4 ms·

Prices for HP-48’s are through the roof these days. However HP-50’s are not loved currently despite being the same rpn/lisp/graphing calc software just with muc

Prices for HP-48’s are through the roof these days. However HP-50’s are not loved currently despite being the same rpn/lisp/graphing calc software just with much faster processors - they are the much better buy right now and can be had under £50. My 50g is one of the most convenient ways to check my arithmetic when it comes to dates and hours calculations. I think overall though, these are a relic and the best way forward i’m aware of today are the “mathemtics notepad” type applications that reimagine what a calculator looks like on a desktop. At the cli i get more mileage out of gnu units than i’d have thought…

p_l 5y ago
A good reason for that is the changed shape and keyboard, which disfavors RPN and mimics contemporary casio calculators (even docs have strange preference for mentioning algebraic mode first). The large enter of hp-48 and earlier RPN calculators makes way more sense, especially if you're going to do anything fast. TBQH, I'd love a hp-50g internals (or better) in hp-48gx case :)
- mschaef 5y ago
  For context, the 50G came out at the tail end of HP's development of calculators. (In fact, the original Corvallis calculator group had disbanded and the group that produced the 50G was a reconstitution assembled in part from the HP48 enthusiast community.) By the time the 50 rolled around, computers had reduced the role of calculators in professional work, and HP was left addressing the enthusiast and educational markets. But the educational market was (and is) already heavily locked up by TI. So the 50G wound up being a compromise product (and built to a lower price point). IMO, the diminished Enter key and 'algebraic first' aspects of the design are direct attempts by HP to cater to people who might otherwise be using TI. As someone who was enthusiastic about HP48's back in the day, I have to admit that I'm a little sad that the market hasn't continued to develop. But to be perfectly honest, modern technology and software is so much more capable, and I have no desire at all to carry another special function device if I can avoid it. My guess is that this is a fairly widespread opinino. > TBQH, I'd love a hp-50g internals (or better) in hp-48gx case :) I'd always hoped they'd do both that (With the old school black/blue/yellow color scheme) and a version of the 50g in the 200LX case. Between the faster CPU of the 50G and the much bigger screen of the 200, the result would have been a great rendition of the core RPL software. (For 1994-5, at least).
  - p_l 5y ago
    don't forget that the form change was done with hp49, in 1999, when scientific/engineering calculators were still in professional work since even in CAD/CAM/CAE era, sometimes you had to work away from the bulky desktops and laptops were still much more expensive and underpowered compared to your typical engineering PC. Of the arguments to move the enter key, only the need to add more buttons is IMO defendable :)
    - mschaef 5y ago
      > don't forget that the form change was done with hp49, Good point - I keep forgetting that one. (In fact, now that you mention it, I think the 49 may have been the first output from the reconstituted calculator team.)
  - whartung 5y ago
    I was devout HP-48 fan back in the day, even did some custom programming for one for a client (got paid!), deployed about 20 of them in to the field. This thing was a real delight to write programs for. Just RPL, nothing fancy. For $99 at the time, they were a handheld powerhouse. My singular complaint about them today is the lack of a backlight. It's just plain hard for me to read now. I do have one on my iPhone which slots right in to the "good enough" category, even though the tactile feedback of the keyboard is lacking. What it lacks there is more than made up in handiness and readability. My go to application for it is equation solving.
    - p_l 5y ago
      Haha. I missed the glory days of hp-48 (plus they never seemed very popular in Poland), but when I got my first android phone, pretty soon out of curiosity I installed Droid48... Ever since then, I keep an emulated HP48 with me.
      - mschaef 5y ago
        > I missed the glory days of hp-48 (plus they never seemed very popular in Poland) Is that true for the earlier HP's too? > Ever since then, I keep an emulated HP48 with me. Oddly, even though I used 48's and still have a couple in a drawer, I've settled on an HP42S emulator. (This was a lower end, but still nice, HP that was more directly a successor to the 41. In some ways, it feels more direct and calcualtor-like than the 28/48/etc series)
mmcgaha 5y ago
50G isn't loved? My guess is that the 50G will be the most loved over time. Really it is the end of the line and the pinnacle of a HP RPL calculator. It looks great (better then the 49g+), has a good keyboard and is very responsive. On a side note James Donnelly's HP 48 Programmers Toolkit added CAR and CDR commands.

p_l 5y ago

A good reason for that is the changed shape and keyboard, which disfavors RPN and mimics contemporary casio calculators (even docs have strange preference for mentioning algebraic mode first). The large enter of hp-48 and earlier RPN calculators makes way more sense, especially if you're going to do anything fast. TBQH, I'd love a hp-50g internals (or better) in hp-48gx case :)

mschaef 5y ago
For context, the 50G came out at the tail end of HP's development of calculators. (In fact, the original Corvallis calculator group had disbanded and the group that produced the 50G was a reconstitution assembled in part from the HP48 enthusiast community.) By the time the 50 rolled around, computers had reduced the role of calculators in professional work, and HP was left addressing the enthusiast and educational markets. But the educational market was (and is) already heavily locked up by TI. So the 50G wound up being a compromise product (and built to a lower price point). IMO, the diminished Enter key and 'algebraic first' aspects of the design are direct attempts by HP to cater to people who might otherwise be using TI. As someone who was enthusiastic about HP48's back in the day, I have to admit that I'm a little sad that the market hasn't continued to develop. But to be perfectly honest, modern technology and software is so much more capable, and I have no desire at all to carry another special function device if I can avoid it. My guess is that this is a fairly widespread opinino. > TBQH, I'd love a hp-50g internals (or better) in hp-48gx case :) I'd always hoped they'd do both that (With the old school black/blue/yellow color scheme) and a version of the 50g in the 200LX case. Between the faster CPU of the 50G and the much bigger screen of the 200, the result would have been a great rendition of the core RPL software. (For 1994-5, at least).
- p_l 5y ago
  don't forget that the form change was done with hp49, in 1999, when scientific/engineering calculators were still in professional work since even in CAD/CAM/CAE era, sometimes you had to work away from the bulky desktops and laptops were still much more expensive and underpowered compared to your typical engineering PC. Of the arguments to move the enter key, only the need to add more buttons is IMO defendable :)
  - mschaef 5y ago
    > don't forget that the form change was done with hp49, Good point - I keep forgetting that one. (In fact, now that you mention it, I think the 49 may have been the first output from the reconstituted calculator team.)
- whartung 5y ago
  I was devout HP-48 fan back in the day, even did some custom programming for one for a client (got paid!), deployed about 20 of them in to the field. This thing was a real delight to write programs for. Just RPL, nothing fancy. For $99 at the time, they were a handheld powerhouse. My singular complaint about them today is the lack of a backlight. It's just plain hard for me to read now. I do have one on my iPhone which slots right in to the "good enough" category, even though the tactile feedback of the keyboard is lacking. What it lacks there is more than made up in handiness and readability. My go to application for it is equation solving.
  - p_l 5y ago
    Haha. I missed the glory days of hp-48 (plus they never seemed very popular in Poland), but when I got my first android phone, pretty soon out of curiosity I installed Droid48... Ever since then, I keep an emulated HP48 with me.
    - mschaef 5y ago
      > I missed the glory days of hp-48 (plus they never seemed very popular in Poland) Is that true for the earlier HP's too? > Ever since then, I keep an emulated HP48 with me. Oddly, even though I used 48's and still have a couple in a drawer, I've settled on an HP42S emulator. (This was a lower end, but still nice, HP that was more directly a successor to the 41. In some ways, it feels more direct and calcualtor-like than the 28/48/etc series)

mmcgaha 5y ago

50G isn't loved? My guess is that the 50G will be the most loved over time. Really it is the end of the line and the pinnacle of a HP RPL calculator. It looks great (better then the 49g+), has a good keyboard and is very responsive. On a side note James Donnelly's HP 48 Programmers Toolkit added CAR and CDR commands.