Sharp PC-G850VS

[Jlouis]

Can't thank you enough jwhsu.

I will definitely print it.

Cheers

[Zaphod]

I’m trying to source the right edge connector (for the interface under the cover on the right hand side of the thing) in a bid to sort out a comms link to a PC/MAC

Work in progress

[smp]

I pulled the trigger and ordered one of these from a Seller in Japan a few days ago. I've been tempted for a very long time, and seeing the great quality of the manual posted above in post #39, I finally gave in. Thanks *very* much, jwhsu!

I've read this entire thread as it has unfolded, and I'm concerned about what quality shape will the calculator I receive be in. I read here that someone got one that was a bit more used than indicated in the photos of the auction. I've asked questions of the Sellers that show these from time to time, asking if the serial number shown is the one in *all* the photos, and if that is the one that I would actually receive, but there have been no answers.

I'm hoping for the best. I'll post back when I receive mine - probably in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for listening!

smp

[smp]

I received my Sharp PC-G850VS today. Not bad for overall shipping time. I have to say that by the tracking information, it spent more time in the US Mail going between NY, CT, MA & NH than it did in Japan Mail, Japan Customs, transit & US Customs. Oh well...

The unit that I received was definitely not the one shown in the BIN photos. It has some screen scuffs and it's a bit dirty, although there are plenty of signs that someone attempted to clean it up. I was relieved to see the battery compartment is nice and clean.

It appears to be fully functional. I have a BASIC program in now and it is running fine. I entered the program directly in right away, and then I entered it in again via the Text Editor so I could save it to the RAM Disk. It looks like the internal OS automatically manages the 32K RAM between the various memory spaces for the Text area, the BASIC area and the RAM disk. Pretty cool!

Thanks for the excellent manual, once again. I'm working my way through it now. When my USB-to-TTL (5V) adapter arrives, I'll be able to try interfacing with my Mac for moving files back and forth.

Thanks for listening.

smp

[smp]

jwhsu, I found a minor error in the manual.

On page 61, in paragraph 7.2.2, it states:

"Switch to CAPS mode to enter the commands."

This should be:

"Switch out of CAPS mode to enter the commands."

I entered my first C program in CAPS mode and had to change all my commands to lower case in order to get the program to compile without any errors.

Thanks for listening.

smp

[toml_12953]

(07-12-2018 09:17 AM)foroplus Wrote:  

(07-11-2018 11:01 PM)jwhsu Wrote:  I'm not sure if anyone is interested. I made an English translation of the PC-G850VS Users Guide based off the German translation using Google Translate. I also added some additional material from the PC-E500 manual and the 11-pin SIO interface PDF to help with examples and to make it more readable. Hopefully, the instructions on how to use CASL, Assembler, and C are accurate. I have tested some of the BASIC instructions, however, I am not familiar with C or assembly and haven't tested those functions. If anyone uses this and finds any errors, please let me know so I can make corrections. Thanks.

Sharp PC-G850V(S) Manual

Yes, thanks, it's very interesting and what a lot of people were looking for.
Thanks.

I get a 404 error. Is there any other location for the manual?

[smp]

(08-19-2018 12:53 AM)toml_12953 Wrote:  I get a 404 error. Is there any other location for the manual?

I just tried the link in post #39 again, and it worked for me. Did you go to post #39?

smp

[toml_12953]

(08-19-2018 01:28 AM)smp Wrote:  

(08-19-2018 12:53 AM)toml_12953 Wrote:  I get a 404 error. Is there any other location for the manual?

I just tried the link in post #39 again, and it worked for me. Did you go to post #39?

smp

No, I tried a different post. #39 worked for me. Thanks!

[jwhsu]

New version up. Only minor changes.

1. Corrected text on pg. 61 about case for entering C commands (thanks smp).
2. Enumerated examples in BASIC COMMAND GLOSSARY for clarity (only for commands with more than one example).
   

See post #39 for the download link. Let me know if there are any problems or corrections. Thanks.

[rprosperi]

(08-20-2018 12:21 PM)jwhsu Wrote:  New version up. Only minor changes.

1. Corrected text on pg. 61 about case for entering C commands (thanks smp).
2. Enumerated examples in BASIC COMMAND GLOSSARY for clarity (only for commands with more than one example).
   

See post #39 for the download link. Let me know if there are any problems or corrections. Thanks.

FYI - The link in post 39 is not formatted correctly. The url itself is correct and works, but the link in the mybb post isn't formatted right to simply click on.

[jwhsu]

(08-20-2018 12:38 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  FYI - The link in post 39 is not formatted correctly. The url itself is correct and works, but the link in the mybb post isn't formatted right to simply click on.

Try it now (serves me right for updating the link in a rush).

[rprosperi]

(08-20-2018 12:52 PM)jwhsu Wrote:  

(08-20-2018 12:38 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  FYI - The link in post 39 is not formatted correctly. The url itself is correct and works, but the link in the mybb post isn't formatted right to simply click on.

Try it now (serves me right for updating the link in a rush).

Yes, seems fine now. As noted the url was correct all along, it was just a formatting/appearance issue. Thanks.

[smp]

Thanks a million for all your attention, jwhsu!

Here is another minor issue: On page 231, the last sentence above the table says:

"Looking from the left side of the PC-G850V(S) pin-1 is the leftmost and pin-11 the rightmost."

That was confusing to me. I think it would be more clear as:

"Looking at the left side of the PC-G850V(S) pin-1 is the leftmost and pin-11 the rightmost."

I confirmed that looking at the connector on the left side, pin 1 is indeed the leftmost.
Your choice to change it or not. Maybe save it up until you have more to do all at once.

Thanks for listening!

smp

[megarat]

First, huge thanks to @jwhsu for the work that you put into the manual. That's encouraged me to get one of these units. It's currently en route.

A general question to anyone who owns one: what is the expected battery life with the PC-G850V(S)? I can't find a clear answer to this online. The French document mentioned earlier in this thread claims "many months" of use, but I'd be interested in what that means in terms of actual hours of use.

EDIT: never mind, I found the answer in the "Specifications" section of @jwhsu's manual. The answer:

"Approximately 90 hours of continuous operation under normal conditions (based on 10 minutes of operation or program execution and 50 minutes of display per hour at a temperature of 20°C/68°F). The operating time may vary slightly depending on usage and type of battery used."

[toml_12953]

(08-24-2018 10:12 PM)megarat Wrote:  First, huge thanks to @jwhsu for the work that you put into the manual. That's encouraged me to get one of these units. It's currently en route.

I, too, bought one because the English manual is now available. Then I had to get the EA-23E US AC adapter, the CE-126P printer/cassette interface, a whole lot of EA-1250P paper for the printer, and a CE-152 cassette recorder, just to complete the Sharp system. I'm still looking for a CE-T800 or CE-T801 data transfer cable.

Have you seen the benchmarks for this pocket computer?

Calculator Benchmark

Assembly language is pretty speedy! I see a Turbo mode listed for it as well. The manual doesn't mention that so I'll have to Google it. If it's a software change only, I'll probably try it. I'm not going to hack the hardware, though, except maybe to add a piezo beeper as mentioned in the manual.

[xerxes]

(09-05-2018 12:56 PM)toml_12953 Wrote:  Assembly language is pretty speedy! I see a Turbo mode listed for it as well. The manual doesn't mention that so I'll have to Google it. If it's a software change only, I'll probably try it. I'm not going to hack the hardware, though, except maybe to add a piezo beeper as mentioned in the manual.

Speed ups by software are marked as "Fast Mode" and by hardware modification as "Turbo".
I received the results of the modified PC-G850V from Japan and was a little bit surprised
about the speed up from 8 to 32 MHz.

[toml_12953]

Is the STAT mode menu in Japanese on other people's PC-G850VS units? All my other menus are in English but the STAT menu is in Japanese. The manual doesn't really say much about STAT mode. If it's my unit that's different, I'll buy another one. If it's the same all over, then I guess I'll have to try to translate the menus.

[mfleming]

Japanese on my unit (serial #2D024272) as well. The same is true of the BASE key, which appears to just load a BASIC program. Translation would seem necessary!

~Mark

[Zaphod]

I’ve just stumbled across this , which should be of interest once translated

http://basic.hopto.org/basic/manual/Shar...rapida.pdf

[rprosperi]

(09-13-2018 02:33 PM)mfleming Wrote:  Japanese on my unit (serial #2D024272) as well. The same is true of the BASE key, which appears to just load a BASIC program. Translation would seem necessary!

~Mark

Mine too (s/n 1D09481Y).

(09-13-2018 04:34 PM)Zaphod Wrote:  I’ve just stumbled across this , which should be of interest once translated

http://basic.hopto.org/basic/manual/Shar...rapida.pdf

This same site has several very useful pages on the PC-G850V (and many other machines), which, although originally in Spanish (I think?) Chrome very nicely translates automagically:

http://basic.hopto.org/basic/g850v.php.

I also noted that this site has Jack's great manual available for download, so the author likely is a member here too.