Re: HP 50g advice Message #4 Posted by David Hayden on 1 Dec 2012, 10:12 a.m., in response to message #1 by Chris Smith
Normally when people are concerned about the cost of the 50g, I recommend that they get a 48gii instead, but you've mentioned several things that are specific to the 50g (SD card, better keyboard), so I think you're looking at the right machine. Also, the 48gii was recently discontinued so it may be getting hard to find.
I don't mind the 50g keyboard. Note that one common problem (multiple keys registering with one press) can be cured with the KEYTIME command.
Yes, you can backup and restore the calc to an SD card. Note that you need a "real" SD card and not an SDHC card. The SD cards are limited to 2GB max, but that's like infinity for these things. You could store the entire catalog of 50G programs from hpcalc.org on one 2GB card.
The documentation is a bear for new users, but it seems that you've made good progress with the emulator. Get the Quick Start Guide. Avoid the printed User's Manual that comes with the calculator. It's more like a Quick Reference Guide for people who are already familiar with it. Instead go to the 900 page User's Guide that's on the CD. You will also want to get the Advanced Users Reference which explains every user command in detail.
Browse around hpcalc.org. There's a ton of free software there.
Finally, you will find that people on this forum are incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and willing to help. It's a wonderful resource.
Dave
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