Enhanced 110/Portable Plus

[Dave Frederickson]

According to the May '86 issue of PC Communicator, p. 25, HP shipped "Enhanced" versions of the 110/Portable Plus with more memory and a better display. Does anyone know how to identify an enhanced display?

Dave

[Raymond Del Tondo]

(04-20-2014 05:30 PM)Dave Frederickson Wrote:  Portable Plus with more memory and a better display. Does anyone know how to identify an enhanced display?

Dave

You'll immediately see the difference;-)

The PP has more display lines, but unfortunately the readability is as bad as on the normal 110 (weak contrast, no backlite)...

[Dave Frederickson]

Hi Raymond,

Not the Portable (110) vs the Portable Plus (110+). An enhanced version of the Portable Plus with more memory and a better display. In the 1986 HP Catalog only the 45711B, with 128K of RAM was offered. The link in the above post to the May '86 issue of the HP PC Communicator describes an Enhanced Portable Plus with more memory and a better display. The 1987 HP Catalog no longer lists the 128K 45711B but now lists the 256K and 512K 45711C thru F models. Presumably these are the "enhanced" versions. Also, HP offered an upgrade program.

So, like comparing 42S displays or single vs double-shot keys on a 48, how can one identify an enhanced display?

Specifically, the Portable Plus, below, appears to have been upgraded from a 45711B to an F.



It has 512K and rev B PCBs. How can I tell if it has the higher contrast and wider viewing angle "enhanced" display?

Dave

[Raymond Del Tondo]

Hi Dave,

believe me, I know what I'm talking about;-)

I had a real 45711FD (the one in the pics below) with all bells and whistles, with a whopping 1.5 MB RAM (512K onboard, 1MB on Memory drawer) , with the whole software suite, including Emu41 on EPROMs.
The LCD is "slightly" better than that of the normal 110, but it's still a big disappointment. Low contrast, nearly no viewing angle. Nearly unusable IMHO.

[Dave Frederickson]

Okay, but I don't have a 110 to compare it to. Perhaps there's another distinguishing feature, like rounded corners of the display, black vs blue? If I had the Service Manual I could verify part numbers, but that's not an option either. If I only knew someone in the UK with access to the HPCC Library.

Dave

[Raymond Del Tondo]

Hi,

I found a small pic of an 110+ where the inner display frame could possibly look somewhat different to that of my F version (Sorry no better resolution available).

[Dave Frederickson]

Hi Ray,

I have an F arriving tomorrow that I won on TAS last week for $22 USD. It should have the enhanced display that I can compare to my other ones.

Thanks,
Dave

[Dave Frederickson]

According to Issue 17 of the HP PC Communicator, the P/N for the updated display is 45711-60955 and the 512K memory is 45711-60956.

[J-F Garnier]

The screen of my Portable Plus was upgraded at the time, and I still have the old one.
The updated one is rather yellow, whereas the old one was rather grey-green.
Anyway, the contrast has always been poor... but I like this machine.

Here are the two displays side by side:

[Dave Frederickson]

Thanks, Jean-Francois. The difference is more than I expected.

Dave