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HP Forum Archive 15

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HP 49G+ Button Fix?
Message #1 Posted by Shaun on 22 Sept 2005, 8:13 a.m.

Hi,

Does anyone know what the current situation is regarding the keyboard button issue on the 49G+? Is it worth buying yet? What serial numbers are good to buy - if any? etc.......

Regards Shaun

Edited: 22 Sept 2005, 8:16 a.m.

      
Re: HP 49G+ Button Fix?
Message #2 Posted by Stephen on 22 Sept 2005, 1:24 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Shaun

Supposedly ROM upgrades available via internet are supposed to remedy the problem, but some folk are not experiencing much bennefit from that upgrade. However, some are. It may depend on whether or not your are accustomed to using HP in the past and are used to the better buttons, or if you are new to HP and don't know the quality keypad you are missing from the older ones.

I sold my recently purchased 49G+ for that reason (without installing the new ROM, though). Two weeks ago I also bought a new 12C Platinum and 17BII+ and had the SAME PROBLEM! I returned those without hesitation and plan to never buy another Kinpo / HP calculator until most HP users say the problems have been ironed out. I really want a new 49G+, but I want it to work properly and NOT be a liability to me at home or at work.

            
Re: HP 49G+ Button Fix?
Message #3 Posted by Shaun on 22 Sept 2005, 6:52 p.m.,
in response to message #2 by Stephen

Thanks for your insight Stephen.

I have been a HP user for the last 30 years - my first HP calculator was the HP25. Since then I have had a HP15C : HP42S : HP48GX. I quite fancied moving to a HP49G+ but when I purchased one I couln't believe how poor the construction was. It was immediately returned only to be replaced by a similar quality item. I got a refund and now I await a decent calculator to be released. It is very frustrating to be in possession of a burning desire to buy the latest HP calculator and at the same time, to be confronted with an extremely "poor quality" product.

Hp keypad buttons used to be so good touch - what went wrong?

                  
Re: HP 49G+ Button Fix?
Message #4 Posted by Stephen Easterling on 22 Sept 2005, 8:51 p.m.,
in response to message #3 by Shaun

Because of a recent revival I have gone through with the HPs, I really wanted to buy a 33S (which I have been quite happy with, BTW) and a 49G+ and be done with it. A month ago I had purchased the latest build of the 49G+ and really loved it. It was fun to "play with" but a nightmare to use seriously. (Just sit down and do the bills with it sometime and you'll end up throwing it against a wall!) I found the same to be true of the 17BII+ and even a Dec04-build HP 12C Platinum. This prompted me to start looking for sibling calculators for my beloved 28S (which is what I cut my teeth on 15 yrs ago and it's still going strong). I've acquired a decent collection now and love finding the strengths of the older calculators. So if only HP would have given us a decent 49G+, I would not have been so tempted to buy used HPs.

      
If you do buy 49g+, get a 2005 build.
Message #5 Posted by Eddie Shore on 23 Sept 2005, 1:32 a.m.,
in response to message #1 by Shaun

[knock on wood] The keyboard problems have been fixed, I had this one since June and so far so good. I use the 49g+ quite often.

            
Re: If you do buy 49g+, get a 2005 build.
Message #6 Posted by Shaun on 23 Sept 2005, 8:23 a.m.,
in response to message #5 by Eddie Shore

Eddie,

Thanks for your response - I have a question:- What is the serial number of your HP49G+ ?

Best regards Shaun

                  
Re: If you do buy 49g+, get a 2005 build.
Message #7 Posted by I, Claudius on 23 Sept 2005, 9:12 a.m.,
in response to message #6 by Shaun

Just look for Serial Numbers greater or equal to CNA515... and use the new ROM 2.0

                        
Re: If you do buy 49g+, get a 2005 build.
Message #8 Posted by Shaun on 25 Sept 2005, 10:57 a.m.,
in response to message #7 by I, Claudius

Many thanks for the info. - I will give it a try.

Regards Shaun

                        
Re: If you do buy 49g+, get a 2005 build.
Message #9 Posted by Marcus von Cube, Germany on 26 Sept 2005, 1:28 p.m.,
in response to message #7 by I, Claudius

Mine is CNA 50201686. It just arrived from hpcalculators.com.

The keyboard isn't too bad, is this the recent release? How can I check the ROM revision? (I'm still looking for an "about" screen.)

VER returns 4.20031005.

                              
Re: If you do buy 49g+, get a 2005 build.
Message #10 Posted by Gene Wright on 26 Sept 2005, 2:08 p.m.,
in response to message #9 by Marcus von Cube, Germany

Type VERSION.

VER returns the CAS "version". VERSION tells the ROM version.

                              
Re: If you do buy 49g+, get a 2005 build.
Message #11 Posted by Matt Kernal (US) on 26 Sept 2005, 2:23 p.m.,
in response to message #9 by Marcus von Cube, Germany

The ROM revision number can be displayed by entering: VERSION. My 49G+ returns "#2.00" (among other things).

VER provides the CAS revision number. Mine displays "4.20050219"

Regards, Matt

p.s. The serial number on the back of mine is: CN40204986

                                    
Re: If you do buy 49g+, get a 2005 build.
Message #12 Posted by Marcus von Cube, Germany on 26 Sept 2005, 4:48 p.m.,
in response to message #11 by Matt Kernal (US)

Thank you both!

My calc is Revision #1.23; I'm going to upgrade the ROM.

Any info about the keyboard mechanics of my CNA 50... system? Is this the new hardware?

                  
Re: If you do buy 49g+, get a 2005 build.
Message #13 Posted by Eddie Shore on 24 Sept 2005, 1:15 a.m.,
in response to message #6 by Shaun

CNA 51506199

                        
Re: If you do buy 49g+, get a 2005 build.
Message #14 Posted by Shaun on 25 Sept 2005, 10:58 a.m.,
in response to message #13 by Eddie Shore

Thanks Eddie.

Regards Shaun

      
Re: HP 49G+ Button Fix?
Message #15 Posted by Stephen Easterling on 29 Sept 2005, 12:44 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Shaun

Yesterday I received my second 49G+.

The first one I bought about six weeks ago from HPShopping which had ROM 1.23 and was prone to mis-entries with the keyboard. I would feel the click, hear the click, but not get the entry on the display. I could dance all day on the keyboard with my fingers (just like on any USA / Singapore model) and still not record the entry. I was always looking at the screen to see if the number was displayed (sometimes not), and it was just miserable to use. It was fun to play around with, was fast, overall cool to own, but downright miserable to actually use. Not being a rookie to HP, I hated this! Test yourself: cover the screen, type in 1-9 (enter), 1-9 (enter). After doing this seven times, look at the stack and see how many times you didn't record all the numbers and you'll be amazed. Of course, if you're aware of what you're doing, you hit the keys harder and not have mistakes. But if you do it like you're not aware and you let the feel of the key and the sound of the click be your judge, then you'll see the difference. I hocked this 2-month-old 49G+ to a doctor that enjoys it a toy.

Okay, so now I really want a 49G+ and I want it to work properly. I call up HPShopping and they said that they have the very latest issue of these versions. The man I spoke to was very much aware of the problems I outline above, and assured that HP segregated all of the defective lots, and that if I purchased a new one from him (about five days ago), that it would have no more keypad problems AND have the ROM version 2.00. Yesterday I was excited to receive my new 49G+, but depressed to have the same keypad problems. When I checked the ROM it was still 1.23. I called back today and the lady was surprised the other guy could ensure I would receive ROM 2.00 and have no keypad problems. She said the best HP could do would be to just keep exchanging them for a model that didn't have problems. She had no way of knowing if their distributer could segregate older lots and newer lots, and didn't seem to care about the problem.

My question: What should I do? Should I believe HP when they the current product has been debugged / updated and take my chances, or just forget about the 49G+ and use my 48GX for everything? My serial number is CNA 52302843. I will go ahead and download the ROM 2.00, but according to many out there, this does not correct the keypad problem (although a few report some improvement).

            
Re: HP 49G+ Button Fix?
Message #16 Posted by Howard Owen on 29 Sept 2005, 1:02 p.m.,
in response to message #15 by Stephen Easterling

I must just be lucky. Or perhaps my touch on the keyboard is unusually heavy. I loaded the 2.00 ROM on my 49G+, serial #51000586 right after I got it, and I've never had a problem, either with repeated entries or non-responsive entries. My keyboard feels snappy, and operates perfectly. I'd prefer a bigger ENTER key, but other than that, I can't complain. (The printed vs molded keys may or may not ever be an issue with this machine for me.)

            
Re: HP 49G+ Button Fix?
Message #17 Posted by John Nguyen on 2 Oct 2005, 1:15 a.m.,
in response to message #15 by Stephen Easterling

Quote:
My question: What should I do? Should I believe HP when they the current product has been debugged / updated and take my chances, or just forget about the 49G+ and use my 48GX for everything? My serial number is CNA 52302843. I will go ahead and download the ROM 2.00, but according to many out there, this does not correct the keypad problem (although a few report some improvement).

This problem is still hit and miss. Some people swear that the ROM 2.0 with a CNA5xxxxxxx is the holy grail, some still experience the problem you mentioned even with the latest S/N model. HP's got some serious issue with the keypad on this calculator which I don't think they even know how to deal with. After trading in 3 HP-49G+, my problem has settled somewhat (though not completely disappeared). My round arrow keys still have issues.

I have a CNA45201473 and ROM 2.0. I use ->KEYTIME (that's the right arrow not the red right-shift key) to set the delay value where if the software senses two key presses within this time interval it will not register, so you won't get the double entry. It won't solve the missing key problem. Use KEYTIME-> to see what your current value is. The unit is in 1/8192 of a second, so I set my delay to something like 1639 (1639/8192 = roughly 200 ms) and this has worked for me. For details, check out the HP web site and search for "49G KEYTIME".

Hope this helps.

John

                  
Re: HP 49G+ Button Fix?
Message #18 Posted by James M. Prange (Michigan) on 2 Oct 2005, 1:39 a.m.,
in response to message #17 by John Nguyen

But note that ->KEYTIME no longer has any affect on the keypresses starting with ROM revision #2.00.

Regards,
James

                        
Re: HP 49G+ Button Fix?
Message #19 Posted by John Nguyen on 2 Oct 2005, 8:28 p.m.,
in response to message #18 by James M. Prange (Michigan)

I did not know that. Sorry if I'm wrong. It didn't seem to hurt; maybe I was just experiencing the placebo effect.

John

            
Re: HP 49G+ Button Fix?
Message #20 Posted by Stephen Easterling on 5 Oct 2005, 5:04 p.m.,
in response to message #15 by Stephen Easterling

To bring closure to a thread I started regarding the 49G+, I am happy to report that the ROM 2.00 upgrade significantly improved my keypad. My problem has officially been solved, and I honestly didn't think I was going to be happy with it. I am. I also helped a friend out with his new 49G+ and he is also very impressed with how it fixed his keypad problems. Thanks, HP Support, and those of you on this forum that recommended the ROM upgrade as a possible solution. I'm excited to learn and use my new 49G+!

      
Re: HP 49G+ Button Fix?
Message #21 Posted by Stephen Easterling on 2 Oct 2005, 7:50 a.m.,
in response to message #1 by Shaun

Shaun,

A week ago I bought a new 49G+ and was very unhappy with the keypad and missed entries. I was ready to throw it against a wall! I contact HP support and they were VERY helpful, even sending me an email and calling me to see how I was doing. (That alone will keep me a customer for life!) At any rate, it was highly recommended that I just install the ROM ver 2.00, so last night I did that. To my surprise, my keypad has improved dramatically. It now passes my own test with flying colors and I am now very happy with this calculator.


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