HP Prime wireless kit

[eried]

(02-25-2014 07:01 AM)cyrille de brébisson Wrote:  Yep. Calculator connected wirelessly apear just like calculator connected directly through USB in the con kit.

Any info about the technology used for the transmission? I don't think they are using some cheapo RF 433 mhz or anything like that? (Otherwise *any* homebrew version of the dongle can actually beat in performance and price the official one? ... maybe not in size -- yet)

[Mic]

Available late spring 2014.

[cyrille de brébisson]

Hello

Quote:Any info about the technology used for the transmission? I don't think they are using some cheapo RF 433 mhz or anything like that?

2.4Ghz range, but not wifi.

Cyrille

[debrouxl]

What about the communication protocol ? Are these dongles / antennas using a different USB class and protocol on top of it ?

[eried]

Yay! maybe I have the right ones (<3 usd in ebay, ordered 4 months ago):
http://www.nordicsemi.com/eng/Products/2...F/nRF24L01

[davetheguru]

(02-26-2014 06:47 AM)cyrille de brébisson Wrote:  Hello

Quote:Any info about the technology used for the transmission? I don't think they are using some cheapo RF 433 mhz or anything like that?

2.4Ghz range, but not wifi.
Cyrille

I was hoping it would use bluetooth, since my laptop has bluetooth built in (it is an HP Pavilion g7, maybe the PC and calc groups should talk sometimes).

[cyrille de brébisson]

Hello,

(02-26-2014 07:19 AM)eried Wrote:  Yay! maybe I have the right ones (<3 usd in ebay, ordered 4 months ago):
http://www.nordicsemi.com/eng/Products/2...F/nRF24L01

Yep, we are using the Nordic chips.
They show as HID devices and then we have our own protocol on top of it.

cyrille

[Mic]

http://www.derekenwinkel.nl/hp-prime-wireless-kit.html

availibility in March
169.95€ for 30 units + teacher module
a very good price compared to ti-nspire system sold 70€ per unit !

[eried]

(02-27-2014 04:49 AM)davetheguru Wrote:  

(02-26-2014 06:47 AM)cyrille de brébisson Wrote:  Hello
2.4Ghz range, but not wifi.
Cyrille

I was hoping it would use bluetooth, since my laptop has bluetooth built in (it is an HP Pavilion g7, maybe the PC and calc groups should talk sometimes).

2.4 nordic chips are a much better fit, energy efficient and cheap. BT<4LTE is wasteful and 4.0 is expensive

[dbbotkin]

I have had no luck finding the Wireless Kit in the US, however I found two online stores in Europe: on in NL, the other CH. Both show "in stock" and the price in USD for the "kit" would be about USD1,000 shipped here. Another store in AU shows inventory coming, but "only for Schools".

How many would be interested in a pair of orange thingy's for a hundred bucks shipped to you by USPS?

This is a serious question--I can put it up on KickStarter, or a group could support the order.

I suspect the focus on Europe is because they have more money to spend on education than we do here. Very sad to see that.

D

[Joe Horn]

(09-12-2014 02:35 AM)dbbotkin Wrote:  How many would be interested in a pair of orange thingy's for a hundred bucks shipped to you by USPS?

Cool idea... BUT... don't the dongles require the PC software to work? If so, we'd have to clarify how many copies of the software you'll be able to make without violating your license (and their copyright), lest you be left stranded with many unsellable dongles.

[patrice]

(09-12-2014 02:35 AM)dbbotkin Wrote:  I have had no luck finding the Wireless Kit in the US, however I found two online stores in Europe: on in NL, the other CH. Both show "in stock" and the price in USD for the "kit" would be about USD1,000 shipped here. Another store in AU shows inventory coming, but "only for Schools".

How many would be interested in a pair of orange thingy's for a hundred bucks shipped to you by USPS?

This is a serious question--I can put it up on KickStarter, or a group could support the order.

I suspect the focus on Europe is because they have more money to spend on education than we do here. Very sad to see that.

D

Wrong good idea !
If I remember well, there no com between orange modules ! only between teacher module and orange ones.

[dbbotkin]

The software is the Connectivity Kit, available as a download for no cost. Other posts here confirm that the dongle will allow sending between two Primes and the PC software is reported to "see" the Primes. The big question is whether the "access point" is required for that to work.

[toml_12953]

Will you need the new version of the Prime to use it, though? That will eliminate most people here.

[Thomas Radtke]

"Compatibility:

HP Prime Graphing Calculator (G8X92AA)
HP Connectivity Kit
HP Prime Emulator
Windows 8
Windows 7"

From this Datasheet

[dbbotkin]

Well, thanks for that bit of information! That also might explain why the HP store shows "out of stock" for the Prime and the Wireless Kit is only available in Europe as of now.

Here's a theory: the education system in Europe is not as obsessed with "standardized tests," and the new Prime model has been tweaked to better conform to the US testing regime. In other words, same basic functions, but more cheater-proof.

If the common practice these days--introducing a "new model" to foil hackers--applies to the "new" Prime, having an old model might work out just fine.

I'll hold off on ordering the Wireless Kit until there is more known about the "new" Prime.

[dbbotkin]

Old Prime vs. New Prime
Much confusion in the marketplace, both here and in Europe. Amazon US product search for "G8X92AA" takes one to a listing for the HP Prime, so I ordered one "just to see what would be delivered."

I researched the German site "forum.hp-prime.de" to see what I could find out. There was a lot of buzz about "defective product" and the new model, so I used Google Translate to learn more. (I worked in Germany and understand the language enough to get the gist)

Here's my hypothesis: the original Prime had a Prime to Prime capability and that continued as a possibility with the wireless kit--and was used by some in Europe successfully, but not perfectly.

HP then concluded that a two-way wireless link was not a great product feature for the Education market in the US, and disabled (or degraded depending on how one understands the blogs) the 2-way wireless link with the 6031 firmware update.

This got the Europeans in an uproar with comments like "get a refund or a new Prime" as they felt that an important feature had been taken from them.

Now (early 2014 announcement) there is a 'new' Prime for sale in Europe.

It remains unclear whether 2-way wireless is available, but informed sources on this forum suggest that is.

As a contributor and owner of the HP-PPC ROM, I think HP calculators are born to be taken apart and enhanced (e.g. my HP 67 now has a lithium battery), but this may not be the way things work these days.

D

[Thomas Radtke]

(09-12-2014 07:43 PM)dbbotkin Wrote:  Here's my hypothesis: [...]

Please note the SmartStream also doesn't work with the old Prime.

"Designed for use with the HP Prime Graphing Calculator (G8X92AA) [...]"

From http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetPDF.aspx...469ENW.pdf

The USB hardware is broken - no conspiracy between HP and schools ;-).

[dbbotkin]

Not suggesting any conspiracy at all. Certainly not HP with schools. Some Prime users in Europe seem concerned that their old version worked with wireless, but that function was taken down in the 6031 update. (that's from the forums) So I reported on that.

Now the 'new' version has been (fully?) approved by the US test administration firm (a corporation).

My speculation was that the wireless was good not enough for the tester's approval so it was removed from the 'old' version ROM and the 'new' version of the Prime has a hardware fix to better manage the wireless in 'exam' mode.

Probably the same calculator except for the wireless aspect.

[dbbotkin]

This is a "comparison" from a calculator store in NL,
  Products Comparison List - The Calculator Store - The Calculator Store.pdf (Size: 71.92 KB / Downloads: 45) attached as PDF. 'New' Prime €149, 'old' Prime €129.