HP 42s programming help for novice



#2

I have recently purchased an HP 42s and would like to put a "QPI" fraction program on it, specifically, the one kindly put on the web by Mr Erik Ehrling. The other calculator I own is a 48G, but I have never tried programming anything on a calculator before, RPN/RPL or otherwise, so this is a new discovery for me.

I am having difficulty entering in some of these commands and symbols, which I cannot find on the calculator, in the menus.

The ones I am having trouble with are:
Line 49 - the T symbol rotated back 90 degrees (and anywhere in future commands where this symbol is repeated).
Line 95 - XEQ IND ST X (I can only enter XEQ followed by 2 numbers)
Line 103 - RCL ST Y (again, I can only enter RCL followed by 2 numbers, and any future instances where ST follows RCL)
Line 106 - XEQ IND 03 (can't find where the IND comes from, any future instances where IND follows XEQ)
Line 378 - STO ST L (again, unsure where the ST comes from).

Also, if we make a mistake on one of the lines after having entered all nearly 400 lines, how do we correct but not delete a line? The lack of an "edit" or "undo" buttons is something I miss from the 48.

I'm very much looking forward to your responses, thanks in advance.


#3

- the rotated T is 'ALPHA append": SHIFT ALPHA ENTER
- IND and ST, eg in XEQ IND or RCL ST Z: [XEQ] [.] (decimal point)
- XEQ IND ST X: [XEQ] [.] [.] [ST X]
cheers, Werner
#4

Quote:
Also, if we make a mistake on one of the lines after having entered all nearly 400 lines, how do we correct but not delete a line? The lack of an "edit" or "undo" buttons is something I miss from the 48.

The UP and DOWN keys are for browsing. Go to the erroneous line, hit [<-] and it will be deleted. Now enter the correct line there. Then use UP or DOWN to reach the next case.

HTH

d:-)

#5

Thanks everyone for the fast responses! The program works by the way. I'd have never even heard of this calculator without the HP Museum, or would ever have ventured to program a calculator for that matter!

Edited: 2 Feb 2013, 4:31 a.m.


#6

Congratulations on your HP-42S. Even though it was introduced 25 years ago, and discontinued 18 years ago, it remains almost universally acclaimed as the finest RPN calculator HP ever made...not perfect, but still overall the best. Many of its features have never again been offered in any HP RPN successor.

Thomas Okken's outstanding Free42 simulator is also amazing and available for about any conceivable device.


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