HP41 Port to HP-IL Adapter

[Mawora]

Hi there,

I do have a HP82143 printer and a HP82153 wand, both with connectors fitting in one of the HP41s' port. I do also own a HP71 with IL module. Now I'm wondering if there's an adapter which enables me to use both units with my HP71. Maybe at least somebody knows, which of the pins in the HP41 connector translates to each of the four HP-IL connections (RX/GND, TX/GND).

Somehow hard to believe that I should be the first and only with this kind of need, but I can't find anything anywhere.

Any hint will be highly appreciated.

Kind regards

Matthias        

[cruff]

The HP-41 ports are the HP-41's Nut CPU's bus signals, which do not correspond to the HP-IL signals. Thus you can not use those peripherals as HP-IL devices unless you were to program an HP-41 to act as an interface box between them and an HP-IL module plugged into the HP-41.

[Mawora]

Hi cruff,

thanks for your swift response. Well, this is somewhat disappointing. The HP82143 and the HP82162 look so pretty much the same apart from the connectors, that I hopped even HP was greedy enough not to make too many tailor made solutions and at some point standard interfaces were available (maybe pins at the printers electronics?).

Matthias

[Sylvain Cote]

Hello Matthias,

Some statements that should clear things up:

• Hewlett-Packard Interface Loop (HP-IL) is more or less the serial version of the Hewlett-Packard Interface Bus (HP-IB).
• HP-41 peripherals are designed to use the HP-41 bus signals and can only be used with the HP-41.
  Some HP-41 specific peripherals:
  • HP-82104A Magnetic Card Reader
  • HP-82143A Thermal Printer
  • HP-82153A Optical Wand Bar Code Reader
  • HP-82160A HP-IL interface module (allows the HP-41 to communicate with HP-IL designed peripherals)
  • ...
    
• HP-71 peripherals (card reader, HP-IL interface module, modules, etc.) are designed to use the HP-71 bus signals and can only be used with the HP-71.
  Some HP-71 specific peripherals:
  • HP-82400A Magnetic Card Reader
  • HP-82401A HP-IL interface module (allows the HP-71 to communicate with HP-IL designed peripherals)
  • ...
    
• HP-IL peripherals (printers, tape drives, floppy drives, plotters, etc.) are designed to use the HP-IL interface signals (RX+/RX-, TX+/TX-) and can only be used with HP-IL equipped peripherals/computers.
  Some HP-IL specific peripherals:
  • HP-82161A Digital Cassette Drive
  • HP-82162A Thermal Printer (HP-IL version of the HP-82143A Thermal Printer)
  • HP-82163A Analog Video Interface
  • ...
    

So, in summary ...

• HP-41 specific peripherals cannot be plugged nor used with HP-71. (the reverse is also true)
• You need an HP-IL interface module for your calculator/computer to communicate with HP-IL peripherals
  

Sylvain

edit: typo

[Mawora]

Thanks a lot Sylvain for your extensive reply. So, a few options less to play around with and fortunately for me it's but playing around with my childhood dreams.

[Gene]

Don't forget the roughly 3 years between the introduction of the HP-41 and HP-IL.

Might not have been as feasible to build it in from the start. Might have delayed the HP-41 project that HP wanted to get introduced as soon as possible.

Don't know.
Gene