New DM42S hardware

General discussion about calculators, SwissMicros or otherwise
reavy
Posts: 101
Joined: Tue Feb 06, 2018 9:08 pm
Location: Phoenix, AZ

Re: New DM42S hardware

Post by reavy »

I took the back plate off my DM42 S/N 490, and it doesn't seem like steel. The texture is the same as the Ti cases of the landscape calculators, and the metal is not magnetic. Is it just an usual non-magnetic steel? Looking at reviews on the Amazon product listing, some people say steel, some say titanium.

EDIT: Nevermind. I found some older forum discussion about the stainless choice. It is steel after all. Still takes fingerprints like the titanium, though.
c0rpse
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2020 4:04 am

Re: New DM42S hardware

Post by c0rpse »

I think the new orange text is very beautiful, closer matching the original 42s aesthetic. What would really set it over the edge would be white alpha text similar to the color scheme of the 32s!
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48GX
Posts: 180
Joined: Wed May 20, 2020 4:37 am

Re: New DM42S hardware

Post by 48GX »

grsbanks wrote:
Fri Sep 25, 2020 1:46 pm
pauli wrote:
Fri Sep 25, 2020 1:33 pm
What are the differences between the old and the new hardware??
Essentially it's the keyboard that has been completely redesigned. This was the main gripe that people had with the DM42 and we're hoping to put that one to bed once and for all with this version. I've had a DM41X and a new DM42 for a few weeks now and this newer keyboard is much, much better all round than the old one.
On a scale of 0 being the DM42 prior to this update and 10 being a production HP48GX/42S, where does the new keyboard rank?
Waiting for SM to release DM42 hardware with one additional row of keys.
DM42, DB48X, DM32, HP42s, DM41X, HP35s, DM41L
Raising a next generation RPN/RPL user.
rprosperi
Posts: 1703
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 7:48 pm
Location: New York

Re: New DM42S hardware

Post by rprosperi »

Not exactly what you asked, but the new keyboard, to me, is better than a 42S but not as good as a 48; the 48 keys have much more key travel so the DM keyboard can never really be that good, but it's as good as I've used for keys with shorter travel, quite close to a 41.
--bob p

DM42: β00071 & 00282, DM41X: β00071 & 00656, DM10L: 071/100
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48GX
Posts: 180
Joined: Wed May 20, 2020 4:37 am

Re: New DM42S hardware

Post by 48GX »

That is high praise. I consider the 48G/GX to be the gold standard of keyboards. The 42s is great too. This is great news. Fast key entry must be improved enough to not have to check each entered number?
Waiting for SM to release DM42 hardware with one additional row of keys.
DM42, DB48X, DM32, HP42s, DM41X, HP35s, DM41L
Raising a next generation RPN/RPL user.
nephilim
Posts: 60
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:09 pm

Re: New DM42S hardware

Post by nephilim »

I just received my second DM42... and feel disappointed.

I got the first one about a month ago. A few weeks later the new version with upgraded hardware was announced here. I asked in this forum if the serial number indicates that my sample was already from the upgraded batch but did not get a response. I saw the video where the finger glides across the keys easily. I heard people that the yellow paint is now more towards orange. So I gave it a try. I now have s/n 0649X while my old one is s/n 06034. They are twins. Yellow is still yellow, keyboard feels the same. Even the uncentered labels (e.g., BST, SST, ASIN, CLEAR,...) are still there even though the website shows them perfectly centered and in a beautiful orange.

It's still a great calculator but the information here and on the SW website made me expect a bit more.
DM42 (free42, C47), DM15L, HP15C CE, HP35s, HP33s
bernouilli
Posts: 49
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2018 11:01 am
Location: France

Re: New DM42S hardware

Post by bernouilli »

That’s too bad. I was just about to order a new dm42 to replace the one I bought in 2018. I thought that the new dm42 are as good as the dm41x as far as the keyboard is concerned. I love the feeling of the keys of the dm41x. But now, I’ll to reconsider this.
Maybe they still have some old stock that they ship every now and then when the stock of new dm42 needs to be refilled?
DM15L - DM42 - DM41x
nephilim
Posts: 60
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:09 pm

Re: New DM42S hardware

Post by nephilim »

I would like to clarify that I do not have an old DM42 and I also do not have a DM41X, so I cannot compare the current keyboard against the other model/older version.
DM42 (free42, C47), DM15L, HP15C CE, HP35s, HP33s
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Dan Simpson
Posts: 104
Joined: Wed Mar 18, 2020 3:29 pm
Location: Arizona

Re: New DM42S hardware

Post by Dan Simpson »

I just recently received a DM42 with the "Improved" keyboard. Compared to my old DM42 (~One year old) and my DM41X Beta Unit, I consider it to be a vast improvement. I have not experienced any missed keystrokes and although I can feel the two buttons under the ENTER Key there have never been any issues with it performing incorrectly. Now I am hoping Santa will bring me a production DM41X some time before the end of the year! :ugeek:
My Collection: HP-55, HP-67 (Teenix Mod), HP-15C, HP-16C, HP-41CV, HP-41CX, SY41-CL, DM41X, DM42, HP-42S, HP-48G, HP-71B, HP-75C, HP-86B.
bernouilli
Posts: 49
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2018 11:01 am
Location: France

Re: New DM42S hardware

Post by bernouilli »

How are the labels on the keys? Same colour as your previous dm42? Could you please post a picture with both dm42 aside one another?
Although, if you can feel both buttons beneath the ENTER key, that means it has the improved keyboard.
Because the description of the keyboard made by nephilim is just like my old dm42.
DM15L - DM42 - DM41x
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