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Any errors in the text here are present in the original; errors in HTML markup are my fault. Some sections may include a "Rob's Note" - the information in those are also my complete responsibility.
This file is and always will be work in progress. Comments welcome.
If you have no access to anonymous ftp, send an email message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu, subject ignored, body containing send usenet/news.answers/hp/palmtops-faq
World Wide Web users may be interested in the hypertext version
of this FAQ. It's available from the server:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu
Look for the Usenet FAQ's. One way to get to this FAQ is to go through the index by usenet groups through comp, sys, and finally palmtops.
The html version is automatically generated from the ASCII version, and thus contains exactly the same information.
Any FAQ that is crossposted to news.answers can be retrieved by ftp, email, or WWW using similar techniques. So before posting "Can somebody send me the FAQ?" to ANY newsgroup, please browse the ftp archives on rtfm.mit.edu or your local news.answers archive. If you can't do this, then please follow the netiquette rule of always reading a group for at least a month before posting. If there's a FAQ, it'll probably show up.
This is not intended as a substitute for the 100/200LX manual. There are many more useful tidbits located in the manual than will ever be in this file, and the manual is likely to be more accurate.
The DataComm application is faster in the 200LX. It can pretty much keep up with a 9600 or 14.4 modem. The painfully slow DataComm application was a notorious deficiency in the 100LX, so this is a welcome fix.
The case has changed color, from the black 100LX to a slate grey color for the 200LX. The keyboard layout has changed slightly, in order to give Pocket Quicken its own dedicated key. The labels on the keycaps have a slightly different, italic, look to them.
The topcard (picture displayed when the machine is turned on, and the system manager is running, but no apps are yet activated) looks different.
There is an extra megabyte of ROM (3M in the 200LX, vs 2M in the 100LX). This is how they managed to add the new built-in software to the 200LX without deleting any of the old 100LX features.
There is a power-on password feature.
Some extra goodies have been added to the d:\bin drive (in ROM). Hearts & Bones and Lair of the Squid are two games that are included. A hexadecimal calculator is also included.
LapLink Remote has replaced the redirector for use with the connectivity pack.
The appointment manager has a daily pop-up message reminding users of "to do's" and appointments.
The on-line help has been improved.
The phonebook can present phone and address details in "business-card" or the 100LX-style "form" format.
Most software written for the 100LX will run on the 200LX. All vanilla DOS software should run exactly the same. Most 100LX-specific software will probably run the same. One user reported that "about half" of the features of 100Buddy worked unchanged. 100Buddy is probably the most 100LX-specific (least portable) software available for the HP.
[Rob's Note: 100Buddy has since been updated to detect and be fully compatible with the 200LX.]
List price of the 200LX-2MB is $699 (U.S.), $50 less than the 100LX-2MB list. The 200LX-1MB lists at $549, the same as the 100LX-1MB. Of course, actual selling prices vary, and they change too quickly to report in this FAQ.
When pricing memory cards, be aware that some manufacturers package disk compression software with their cards, and some of these may advertise a 5MB card with compression software as a "10 MB" card. (or "10 MB compressed", or "Up to 10MB", etc.) Quoted disk compression numbers tend to be optimistic, especially if you're storing executables or compressed files. Be sure you do an "apples to apples" price comparison between different vendors.
[Rob's Note: They may still be offering the trade-in, but the figures I have for the amount of credit they give are different from the above. Contact them directly for more information.]
The screen is very sharp and contrasty, but your eyes might not be. Try before you buy, especially if you have trouble reading fine print in dim light. The print is quite small in 25x80 mode, but you can use special key combinations to zoom and pan around, displaying only a portion of the screen, magnified, on the 100/200LX physical screen. The screen is not backlighted, and is easiest to read in bright light.
------------------------ Summary Information --------------------------
Computer: Phoenix/Phoenix, 80186
Memory: 636K
Video: CGA, Unknown
Network: No Network
OS Version: MS-DOS 5.00
Mouse: Bus Mouse
Other Adapters: Game Adapter
Disk Drives: A: B: C: D: E: F:
LPT Ports: 1
COM Ports: 1
------------------------------ Computer -------------------------------
Computer Name: Phoenix
BIOS Manufacturer: Phoenix
BIOS Version: Version 1.04 A
ROM BIOS Ver 2.14
BIOS Category: IBM PC/XT
BIOS ID Bytes: FB 00 04
BIOS Date: 08/19/93
Processor: 80186
Math Coprocessor: None
Keyboard: Non-Enhanced
Bus Type: ISA/XT/Classic Bus
DMA Controller: Yes
Cascaded IRQ: Yes
BIOS Data Segment: None
------------------------------- Video ---------------------------------
Video Adapter Type: CGA
Manufacturer: Unknown
Model:
Display Type: CGA Monitor
Video Mode: 3
Number of Columns: 80
Number of Rows: 25
Video BIOS Version:
Video BIOS Date:
VESA Support Installed: No
Secondary Adapter: Hercules or Compatible
----------------------------- OS Version ------------------------------
Operating System: MS-DOS 5.00
Internal Revision: 00
OEM Serial Number: FFH
User Serial Number: 000000H
OEM Version String:
DOS Located in: ROM
Boot Drive: A:
---------------------------- Disk Drives ------------------------------
Drive Type Free Space Total Size
----- ------------------------------------ ---------- ----------
[editor's note: PCMCIA card data removed]
C: RAM Disk 211K 346K
512 Bytes/Sector
D: RAM Disk 0K 501K
512 Bytes/Sector
[editor's note: D: is the ROM drive, containing built-in software]
----------------------------- COM Ports -------------------------------
COM1: COM2: COM3: COM4:
----- ----- ----- -----
Port Address 03F8H N/A N/A N/A
Baud Rate 57600
Parity None
Data Bits 8
Stop Bits 1
Carrier Detect (CD) Yes
Ring Indicator (RI) No
Data Set Ready (DSR) Yes
Clear To Send (CTS) Yes
UART Chip Used 8250
Some kind of extra storage (flash or SRAM card) will undoubtedly be necessary for recent versions of Quicken, especially for the 1MB 100/200LX.
Of course, Pocket Quicken is built in to the 200LX, and it's available separately from Intuit for the 100LX. It's system-manager compliant, but some users still may prefer the full feature set of DOS Quicken.
If the program runs under raw DOS, you can probably get it to run under the system manager by putting an inverted exclamation point (keystroke Fn-Filer) into the comments field of the Application Manager. This effectively disables the System Manager and prevents switching to another application while the current application is running.
The 200LX contains Pocket Quicken and LapLink Remote, in addition to the above.
There is no way to use cc:Mail to read/write Unix mail offline, although someone has posted that he's working on a conversion program. Keep watching here.
[Rob's Note: If you don't mind the long distance call, palmtop.com offers dial-in cc:Mail service to HP users. Also, the program mentioned above is available; look elsewhere on this site for more tips on this subject.]
Some HP-100LX specific software is at the URLs:
ftp://eddie.mit.edu/distrib/hp95lx/hp100LX
ftp://ftp.cc.monash.edu.au/pub/palmtop
However, there is a program, called ATDT, which uses some fancy tricks to get touch tones out of a standard PC-AT. It does work on the 100/200LX, and it's available on eddie.mit.edu in the hp95lx/unknown directory (ATDT01.ZIP). It is not integrated with the phone book application, it requires the video mode be set up different from standard (see the readme), and, depending on the phone you use it with, the 100/200LX speaker may not produce sufficient volume to reliably dial.
There is also a program called TT available, with source code, on eddie.mit.edu. TT comes ready-to-use, but if you have a C compiler and know how to use it, you can modify TT and integrate it into other programs. Like ATDT, TT suffers from the limitations of the volume output from the 100/200LX speaker, and your success with it depends on your patience, the sensitivity of your telephone's microphone, and the placement of the 100/200LX speaker near the microphone.
There are several ways to write "programs" with software in the 100/200LX ROM, depending on your definition of a program. You have the keyboard macro application, Lotus 1-2-3, the calculator's solver application (finds roots of equations, among other things), DEBUG.EXE (from DOS), and the DOS batch file interpreter. The calculator's solver application can be used with Lotus to "backsolve", that is, adjust the value of one independent cell of a spreadsheet to produce a desired result in another, calculated, cell.
In the meantime, many of the HP's interrupts are documented in the interrupt list, maintained by Ralf Brown, available at ftp://oak.oakland.edu/pub/msdos/info/interNNx.zip and elsewhere.
Of course, if you only want to program the HP as a DOS machine, without accessing any of the palmtop's unique features, there are plenty of widely available books giving details on DOS programming.
If you need the file formats for the built-in applications, gdbio (on eddie) has C source code which should provide a good starting point.
[Rob's Note: Oh, how the answer to this question has changed... for the better. A development kit is available from Thaddeus Computing, publishers of Palmtop Paper, for about $80; the same documentation and software appears on their $140 CD-ROM of HP palmtop information. Also, a nice library named PAL lets you get most of the feel of the HP applications without requiring the developer's kit; look on the PAL Home Page for more information.]
While a pocket modem typically draws power from a battery or from an AC power supply, a PCMCIA modem draws all power from the palmtop. Most PCMCIA modems are designed to work on larger machines with plenty of battery power so most modems also consume as much or more power than the HP-100/200LX. This drain can occur whether the modem is in use or not, consequently battery life is much shorter, as little as 15 minutes. Use of an AC adapter is usually recommended.
Since there's only one PCMCIA slot, it can either hold a modem or a SRAM/Flash card, but not both. So a PCMCIA modem can only transfer data to and from the internal RAM drive of the machine.
Interestingly enough, the built-in DataComm application seems to be reasonably fast when doing file transfer, it's only when used as a terminal that it becomes painfully slow.
The 200LX does not suffer from the slow screen update bug on the built-in DataComm application.
If you want to ask questions over there (AFTER reading their FAQ), just tell them that your HP is an IBM PC-XT compatible running DOS 5.0 with CGA.
People have reported success using a UQWK/YARN combination to transfer mail and news via SOUP.
The one area where the 100/200LX is unique is that it has cc:Mail in ROM. If you're one of those rare folks who has access to a cc:Mail post office, great. If not, there is currently no way to use the built-in cc:Mail program for anything else, so forget cc:Mail and try a generic DOS solution. But keep watching here, there is supposedly some work going on in this area.
[Rob's Note: An offline reader designed just for the LX is now available; look on your favorite FTP site for "PNR".]
[Rob's Note: For ACEFAX, try ACE Technologies' Home Page.]
A similar connectivity pack is available for the 200LX (F1021B, w/English docs, F1021C with multilingual docs). The 200LX connectivity pack includes software to integrate Pocket Quicken with Quicken for DOS or Windows, in addition to updated versions of the software in the 100LX connectivity pack.
A "software-only" version of the 200LX connectivity pack is also available, for those users who already have cables and such from a 100LX.
If you don't want to buy the connectivity pack, you may connect the palmtop and desktop with a serial cable and use your choice of DOS connectivity software. The interlnk/intersvr programs that come with DOS 6 work fine.
Try the serial printer adapter to connect to a Sun workstation's DB25 port. Some other unix workstations are reported to use MacIntosh-style serial ports, and the MacIntosh serial cable will work with these. Similar adapters should be available at any well equipped computer/electronics store, or you can build your own. The adapter kit comes with the connectivity pack.
Digi-Key Corporation
701 Brooks Ave. South
P.O. Box 677
Thief River Falls, MN 56701-0677
800-344-4539 800-DIGI-KEY
218-681-6674
218-681-3380 fax
$25.00 minimum order or $5.00 handling charge
part# H2004-ND Hirose Electric Co., A3B series 10-pin dual-row, 2mm
connector (HP 100/200LX)
part# H9999-ND Hirose Electric Co., socket terminals, quantity 100
part# H2013-ND Hirose Electric Co., A4B series 4-pin, single-row, 2mm
connector (HP-48, HP-95LX)
If you already have the HP cable, it comes with an adapter to plug the
10-pin connector into a 4-pin HP95 or HP48. One clever use of this
adapter is use it as a mold to make a "bump" on Digi-Key 10-pin
connector using 5-minute epoxy. This "bump" is not essential, but it
will help prevent you from inserting the 10-pin connector
upside-down.
DataViz (1-800-733-0030) is a company which makes a product called MacLink Plus/HP Palmtop, which handles file transfers, and converts the HP100/200LX application's files (memo, database, phonebook, etc.) to popular Mac formats (Excel, MacWrite, Word, etc.). One current shortcoming is that the "Notes" section of the 100/200LX Database/Phonebook programs is not supported in the Filemaker translation. But this is reportedly being worked on.
MacLink Plus works with all the HP Palmtops (95/100/200). It includes the serial cable. File translations include:
Memo to: MacWrite, MacWrite II, MS Word 4 & 5.x, MS Works, Mac WP 2&3, WriteNow 2, RTF.
Appt book to: Excel 2,3,4, Lotus WKS, MS Works SS 2,3, SYLK, Comma Separated, Tab Separated, Tab Text
Phone book to: Address Book Plus, Dynodex 2,3, Excel 2,3,4, Filemaker Pro, Lotus WKS, SYLK, Comma Separated, Tab Separated, Tab Text
Database to: FileMaker Pro, MS Works DB 2,3
Palmtop Lotus to: Excel 2,3,4, Lotus WKS, Ms Works SS 2,3, SYLK, Comma separateed, Tab Seeparated, Tab Text.
Among other places, it's available directly from DataViz or from MacWarehouse (1-800-255-6227).
The best answers to generic PC/Mac connectivity are probably found outside this newsgroup (anyone know where?), but here's a shot at some alternatives:
Most any terminal program on the 100/200LX (including the built-in DataComm) will handle simple file transfers via kermit, xmodem, etc.
MacLink Plus/PC is a commercial package made by DataViz which is intended for use on any IBM-Compatible, and is reported to work on the 100/200LX, and allow easy file transfer. But see above for a customized HP version that supports the HP apps.
Both technologies have plenty of satisfied users.
Longer answer: The 100/200LX PCMCIA slot is PCMCIA 2.0 compatible, and able to accept type I or type II cards. It supplies 5 or 12 volts. It has trouble with certain cards which attempt to draw high current. Most modems, SRAM cards, and ATA (Sundisk-style) flash cards work fine. Most ethernet adapters and GPS receivers draw too much current to work. Intel-style flash cards (like the Newton uses) are not supported, but see next question.
Common confusion: PCMCIA _Type_ is always listed in roman numerals, and refers _only_ to the thickness of the card. PCMCIA _Release_ is listed in arabic numerals, and refers to the version of the interface specification.
If a card draws too much current to work in the 100/200LX, using the AC adapter won't help.
However, some users have reported varying degrees of success with them. They require that you obtain MS-FLASH.SYS for normal use, and MEMCARD.EXE is required to format the card. These files are NOT public domain, and not available at any ftp site. Some people have reportedly pirated them from an Omnibook (probably illegal). If anyone knows of an official way of obtaining up-to-date versions of these files, please tell the editor.
At least one user has reported that there is some incompatibility between the system manager (or at least the database apps) and MS-FLASH.SYS, such that the flash card could only be used in raw DOS mode outside of the system manager. Other users have reported that continually writing and moving files around on the card slowly consumes small amounts of disk space, which can only be recovered by backing the card up, reformatting, and restoring.
Note that this entire discussion is about Newton flash cards, not Newton SRAM cards. Several posters have been able to use Newton SRAM cards without difficulty.
Although the manual only recommends alkaline or NiCads, users have reported success with lithium AA cells. Lithium cells have a much longer shelf life and running life than alkalines. Setting the machine up for alkalines works for lithiums. Others have cautioned that inserting lithium cells backwards can permanently damage the machine, and the discharge curve for lithiums is very steep, leaving little time between the first "low battery" warning and completely dead batteries.
The 100/200LX can charge installed NiCads by simply plugging in an AC adapter and selecting the option from the setup application. No separate charger is needed.
Rechargable alkaline or NiMH batteries can be used, just like regular alkalines. However, to charge them, you must take them out of the 100/200LX and put them in a charger specially designed for rechargable alkalines or NiMH batteries.
Simple way to avoid trouble: if your NiCads have a full charge or close to it, and you want to use the AC adapter, then disable charging. A slightly less conservative approach is to use 100Buddy or the shareware batset program to limit the fast charge time to one minute, since trickle charging isn't likely to damage the batteries as quickly.
HP recommends their part no F1011A, which is about the size of a credit card, except that it's an inch (2.5 cm) thick, with fold-away AC prongs. It will take any input voltage from 100 to 240 Volts, at 50/60 Hz, an advantage for world travellers.
Radio Shack Cat no 273-1652B seems to work, and is probably cheaper. It's only rated at 500mA, so there may be problems when using with high-current PCMCIA cards. It appears to work ok with flash cards while charging NiCad's, though, and current measurements indicate that the 100/200LX draws much less than 500mA with this adapter even when writing to a flash card, charging NiCads, and using the serial port simultaneously.
Other compatible adapters are certainly available from various sources. The 100/200LX does not include an adapter in the box.
An inverted exclamation point (keystroke Fn-Filer) disables the system manager and prevents switching to another application while the current application is running, giving the application total control of the console and serial port. This is needed to make certain DOS programs (intersvr, terminal emulators, etc.) work properly.
Neither special character is documented in the 100LX manual, though both appear in the 200LX manual (they work the same on both machines).
Be aware that certain other software which reads phone book files expects the fields to be "vanilla", so don't use this trick (or at least back up your data and test it first) if you plan to transfer your phone book data to such software. The "Xlate/Merge" feature of the connectivity pack is one program which wants the files to be vanilla.
[Launcher] ICN=D:\BIN\ICN200.EXE % ZIP=A:\BIN\PKUNZIP.EXE %When you select a file and press ENTER, if the selected file has the extention ".ICN" the icon editor on drive D: is started and the file name (the `%' is replaced by the name of the selected file) is given as argument. If the selected file has the extention ".ZIP" it is automatically unzipped (assuming PKUNZIP lives on a:\bin).
debug c:\_dat\appmgr.dat
e 10a 01
w
q
Now, you can close the filer by first opening it, highlighting it in the application manager and pressing F6, or by menu/application/close all. The filer's quit command will behave as before, just putting the filer to sleep, not recovering the RAM. If the filer is asleep, the application manager CANNOT close it. The filer must be open (awake) for the application manager to close it. If the filer has been completely terminated (not just put to sleep), it will take two presses of the filer key to open it up again.
The computer says: You type: A:\JUNK> debug - a 100 1970:0100 mov ah,46 1970:0102 mov bx,0000 1970:0105 int 15 1970:0107 int 20 1970:0109 - r cx CX 0000 : 9 - n timeout.com - w Writing 00009 bytes - quit A:\JUNK>
Now, you've just created a short program, called timeout.com, that you can run to inhibit the automatic time-out feature. Re-booting will restore the default timeout limit, or you can create a corresponding "timein.com" program, by following the above procedure except change the second mov statement to "mov bx,0c9a", and change the n statement to "n timein.com". The number after the "mov bx," is a hexadecimal integer equal to 18 times the number of seconds desired for automatic power-down. 0433 corresponds to 1 minute, 0c9a means 3 minutes, 14ff means 5 minutes, 3efd means 15 minutes, etc.
Again, back up your machine before running either of these programs, until you're confident the programs work correctly.
***100LX ROM VERSIONS***
1.01a Original version. Some were eproms
1.02a Infected by the HEU bug
1.03a HEU (sHift kEy bUg) fixed, speed up for carry-forward todos.
1.04a Last ROM version prior to 2MB Model. Currently shipping on
many 1MB models. Does not need FS.COM that comes on
the CPACK disk for the redirector.
1.05a Added support for 2MB
1.06a Most current. Some cc:Mail bugs fixed. Found on latest 2MB
units, and on some 1MB models.
At least one user reported a dramatic (2x) speedup in the calendar
app monthly view when updating from 1.02a to 1.04a.
***200LX ROM VERSIONS***
1.00a Present on at least one Japanese language version
1.01a Believed to be the only US-English version
existing (if you have a different one, please tell the editor).
SGywwnnnnn
Where y is the last digit of the year of manufacture, ww is the week of manufacture, and nnnnn is the individual serial number. Thus SG45101234 is the 1234th unit manufactured in the 51st week of 1994. The "SG" is the country of origin (apparently all are manufactured in Singapore).
It seems a similar scheme is used for many HP calculators.
Any time any MS-DOS machine crashes hard enough to require a reboot, it's a good idea to run chkdsk on all drives, to clean up the file systems and recover any clusters that may have been lost.
To fix the hinge yourself, pull off the left end cap (it should come straight off using no tools harsher than a fingernail), and insert a rubber band in the vertical slot under the cap. Trim off excess and replace cap. You probably just voided any warranty you may have had. Be careful not to get the hinge too tight, or else it may break after repeated use.
To fix a loose latch yourself, you can stuff something compressible behind the latch. Posters have suggested rubber bands, surgical tubing, packaging foam, and other similar materials.
If your question concerns using DOS on the 100/200LX, perhaps one of the comp.os.msdos.* groups might be appropriate. Just tell them the 100/200LX behaves like a PC-XT with CGA and 640K, running DOS 5.0.
Also recognition to all the folks who have shared info via comp.sys.palmtops.
The following people have contributed to this FAQ by e-mailing information to the editor:
Jim Breen (jwb@rdt.monash.edu.au)
Dan Buckler (buckler@netcom.com)
Tony Clark (tclark@wv.mentorg.com)
Andreas Garzotto (garzotto@swssai.uu.ch)
Andrew Gryc (andyg@hpcvrb.cv.hp.com)
Sheryl Katz (slkatz@netcom.com)
Wee-Meng Lee (leewm@hpsgm2.sgp.hp.com)
Wolfgang Lierz (wolfgang.lierz@gmd.de)
Rob Logan (rob@ct.picker.com)
J. Marot-Lassauzaie (n1epobtl@ibmmail.com)
Phillip Nichols (pnichols@bbs.gatecom.com)
Clark Ochikubo (cgochiku@uci.edu)
Stephen Panarelli (jep@ulinfo.unl.edu)
Charles Stroom (charles@yc.estec.esa.nl)
Peter van der Landen (landen@cir.frg.eur.nl)
Stefan Wolfrum (wolfrum@uran.informatik.uni-bonn.de)
Narutoshi Yoneda (yoneda@adm.nsc.nikko.co.jp)
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Rob Tillotson