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Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
07-03-2020, 06:14 PM
Post: #1
Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
Just received my HP50G in perfect condition, clean and fully working.
I'm really happy to get back to RPL after all these years far from my 28S/48GX.

I still love my RPN calcs, and also the Prime, but using RPL on such a good platform is really exciting me.

If you have any advices to give me, don't hesitate: the kind of mojo I should not miss, including apps, programming, CAS, etc.

Thanks.

Thibault - not collector but in love with the few HP models I own - Also musician : http://walruspark.co
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07-03-2020, 07:53 PM
Post: #2
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
Just enjoy it Smile

Did you get the black one or the blue (fairly rare) one?

There are only 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand binary and those who don't.
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07-03-2020, 08:23 PM
Post: #3
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
Standard black, mint condition except a few dust around the screen.

Thibault - not collector but in love with the few HP models I own - Also musician : http://walruspark.co
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07-03-2020, 09:52 PM
Post: #4
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
Congratulations! How exciting it is to meet an old love!

My advice is to be aware of and enjoy the beauty of the RPL design. It is not just a language. It is a calculator operating system with a closed concept and consequent pursuit of object orienting. Everything is an object and can be treated as such. You operate it and feel it was cast in one pour. Something that can't be said of later designs.
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07-03-2020, 10:12 PM
Post: #5
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
Congratulations on your fine acquisition. Note firstly that the 50g has many more functions and commands than the 48G. Keep the AUR by your side as you explore. If you have a Windows PC and/or an Android phone, the excellent EMU48 will run your programs 40 to 50 times faster than the physical calculator. No substitute for a calculator with real keys but very handy if you have the need for speed.

If you are planning to do serious programming it can be very helpful to read the many programs you can find in the Software- General forum and at hpcalc.org.
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07-04-2020, 01:41 PM
Post: #6
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
(07-03-2020 06:14 PM)pinkman Wrote:  Just received my HP50G in perfect condition, clean and fully working.
I'm really happy to get back to RPL after all these years far from my 28S/48GX.

I still love my RPN calcs, and also the Prime, but using RPL on such a good platform is really exciting me.

If you have any advices to give me, don't hesitate: the kind of mojo I should not miss, including apps, programming, CAS, etc.

Thanks.

Congratulations!
You got, IMHO, the last and the best calculator for serious professional engineering. Still unpaired....
Except for the keyboard layout: I feel the 48 series' much better
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07-04-2020, 04:45 PM
Post: #7
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
Yes, the “Enter” key is located in the place of the “+” key, and the “÷” is on a small key. Strange.

Thibault - not collector but in love with the few HP models I own - Also musician : http://walruspark.co
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07-04-2020, 06:43 PM
Post: #8
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
(07-04-2020 04:45 PM)pinkman Wrote:  Yes, the “Enter” key is located in the place of the “+” key, and the “÷” is on a small key. Strange.

Yes when the engineer and scientist markets for calculators went away in the late 90s, HP had to focus on the educational market that was left. The HP 49G tried to look more like the algebraic TI graphing models which included moving the Enter key to the bottom-right corner.
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07-04-2020, 11:04 PM
Post: #9
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
Sure, the place of an Equals key.

Thibault - not collector but in love with the few HP models I own - Also musician : http://walruspark.co
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07-05-2020, 02:32 AM
Post: #10
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
(07-03-2020 06:14 PM)pinkman Wrote:  Just received my HP50G in perfect condition, clean and fully working.
I'm really happy to get back to RPL after all these years far from my 28S/48GX.

I still love my RPN calcs, and also the Prime, but using RPL on such a good platform is really exciting me.

If you have any advices to give me, don't hesitate: the kind of mojo I should not miss, including apps, programming, CAS, etc.

Thanks.

Congratulations on getting a 50g.

I'd recommend Prof. Wolfgang Rautenberg "Keyman+" app. Many others by him are really good apps. And for programming on PC, "HPUserEdit" by Roger Broncano Reyes, it's almost unbelievable that this program is free of charge.

I also like a lot the "save unlimited command line entries" programs by the late John H. Meyers:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!search...TENN22GC8J

Also this post by John is relevant about ASCII import/export:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/...oZFVECTxpY

BTMON for battery monitoring.

HLP49 for commands help when you are away from paper / digital manual or AUR.
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07-05-2020, 08:58 AM (This post was last modified: 07-05-2020 12:39 PM by Marco Polo.)
Post: #11
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
(07-04-2020 06:43 PM)Steve Simpkin Wrote:  
(07-04-2020 04:45 PM)pinkman Wrote:  Yes, the “Enter” key is located in the place of the “+” key, and the “÷” is on a small key. Strange.

Yes when the engineer and scientist markets for calculators went away in the late 90s, HP had to focus on the educational market that was left. The HP 49G tried to look more like the algebraic TI graphing models which included moving the Enter key to the bottom-right corner.

That's why I daily use my 50g enjoying it's power and screen but could never enjoy the keyboard layout.
The keys feeling if far from being a tactile joy, but anyway is pretty decent, except the arrow keys, and in 13 years of use I don't have any complain about keypress reliability.
Now I am slowly preparing a 48gx with SpeedUI and hopefully switch back to it
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07-06-2020, 04:18 AM
Post: #12
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
(07-04-2020 04:45 PM)pinkman Wrote:  Yes, the “Enter” key is located in the place of the “+” key, and the “÷” is on a small key. Strange.

“÷” is a full-size key on 49G.
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07-06-2020, 07:49 AM
Post: #13
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
(07-06-2020 04:18 AM)Gerald H Wrote:  
(07-04-2020 04:45 PM)pinkman Wrote:  Yes, the “Enter” key is located in the place of the “+” key, and the “÷” is on a small key. Strange.

“÷” is a full-size key on 49G.

Pinkman was talking about the HP 50g where the divide key is smaller in height than the +, - and X operator keys. I mentioned the HP 49g as the first RPL model where HP moved the Enter key to a single-wide key at the bottom-right corner to make it look more like TI graphing models.
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07-06-2020, 09:05 AM
Post: #14
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
(07-06-2020 07:49 AM)Steve Simpkin Wrote:  
(07-06-2020 04:18 AM)Gerald H Wrote:  “÷” is a full-size key on 49G.

Pinkman was talking about the HP 50g where the divide key is smaller in height than the +, - and X operator keys. I mentioned the HP 49g as the first RPL model where HP moved the Enter key to a single-wide key at the bottom-right corner to make it look more like TI graphing models.

I seems that in the move from 49g to 49g+/50g some more ergonomics were lost :-)
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07-06-2020, 09:42 PM
Post: #15
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
Apart from this “Enter” vs “+” key confusion, the ergonomics are ok after a few days using it. Even the Enter key in the bottom right corner is a good idea, you move your fingers quicker from digits to “Enter” or “On/Cancel”.

Yes I do prefer the old HP style big two keys wide Enter key, but the bottom right has its advantages.

Thibault - not collector but in love with the few HP models I own - Also musician : http://walruspark.co
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07-07-2020, 07:01 AM
Post: #16
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
despite the power, ergonomics are not the best in this series of calculators: the useless "HIST", "TOOL" and "SYMB" keys that could easily be menus, the 4 directional keys that occupy six places, the symbols for the inequalities that occupy a place that could be assigned to menus ...
I spend a lot of time browsing the menus and submenus looking for commands. the 48s / x series was significantly better from this point of view.

Hardware: Hp48S - Hp50g (5x black + 1 blue) - HP39gII - Hp27s - Casio fx-CG50
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07-07-2020, 08:26 AM
Post: #17
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
Who does not use USR mode?
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07-07-2020, 11:08 AM
Post: #18
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
(07-07-2020 08:26 AM)SammysHP Wrote:  Who does not use USR mode?
I am heavily using USR mode, with the help of the awesome "KEYMAN", from prof. Rautemberg.
IMHO using USR mode is a good way to get a better keyboard on 50g.
I completely reconfigured mine, keeping all the original key assignment and taking advantage of "long press" and "keep shift pressed" features

I suggest, for heavy unit of measure users, to try "UNITMAN", again from prof. Rautenberg
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07-07-2020, 12:48 PM
Post: #19
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
(07-07-2020 11:08 AM)Marco Polo Wrote:  I am heavily using USR mode, with the help of the awesome "KEYMAN", from prof. Rautemberg.
IMHO using USR mode is a good way to get a better keyboard on 50g.
I completely reconfigured mine, keeping all the original key assignment and taking advantage of "long press" and "keep shift pressed" features

I suggest, for heavy unit of measure users, to try "UNITMAN", again from prof. Rautenberg

I agree with you, KEYMAN and all the other programs from Prof. Rautenberg are among the best and most useful utilities for the 50g, truly innovative and excellent in every way. In particular, check out OT49.

For people that are not familiar with Prof. Rautenberg's tools, please go see this page; everyone will find something useful:

http://page.mi.fu-berlin.de/raut/WR49/

You can also find additional background and links to other tools (including some 48 versions) on his memorial homepage here:

http://page.mi.fu-berlin.de/raut/

--Bob Prosperi
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07-07-2020, 01:01 PM
Post: #20
RE: Back to RPL ! (HP50G)
(07-07-2020 11:08 AM)Marco Polo Wrote:  
(07-07-2020 08:26 AM)SammysHP Wrote:  Who does not use USR mode?
I am heavily using USR mode, with the help of the awesome "KEYMAN", from prof. Rautemberg.
IMHO using USR mode is a good way to get a better keyboard on 50g.
I completely reconfigured mine, keeping all the original key assignment and taking advantage of "long press" and "keep shift pressed" features

I suggest, for heavy unit of measure users, to try "UNITMAN", again from prof. Rautenberg

Could you share your user keyboard layout?

Thibault - not collector but in love with the few HP models I own - Also musician : http://walruspark.co
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