Floppy Days 59 - The HP41C Calculator, Part I, History with Richard Nelson and Gene Wright

Hello, all, and welcome to the next installment of the podcast that says "vintage electronics: I WANT IT". I'm Randy Kindig and I'm your host. This episode is the first of a 2-parter on the Hewlett Packard HP-41 line of programmable calculators. The HP-41 is a seminal example of programmable calculators from the late 70's and into the 80's and is still very desirable and sought after today. I was lucky enough to find 2 gentlemen to co-host who are well-known among the active HP calculator community that exists today: Richard J. Nelson, who has written, edited, and published as much HP-41 material as anyone ever. And Gene Wright who is on the HP Handheld Conference Committee and he was a TI fan before becoming "hooked" on the HP-41. In this first part on the HP-41, I interview the co-hosts and then we cover the history of the calculator line in detail. Next month, with the same co-hosts, we will cover Web sites, emulation, software, and much more.

To start out, as usual, I will cover my new vintage computer acquisitions, a little news, and some feedback.

I hope you enjoy this and please let me know what you think.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions

• Kim UNO - http://obsolescence.wix.com/obsolescence
• SpartaDOS X Supercart - https://www.bitsofthepast.com/?product=super-spartados-cartridge

News

• New TI Newsletter - Yesterdays News by Ralph Rees - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/251850-yesterdays-news/?hl=%2Byesterdays+%2Bnews#entry3507067
• https://storybundle.com/tech - "Nerd History Bundle"
• A Microsoft Life by Stephen Toulouse - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0557735297/?tag=flodaypod-20
• Gates by Stephen Manes and Paul Andrews - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0671880748/?tag=flodaypod-20
• Fire in the Valley by Michael Swaine and Paul Freiberger - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0071358927/?tag=flodaypod-20
• Terrible Nerd by Kevin Savetz - http://www.amazon.com/dp/1939169003/?tag=flodaypod-20
• Irregularity by Jared Shurin - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0992817218/?tag=flodaypod-20
• The Google Way by Bernard Girard - http://www.amazon.com/dp/1593271840/?tag=flodaypod-20
• Priming the Pump by David Welsh and Theresa Welsh - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0979346800/?tag=flodaypod-20
• Book site for Priming the Pump - http://www.microcomputerpioneers.com/

Upcoming Shows

• Last Chicago CocoFest - http://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ April 23 & 24, 2016, Heron Point Convention Center, Lombard, IL
• KansasFest - July 19-24, 2016 - https://www.kansasfest.org
• Atari Party - Saturday, July 30, at 12 PM - 5 PM in PDT, Mary L. Stephens Davis Branch Library, 315 E 14th St, Davis, California 95616 - https://www.facebook.com/events/1069851796370777/
• VCF west - Aug 6-7 - http://www.vintagecomputerfederation.org/uncategorized/vcf-west-is-back/
• VCF midwest — Sep 10-11, Elk Grove Village, IL - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-midwest/
• PRGE Oct 21-23 http://www.retrogamingexpo.com
• TI International World's Faire - Sat. Oct. 15 at Evanston Public Library

Feedback

• a two-minute pitch video for The Secret History of Gaming on the Mac being written by Richard Moss - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tL2kC3QqeU
• The Secret History of Gaming on the Mac Web site - https://unbound.co.uk/books/macgaming

Interview and History

• Gene's TI-58/59 Failures and Maintenance Tips Web site - http://www.rskey.org/gene/calcgene/59diag.htm
• Contains probably the most information about the HP 41 series out there: http://hp41.org/
• The HP 41CL replacement CPU board web page: http://www.systemyde.com/hp41/
• Keith Jarett, "HP 41 in Orbit," Personal Computing (October/November 1984), pp. 50-54. - http://web.archive.org/web/20000621003759/http://www.nasm.si.edu/nasm/dsh/artifacts/GC-hewlett-.htm
• HHC (HP Handheld Computer) Conference - http://hhuc.us/

References

• "The HP-41 System – 30 Years Old" by Richard J Nelson - http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise/downloads/The%20HP-41%20System%20V3.pdf
• Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-41C