HP50g FrankenCalc

[DavidM]

As you've probably surmised by now, that is almost certainly a 49g+ that has the wrong faceplate attached. If you're still not 100% convinced, try this simple test:

1) Power on the calculator
2) Press and hold the ON/Cancel key
3) Press and release the F6/F Key
4) Release the ON key

You'll be prompted with a menu of options for testing the calculator. Press "8" for the power test. You should now see something like the following:

Code:

NOW FULLY RUN
1-OFF
2-IDLE
PRESS ON TO WAKE UP

BATTERY NORMAL


0X00000363
PRESS ENTER TO EXIT

The hexadecimal number at the bottom will be different than the one shown above, and represents the current status of your batteries. Here's the crucial part: plug in a USB cable that is attached to either a running computer or a USB power source of some kind. If you do this with a 50g, the "BATTERY NORMAL" indication will change to "USB POWER WORK". On a 49g+, the "BATTERY NORMAL" indicator will not change. I think you'll find that your FrankenCalc behaves like the 49g+ in this instance, which means that the indicator will not change to indicate the calculator drawing power from the USB port after the cable is attached.

Also, note that you can (and probably should) update both the FrankenCalc and the 49g+ to firmware version 2.15 as well.

The other interesting thing to me about this FrankenCalc is that the printed serial number on the back starts with "CAN" instead of "CNA". I thought all of these units were made by KINPO in China. Has anyone ever heard of 49g+/50g units with serial numbers beginning with those letters? Was KINPO really that sloppy with their label printing? Note: it's normal for the printed serial number on that label to be different than the "soft" serial number returned by the SERIAL command, so don't be alarmed if you find them to be different on all of these units.