gwang@ncsa.uiuc.edu (George Wang) (02/17/91)
First, thanks to all who have responded... I have gotten about 6 different responses and it does seem that a LOT of folks getting replacements are getting calculators with STICKY or MUSHY keys... Personally, I think it may be a production run problem since I have seen other folks here on campus with REV E machine that have the SAME "clicky" feel as my old REV A machine... So, I think I'm gonna send back my calculator back to HP during my spring break as I can't afford to depart with it right now during the semester. I really HATE the mushy feeling because when I start typing fast I can't tell if I've entered a keystroke or not... Oh well, can anyone at HP comment on this anomaly? Thanks George -- George Wang - Networking Development T T National Center for Supercomputing Applications | T | INTERNET: gwang@ncsa.uiuc.edu \_|_/ UUCP: gargoyle!igloo!gwang PH: (217) 244-4020 -
gwang@ncsa.uiuc.edu (George Wang) (02/17/91)
Sorry, I guess when I said a "LOT" of folks seem to have mushy key replacements I meant that I have not received ONE reply to the contrary... So if anyone HAS received a REV E replacement that DOES have a "clicky" feeling then could you please email me and let me know? Thanks George -- George Wang - Networking Development T T National Center for Supercomputing Applications | T | INTERNET: gwang@ncsa.uiuc.edu \_|_/ UUCP: gargoyle!igloo!gwang PH: (217) 244-4020 -
akcs.joehorn@hpcvbbs.UUCP (Joseph K. Horn) (02/17/91)
George Wang asks how other HP 48 "E" revs tactile feedback feels. George, one day before sending in my rev "A", it got demolished (long, sad story). So I bought a new one. Rev "E". Very clicky, far more than the "A" had been (although I pound my keys, so the "A" may have been beaten to squishiness over time). Since HP obviously doesn't run over to the assembly line and yank a 48 hot off the press to send to folks requesting a rom upgrade, my guess is that all the squishy "E"s were from the same batch. Those with squishy upgraded "E" 48's could check it out by posting their serial numbers... -- Joe Horn
gcw20877@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (George Wang) (02/18/91)
In article <27bde896:2077.2comp.sys.handhelds;1@hpcvbbs.UUCP> akcs.joehorn@hpcvbbs.UUCP (Joseph K. Horn) writes: >George Wang asks how other HP 48 "E" revs tactile feedback feels. >George, one day before sending in my rev "A", it got demolished (long, >sad story). So I bought a new one. Rev "E". Very clicky, far more than >the "A" had been (although I pound my keys, so the "A" may have been >beaten to squishiness over time). Since HP obviously doesn't run over to >the assembly line and yank a 48 hot off the press to send to folks >requesting a rom upgrade, my guess is that all the squishy "E"s were from >the same batch. > >Those with squishy upgraded "E" 48's could check it out by posting their >serial numbers... > Ok, here's my HP48sx serial number: 3105AXXXXX I didn't post the last five numbers since they are unique to each calc. but I seem to recall that the first four digits refer to the year and week... If I recall correctly, those numbers would make it the 5th week of '91... Does everyone with the REV E replacement batch have those production dates? Thanks George -- **************************************************************************** * George Wang - Computer Engineering T T * * University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign | T | * * INTERNET: gcw20877@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu \_|_/ * * UUCP: gargoyle!igloo!gwang PH: (217) 332-4019 - * ****************************************************************************
frechett@spot.Colorado.EDU (-=Runaway Daemon=-) (02/18/91)
In article <1991Feb17.195653.25606@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> gcw20877@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (George Wang) writes: =+In article <27bde896:2077.2comp.sys.handhelds;1@hpcvbbs.UUCP> akcs.joehorn@hpcvbbs.UUCP (Joseph K. Horn) writes: =+>Those with squishy upgraded "E" 48's could check it out by posting their =+>serial numbers... =+> =+Ok, here's my HP48sx serial number: =+ =+3105AXXXXX =+ Mine is 3105AXXXXX also. Next.... ian -- -=Runaway Daemon=-
frechett@spot.Colorado.EDU (-=Runaway Daemon=-) (02/18/91)
I discovered something interesting today regarding this whole thing with mushy keys.. After some use, I have found out that some of my keys are starting to take on the clicky feeling. Most notably, ENTER, a-f, Alpha, Left-Shift, Right-Shift, ON and a few others... Basically, the keys that are getting used the most, are starting to, for lack of a better explanation, loosen up. For the last 10 minutes, I have conducted a test.. I hit the MTH key which as mushy, about 500 times. It hasn't loosened up at all, YET, about 1/4 of my keyboard is clicky or very close to it. I don't quite understand what is causing it. Wouldn't it be fun to take it apart.. ;) Has anyone else noticed this phenomena? ian -- -=Runaway Daemon=-
darenp@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Daren Patel) (02/18/91)
A friend of mine has the "mushy" keys, but his was not a replacement, it came that way when he bought it. The serial number is also similar: 3104AXXXXX Daren Patel [^_^] darenp@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu The University of TExas at Austin
DBH106@psuvm.psu.edu (02/18/91)
I have a 3105AXXXXX serial number, too. I have not experienced any problems, yet. I would suggest not complaining unless the keyboard test fails. The sequence to get the keyboard test is <ON-D> <E>, then press each key in order (A, B, ..., <space>, +). If the keyboard passes, you get a series of high pitched noises followed by a message "KBD1 OK". Otherwise, you get a low pitched noise and a message showing which key failed. Continue until the end to check all keys. You get a message "KBD1 FAIL" then. Press <ON-C> to get out of the testing mode. One more note, I believe that the problem is not a phenomenon restricted to just the 3105A's. A friend of mine has a version D. I looked at it once since she got it with the Equation Library and noticed that some of the keys "clicked." I did not think anything was of the ordinary until I saw the last few posts on the subject. Dan Harter DBH106@PSUVM.BITNET dbh106@psuvm.psu.edu
lishka@uwslh.slh.wisc.edu (a.k.a. Chri) (02/19/91)
frechett@spot.Colorado.EDU (-=Runaway Daemon=-) writes: >In article <1991Feb17.195653.25606@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> gcw20877@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (George Wang) writes: >=+In article <27bde896:2077.2comp.sys.handhelds;1@hpcvbbs.UUCP> akcs.joehorn@hpcvbbs.UUCP (Joseph K. Horn) writes: >=+>Those with squishy upgraded "E" 48's could check it out by posting their >=+>serial numbers... >=+> >=+Ok, here's my HP48sx serial number: >=+ >=+3105AXXXXX >=+ >Mine is 3105AXXXXX also. Next.... Sorry to shoot down you theory. My machine has a serial number of: 3105AXXXXX and definitely has nice CLICKY keys. In fact, the keyboard feels better than the Rev A I traded in. And I feel better knowing that my new machine has a full one year warranty. Thanks Hewlett Packard for what has been a very generous upgrade offer! .oO Chris Oo. -- Christopher Lishka 608-262-4485 We carry in our hearts the true country, Wisconsin State Lab. of Hygiene And that cannot be stolen. lishka@uwslh.slh.wisc.edu We follow in the steps of our ancestry, uunet!uwvax!uwslh!lishka And that cannot be broken. -- Midnight Oil
bill@flutter.tv.tek.com (William K. McFadden) (02/19/91)
In article <1991Feb17.205749.16013@csn.org> frechett@spot.Colorado.EDU (-=Runaway Daemon=-) writes: >In article <1991Feb17.195653.25606@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> gcw20877@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (George Wang) writes: >=+In article <27bde896:2077.2comp.sys.handhelds;1@hpcvbbs.UUCP> akcs.joehorn@hpcvbbs.UUCP (Joseph K. Horn) writes: >=+>Those with squishy upgraded "E" 48's could check it out by posting their >=+>serial numbers... >=+> >=+Ok, here's my HP48sx serial number: >=+ >=+3105AXXXXX >=+ >Mine is 3105AXXXXX also. Next.... For what it's worth, my rev. E is serial # 3044AXXXXX, and as far as I can tell, it has normal (clicky) keys. (At least, I didn't notice a difference between it and my old one.) BTW, I received it around Thanksgiving as a replacement for my rev. B, which had a bad display. -- Bill McFadden Tektronix, Inc. P.O. Box 500 MS 58-639 Beaverton, OR 97077 bill@videovax.tv.tek.com, {hplabs,uw-beaver,decvax}!tektronix!videovax!bill Phone: (503) 627-6920 "SCUD: Shoots Crooked, Usually Destroyed"
neil@kcl-cs.UUCP (Neil Faulks) (02/20/91)
I got my E in exchange for a D and the display is different! It may be a problem with this particular machine, but if a column of pixels is dark then the lower ones, e.g. the menu keys become lighter than they should. It's not very nice.
grahamf@hparc0.HP.COM (Graham Fraser) (02/21/91)
HP48SX "Mushy" keys on Ref F ---------------------------- At the Melbourne HPHH meeting on Tuesday 19/2 we compared the Rev F 48's broughtalong by users with other versions. From the one's we had at the meeting, no-one could pick the difference. The new version seemed pretty much the same as the earlier version. Just thought that you might like to know. ________________________________________________________________________________I do not work for HP. These comments are my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Hewlett-Packard. ________________________________________________________________________________.
grahamf@hparc0.HP.COM (Graham Fraser) (02/21/91)
----------------------------
At the Melbourne HPHH meeting on Tuesday 19/2 we compared the Rev F 48's broughtalong by users with other versions. From the one's we had at the meeting,
--------
OOOOPS!!!
Before anyone gets too excited - just a typing error.
I meant to say we compared the Rev E 48's ......
^^^^^^^^
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----------akcs.kevin@hpcvbbs.UUCP (Kevin Jessup) (02/21/91)
My keys are only somwhat "sticky". Not so bad that I would trade back my REV E for an A! My serial number is 3103AXXXXX. The ENTER, ALPHA SHIFT, LEFT SHIFT, RIGHT SHIFT and 0 keys are much snapier than the others.
madler@kanga.caltech.edu (Mark Adler) (02/24/91)
I got a rev-E replacement with the so called "mushy" keys. I didn't complain about it, because I didn't think they were so bad, and because there *is* still tactile feedback--it's just a little more subtle. Also, if anything, the keyboard response is improved over my rev A in terms of less missed keystrokes, though this may be a software improvement (less missed interrupts), rather than having to do with the physical keyboard. However, I just noticed that I am, in fact, impacted by the new keyboards. I keep my HP in a calculator pocket in my Bike Nashbar briefcase, without the case (the case makes it too bulky to fit--as if it isn't bulky to begin with). The old keybaord was stiff enough that the keys, especially the ON key, could not be activated by stuffing or jostling the briefcase. This is no longer the case with the new, softer keyboard. It gets turned on all the time, and I always have weird stuff left on the stack (like vectors full of 2's). I will try a stiff piece of cardboard in front of the HP and see if that helps, but I liked not having to worry about it before. Mark Adler madler@pooh.caltech.edu