jpser@cup.portal.com (John Paul Serafin) (05/12/91)
There were a couple of HP95s today at the SF Bay area handhelds meeting (2nd Saturday each month at 11:00 at 1320 Kifer in Sunnyvale). We made a few discoveries that I haven't seen mentioned. . 1. It is apparently possible to set the IR port as printer, but doesn't seem possible to print to IR "whistle" printer. . 2. A 64k byte Poquet memory card will format and work in the 95, but... The 95 won't recognize a 64k card formatted by a Poquet, and a Poquet won't recognize a 64k card formatted by an HP95. This was all done with a single brand new Poquet brand 64k card. An older 64k Fujitsu card in use in a Poquet could not even be formatted by the HP95. Likewise. a new 512k Poquet card could not be recognized or formatted by the HP95. . 3. The Kermit works well with a variety of machines, including both IR and wire with the HP48 (null modem adapter required for wire), and with the 3.5" floppy Kermit server from Sparcom (no attempt was made to access subdirectories on the Sparcom disk). . 4. The Kermit commands seem to be limited to send, get, and a server mode, but PC Kermit can be downloaded to the 95 and will run. . 5. There is thick binder of developer info available. I don't have the name and phone number for the HP contact, but will try to get it. Hardware developer's can get a supply of the RS232 connectors. There was implication that some kind of monthly purchase was required. If someone will be making special serial cables for the 95, maybe some 48 entrepenuer could tag along for some extra connectors. A cable to connect two 95's would also work for two 48's or a 95 and a 48. . 6. In addition to COM1 and IR, the comm setup has a COM2. . ------------------------------------------------------- I was suprised at just how small the 95 and its keyboard is. I don't touch type, but I found it on the small side even for two finger typing. Apparently, it is possible to get used to, but this thing makes a 71 keyboard seem huge. Even HP48 keys are significantly larger and spaced further apart. ------------------------------------------------------- Even though the 95 is much smaller than the Poquet and significantly smaller than an Atari Portfolio, its serial ports are built in (wire and IR). The others require a protuding box. However, the 95 doesn't appear to provide for parallel or custom interfaces while the others do. ------------------------------------------------------- John Serafin | Operating a bicycle is more like driving than riding; jpser@cup.portal.com | operating a car is more like riding than driving.
andy@cbmvax.commodore.com (Andy Finkel) (05/13/91)
In article <42240@cup.portal.com> jpser@cup.portal.com (John Paul Serafin) writes: > 2. A 64k byte Poquet memory card will format and work in the 95, but... > The 95 won't recognize a 64k card formatted by a Poquet, and a Poquet > won't recognize a 64k card formatted by an HP95. This was all done > with a single brand new Poquet brand 64k card. An older 64k Fujitsu > card in use in a Poquet could not even be formatted by the HP95. > Likewise. a new 512k Poquet card could not be recognized or formatted > by the HP95. I'm using a 512K Poquet card in my 95; it works well, but seems to drain the batteries at a much faster rate than running without the card. The 95 can format a ram card in two ways; as a ramcard floppy, or as the standard. andy -- andy finkel {uunet|rutgers|amiga}!cbmvax!andy Commodore-Amiga, Inc. "The best way to do video effects on a Mac is to use an Amiga." Any expressed opinions are mine; but feel free to share. I disclaim all responsibilities, all shapes, all sizes, all colors.
jpser@cup.portal.com (John Paul Serafin) (05/15/91)
One of the local 95 owners has sent me email that he went to Fry's after the meeting and tried several Poquet 512k RAM cards before one worked. (Shades of Smith Corona!) Perhaps someone at HP can shed some light on this matter? Also, perhaps someone with access to a manual and the patience to actually read it can post the pro's and con's of the different HP95LX RAM card formattings. Also, does Poquet have a non-std format? The 95 didn't recognize the card formatted by the Poquet. John Serafin jpser@cup.portal.com