HP Forum Archive 13

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HP48gx Message #1 Posted by Eric Lundgren on 5 Oct 2003, 1:55 a.m. I've found a store that has 4 hp48GX machines, going for 139 dollars. My question is, as an RPN faithful and 'hp-click' lover, and engineering student, do any of you have recommendation of getting this 48gx instead of the new 49G+? There's one with a torn box, that they are willing to let go for a 10percent discount. With tax that comes to about 135. My concern is that if I will try to finish school with this, is the difficulty/cost of expansion cards worth it or should I just wait for the G+? I'm searching for a suitable calc to let my 32sii take a break. btw, I do plan on taking the FE and PE exams in 1.5 years or so. el

Re: HP48gx Message #2 Posted by James M. Prange on 5 Oct 2003, 7:19 a.m., in response to message #1 by Eric Lundgren I don't have a 49g+, but I'll think that it will be like the 49G in many ways. The 49G might be better for mathematics students, and is fun to play with, but for "real work", that is, where I want to get a numeric result quickly with a minimum of fussing around, I prefer the 48SX or 48GX. Yes, the expansion cards are expensive, but keep in mind that the 48GX comes with 128KBytes built-in, so maybe you don't really need an expansion card. If you do feel a need for an expansion card, see http://uuhome.de/oklotz/index_e.html for what's probably the best prices. The Klotz cards look primitive, but many have reported that they work just fine. I don't know that the price on that 48GX is especially good, you might want to search online or check eBay and compare prices. As the 48s and 49s may well be banned on the tests, hang on to your 32SII and don't forget how to use it. Or consider the 33S. Regards, James Edited: 5 Oct 2003, 7:23 a.m.

Re: HP48gx Message #3 Posted by Wayne Brown on 5 Oct 2003, 9:45 a.m., in response to message #2 by James M. Prange Quote: If you do feel a need for an expansion card, see http://uuhome.de/oklotz/index_e.html for what's probably the best prices. The Klotz cards look primitive, but many have reported that they work just fine. So far I have three of the Klotz cards, with which I am quite satisfied, and plan to buy at least a couple more. Considering that a "genuine HP" one MB card sold for about $189 on eBay recently, the approximately $80 I paid for a Klotz two MB card seems quite a bargain. By the way, the Klotz cards may look "primitive" because they do not have covers and so the circuit board is exposed, but if you examine one you will see that the construction of the board and the soldering of the components looks quite neat and professional. They look every bit as well-made as any of the expansion cards that I've ever bought for my desktop PCs.

Re: HP48gx Message #4 Posted by Thomas Otterbein on 6 Oct 2003, 1:30 p.m., in response to message #3 by Wayne Brown Wayne: .......the Klotz cards may look "primitive" because they do not have covers and so the circuit board is exposed, but if you examine one you will see that the construction of the board and the soldering of the components looks quite neat and professional..... Hi! I have also one card from Klotz and a 2 MB card from Cynox. I agree to Wayne´s statement, the quality is fine and the soldering is professional done....and the card works quite fine! I wouldn´t say, that they looks primitive but professional done in a simple way. I do not handle the card outside the 48GX. So for me it doesn´t matter if they don´t have a housing. And as Klotz reports on his web page, he never had problems with electric static. The price is real unbeatable. Wayne: .......They look every bit as well-made as any of the expansion cards that I've ever bought for my desktop PCs...... I would wish all my expension cards would look as good as the Klotz cards :-) Bye... Thomas GERMANY

Re: HP48gx Message #5 Posted by James M. Prange on 7 Oct 2003, 1:46 a.m., in response to message #4 by Thomas Otterbein Ok, guys. "Primitive" looking in the sense that they lack any case. To those familiar with other cards, this may make them look "unfinished". But on the other hand, I suppose that this makes them appear more "high-tech". I don't see any great need for the card to have a case while it's inserted in the calculator, but I suppose that while it's out of the calculator, it would be more vulnerable to shorts, contamination, mechanical damage, and conceivably even static discharge. So I'd consider the lack of a case to be, at worst, a rather minor disadvantage. I certainly didn't mean to imply that there's anything wrong with the Klotz cards; quite the contrary. By all reports they work fine and I doubt that you could find even a used card at those prices. Regards, James

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