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Who wants a new printing HP-42s?
06-13-2017, 06:41 PM (This post was last modified: 06-13-2017 06:48 PM by Dave92F1.)
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Who wants a new printing HP-42s?
My favorite calculator is the 42s. I use Thomas Okken's 42s on my phone every day.

On my desk is a HP-97 that is dying.

And as far as I can tell, nobody in the world is building new scientific printing calculators (let alone RPN ones).

So - I want to build a printing 42s. It would have:

* 3D printed case
* OLED display
* Thermal printer from a cash register
* Run Okken's 42s ( http://thomasokken.com/free42/ )

This would be mainly for desktop use, but it could have batteries too.

I think the whole thing could be done for a parts cost of around $100. (If we're going to sell them we'd have to charge several times that amount.)

WHO WANTS TO HELP? I'm willing to put some money into this, and do some of the work, but it's too much for me alone.

We could even run a Kickstarter and put the thing into production, if there's enough interest.

If not, we can make a few for ourselves.

Some details of my thinking:

* Runs off a USB-C power brick
* Has 4xAA NiMh cells for portable use (charges off the USB)
* USB stick interface for storing/moving programs
* Some minor enhancements from Byron Foster's 42s version on the iPhone - mainly display of all 4 registers (x, y, z, t, not just x and y)
* It could run on a Raspberry Pi 3 or similar (main issue from my viewpoint is boot time)

Here's what I can contribute:

* I'm pretty good at PCB design and know how to get them manufactured
* I can put some $$ into getting this going
* I have a 3D printer (but I'm not good enough with 3D design to design a nice-looking case)
* I can hack the 42s code if I have to (but would rather somebody else did that)

ANYBODY INTERESTED?
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Who wants a new printing HP-42s? - Dave92F1 - 06-13-2017 06:41 PM



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