Re: Best Simulaton for 41
Message #12 Posted by PeterP on 21 Dec 2005, 12:46 p.m.,
in response to message #11 by Gerson W. Barbosa
In terms of accessories, here is what I use and love:
1) CCD, as it offers lots of matrix functions (albeit some say inferior to the Advantage), alpha functions as well as direct entry of Synthetic instructions. The latter I use a lot for the synthetic registers M, N, O, a as they work faster than normal storage registers like 00, 01 etc. Raymond Del Todo produced a special soft-mod version called OS/X which is halve the size and offers only the direct entry of synthetic indstructions. It is a perfect complement to the Advantage module I'd say, that you have already. However you will need one of the goodies I mention in section 3) to take advantage of that great piece of work.
2) Storage of programs: Here I'm a bit of a snob and use a CMT 512k ramDrive. It is really small, really fast, really portable, really big capacity. And as they are Hp-IL compatible, you could use it for your 71 as well...
They are a bit hard to get though, you might want to try the Classified section here. CardReaders are relativly cheap (just make sure you get a repaired one, the non-repaired ones just produce gluey cards... The Classified section as well as eBay might be a good source here), yet they use lots of battery and it might be a lot of cards to store a long program (they store only 16 register per card per side). The upshot is that I like the feel of the 41 with the attached cardreader in the hand a lot, it's much more solid and balanced than without. But that's just me.
3) There are certain modules out there which only exist in software form, that I think are outstanding and really helpful in programming the 41. For normal purposes and math, the Sandbox (generally usefull functions), SandMath (higher math) and the 41Z (complex number module) from Angel Martin come to mind. For MCODE (which might you might want to tackle later on), David Assembler comes to mind (and naturally HEPAX and to a lesser extend IMHO Zenrom, which are available as hard modules as well as soft-roms). To use all this wonderful things (and the CCD I mentioned earlier), one can use either a Clonix/NoVram module from Diego Diaz (160 Euro I think) or the MLDL from Meindert Kuipers (260 Euro), both of which offer lots of great features to load in all those modules as well as connection to the PC (albeit in a bit of an indirect way).
4) For entering programs that others have written, the best way is to get a Wand, as one can produce barcodes. However, I don't do that a lot. I either program myself (that's why we have them in the first place, right?) or just type in the programs. You should be able to buy on either here or on eBay for about 75 USD.
5) Link to PC is as of yet not particularily straight forward IMHO. Christoph Klug has build a great PC board (160 Euro I think), which howerver is only ISA, so you'll need an old PC and the HP-IL module. The connection from the MLDL is via USB, so quite easy, yet by no means offers the same functionality as Christophs board (it basically allows you to use the PC as a RamDisk. it also provides the connectivity to the simulaters around. So you can program on your PC in a simulater, test out your programs using their programming environment and then load them onto your 41 for on the go.
6) There is a great amount of literature out there that is fantastic in learning about your 41. Here are my favorites
a) Extend your HP 41, from Mier-Jedrejowicz. It is also called the "the red bible". When you are through with this book and its exercises, you've propelled yourself to the top quintile of HP 41 users around the world I'd say.
b) Keith Jarrets "Synthetic Programming Made Easy", the best introduction into the Synthetic Programming world, which - as a great side-benefit - will teach you a great deal on how the 41 works internally
c) MCODE for Beginners, from Ken Emery, the only book I know that was written on MCODE for the 41, for if and when you want to go into MCODE programming.
So what's the bottom line? if you were to get only one thing to your current outfit, I'd get the NoVram from Diego. It will give you access to virtually all available modules, including all the ones I mentioned to use on your HP on a daily basis. And a cardreader for storing programs. The total cost of this is about 200-225 Euro. The other option would be to try to get a MLDL from Meindert (260 Euro if you solder it together, 360 if he does), which will give you far more storage space and a fast connection to the PC to store your PGMS as well (with a little, easy trick), however at a bigger form-factor (it has the size of the CardReader vs NoVram is just a plug in Module. And then get the red bible from Mier-Jedrejowicz and you're set for quite a while...
But that's just me, and close to what I did to get me started on the HP 41. Lets hear the suggestions from others!
Cheers
Peter
Edited: 21 Dec 2005, 5:42 p.m.
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