Re: HP42s input output of programs and files Message #8 Posted by Dan W on 1 Sept 2012, 5:34 p.m., in response to message #7 by Marcus von Cube, Germany
I bought my 42S in 1989 and used it extensively, professionally, for over 5 years. Back in those days a programmable calculator was an important engineering tool.
But I don't recall ever running out of memory, nor having to reload by hand a program I had deleted. Because each program is named and can have its own menu, there wasn't any need to delete programs unless they really weren't used any more. The lack of an ability to input stored programs never caused me any grief.
The IR printer was important for documenting programs. I'd print the listings, tape them to a sheet of paper, then photocopy the paper since the thermal paper would fade over time.
Today, if one were to recreate the 42S, I think having an input capability would be very desirable. Not so much for backup and restore, but for sharing.
I still have my 42S and use it occasionally. It has a half dozen programs including one still there from 1990 that calculates Hohmann transfer parameters. Oddly enough I used that program a week ago when someone asked what would happen to a bullet if fired from a gun by an astronaut outside the Space Station.
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