Sharp PC-1262

[Dan C]

I have a Sharp PC-1262 soon coming in, but in the meantime i was searching the net for
a manual for it. But i seem to only find a German manual for the PC-1262.
Was the PC-1262 only sold in German speaking countries?
The PC-1262 looks really cool, with a very small body, and
a 2*24 LCD display.

[Dave Britten]

(02-09-2022 06:30 PM)Dan C Wrote:  I have a Sharp PC-1262 soon coming in, but in the meantime i was searching the net for
a manual for it. But i seem to only find a German manual for the PC-1262.
Was the PC-1262 only sold in German speaking countries?
The PC-1262 looks really cool, with a very small body, and
a 2*24 LCD display.

I've only been able to find that same German manual, but between the built-in help feature, the information on this flyer, and manuals for other similar Sharp computers (the EL-5500III and PC-1350/PC-1360 have a similar BASIC dialect), you should be able to find enough to get up and running. And if you need a slide cover for it, look for a cheap PC-1270, since those fit the 1250 and 1260 models too.

[Maximilian Hohmann]

Hello!

(02-09-2022 06:30 PM)Dan C Wrote:  The PC-1262 looks really cool, with a very small body, and a 2*24 LCD display.

Yes, it's quite interesting. But the keys are not among the better ones I'm afraid. There is also a (kind of) cool microcassette and printer unit called CE-125 available.
These things (calculator and CE-125) could be found by the dozens in Germany no flea markets and on eBay until some years ago because one of the big insurance companies and some car dealerships used them in large numbers for their sales personnel.

Regards
Max

[Dave Britten]

(02-09-2022 07:10 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  Hello!

(02-09-2022 06:30 PM)Dan C Wrote:  The PC-1262 looks really cool, with a very small body, and a 2*24 LCD display.

Yes, it's quite interesting. But the keys are not among the better ones I'm afraid. There is also a (kind of) cool microcassette and printer unit called CE-125 available.
These things (calculator and CE-125) could be found by the dozens in Germany no flea markets and on eBay until some years ago because one of the big insurance companies and some car dealerships used them in large numbers for their sales personnel.

Regards
Max

Those all-in-one printer/cassette units that Sharp made were super neat, but for practical use, I'd recommend finding a CE-126P. It just uses a simple cable for the 11-pin interface, so it works with all the computers that have the 11-pin port (which is most of them) without worrying about whether a particular model physically fits your dock. And it runs on plain old AA batteries, whereas some of the printers have internal NiCd packs that you'd have to replace.

And yes, the 1250 and 1260 keys are awfully tiny. Response is good, though.

[robve]

(02-09-2022 06:47 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  

(02-09-2022 06:30 PM)Dan C Wrote:  I have a Sharp PC-1262 soon coming in, but in the meantime i was searching the net for
a manual for it. But i seem to only find a German manual for the PC-1262.
Was the PC-1262 only sold in German speaking countries?
The PC-1262 looks really cool, with a very small body, and
a 2*24 LCD display.

I've only been able to find that same German manual, but between the built-in help feature, the information on this flyer, and manuals for other similar Sharp computers (the EL-5500III and PC-1350/PC-1360 have a similar BASIC dialect), you should be able to find enough to get up and running. And if you need a slide cover for it, look for a cheap PC-1270, since those fit the 1250 and 1260 models too.

I like the Sharp PC-1262. The PC-126x has a different version of BASIC compared to the older PC-125x, for some info see: BASIC versions. For clarification: PC-125x BASIC is supported by the newer PC-126x.

I have a PC-1260/61 manual in English. I've never seen a PC-1262 manual in English. The PC-1262 is exactly the same as the PC-1261, but with different colors. The PC-1261 manual I have was very hard to find, but it does exist!

The PC-126x also offers ESP (Easy Simulated Programming) by defining #name=expr:name=expr:name=expr:... in PRO mode and entering #name in RUN mode or just # and select an ESP program with the cursor keys and ENTER.

A couple of ESP examples I came up with (i.e. any errors in these are mine!):

Code:

' EASY SiMULATED PROGRAMMING (ESP) EXAMPLES FOR THE SHARP PC-1260 SERIES

' Convert x,y to polar radius and theta angle
#radius=√(x*x+y*y):theta=ACS(x/√(x*x+y*y))*SGN y

' Convert radius,angle to x,y
#x=radius*COS angle:y=radius*SIN angle

' Quadratic formula
#abc=b*b-4*a*c:x1=(b-√abc)/(2*a):x2=(b+√abc)/(2*a)

' Heron's formula for the area of a triangle and height from base c
#heron=(a+b+c)/2:area=√(heron*(heron-a)*(heron-b)*(heron-c)):height=2*area/c

' Sterling's Gamma approximation 5 digits
#gamma=√(2*π)*x^(x-.5)*EXP(1/12/x-x)

' erf(t) approximation with maximum relative error 0.00013
#erf=SGN t*√(1-EXP(-t*t*(4/π+.147*t*t)/(1+.147*t*t)))

Edit: I had thought about scanning the PC-1260/61 manual like I've done for others to share, but I am concerned about damaging it as it is not easy to fully hold open.

Edit 2: more accurate theta angle in polar conversion by not reusing radius.

- Rob

[Dan C]

Today the PC-1262 arrived, and in a very good condition, as new more or less.
What a nice machine! I knew it was tiny, but not SO tiny
The small keyboard is not a problem for my fingers, it works really well.

At startup with new batteries it was in a Japanese mode with japanese characters, but
a reset took it back to English characters.

As a bonus the CE-125 cassette / printer unit was included, i had no idea of that when i did
the purchase, so now i have to play with the CE-125 also. 3 unused printer rolls was included also.
But no cassette tapes, are Micro Cassette tapes still available to buy?

[toml_12953]

(02-13-2022 10:11 AM)Dan C Wrote:  As a bonus the CE-125 cassette / printer unit was included, i had no idea of that when i did
the purchase, so now i have to play with the CE-125 also. 3 unused printer rolls was included also.
But no cassette tapes, are Micro Cassette tapes still available to buy?

Yes, they are. In the US they're available here:

https://www.amazon.com/micro-cassettes/s...+cassettes

and I imagine they're just as easy to obtain from Amazon.uk as well.

[robve]

(02-13-2022 10:11 AM)Dan C Wrote:  Today the PC-1262 arrived, and in a very good condition, as new more or less.
What a nice machine! I knew it was tiny, but not SO tiny
The small keyboard is not a problem for my fingers, it works really well.

At startup with new batteries it was in a Japanese mode with japanese characters, but
a reset took it back to English characters.

As a bonus the CE-125 cassette / printer unit was included, i had no idea of that when i did
the purchase, so now i have to play with the CE-125 also. 3 unused printer rolls was included also.
But no cassette tapes, are Micro Cassette tapes still available to buy?

Nice surprise and congrats with the acquisition!

I fixed two CE-125 units by replacing the NiCd batteries that go bad after 40 years. I also replaced the tape belts that are slipping. The belt to replace is the main belt that measures 4.2cm in diameter, 13cm in length (5.1in) and is less than 1mm thick (square shape).

Do not power up the CE-125 with the old NiCd batteries. They WILL start to leak and damage the PCB. One of my CE-125 that I acquired recently was worse than the other, see image:

   

After cleaning it up and replacing the NiCd batteries and tape belt, the CE-125 works like new. Replacement NiCd batteries can be soldered in place, e.g. a 4 pack of AA 1000mAh NiCd 4.8V. I didn't use NiMH because there is no overcharge protection in the CE-125. If the leakage affected some of the wires like in the picture, it will take a bit more time to replace and solder new wires.

The CE-125 will operate on the EA-23E power supply without batteries, so taking them out means that the CE-125 can still be used. The NiCd batteries are helpful to keep the voltage/power levels sufficiently high when operating the printer and tape unit.

Inexpensive thermal paper rolls that are exactly the same as SHARP paper rolls can be found on e.g. Amazon. Look for POS1 Thermal Paper Rolls 2-1/4 x 16 ft | 18mm diameter. These fit perfectly the CE-125, CE126p, and other SHARP thermal printers.

- Rob

[Dave Britten]

(02-13-2022 04:31 PM)robve Wrote:  Inexpensive thermal paper rolls that are exactly the same as SHARP paper rolls can be found on e.g. Amazon. Look for POS1 Thermal Paper Rolls 2-1/4 x 16 ft | 18mm diameter. These fit perfectly the CE-125, CE126p, and other SHARP thermal printers.

- Rob

Or any 2.25" rolls, really. Just spool some off onto a pencil to make your own tiny rolls. This comes in handy if you've got a bunch of large ones laying around already.

[Dan C]

(02-13-2022 04:31 PM)robve Wrote:  Nice surprise and congrats with the acquisition!

I fixed two CE-125 units by replacing the NiCd batteries that go bad after 40 years. I also replaced the tape belts that are slipping. The belt to replace is the main belt that measures 4.2cm in diameter, 13cm in length (5.1in) and is less than 1mm thick (square shape).

Do not power up the CE-125 with the old NiCd batteries. They WILL start to leak and damage the PCB. One of my CE-125 that I acquired recently was worse than the other, see image:



After cleaning it up and replacing the NiCd batteries and tape belt, the CE-125 works like new. Replacement NiCd batteries can be soldered in place, e.g. a 4 pack of AA 1000mAh NiCd 4.8V. I didn't use NiMH because there is no overcharge protection in the CE-125. If the leakage affected some of the wires like in the picture, it will take a bit more time to replace and solder new wires.

The CE-125 will operate on the EA-23E power supply without batteries, so taking them out means that the CE-125 can still be used. The NiCd batteries are helpful to keep the voltage/power levels sufficiently high when operating the printer and tape unit.

Inexpensive thermal paper rolls that are exactly the same as SHARP paper rolls can be found on e.g. Amazon. Look for POS1 Thermal Paper Rolls 2-1/4 x 16 ft | 18mm diameter. These fit perfectly the CE-125, CE126p, and other SHARP thermal printers.

- Rob

Thank you for the information on the NiCd battery issue!
I opened my CE-125 up, and the NiCd was totally dead.
Luckily the battery leak was not too bad, just some on one of the battery terminals, and
the pcb and wires was not affected.
I just removed the dead NiCd for now, the printer works anyway with just the power supply as you said.
Will the cassette deck work also without NiCd installed?
Maybe i will install some new NiCd someday

[robve]

(02-14-2022 06:20 PM)Dan C Wrote:  I opened my CE-125 up, and the NiCd was totally dead.
Luckily the battery leak was not too bad, just some on one of the battery terminals, and
the pcb and wires was not affected.
I just removed the dead NiCd for now, the printer works anyway with just the power supply as you said.
Will the cassette deck work also without NiCd installed?
Maybe i will install some new NiCd someday

The tape unit should work fine with the power supply and without batteries. If you can't CSAVE and CLOAD back, then it's probably the belt slipping. When loading with CLOAD, the high-pitch sound should be stable, not fluctuate.

Note that the CE-125 audio jack port on the side is for loading from an external tape. I've used this with PocketTools to load programs from a PC or Mac via the headphone output, but note:
- The CE-125 works better with mono audio jack plugs, but sometimes stereo input plugs will work. If a stereo plug does not work, switching to mono audio jack plugs may help.
- PocketTools bin2wav --level=2 appears to work much better, so this option is important when bin2wav may fail to produce adequate sound levels with some desktop or laptop computers.
- PocketTools bin2wav --device=125 should help if the audio levels are not high enough for the signal to be picked up by the PC-1262.

You can find the original PC-1250/PC-1251/TRS-80 PC-3 Applications software that came with the CE-125 here:
https://edgar-pue.tripod.com/sharp/pc1251.html
https://github.com/number42net/sharp-pc1251

The PC-1250 Application Software program examples (20 BASIC programs) work with the PC-1262. Or you could type them in, from the Applications book, on the tiny keyboard

PS. I found a way to create a quality PDF of the 300 page PC-1260/PC-1261 manual. This is not easy to do and will take some time to capture each page. Stay tuned.

- Rob

[Dave Britten]

(02-14-2022 08:36 PM)robve Wrote:  You can find the original PC-1250/PC-1251/TRS-80 PC-3 Applications software that came with the CE-125 here:
https://edgar-pue.tripod.com/sharp/pc1251.html
https://github.com/number42net/sharp-pc1251

The PC-1250 Application Software program examples (20 BASIC programs) work with the PC-1262. Or you could type them in, from the Applications book, on the tiny keyboard

There's some neat stuff in this applications book. The cross-footing program is a very basic spreadsheet that computes row/column totals and percents-of-grand-total. The program looks like it was probably intended for the original PC-1250 with only 1,438 bytes of available RAM, based on the claim that it only supports a 36-cell sheet. I don't see any reason you couldn't use a much bigger sheet on a PC-1250A or PC-1251.

Be careful if you adapt any of these programs to the PC-1260 series, since you'll have to change any implied multiplication to explicit with the use of *.

(02-14-2022 08:36 PM)robve Wrote:  PS. I found a way to create a quality PDF of the 300 page PC-1260/PC-1261 manual. This is not easy to do and will take some time to capture each page. Stay tuned.

- Rob

We 1260/1261/1262 owners would be most appreciative if you find a way to make it work.

[Dan C]

(02-14-2022 08:36 PM)robve Wrote:  PS. I found a way to create a quality PDF of the 300 page PC-1260/PC-1261 manual. This is not easy to do and will take some time to capture each page. Stay tuned.

- Rob

That would be very nice if its possible! An english manual for the PC-126x is awesome!

[Dan C]

I have now starting to do some small BASIC programs on my PC-1262.
But, can the machine just hold one program in memory at a time?
I'm used with the CASIO style of P0-P9 programs slots, but it seems that the PC-1262 only can store one program in memory?

[Dave Britten]

(02-16-2022 07:22 PM)Dan C Wrote:  I have now starting to do some small BASIC programs on my PC-1262.
But, can the machine just hold one program at a time?
I'm used with the CASIO style of P1-P10 programs slots, but it seems that the PC-1262 only can store one program in memory?

That is mostly correct, but there's a little bit more to the story. When entering a program from the keyboard, you effectively only have a single program slot. You can, however, use labels to store multiple programs in memory as long as their line numbers don't conflict. A label is simply a string literal at the beginning of a line, e.g.:

10 "FACTOR":INPUT X
...

Executing RUN"FACTOR" will start the program from the labeled line. And you're not limited to just RUN, you can GOTO, GOSUB, or RESTORE to labels as well, either directly, or indirectly with the use of a string variable containing the label name.

This capability is present in I think all of the Sharp pocket computers all the way back to the original PC-1211. One of the PC-1211 books I have suggests putting a simple "operating system" as the first lines in memory. I think it was something like this:

1 INPUT ">";A$:GOSUB A$:GOTO 1
2 END

So you can just type RUN and have a prompt for running programs by merely typing the label/program name and pressing ENTER. End programs with RETURN instead of END, and they'll go back to the prompt when finished. This also demonstrates how INPUT is a conditional test on most Sharps (later machines dropped this for some reason) - if you press ENTER without actually typing a value/string, the variable is not updated, and the rest of the line is skipped. Thus pressing ENTER with without typing a label name will fall through to line 2 and end the program. I use this feature very often in programs.

The bottom two rows of the keyboard serve as the user-definable keys. If you have labels "A", "S", "D", "F", etc. then you can run the program starting from those labels by simply pressing DEF followed by the letter (or by switching to DEF mode and pressing SHIFT + letter on the PC-1211/PC-1210). This is even possible while a program is already running, for instance at an INPUT prompt.

If you have a cassette interface, then there are some more possibilities here. Normally CLOAD will clear program memory and load the new program, but MERGE will load the program without removing what's already in program memory. If the line numbers in the program you are merging are all higher than what's already in memory, then everything is contained in a single program slot as if the two programs had been combined as one from the beginning. Otherwise, if you have conflicting line numbers or overlapping line number ranges, the new program will be merged, but only the new program's lines can be viewed and modified in PRO mode. The programs already in memory can still be called through the use of labels. Also, NEW will blow away everything, not just the most recently merged program, and I think that CSAVE will save everything in memory, not just the latest program (I need to confirm this).

So overall it's more effort to work with compared to the Casios, but this system offers a great deal more flexibility if you don't mind the added complexity. It's a bit of a double-edged sword.

[robve]

(02-16-2022 07:22 PM)Dan C Wrote:  I have now starting to do some small BASIC programs on my PC-1262.
But, can the machine just hold one program at a time?

I wish that older Sharp PC had a file system too, like the newer PC-1475, PC-E500, and PC-G series.

(02-16-2022 07:22 PM)Dan C Wrote:  I'm used with the CASIO style of P1-P10 programs slots, but it seems that the PC-1262 only can store one program in memory?

Yes and no (for older 1980's Sharp PC)

Yes with MERGE, which allows you to load multiple programs. Programs can be started with a DEF key or RUN"label", assuming the programs are labelled.

Yes if you use labelled programs that use non-overlapping line number ranges. Labeling makes it easier to use a DEF key or RUN"label".

No if you want to edit multiple programs in memory. Only the last MERGEd program can be edited. The idea was to edit one program at a time then save to tape. Then MERGE programs to memory. Nowadays we can use PocketTools to create programs and then MERGE them.

For the PC-1350 I wrote a ML program to edit and switch between 10 programs, called MultiPC. It's similar to the Casio P0 to P9. It works great. It stores the 10 programs in memory or on the RAM card together with the ML program (so switching cards works seamlessly). Though you have to use CALL <addr> which depends on the memory size (to make it easier to switch, I've programmed a SHIFT key in the RESERVE MODE).

MultiPC should work on the PC-1262. But I haven't adapted the program to other PC yet. Not sure if there is any interest.

I like Sharp, Casio, HP71B and many other machines for their abilities that should be appreciated within their hardware and software design constraints.

Overall, there are differences between Casio and Sharp pocket computers. Some a pro others are cons. The Sharp PC do not need DEFM for example and you can dynamically use the A() array as large as you want for numbers and strings (within memory limits, of course). But Sharp has no P0 to P9.

It really helps to read the 300 page manual...

- Rob

[Maximilian Hohmann]

Hello!

(02-16-2022 07:51 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  ... and I think that CSAVE will save everything in memory, not just the latest program (I need to confirm this).

Yes, all or nothing. I just looked into my german manual. And you can save your program with a password if you like: CSAVE "programname", "password" (both parameters are optional).
Password protected programs can be loaded and executed, but in order to view or edit them the password needs to be entered using the PASS function.

Regards
Max

[Dave Britten]

(02-16-2022 08:08 PM)robve Wrote:  I wish that older Sharp PC had a file system too, like the newer PC-1475, PC-E500, and PC-G series.

Were there any Sharps that featured both a filesystem, and the definable keys (DEF)? So far I haven't found any that allow for both.

(02-16-2022 08:08 PM)robve Wrote:  For the PC-1350 I wrote a ML program to edit and switch between 10 programs, called MultiPC. It's similar to the Casio P0 to P9. It works great. It stores the 10 programs in memory or on the RAM card together with the ML program (so switching cards works seamlessly). Though you have to use CALL <addr> which depends on the memory size (to make it easier to switch, I've programmed a SHIFT key in the RESERVE MODE).

MultiPC should work on the PC-1262. But I haven't adapted the program to other PC yet. Not sure if there is any interest.

Oh nice. I assume this could be made to work on the PC-1360 too? I have literally a couple hundred 8 KB RAM cards for mine, and this would be a great way to pack more into them...

(02-16-2022 08:08 PM)robve Wrote:  I like Sharp, Casio, HP71B and many other machines for their abilities that should be appreciated within their hardware and software design constraints.

Overall, there are differences between Casio and Sharp pocket computers. Some a pro others are cons. The Sharp PC do not need DEFM for example and you can dynamically use the A() array as large as you want for numbers and strings (within memory limits, of course). But Sharp has no P0 to P9.

It's frustrating, Sharp, Casio, and the 71B all have features that I really like, but nobody combined them all into one machine!

[robve]

(02-16-2022 08:35 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  It's frustrating, Sharp, Casio, and the 71B all have features that I really like, but nobody combined them all into one machine!

You beat me to post a reply! So I didn't see your reply until after I posted my comments. I think we're on the same page

- Rob

[Dan C]

(02-16-2022 07:51 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  That is mostly correct, but there's a little bit more to the story. When entering a program from the keyboard, you effectively only have a single program slot. You can, however, use labels to store multiple programs in memory as long as their line numbers don't conflict. A label is simply a string literal at the beginning of a line, e.g.:

10 "FACTOR":INPUT X
...

Thanks for a very nice explanation of the PC-1262 memory/program handling!
You seem to know the Sharp PC's very well!