HP 49/50 series

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HP 49G
HP49G.jpg
HP 49G graphing calculator
Introduced 1999
Discontinued 2003
Latest firmware official: HP49-C 1.18 (2000-05-27),[1]
beta: HP49-B 1.19-6 (2001-10-27),[2]
back-ported: HP48-C 2.09 (2006-06-03)[3]
Predecessor HP 48G+
Successor HP 49g+
Calculator
Entry mode RPN, Algebraic
Display size 131�64 pixels
CPU
Processor 4 MHz Yorke (Saturn core)
Programming
Programming language(s) RPL
User memory 2 MiB flash memory and 512 KiB RAM
Interfaces
Ports RS-232 (using the Kermit or XModem protocols, 2x5-pin proprietary connector)
Other
The HP 49/50 series are Hewlett-Packard (HP) manufactured graphing calculators.
They are the successors of the popular HP 48 series.

There are five calculators in the 49/50 series of HP graphing calculators. These
calculators have both algebraic and RPN entry modes, and can perform numeric and
symbolic calculations using the built-in Computer Algebra System (CAS), which is an
improved ALG48 and Erable combination from the HP 48 series.

Contents
1 HP 49G
2 hp 49g+
3 hp 48gII
4 HP 50g
5 Programming
6 HPGCC for the 49g+/50g
7 Emulators
8 Firmware updates
9 See also
10 References
11 Further reading
12 External links
HP 49G
Released in August 1999, the HP 49G (F1633A, F1896A) calculator was the first HP
unit to break from the more traditional subdued coloration. In addition to having a
metallic blue color, the keyboard material was rubber and did not have the
traditional HP calculator hinged keyboard feel. In addition, it lacked a large ?
Enter key which was seen by many as the defining characteristic of an HP
calculator. These changes were disliked by many traditional HP calculator users.

The 49G incorporated many of the most powerful interface and mathematics tools
available on the HP 48 series into the firmware of the new 49G, including the
ability to easily decompile and compile both SysRPL and Saturn assembly code on the
unit.
The 49G was the first HP calculator to use flash memory and have an upgradable
firmware. In addition, it had a hard sliding case as opposed to the soft pouches
supplied with the HP 48 series. Almost the same hardware is also used by the HP 39G
and HP 40G.

The last officially supported firmware update for the 49G calculator was 1.18,[1]
but several unofficial firmware versions were released by the developers. The final
firmware version was 1.19-6.[2] Several firmware versions for the successor hp 49g+
and HP 50g calculators have also been released in builds intended for PC emulation
software that lacked full utilization of the successors' ARM CPU. Until at least
firmware version 2.09, those emulator builds could be installed on the original HP
49G.[3]

In 2003, the CAS source code of the 49G firmware was released under the LGPL. In
addition, this release included an interactive geometry program and some commands
to allow compatibility with certain programs written for the newer 49g+ calculator.
Due to licensing restrictions, the recompiled firmware cannot be redistributed.

hp 49g+
hp 49g+
HPIM2605.jpg
hp 49g+ graphing calculator
Introduced 2003-08
Latest firmware HP49-C 2.15 (2009-04-21, 2006-09-19)[4]
Predecessor HP 49G
Successor HP 50g
Calculator
Entry mode RPN, Algebraic
Display size 131�80 pixels
CPU
Processor 75 MHz Samsung S3C2410X01 (with ARM920T core) (can be overclocked up to
203 MHz by certain user programs)
Programming
Programming language(s) RPL
User memory 2 MiB flash memory, 512 KiB RAM
External memory SDSC/MMC memory card (including miniSD/microSD/TransFlash with
adapter; up to 2 GiB formatted as FAT12/FAT16/FAT16B/FAT32; FAT32 only with
firmware 2.00 and higher; size display and formatting limited to 1 GiB)
Interfaces
Ports USB Mini-B port (using the Kermit or XModem protocols), IrDA (infrared)
Other
In August 2003, Hewlett-Packard released the hp 49g+ (F2228A). This unit had
metallic gold coloration and was backward compatible with the HP 49G. Instead of
the rubber keyboard found on the HP 49G, this calculator's keyboard had plastic
hinges intended to return the feel of older HP calculators, and also included a
pouch to protect the unit, similar to those included with older HP models. It was
designed and manufactured by Kinpo Electronics for HP.

This calculator featured an entirely new processor architecture, USB (Mini-B) and
IrDA (IrCOMM) infrared communication, memory expansion via an SD (SDSC/MMC) card,
and a slightly larger screen, as well as other improvements over the previous
model.

The calculator system did not run directly on the new ARM processor, but rather on
an emulation layer for the older Saturn processors found in previous HP
calculators. This allowed the 49g+ to maintain binary-level compatibility with most
of the programs written for the HP 49G calculator, as well as source code-level
compatibility with many written for the HP 48 series.
Despite the emulation, the 49g+ was still much faster than any older model of HP
calculator. The speed increase over the HP 49G is around 3-7 times depending on the
task. It is even possible to run programs written for the ARM processor thus
bypassing the emulation layer completely. A port of the GNU C compiler is also
available (see HPGCC below).

hp 48gII
hp 48gII
Hp48gii.jpg
hp 48gII graphing calculator
Introduced 2003-10-20
Latest firmware official: HP48-C 2.08 (2006) (not flashable),
emulator: HP48-C 2.09 (2006-06-03)[3]
Predecessor HP 49g+
Successor HP 50g
Calculator
Entry mode RPN, Algebraic
Display size 131�64 pixels
CPU
Processor 48 MHz Samsung S3C2410X01 (with ARM920T core) (can be overclocked up to
203 MHz by certain user programs)
Programming
Programming language(s) RPL
User memory 128 KiB RAM (original version) or 256 KiB RAM (second revision)
Interfaces
Ports serial port (using the Kermit or XModem protocols, non-standard), and IrDA
(infrared) (original revision); or USB Mini-B port, IrDA, and 3.3V TTL-level
asynchronous serial asynchronous serial (second revision).
Other
The hp 48gII (F2226A), which was announced on 20 October 2003, was not a
replacement for the HP 48 series as its name suggested. Rather it was a 49g+, also
with an ARM processor (unlike the HP 48G), but with reduced memory, no expansion
via an SD memory card, lower clock speed, a smaller screen, and a non-flashable
firmware. This calculator seems to target users that desire mathematical
capability, but have no desire to install many programs. The original 2003 version
had 128 KiB RAM and ran on 3 AAA batteries, whereas the second 2007 version (based
on the Apple V2 platform) needs four AAA batteries and comes with 256 KiB RAM,
added an USB (Mini-B) port and features a better keyboard.

HP 50g
HP 50g
Hp50.png
HP 50g graphing calculator, with the Equation Editor being used
Introduced 2006
Discontinued 2015[5][6][7]
Latest firmware official: HP50-C 2.15 (2009-04-21, 2006-09-19) /
OS 4.02 (build 106)[4]
emulator: HP50-C 2.16 (2012-04-26, 2006-09-19)
EMU 3.1.29/3.1.30[8][9]
Predecessor HP 49g+
Successor (HP Prime[5])
Calculator
Entry mode RPN, Algebraic
Display size 131�80 pixels
CPU
Processor 75 MHz Samsung S3C2410A[10] (ARM920T core) (can be overclocked up to
203 MHz by certain user programs)
Programming
Programming language(s) RPL
User memory 2 MiB flash memory, 512 KiB RAM
External memory SDSC/MMC memory card (including miniSD/microSD/TransFlash with
adapter; up to 2 GiB formatted as FAT12/FAT16/FAT16B/FAT32; size display and
formatting limited to 1 GiB)
Interfaces
Ports USB Mini-B port (using the Kermit or XModem protocols), IrDA (infrared), and
3.3V TTL-level asynchronous serial (4-pin proprietary connector).
Other
The HP 50g (F2229A) is the latest calculator in the 49/50 series. The most apparent
change is a revised color scheme, returning the unit to a more traditional HP
calculator appearance. Using black plastic for the entire body, white, orange and
yellow are used for function shift keys. The back shell is textured more deeply
than the 49g+ to provide a more secure grip. A blue and white color scheme variant
specifically tailored for high-contrast is available as well (NW240AA).

HP 50g in blue
The form and size of the calculator shell is identical to the 49g+ series, but four
AAA batteries are used as opposed to three in previous models. In addition to all
the features of the 49g+, the 50g also includes the full equation library found in
the HP 48G series (also available for the 49g+ with firmware 2.06 and above), as
well as the periodic table library originally available as a plug-in card for the
48S series, as of firmware 2.15/[4] 2.16[8][9] (the latest, as of 2015), and has a
3.3V TTL-level asynchronous serial port in addition to IrDA and USB Mini-B ports of
the 49g+. Like the 49g+, the range of the infrared port has been limited to about
10 cm (4 inches).

The asynchronous serial port is not a true RS-232 port as it uses different voltage
levels and a non-standard connector. An external converter/adapter is required to
interface with RS-232 equipment.

The keyboard, the most often criticized feature of the 49g+ calculators, uses the
new design introduced on the very last 49g+ calculators (hinged keys) to eliminate
previous problems.

A worldwide announcement regarding the availability of this calculator was made by

HP in September 2006, and official details were available on the HP calculators
webpage.[11] The calculator was officially discontinued in 2015.[5][6][7] However,
there are reports of HP 50g calculators being sold with serial number date codes
running up to July 2016[12] and a report of a "refurbished" HP 50g being sold with
a serial number date code of January 2017.[13]

Programming
The HP 49/50 series of calculators support both algebraic and a stack-based
programming language named RPL, a combination of Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) and
Lisp. RPL adds the concepts of lists and functions to stack-based programming,
allowing the programmer to pass unevaluated code as arguments to functions, or
return unevaluated code from a function by leaving it on the stack.

The highest level language is User RPL, consisting of sequences of built-in postfix
operations, optionally including loops and conditionals. Every User RPL command
checks the stack for its particular arguments and returns an error if they are
incorrect or not present.

Below User RPL is System RPL (SysRPL). Most System RPL commands lack argument
checking and are defined only for specific argument types (e.g. short integer vs.
long integer), making System RPL programs run dramatically faster than equivalent
User RPL ones. In addition, System RPL includes many advanced functions that are
not available in User RPL. System RPL programs can be created without the use of PC
software (although it is available), thanks to the calculator's built-in compiler,
MASD. MASD also can compile Saturn assembly language and, with the latest firmware
revision for the 49g+/50g, ARMv4T assembly language on the calculator itself. Many
tools exist to assist programmers and make the calculator a powerful programming
environment.

Saturn assembly, and, on the 49g+/50g, ARM assembly and C, are also programmable
using desktop based compilers. See also the programs available for the HP 48
series.

No model of this series is programmable in HP PPL.

HPGCC for the 49g+/50g

HPGCC is an implementation of the GCC compiler, released under the GNU GPL. It is
now mainly targeted at the ARM-based 49g+/50g calculators. Previous versions of
HPGCC supported the other ARM-based calculator models (the 48gII, and the hp
39g+/HP 39gs/HP 40gs), but this was removed due to lack of interest and
compatibility issues. Formally, HPGCC is a cross-compiler; it compiles code for the
ARM-based HP calculators, but runs on a PC rather than the target system.

The latest version of HPGCC offers many enhancements from earlier versions. Most
notably, the compiled code is now in ARM Thumb mode by default, resulting in great
reduction in code size with little performance hit. Besides implementing most of
ANSI C, there are device-specific libraries that allow access to things like the
calculator's RPN stack, memory and piezoelectric buzzer. The GCC compiler itself is
the property of the Free Software Foundation, and they state that its use does not
impose any particular licensing restrictions on any of its output. However, the
libraries included with HPGCC, including routines necessary to actually invoke any
HPGCC-compiled program on an actual calculator, are released under a modified GPL
license, contrary to GCC on many other platforms which use a more permissive
license for their libraries. Thus any programs that link against them can only be
distributed if they are also released under the GPL (with an exception for "non-
profit" software).

Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X versions are available for download. The Windows
version also includes a version of Programmer's Notepad for a basic IDE.

Emulators
There are several emulators available for the HP 49G calculator. A version of EMU48
is available in the Debug4x[14] IDE that allows emulation of most of the features
of the 49g+/50g, but will not execute any ARM-based code.

An ARM-based emulator, x49gp,[15] has been released and allows the true emulation
of the 49g+/50g ARM processor and successfully runs HPGCC 2 and 3 compiled
programs. The emulator is only available for Linux and Mac OS X and must be
compiled from the source. (See README.QUICKSTART[16] for details.)

The commercial version of the application m48 also supports HP 49G. So far, there
are no 49g+/50g emulators for smartphones with the exception of HP 50g[17] for
iPhone and iPad released in October 2012.

An emulator for Microsoft Windows Mobile (PPC, smartphones) is available.

Other 49G/49g+/50g emulators for Android (without ARM support).[18]

In 2012, Hewlett-Packard released an emulator named HP 50g Virtual Calculator

(version 3.1.29/3.1.30 with firmware 2.16 and support for the StreamSmart 410) for
Windows.[19][9]
Firmware updates
The 49/50 series allows the user to update the firmware to gain enhanced features
or bug fixes. Official firmware updates are released by Hewlett-Packard.
Unsupported unofficial firmware updates are also available at sites such as
hpcalc.org.[20]

See also
Comparison of HP graphing calculators
List of HP calculators
RPL character set
newRPL (for HP 49g+ and 50g)
References
Hewlett-Packard (2000-05-27). "ROM - Flash update file to update the HP 49G's ROM
to version C-1.18". hpcalc.org. 1.18. Archived from the original on 2018-07-08.
Retrieved 2017-12-10. [1]
Hewlett-Packard (2001-10-28). "Unsupported Beta ROM 1.19-6 - Flash update file to
update the HP 49G's ROM to the unsupported beta version B-1.19-6". hpcalc.org.
1.19-6. Archived from the original on 2018-07-07. Retrieved 2017-12-10. [2]
Prange, James M. (2006-12-16). "Installing latest 49g+/50g (emulator) ROM on a
49G". comp.sys.hp48. Archived from the original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2017-12-
10.
Hewlett-Packard (2009-04-21). "ROM 2.15 - Flash update file to update the ROM of
the HP 49g+ and HP 50g to version C-2.15". hpcalc.org. 2.15. Archived from the
original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2017-12-10. [3]
Kuperus, Klaas (2015-03-04). "HP 50g: End of an era". Moravia. Archived from the
original on 2015-04-02.
Kuperus, Klaas (2015-03-06). "HP 50g not so good news?". Moravia. Archived from
the original on 2017-12-11. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
Wessman, Timothy James (2015-12-26). "Windows 10 won't allow HP 50g USB drivers to
be installed". HP Museum. Archived from the original on 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2016-
01-01.
"Emulator of HP 50g with #2.16 ROM". hpmuseum.org. 2015-07-22. Archived from the
original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
Hewlett-Packard. "HP 50g Virtual Calculator". www.calculatrices-hp.com. Archived
from the original on 2017-09-17.
"Hewlett Packard HP 50g Scientific Calculator". ARM - The Architecture for the
Digital World. ARM Ltd. Archived from the original on 2015-03-15. Retrieved 2017-
12-10.
"Powerful HP Graphing Calculator Delivers Greater Connectivity and Flexibility to
Engineers and Scientists". News release. Palo Alto, CA, USA: Hewlett-Packard. 2006-
09-19. Archived from the original on 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
"HP-50G case puzzle". hpmuseum.org. HP Museum. 2018-12-02. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
"HP-50G case puzzle". hpmuseum.org. HP Museum. 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
Graves, William G. "Welcome to the Debug4x download site". debug4x.com. Archived
from the original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2017-12-10. [4][5]
Dost, Eddie C. "x49gp - The HP49g+ Emulator". brainaid.de. Archived from the
original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
"HP49g+ Calculator Emulator README.QUICKSTART". sourceforge.net. 2015-11-04.
Archived from the original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
Zima, Marek. "Emu50g". Apple App Store. Archived from the original on 2018-07-08.
Retrieved 2017-12-10.
De Smet, Olivier (2013) [2006]. "Topics". sites.google.com. Archived from the
original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
Hewlett-Packard. "Emulateurs" [Emulators]. www.calculatrices-hp.com (in French).
Archived from the original on 2017-09-17.
Rechlin, Eric (2018) [1997]. "HP 49/50 ROM Updates". hpcalc.org. Archived from the
original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
Further reading
HP 50g graphing calculator user's manual (UM) (1 ed.). Hewlett-Packard. 2006-04-01.
HP F2229AA-90001. Archived from the original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
[6]
HP 50g graphing calculator user's guide (UG) (1 ed.). Hewlett-Packard. 2006-04-01.
HP F2229AA-90006. Archived from the original on 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
[7]
HP 50g / 49g+ / 48gII graphing calculator advanced user's reference manual (AUR) (2
ed.). Hewlett-Packard. 2009-07-14 [2005]. HP F2228-90010. Archived from the
original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2015-10-10. [8] Searchable
Rechlin, Eric; Parisse, Bernard; Avenard, Jean-Yves, eds. (2016-03-30) [2001-08-
12]. "Bugs in Product HP 49/50 - 277 bugs found". Bugzilla. Archived from the
original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2018-07-08. (NB. A database of known bugs and
problems in the calculator's firmware, both solved and unresolved ones.)
O., Juraj (2012-11-06). "Simplify with sci/eng on hp 50g". HP Forum Archive 21. HP
Museum. Archived from the original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2018-07-08. (NB. A
thread on an unresolved problem in the calculator's firmware.)
Yohe, Jim (2011-02-04). "Is the HP-50g bug free now?". HP Forum Archive 20. HP
Museum. Archived from the original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2018-07-08. (NB. A
thread on an unresolved problem in the calculator's firmware.)
External links
Official HP support for HP 49G, hp 48gII, hp 49g+, HP 50g
Rechlin, Eric. "Resources for HP 49/50 series at www.hpcalc.org". Archived from the
original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
"Software packages for HP 50g by Software49". Archived from the original on 2018-
03-24. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
Heuson, Clemens. "Software packages for HP 50g by Heuson-Software". Archived from
the original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2018-07-08.