Casio fx-50F/fx-50FH programming

[David22]

(09-30-2019 05:58 AM)ddd Wrote:  Here in Hong Kong we have a restriction where dot-matrix displays are forbidden... The fx-50FH (II) is pretty much the best approved calculator here. It is the only calculator sold here in Hong Kong with programming capabilities and no dot matrix display. Oh and no graphing calculators, of course. Even the Casio fx-MS models are banned for some reason.

Really this fx-50FH has dot matrix display: more or less half display is dot matrix display. Of course lower part is 7-segement numbers display. But the problem I am thinking about is this calculator could be internally modified to show information (text) on upper dot matrix display. It can be modified and store tons of info in a small actual memory. Even it could connect by wireless and send/receive information.

If you want to be sure no cheating is possible, the only allowable calculator would be all 7-segment display (plus annunciators. i.e. fixed elements showing for example "RAD"/"DEG"/etc), and no matrix/text capability on display.

And it is easy to check if an LCD display is only 7-segments or not.

I think there is no problem with programmability but with text/cheating/mods.

Actually Casio makes 7-segments display scientific calculators, some they draw so little power they can be solar without back-up battery, because they can work with very low ambient light, where more power solar calculators can't operate without back-up battery (more circuits plus dot-matrix displays draw more power).

And of course, you can make very good programmable calculators with only 7-segments displays: for example Casio fx-501P/502P (much better than a lot of posterior Casio programmable calculators), and for example HP Voyager series, specially HP-15C, which is an extraordinary example of that. Obviously no 7-segement programmable calculator is on market today.

(09-30-2019 05:58 AM)ddd Wrote:  By the way, how common are fx-50F(H)/fx-3650P IIs outside Hong Kong? Pretty much everyone has one here but I don't see that much demand for a calculator like this other than exam requirements.

I live in Spain/EU, and I bought one by Ebay, because I wanted to play with it and specially because it is the only SOLAR powered programmable calculator, and a cheap calculator. Being programmable and SOLAR makes me hot. I know program model/capabilities are really poor, and program introduction is even worse (you must move with cursor key by slow menus to introduce some programming commands) but it is the best SOLAR programmable calculator I know about.