alarm, which you clear with <shift>C.

It could be re-arranged to get rid of the roll-up instruction, but I have it in a subroutine so you start with the desired delay in X and call it.

4ster · 11-29-2017, 08:09 AM

Good point. I find I am much better at remembering to run the program again at the end to stop the timer than I am at remembering to turn off the stove. So the clock is only running for less than 8 minutes drawing 20ma. It saves me having to remember to clear past due alarms. Thanks for posting that though, makes more sense to do it that way.