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- From: aschoorl@engr.uvic.ca (Andre Schoorl)
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp48,comp.sources.hp48,comp.answers,news.answers
- Subject: comp.sys.hp48 FAQ : 1 of 4 - Common Questions
- Followup-To: comp.sys.hp48
- Date: 14 April 2000 22:00:01 GMT
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- Summary: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about HP48 calculators
- Keywords: FAQ, HP48
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-
- Archive-name: hp/hp48-faq/part1
- Last-modified: 4/14/2000
- Version: 4.62
- Posting-Frequency: Every 14 days or so
-
- New in v4.62
-
- o Added another alternate solution to Compact Data Storage problem
-
- o Gave proper credit to Dave Hicks for his Q/A on RPN
-
-
- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
- Hash: SHA1
-
- HP48 Frequently Asked Questions List (FAQ)
- Andre Schoorl <aschoorl@engr.uvic.ca>
- v4.62, 14 April 2000
-
- Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about HP48 calculators
- ______________________________________________________________________
-
- Table of Contents
-
-
- 1. Introduction
-
- 1.1 Overview
- 1.2 This FAQ in Other Formats
- 1.3 Translations of this FAQ
-
- 2. Miscellaneous Questions
-
- 2.1 I'm a novice, and I have some questions. Where should I start?
- 2.2 What Usenet Newsgroups are there for the HP48?
- 2.3 What are some good sites for the HP48?
- 2.4 Are there any good WWW links for HP48 stuff?
- 2.5 Is there an HP48 IRC Channel?
- 2.6 How can I search for a specific HP48 file?
- 2.7 What are good places to buy HP48's and accessories?
- 2.8 What happened to EduCalc?
- 2.9 Are there any CD-ROMs with HP48 software?
- 2.10 Where can I find HP conference videotapes?
- 2.11 Are there any HP48 Emulators?
- 2.12 How can I make a dump of my HP48 ROM?
- 2.13 Is the HP48 Allowed on SATs, AP, or ACT Tests? (U.S.)
- 2.14 What is the HP49G?
- 2.15 How does the HP48 compare with other calculators?
- 2.16 What is the Universal Font Library (UFL)?
- 2.17 What are the best alternate editors?
- 2.18 Are there any PC fonts for the HP48?
- 2.19 Is the HP48 serial number available in memory?
- 2.20 What is the format of the HP48 serial number?
-
- 3. Questions about ROM versions
-
- 3.1 What does the SX/GX have that the S/G doesn't?
- 3.2 What is the difference between the HP48 G/GX and the HP48 S/SX?
- 3.3 What is the HP48 G+?
- 3.4 How can I tell what ROM revision I have?
- 3.5 What bugs exist in the various versions of the HP48?
- 3.6 What is new with the revision "J" ROM? (S/SX)
- 3.7 What happened to ROM revisions G, H, I, O, and Q?
- 3.8 Can I upgrade my HP48 S/SX?
- 3.9 Can I upgrade my buggy GX to the latest ROM revision?
- 3.10 What's the latest ROM version?
- 3.11 Why would I buy a S/SX rather than a G/GX?
-
- 4. Questions about the Operating System and Using the HP
-
- 4.1 How do I find the checksum of an object?
- 4.2 I typed RULES on my G/GX and got a crossword puzzle!
- 4.3 Why does my HP48 occasionally "freeze" for a moment?
- 4.4 What do I do if my HP48 locks up?
- 4.5 My HP48 seems to take longer to turn on and off.
- 4.6 What are all the different ON-KEY combinations?
- 4.7 What are the different interactive self-tests?
- 4.8 Why do I get an ESD error when I check my batteries with the self test?
- 4.9 I can't account for some of the RAM in the HP48!
- 4.10 What are the best methods for installing and removing libraries?
- 4.11 How can I attach large libraries?
- 4.12 What are those little numbers near the top of my screen?
- 4.13 Can I use my HP48 as a remote control?
- 4.14 Can the HP48 be used as a DTMF phone dialer?
- 4.15 How can I run a program on warmstarts and/or power-up?
- 4.16 I could speed up my HP-28S. How can I speed up my HP48?
- 4.17 What is the hidden directory and how do I access it?
- 4.18 How can I recall one object from a memory archive?
- 4.19 Are there any key combinations that aren't in the manual?
- 4.20 How do I find out about commands not in the GX manual?
- 4.21 How can one delete (or purge) an entire directory?
- 4.22 How does binary wordsize affect my calculations?
- 4.23 Can I add my own equations to HP's Equation Library?
-
- 5. Questions about Math, Plotting, and Equations
-
- 5.1 Why does (1/3)*3 equal 0.999999999999?
- 5.2 Why does my HP say that 0 to the power of 0 equals 1?
- 5.3 What is RPN?
- 5.4 Why did HP use RPN in their calculators?
- 5.5 Is there an alternative to calculating in RPN?
- 5.6 Why do I get unexpected values when I add temperatures?
- 5.7 How can I add my own units? What's the 1_? unit for?
- 5.8 I want `pi' to be a numeric value, not a symbol.
- 5.9 What tricks are there for manipulating matrices?
- 5.10 Can I make my HP graph any faster?
- 5.11 How do I plot inequalities?
- 5.12 How do I take the logarithm of a base other than 10 or e?
- 5.13 How do I solve quadratic equations?
- 5.14 Why do I get a complex answers for roots of negative numbers?
- 5.15 Why doesn't '(-8)^(2/3)' give me the right answer (4)?
- 5.16 How do I solve polynomials?
- 5.17 How can I do statistics for grouped data?
- 5.18 How do I generate a function table?
-
- 6. Questions about cards, data transfers, batteries, and hardware
-
- 6.1 My HP48 seems to making a high pitched noise.
- 6.2 Can I upgrade my S or G to more than 32K ram?
- 6.3 Can I add a lithium battery backup?
- 6.4 How can I get/build a cable for my HP48?
- 6.5 HP seems to offer two link kits with different prices.
- 6.6 Is there any communications software available?
- 6.7 Why doesn't the I/R port work farther than a few inches?
- 6.8 Can my HP48 talk to my HP100LX via Infrared?
- 6.9 Can I use my HP48 to communicate with IrDA devices?
- 6.10 Can I print to a LaserJet printer with an HP48?
- 6.11 I downloaded a program but all I get is "HPHP48-..."!
- 6.12 What is the structure of HP48 ASCII headers?
- 6.13 Why do Kermit transfers seem to get slower?
- 6.14 Why does XRECV not work sometimes? (GX)
- 6.15 Additional Tips on Transfers
- 6.16 What do the funny symbols in this document mean?
- 6.17 What are the pinouts for the HP48 serial connector?
- 6.18 Is there any information on interfacing to the HP48?
- 6.19 How can I transfer programs/data from my HP-28S to my HP48?
- 6.20 Can I use rechargeable batteries with the HP48?
- 6.21 How can I tell, from within a program, if the battery is low?
- 6.22 I lost the information on my RAM Card when I changed the battery!
- 6.23 Why do I get an "Invalid card data" error when I merge a RAM card?
- 6.24 I've heard about other manufacturer's RAM cards. Will they work?
- 6.25 How does RAM card locking work?
- 6.26 What are the advantages and disadvantages of covered ports? (GX)
- 6.27 Why does the HP48 display flicker slightly?
- 6.28 I broke the LCD screen - is there an easy way to get another?
- 6.29 How can I protect my LCD?
- 6.30 Is there a rigid (protective) case for the HP48?
- 6.31 Can I use my Amateur Radio with my HP48?
-
- 7. Questions about programs
-
- 7.1 Where can I get programs and information for the HP48?
- 7.2 What are the Goodies Disks and where do I get them?
- 7.3 How do I get access to the HP Calculator BBS?
- 7.4 What are files that end with ".zip", ".Z", ".gz", or ".bz2"?
- 7.5 What is a "ship" file?
- 7.6 What is the ASC format and how can I use it?
- 7.7 What is the HYDE library, and how do I get rid of it?
- 7.8 What is the Minehunt game, and how do I use it?
-
- 8. Questions about programming and advanced user functions
-
- 8.1 I've heard the names RPL, Saturn, STAR, GL etc... What are they?
- 8.2 Is there a C compiler for the HP48?
- 8.3 Why do SysRPL programs run faster than UserRPL programs?
- 8.4 What is a good reference for learning SysRPL and ML?
- 8.5 Can I make my own libraries? Can I split others?
- 8.6 How do I know what library ID number to use for my program?
- 8.7 What information is there on the internals of the HP48?
- 8.8 Where can I get some programming development tools?
- 8.9 I know UserRPL. How do I get started in SysRPL?
- 8.10 Are there any viruses for the HP48?
- 8.11 How do I store fields of variable length effectively?
- 8.12 What is "Vectored Enter", and how do I use it?
- 8.13 What is "WSLOG"?
- 8.14 What are SYSEVALs?
- 8.15 What are some useful SYSEVALs?
- 8.16 What are LIBEVALs?
- 8.17 What are some useful LIBEVALs? (GX)
- 8.18 What is the format of a GROB object?
- 8.19 What is the AUR and what information does it contain?
- 8.20 What is the syntax for INFORM, CHOOSE, and MSGBOX? (GX)
- 8.21 How do I put checkfields in my INFORM menus?
- 8.22 What is the syntax for the INPUT command?
-
- 9. Appendix A: Various Useful Functions
-
- 9.1 ASC Functions
- 9.2 OBJFIX
- 9.3 FIXIT
- 9.4 LASTX
- 9.5 Compact Data Storage
- 9.6 HP82240B Printer Codes
-
- 10. Appendix B: GX Specific Information
-
- 10.1 What's new in the HP48 G/GX?
- 10.2 Examples of INFORM, CHOOSE, and MSGBOX
- 10.3 Some useful LIBEVALs
-
- 11. Appendix C: Details of Bugs
-
- 11.1 The EquationWriter Bug
- 11.2 Rotation Rate to Angular Frequency Conversion Bug
-
- 12. Appendix D: Hardware Additions
-
- 12.1 How to Make a Serial Cable
- 12.2 Using a modem with the HP48
- 12.3 Additional Information on the HP48 and RS-232
- 12.4 Using Non-HP RAM Cards
- 12.5 Where can one obtain third party RAM cards?
-
- 13. Appendix E: Where to get HP48 Programs
-
- 13.1 Best Programs and Where to Get Them List
- 13.2 Other Web / FTP Sites
- 13.3 FTP by Electronic Mail
- 13.4 Bulletin Boards with HP48 Programs
- 13.5 HP Goodies Disks
-
- 14. Contributors
-
- ______________________________________________________________________
-
- 1. Introduction
-
- This FAQ is maintained by Andre Schoorl <aschoorl@engr.uvic.ca>
-
- It was previously maintained by Keith Maddock, and was originally
- compiled by Darryl Okahata. Many thanks to both for their time and
- contributions!
-
- I rely on your input in order to keep this FAQ up to date. If you
- have any suggestions or updates, feel free to mail them to me. If you
- have a correction or suggestion to make, please include the name of a
- specific question rather than its number as the number is
- automatically generated and can change between versions.
-
-
- 1.1. Overview
-
- The purpose of this FAQ is to provide answers to commonly asked
- questions about the Hewlett Packard HP48 family of scientific
- calculators. This list contains information which has not necessarily
- been verified, and is not guaranteed to be correct. It has been
- compiled from various postings in the newsgroups comp.sys.hp48 and
- comp.sys.handhelds, as well as other sources. In particular, some
- parts were taken from older HP48 SX "FAQ Lists".
-
- For some questions, there may be different answers for each calculator
- (G/GX vs. S/SX). In this case S/SX specific information is preceeded
- by an "SX:" on the left margin of the first line of each S/SX specific
- paragraph. G/GX information is denoted by a "GX:" in the same place.
- If a paragraph has no notation, then it is valid for all versions.
-
-
- 1.2. This FAQ in Other Formats
-
- This document was made using the SGML-Tools (Standard Generalized
- Markup Language) package and is available in ASCII, HTML, and
- PostScript versions. All versions come from the same source, and are
- thus updated simultaneously.
-
- The URL for the HTML version is
- <http://www.engr.uvic.ca/~aschoorl/faq/>. The other formats are also
- available here in separate zip files.
-
- The PostScript version is formatted for letter size paper, but it is
- also possible to create PostScript for legal size paper. Furthermore,
- DVI, LaTeX, Lyx, Info, and RTF forms of the FAQ are also possible.
- Since it is impractical to provide all of these formats, the SGML
- source is available in case anyone wants to create one of these
- formats on their own.
-
- Text only versions of the FAQ will be posted to the newsgroup
- comp.sys.hp48 as needed (usually every two weeks). Also, remember
- that all official FAQs (including this one) are mirrored at
- <ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/>.
-
- Furthermore, it is posted to comp.answers and news.answers.
-
- I will sign all text versions with PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) using the
- following key for authenticity, and provide MD5 Checksums for the
- remaining files. You can get a copy of this public key from the
- keyserver at <http://pgpkeys.mit.edu/>, or through the URL above.
-
-
- Type Bits KeyID Created Expires Algorithm Use
- sec+ 1024 2CFAA0BB 1997-06-21 ---------- DSS Sign and Encrypt
- sub 2048 F940E148 1997-06-21 ---------- Diffie-Hellman
- uid Andre P. Schoorl <aschoorl@engr.uvic.ca>
-
-
- Alternatively, you can download the FAQ at one the following
- locations:
-
-
- North America:
-
- o <http://www.hpcalc.org/docs/faq/>
-
- Europe:
-
- o <ftp://ftp.stud.fh-heilbronn.de/pub/systems/hp48/incoming/>
-
- o <ftp://ftp.stud.fh-heilbronn.de/pub/systems/hp48/info/FAQ/>
-
-
- 1.3. Translations of this FAQ
-
- These translations may not be as up to date as the main FAQ, but
- should still be useful for international users who are more
- comfortable with their native language.
-
-
- Portugese:
-
- o <http://members.tripod.com/~area48/> by Carlos Alberto Marangon
-
- Spanish:
-
- o <http://www.alumnos.utfsm.cl/~aarrieta/hp48.html> by Alejandro
- Arrieta Rios and Guido Carvajal
-
-
- 2. Miscellaneous Questions
-
- 2.1. I'm a novice, and I have some questions. Where should I start?
-
- Start by perusing the HP48 manuals. You'd be amazed how many
- questions can be answered if you read the manuals.
-
-
- SX:
- Earlier HP48 S/SX manuals came in two volumes. The first volume
- dealt with operating instructions, and the second volume dealt
- with programming. Later HP48 S/SX manuals combined these two
- volumes into one.
-
- GX:
- HP48 G/GX models come with a one-volume owners manual that
- covers all of the non-programming aspects of the calculator. An
- Advanced User's Reference (AUR) is available that covers
- programming aspects. It is highly recommended. They also come
- with a Quick Start Guide, a guided tour of some of the HP48's
- capabilities.
-
- Also, look over the section "Answers to Common Questions", in Appendix
- A of the manual. If you have a two-volume manual, it will be in
- volume II.
-
-
- 2.2. What Usenet Newsgroups are there for the HP48?
-
-
- comp.sys.hp48
- Primary HP48 newsgroup.
-
- comp.sys.handhelds
- Occasionally, HP48 information is posted to this newsgroup.
-
- comp.sources.hp48
- This newsgroup has been dead for years, but was once a moderated
- group for HP48 Programs.
-
- es.comp.sistemas.hp48
- Is a spanish newsgroup for the HP48.
-
- Articles posted to the newsgroup comp.sys.hp48 are archived at
- <ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/usenet/comp.sys.hp48/>. Articles are
- archived by year and month, with a general index covering
- approximately the past two years.
-
- The AltaVista search engine at <http://www.altavista.digital.com>
- also accesses these archives (for a Usenet search), and automatically
- uncompresses any relevant articles you may select.
-
- DejaNews <http://www.dejanews.com/> is another fast Usenet
- archiver/searcher, with many extra features such as Author profile and
- article search. The only drawback is that it strips attachments from
- posts (uuencode, MIME) to save space.
-
- Another good way to find HP48 posts is through one of the various
- search engines available on the web. For example, Netscape, Lycos,
- and Magellan and others all seem to be able to find Usenet articles on
- the HP48. The search may even find articles that have long since
- expired from your local news server!
-
-
- 2.3. What are some good sites for the HP48?
-
- Many HP48 programs can be found on the following FTP sites:
-
- o <http://www.hpcalc.org/>
-
- o <ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/calculators/>
-
- o <ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/systems/hp/hp48/>
-
- For a list of other HP48 FTP sites, see Appendix E-2.
-
-
- 2.4. Are there any good WWW links for HP48 stuff?
-
- Rather than list out a long list of HP48 related WWW resources, here
- is a single HP48 Page which contains links to other HP48 pages:
-
- o <http://www.gmi.edu/~madd0118/hp48/>
-
- Another well maintained site is <http://www.hpcalc.org/>.
-
-
- 2.5. Is there an HP48 IRC Channel?
-
- Yes, try connecting to an EFNet server and join channel #hp48. Many
- of the most knowledgeable HP48 users frequent it, making it a nice
- place to get your questions answered. There are even two IRC robots
- (hp48b and RPL) on the channel. The following information will get
- you started:
-
- First, download an appropriate IRC client. Collection of clients are
- available at <http://www.irchelp.org> or <ftp://ftp.undernet.org/>
-
- Second, find a working EFNet server and join #hp48. A list of servers
- is given at
- <http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/networks/servers/efnet.html>
-
-
- 2.6. How can I search for a specific HP48 file?
-
- If you know the all or part of the filename of an HP48 program, you
- can use the proper Internet search services instead of bothering all
- the readers of the newsgroup. The following server is especially
- good, it seems to find HP48 files from just about anywhere.
-
-
- <http://ftpsearch.ntnu.no/ftpsearch>
-
-
- 2.7. What are good places to buy HP48's and accessories?
-
-
- X-Philes CD-ROM:
- There is a CD-ROM called the X-Philes on the market that
- includes many HP48 files. See the next question for more
- details.
-
- Office Max:
-
-
- Toll Free: (800) 788-8080
-
-
- Wholesale Products:
- This is another company on the web that sells HP handhelds,
- including the HP48. Their address is
- <http://www.wholesaleproducts.com> or you can mail inquiries to
- <wholesal@shore.net>
-
-
- The Mall At Wholesale Products
- 400 West Cummings Park
- Suite 1725-122
- Woburn, MA 01801
- 781-438-8622 (Telephone, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Boston time)
- 781-438-8307 (FAX, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from anywhere)
- E-mail: wholesal@shore.net
-
-
- Web:
- North America:
-
- o <http://www.wholesaleadvantage.com/hpcalcs.html>
-
- o <http://www.waterw.com/~jake-s/handyclc.htm>
-
-
- o <http://www.dvtg.com/>
-
- o <http://www.smi.com/>
-
- o <http://www.tdsway.com/>
-
- o <http://www.ramss.com/>
-
- o <http://www.chotkeh.com/>
-
- o <http://muffet.com/samsoncables/>
-
- o <http://www.calculatorsinc.com/>
-
- Europe:
-
- o <http://members.aol.com/weidatec/>
-
- o <http://www.Digitalis.de/>
-
- o <http://stolte-edv.com/>
-
- o <http://home.t-online.de/home/FFFFF/>
-
- o <http://www.bbm.e.se/>
-
- o <http://www.geocities.com/Eureka/Enterprises/3190/>
-
-
- Others:
-
-
- Global Connections Incorporated (formerly Connection Point, Inc.)
- 50 South River Street, Suite 105, Janesville, WI 53545
- Tel: (608)-752-9548 or (608)-752-1537
-
- Oxford Educational Supplies (U.K.)
- Tel: 01869 343369 (mail order)
- Notes: No shipping charge for within U.K.
-
- Spectrum Office Equipment
- 22 Stokes Croft Bristol (U.K.).
- 0117 9428278
-
- Best (Western U.S., used to be La Belles) 1-800-950-2378
-
- Calculators Inc., Minneapolis, MN, U.S. (612) 866-8908
-
- Carrington, (800) 982-3731
-
- J&R Music World - Computer World 1-800-221-8180
-
- Office Depot (U.S. and Canada)
-
- Service Merchandise (East Coast U.S.)
-
-
- 2.8. What happened to EduCalc?
-
- EduCalc, which had been one of the best sources for HP48's and
- accessories, went out of business on 31 December 1997.
-
-
- 2.9. Are there any CD-ROMs with HP48 software?
-
- Yes, there are a few CD-ROMs with HP48 software I know of:
-
- HP48 Archive CD:
- The most current set of files at <http://www.hpcalc.org/> is
- always available on a custom burnt CD-R. Details are at the
- same URL.
-
- X-Philes:
- The X-Philes is a CD-ROM made by Synchron Data that contains
- most HP48 programs to date. All together the CD-ROM contains
- over 21,000 files and more than 620 MB of information, mostly
- zipped.
-
- The HP48 sections contain 3194 files and make up 38.5 MB of the
- total. This includes all of the Goodies disks (aka Horn disks)
- 1 through 10.
-
- There are also files for HP95, Psion, TI-82 and TI-85
- calculators, as well as information and programs on:
-
- Jokes, Star Trek, Sports, Midi, History, Strange files,
- Conspiracy, Law and Business, Internet & Networks, Atari, BBS-
- Systems, Hardware, Computers, 3D-Objects, Anarchy, Hacking,
- Movies, X-Files, Music, Magazines, Science, UFO and Aliens,
- Occult, Security & Privacy, Amiga, Cyberspace, Subcultures,
- Radio, Virus hunting, Survival, Phreaking, PC utilities, Game
- cheats and levels, and Programming.
-
- The CD comes with easy to use Windows software for browsing and
- searching for keywords. This software contains an upload
- feature that allows you to transfer programs directly to your HP
- (or modem) using X-Modem.
-
- More information on obtaining the X-Philes CD-ROM is at:
-
- WWW: <http://www.algonet.se/~synchron/>
-
- E-Mail: <dt93tn@pt.hk-r.se>
-
- Regular Post:
-
-
- Synchron Data
- Tranbarsvagen 25:14
- 372 38 Ronneby
- Sweden
-
-
- SHAREWARE Volume 1 for Hewlett-Packard:
- There is a CD-ROM by a German company called Yellow Computing
- named SHAREWARE Volume 1 for Hewlett-Packard. It sells for DEM
- 49.80 (U.S.$ 34.00), and is distributed from:
-
-
- Yellow Computing Phone +49 7136 951143
- Computersysteme GmbH Fax +49 7136 951111
- Postfach 1136
- D-74173 Bad Friedrichshall
- Germany
-
- This is the German company which offers PC <-> HP-48 transfer
- cables together with Windows software for transfering files (the
- "Transfile Win 48" package).
-
- The CD-ROM comes with a 16 page booklet in German and English which
- shows how to use the included Windows 3.1 transfer program (with
- program and catalogue files in both languages).
-
- It's sampled in Aug 95, pressed Oct 95 and contains about 85 MB of
- software for the HP48 SX/GX, 95LX, 100LX and 200LX; the Horn disks
- 1 through 9, and about 710 additional HP-48 programs in the 9
- categories: Animation, Data, Games, Graphic, Programming, Maths,
- Memory, Science, Utility and Communications. It also has about 200
- other unsorted, compressed HP48 files. Decompression software is
- included.
-
- It's not an ISO CD-ROM, since it contains directories and files,
- whose names contain exclamation marks, hyphens and dollar signs.
-
-
- Handheld HP CD-ROM Library:
- This collection contains 13,611 files for a total of 314 MB of
- compressed software for HP Handhelds. The principal groups of
- this collection are:
-
-
- 1. HP28C/S (up to 2.5 Mb) Applications, Games, Utils, Docs.
-
- 2. HP48S/SX (up to 48 Mb) Applications, Business, Chemistry,
- Communications, Emulators, Games, Graphics, Math, Physics,
- Programming, Sound, Time, Utils, Docs.
-
- 3. HP48G/GX (up to 40 Mb) Applications, Business, Chemistry,
- Communications, Games, Graphics, Math, Physics, Programming,
- Sound, Time, Utils, Docs, Sys-RPL.
-
- 4. HP38G (up to 2 Mb) Applets, Applet Development Kit, Docs.
-
- Platform files total 30 MB, additional documentation is 18 MB,
- various collections including the Horn disks and SysRPL
- collection total 106 MB, and finally 58 MB of information from
- HP groups around the world.
-
- For more information, orders, and pricing send e-mail to
- <carles@idgrup.ibernet.com>
-
-
- Ingenieur Professional CD ROM
- This is another German CD issued by Harald Kresin and Franz
- Lorenz. It contains roughly 67 MB of HP Software. Their web
- page is <http://home.t-online.de/home/05713201317> and their e-
- mail is <05713201317@t-online.de;
-
- Their address is
-
-
- Franz Lorenz
- Pocketcomputer & Zubehoer
- Bruchstr. 51, D-32423 Minden Germany
-
-
- 2.10. Where can I find HP conference videotapes?
-
- Jake Schwartz maintains a list of videotapes of HP handhelds meetings
- / demos / conferences going back as far as 1986 and the intro of the
- HP18C. They are available at relatively low cost to anyone who is
- interested. The URL is <http://www.waterw.com/~jake-s/video.htm>.
-
-
- 2.11. Are there any HP48 Emulators?
-
- A fully functional HP48 emulator by Eddie Dost called "x48" is
- available. It runs in X-Windows on any Unix based operating system
- like Linux or Solaris. However, it requires a ROM dump of an HP48 to
- run. Of course, due to copyright laws such a ROM dump cannot be
- distributed with the x48 package.
-
- Therefore, you must be the proud owner of an HP48 (S/SX or G/GX) in
- order to create your own ROM dump. The emulator will look and act
- either like a S/SX or a G/GX, depending on what type of ROM dump you
- give it. Further instructions are contained in the x48 package
- itself. The latest version of x48 is available at
- <http://www.hpcalc.org/pc/emulators/>
-
- There is also a freeware emulator for Windows called Emu48. It is
- written by Sebastien Carlier, and runs under either Windows 95 or NT.
- It offers many exciting features, including fast speed, saving of
- memory, direct loading of files onto the stack, a greatly customizable
- interface, and support for ports through 33. It supports both S/SX
- and G/GX ROM dumps, and comes with a "RomDump Wizard" to help you
- create one.
-
- The binaries and full C++ source code, distributed under the GNU
- Public License, as well as more information, are available at
- <http://www.epita.fr:8000/~sebc/Emu48/>. There are also a series of
- "Unofficial Service Packs" available at
- <http://privat.swol.de/ChristophGiesselink/>.
-
- An emulator for the HP38, based on Emu48 has also been created. It is
- available at <http://www.epita.fr/~avenar_j/hp/38.html>
-
- There is also an HP48 S/SX/G/GX Emulator for Amiga computers called
- Alcuin. See <http://www.cis.tu-
- graz.ac.at/home/schupfer/Alcuin/index.html> for more information.
-
-
- 2.12. How can I make a dump of my HP48 ROM?
-
- Emulators for the HP48 generally require an image of your HP48's
- internal ROM, also known as a "ROM Dump". Currently the best program
- to make a dump of your ROM is ROMDump Wizard by Christoph Giesselink.
- It is available at <http://privat.swol.de/ChristophGiesselink/>
-
-
- 2.13. Is the HP48 Allowed on SATs, AP, or ACT Tests? (U.S.)
-
- From: Jack Levy
-
- The S/SX/G/GX are allowed on the SAT's. The S/SX/G/GX are allowed on
- the SAT II Math IIc test, but no calculators are allowed on any of the
- others. The S/SX/G/GX are allowed on the AP Calculus exam. However,
- only the S/SX are allowed on the AP Chem and AP Physics exams because
- the G/GX has the built in equation library.
-
- Update from: Sandler Rubin
-
-
- As of 1996, HP 48G calculators are allowed on the physics and
- chemistry APs, but only for the free response section. All
- calculators are now banned on the multiple choice sections on the
- physics and chemistry APs. As for calculus, the HP 48G is allowed on
- one half of the multiple choice and all of the free response. The
- other half of the multiple choice on the calculus test must be
- completed without any calculator.
-
- These changes have occurred because the AP tests are now more
- conceptual and depend less on pure "number-crunching". In the free
- response sections of the chemistry and physics tests, lists of
- important physics equations are include for student use which
- basically make the HP 48G EqLib redundant.
-
- Update from: John Goerzen
-
- After a lot of discussion with Candance Noble <Noble@act.org> of ACT,
- they changed their policy to allow it only if the IR port is covered
- with opaque tape. Their response follows:
-
- This notice is in response to questions ACT has received about
- acceptable calculators. Please pass this clarification on to others.
-
- Effective Fall 1996, examinees may use calculators on the ACT
- Assessment and PLAN Mathematics Tests. Students taking the ACT
- Assessment should review page 3 of Registering for the ACT Assessment.
- Students taking PLAN should review page 4 of the Planning Guide for
- Students and Parents. All makes and models of calculators are
- acceptable -- including programmable calculators and hinged
- calculators with mathematical formulas printed by the manufacturer on
- the inside flap -- provided the calculator does not have any of the
- unacceptable features specified in the ACT publications noted above
- and further clarified below. Examinees using unacceptable calculators
- will be dismissed from testing.
-
- The following information is provided to help students select an
- acceptable calculator if they choose to use one on the ACT Assessment
- or PLAN Mathematics Test.
-
-
- POCKET ORGANIZERS, HANDHELD OR LAPTOP COMPUTERS
- All such devices are prohibited.
-
-
- ELECTRONIC WRITING PADS/PEN INPUT DEVICES
- Such models are readily recognizable due to the pen or stylus
- used to input data. All such devices are prohibited.
-
-
- The term QWERTY derives from the first six letter keys (left to
- right) of the top row of typewriters, personal computers, most
- handheld and laptop computers, pocket organizers, and
- specialized calculators. All models with QWERTY keyboards are
- prohibited.
-
-
- PAPER TAPE
- If a calculator has a feature that provides paper output, the
- paper must be removed to make the calculator acceptable.
-
-
- NOISE
- Calculators that have a "talking" or audio feature are
- acceptable in a group testing situation only if the sound
- feature has been turned off.
- WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
- Calculators that can communicate (transfer data or information)
- wirelessly with other calculators can be recognized by the
- "window" or infrared data port on the top edge of the
- calculator, similar to one on a television remote control. Such
- calculators are acceptable only if the wireless transfer
- capability is disabled by placing opaque material (such as
- masking tape) over the infrared data port.
-
-
- POWER CORD
- If a calculator can run on either battery or electrical cord,
- the electrical cord must be removed to make the calculator
- acceptable.
-
-
- 2.14. What is the HP49G?
-
- On May 21st, 1999, at the OpenHP Conference in Paris, France, Hewlett
- Packard announced the HP49G graphic calculator. The following
- information comes from Jean-Yves Avenard of HP's ACO (Australian
- Calculator Operation).
-
-
- Hardware
-
- o 512KB of RAM
-
- o 2MB of flash memory (1MB used for upgradable ROM, 1MB available
- to user)
-
- o 4MHz Saturn CPU
-
- o 131x64 pixel screen (black instead of blue, so higher contrast)
-
- o 51-key keyboard with tactile rubber keys
-
-
- o This is not the same type of keyboard as the HP48 has but it is
- still an HP quality keyboard. Rubber keys don't always mean bad
- quality, as there are a lot of mechanical parts to make a
- keyboard.
-
- o The feeling is extremely similar to the HP48 keyboard. Do you
- really think that HP could let a new product go out of its doors
- with a keyboard that will break after 6 months?
-
-
- o New keyboard layout - a user friendly keyboard that incorporates
- the strengths of the existing RPN keyboard layout and the more
- familiar algebraic style keyboard layouts on the HP 38G, TI-83
- and TI-89.
-
- o Metallic blue case with a translucent blue-tint slide-on cover.
- You can put it in the HP48's case if you prefer a soft case.
-
- o No IR, but an HP49<->HP49 cable is provided (adapter included
- for connection to HP48). There were problems in some countries
- with some teachers fearing the HP48 would be used to cheat
- because of the IR port.
-
- o RS-232 serial port with Kermit (binary, ASCII) and Xmodem (128
- checksum, 1K, 1K CRC) running at 9600 bps (15360 bps internally,
- but no PCs support that speed).
-
- o Any unit may be directly connected to a data-logger, overhead
- projector, a personal computer or another HP 48G Series or HP
- 49G graphing calculator.
-
- o The hardware is not expandable, but the ROM can be software-
- upgraded and there is plenty of memory, so this should not be a
- problem.
-
-
- Memory Management
-
- o Even though the Saturn can only access 512K of memory, a new
- bank switching routine is used, in addition to absolute
- addresses, making it much faster.
-
- o The user sees three ports of memory: Internal System RAM (256KB,
- port 0), Extended RAM (256KB, port 1), and Flash User ROM (1MB,
- port 2).
-
- o The system will manage how to copy your files for you, so there
- is no need to get lost in a bank.
-
-
- Software
-
- o Step-by-step solving option that enables you to learn how to get
- the right answer numerically or symbolically.
-
- o The most complete built-in Computer Algebra System (CAS)
- currently available on a calculator for fast, advanced symbolic
- manipulation and solving.
-
-
- o Imagine an HP48 with Erable and ALG48 plus everything that is
- missing. Now speed it up so it can compete (and be faster) than
- anything else on the calculator market. That's the HP49's CAS.
-
-
- o Inferential and Descriptive Statistics (suitable for Advanced
- Placement and College/University level statistics).
-
- o A fast, flexible and intelligent Editor for isolating, editing,
- manipulating and evaluating text, equations, expressions, sub-
- expressions, programs and graphs.
-
- o Input and Output Customization - choose between "textbook" form
- (pretty print), algebraic and RPN input and "textbook" and
- algebraic output in various font styles and sizes.
-
-
- o When you first boot the machine, it's an algebraic machine. If
- you don't like algebraic mode, simply press Mode, select "RPN"
- and that's it. You're back to the HP48 Reverse Polish Notation
- mode forever and ever (at least until you clear the memory or
- manually switch back to algebraic). It works EXACTLY like the
- HP48, but faster.
-
-
- o Between 10 and 100 times faster than the existing HP 48G Series
-
-
- o The OS has been completely rewritten, mainly in assembly
- language, so nearly everything that was slow on the HP48 works
- faster, including input forms, choose boxes, stack display,
- command line, file manager, etc. When I say faster, I mean MUCH
- faster. The HP49 is even faster than an HP48 with the MetaKernel
- running in it.
-
-
- o There is no longer a built-in equation library but the constants
- library remains.
-
- o Do you think the 4MHz CPU is slow? The 3D real-time plotter can
- draw 6 frames (for a 14*14 points matrix) per second... It's
- faster than any current competitors! You can rotate in real time
- over the X axis, Y axis and even the Z axis.
-
-
- Programming
-
- o Provides four programming languages:
-
-
- 1. HP Basic: like a hybrid between RPL and Basic. This does not
- have GOTO and cannot really be called Basic, as it looks like
- the HP38G's programming language. Example code:
-
-
- FOR(i,1,100)
- DISP(i,1);
- IF I+1-5==50 THEN DISP("Hello World",2) ELSE DISP("I'm off",2) END
- STEP(1)
-
-
- 2. User RPL: Just like the HP48's built-in language. To reuse a
- User RPL program from an HP48, send it to the 49 using ASCII
- Kermit.
-
- 3. System RPL: Development software, including disassembler,
- built into ROM but not supported.
-
- 4. Assembly language: Development software, including
- disassembler, built into ROM but not supported
-
-
- o Grayscale support (in ASM as well as System RPL). All System RPL
- graphic routines work on grayscale graphics.
-
- o Vectorized Interrupt System (add your own interrupt handler)
-
- o To run an HP48 application on the HP49, just recompile it. It
- will probably run faster, too, especially if it uses the GUI.
-
- o Entry points have moved to make the ROM easier to maintain, but
- programs will still be compatible at the source code level.
-
- The HP49 is the most powerful calculator ever announced at any time.
- It works in two ways: one fully compatible with the HP48 series,
- including RPN but faster, and the other algebraic, easy for users of
- other calculator brands to learn to use.
-
- Although you may not agree with some of the specifications above,
- please wait until you touch it before complaining. After all, the HP49
- was developed by HP48 users and tested by HP48 users!
-
- For more information, visit the HP Calculator Archive at
- <http://www.hpcalc.org/>
-
- 2.15. How does the HP48 compare with other calculators?
-
- From: Chin-Yu Hsu <chinyu@voyager.bxscience.edu>
-
- What are the differences between the HP48 and the TI?
-
- Before listing the differences, I wish to let you know that the HP48
- has much more functionality than the TI's. However, these additional
- functions are usually of no help in high school than the TI. Instead,
- they are only helpful in college depending on the course you take. The
- TI is probably a better choice on tests in high school since it is
- easier to use (to most people) and does calculations faster (because
- it offers speed at the expense of the higher precision of the HP48).
- Please note that the HP also offers the HP38 which is more comparable
- to a TI-82.
-
- Also, you should realize that if you want support for the graphing
- calculator, the HP48 is the one to get. Although you can get support
- from Texas Instrument (by phone and by web), and also by teachers in
- school, you can get support for the HP48 from a larger group in the
- world. There are far more web sites related to the HP48 than to the TI
- graphing calculators. Also, the HP48 has its own newsgroup and its own
- IRC channel (usually up 24 hours a day and maintained by a bot that
- can send you programs at your request). Please note that although the
- calculation and graphing capabilities may not be available for a
- particular calculator, you can usually download a program that extends
- such a capability to it.
-
- If you find that part of the information below is incorrect, please
- tell me about it. You may need to provide additional proof, if I am
- unable to confirm it. Any additional information on the TI-92 is
- helpful because much about it is still a mystery.
-
-
- General Differences:
-
-
- Calculator HP38 HP48(2) TI-82(3) TI-85 TI-92
-
- List Price(4) $109 $135/$265 $125 $135 $250
-
- Available Mem.(5) 32KB 32/128KB 28.2KB 28.2KB 70.0KB
-
- Batteries Req.(6) 3AAA 3AAA 4AAA+1 4AAA+1 4AA+1
-
- Plug-in Cards No Yes(7) No No Yes (Plus)
-
- Infrared Transmit. Yes Yes(8) No No No
-
- Wire Transmit. Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
-
- Cal-to-PC trans(9) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
-
- Overhead display Yes Yes(10) Yes Yes Yes
-
- CBL support(11) No No* Yes Yes Yes
-
- QWERTY keys(12) No No* No No Yes
-
- Screen capture Yes Yes via link via link via link
-
- Screen Resolution 131x64 131x64 96x62 128x64 240x128
-
- Character Display 22x8 22x8 16x8 21x8 ?????
-
-
- Miscellaneous Functions:
-
-
- Calculator HP38 HP48(2) TI-82(3) TI-85 TI-92
-
- Simple Eq. Solver Yes Yes No Yes Yes
-
- Simult. Eq. Solver ????? Yes No Yes Yes
-
- Poly. Root Finder No limit No limit No 30th order Yes
-
- # of matrices 10 No limit 5 No limit No limit
-
- max matrix size(12) No limit 125x125 15x15 30x30 99x999
-
-
- Graphing Functions:
-
-
- Calculator HP38 HP48(2) TI-82(3) TI-85 TI-92
-
- Simultaneous Graph Up to 10 No limit Up to 10 Up to 99 Up to 99
-
- Zoom features 14 15 13 15 ?????
-
- Graph Tracing Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
-
- Fnc. Value Tables Yes No Yes No Yes
-
- Parametric Graphs Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
-
- Polar Graphs Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
-
- Recur. Seq. Graphs Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
-
- Diff. Graphs No Yes No No No
-
- Conic Graphs No Yes No No No
-
- 3-D graphs No 7 types No No Yes
-
- Area under Curve No Yes Yes Yes Yes
-
- Extremum Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
-
- Roots Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
-
- Slopes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
-
- Tangent Lines No Yes No No ???
-
-
- Statistical Functions:
-
-
- Calculator HP38 HP48(2) TI-82(3) TI-85 TI-92
-
- Scatter Graphs Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
-
- X-Y line Graphs No No No No Yes
-
- Box-Whisker Plots Yes No Yes No Yes
-
- Histogram Plots Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
-
- Regression Graphs No Yes Yes Yes Yes
-
- Bar Graphs Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
-
- Truth Graphs Yes Yes No No No
-
-
- Notes:
-
-
- 1. In the specifications, "no limit" usually means that it is limited
- by memory only.
-
- 2. There are five different HP48 calculators. There are the HP48S,
- HP48SX, HP48G, HP48G+, and HP48GX. The S and SX models are older
- models, and no one would be getting them anymore since the G, G+
- and then GX offer all the same features, but with additional
- enhancements to make the features easier to use. The G, G+, and GX
- are also 40% faster than the S and SX models. The difference
- between the G and the GX is that the G has 32K of RAM, and no
- expandability, while the GX has 128K of RAM and the ability to have
- two additional plug in cards. The G+ is in between, having 128K of
- RAM but no expandability.
-
- 3. There is a new version of the TI-82, called the TI-83 which should
- be available soon. It offers all the features of the TI-82, except
- it has additional statistics and financial functions, as well as
- displaying a table and a graph side by side. Please note that this
- feature is not available on the HP48, but is available on the HP38.
- Also, the TI-83 has an equation solver like the HPs.
-
- 4. Cost for HP calculators does not include cables because they can
- transfer data via infrared. The price for TI's include the cables
- for linking one TI to another. Also, the HP48G's list price is
- $135.00, while the HP48GX's list price is $265.00.
-
- 5. The available memory listed for the HPs are slightly lower than the
- given values. The available memory for the HP48G is only 32 K. The
- HP48GX has 128K of available RAM, and is expandable to 4.5 megs!
-
- 6. The batteries used by these calculators are AAA batteries.
- Rechargeable batteries are not recommended because they have a much
- lower life span than alkaline batteries. The TI's require an
- additional CR1616 battery to retain their memory power. The HP's do
- not need this additional battery, but once you take out the AAA
- batteries, you have about 3 minutes to replace them with new ones
- before it loses its memory. The RAM cards for the HP48GX requires
- an CR1616 battery, however, if you plan to store it outside of the
- HP.
-
- 7. Only the HP48GX support plug-in cards. The HP48G doesn't.
-
- 8. If you are thinking of getting the HP's to cheat on tests because
- of the infrared capability, forget about it. The infrared receivers
- on the HP's only have a maximum range of THREE inches (The HP's
- transmitter has a longer range, up to several feet, but that will
- not help at all unless you are using it as a remote control to
- watch TV, or you are sending to an infrared device connected to an
- AC power source, such as the HP LaserJet 5 printers).
-
- 9. The Calculator to PC (or MAC) requires additional cable and
- software. For the HP, you only need to get the cable, which can be
- made from standard computer parts (a DB-9 and CD cable totaling
- about $15). No additional software is needed because you can use
- any communications program of your choice. For the TI, you can
- either need to purchase a proprietary software and cable for about
- $60 to $80 at stores or you can download the software free at TI's
- web site, and try to make your own cable. The same type of package
- is available from HP, but offers programming tools and debuggers,
- and costs about the same price.
-
- 10.
- The overhead display unit for overhead projectors is available only
- for the HP48GX because the HP48G does not have the available
- extension slot to install the necessary interface card.
-
- 11.
- The CBL stands for Computer Based Laboratory. It is created by TI,
- so it is not available on the HP of course. It simply allows you to
- collect data from different sources (sounds, temperature) at set
- intervals and can be analyzed on the calculator. The CBL unit's
- list price is approximately $225. Please note that there is a
- similar device for the HP-48, called the ADCM-48 which is a A-to-D
- converter and I/O interface that can read from four analog and four
- digital inputs.
-
- 12.
- Please note that calculators with QWERTY keys are not allowed on
- the SAT exams. The HP calculators do not have QWERTY type
- keyboards, but you can connect it to your computer and have the
- keys from your computer echo on to the HP calculator after
- installing a simple freeware program such as those found in
- <http://www.engr.uvic.ca/~aschoorl/archive/as-comm.zip>.
-
- 13.
- The maximum matrix size on the HP48G is only 42x42. The maximum
- matrix size on the HP48GX is 85x85, but it can be expanded to
- 125x125 with the addition of an extra RAM card.
-
- 14.
- The TI-92 manual states lists can be up to 999 elements, and data
- can be arranged in 99 columns of 999 elements each.
-
- From: Bernard Parisse
-
-
- o Overhead display: there are special models of the TI92 to do this,
- standard models give bad results
-
- o Memory: The TI92-II model has 198K memory (price in France 1890 FF
- instead of 1390 FF)
-
- o Processor: Modified 68010 at 10MHz
-
- o Cabri-Geometre is very slow on the TI, the teachers I met at my
- lecture told me that they never use Cabri on the TI.
-
- o Numeric computations: The HP clearly beats the TI, especially in
- linear algebra (factorization of matrices,
- eigenvalues/eigenvectors, etc...)
- o Symbolic computations: The TI clearly beats the HP... without
- addition of any math programs. Hence I compared the TI adding the
- best programs available on the net (i.e. ntheory (10K) for number
- theory, odeproj for ordinary differential equations (40K), that was
- all since I had only a 70K TI92) with my HP loaded with Alg48 and
- Erable. The main advantage of the TI92 is speed (about 5-10 times
- faster than Erable, 1-2 times faster than Alg48). The main
- drawback on the HP48 side is the lack of a limit instruction. Some
- features of Alg48 and Erable are not provided by the TI92:
-
- o Factorization of integers (limited to factors less than or equal to
- 65520 on the TI92, integers may not have more than 614 digits on
- the TI92) and of polynomials (e.g. the expanded form of:
-
-
- (x^4+x^3+1)*(x^4+x+1)
-
-
- is not factored on the TI92).
-
- o Integration: the Risch algorithm is not implemented in the TI, e.g.
- it can not find the antiderivative of
-
-
- (1+2x^2)*exp(x^2)
-
-
- o Taylor series: This feature is probably implemented like in the
- HP48 ROM, hence the TI can not solve series(sin(x)/(exp(x)-1)) at
- x=0 for order greater than 4.
-
- o Eigenvalues/Eigenvectors/Jordanisation of matrices
-
- o Systems of polynomials equations (Groebner bases)
-
- o Ordinary differential equations are only solved with programs like
- odeproj, no support for Laplace or inverse Laplace transform
-
- o A lot of internal programs are not accessible to the end-user on
- the TI92, as the source code of Alg48 and Erable is freely
- available.
-
- o Programming: Assembler is now available on the TI, but there is no
- counterpart to SysRPL and the build-in language is comparable to a
- shell-script langage (with some limitations e.g. for usage of
- programs in functions)
-
-
- 2.16. What is the Universal Font Library (UFL)?
-
- The Universal Font Library, or UFL for short, is a set of libraries
- designed to help reduce the overhead of replacement fonts between a
- number of major HP48 programs. The basic idea is instead of each
- program containing its own replacement font(s), the fonts are stored
- in a cetral library to save room. In addition, the UFL comes with a
- Font Maintenance Library (FMnt).
-
- If you use some of the programs in the Best Programs List, you may
- find you need a particular UFL library installed in order to use the
- program. The UFL is maintained by Andre Schoorl and is distributed
- under the GNU General Public License. For more information and to
- obtain the UFL package, see <http://www.engr.uvic.ca/~aschoorl/ufl/>.
- 2.17. What are the best alternate editors?
-
- If you like a smaller font, I would recommend TED by Mika Heiskanen,
- or MiniWriter by Jean-Yves Avenard. Both use FNT1 from the Universal
- Font Library (UFL) to allow font customization and to save space.
-
- MiniWriter is very small and fast, and has cut, copy, paste, and
- search features. It is available at http://www.epita.fr/~avenar_j/
-
- TED has slightly more features, such as a character map, but as a
- result is larger. TED is based on ED, which is the editor that comes
- with the Jazz library. The latest version is available at
- <http://www.engr.uvic.ca/~aschoorl/>.
-
- If you prefer the medium font, I would recommend HP-Writer by Paquot
- Christophe. It's quite small, fast, and uses FNT2 from the UFL. Its
- features include cut, copy, and paste, as well as a macro key and
- built in User RPL key support. However, it only works on G/GX. The
- current version is available at
- <http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/1930/>.
-
- Other editors include StringWriter, also by Jean-Yves Avenard, which
- is a very complete and full featured library. EDEN, by HPFox, is
- another popular editor in France. Another is QED, which was
- originally written by Lutz Vieweg but is now maintained by Rick
- Grevelle.
-
-
- 2.18. Are there any PC fonts for the HP48?
-
- Yes, there are several fonts on the Goodies Disks (see the Appendix),
- as well as some TrueType fonts available at
- <http://www.hpcalc.org/pc/misc/>
-
-
- 2.19. Is the HP48 serial number available in memory?
-
- No. There is no electronic version of the HP48 serial number. This
- was apparently considered by the design team, but it was determined
- that the costs would greatly outweigh the benefits.
-
-
- 2.20. What is the format of the HP48 serial number?
-
- The HP48 serial number is printed on the back of the HP48, just above
- the battery compartment. There are two different serial number
- formats. The older format was used when the HP48 was first introduced
- and continued through the first part of 1997. The newer format has
- been used on HP palmtops since about 1993 and was started on the HP
- calculators in the first part of 1997.
-
- The new serial numbers are in this format:
-
-
- ccywwnnnnn
-
-
- cc Place of manufacture (new two-letter code)
-
- The known codes are:
-
-
- o SG = Singapore
-
- o ID = Indonesia
-
- o MY = Malaysia
-
- y Year of manufacture. This represents the last digit of the
- year. A 7 would mean 1997.
-
- ww Week of manufacture (01-53).
-
- nnnnn
- The unit number for that week. (first unit on Monday is 00001)
-
- For example, if your serial number were SG72706543, the unit was the
- 6543rd unit manufactured in Singapore during the 27th week of 1997.
-
- The old serial numbers are in this format:
-
-
- yywwMnnnnn
-
-
- yy The year the unit was made (add 1960 to this value)
-
- ww Week of manufacture (01-53).
-
- M The manufacturing location (A for America, S for Singapore)
-
- nnnnn
- The unit number for that week. (first unit on Monday is 00001)
-
- For example, if your serial number were 3321S07509, the unit was the
- 7,509th unit manufactured in Singapore during the 21st week of 1993.
-
-
- 3. Questions about ROM versions
-
- 3.1. What does the SX/GX have that the S/G doesn't?
-
-
- SX:
- The HP48 S is the same as the HP48 SX except that the HP48 S
- does not have the two expansion slots of the HP48 SX. This
- means that the HP48 S cannot be expanded and can only access 32K
- of memory, versus 288K for the HP48 SX (two 128K RAM cards).
- (Actually, there are third-party RAM cards that contain 256K or
- 512K on a single card -- this memory is accessed via a bank-
- switching mechanism.)
-
-
- GX:
- The HP48 G is the same as the GX except for two differences.
- The GX has the 2 expansion ports, and also has 128K RAM built
- in, whereas the G only has 32K.
-
- If you plan on heavily using your calculator, you will probably
- find that 32K is not enough memory. In fact, some of the best
- HP48 Programs will not even fit in this memory!
-
-
- 3.2. What is the difference between the HP48 G/GX and the HP48 S/SX?
-
- The HP48 G/GX calculators are, basically, slightly faster (by 40%)
- versions of the HP48 S and HP48 SX calculators, with more features,
- such as 3D-plotting and a new forms-based interface. Much of the HP
- Solve Equation Library card is now built-in. See Appendix B-1 for a
- detailed list of GX features.
-
- Note, however, that the HP48 G/GX is different from the HP48 S/SX in a
- number of significant areas:
-
-
- 1. The HP48 GX comes with 128KB RAM, as opposed to 32KB RAM in the
- HP48 SX. The HP48 G still has 32KB RAM, however. The HP48 G/GX
- also has twice the ROM (512K), compared the HP48 S/SX (256K).
-
- 2. Much of the HP48 G/GX internals have changed, compared with the
- HP48 S/SX. Unfortunately, this means that many programs written in
- assembly language or System RPL won't work on the HP48 G/GX. This
- is especially true of any program that tried to access the display
- memory directly.
-
- 3. The HP48 G/GX CPU runs at 4 MHz, instead of the 2 MHz used with the
- HP48 S/SX CPUs. However, due to various overheads (memory bank
- switching, etc.), the speed increase between the S/SX and G/GX is
- less than 2 times. G/GX throughput is approximately 40% faster.
-
- 4. Slot 2 of the HP48 GX can access up to 32 ports (ports 2-33) by
- bank switching. Each port is 128KB, for a maximum total of 4 MB in
- slot 2.
-
-
- 3.3. What is the HP48 G+?
-
- The HP48 G+ was announced 30 March 1998. It is essentially a HP48 G
- with more memory - it has 128K of memory instead of 32K. All G+
- machines have revision R ROMs.
-
- There is no change to other aspects of the calculator model offerings.
- Specifically, it looks like HP has added to the HP48 family without
- withdrawing anything. The G, G+, and GX will all continue to be sold.
-
- The press release for the HP48 G+ is at:
- <http://www.hp.com/pressrel/mar98/30mar98.htm>
-
-
- 3.4. How can I tell what ROM revision I have?
-
-
- GX:
- Type the command "VERSION". Note that this command is not part
- of any key or menu, and so you must spell it out.
-
- Type #30794h SYSEVAL. It returns a string, "HPHP48-x", where x
- is your ROM revision. This works for both SX and GX.
-
- SX:
-
- 1. Turn the calculator on (press ON and then release).
-
- 2. Press ON again, and hold it down.
-
- 3. While holding down the ON key, press and hold down the "D"
- key (the fourth white key in the top row).
-
-
- 4. While holding down the "D" key, release the ON key.
-
- 5. Release the "D" key. The display should be blank, with the
- exception of three vertical lines (one down the centre, and
- one down each of the right and left sides).
-
- 6. Press the backspace key (it says DROP and CLR over it). A
- meaningless string of digits should appear in the top line of
- the display (mine says "705D9:1B8DA178E5A111B6" -- yours may
- be different).
-
- 7. Press and hold down the EVAL key. It should say something
- like the following, where the ? is an uppercase letter
- indicating the ROM version:
-
-
- Version HP48-?
- Copyright HP 1989
-
-
- 8. Release the EVAL key. Hold down ON and hit "C" (the third
- white key in the top row. This is a general reset operation
- that returns the calculator to normal from the diagnostic
- stuff (which is where ON-D puts you).
-
-
- 3.5. What bugs exist in the various versions of the HP48?
-
-
- Rom: A
-
- o DEFINE rounds numbers in user-defined functions if STD is not
- the current display mode.
-
- o KGET on a zero length file from another machine will cause the
- calculator memory to be cleared.
-
- o NXEQ from the Graphics Environment with flag -3 set (SYM off in
- Modes) can overwrite the current equation with a number.
-
- o Displaying the clock in 24-hour format causes the one-digits for
- minutes to be incorrect in the alarm catalog.
-
- Roms: A-C
-
- o INV returns an incorrect result if used on an 8x8 or larger
- matrix. To get around this problem, divide the identity matrix
- with the matrix to invert.
-
- Roms: A-D
-
- o Entering a symbolic complex number in polar form like (A,<B)
- (where < is really the funny little angle symbol), gives an
- expression in A and B that is wrong (the A and B are
- interchanged so A is the angle and B is the magnitude).
-
- o If the clock is displayed during an ARCHIVE via RS-232, there is
- a chance (not 100%) that calculator memory will be cleared,
- after the transfer. The work-around is to turn the clock
- display off before doing the transfer. Should your memory be
- cleared, you will have to restore the contents of memory from
- the archive.
-
-
- o TRNC and RND allow for an array in level 2 and a symbolic in
- level 1 of the stack. This allows you to put an array in a
- symbolic. Example: [ 2 3 ] '7/8' RND returns
-
- Roms: A-E
-
- o There's a bug in the EquationWriter that is "fixed" in the Rev J
- ROM. See Appendix C-1 for details.
-
- Roms: E, J
-
- o BESTFIT: Occurs when a two dimensional array is stored in \GSDAT
- (SigmaDAT). Pressing the BESTFIT softkey multiple times will
- leave a lot of useless reals on the stack.
-
- Rom: K
-
- o First HP48 G/GX released; includes various bugs affecting ports.
- Therefore, the version K ROM was only used in HP48 G units.
-
- Roms: K, L, M, P
-
- o XROOT Function fails when used with list processing unless X=Y.
- It does not corrupt memory.
-
- FIX: Preceed any XROOT which will use list processing with a
- SWAP
-
- Rom: L
-
- o Second HP48 G/GX released; fixed the port bugs. This ROM
- version is that present in the 2,000 HP48 GXs sold at the ASEE
- conference for $90 apiece.
-
- Roms: L, M
-
- o HP48 GX may lose all of user memory when: clock is displayed, a
- library object is be stored in user memory, and a RAM card is
- lugged in to port one and merged with User Memory. If all four
- of these conditions are present and the calculator is turned on
- when the clock is being updated by the system, a loss of all
- User Memory may occur.
-
- FIX: Just type the following in on your calculator:
-
-
- << RCLF -> f << -40 CF OFF f STOF >> >> 91.3 ASN
-
- Then turn on USER mode
-
-
- o EquationWriter/Character Picker Bug: If the size of the equation
- is greater than the regular size of the screen, calling the
- Character Picker in Equation Writer will garble the screen.
-
- o If you store an object into a port > 1 while there is a card
- installed in slot 1, the end-of-obj-sequence marker (00000) is
- written to port 1 instead to the destination port. This will
- cause the 'Invalid Card Data' warning to pop up each power on
- after a while and, in addition, the memory of port 1 gets
- currupted (if it's writeable). A temporary fix is to remove the
- card from slot 1 when changing the contents of the card in slot
- 2. However a better fix is to get the STOFIX library (available
- on GD#10 or at HPCVBBS, ~1K in size).
- o Tail Bug: The TAIL command returns an error on single length
- strings. This was fixed to return an empty string in later
- Roms. Examples:
-
-
- "X" TAIL --> Error: Invalid Dimension (Rom M)
-
- "X" TAIL --> "" (Rom R)
-
-
- Rom: M
-
- o Evaluating a tagged object which contains an operator (+, -, *,
- /, etc) as the second or subsequent character will leave an
- External and System Binary on the stack, as well as the original
- object.
-
- Roms: L, M, P
-
- o SigmaDAT: Put a NON-MATRIX in \GSDAT (SigmaDAT), run STAT
- graphical apps, edit \GSDAT. Causes a crash.
-
- o XRECV will fail or cause memory lost if the amount of free RAM
- left is not about twice the size of the expected file.
-
- FIX: See FXRECV on GD 9. Note that FXRECV is not necessary for
- Rom R, and in fact will not even run properly on Rom R.
-
- o RREF does not transform the matrix into Row Reduced Echelon Form
- correctly if the first column of the matrix consists entirely of
- zeros. It may also return incorrect answers in some matrices.
-
- A work-around for this bug is to delete any leading all-zero
- column(s) from the matrix; this may be done using the Matrix
- Writer, via its -COL menu key, or via commands: 1 COL- DROP (to
- drop the first column). Since row-reduction operations never
- change any all-zero column, you already know in advance that the
- given column(s) must be all-zero in the final result.
-
- Roms: L, M, P, R
-
- o portnum: { dir ... var } RCL/EVAL fails if portnum >= 2
-
- o Rotation rate to angular frequency conversion bug. See Appendix
- C-2 for a complete write-up.
-
- Roms: M, P, R
-
- o Repeated executions of FFT or IFFT can cause a memory loss. The
- FFT and IFFT warmstart problem is caused by a CPU return stack
- overflow during interrupt handling. The problem can only occur
- when the argument to FFT or IFFT is an MxN matrix with both M >
- 1 and N > 1. The vector argument case is immune to this
- problem.
-
- FIX: To compute the FFT of a matrix without risking warmstart,
- expand the matrix into its row vectors using ->ROW, compute the
- FFT of each row vector, collect the results into a matrix using
- ROW->, expand the matrix into its column vectors using ->COL,
- compute the FFT of each column vector, and finally collect the
- results into a matrix using COL->. Except for less precision,
- this is the same result as would be obtained by applying FFT on
- the original matrix. Use the same procedure with FFT replaced
- by IFFT to compute the IFFT of a matrix.
- Here are program examples implementing the "Matrix FFT" and
- "Matrix IFFT":
-
-
- MFFT << ->ROW FFTLP ROW-> ->COL FFTLP COL-> >>
- MIFFT << ->ROW IFFTLP ROW-> ->COL IFFTLP COL-> >>
- FFTLP << -> n << 1 n START n ROLL FFT NEXT n >> >>
- IFFTLP << -> n << 1 n START n ROLL IFFT NEXT n >> >>
-
-
- o Equation Writer/Equation Library interaction bug: If you pick an
- equation from the EQ library, enter solver for that equation,
- enter an algebraic on the stack like 'X^2', and press the down
- arrow key to view algebraic in EquationWriter, the name of the
- equation will appear in the EquationWriter along with the
- unassociated algebraic.
-
- Roms: M, P
-
- o BESTFIT: Occurs when a two dimensional array is stored in \GSDAT
- (SigmaDAT). Pressing the BESTFIT softkey multiple times quickly
- can cause a warmstart, or SigmaDAT to be erased. This occurs
- sometimes just by pressing BESTFIT repeatedly, regardless of
- \GSDAT content. This bug can also be triggered by pressing the
- BESTFIT softkey quickly after pressing any other key. Simply
- pressing MODL then BESTKEY quickly will trigger the bug.
-
- Rom: P
-
- o PROOT: If you put a matrix of coefficients on the stack and
- press PROOT repeatedly, you will get a warmstart.
-
- Roms: A-R
-
- o MatrixWriter Bug: This shows up when deactivating and
- reactivating any of the two direction movement fields. If you
- do this, the active matrix field won't move as it's supposed to.
- For example: Launch the matrix writer (check that your GOFORWARD
- field is activated). Type [1] [ENTER]. The active matrix field
- moves forward as it should. Deactivate the GOFORWARD field and
- activate it again. Now enter [2] [ENTER] [3] [ENTER]. The
- digits should show up on the same row, but they don't, because
- after you deactivated and reactivated the GOFORWARD field, the
- active matrix field stops moving according to the movement
- fields.
-
- o DTAG Bug: When the DTAG command is executed without any
- arguments on the stack, the error message "XLIB 0 0 Error" is
- given, which is non-standard.
-
- Roms: K-R
-
- o Equation Library Solver and Multiple Equation Solver Bug:
- Pressing MSOLVR or MUSER after setting user flag 63 can cause
- Memory Clear. Example: CLEAR, 63 CF, EQNLIB, down-arrow, ENTER,
- down-arrow, [SOLV], NXT, 63 SF, right-shift MUSER, DROP -->
- Memory Clear. This bug is also found in the HP Solve Equation
- Library Card (HP 82211B, but not 82211A) for the SX.
-
-
- 3.6. What is new with the revision "J" ROM? (S/SX)
-
- The revision J ROM has a faster equation writer, as well as some bug
- fixes. Scrolling of graphics is also faster.
- One "problem" is that the revision J ROM changed some undocumented ROM
- entry points, which broke those programs that used them. If you have
- a Rev J ROM, you will not be able to run some old programs.
-
-
- 3.7. What happened to ROM revisions G, H, I, O, and Q?
-
- These versions either were never released to the public, or were
- skipped over.
-
- I have received confirmation of the existence of a HP48 S with ROM
- revision F. So it appears revision F was in fact released to the
- public, although very few must have made before revision J came out.
-
-
- 3.8. Can I upgrade my HP48 S/SX?
-
- When the G/GX first came out, HP had a trade in program. This is no
- longer in operation. The only option remaining is to try to sell your
- S/SX privately.
-
-
- 3.9. Can I upgrade my buggy GX to the latest ROM revision?
-
- As far as I know, not any more. They had a program a in early '94,
- but it is over now. Contact the following for more info:
-
-
- Hewlett-Packard Corporation
- Calculator Support
- 1000 NE Circle Blvd
- Corvallis, OR 97330
-
- Phone: (970)-392-1001
-
-
- 3.10. What's the latest ROM version?
-
-
- o Revision R is the latest ROM version of the G/GX series.
-
- o Revision J is the last ROM version of the S/SX series.
-
-
- 3.11. Why would I buy a S/SX rather than a G/GX?
-
- Here's the top reasons to buy a S/SX instead of a G/GX (Thanks to all
- who contributed):
-
-
- 1. May be slightly cheaper, having only 32K RAM.
-
- 2. It isn't THAT outdated.
-
- 3. So what if it's a little slower?
-
- 4. You didn't need all those useless equations, graphics capabilities,
- and math and science functions anyways!
-
- 5. If you break it, you're out of less money!
-
- 6. You like seeing how much you can fit into 32K RAM.
-
- 7. You like slow file transfers, using Kermit instead of X-Modem.
-
- 8. You want to be able to use all those lists of SYSEVALs for the SX.
-
- 9. You like having only 3 ports available max. 33 is ridiculous!
-
- 10.
- Since it doesn't have a built in equations library it is less
- likely to be banned on tests.
-
- 11.
- Only wimps need GUI's, dialog boxes, and choose lists.
-
-
- 4. Questions about the Operating System and Using the HP
-
- 4.1. How do I find the checksum of an object?
-
- Many documents (including this FAQ) make references to the "checksum"
- of an object. This is a 16-bit user binary resulting from a CRC
- calculation on the contents of an object. This binary is supposed to
- be relatively unique, with only 1 change in 65536 of accidental equal
- checksums on two different objects. This allows you to distinguish
- programs that look the same but may be quite different (even if the
- size of them is the same). It is also often used to verify correct
- transmission of files.
-
- You can find the checksum of an object using the BYTES command. This
- will return you two things - the size of the object in bytes on level
- 1, and the checksum on level two. Note that while the checksum of a
- variable name is the same as running the checksum on the object
- itself, the sizes will be differ by 4.5 bytes + the size of the
- variable name itself.
-
- In rare cases the checksum of two objects can be the same, even if the
- objects are different. This is due to the limited nature of the
- HP48's checksum function. You can use the SAME command in these
- cases.
-
-
- 4.2. I typed RULES on my G/GX and got a crossword puzzle!
-
- From: Joe Horn
-
- Many commercial programs (like Windows) have similar hidden screens
- that list the program's design team. Since they are always so cute
- and well hidden, they are often referred to as "Easter eggs". The
- RULES command on the G/GX is one such example.
-
- Try using the RULES command. The names you see are as follows:
-
-
- /----------------------\
- | M G |
- | P DIANA |
- | CHARLIE X B D |
- | BILL U N TED A |
- | O A L N ALCUIN |
- | B I JIM V |
- | RON S E |
- \----------------------/
-
-
- ALCUIN was the HP-internal code name of the HP48 G during development,
- because Alcuin was Charlemagne's teacher, and Charlemagne, as you
- remember, was the code name of the HP48 SX.
-
- The other names in the "Easter egg" above belong to:
-
-
- o BILL Wickes (list processing; "Father of RPL")
-
- o CHARLIE Patton (RPL operating system)
-
- o TED Beers (parameterized outer loop; interactive stack; key
- handling system; high-level display management; input forms)
-
- o DIANA Byrne (project manager; plotting; graphics)
-
- o GABE Eisenstein (EquationWriter)
-
- o BOB Worsley (I/O)
-
- o PAUL McClellan (unit management; math)
-
- o CLAIN Anderson (product manager; marketing)
-
- o DENNIS York (manager)
-
- o JIM Donnelly (EQ LIB; list processing; variable tic logic;
- developer support)
-
- o MAX Jones (menu system; editing)
-
- o DAVE Arnett (hardware)
-
- o DAN Coffin (manuals)
-
- o RON Brooks (marketing)
-
-
- 4.3. Why does my HP48 occasionally "freeze" for a moment?
-
- The HP48 must occasionally do "garbage collection" to free up unused
- memory, and it is this garbage collection that is causing the
- momentary "freeze". "Garbage collection" is where the HP48 scans
- through memory, looking for objects that are no longer used.
-
- Using less stack supposedly makes garbage collection go faster.
-
- The easiest way to force a garbage collection is to run MEM DROP.
- Otherwise you can use #05F42h SYSEVAL or the SysRPL command GARBAGE.
-
-
- 4.4. What do I do if my HP48 locks up?
-
-
- o NOTE: If you have it, read the sections in the GX manual starting
- on page 5-16, "Special Memory Operations", and "Testing Calculator
- Operation" on page A-9.
-
- o NOTE: under most circumstances, your calculator should never lock
- up. Some earlier versions of the G/GX do this due to bugs. Of
- course, depending on the program being run, it may appear to lock
- up, but pressing the "ON" key usually interrupts whatever the
- calculator is doing. If it does lock up, this is usually caused by
- a buggy assembly-language or system RPL program, and, chances are,
- the memory contents of your HP48 are gone (as in "destroyed",
- "terminated", "wiped out", "deleted", etc.).
- 1. First, check the batteries to make sure that they are installed
- correctly.
-
- 2. Next, try is pressing the "ON" key again and again very RAPIDLY.
- The operative word here is "rapidly". It's possible to write a
- program that can only be interrupted during a very narrow window,
- and so you must press the "OK" key again and again very rapidly to
- interrupt the program. If the calculator doesn't respond within
- ten or so seconds, go on to the next step.
-
- 3. Press "ON-+" a couple of times, just in case the LCD display
- intensity was turned down. Here, "ON-+" means:
-
- o Press and HOLD DOWN the "ON" key.
-
- o Press and release the "+" key, WHILE HOLDING DOWN THE "ON" KEY.
-
- o Release the "ON" key.
-
- 4. If this doesn't work, the next thing to try is ON-C. This is a
- "warm-start" or "system halt". Note that this will CLEAR the
- stack. Here, "ON-C" means:
-
- o Press and HOLD DOWN the "ON" key.
-
- o Press and release the "C" key, WHILE HOLDING DOWN THE "ON" KEY.
-
- o Release the "ON" key.
-
- 5. If this still does not work, it is possible that the HP is not
- responding because it is not accepting input from the keyboard. It
- is possible to execute a system halt without the keyboard using the
- hidden reset button. The reset button is hidden under one of the
- two upper rubber feet on the bottom of the calculator (it's under
- one of the two feet near the serial connector and I/R port). Note
- that the location of the reset button (under which foot) varies
- from calculator to calculator. If you gently pull out the rubber
- feet, you'll notice that there is a small hole under each foot.
- The reset button is located in the hole that has an "R" next to it.
- Once you've located the correct hole, you press the button by
- GENTLY sticking an unbent paper clip, into the hole with the "R"
- next to it. Hold for one second and remove.
-
- 6. The next thing to try is a complete memory reset. Depending on the
- state of your calculator, this may or may not preserve the contents
- of memory. At the very least, even if the contents are preserved,
- the contents of the HOME directory will probably be moved into a
- new directory below HOME (HOME will be empty with the exception of
- this new directory); you'll have to manually move the items back
- into HOME. To perform a complete memory reset, press ON-A-F. This
- means:
-
- o Press and HOLD DOWN the "ON" key.
-
- o Press and HOLD DOWN THE "A" key, WHILE HOLDING DOWN THE "ON" KEY.
-
- o Press and HOLD DOWN THE "F" key, WHILE HOLDING DOWN THE "ON" AND
- "A" KEYS.
-
- o Release all of the keys.
-
- o At this point, the calculator will ask you if you want to recover
- memory. Answer "yes" to this question. Note that this can take a
- long time. If you answer "no", all of memory will be cleared (the
- old contents will be lost).
-
- 7. If that fails, you should still be able to induce a complete memory
- reset by removing your batteries and pressing ON several dozen
- times. This will drain the capacitor that stores information when
- the batteries are removed, and you should get a "Try to Recover
- Memory?" prompt if you have pressed ON enough times to reset your
- calculator. If this doesn't work you can try taking the batteries
- out for a few hours and then putting them back again. You should
- definitely try this method before even considering the next step!
-
- 8. WARNING: the next method is HIGHLY unrecommended! Permanent damage
- to your HP can result if you try this. In particular, you could
- fry a couple diodes used to protect your HP48. You have been
- warned!
-
- If your HP48 does not respond to any of the above attempts, you
- might consider reversing the polarity of 2 of the 3 batteries VERY
- BRIEFLY, pressing ON, then correcting the batteries. Your HP48
- should start with a "Try to Recover Memory?" prompt. Even
- reversing only 2 of the 3 batteries is dangerous, but it is safer
- than reversing all 3 batteries.
-
- Note that simply shorting the battery terminals will not discharge
- the storage capacitors. There are diodes between the battery
- terminal and the storage capacitors which prevent the DC current
- from flowing backward.
-
- This method apparently drains the capacitors and reverse charges
- them by running current through the parasitic input protection
- diodes in the various CMOS chips.
-
- 9. If all of the above fail, or if you decide not to try the last
- step, you may have to contact Hewlett Packard for service.
-
-
- 4.5. My HP48 seems to take longer to turn on and off.
-
- The usual causes for this are RAM/ROM cards and libraries. When you
- turn the calculator on, it checks RAM (the more you have, the longer
- it takes), and checks to see if any libraries need initializing.
-
- Also, having a lot of alarms can supposedly also cause this.
-
-
- 4.6. What are all the different ON-KEY combinations?
-
- From: Dave Arnett
-
-
- ON In most cases, this will move you to, or toward, the stack
- environment.
-
-
- ON+A+F
- This is the manual Coldstart. It will break out of almost any
- hung program, and offer you the dreaded option... "Try to
- recover memory?" Note that this is your next-to-last resort in
- a lock-up, so don't give your machine this three-fingered salute
- unless you really want to possibly clear memory.
-
-
- ON+B
- This is the Oops! key for ON codes. For many ON sequences, this
- cancels the operation, so long as you press the B before
- releasing the ON key. Try it sometime, if you must, just so you
- remember it. It can be a life-saver, in case of an accidental
- ON+A+F in process, or even accidentally hitting ON during a
- plotting routine.
-
-
- ON+C
- This will initiate a Warmstart. You'll lose the stack and PICT,
- but it will often get you out of a locked up program with memory
- intact.
-
-
- ON+D
- Enters interactive test mode. Back up your own machine and play
- around. Exit this test mode with Warmstart, ON+C. See the next
- question for all the various tests available here.
-
-
- ON+E
- Starts a looping self-test mode. Kinda dull after the first
- five minutes, but it keeps a rather solid tempo. Exit with
- Warmstart, ON+C.
-
-
- ON+4
- Cancels repeating alarms.
-
-
- ON+1
- Screen dump utility.
-
-
- ON+'+' and ON+'-'
- Adjusts display contrast.
-
-
- ON+SPC
- Initiates Coma Mode and clears Warm Start Log. In Coma mode,
- all the clocked activity is halted. The battery power drain is
- basically the few nano-amps [nA] necessary to sustain your RAM
- contents. The Warm Start Log is a nearly bullet-proof area of
- memory which keeps track of the last four hazardous events.
- View it using the command WSLOG. This log is one of the few
- things not cleared by a Coldstart. But it is cleared by ON+SPC.
- Enter Coma this way if you want to clear the Warm Start Log, if
- you are planning to study crystal healing in Tibet for a few
- years and want to keep your pirated version of Tetris alive, or
- you just have a low power fetish. Exit Coma mode with the ON
- key (tough to remember, huh?), and plan to find your stack
- cleared out.
-
- Two additional notes on this Coma stuff. First, I'm not gonna
- try to list the log codes in WSLOG. Sorry! Second, if your
- machine is on, and you drop the batteries out, you will usually
- end up in a coma mode to preserve power. WSLOG will not be
- cleared. Instead, you will find a code 1 entry there. Some
- people are paranoid and want to be in Coma when they change
- batteries, just in case they have a sudden emergency call from
- the Prime Minister and don't get back to their battery change
- for a half hour. If you are one of these... shall I say,
- weenies? No, that would be unprofessional ...users, then I
- recommend you use the ON+SPC entry route, rather than the
- kamikaze method of dropping batteries with the machine running.
- Myself, I just turn the machine OFF, like the manual says.
-
- Now, a Coma story... sort of. During the G/GX development, I
- maintained a small number of units on which I changed ROM chips
- as incremental code releases came out. This was so folks like
- Bill Wickes and Jim Donnelly could have fully-real hardware to
- test, instead of just the EPROM handsets some of you may have
- seen. We always backed up anything of importance in the machine
- before we did this. But I got into the habit of using ON+SPC
- before I opened up the calculator. Better than half of the
- time, I could remove the batteries, open the case, desolder the
- old surface-mounted ROM chip, solder down a new chip, and
- reassemble the machine... with all of RAM intact! When I
- pressed ON, I'd come right back up without a "Try to Recover
- Memory?" prompt. Pretty good, huh? The folks who put that mode
- into the machine certainly weren't in a coma.
-
-
- 4.7. What are the different interactive self-tests?
-
- Pressing ON-D enters the interactive self test function of the HP48.
- When you first press ON-D, your HP will beep and you will see 3
- vertical lines, one on each side of the screen and one in the middle.
- You can exit this mode with a Warmstart, ON-C. The tests are:
-
-
- [A]
- Displays CPU speed
-
- [B]
- LCD test. Press Enter to cycle through the tests
-
- [C]
- Internal ROM test
-
- [D]
- Internal RAM test
-
- [E]
- Keyboard test. Starting with [A], press all the keys in order,
- left to right, top to bottom. If all goes well, the HP will
- show "KBD1 OK".
-
- [F]
- Partial keyboard test
-
- [G]
- ESD test monitor. Battery status is shown by bars.
-
- [H]
- UART loop-back test
-
- [I]
- Wired UART echo
-
- [J]
- Shows what cards are plugged in. Press any key a few times.
-
- [K]
- Test RAM cards in ports
-
- [L]
- Blanks display
-
- [M]
- Sends system time from IR port
-
- [N]
- Receives system time from IR port (have another HP send it)
-
-
- [O]
- IR loop-back test
-
- [P]
- IR UART echo
-
- [S]
- Shows test start time
-
- [T]
- Shows test fail time
-
- [U V W X Y Z]
- Looping test
-
- [ENTER]
- Initialize test times
-
- [DEL]
- Test summary
-
- [BACKSPACE]
- Enters memory scanner (SX only)
-
- When the HP48 is in test mode (ON-D or ON-E), the test results that
- are displayed on the screen are also sent to the serial port at 9600
- baud, 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. This seems to be unaffected by
- any settings in IOPAR, PRTPAR, or the system flags. I can only guess
- that this feature was included for factory testing purposes. This
- does explain, however, why the I/O annunciator lights up so much
- during the self test.
-
-
- 4.8. Why do I get an ESD error when I check my batteries with the
- self test?
-
- From: Detlef Mueller
-
- If your HP48 batteries are low, try this test with fresh alkaline
- AAAs. This test first records the CRC of a RAM segment, then starts a
- loop where it creates power peaks and recalculates the CRC again until
- you press a key or the CRCs differ. In the latter case one or more
- cells of your RAM were "Electro-Statically Discharged" and the test
- exits with the last CRC done. If there's a hardwaer problem, this
- number should differ in consecutive executed ESD tests - with fresh
- AAA alkalines! Old ones or non alkaline batteries may cause trouble
- under this test condition.
-
- If the test runs continuously, the bars on the screen reflect the
- battery status (low bat if bar is there) of port 2 (below the 2), port
- 1 (below the 1), and the main AAAs (below 0). If the AAAs are very
- low, the V bar comes up.
-
-
- 4.9. I can't account for some of the RAM in the HP48!
-
- The HP48 S/SX/G have 32K base memory, and the GX has 128K. However
- not all this memory is available to the user. The operating systems
- uses memory for system variables, flags, fonts, last stacks, last
- arguments, last menus, and such. It also can be any one of a number
- of things:
-
-
- 1. Enabling the use of LAST STACK, LAST ARG, LAST CMD, etc., uses up
- extra RAM, as the calculator has to keep track of the last stack,
- arguments, command, etc.. This is particularly important with LAST
- STACK if you have a large/complex stack, as the HP48 has to keep
- enough information around to recreate the stack after each
- operation. You can clear out these variables by pressing ON-C (but
- also note that this will clear out the stack, the graphics PICT,
- etc.)
-
- 2. From William Wickes, a member of the HP48 development team: Here's
- a candidate for "most obscure way to use up memory on the HP48 SX."
- When a program executes DOERR with a string argument, the string
- and hence the program too if the string is embedded in the program
- are referenced for the sake of the ERRM command. Thus if you purge
- the program, the memory used by the program is not reclaimed until
- the ERRM reference is updated to a new string. If the string is in
- a port, you will get the Object In Use error if you try to purge
- the library or backup object containing the string. A system halt
- prior to a PURGE will not help unless the object is in port 1 or
- port 2 (it will reclaim memory held by a successfully purged but
- still referenced object). For port 0 objects, the only way to
- break the reference is to execute DOERR again with a new string.
-
- 3. Occasionally, I have had problems with libraries disappearing, but
- still taking up memory. I found that an "ON-A-F" reset will cause
- these libraries to re-appear. If you still cannot account for a
- large chunk of memory, I would suggest a hardware reset, after
- backing up your memory.
-
-
- 4.10. What are the best methods for installing and removing
- libraries?
-
- To install a Library:
-
- 1. Download it into a variable of the calc.
-
- 2. Place the library on the stack.
-
- 3. Type the number of the port in which you want to store the library
- in. 0 is appropriate if you do not have any expansion cards.
-
- 4. Press STO to store the library in that port.
-
- 5. Turn the calculator off and then on, or press ON-C, to finish
- installation of the library.
-
- Sometimes you have to purge the variable containing the library before
- storing it in a port, if you are low on memory. See the next question
- for more information.
-
- If you have FXRECV installed: Just type a port number, hit FXRECV and
- the library will automatically go into the specified port. All you
- have to do then in turn the calc off and then on to complete the
- installation.
-
- To delete a Library:
-
- Say you have library 1234 in port 0 that you want to delete.
-
-
- 1. Go to the directory to which the library is attached. In most
- cases this will be HOME.
-
- 2. Enter :0: 1234
-
- 3. Press [ENTER] or type DUP
-
-
- 4. Type DETACH
-
- 5. Type PURGE
-
- If this doesn't work, there may be a reference to the library still in
- temporary memory. Try warmstarting with ON-C, then try again.
-
- Libraries with very low library numbers may require the addition of a
- constant in order to delete them. For example, to delete a library 4
- in port 0 you can add 2048 to the library number, as follows:
-
-
- 1. Type :0: 2052 DETACH
-
- 2. Type :0: 4 PURGE
-
- Therefore, here is a fairly general program for detaching and purging
- most auto-attaching libraries; the only required argument being the
- real library number (e.g. 218 in the above case):
-
-
- \<< PATH SWAP HOME DUP 2048 + DETACH DTAG "&" \->TAG PURGE EVAL \>>
-
-
- 4.11. How can I attach large libraries?
-
- If have just successfully transferred a library to your HP, and try to
- store it in a port you may get an "Insufficient Memory" error. This
- is because your HP is trying to make a duplicate copy to store in your
- port, but it doesn't have any memory to do so. This is especially
- true on the HP48 S/SX/G since they only have 32K of memory built in.
-
- The solution is to push the library onto the stack, then purge the
- original variable containing the library. At this point, the only
- copy of the library that exists is on the stack. Now you can store
- the library in a port as usual. This method avoids temporarily trying
- to have two identical copies in memory at the same time.
-
- For example, say you have a library in 'LIB' and you wish to store it
- in port 0. You would enter the following:
-
-
- o Go to the directory containing 'LIB'
-
- o Recall the library to the stack: 'LIB' RCL
-
- o Purge the original from user memory: 'LIB' PURGE
-
- o Enter port number to store in: 0
-
- o Press STO
-
- For the opposite problem - sending large libraries you can follow the
- reverse procedure. That is, recall the object from the port to the
- stack, purge the original in the port, store it in a variable and then
- send it.
-
- Alternatively if the library is in a non-covered port (0/1/2 on SX or
- 0/1 on GX) you can use the following simple program suggested by Dan
- Kirkland:
-
-
- \<< -> lib \<< 'lib' SEND \>> \>>
-
-
- This does not require a second copy of the library and avoids all the
- complications of trying to purge a library and then re-installing it.
-
-
- 4.12. What are those little numbers near the top of my screen?
-
- The little numbers are "user flags". When you or a program sets any
- of the user flags 1 through 5, little numbers corresponding to the set
- flags are displayed at the top of the screen.
-
- The HP uses negative flags for setting various modes and functions,
- while positive flags were reserved for the use of the user. To set a
- user flag type the number, then SF. To clear a user flag type the
- number, then CF.
-
- Some programs will use the user flags without you being aware of it.
- So, if you have a "1" at the top of the screen you can type 1 CF to
- get rid of it.
-
-
- 4.13. Can I use my HP48 as a remote control?
-
- There are numerous programs available for using your HP48's IR port as
- a remote control. However, the level of support depends on the
- particular unit you wish to control. The HP48 is capable of
- reproducing many of the IR controls of many popular brands of
- appliances.
-
- However, some remotes run at speeds that the HP48 is unable to
- reproduce. Due to their faster processor speed, the G/GX calculators
- are able to support more remote controls but are still limited in some
- cases.
-
- With typical remote programs you have to "teach" your HP48 by sending
- it the various IR sequences with the original remote control. There
- are some advantages to using your HP48 however:
-
-
- o You can impress your friends that you can use your calculator to
- control your TV!
-
- o You can set alarms to turn your things on and off at predetermined
- times.
-
- o You can use it as a universal remote.
-
- The best remote program by far is Remote by Bjorn Gahm. It has a
- large database of existing remotes, meaning you may not have to
- "teach" your HP48 your specific remote if it is already supported.
- However it also have the ability to learn new codes. See the best
- programs list (later in the FAQ) for the specific URL.
-
-
- 4.14. Can the HP48 be used as a DTMF phone dialer?
-
- To make phone dialing tones, you need to produce two simultaneous
- tones. The tones used to dial phones are known as DTMF (dual tone
- multi frequency) tones, which consist of two tones at the same time.
-
- The speaker in the HP48 is not capable of supporting the DTMF tones
- because it can only make a single tone at a time. The best the HP48
- can do is switch very quickly between one frequency and another. Some
- attempts have been made in machine language to support DTMF, however
- they have been unsuccessful. Therefore, you cannot use the HP48 as a
- phone dialer.
-
-
- 4.15. How can I run a program on warmstarts and/or power-up?
-
- You can use some of the utilities available on the Goodies Disks (see
- Appendix E.5 on where to obtain these):
-
-
- o AUTOBOOT (GD #7) warmstarts every power-up
-
- o AUTOEXEC (GD #10) Runs 'GO' every power-up
-
- o AUTOPORT (GD #7) Runs &:AUTOEXEC every warmstart
-
- o AUTOSTRT (GD #7) Runs AUTOEXEC every warmstart
-
- Some stack libraries come with support for AUTOEXEC or an equivalent
- built in (for example, the Java library supports AUTOEXEC). If one of
- the libraries you have installed supports such a feature, you may not
- need any of the utilities above.
-
-
- 4.16. I could speed up my HP-28S. How can I speed up my HP48?
-
- You can't, really. Unlike the HP-28S, the clock speed in the HP48 SX
- is hardwired to 2 MHz, and to 4MHz in the HP48 GX.
-
- Digitalis <http://www.Digitalis.de/> has a "speed-up" module
- available. They sell 48G's with this module added (it looks like it
- adds about 50DM/$30 or so to the cost). I'm not sure what it does,
- but I think it boosts the clock speed. Apparently it can be turned on
- and off as needed, at the sacrifice of shorter battery life.
-
- However, in some cases, you can speed up the HP48 by turning off the
- display refresh, which supposedly takes up about 11% of the CPU time.
- Detlef Mueller submitted a program called SPEED to comp.sources.hp48
- that turns off the display refresh. Of course, since it turns the
- display off, it is only suitable for long non-interactive runs like
- calculating large integrals, compiling, etc... Look in the various
- HP48 archives for a copy.
-
-
- 4.17. What is the hidden directory and how do I access it?
-
- The "hidden directory" is a subdirectory of the HOME directory. It is
- created on startup, and it contains variables with your alarms and
- user key configurations. You can use the hidden directory to store
- whatever you want, however you CAN NOT ORDER the contents of this
- directory, as this causes memory loss.
-
- The name of the hidden directory is a null character, ''. The only
- way to get a null character is to use a syseval. You can use the
- following program to access the hidden directory:
-
-
- << HOME (changes to home dir)
- #15777h (syseval to get null character)
- SYSEVAL (returns '' to stack)
- EVAL >> (changes to hidden dir)
-
-
- To exit the hidden directory, use HOME or UPDIR. This will return you
- to the HOME directory.
-
- Also, by putting the null character as a part of your HOME custom
- directory, you can switch right into the directory by pressing the
- softkey.
-
- Note: The SysRPL command NULLID returns a null character to the stack;
- it is the same as doing #15777h SYSEVAL.
-
-
- 4.18. How can I recall one object from a memory archive?
-
- From: Joe Horn
-
- There is a little-known method of recalling objects from within
- archives. Just make a list representing the PATH to the object, and
- tag the list with the port number. Then hit RCL or EVAL.
-
- For example, if your archive in port 1 is called BKUP, and it contains
- a directory called GAMES which contains a program called REVERSI, you
- can run the game directly (without having a separate copy of REVERSI
- stored anywhere!) by:
-
-
- :1: { BKUP GAMES REVERSI } EVAL
-
-
- Or, you can RCL instead of EVAL, and it will be pushed onto the stack.
-
-
- o This method only works in ports 0 and 1 in a GX. It works on any
- port in the SX.
-
- o This method works with directory objects stored as backup objects,
- as well as with the results of the ARCHIVE command, because they
- are both really the same thing.
-
-
- 4.19. Are there any key combinations that aren't in the manual?
-
- From: John Meyers
-
- Yes, on the G/GX there are a few keys that aren't mentionned. They
- are:
-
-
- o [right-shift] [down-arrow] = Review menu keys
-
- o [right-shift] [right-arrow] = Kermit server mode
-
- [Right-shift] [View] is hidden in Appendix G (Operation Index) of the
- User's Guide [Edition 4] (which comes with the calc), among the
- several entries for the word VIEW.
-
- AUR [Edition 1] (in chapter 3, Command Reference, under SERVER) gives
- the alternate keys [right-shift] [cursor right] (but of course AUR
- doesn't come with the calc). This alternative was left out of
- Appendix G of the User's Guide. Donnelly's HP48 Handbook [2nd Ed.]
- even lists it first!
-
-
- 4.20. How do I find out about commands not in the GX manual?
-
- From: John Meyers
-
- Besides purchasing the Advanced User's Reference Manual (AUR), you can
- look in Appendix G of the G/GX User's Guide, which briefly summarizes
- every command available in the G/GX, including all the commands not
- mentioned anywhere else in the User's Guide. Often even the brief
- description given in this Appendix is sufficient for you to use the
- command (and to know it exists!).
-
- Some notes on omissions, however:
-
- o VERSION and "_" (attach unit) are missing in Edition 4.
-
- o SUB works with arrays in the G/GX, but this is not in the HP
- manuals, nor in Donnelly's HP48 Handbook 2nd Ed 6/93. You can
- specify any two "corners" of a rectangular sub-matrix (like with
- GET), and it extracts the sub-matrix. Also works with vectors.
-
-
- 4.21. How can one delete (or purge) an entire directory?
-
-
- o To purge a subdirectory and all that it contains, type in the name
- in single quotes, then PGDIR.
-
- o To purge all variables in the current directory, but not the
- directory itself, type CLVAR.
-
- Note that with CLVAR, if the current directory contains a non-empty
- subdirectory, an error occurs at that point, and no subsequent
- variables are purged.
-
-
- 4.22. How does binary wordsize affect my calculations?
-
- From: John Meyers
-
- Some of the following (but not all) is in the User's Guide, under
- "Binary Arithmetic and Number Bases" (Chapter 15 of G/GX).
-
- The system flags contain a segment which specifies a "binary word
- size". This word size limits how many low-order bits of a binary
- value are displayed on the stack, and equally determines how many low-
- order bits of the arguments and results of binary
- arithmetic/logical/shift operations are used.
-
- Curiously, the binary word size has no effect on entering values into
- the command line - what you originally enter is displayed in truncated
- form on the stack, but when you view it again in the command line
- (which temporarily reverts back to STD numeric display and 64-bit
- wordsize) you will find the complete value as entered is still intact.
-
- As soon as you begin using functions on that value, however, the
- arguments to binary functions get truncated to the current wordsize
- before the functions are executed, and then the final result of the
- function gets truncated again.
-
- You can recall the current wordsize using RCWS and set the wordsize
- using STWS. STWS accepts a real number argument in the range 1-64
- (out of range values get adjusted to either 1 or 64), and it also
- accepts a binary argument, in which case the absolute value of the
- low-order 20 bits is used (just in case you wondered why #1048576d
- STWS RCWS gives an answer of 1).
-
- Don't try adjusting the binary wordsize in the hope of saving memory
- by using shorter values; every "user binary integer" (type 10)
- produced by User RPL occupies 13 bytes, no matter what the current
- wordsize; the HP48 just sets the leading bits to zero when displaying
- on the stack or performing calculations.
-
-
- 4.23. Can I add my own equations to HP's Equation Library?
-
- No, the Equation Library is in ROM, and can't be written to. There
- are several programs which allow you to create your own equation
- library such as EQBrowser, EQ Lib, Equation Manager, and xMGR.LIB.
- All of these programs can be found at
- <http://www.hpcalc.org/utils/misc/>.
-
-
- 5. Questions about Math, Plotting, and Equations
-
- 5.1. Why does (1/3)*3 equal 0.999999999999?
-
- This is due to the way numbers are typically represented by computers
- and calculators. There are infinitely many numbers, like `1/3' and
- `pi', that cannot be exactly represented internally (their decimal
- representations go on forever, and often cannot even be represented as
- a fraction, as in the example of `pi'). As a result, any calculations
- that use these numbers are bound to be off.
-
-
- 5.2. Why does my HP say that 0 to the power of 0 equals 1?
-
- Some claim that 0^0 is defined as 1, some claim it is indeterminate.
- The HP mathematicians decided to use the definition. Here is some
- more concrete info shamelessly lifted from the Sci.Math-FAQ:
-
-
- Question:
- What is 0^0 ?
-
- Answer:
- According to some Calculus textbooks, 0^0 is an "indeterminate
- form". When evaluating a limit of the form 0^0, then you need to
- know that limits of that form are called "indeterminate forms",
- and that you need to use a special technique such as L'Hopital's
- rule to evaluate them. Otherwise, 0^0=1 seems to be the most
- useful choice for 0^0. This convention allows us to extend
- definitions in different areas of mathematics that otherwise
- would require treating 0 as a special case. Notice that 0^0 is a
- discontinuity of the function x^y.
-
- Rotando & Korn show that if f and g are real functions that
- vanish at the origin and are analytic at 0 (infinitely
- differentiable is not sufficient), then f(x)^g(x) approaches 1
- as x approaches 0 from the right.
-
- From Concrete Mathematics p.162 (R. Graham, D. Knuth, O.
- Patashnik):
-
- "Some textbooks leave the quantity 0^0 undefined, because the
- functions x^0 and 0^x have different limiting values when x
- decreases to 0. But this is a mistake. We must define:
-
- x^0 = 1 for all x,
-
- If the binomial theorem is to be valid when x=0, y=0, and/or
- x=-y. The theorem is too important to be arbitrarily
- restricted! By contrast, the function 0^x is quite unimportant."
- Published by Addison-Wesley, 2nd printing Dec, 1988.
-
- References:
- H. E. Vaughan, The expression '0^0', Mathematics Teacher 63
- (1970), pp.111-112.
-
- Louis M. Rotando & Henry Korn, "The Indeterminate Form 0^0",
- Mathematics Magazine, Vol. 50, No. 1 (January 1977), pp. 41-42.
-
- L.J. Paige, A note on indeterminate forms, American Mathematical
- Monthly, 61 (1954), 189-190; reprinted in the Mathematical
- Association of America's 1969 volume, Selected Papers on
- Calculus, pp. 210-211.
-
-
- 5.3. What is RPN?
-
- Jan Lukasiewicz wrote a book on formal logic in 1951 that showed that
- mathematical expressions could be specified without parentheses by
- placing the operators before (Polish Notation) or after (Reverse
- Polish Notation) the operands. For example, the expression:
-
-
- (4 + 5) * 6
-
-
- Could be expressed in RPN as:
-
-
- 4 5 + 6 *
- 6 4 5 + *
-
-
- Polish Notation is also known as prefix notation and Reverse Polish
- Notation (RPN) is also known as postfix notation.
-
-
- 5.4. Why did HP use RPN in their calculators?
-
- From: Dave Hicks <dgh@hpmuseum.org>
-
- In the years that followed Lukasiewicz's book, computer scientists
- realized that RPN or postfix notation was very efficient for computer
- math. As a postfix expression is scanned from left to right, operands
- are simply placed into a last-in, first-out (LIFO) stack and operators
- may be immediately applied to the operands at the bottom of the stack.
- By contrast, expressions with parentheses and precedence (infix
- notation) require that operators be delayed until some later point.
- Thus, the compilers on on almost all modern computers converted
- statements to RPN for execution. (In fact, some computer manufacturers
- designed their computers around postfix notation.)
-
- At the time that the HP-35 was introduced, other pocket calculators
- typically used a partial algebraic model. That meant they could
- evaluate trivial expressions like 4+5 but couldn't handle anything
- that involved parentheses or algebraic precedence. The technology of
- the time didn't allow for full algebraic compilers in pocket
- calculators.
-
-
- RPN allowed HP to produce a pocket calculator that could evaluate
- arbitrary expressions using the available technology. For many,
- learning a new style of entry was a small price to pay to be able to
- evaluate arbitrary expressions on a calculator. Once the technology
- to produce algebraic compilers could fit into a pocket calculator,
- most RPN users had decided that RPN was more efficient and consistent
- for the user as well as for the calculator. Also, because
- subexpressions are evaluated as they are entered, entry errors are
- more obvious with RPN.
-
- Another advantage to RPN is consistency between machines. Early
- algebraic models had differing limits of the complexity of the
- expressions they could evaluate. For example, TI catalogs from the
- late 70's listed how many levels of parentheses and pending operations
- each model could handle. Even today if you begin to use an algebraic
- calculator, you need to determine just "how algebraic" it really is.
- For example, some switch to RPN for unary operators (ie 5 SIN rather
- than SIN(5)) and some can't directly enter an expression like:
-
-
- 4+5
- -----
- 6+7
-
-
- 5.5. Is there an alternative to calculating in RPN?
-
- Many people just can't get used to the interaction with the stack to
- do calculations. A simple alternative is to place your equation in
- tic marks like '8+10*3' and to use the EVAL as an equals key. This
- way you can enter numbers just as you would write them on paper.
-
-
- 5.6. Why do I get unexpected values when I add temperatures?
-
- Example: I add two temperatures like 34 deg.F and 11 deg.F, and I get
- 504.67 deg.F. Why don't I get 45 deg.F?
-
- This occurs with the S/SX only. This behaviour changed in the G/GX.
- With the G/GX, adding 34 deg.F and 11 deg.F will give 45 deg.F using
- TINC and TDELTA. However, the G/GX will only add or subtract
- temperatures if the units are the same; it is now an error if they are
- not.
-
- If the units attached to the number consists only of a temperature and
- nothing else, operations are done using an absolute temperature scale
- (relative to absolute zero). If the units consists of a temperature
- and something else, such as degrees/minute, the operation will not be
- done using an absolute temperature scale.
-
- It also does not make any physical sense to add two temperatures. You
- can't add a cup of water at 20 degrees C to a cup of water at 30
- degrees C and end up with two cups of water at 50 degrees C.
-
-
- 5.7. How can I add my own units? What's the 1_? unit for?
-
- Note: Some later editions of the G/GX series manuals have some similar
- information on this subject.
-
- Another feature is the generic unit, 1_?. It seems to be intended as
- a generic unit, to allow you to make new units not based upon any of
- the built-in ones. You could use it to create a conversion utility
- for currencies or bits and bytes. Before you create either, check the
- FTP sites to see what others have done in this regard.
-
-
- o User units may be defined by creating a variable of any name (the
- new unit name), into which you store its definition in terms of
- other units, e.g. 2_mph 'stroll' STO; you can also use other user
- units in a definition, e.g. 3_stroll 'run' STO.
-
- o You can then use the new unit name(s) in any custom or temporary
- menu, just the same as any other unit in the built-in Units
- Catalog. For example, { 1_stroll 1_run ... } TMENU
-
-
- Here's an example. Convert this using ASC\-> and save it as 'sample'.
-
- "69A20FF78E000000005046F6E6574750ADA209C2A2C2A2070000F368B01B2130
- E20005046F6A756E650ADA20339201000000000000210C2A20F000046F6E6574
- 768B01B2130640005086F6D6562750ADA20339200000000000000510C2A20F00
- 0046F6E65747C2A20B0000D696E686B0168B01B2130B5000303435453047A204
- 7A20C2A20F000046F6E65747ADA209C2A2C2A20F000046F6E6574768B01B2130
- B213047A20C2A20F000046F6A756E6ADA209C2A2C2A20F000046F6A756E668B0
- 1B2130B213047A20C2A20F000086F6D65627ADA209C2A2C2A20F000086F6D656
- 2768B01B2130B2130B2130F0DA"
-
-
- This is a sample directory with a custom menu. Enter the directory
- and press the CST key. Here you will see three units (truncated to
- fit the softkeys): donut, dozen, and homer. A dozen is defined as
- 12_donut, and a homer is a rate of 1.5_donut/min (not part of the SI
- system). These units may take SI prefixes described on page 10-5 of
- the User's Guide, so you may convert the value of 3_MW*h/kdonut into
- units of erg/mdozen using CONVERT, for example. The items in the CST
- menu have the usual abilities of unit menu objects as described on
- pages 10-2 and 10-3 of the User's Guide. These units can be used for
- math operations described on page 10-7 of the User's Guide, such as
- adding 2_donut to 1_dozen.
-
- Example: At your power plant, you have four control room operators who
- have a combined consumption rate of 2.28 homers. How many donuts will
- they use in 5 minutes and 17 seconds?
-
-
- o Enter the rate.
-
- 2.28 [homer]
-
-
- o Enter the time.
-
-
- Right-shift UNITS [TIME]
- 5 [min]
- 17 [s] +
-
-
- o Multiply the time by the rate (*)
-
- o Convert to dozens:
-
- CST Left-shift [dozen]
-
-
- o The answer is a little over 1.5 dozen.
-
-
- 5.8. I want `pi' to be a numeric value, not a symbol.
-
- You are using "Numeric Constants Mode". To turn this mode on or off:
-
-
- SX:
- Type -2 SF. This turns the numeric constants mode on. To turn
- it off, type -2 CF.
-
- GX:
- Go to the MODES menu (press green/right-shift MODES). Hit the
- key for FLAG submenu. Toggle the second flag "Constant -> symb"
- to turn on and off.
-
-
- 5.9. What tricks are there for manipulating matrices?
-
-
- SX:
- You can build up a matrix by rows using \GS+. You can take a
- matrix apart by rows using \GS- These two commands (\GS is Sigma
- (Greek E)) add and subtract rows from the SigmaDAT Statistics
- matrix. \GS+ takes a vector row and adds it to SigmaDAT, and
- \GS- takes the bottom row away from SigmaDAT. \GS+ is
- accessible from the STAT menu with its own softkey. \GS- can be
- obtained by pressing left-shift /GS+, or by typing it in at the
- command line.
-
- GX:
- The GX has many matrix functions built in. See Appendix B-1.
-
-
- 5.10. Can I make my HP graph any faster?
-
- Try lowering the plotting resolution by typing #2 RES. You can use
- larger values for faster speed at the expense of number of points
- plotted. In the GX Plotting Options Menu this setting is known as the
- "STEP" rate.
-
- Alternatively, if you have a G series machine, you could try
- SpeedGraph, a fast assembly language plotter replacement. See
- <http://www.hpcalc.org/> for a copy.
-
-
- 5.11. How do I plot inequalities?
-
- In the user's manual, inequalities are referred to as "truth plots".
- They are defined as expressions that return true (any nonzero real
- number) or false (0) results. In a truth plot, a pixel is turned on
- if the expression is true, it's unchanged if the expression is false.
-
- For example to plot the simple inequality 'X>0' you could do:
-
-
- TRUTH
- -20 20 XRNG
- -10 10 XRNG
- ERASE DRAX DRAW
-
- For more complicated examples see your manual, or on a G/GX you can
- type TEACH to look at some of the built-in examples. It may also be
- useful to plot the lines defining the outline true region. This is
- easily done by changing the plotting style to FUNCTION or CONIC and
- plotting again, taking care not to erase any previous plot.
-
- Note that unless otherwise specified, every pixel in the display must
- be evaluated. As such, truth plots can be very slow. If you have a
- general idea on which values are going to return true, you can speed
- up plotting by specifying a smaller x and y plotting range. You can
- do this by setting the "LO" and "HI" input forms on a G/GX, which can
- be different than the actual display range.
-
- If you are plotting the area between two equations, you speed up
- plotting dramatically by avoiding a TRUTH plot entirely. Store the
- two equations as the first two items in the current EQ list. Using
- NXEQ in the FCN menu will rotate the list as desired to plot both
- functions. Then the area between them can filled in very quickly
- using the SHADE key of the FCN menu (in the PICTURE environment).
-
- Another hint for speeding up Truth plots is to set the resolution, say
- to 2 pixels or more, which also results in a different "shading
- pattern". The resolution can be set with the RES command.
-
-
- 5.12. How do I take the logarithm of a base other than 10 or e?
-
- To take the log of a number other than base 10 or e, say log x base y,
- you use the formula:
-
-
- ln x
- -------- where ln is natural log (log works too)
- ln y
-
-
- A quick program to do it would be: << SWAP LN SWAP LN / >>
-
- With the input of:
-
-
- 2: x
- 1: y
-
-
- 5.13. How do I solve quadratic equations?
-
- The QUAD command is designed to solve expressions at degree up to two.
- One would expect the result of the simple expression 5=x/(1+x) to be
- x=-5/4. But using the QUAD command, the HP gives the complex solution
- (0.5, 2.17944947177) i.e. the principal value (with flag 1 set).
- What is the reason for this?
-
- The QUAD command is designed to solve quadratic equations. If the
- equation is not of the form:
-
-
- a*x^2 + b*x + c = d*x^2 + d*x + e
-
- The HP48 calculates a quadratic taylor series expansion which is then
- solved like a normal quadratic equation. The HP does the same when
- the equation is of a higher order. In the example above, the equation
- x/(1+x)-5=0 has the expansion:
-
-
- -x^2 + x - 5 = 0,
-
-
- Which has two complex conjugate solutions. However, if you multiply
- the equation by (1+x)/, you get:
-
-
- x = 5 * (1+x)
-
-
- Which can be solved directly with QUAD. If the equation contains the
- variable only once, it's the best way to use the ISOL command instead.
-
-
- 5.14. Why do I get a complex answers for roots of negative numbers?
-
- This typically occurs for the (2n+1) roots of negative numbers, where
- n is a positive integer. For example, to calculate the fifth root of
- -3125 you can enter:
-
-
- -3125^0.2
-
-
- The result is the complex number (4.04508497187, 2.93892626146) or in
- DEG mode (4.99999999999, >36). The reason for this answer is that
- -3125^(1/5) has five different answers - arranged in a pentagon in the
- complex plane. In general, y^(1/x) has x different answers (y^x with
- x irrational has an infinite set of answers forming a circle on the
- complex plane).
-
- Since 180/5 = 36 [degrees], this is the correct principal "5th root"
- of the negative argument in the complex plane; the HP48, unlike older
- calculators, does not turn "complex mode" on or off, so all "analytic"
- functions in the HP48 always accept complex arguments, and always
- return valid complex answers if suitable.
-
- To calculate the desired solution, you have to use the right-shifted
- V-key with input like this:
-
-
- 2: -3125
- 1: 5
-
-
- Or you can use 'XROOT(5,-3125)' since XROOT is defined to both accept
- and return real values only.
-
- 5.15. Why doesn't '(-8)^(2/3)' give me the right answer (4)?
-
- From: John Meyers
-
- The reason is that the function ^ accepts and returns complex values
- whenever appropriate, and also always returns the "principal" answer
- in the complex plane, which may not be real if the argument is
- negative, even if there exist other real-valued possible results.
-
- Here are some UserRPL programs which handle this sort of general "real
- power of real" question, even with fractional powers, including the
- sticky issue of getting the right sign.
-
- Note that the "power" argument (level 1) may be either a fraction or a
- real number; we use \->Q in all cases to convert it to a fraction,
- which may be necessary to determine the correct sign of the answer.
-
-
- \<< \->NUM DUP SIGN SWAP ABS \->Q
- IF DUP TYPE THEN OBJ\-> DROP2 ELSE 1 END
- 4 ROLLD * ^ SWAP XROOT \>>
-
-
- The version above is generally satisfactory for fractional powers
- which do not have a large numerator; otherwise an intermediate result
- might overflow, giving an invalid result.
-
- The next version is overflow-resistant, but there is sometimes a
- slight roundoff error from using ^ ABS:
-
-
- \<< \->NUM DUP2 ^ ABS SWAP ABS \->Q
- IF DUP TYPE THEN OBJ\-> DROP2 ELSE 1 END
- 4 ROLL SIGN ROT ^ SWAP XROOT * \>>
-
-
- Neither of the above programs ensures that its arguments are actually
- real; other arguments (e.g. complex) can sneak by, possibly producing
- meaningless answers. You can prevent this in either program by
- following \->NUM with OVER R\->B OVER R\->B DROP2
-
- For example, with -8 and '2/3' as arguments, (or even -8 and
- .666666666667 as arguments), the answer is 4. To make the above into
- a user-defined function which can be used in algebraic expressions:
-
-
- \<< \-> p r \<< r p \->NUM \->Q IF ... END \>> \>> 'XPOWR' STO
-
-
- Then 'XPOWR(2/3,-8)' EVAL ==> 4 [using XPOWR() just like XROOT()]
-
- Note: There are actually two different XROOT functions in the HP48;
- the algebraic version of XROOT expects its arguments in the opposite
- order from the stack-based version of XROOT (which inadvertently gave
- rise to a list-processing bug in early G-series ROM versions: K, L, M
- and P).
-
- If you define XPOWR for yourself, as above, you will have to make sure
- that you use a consistent argument order for both algebraic and stack
- usage, unless you either make two separate functions or get into some
- fancy library-making, to duplicate something akin to the built-in
- "dual" XROOT functions.
-
-
- 5.16. How do I solve polynomials?
-
- Another fast way to solve quadratic equations (or polynominals of
- higher degree) is by using the PROOT command. Place a vector with the
- coefficients of the polynominal on the stack.
-
- For example:
-
-
- x^3 - 9*x^2 + 26*x - 24
-
-
- Would look like:
-
-
- [1 -9 26 -24]
-
-
- Then press left shift, SOLVE (key 7), POLY (key C), PROOT (key A).
- The result is [2 3 4], which are the roots of the equation.
-
-
- 5.17. How can I do statistics for grouped data?
-
- Excerpt of postings from John Meyers
-
- You must replicate the individual values or you can use a weighted
- analysis. For weighted analysis, Joe Horn's WEIGHT2 directory which
- can be found on Goodies Disk 8.
-
- For weighted mean of numeric grades (or grade equivalents), with the
- number of credits for each course being the weight, you can use the
- program below.
-
- First, fill in the statistics matrix, using any of the built-in
- statistics applications, entering each numeric grade equivalent in
- column 1, and the corresponding number of credits in column 2. Then
- press the key for the program below, which returns three results:
-
-
- o Weighted mean of column 1, using weights from column 2
-
- o Standard deviation (estimated from samples entered)
-
- o Standard deviation (of population actually entered)
-
- If you select an "X-Column" and/or a "Y-Column" different from the
- defaults (columns 1 and 2), then the results reflect the values in the
- "X-Column" using weights from the "Y-Column".
-
- The program below is a slight improvement upon WEIGHT3, in that it no
- longer requires SigmaPAR to exist (the standard default columns are
- assumed if not). Credits go to Bob Wheeler for coming up with the
- algorithm, and to John Meyers for implementing the following program:
-
- %%HP: T(3); @ \-> is right-arrow, \v/ is Square Root, \GS is Sigma
- @ WMS - Weighted Mean and Standard Deviation, HP48G/GX
- @ Stack diagram: ( SigmaDAT and SigmaPAR ) --> Mean, SDev(S), SDev(P)
- @ If SigmaPAR does not exist, then
- @ Col 1 (XCOL) is value and Col 2 (YCOL) is weight, by default
- \<< '\GSPAR' DUP VTYPE 0 < { DROP 1 2 } { RCL 1 2 SUB EVAL } IFTE
- 0 0 DUP2 \-> x f w d m v
- \<< RCL\GS x COL- SWAP DROP ARRY\-> EVAL \->LIST
- RCL\GS f COL- SWAP DROP ARRY\-> EVAL \->LIST
- 2 \<< DUP2 'w' STO+ m - * DUP 'd' STO
- w / 'm' STO+ m - d * 'v' STO+ \>> DOLIST
- m v w DUP2 1 - / \v/ ROT ROT / \v/
- \>> \>>^
-
-
- If all you want is the weighted mean, and not the standard deviations,
- then you can dispense with all of the above, and just use a shortcut
- posted in GD7/MATH/WEIGHT.DOC by Joe Horn (basically, it is
- Sum(X*Y)/Sum(Y), where Y is the weight for X).
-
- If you would rather replicate data points, then read on - however, if
- the "weights" associated with your data points are either very large
- or non-integers, then the following will be either very cumbersome or
- not possible, respectively. Press left-shift STAT DATA (on G/GX) to
- get to the menu containing the "Sigma+" "Sigma-" and "ClearSigma"
- commands.
-
- Press "ClearSigma" to remove the old SigmaDAT. The first data must be
- entered as a vector: For example [2 4] and pressing "Sigma+". Now all
- other data pairs are entered without the brackets just as a pair
- separated by a space: e.g. 4 3 and pressing "Sigma+" and so on.
-
- "Sigma-" in the HP48 does not accept data; rather, it simply removes
- the last-entered data point/row, popping it back onto the stack for
- you (the result is always one vector or scalar). If every point is
- removed, the statistics matrix is also deleted.
-
- Now we can understand Joe Horn's program which accepts a data
- point/row, in whatever form the HP48 is prepared to accept it (single
- number, vector, or group of numbers), plus a frequency (integer only)
- on stack level 1, and then appends the data point/row the given number
- of times. Note that you must always supply a frequency, even if it is
- 1, and that any meaningless "frequency" less than 1 will be treated as
- 1.
-
-
- \<< -55 CF 1 SWAP START \GS+ LASTARG NEXT DROP \>>
-
-
- Obviously, \GS+ and \GS- represent the "Sigma+" and "Sigma-" commands.
-
- Example: If the Statistics Matrix (SigmaDAT) already has two columns,
- and if we want to enter the new data pair [ 3 4 ] five times, we can
- simply type 3 4 5 and then press the key for the above program (don't
- forget to use a data vector for the very first data row).
-
- For large frequencies, as noted, you will find this to be slow, not to
- mention the memory required for the multiple matrix rows; however,
- once you have literally entered every single data row, you can then do
- all the regression analysis and plotting you want, without the need
- for additional programming.
- 5.18. How do I generate a function table?
-
- An easy and versatile way is to use the powerful list processing
- capabilities of the HP48. Generate a list with the x values, then
- perform the operations on that list. For example:
-
- { .1 2 2.5 5 123.4 } SQ will output { .01 4 6.25 25 15227.56 }
-
- There are also several programs/libs to create a function table. Take
- a look at <http://www.hpcalc.org/> and search for "MathTools" by Jack
- Levy or "Table" by Diego Berge.
-
- If you are low on memory or want a customizeable program you can use a
- tiny User-RPL program. Here are two suggestions with different forms
- of the output. All programs use the SEQ command, which is the key
- command here! (for further information read the manual). Input is for
- example:
-
-
- 5: 'SQ(x)'
- 4: x
- 3: 11 (start)
- 2: 25 (end)
- 1: 1 (step)
-
-
- The first mini program will output a matrix with the calculated values
-
-
- %%HP: T(3)A(R)F(.);
- \<< SEQ OBJ\-> COL\-> 1
- COL\->
- \>>
-
-
- The second one will give x and f(x) in an array
-
-
- %%HP: T(3)A(R)F(.);
- \<< 4 DUPN 4 PICK 4
- ROLLD SEQ OBJ\-> COL\->
- 6 ROLLD SEQ OBJ\->
- COL\-> 2 COL\->
- \>>
-
-
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