Choosing an HP-48 - Thanks

[E.Lub_EU]

Dear all,

Please accept my apologies for not reacting earlier to your numerous and enlighting answers. I have unfortunately been kept away from this forum by more pressing matters.

All have been useful and I am still mulling over them, but I am now in a much better position to evaluate HP offerings of the time.
Thanks again.

Etienne

[Peter Murphy (Livermore)]

Etienne,

Back in the early 1990s there was discussion of the then-new 48G/GX, and of differences between them and the 48S/SX, that went into much more detail than the Forum responses to your question.

Yesterday I found a long item, "HP48 FAQ - Last-modified: 12/12/1994," which I think may give you more information you can use:

http://www.guzu.net/hp48/docs/hp-faq.htm

I would further note that there was little or no Forum discussion of reference materials that might help you explore the 48. I'd go for the 48G myself, and I'd start with the "HP 48 G Series User's Guide" and the "HP 48G series Advanced User's Reference Manual." Those might be enough.

But several non-HP books have helped me explore the 48G: in particular, four from Grapevine Publications, starting with "An Easy Course in Using and Programming the HP 48G/GZ."

Purchased as hard copies, all those books will cost as much as a 48G; some of them are available online, however, and perhaps others on the Forum can provide links.

Finally, I would note that I have had a lot of fun exploring problems provided by Project Euler; someone on the Forum recently said that he had solved about 100 of them, which I find very impressive.

[Chris Randle (UK)]

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Finally, I would note that I have had a lot of fun exploring problems provided by Project Euler;

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Seconded. I've only just discovered the site and I'm trying to work my way through it on a 50g. I've done the first 10 so far. It's great fun.

[E.Lub_EU]

Thanks for the link to the faq, Peter. I haven't gone though all of it yet, of course, but it looks really promising.

On this site I found an article from megarat listing serial numbers, ROM versions, etc. Most useful in my "pre-buying" situation.

Thanks for the tip about books. I have recently found some in French on Paul Courbis' site, but will try to get a glimpse at the one you suggested. I will also try to get a machine with its hardcopy documentation.

I will check Project Euler, but that might not be for beginners...

Thanks again!

Etienne

[Peter Murphy (Livermore)]

Etienne,

If I were in your position -- at least if that position were in the USA -- I'd be interested in this TAS auction (Item number: 320769824633) for a 48G, two manuals (one of them perhaps the AUMF), and a cable (perhaps the original, if one were included in the original package).

I'd wonder if the cable would allow me to connect this calculator to my Macintosh Power PC G4. Can anyone tell whether that's possible, and if so how?

Thanks.

[Marcus von Cube, Germany]

The 48G speaks Kermit so it should be possible to find software to connect it to your Mac. You need a serial interface but a USB to serial adapter should do. You can download an X modem server instead which should make the connection even easier. The server is part of the Conn4x package (Windows only) so it might be necessary to connect the 48G once to a Windows machine to install it.

[Raymond Wiker]

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The 48G speaks Kermit so it should be possible to find software to connect it to your Mac. You need a serial interface but a USB to serial adapter should do. You can download an X modem server instead which should make the connection even easier. The server is part of the Conn4x package (Windows only) so it might be necessary to connect the 48G once to a Windows machine to install it.

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I'm pretty sure that the HP48G has XMODEM support in ROM... I've transferred code to my HP48GX using minicom and rzsz (X/Y/Z-modem support).

[Cristian Arezzini]

I fondly remember the "good old days" when I connected almost every day my 48G to my Commodore Amiga, using a self-built serial cable and using only the information found on the user's manual (no such thing as Internet those days) and a standard Amiga xmodem software... :)

Cristian

[Marcus von Cube, Germany]

X-modem is available in ROM but not as a complete server, just as XSEND & XRCV (or similar) for single objects.