Hp 48GX Black or Blue Display?

[jftman]

I am waiting to receive a HP 48GX that I hope is Black and not Blue as I have a blue one.
I just bought that one, and ran into this one.
Not sure which will be actually more liked!

Any new eyes here to add an opinion whether the display is Black or Blue?
Imgur link

https://imgur.com/gallery/qP8AYzx

[dmh]

That link looks black to me as it's very clear.

Edit: but it does appear to be a very clear blue actually

Here they are side by side:

https://youtu.be/H4qZ0eSWoaI?si=PZR36TgKThLyM-eP

[rprosperi]

This unit is definitely BLUE.

When you see a black 48GX LCD in-person, there will be no doubt at all about it.

[dmh]

I initially thought blue too but it's a lot clearer than my blue one.

In person and side by side it will be obvious :-)

(11-10-2023 04:15 AM)rprosperi Wrote:  This unit is definitely BLUE.

When you see a black 48GX LCD in-person, there will be no doubt at all about it.

[Eric Rechlin]

There is variation among the blue screens in the 48GX. Some have better contrast than others. And it's not that the older ones have worse contrast and the newer ones have better; I don't know if there is any pattern.

As far as black vs blue, the only way to get a black screen (unless the calculator has had its screen swapped) is to get one with printed key legends. The double-shot injection molded keyboards all had blue screens. Worst of all, then, are the ones with blue screens and printed keyboards.

[dmh]

Thanks Eric, good to know.

So there are pros and cons for each :-(

(11-10-2023 05:00 AM)Eric Rechlin Wrote:  There is variation among the blue screens in the 48GX. Some have better contrast than others. And it's not that the older ones have worse contrast and the newer ones have better; I don't know if there is any pattern.

As far as black vs blue, the only way to get a black screen (unless the calculator has had its screen swapped) is to get one with printed key legends. The double-shot injection molded keyboards all had blue screens. Worst of all, then, are the ones with blue screens and printed keyboards.

[Hiwi]

hi jftman,

the display of the HP48 you are wiaiting for is definitely blue.

i have and use daily several HP48GX's and all the blue displays are ok for me, so i didn't swap any blue display to a black one.

But the display of my 48SX (USA) was very bad and very tiring to work with. So i swapped it to the black one from a donor HP39. They are still very cheap with limited exceptions on TAS. It's worth it. See attached picture.

Ralf
   

[polbit]

As a 48 hoarder, I can definitely say that all blue screens are not created equal (and I'm not talking about the original S/SX screens). My favorite GX actually has a blue screen that looks better than my two black ones, while I have another blue one that is nowhere near as high-contrast. Wish I knew why that is, but at this point I'd say it's a lottery on how good the screen is going to be...

[Jonathan Busby]

(11-09-2023 11:21 PM)jftman Wrote:  I am waiting to receive a HP 48GX that I hope is Black and not Blue as I have a blue one.
I just bought that one, and ran into this one.
Not sure which will be actually more liked!

Any new eyes here to add an opinion whether the display is Black or Blue?
Imgur link

https://imgur.com/gallery/qP8AYzx

That's *definitely* a *BLUE* on light green display -- the same as my 1995 Singapore HP48GX.

AFAIK, there have been at least *five* different variations on the HP48 display :

( In chronological order )

• Original very dark blue HP48S/SX screen with very poor contrast
• Very early production HP48G/GXs which have a similar screen to that of the S/SX -- maybe they used the same LCD part?
• Post circa 1995 HP48G/GXs with *HUGELY* improved contrast with a dark blue on light green display
• Indonesian HP48G/GXs with a black on light tan display
• Chinese HP48G/GXs with a very high contrast black on light grey screen ( Same as the original 49G? )
  

I'm not going to go into more detail as it would be redundant as this topic has been extensively discussed in the past, but here are some links to further reading :

https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.hp4...dbFQNnIVIJ

https://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap...read=14819

Regards,

Jonathan

[jftman]

This purchase is coming on Monday.
I will update what shows up. Mainly since the photos used are not changed to be the actual calculator!

The seller has perhaps bought a group of the 48GX calcs with original boxes and documents. To my surprise I checked back and now another is listed using the same pics, POOPY!

Not sure, just now a little worried, Ummmmmm?
The pic I uploaded was magnified from the ‘small’ pic in the advert.
Yes, has the bark blue look, but worse is the screen seems light grey on tge lower side and more green on the upper.

Overall bad pics I guess. Plus, I thought having the mechanical engineering card installed some of the menu looked more on the black side, yet the very top line looks deep blue again. My conclusion was, a poor ANGLE.

Sonce I had messaged the seller asking for clarity on the color and did not get a reply, then got a tracking and shipping confirmation, I have not much but to WAIT and C.
In my message I mentioned having possible trouble reading the screen, but it seems very likely the version here is the Dark Blue on Light Green, and prolly no problem going the other way. BUT I wanted a black on light not green screen.

Again the bad photo, bottom looks light screen style!!

[rprosperi]

(11-10-2023 02:12 PM)polbit Wrote:  ... My favorite GX actually has a blue screen that looks better than my two black ones...

I'd love to see a photo of any GX which has a blue screen better than black screen models.

I have several GX's with varying kinds of blue LCDs and I've never seen one anywhere near as clear and easy to read as any of my black ones, so I'm eager to see it.

[polbit]

(11-11-2023 02:37 AM)rprosperi Wrote:  

(11-10-2023 02:12 PM)polbit Wrote:  ... My favorite GX actually has a blue screen that looks better than my two black ones...

I'd love to see a photo of any GX which has a blue screen better than black screen models.

I have several GX's with varying kinds of blue LCDs and I've never seen one anywhere near as clear and easy to read as any of my black ones, so I'm eager to see it.

Trying to show you why I like my blue GX more than black screen ones I have has proven futile as pictures simply show the higher contrast of the black screens (excuse the out of focus on some of them...) Even the two blue screens look identical in the picture, but are not in real use - the middle GX looks better at some angles, and "fuller". It's most noticeable on soft menus when I just have an easier time reading the labels on the GX than the others in the picture in typical use conditions.

I have a black GX at work as well (and "few" in storage...), but this blue one is my favorite as far as readability. For the record though, my wife agrees with you...

[rprosperi]

Thanks for posting them and trying to show the difference.

Of course which one looks "better" is totally subjective and each person sees with different eyes, decodes contrast differently, perceives shades in different ways, etc.

But she and I are right. ;-)

[jftman]

Oh Boy, No Joy. The unit arrived but not as advertised.
Seller used old pictures and never changed the details.
Also never replied to my question for display color.

The calculator was being sold WITH original box, all documentation manuals, and with a full set for an installed mechanical engineering card.

What I got is calculator and a case. It also is blue, and has dents in the case. Pics like mentioned already showed a calculator without dents too.

I can’t get this returned fast enough.
Nightmare.

[rprosperi]

Nightmare indeed!

Is this from eBay?

[jftman]

It was not Ebay. It was a local College town Book Store.

[Hiwi]

Hi,
in the future ask for the serial number. Only later Indonesia made HP48GX /G+ had a black display. Early units (even from Indonesia) still had a blue display.

If your case has dents, perhaps someone tried to open the case to fix the typical keyboard problem?

But as it was already mentioned before the later blue display is not that bad.

What was the price for your unit?

Ralf

[jftman]

The price was $242.00 , good too having the ME card and fully documented with box etc.
I talked on the phone with the seller, using the return address, a local business.
He said the advert says CALCULATOR Only, but that is not what I saw. Oh well!

I received the first calculator bought TAS, and have no issue with the later blue screen. When the nightmare piece popped up, and turned out as all that, I can’t justify keeping it too.

After putting batteries in it , it turned on.
I did not further check it, keyboard and the like.
I was just glad I could know that when the store gets it back it still will turn on!

I guess there are people who win items, remove and switch parts then get TAS to side with broken when received.
I feel very dumb struck with that. Because the dishonesty includes the knowledge to fix oneks own problems and cheap donors of every flavor are in the market..

[Hiwi]

(11-15-2023 03:54 PM)jftman Wrote:  I guess there are people who win items, remove and switch parts then get TAS to side with broken when received.

Yes i call them: professional part swapper :-)

Ralf

[Jonathan Busby]

(11-15-2023 03:33 PM)Hiwi Wrote:  Hi,
in the future ask for the serial number. Only later Indonesia made HP48GX /G+ had a black display. Early units (even from Indonesia) still had a blue display.

I wasn't aware of early Indonesian models having a dark blue on light green display -- thanks for the info

Also, although later Indonesian HP48s might have had black pixels, there have been at least three variations, one of which contained a "manufacturing defect" ( more like a design flaw ). Specifically, the first version, AFAIK, had a "black on light tan display" but with a manufacturing defect which consisted of "discolorations near the bottom left and right corners... [of the screen]" ( for more information, see the links in my previous post in this thread) -- I saw dozens of HP48GXs in blister-packs at a local Fry's Electronics which exhibited this defect around 2001 to 2002. Later Indonesian models had the "black on light tan" display ( sans defect ) of which my Indonesian HP48GX is an example. I've never seen any "black on light gray" Indonesian-made HP48GXs -- perhaps you are referring to the ones manufactured in China?

Regards,

Jonathan