HP48 AUR on eBay

Did HP ever produce such a version of the AUR? It looks like someone may have just printed the HP48 AUR that exists as a PDF file and placed it into a 3-ring binder...

Yes, there IS an authentic HP-published HP 48G series AUR. You can still find copies from some sources, like Samson Cables or maybe CalcPro.

Perhaps I should clarify. I understand that HP did produce a AUR for the HP48G series. The version I know of resembles the User's Guide (softbound cover). However, the eBay auction shows a 3-ring binder version of the AUR. So, did HP ever produce a 3-ring binder form of the AUR?

Not to my knowledge; notice on that picture on eBay that there is an extended gray region on the binder cover. I don't recall there being such a huge gray region like that on the original book version. It was more of a thinner sliver. I think it's a (homemade) copy put in a binder with a nice cover jacket.

I'm not sure it's legal, even if it's dirt cheap...

I bought an HP48GX, interface cable, and AUR from a mail-order electronics distributor in 1999 (possibly 1998). It was from either "Wholesale Products" or "Wholesale Advantage" (can't remember which -- they are both still listed in the "Calculator Buying Guide" at hpcalc.org).

Anyway, my AUR appears to be exactly like the one shown in the eBay auction. I have always assumed that it was an authentic HP product; in fact, I didn't realize that the AUR came in any other formats besides the 3-ring binder.

I doubt that these are "homemade" copies. It's hard to see the scale in the eBay photos, but on my AUR the binder and paper are non-standard sizes: the paper is 5.5" x 8.5" (half size), and the binder is an unusual 10" x 8.8" size. Someone who wanted to print out the AUR from a CD would probably use standard 8.5" x 11" paper and a regular binder.

My guess would be that HP ran out of softbound AURs by 1999, needed more, and decided that it would be cheaper to reprint the AUR in binder format than in softbound format.

The binder version may be better than the softbound version in terms of functionality. It's bulky, and takes up a lot of shelf space, but it easily lies flat on your desk and stays open at any page.

To clarify a bit more, the printed pages in my AUR binder are almost exactly the same size as the pages in my softbound HP48G "User's Guide". They are not standard 8.5" x 11" pages.

It appears to me that the eBay AUR is identical, but since there is no scale in the photos, it's hard to see the dimensions.

Well, Wholesale Advantage or Wholesale Products appears to be no longer in existence, as a few years back, its link on one of the calculator site pages was nonfunctional and I cannot even find a website for it anymore.

If you know differently, please post!

If it is legal, then this is not a bad deal, to get a physical copy of the (really, rather large) AUR without having to photocopy it yourself!

If you go to this link, you will find some archived messages regarding the HP48G from December 1998 and January 1999. They include some discussion of the availability of the Advanced User's Reference, including the following:

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Jim Lawson is at Handi-Calc, and can be reached at 732-928-9528. the URL for Handi-Calc is http://www.waterw.com/~jake-s/handyclc.htm

I got my AUR from Jim, fair price, good shipping rate, and timely. I highly recommend him.

Glenn Capone

BTW, regarding the discussion about the bound vs. loose leaf style AUR, I got the loose leaf and like it very much. The binder allows it to lay flat when open, at the sacrifice of having to tote a larger book.

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I did a search on Google groups for "AUR binder hp48". Got the following messages from 1998 on comp.sys.hp48:

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I ordered an AUR from the US recently, and it also took a while to arrive (a few weeks after my GX did). When I queried the delay, I was told it was on back-order with HP.

It just arrived this morning, and is a ring binder with the manual in loose-leaf form. This kinda ties in with the other recent thread where someone tried to sell an AUR in this form.

From this I can only surmise:

1) HP isn't making a properly bound AUR any more (which might need lead to more speculation in itself :)

2) HP has run out (or there is a shortage), and is shipping the ring-binder version until more of the properly bound version are printed/available.

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I just checked the university bookstore...
They got a whole shipment of AUR manuals that are ALL in this
loose-leaf form. It looks pretty big. Not something I would
want to carry around.

Oh ya, they sell them for $24.95

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another reason for wanting a used [AUR] over a new one is that the new ones are bound in a three-ring binder, instead of the same type of book that the user's manual is. I am pretty sure that is the only way to get them now.

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