Comparison of HP42s and DM42 features
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- čas přidán 15. 07. 2024
- Perhaps a little muddled here but I did a comparison between the HP42s and the new (and improved!) version from Swiss Micros. One thing I forgot to mention is that the DM42 keys are a bit stiff, but that is really my only complaint, other than that it is amazing.
To me, the nicest feature of this machine is its highly readable display. I think most of us are less than satisfied with the anemic, poor contrast lcd displays on most calculators, including hp’s. Since Swiss Micros first came out with these machines I’ve wondered why hp hasn’t adopted this type of display-so much better!!
Absolutely. You see that immediately in the very first frames of this video. Just look at how clear and crisp the DM42 display is! 🙂
I like it quite a lot. I have a little heartburn, though. For one thing, at least in my initial playing with the Solver program, it doesn't see to be willing to find the complex roots of a polynomial. Maybe I just haven't figured out how yet, but that's how it looks at the moment. Also, I can put a 2x2 matrix in X and hit the "INV" soft-key button, and it will invert it. Great. But intuitively I think it should also invert it using the 1/x key. There are a number of things like this that just seem "natural" to me but don't seem supported.
Still, though - great calculator, and holy cow - 34 digit precision!
I used a sliderule and pencil and paper for most of my needs until I had an opportunity to use a HP-41 sometime in the 80s. Once introduced to RPN I was hooked. I still have and use my HP-41CV and HP-41CX calculators. For financial calculations, I use my HP-12 and HP-15. Your video and others have me interested in the DM-41 and DM-42 models now. Although I'm retired now, I guess I'll always be an engineer at heart.
I think you'll love the DM42. Another great feature of those SwissMicros reproductions is that they are very faithful functionally which means _the original HP user's manuals are fully applicable to them._ This is a big deal as those HP manuals are extremely well-written.
Thank you for your great video. I am an old engineer and used slide rules for year. My first HP´s were HP 35 , 45 and 41. They were all more than 1000 US dollarseach in those years here, very expensive for us, Argentines, but they still work...Cheers from Patagonia.
I can't wait to get mine. I've already ordered it and am waiting for it to get here!!!
I think you'll like it. If you haven't seen my video on "softening" the keypad, you might find that useful if you find it a little stiff for your liking.
I just bought the 41x and I’d like to get this at some point, too. Looks great.
Great review, thank you very much.
Thanks Logan! Great review! I LOVE my 42s--it's been my goto for years and in my opinion the best handheld...but I've always dreamed of being able to load/store programs...this is huge. I've ordered one....can't wait! Cheers from Ottawa!
I have used mine daily at work. It's a great calculator and has held up well. I will note that I found the keyboard a bit stiff at first, but I have a video on that if you have the same problem. I hope you really like it!
@@west
they have a new dome sheet for the keyboard. Have you tried it? To me it's better.
@@aab-el9bd I did know about that but haven't tried it yet. Thanks for reminding me, I just ordered one to replace!
Very nice overview, thanks.
You're welcome, I'm glad it was helpful.
Really glad it has a real time clock to take advantage of Free42's expanded time functions, I bet my UTC clock program would even run on it unmodified. I hope either Mr. Okken or Swiss Micros release an updated Free42 with all the new features and multi-line display.
Swiss Micros has said they will release the source code so I imagine we will see some nifty new firmware with some great features.
I just ordered one of these SM DM42S calculators. I'm looking forward to learning it.
Excellent. In case you find them helpful, all my videos on the HP 42s will be applicable of course.
Where's the battery?
A micro SD reader/writer would be a nice addition.
The HP 42S is my favorite HP calc.
The hp42 was a powerful tool i done stack testing for 20 years, that is emissions testing from smoke stacks in industry that came with complex calculations from the epa that most college students we hired could not comprehend without practice. the programming features once learned how to program and how to use with the additional advanced programming manual that was sold separately made doing stack testing a breeze. making a half hour or more of calculations nearly a instant maybe 5 minutes for results and with restless clients that was a plus. I also used a hp 15c as a back up in case my 42 got dropped and went hundreds of feet down smashing to the ground from elevated hights. i can't find a dm 42 for sale anywhere online.
That's a fantastic story. Stack testing with RPN stacks. I love programmable calculators and RPN programming is pretty pleasant. You can find the DM42 directly from Swiss Micros. It's pricey but I felt it was worth it. I use mine daily.
www.swissmicros.com/
It's a little tricky to find but they do have an order page:
www.swissmicros.com/order.php
The real-time battery voltage indicator is what sold me.
I ended up turning the voltage indicator off and just having the graphic since it kept distracting me every time it dropped by a hundredth of a Volt. But I've been using mine almost daily for 2.5 years and it's still on full bars with the original battery. Great calculator!
That calculator looks awesome, but you gotta love the keypad on the vintage hp calculators!
J G Absolutely. I enjoy this a lot but wish it had the classic HP keypad.
How close is it to the feeling of that 42s. The keys are sloped right? Best keypad I've felt so far is on my 1987 10B (made in indonesia, not singapore). Second best for me was my 48gx.. but I haven't really had any other hp calculators. I'd so buy the 50g but I am just shaking my head at that keypad, colors and styling -- although I do love the larger screen and being able to see more on the stack.
Yes, the keys are sloped. I don't really know how to describe the feel. It's certainly better (closer to vintage HP) than any TI calculator, but I don't have any other comparisons that would be useful.
Until you pointed it out ten minutes into the video I hadn't even noticed the addition of letters to the side of the buttons, and I've been using Free42 daily for years!
It's a pretty nice feature, though I have to admit I still use the alpha menu for most things---just too used to it!
There is obvious market demand for sophisticated programmable RPN calculators. Why HP isn't exploiting this market is beyond me.
The Japanese make some cool stuff. Take for example the Sharp PC-G850V. This is an oversized pocket computer programmable in C, BASIC, and I think Z80 assembler. Really cool to have several programming modalities in one unit. Now if HP made a calculator programmable in RPL, keystroke RPN like their classic models, and some other language like BASIC, I would snap one up in a jiffy. ;)
It's a niche market and HP is a big company. (I'm here because I'm part of that niche market, so I'm not hostile to the concept.) The entire pocket calculator market is becoming a niche market. 99.9% of people can't imagine why they would buy a pocket calculator when they already own a smartphone with a calculator app. I saw an Amazon review of a Casio or Sharp scientific calculator that sells for about $16 and the reviewer knocked it down to three stars because it was 'so expensive.' Try selling him on a $200+ calculator!
The HP team is gone since a long time. Today, OEMs make these for HP.
I'm afraid that the market doesn't exist any more, save for the nostalgics like myself (I have 12 HP calculators from the 70s and 80s) who are watching this video. But let's face it, an iPad with an Excel worksheet is way more capable and easier to use than any programmable HP calculator.
That said, even for basic calculators, nothing beats RPN for speed and practicality.
Yes you are correct. In the 80s, and 90s, HP-RPN calculators were in demand, and HP did exploit the market, successfully. But then came smartphones.
In my lifetime I’ve had HP-25, -33E, -28C, and -48SX.
Got mine some days ago. Having used RPN for years and the Free42 app on my phone for a long time, I knew the functionality of the DM42, which use the Free42 software.
I like very much the connectivity of the DM42, meaning I can backup and copy between it and the PC.
Using real buttons instead of the touch screen of the phone has me make fewer entering errors. And speaking of buttons: Yes, the buttons are a bit stiffer than the original HP buttons, but they also have a very positive click when engaged. If anything, I tend to prefer the feel of the DM42 buttons to the original HP (some may consider this being heresy). Mind you, that is for the improved keyboard of later years. The first versions had a mediocre keybord feel.
Some have criticised that the LCD is not backlit, but this would have meant more battery drain. One of the nice things about the DM42 is that its battery lasts a long time (a year or so (?), depending on use).
The insane accuracy is great in theory, but is largely wasted on me. I almost always need magnitudes more than numbers exact to the n'th decimal. The accuracy of a slide rule (three significant numbers) is enough for most of the things I calculate.
Of course, the D42 is nerdy galore, since there are free phone apps that can do the same - and Excel can do even more (however, Excel is not for the quick calculation on the fly). But then I also use an old log-log slide rule from time to time (actually it's just as fast or faster for some things involving exponential calculations like 1'st order decay, compound interest, discounting etc.). Given the slide rule was THE calculating tool for the design and construction of all kinds of machines, structures, buildings etc. before the advent of the electronic calculator and the PC/Mac, in my book it's one of the greatest inventions ever. But don't get me started .....
To sum up: I'm perfectly satisfied with the DM42 and it is readily recommended by me.
Beautiful 👍🔔❤️
I wonder when HP is going to come out with a new calcualtor with modern high resolution capacitive touch screen display which are even on cheap android smart phones. With the same vintage keypads as the old hp calculators, with just the right feel we so much enjoy. Have full compatibility with HP50g/48gx with respect to RPN/RPL and have CAS as secondary feature. And the calculator styling similar to the more rectangular 48gx and 42s. That'd be my dream calculator :)
Would be nice! I'm not holding out hope though, from what I've seen of HP over the last couple decades.
Did you see the HP Prime?
You need to check out the HP Prime G2 (rev D; model number 2AP18AA). Compared to the G1, it more RAM and a much faster ARM 7 processor; runs about 3x faster than the G1 for all but some rotating 3D graphs (which are deliberately timed). Don't know if they're available in the USA yet (as of this reply). They were impossible to find from normal US retailers including Amazon (which doesn't have any; they're all G1). Looked up the UPC on the one I acquired via Rakuten (same seller is on eBay). It was intended for distribution and sale in South America - dual lingual English/Spanish packaging. English language setting by default in the calculator (has several languages). Can be switched form "Textbook" to Algebraic or RPN modes. Extremely fast graphing calculator, and very thin, with a rechargeable Lithium cell. Has micro-USB port for connectivity to PC and charging the battery. Has touch screen, but I still use the keyboard as much as possible.
@@hekras2010 HP prime is a terrific machine but can't be programmed in RPL thereby losing what was one of the best features of all previous HP machines.
@@michaellerner6986 you could add it if you really wanted
Looks like Swissmicros needs to work on the button size, spacing and feel, and the COLOUR!! That orange on dark brown button and chassis (not black) by hp was the best I have ever seen! Especially because it had no second shift button in a clashing colour. Not sure if this colour combination was trademarked by hp, but if not, it is definitely an important factor. Some may say engineers and scientists do not care about aesthetics but that is not true, and regardless for that price it should be excellent looking in addition to the functionality.
But this does look like a great product!
Is the quality of the keypad and the key overlay comparable to the HP 42S?
Cheers
To the author of the video, I'd like to comment that I like the style of the little program that you demonstrated - very flexible. It seems that you could choose any combination and it "just works". Ever post your programs to share? In your video, you illustrated the advantage of having a dedicated soft menu with a conversion utility. What intrigued me was that you could apparently touch any combination of units and the program would still still correctly do the conversion. That is a neat trick!
I do share the programs, which one are you interested in specifically?
@@west
I would like to see how you made your conversion program so flexible. For example, you appeared to simply choose two length units randomly, and then press CONVERT, and it just worked. That's quite beyond the typical example program in the Owner's Manual. Also, do you program it by hand only, or do you ever use a text-to-raw translator (like D & M have on their website)?
@@kimberlyferry6570 The program I created from the Programming Example and Techniques manual for the 42s. A modified version (and in many ways improved) of it can be downloaded from here:
www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-9896.html
4:02 You mention you load TVM program. I am just curious, is it possible to use those top row of keys just the same as how you would store and recall the data to/from the HP 10B registers? From what I recall with 48GX it's a GUI interface to enter in the values. Much prefer to have same functionality as a business calculator by accessing the registers directly with a key assigned to each.
If I understand you correctly, then yes. The TVM program is one that someone created and created the menus for and what each key does when you press it. So you could easily label a softkey "Reg1" or something and when you press it just have it execute the code for STO 01, or STO A or whatever.
I plan to get a DM 42.
For your 42nd birthday? :) I'm thinking you'll like it.
Now I need to wait for March. LOL (Unless I get impatient and buy it earlier).
Is there any way at all to use a linked list for stack instead of registers? (I never used the older HP RPN which had a fixed number of registers for the stack). I am so used to the 48GX with its infinite stack.. I enter in a long sequence of numbers to sum and just keep pressing the + key until they are summed.. so fun watching hte stack get smaller. Would be awesome if they could some how offer that feature in the calculator software.
Well, that's a yes, but with a caveat. The software is open-source and several people have been working on some other calculator programs to load onto it. I don't know if the unlimited stack is slated for incorporation but I know some others are interested.
In my experience, compared to the original HP 42s:
- The display reflects more of the environment, like a mirror
- The keys are smaller and don‘t feel as good as the larger HP keys
- The enter key has a louder click to it (when you disassemble the calculator you can see it is actually two keys below)
- The rubber feet dont‘t go to the edge of the calculator, so when you press keys at the leftmost or rightmost column, the calculator does not stay on the surface but swings a bit around
In every other respect, the DM42 is much better than the original 42s. I enjoy it a lot and actually prefer it to the original HP calculator.
Thanks Thomas, I agree on most of those. I do like the larger, rounded-feeling keys on my HP 42s. I do think the keys have gotten less stiff after entering a few programs and playing with it for a while. It's a great calculator and I take it with me everywhere.
As far as can see on the video the old HP 42 reflects far more.
That's more of just where the lights overhead happened to be. I don't really notice that much of a difference in reflectivity, but the larger screen may make it seem like you see more glare as well.
I just got a DM42 and had (most) all of the same complaints as you and was initially very disappointed. I essentially did some hacking on all of it, got the keys to the perfect tension (for me), moved pads nearer the edge of the bottom case. It’s a dream for me now. I can’t speak to this video, but in real life the reflection is just not an issue. The screen, in real life, is GORGEOUS. It’s like a kindle paperwhite, which makes sense given its e-ink. I still feel slightly faster on my HP-42s on normal calculations, but I’ve only had the DM42 for 3 days and haven’t written any programs yet and my fingers still need to adjust for perfect muscle memory.
Thanks for the review. Quick question: I see 5 lines on the stack instead of the usual 4. That new L register, is it a functional part of the stack or is it there only to show you the LAST X value? thx.
So what you choose to display on the stack is configurable. You have XYZ and T, which are the four levels of the stack, and then you can also choose to display L, which is the LAST X. It still only has four stack levels. I like having LAST X visible too because I can visually confirm the last number I entered, say, when I'm summing a bunch of stuff and lose my place or have to pause for a moment. I can always look at the LAST X value to see where I was previously. Kind of handy :)
It could also be the font size a bit smaller, try that.
It's really cool what you do on your channel. Do you have any plans to make some videos about the HP28?
Thanks Carl! And actually yes, I do have the 28s and plan on doing a series on it at some point.
@@west That would be cool. I'm an old hand HP67 and TI57 programmer but I'm fascinated with the HP28 in particular because it has that dedicated alpha keyboard, and I love the form factor, and because I have one on order. :-)
I have an HP48g but it doesn't power on. I bought it cheap hoping it could be fixed but I haven't had any luck, so I came across an apparently pristine HP28s and made an offer and won! Wish me luck on my purchase.
Looking forward to seeing your treatment of the calculator.
Hi, I’m Surveyor. I’ve got some programs I used with the hp42. Will I be able to use these programs as they are, or will they need to be changed because of the new soft keys on the dm42.
Happily, the calculator uses Thomas Okken's Free42, which is absolutely intended to duplicate the HP 42s. So despite the addition of extra soft keys on the keyboard, every program will be completely compatible with no alterations. Most of the programs I've put in were from old HP books, and then the nice thing is I've saved a backup of the programs to my computer so I never have to type them in again. Cheers!
Hello Logan,
May I ask where you got/downloaded what appears to be a program for circuit analysis please.
Sure, it's actually from the handbook for HP42s Electrical Engineering, so details on how to use it are in there, but you can download the files to your DM42 from the Swiss Micros forum:
forum.swissmicros.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1827
Thank you Logan
Does this have a exact mode for fractions and radicals?
Not natively (yet) but there are programs that will do it. However, since the firmware is to be released open-source, I'm fairly confident that features like this will be eventually implemented.
That is unfortunate because both of those are critical desires for high school (and low level) beyond calculators.
The goal of this initial design was to implement as close as possible, the original 30-year old design. New features come later.
www.finetune.co.jp/~lyuka/technote/fract/fract-42s.html
Here's a program that outputs exact fractions (to a certain accuracy). It's still a scientific calculator underneath, not a symbolic one with CAS. But for example, I took 1001/1002, got the decimal answer, ran the program, and it told me it was 1001/1002. I think it can potentially be accurate out to 30 decimal places.
With a smaller font, you can show up to ten program lines.
Thomas Lake That's correct. Font size and face are independent of how they are set in the stack vs programming mode. Personally I liked the default and find 8 lines to be plenty.
Great review.... i am curious to know, since the DM42 has a clock would programs written for the HP-41 that used the clock also work on the DM42?
Good question, unfortunately not one I know the answer to. I’m not certain whether the clock is accessible to the user or not since the firmware is based on Free42 which as far as I know doesn’t have clock support. But it might have that capability.
@@west thanks for the reply, yes i do believe that the clock and date are accessible from the DM42 with various commands however i just wanted to know if anyone had tried HP41 programs that used the clock such as for alarms or creating a calendar etc
Hi Logan, one question, please... To ship these calculators to US what would be better, to buy Amazon or direct to Swissmicros? Thanks in advance.
I imagine it would be better to buy direct but I don't know.
not to forget the huge precision improvement over the original because of intels fp library and the faster calculating speed...
Faster speed, definitely. That's clearly a huge advantage for certain applications. The extra precision is nice, but I never felt like 12 digits, or whatever the original 42 had, was lacking :)
The precision that seems useful is gonna depend on what tasks you mainly use it for.
I delve a lot into numerical calculations (number theory & the like), and I absolutely love the 34-digit precision on my Free42 app (which I understand is the smartphone app version of DM42). As well, the much faster speed!
I'm pretty sure I'm gonna want one of these babies! Looks to me like the greatest thing since the 41CX!
Is there a manual for this?
This will get you started:
www.swissmicros.com/dm42/doc/dm42_user_manual/
The 6MB Flash - when is that used? Is it only used when saving state etc or is it used for storing programs, registers etc (so that's all held in RAM) - how much RAM is there?
Great video by the way !
Good questions that I don't know the answers too :)
I'm sure the folks at the Swiss Micros forums would know.
i have the chance to buy a near-MINT almost unused hp 42s (stepped bezel) but really expensive .
do you think that buying such REALLY EXPENSIVE hp 42s worth it today as these things were manufactured really long time ago and i have noticed that with age a number of problems show up:
- the keyboard-connection problem
- bleeding LCD problem
I don't know what "really expensive" is for you, and your mileage may vary depending on your needs, but I bought two old 42s because I liked them so much, and then bought a DM42 on top of that, which was $200 new. It was worth it for me because I really enjoy it and use it daily. I had no issues with either of mine over the last year or two that I've owned them.
do you think there is any difference in build-quality between the earlier flat-bezel and the later stepped-bezel ones ?
I honestly have no idea, but I haven't heard anyone specifically condemn or praise one or the other.
Dear sir, do u know how to replace the 48GX?
Not exactly sure what you're asking but the answer is probably "no". I don't use the 48GX.
hey, are the keys "snappy" like the hp 12c?
It's a different sort of feel, but I'm pleased with it and reports on the later production models have been very favorable.
Esta calculadora já está a venda?
www.swissmicros.com. Creo que acabo de comprar la última de este lote. Contáctalos para ver si les queda.
Think I want one of those . Is this rechargeable?
No, it's not rechargeable, but almost five years later, and using it almost every day, I still have full battery on mine.
There is one thing they seem to have missed out in this machine: The highest quality keys of the 41-series. Everything here breathes quality, except for the keys! A real pity.. The main reason I will never buy this. (I own 41CV, 28S, 42S, 48GX, 35S and 50G) Thanks for the nice review Logan!
It seems the little snap domes just don't have quite the right force to them. A couple of users have replaced the domes (not too difficult) with good success. The more recent models use different domes but I haven't heard how they compare.
@@west Thx for the info. I wasn't aware of that.
The one thing I see that would be a problem as a student is changing the battery. If I'm mid-exam and the battery dies, to expect me to whip out a screwdriver, take the two screws out, pop off the back, replace the battery, and then reverse the process is going to take too long. I had to do this once in college. Plus, I would worry over time the repeated removal and re-insertion of the screws would eventually wear out. Would have been better to have found a solution to be able to simply remove a door and swap out the battery like standard calculators.
I see your point, but I don't think that is a practical worry in this case. I've been using it for tons of stuff every day for the last two months straight without an appreciable drop in battery voltage (perhaps 10 mV). It's very efficient and if it's anything like the HP 15c, reports are that it may go years without needing the battery changed, and when it does notify of a low battery, it's likely you'll have days if not weeks of use before it finally is unusable. If I go into an exam with a calculator that has been telling me for a week that its battery is low, that would be my fault :)
Along with that, the screws are very easy to remove and I kind of like the design. Feels very solid and sturdy and no worries about the battery door breaking in any way.
Logan West lol I'd wish I could use this on exams. My engineering school expects us to use basic calculators for everything.
If I used something like this school would be about half as difficult.
If you're allowed to use this and don't, I really don't know what to say. Programming a beast like this for school would be overpowered.
gomefun2ify Easy fix as professionals do with all mission critical battery powered equipment,,, such as the GPS terminals on a ship.... Ask the manufacturer the expected battery life... replace at 60 percent of the expected time, with a new date code battery.... no failures during critical operations.
@@west and @C Alvord Is a programmable calculator like the DM42 allowed in engineering exams? Assuming it is, they would have to display a notice like: "Kindly carry your own screwdriver. No screwdrivers shall be provided in the examination hall" :)
@@Crazytesseract I'm still on the same battery, still using the calculator daily. I'm pretty sure that like the old HPs, you have weeks (if not months) of warning. So if I ran out of battery on an exam, that would be completely inexcusable on my part!
As to whether it's allowed, it's certainly not for the FE/PE exams, and I'm sure it would be on a classroom by classroom basis at universities.
RIP Hp, I read they stopped making calculators, just like they stopped making test equipment years ago. Now they only make plastic crap. HP calculators will be missed however Swiss Micros will continue to carry the torch.
Logan West it may be of interest that a hell of a lot of HP software was designed in Melbourne Australia for the graphing calcs. There was a French born chappie involved whose name I have forgotten. I once heard him on SSB ham radio doing some scouts on the air thing. I know this because an Ex HP cad draftman bought up for nix all the old Demo calcs that the salesmen used. He advertised em on Ebay AUS. I bought two 12cs for equiv of USD $25 ea one for me as back up an done for my Nephew in NELSON. My Niece got another one. I would love to have a 15C to own and caress.. but when the special edn calc 15C came out I had about 5 other HPs and you can only whore yourself across so many women :) also the short run 15C was ultra expensive in AUD, about $230 or something of that number. You can get an HP 35S now in AUS for $104 AUD (about $70 US) with no extra on road charges for oil change or tires. The existence of a DM42 is a real eye oopener . Esp the USB feature. Might have a sniff around Ebay... Tim Fidler
That's fascinating, thank you for sharing. I'd love to read a book on all of that history. I enjoy the DM42 a lot. It's my daily workhorse now.
@@west I wrote quite an extended reply that got lost by clicking too close to RHS of a Chrome tab , never mind. the Australian operation was called the ACO. I remember their building on the Burwood highway - it looked out towards the Dandenong mountain chain. THe big firmware man was Jean-Yves Avenard. Later on the HP35S was contracted out to a Taiwanese company - Ie. the HP company wanted to clip the ticket by stamping the HP logo on a piece of hardware they had no ownership in. That said, it is a reasonable bit of hardware for the money and if you want HP and Scientific, it is all there is. Here is some history on it. www.hpcalc.org/goodbyeaco.php I hope Jean- Yves came up smiling. There are only 5 HP calculators being sold in AUS/Nz as of Oct. 2018 ; 4 are commercial and the other one is the HP35s. It is a sad state of affairs for a once great company...
I agree that it is a very sad turn for HP. I've used much of their test equipment and to go from an engineering company to a consumer one (e.g., home printers) with a significant loss of quality is very unfortunate. I did have a 35s for a while and agree. It has some nice features but the quality just isn't there. A few bugs and the hardware really detract from what could have been a decent entry-level scientific calculator.
@alysdexia you are being picky or speak Anglisky as a second language. Commercial as in for accountants and bean counters yes Financial calculators. The point I was making is that the HP35s is the sole scientific calculator from a company that cut its teeth on audio generators, scientific instruments and scientific calculators of high quality.
Can the solve function handle complex numbers?
The solve function finds roots and as far as I know, will not return complex roots. However, you can use complex numbers in matrices and apply Cramer's rule, or there are programs out there that will find the complex roots up to a 4th polynomial. Does that answer your question?
@@west Yes, thank you. I also got another reply that said it does not return complex solutions. I'm disappointed, but I'll be buying a DM42 soon anyway. By the way, the DM42 currently sells on Amazon for $246, shipping included, and directly from SwissMicros for the equivalent of $215, shipping incl. I think I'll buy from Amazon however, because I think shipping and service would be more reliable from them than from the company, which seems to be in Switzerland.
So why not just do an improved version of the top of the RPN line, the HP50g? Perhaps they have, just having a thought here :)
The 42s already had a solid simulator in Free42, which was dropped into the DM42. To develop an HP50g emulator/simulator would probably take years of development. The 50g isn't too difficult to get yet, either and I imagine there would be more legal issues surrounding copying it than a 35 year old calculator.
Oh, thanks! Yeah I just thought if you can make a new version of a fairly complex RPN calculator like the 42, maybe you could do the same with the best of them, the 50g, which also is discontinued. I started, and "fell in love", with a 28S somewhere in the early 90's and only by nostalgic motivations (meaning no real need for a calculator) I managed to get a 50g a couple years back from eBay, and it is so great, improving on every aspect of the 28 and 48 series, except of course the display is still embarrassingly low resolution.
how long is the start up time?
Just like an HP. I turned it on in one of my videos: czcams.com/video/OIzqdS_4RYs/video.html
The only delay to speak of is when you update the firmware and that only takes a few seconds. Thereafter, it's always there waiting to be used, and I've used mine daily since December, for work and for all the videos, and still on the same battery.
thx
My guess is that 80s guys feel the same way about the HP42S as 2000s guys feel about the TI-84 Plus.
I just got my DM42, I’ve gone to load a program, I’ve hit Activate USB Disk button, it only comes up with connect USB... , do I need a special cable? If anyone can help, I’d appreciate it.
A couple of things to try: some users had difficulties with some micro USB connectors bumping up against the casing and not getting a firm connection. Another issue was that some cables were just for charging and didn't have data pins, so I'd at least try another cable. Lastly, I think Windows 7 and up should be able to install the drivers correctly, but if you're using an older system, Linux, or a Mac, you might have to check on that, not certain but just something to be aware of.
Logan West I went to my sisters place, got another cable, it worked! $19.95 down the drain on a cable I brought today!
damian lynch Glad you got it working!
Why would I want a DM42 vs a HP Prime g2?
Only you can answer that question. For my use, the Prime's functionality is something I'd use a computer for: MATLAB, Excel, or Wolfram Alpha. For quick calculations in meetings and such, I just need a regular scientific calculator and the 42 has everything I need and nothing I don't. I find it quicker to get to things on a scientific than a graphing calculator because sometimes the extra features mean more menus to navigate rather than everything being accessible from the keypad.
That's a lovely calculator. I wanted to get one but the price it's just prohibitive for me :(
I understand. It's kind of a luxury item for most people.
@@west Yeah, sort of. Too bad, because I really wanted it haha.
Thanks for the review, looks like another nice calculator! The total memory is 6MB flash (better be correctly informed before doing a video on a product's features), which means it has a limited number of write operations, at least 1E5 which isn't much. So that choice of technology is arguable, though Swissmicro claim they'll replace the memory for free, minus shipping costs.
Something else that concerns me is the battery life, during your short comarison, and without using the calculator much, you lost about 1%, which extrapolates to a rough 20-h battery life at most (knowing the voltage will not drop linearly, and that it cannot go down to 0V, probably makes it 10 or 5 hours).
Well, this is a hobby. I never claim to be a professional! As to the battery, I've still been using the calculator for probably at least 10 minutes straight a day, every day and I'm still on the same battery after almost a year and it's still at about the same voltage level.
Perhaps it just goes down after a while but it's not an indication of battery usage then. It's reassuring, thanks for the quick reply! Damn, you make it even more tempting ;-) Oh, and that looked professional enough, don't mind my little teasing!
If you see the videos on saving and loading programs, I think you'll find it even more tempting :)
I made another video on how to make the keyboard less stiff and that helped mine significantly. I really do like the calculator, it's definitely my preferred machine for daily number crunching. I work in radar engineering and use it almost constantly.
I'll make sure to watch that!
Logan West , hello would you suggest an engineering student to get this, my 35s is giving me headaches
greg austin Definitely. I moved from the 35s to the 42s and this is better in every way. If I were to start engineering over again I would use this one... And I say that as someone who used the TI89 all through college. Get to know it well and you'll be amazing in school :)
Logan West thank you , you helped me so much !! Hp35s is unreliable specially during exams , sometimes it doesn't respond to keystrokes.Matrix calculation also sucks. I major in ME btw, I am now taking thermo,dynamics and circuit analysis.I fear that my 35s will fail me just like it did to my physics classes. I hope I will not encounter such problems specially with fast calculations , btw I am loving the new features . The only downside for me is the price. Anyway i'll be getting this beast. Thank you!! SUB !
greg austin glad to help! It will be an investment that will give returns over a lifetime.
Funny you say it Logan, I have a similar story. TI´s were not very popular in my side of the world. Back in my college days we had two gangs: Team HP with the HP48S/SX/G/GX and the Casio fx-850p/880p. I had an fx880p.
While the HP had the solver and graphing capabilty which was a great thing, the Casios were much easier to program in Basic and cheaper. Nonetheless I could see the advantages of RPN.
The 42s has the best support for complex numbers I've seen on a non-graphing calculator.
If you like RPN and don't want to use a graphing calculator, this is probably the best possible option.
If you DO want to use a graphing calculator, check out the 50g, or really anything from the 48/49/50 series of calculators. When the 50g went out of production, it's price spiked for a reason.
I wish the price is lower. over $200 is too much for a calc nowaday ;(
Stiff keys are not a bug, they're a feature.
Depends on how stiff you like it :)
Personally, I'd prefer something a little bit more toward the older HP models.
Did you watch that video where someone took DM42 apart and bent the keys on keypad back and forth until they weren't so stiff?
Can you share the units programs? Thanks.
Sure, check this thread out:
www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-9896.html
among these two calculators the best one is TI-89
Ha, well, I used a TI-89 for years but today when I need to do some quick calculation or statistics, the 42 is what I grab first. The TI-89 sees almost no use anymore.
@@west for all my quick calculations, such as how much salt I need to cure 5lb of meat, I use TI-92 plus, because it has qwerty keyboard and can be easily programmed for all my household needs.
For a Limited time Only ! Operators are Standing by !! If Your I.Q. is Verified to be (I.Q.)=< 80, for only $5.29, you can have an attractive telemarketer explain to you why your cell phone is a piece of (^@&, and what RPN is actually useful for... Sorry, but Supplies are limited and those with Short memories as well will have to pay for each individual explanation... Stupid is, as Stupid Does... Doesn't it ? Ummmm I forget ;-P
who needs a calculator since 2007? PC's, smartphones, Laptops and ipads can do it 20,000 time faster and better. ExplaiN!