HP Forum Archive 18

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HPILCOM and the 41 Message #1 Posted by Gerry Schultz on 27 May 2008, 6:59 p.m. To All: Jeff Davis' question got my interest as I too have a 82164 HPIL-RS232 I/F that I've done nothing with because I wasn't sure how I wanted to use it. I hadn't heard of HPILCOM either and if that will allow my Dell XP laptop talk to my 41 through COM 1, so much the better. If this works out, then I won't need the 82973A HPIL I/F card that I have but don't use. It's a hassle to dig out an old PC that has a 5 1/4" drive to read the included floppy and I haven't gotten around to dedicating a day to play with this. I have also been reading about the Lif utilities but I don't understand how they work yet. Here's what I would like to do if I can find an easy way to do it. I have a lot of HP 41 programs on cards that I would like to transfer over to a PC as a backup and to protect them given my magnetic cards are coming up on being 30 years old. I've had my 82104A Card Reader repaired recently and it works great again. I originally purchased a couple of 82161A Digital Cassette Drives but tapes are hard to find and I have a lot to learn about using HPIL since I couldn't afford it back in the 1980s. I can easily build a serial cable to get my 82164 HPIL-RS232A to connect to my PC, and I'll send an email to Hans Brueggemann about HPILCOM, but what's next? How does HPILCOM 'see' the HP41 through the HPIL loop and how easy is it to transfer programs to and from the 41 to the PC? I don't expect an interface like the HP 48 software but if someone can give me an idea how this works, I would appreciate it. Thanks, Gerry

Re: HPILCOM and the 41 Message #2 Posted by Gerry Schultz on 27 May 2008, 7:11 p.m., in response to message #1 by Gerry Schultz Okay, what am I doing wrong? I followed the first link in PeterP's response in HPILCOM listed below and then clicked on Hans Brueggemann's name to find out his email address. The resulting page said that Hans' email address is private but if I log in, I can send him an email. The problem is I am logged in and if I log out and then back in, it still reports that I need to log in to send Hans an email. What's the deal? Gerry

Re: HPILCOM and the 41 Message #3 Posted by PeterP on 27 May 2008, 7:27 p.m., in response to message #2 by Gerry Schultz I have the same problem as well with multiple people... Not sure what I do wrong... Try this link and click on his name. In the meantime, you could also try this article from Tony Duell which specifically targets the connection between PC and HP41, alas for Linux only. Also, googling the site:www.hpmuseum.org with his name and some other pointers will bring up a few threads where he describes what he is doing and might tie you over with some information. Sorry I couldn't be of any more immediate and targeted help, I personally use the HP-IL card which works very well and quite easily. Cheers peter Edited: 27 May 2008, 7:32 p.m.

Re: HPILCOM and the 41 Message #4 Posted by Garth Wilson on 27 May 2008, 10:14 p.m., in response to message #1 by Gerry Schultz I hope you get it going, but I might make some comments. HP-41 programs are normally short enough that in the unlikely event that you really lost one from memory, it would not be a major time-consumer to key it back in. I have the tape drive and plenty of tapes, but have not used it for either my 41 or my 71 in many, many years, and I have programs that have been in them continuously for nearly 20 years. Since the 41 does not allow embedded comments or more than one instruction per line, I write new programs in a text editor on the PC, then key them into the 41. That way there are also fewer bugs to fix, since I can see what I'm doing better and make the programs semi-structured. I can embed all the comments and diagrams and charts I want, and of course only the instructions go into the 41. I never bought the card reader, but I expect the cards should last just about indefinitely. I have a 50-year-old open-reel tape of Frank Sinatra that still sounds really outstanding. I have the FSI164A (almost the same as the 82164A, but with more RS-232 channels and more buffer memory) but have only used it for interfacing to workbench equipment, not the PC.

Re: HPILCOM and the 41 Message #5 Posted by Christoph Klug on 28 May 2008, 6:25 a.m., in response to message #4 by Garth Wilson For getting a program transfer soulution from HP41 to PC by using the com port (= RS232 serial transfer) you can use EMU41 and the software solution I describe on the HPCC webpage. This solution have some advantages - compared with HPILCOM. Using EMU41 you are able to transfer program-files, data-files and some more between HP41 and EMU41 (bidirectional = in both directions)... Best regards - Christoph Klug

Re: HPILCOM and the 41 Message #6 Posted by Hans Brueggemann on 28 May 2008, 6:06 p.m., in response to message #1 by Gerry Schultz gerry, just to add some vinegar to the wine: you will also need an X/IO module to transfer program files between a PC and a HP-41C. you have mail... best regards, hans

Re: HPILCOM and the 41 Message #7 Posted by Gerry Schultz on 29 May 2008, 12:44 p.m., in response to message #6 by Hans Brueggemann PeterP: Thanks for the new link. I was able to send Hans an email. Hans: Yes, I do have the 41 Extended I/O module. When I started purchasing HPIL items from that unmentioable place, I was lucky enough to bid on multiple items from a single seller and ended up with an HPIL cassette drive, HPIL printer, HPIL video I/F, HPIL-RS232 I/F and the Extended I/O module. I spent way more than intended and when I told my wife about this, she was not happy. So, I've recovered from my injuries and I'm good to go. Did you get my private email request for HPILCOM? If you didn't receive it, my email address is gerald dot schultz at fox dot com. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks, Gerry

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