HP Calculator Firmware

[John Limpert]

Is there a document that lists the differences between the software in the HP-49G, HP-49G+ and HP-48GII? I'm familiar with most of the hardware differences between the models, it's the software that I'm fuzzy on. My understanding is that the HP-49G was an improved version of the HP-48G, and that the HP-48GII and HP-49G+ are improved versions of the HP-49G. Besides hardware dependent items, is there any difference between the software in the HP-48GII and HP-49G+? Does the keyboard on the HP-48GII suffer from the same problems as the HP-49G+?

[Diogenes]

No such document exists or is necessary. Long time users know there isn't a single new command added to the ROMs of the 49+ from the 49. Supposed bug fixes in the 49+ ROMS have only been to stop excessive battery usage and failed attempts to fix the keyboard problems.

[Arnaud Amiel]

However, some of the functions have been reimplemented to run directly on the ARM processor, garbage collection for instance and as the ROM is to be used on 48gii and 49g+ some checks are added for the SD card or the screen size.

So the 49g+ ROM is different from teh 49G but it is not obvious, as Diogenes says, not many new commands...

Arnaud

[James M. Prange (Michigan)]

As far as I know, no new UserRPL commands, although certain
existing commands may behave a little differently, due to being
implemented on new hardware or bug fixes (or attempted bug fixes).

New SysRPL commands (using extable2):

IsApple_

  Returns TRUE on my 49g+.

IsBigApple_

  Returns TRUE on my 49g+.

MidApple_

  Returns FALSE on my 49g+.

I've read a suggestion that MidApple_ checked the SD card, but it
doesn't matter whether or not I have the SD card inserted.

Using Nosy 4.1, it looks to me as if IsApple_ and IsBigApple_ end
up accomplishing the same thing, and IsMidApple_ just does the
inverse of IsBigApple_, but I'm not that good at reading assembly
code. Perhaps IsBigApple_ and IsMidApple_ are intended for
distinguishing a future model from the 49g+ and 48gII? But it
seems to me that there ought to be a command for distinguishing
the 48gII and 49g+....

In assembly language, the BUSCC command now does something; it's
used for accessing the ARM processor. Note that extable2 doesn't
seem to have BUSCC; use the opcode 80B instead. See these
query
results.

I've read that there are other new assembly language commands; see
this
thread. But the project that I've been working on is
intended to work on all three of the 49G, 49g+, and 48gII, so I
haven't tried any of the new assembly language commands.

Regards,
James

Edited: 29 Apr 2005, 10:01 p.m.