Swissmicros - Fonts

[Pekis]

Hello,

What's your opinion about the fonts used in the Swissmicros series calculators ?

I'd prefer the same as on the original related HP calculators, but perhaps is it a copyright question ? or legibility ?

Thanks

[BarryMead]

(02-04-2016 09:13 AM)Pekis Wrote:  Hello,

What's your opinion about the fonts used in the Swissmicros series calculators ?

I'd prefer the same as on the original related HP calculators, but perhaps is it a copyright question ? or legibility ?

Thanks

The original HP calculators (like the HP-15C) use a "Custom" LCD display, with crisp 7-segment numbers, and enunciators that cannot be rendered as well using a "Dot Matrix" LCD display. Since the Swiss Micros uses a Dot Matrix LCD display, they have to build the numbers/enunciators out of individual dots, which may not be as pleasant to look at with the human eye. Since they emulate a number of different calculators, I can understand why they chose the more "Flexible" Dot Matrix LCD display, but I do agree with you that it isn't as visually appealing as the original HP calculators that they emulate. The entire Voyager line of calculators made by HP do use the same custom LCD display, and it very well may be copyrighted, so Swiss Micros may not have been able to clone that custom display due to copyright issues, but even if they did clone the Voyager display, that would not have enabled them to emulate the HP-41 which has alpha-numeric letters to display, so the Dot Matrix display definitely gives them more flexibility at the cost of visual clarity.

[Pekis]

Hello,

Do you know if the font bit pattern of the digits is located in the firmware file, or built-in into the hardware ? How is it coded ?

Thanks

[BarryMead]

(02-08-2016 07:03 AM)Pekis Wrote:  Hello,

Do you know if the font bit pattern of the digits is located in the firmware file, or built-in into the hardware ? How is it coded ?

Thanks

I don't know anything special about how the firmware is written. I own a DM-15L, but have never tried to reverse engineer it's internal firmware. My GUESS from observation only is that the font is included in the firmware. They give you three fonts to choose from (on the DM-15L). I personally like the middle font, it is not too thick but more readable than the thin font. Since the cable that connects the display to the calculator has very few conductors, I would imagine that the display uses a serial interface to implement an "Addressable Dot" memory display. You send out an address and weather you want that dot/(group of dots) on or off. All of this is only a GUESS. I don't think you will be able to MODIFY the font, or bit pattern, as the source for the DM-15L (All Swiss Micros Calculators) is not open to individual users. Swiss Micros has been very fast with user requested updates, and improvements, so if you have some suggestions as to how to improve the visual clarity of the fonts, or how the display can be made more appealing to the human eye within it's dot matrix limitations, then please feel free to share these insights with Michael of Swiss Micros, so that all of us may benefit. But if you just want to TINKER with the fonts to satisfy your curiosity I believe you are out of luck.
I hope this helps, Barry