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DM42 usable for just a user?!

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 12:12 am
by boessu
Hello all

I need some kind of advise. I'm really interested in the DM42. It seems as this is the best calculator for people who like RPN and a bit of programming. However... I won't be the heavy user at the end. I just like to have a nice look-and-feel calculator beside my computer for some calculations. Maybe playing around in the spare time and all that. But at the end, it just should do the expected work.
If I look at the boards, there are reports of battery drains. There are even people measuring voltages with high sensitive equipment, trying to find the problem on their calculators in the micro-Ampere-world. Very motivated people from a community who want to move things forward, of course.
So it seems a bit as the DM1?L is a more stable area?! Or are these problems from the DM42 "beta time", now fixed and the DM42 is a good bet also for the "just users"?

By the way if I try to order a DM12L or DM16L, I get "limited stock" errors on the website. Does that mean they won't be produced anymore or is that just a temporary "out of stock" and they'll be available anytime soon again? Or will they be produced "by voting"? I have a 12C, produced in China with "some issues" (guess what...). It would be refreshing for me to get my hands on this sort of calculator with the quality of the good old times.

Thanks for the help in advance.

Andreas

Re: DM42 usable for just a user?!

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 7:15 am
by toml_12953
boessu wrote:
Tue Jan 29, 2019 12:12 am
Hello all

I need some kind of advise. I'm really interested in the DM42. It seems as this is the best calculator for people who like RPN and a bit of programming. However... I won't be the heavy user at the end. I just like to have a nice look-and-feel calculator beside my computer for some calculations. Maybe playing around in the spare time and all that. But at the end, it just should do the expected work.

Andreas
I'm a casual user and I have not measured any current or anything. My key problems were completely solved by flexing the keys a few times. The DM42 "just works" fine for me. It's my second favorite calculator, just slightly behind the Prime. In fact, for printed output it's ahead of Prime since Prime has none!

Re: DM42 usable for just a user?!

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 7:19 am
by keithdalby
I've had a DM42 since the start of the beta testing. Issues with battery drain have been fixed for me, the machine has no issues for me at all. Keyboard is great, and haven't changed the batteries in months.

I think the minority reporting issues is disproportionate, and the quality of customer service from the SwissMicros team cannot be overstated. I can see no risk attached to buying one of these units. If an issue existed with the unit you received, SwissMicros would work quickly to resolve your issue.

Re: DM42 usable for just a user?!

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 8:10 am
by akaTB
keithdalby wrote:
Tue Jan 29, 2019 7:19 am
I've had a DM42 since the start of the beta testing. Issues with battery drain have been fixed for me, the machine has no issues for me at all
Ditto.

Re: DM42 usable for just a user?!

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 11:58 am
by mezoganet
boessu wrote:
Tue Jan 29, 2019 12:12 am

...I have a 12C, produced in China with "some issues" (guess what...). It would be refreshing for me to get my hands on this sort of calculator with the quality of the good old times.

Andreas
Having an HP12C produced in China with bugs is what we call a tautology ;) I have 2 units of this model at home, one with a dead Enter key and the other one with pads leaving home.

Well, I don't know what is "just a user", but if you know what is the HP42s, if you have used one in the past, if you want a true calculator, I would just say go ahead with no fear.

I bought mine 15 days ago and except the stiffness of the keys compared to a real HP42s, but totally acceptable, there is nothing to criticize.

It's a nice machine, very efficient, fast and nice to have : fully compatible with HP42s and (99.99%) with HP41, very fast and accurate, big screen, stack visible, and firmware/software upgradable. Moreover, you have tons of programs coming from HP41 on the internet.

If money is not an issue for you, buy the DM42 and don't think twice ! What I like with the DM42 is that you can see in plain code what you type as a program, the same for DM41L I guess. The other voyager models 11..16 shows numerical codes instead of mnemonics, not always easy to read, understand and correct mistakes.

In conclusion, buy a DM42, I am sure you will enjoy !

Re: DM42 usable for just a user?!

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 10:25 pm
by boessu
Thank you all for your advises. I've ordered now a DM42 and can't wait to receive the package.

No, I had never a 42s. I had an 11C and a 12C.

I had to throw away the beloved 11C because the batteries leaked. Maybe you'll guess that part: I've never had to changed them... ;-)

On my Chinese 12C the On/Off key dies. It's a bit hard to turn it on or off now. But It seems as this is still a "lucky punch" compared to other units. ;-) Shame on HP. The calculator wasn't that cheap... but anyhow.

Re: DM42 usable for just a user?!

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 6:18 am
by gomefun2
What makes these machines great is that they can be used just as a simple RPN calculator or they can be used as a very complex calculator. They do not have a complex button layout so they make great simple calculators with a built-in e-ink screen saver.

But in the case where u need more power or have a repetitive calculation, you can program them for this too. I bet if you buy one for simple calculation you may end up slowly programming useful things into to it over time, depending on the nature of your work.

I've only owned the DM42, HP35s and WP34s.

To me, if you used the DM42 as a regular calculator it would be like using the HP35s. Except the screen shows the full stack on the DM42, whereas the HP35s only shows x and y. The DM42 also is a very high precision machine which comes in handy for some of the things I need it for.

Two things that may annoy you:
1. The display is e-ink (I think?). I feel like there is a small parallax issue when viewing this screen, such that each eye will perceive slightly different contrast in certain lighting. This sort of bothered me at first, but like most things, I got used to it and now the DM42 has been my daily driver recently.

2. The keys. The keys need to be broken in for maximum comfort. For me personally, I haven't bothered with it as of yet, but I can see why others would. For now, I am just letting nature take its course and letting the keys warm up on their own accord.

Overall I do not regret buying this machine and I will also buy the DM43 when it comes out (probably in 5 years at this rate lol).

Re: DM42 usable for just a user?!

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 9:27 am
by DA74254
gomefun2 wrote:
Sat Feb 02, 2019 6:18 am
... e-ink screen saver. ...


1. The display is e-ink (I think?).
No it's not. It's Sharp low power memory LCD
https://www.sharpsma.com/products?sharp ... parallel=0

Re: DM42 usable for just a user?!

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:22 am
by grsbanks
...as evidenced by the screen (eventually, it takes a while) fading when you remove the battery.

Re: DM42 usable for just a user?!

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:42 pm
by Walter
grsbanks wrote:
Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:22 am
...as evidenced by the screen (eventually, it takes a while) fading when you remove the battery.
Didn't some people claim the screen needs no power at all in ground state (discussing OFFIMG many months ago)? Or is my memory fading?