About the 39GS

[TheKaneB]

I've got a new old stock HP 39GS for € 14 + shipping over the evilBay (around € 18 total). I was skeptical at first, knowing that it doesn't have RPN capabilities, but I was quite surprised but it. The Aplets and menu interface look remarkably close to the HP Prime, and most of the features are somewhat identical, except for the fact that the Prime have TONS more functions, but still the basics are there and they work almost the same.
I was expecting a dumbed down 50G but instead I've found an hybrid beast, half 50G and half Prime. For 14 Euros I must admit that this is by far the best bang for the buck you can buy today. None of the Casios and Sharp come even close to this one (here the closest Casio model would cost at least € 70, but I know it costs much less in other countries). I am really amused by this little beastie, so I think I will keep it or maybe I could try newRPL on this thing, and leave the 50G with its original firmware.

(PS: posted also on reddit at /r/hpcalc )

[acapde]

(02-15-2018 12:31 AM)TheKaneB Wrote:  I was skeptical at first, knowing that it doesn't have RPN capabilities

Hi Antonio,

You may want to try this RPN aplet:

https://www.hpcalc.org/details/8716

I already have a second version ready with even more features but I haven't posted it yet... lazy me!

Enjoy it!

Andres

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(02-15-2018 12:31 AM)TheKaneB Wrote:  I've got a new old stock HP 39GS for € 14 + shipping over the evilBay (around € 18 total).

I got two, one was immediatly newRPLled. Now it's bearable.

[TheKaneB]

I thought about getting two, but it's hard enough to just explain "one more calculator" to my girlfriend

I mean, she totally gets the hobby and stuff, but I don't want to pull the rope too hard

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(02-15-2018 06:56 PM)TheKaneB Wrote:  I thought about getting two, but it's hard enough to just explain "one more calculator" to my girlfriend

I mean, she totally gets the hobby and stuff, but I don't want to pull the rope too hard

Yeah, that's a very common problem. It disappears after the second hundred, though...

[TheKaneB]

yeah lol!

At one time I had around 50 retrocomputers, mostly Commodore, Apple, MSX, etc...

At least the calculators take much less space

[David Hayden]

A couple of years ago, Jim Donnelly attended HHC. Jim was one of the developers of the 39gs, along with other calculators. After a description of the HP prime, he congratulated the development team and said that the Prime really hit the mark that they were aiming for in the 39gs/40gs.

Those calculators are solidly aimed at the educational market.

[TheKaneB]

Yes, I can totally see that. As a kid in school I would have given an eye to have one of these! They did a very good job on the user interface.

[Dave Britten]

(02-15-2018 07:08 PM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  It disappears after the second hundred, though...

The problem, or the girlfriend?

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(02-16-2018 04:48 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  

(02-15-2018 07:08 PM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  It disappears after the second hundred, though...

The problem, or the girlfriend?

:D

If your partner was still there after the first hundred... well, it is the problem to disappear.

[rprosperi]

(02-16-2018 06:09 PM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  If your partner was still there after the first hundred... well, it is the problem to disappear.

... and she probably cooks Italian food too....

Some folks have all the luck.

[toml_12953]

(02-16-2018 11:58 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  

(02-16-2018 06:09 PM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  If your partner was still there after the first hundred... well, it is the problem to disappear.

... and she probably cooks Italian food too....

Some folks have all the luck.

Sometimes ya gotta make the tough choices in life. Here's an old aphorism:

If an Italian was in a boat and both his wife and mother fell overboard and he could only save one, which one would it be? The answer is his mother, of course. You'll only have one mother but you can always get another wife. (Hey, don't look at me. My mother told me that when I brought her and my wife on a trip around the lake in my new boat!)

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(02-16-2018 11:58 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  

(02-16-2018 06:09 PM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  If your partner was still there after the first hundred... well, it is the problem to disappear.

... and she probably cooks Italian food too....

Some folks have all the luck. :) :)

Indeed! :)

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(02-17-2018 08:36 PM)toml_12953 Wrote:  You'll only have one mother but you can always get another wife.

Isn't this true in every culture?

[martinot]

(02-15-2018 06:48 AM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  

(02-15-2018 12:31 AM)TheKaneB Wrote:  I've got a new old stock HP 39GS for € 14 + shipping over the evilBay (around € 18 total).

I got two, one was immediatly newRPLled. Now it's bearable.

Interesting!

As it's much cheaper than a 50g, it is perhaps a better option to buy to use exclusively for newRPL?

[grsbanks]

(02-15-2018 06:48 AM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  

(02-15-2018 12:31 AM)TheKaneB Wrote:  I've got a new old stock HP 39GS for € 14 + shipping over the evilBay (around € 18 total).

I got two, one was immediatly newRPLled. Now it's bearable.

I've also got two of those and also a 40gs, which is basically the same thing with a CAS.

I think I'm going to newRPL one of them because it's absolutely flabbergasting what a horrible machine the 39gs is in its original state!

[toml_12953]

(02-18-2018 12:15 PM)grsbanks Wrote:  

(02-15-2018 06:48 AM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  I got two, one was immediatly newRPLled. Now it's bearable.

I've also got two of those and also a 40gs, which is basically the same thing with a CAS.

I think I'm going to newRPL one of them because it's absolutely flabbergasting what a horrible machine the 39gs is in its original state!

What makes it so horrible? Its programming language is the same as the Prime which I find the best language of any calculator I've ever used (I've used most programmables from the HP 9100A and later)

[Gerald H]

(02-18-2018 12:32 PM)toml_12953 Wrote:  

(02-18-2018 12:15 PM)grsbanks Wrote:  I've also got two of those and also a 40gs, which is basically the same thing with a CAS.

I think I'm going to newRPL one of them because it's absolutely flabbergasting what a horrible machine the 39gs is in its original state!

What makes it so horrible? Its programming language is the same as the Prime which I find the best language of any calculator I've ever used (I've used most programmables from the HP 9100A and later)

Exactly! & that reveals the underlying grotesqueness of the Prime.

[grsbanks]

(02-18-2018 12:32 PM)toml_12953 Wrote:  What makes it so horrible? Its programming language is the same as the Prime which I find the best language of any calculator I've ever used (I've used most programmables from the HP 9100A and later)

Mainly I've not yet fathomed out how to use the connectivity kit in order to write programs on my laptop and transfer them to the 39gs. Fire it up and all you get is a list of files and folders local to your PC, which is no good to me.

I do also own a Prime and I can see the similarities between the two machines. However, with the Prime I can write programs on the laptop and transfer them over once written. Also I don't spend most of my time trying to work out in which menu functions are hidden or pressing "backspace" to delete the wrong alpha keystroke -- the alpha characters are printed almost at the same height as the shifted functions of the key below, so I keep pressing, for example, [ALPHA][TAN] to get "C" when I should in fact be pressing [ALPHA][d/dx].

The hardware is more or less the same as the 50g so that's OK.

I won't complain about the total absence of RPN on the 39/40gs because I knew that before I bought them.

I might get more used to them with more practice but a) I don't have time to practise and b) I shouldn't have to!

[acapde]

(02-18-2018 12:58 PM)grsbanks Wrote:  I won't complain about the total absence of RPN on the 39/40gs because I knew that before I bought them.

BTW, did you try this?

https://www.hpcalc.org/details/8716