Hewlett-Packard Calculator Emulators for the Atari 800XL

[norbert_kehrer]

I wrote emulators for four classic Hewlett-Packard pocket calculators from the seventies running on the Atari 800XL and on the Commodore 64. They emulate the models HP-35 (scientific), HP-45 (scientific, advanced), HP-55 (programmable), and HP-80 (business) by executing the original ROM programs of the HP calculators, so that you can work with your Atari 800 or C64 exactly like with the great classic machines with their sophisticated scientific and business functions.

If you are interested to read more on the emulators, to see some screenshots, and to download the programs for your home computer, go to my homepage at http://members.aon.at/nkehrer/

Have fun!

Norbert

[Keatah]

None of the keys seem to do anything on the Atari versions. The c64 versions seem fine.

 

ADDED:

Whooopps gotta run it on XL hardware.. DUHH

Edited October 25, 2014 by Keatah

[ClausB]

Nice!

 

You can use DLIs or PMG to color the Atari text mode. Have you tried that?

[norbert_kehrer]

Nice!

 

You can use DLIs or PMG to color the Atari text mode. Have you tried that?

 

Thank you for the nice feedback, ClausB.

 

I haven't tried the coloring yet. I thought, that with hi-res character graphics DLIs would only result in "stripes" with different background colors. E.g., if I would like to have light blue characters (in full resolution), the background would not be completely black in that row, but only dark blue. Concerning player-missile graphics I understood, that horizontally generally only "half" resolution is possible.

 

But when I think about your comment a little bit more, maybe a 4-color mode with a resolution of 160 x 192 could also be sufficient. Each character then would have only 3 pixels horizontally (and an empty one for the separation from the neighboring character).

 

Is someone in the forum aware of such a 4x8-pixel character set, that I could use?

 

An "A" would look then like that:

 

. . . .

. X . .

X . X .

X . X .

X X X .

X . X .

X . X .

. . . .

 

If no font is available, I will try to create one. Just to see how this looks.

 

So long

 

Norbert

[ClausB]

Well, it just so happens that I created a 4x8 set for DT-80 and ACE80. Search this forum for it.

[fibrewire]

I wrote emulators for four classic Hewlett-Packard pocket calculators from the seventies running on the Atari 800XL and on the Commodore 64.

 

Nice job! They look great

[norbert_kehrer]

Nice!

 

You can use DLIs or PMG to color the Atari text mode. Have you tried that?

 

 

Claus, thanks again for pointing out the method to use the player-missile graphics for bringing more colors into a hires character screen. And very special thanks to Adam for explaining me so patiently what you meant and how this works. For an old C64 guy like me, the way the 8-bit Atari's video hardware works, sometimes still is a miracle.

 

But I somehow managed to get my head around it, and added a third color (grey) to my Hewlett-Packard emulators. Those, who are interested, can download the updated programs from my website at http://members.aon.at/nkehrer/

 

This is how it looks like now (e.g., the HP-55 emulator):

 

 

Greetings

 

Norbert

Edited November 5, 2014 by norbert_kehrer

[_The Doctor__]

A very nice step in the right direction.

Take a look at ICE-T's color ansi screens for even more fun!

 

added the black grey white version of your calcs to my collection.

[+Adam+]

And very special thanks to Adam for explaining me so patiently what you meant and how this works.

You're welcome. It was just some basic information about using PMG underlay in hi-res mode.

 

For an old C64 guy like me, the way the 8-bit Atari's video hardware works, sometimes still is a miracle.

It's never too late to learn more about Atari