i have a(nother) stupid question

[Walter]

perhaps in future i could wish for a swissmicros hp-48x and that would provide for my algebraic wish as i don't think the rumored ?hp-43? is going to offer it. i don't think the wps-34 does either.

I can confirm the WP 34S does nothing algebraic. The WP 43S will support algebraic equations in a way like the HP-27S did. The specs are available.

[gteague]

perhaps in future i could wish for a swissmicros hp-48x and that would provide for my algebraic wish as i don't think the rumored ?hp-43? is going to offer it. i don't think the wps-34 does either.

I can confirm the WP 34S does nothing algebraic. The WP 43S will support algebraic equations in a way like the HP-27S did. The specs are available.

well, that puts it on my saint nick list for sure! i did look briefly into the 43 while researching the purchase of the dm42, but some of the mentions go back a decade with nothing out yet, so i basically wrote it off as some sort of geek dreamer project and didn't go any further with it.

btw, i do have the wp 34s (tks for correction) but it's been sidelined for some years because just looking at the number of function keys gives me a headache, let alone trying to sort all the key labels.

wait! i just realized your .sig says you have it running on the dm42. will i be able to do that? for some reason i thought the key layout was quite different, but maybe that was the simplification from the wp-34s. /guy

[akaTB]

perhaps in future i could wish for a swissmicros hp-48x and that would provide for my algebraic wish

You could always wish, of course, but that will hardly be.

[Walter]

wait! i just realized your .sig says you have it running on the dm42. will i be able to do that?

Yes, you can test the present state of 43S on your DM42S or DM41X. Even easier: there is a simulator running under Windows, Linux, and OS/X. Instructions are in the WP43S Reference Manual.

And yes, the 43S is a long shot since the community becomes excited easily but real (software) support is ... ummh ... very limited.

[gteague]

do i read this right that x11 has to be running? why is that? and be gentle, my unix days are long over and i have no fondness left for it. or maybe only a little. /guy

[Walter]

Don't ask me such complicated stuff - I've no idea of Macs. Harald (hoverbeek) wrote the instructions for OS/X. You can try to reach him but don't hold your breath.

[gteague]

Don't ask me such complicated stuff - I've no idea of Macs. Harald (hoverbeek) wrote the instructions for OS/X. You can try to reach him but don't hold your breath.

lol! just struck me as curious. and using the terminal on osx is basically unix based on free-bsd which is why all that unix voodoo such as 'make' work. /guy

[gteague]

i found an hp-48g on ebay with an updated display and ram. the display is gorgeous--i remember hating the blue on grey display back when i owned my first one, but this one is close to being black on very very light grey. i did discover a problem with a trace of keys (3/6/9/del/, but gently twisting the top of the case 'fixed' it and as long as i baby it, it seems to be working. still, i reached out to the seller who couldn't have been nicer about it and it turned out he had a side business refurbishing calculators and said we could trade when he got another 48 in and had replaced the display on it.

i couldn't believe i'd forgotten so much about the 48 since the early 2000s when i got my first one. i'd forgotten the constant and equation libraries and even the equation writer. what i hadn't forgotten was the ?cas? commands for 'solv' and 'eval' and 'expand' which was my favorite thing about this calculator--that it did actual symbolic math. i could get into a long story here about why i didn't learn algebra, but leave it for now. i've always loved math, but moving things around in moderate to complex equations has always eluded me and with the 48 i can simply tell it to isolate the variable i want on the left side. it's like magick to me! i love that rpn is the default mode, but simply entering the equation as algebraic allows you to use that mode as well.

also, in our discussion about hp calcs which did algebraic entry, someone mentioned the 35s which i also had around the same time as the 48. i actually got one of the very first ones when they supplied a folding clamshell case instead of a cheap sleeve. but the 35s was not well regarded on the forums with some math bugs and worse, it feels like there's only air inside and the keys are not solid or firm feeling at all--sort of wobbly. but i found an amazon warehouse one for only $30 and it actually came in the original packaging with only the plastic packaging slightly damaged.

and again, i'd forgotten how versatile it really was. you can toggle between rpn and algebraic with just a couple of keystrokes. the display is nice with very large digits although it's only two lines.

i'm still going through the docs on both these calculators and haven't gotten to solvers and programming yet and they can't be taken very seriously because there's no real way to move stuff back and forth (i know the 48 has a cable, but there's not much functionality behind it, it's expensive, and i'm not even sure i could get it to work on a mac) and swissmicros has spoiled me in that regards!

/guy

[cdmackay]

i know the 48 has a cable, but there's not much functionality behind it, it's expensive, and i'm not even sure i could get it to work on a mac

Getting a little off-topic for this forum, sorry, but…

No problem at all getting it to work on a Mac.

You need a cable, of course; either the HP cable:

PC Connectivity Kit — F1897A
HP 10-pin (38/49G) cable — F1897-66000
HP 4-pin (48GX) adaptor — F1633-66001

or a custom direct USB cable like this one from Javier (whom I have bought from and recommend):

https://www.casio880.com/en/product/int ... 8s-hp48sx/

I''ve tried both cables, and they both work.

With the HP cable, you will need a USB-serial adaptor cable, ideally with a FTDI or Prolific chip. With the direct USB cable, that's obviously not needed.


On the Mac, I use the excellent Serial app: https://www.decisivetactics.com/products/serial/ — I'm using v1; I've not yet tried the newer v2. It's not free, but is is excellent. the Hoppi app is an alternative.

I use the Kermit protocol to transfer to and from my 48GX, which I think is preferred over XMODEM.


Dragging myself back on-topic… the Serial app can also be used with SwissMicros calculators that use a serial console (other than DM41/DM42), along with a USB-serial adaptor cable, to dump memory (backup), set the time, etc.

[gteague]

thank you! now you mention it i do remember using kermit, but i think i used it with the 200lx although it could have been the hp48. i used zterm on the mac for years and years and years, but i think it just got more and more abandoned. /guy