creiman@headroom.ncsa.uiuc.EDU (Chuck Reiman) (02/15/91)
> In article <3964@ryn.mro4.dec.com> taber@ultnix.enet.dec.com (Patrick St. Joseph Teahan Taber) writes: > > =+"why did you climb Mt. Everest" things? At some point, doesn't it > =+become obvious that $50 for a well-made cable is not a bad deal after > =+all? > > I don't care what kind of cable it is. $50 is outrageous, especially considering HP is always outrageously priced. The cards and the calculator itself are way out there, price-wise. Charging $50 for a stinking four wire cable is just twisting their proprietary knife. Not buying an HP cable is more a form of protest than anything else. We gave IBM hell for locking their customers into IBM only systems, we should do the same for HP. Which makes me wonder: Edu-calc seems to make a lot of accessories for HP48s, why don't they whip up cables? Any reasonably large company could custom order that kind of cable (IMHO). They'd probably make a killing off of us, if they charged a reasonable price. ----------- I'm a Comp E. and I'm okay, Charlie Reiman I work all night and I work all day. creiman@ncsa.uiuc.edu I SKIP and JUMP, c-reiman@uiuc.edu I crash PCs, National Center for I sort with binary trees. Superb Acronyms
tim@fonda.ipac.caltech.edu (Tim Conrow) (02/15/91)
In article <1991Feb14.152216@headroom.ncsa.uiuc.EDU> creiman@headroom.ncsa.uiuc.EDU (Chuck Reiman) writes: > >Which makes me wonder: Edu-calc seems to make a lot of accessories >for HP48s, why don't they whip up cables? Any reasonably large >company could custom order that kind of cable (IMHO). They'd >probably make a killing off of us, if they charged a reasonable >price. > Actually, as luck would have it, I spoke to EduCalc just before reading this post. They sell cables only (w/o the rest of the Serial I/O kit) for $30. Presumabely this is still an HP cable, but at least it isn't $50. -- Tim tim@ipac.caltech.edu
zimmer@calvin.stanford.edu (Andrew Zimmerman) (02/15/91)
> >I don't care what kind of cable it is. $50 is outrageous, especially >considering HP is always outrageously priced. The cards and the >calculator itself are way out there, price-wise. Charging $50 for a >stinking four wire cable is just twisting their proprietary knife. Main point is below, but before you hit the 'n' key... What software does one get with the mac cable? Would it be a better deal to get the PC cable (more standard) and use a Mac to DB25 cable? Or, is the software that good? Splitting groups: I really hate this topic. Two newsgroups I read have been hit by this virus. I would like comp.sys.handhelds comp.sys.handhelds.hp comp.sys.handhelds.lets_split_the_group_adnauseam Main Point (This is for the PC, although it does apply to the Mac as well) I disagree with this. First, lets get some of the facts straight. The cables can be gotten from Edu-calc for about $30 sans software and $50 for the cable with the software. $20 for the disk is a little high if you have access to the net, but it beats the heck out of a long distance phone call. For the $30, you get a cable to DB-9 and a DB-9 to DB-25. That converter costs about $7-8 just by itself. With this in mind, that price of $30 is in line with the cable prices of any other manufacturer. ie DEC, or SUN. (Next cables are about $19.) Especially for the PC owners... HP also offers the PDL for $120 (Educalc said about $100) for the cable, the Programmers reference book, and the PDL. This also sounds okay to me. (In fact, for those that bought the software version of the cable, HP is offering an upgrade.) There is no question that you can make the cable cheaper then the price of the HP cable. But, this is true for almost all cables. It is just a question of how much your time is worth, and if you are willing to bend the pins on the HP48sx (assuming you can't get the correct pin spacing). I hope that all of this about HP asking too much for their cables, and where to get the correct connectors will go away. Unfortunately, c.s.h is hit by this every 3-4 months. (It gets tiresome) Andrew zimmer@calvin.stanford.edu
cloos@acsu.buffalo.edu (James H. Cloos) (02/15/91)
In article <1991Feb15.011656.10673@Neon.Stanford.EDU> zimmer@calvin.stanford.edu (Andrew Zimmerman) writes: |[etc] | (This is for the PC, although it does apply to the Mac as well) | I disagree with this. First, lets get some of the facts straight. |The cables can be gotten from Edu-calc for about $30 sans software and |$50 for the cable with the software. $20 for the disk is a little high |if you have access to the net, but it beats the heck out of a long |distance phone call. For the $30, you get a cable to DB-9 and a DB-9 |to DB-25. That converter costs about $7-8 just by itself. | With this in mind, that price of $30 is in line with the cable prices |of any other manufacturer. ie DEC, or SUN. (Next cables are about $19.) | [etc] You do not get the DB9<->DB25 converter with the CableOnly package. You get only the HP<->DB9 cable, in a plastic bag. (The complete set comes in a standard-color-scheme 48 box.) -JimC -- James H. Cloos, Jr. Phone: +1 716 673-1250 cloos@ACSU.Buffalo.EDU Snail: PersonalZipCode: 14048-0772, USA cloos@ub.UUCP Quote: <>
edp@deland.enet.dec.com (Eric Postpischil (Always mount a scratch monkey.)) (02/15/91)
In article <1991Feb14.152216@headroom.ncsa.uiuc.EDU>, creiman@headroom.ncsa.uiuc.EDU (Chuck Reiman) writes: > The cards and the >calculator itself are way out there, price-wise. Charging $50 for a >stinking four wire cable is just twisting their proprietary knife. I've got to disagree with that. Yes, HP has high prices. The 41 series was up there. But when the 28C came out, it was cheaper than the 41 in spite of the fact that it was a fantastic leap ahead in calculator design. And the 28S came out at no additional price. I do not think the HP-48 is at all overpriced considering its incredible features, particularly since it is readily available for $250 to $280. In rereading the manual again, I am noticing lots of attention to detail -- HP really put a lot into the 48. I would like to see the RAM cards cheaper, and I don't think the cable is $50 if you order it without the software, but the 48 itself is definitely not overpriced. -- edp (Eric Postpischil) "Always mount a scratch monkey." edp@jareth.enet.dec.com
thbaca@nmsu.edu (BACA) (02/16/91)
> Especially for the PC owners... >HP also offers the PDL for $120 (Educalc said about $100) for the cable, >the Programmers reference book, and the PDL. This also sounds okay to >me. (In fact, for those that bought the software version of the cable, >HP is offering an upgrade.) Can anyone provide details of this upgrade?. I am one of the many people who purchased the serial kit thinking that I would be able to "use the keyboard and monitor of the PC to access the power of the HP48SX" (Or however the advertisements read). I really feel that I was mislead by the ads and I would like to know if things can be "put to rights". Thanks for any help!! Thomas L. Baca
akcs.tyrone@hpcvbbs.UUCP (Tyrone Johnson) (02/17/91)
I was able to obtain 2 of the Fujitsu connectors and with very careful soldering I was able to make at least one very good cable. I still have the other connector and will someday make another connector: so it is possible!