HP-48GX key stiffness

[Jonathan Busby]

I have multiple HP48GXs and one is a unit that was manufactured in Indonesia. I can confirm that the keys feel a bit stiffer and the sound made when pressing them is different and louder than the HP48GXs made in Singapore. Also, my first Indonesian made HP48GX had a black on yellow / gold screen with discolorations in the bottom left and right corners ( see here ) -- I think I took that unit back to where I purchased it ( Fry's I think ) and got a new one without the defect. Many of the units had that defect if you read the archived HP Museum forum post to which I linked. Also, with or without the batteries in, the Indonesian made HP48GXs feel lighter than the Singapore manufactured ones possibly due to a cheaper build quality. Also, and this is important, AFAIK, after HP stopped manufacturing HP48GXs in Singapore and switched to Indonesia and China, the keys were *painted* and no longer injection molded. Other differences include the removal of the Zener diode in most of the units, although I don't know if my Indonesian manufactured unit is one of them as I don't want to do surgery on it ( at least not yet ).

Regards,

Jonathan