Guide to the HP48G/GX Hardware
Compiled by Philippe Teuwen
Version 0.90
26th December 1997 
A text only version (but older) is available here.
0. Table of contents
 
1 Introduction
2 Global View
3 Pin outs Description
4 74HC174: Hex D-type flip-flop with clear
5 74HC00: Quad 2-input NAND gate
6 RAM 32k or 128k & ROM 512k
7 Ports
8 Drivers for LCD
9 Keyboard
10 LCD Display
11 Yorke Chip
12 Printed Circuit Board
13 IR Reception
14.1 IR Transmission for the S/SX
14.2 IR Transmission for the G/GX
15 RS232 Description
16 Power Supply
17 Backup Power Supply
18 Miscellaneous
19 Contacting the author
20 Contributors
1. Introduction

These schematics result from personal observations.
So any warranties are provided about the content of this text.
Please notify me of any errors (about language too!) or omissions or to complete some points like official pins names and uses or bad known devices.
This text can be freely distributed but please don't modify it yourself.
Simply tell me what's wrong and I'll correct it for everybody.
All is shown from the back, batteries towards you unless you hear to the contrary.
Some parts exist only on GX calculators.

2. Global View

This image is clickeable !

 

Serial connector/LED IR /Recv IR
 
 

The processor between 2 LCD drivers
 

4 jumpers disseminated on the PCB
 

crystal (32 kHz time X'tal)
RX IR Circuits on the right
 

RS 232 Circuits on the left

Expansion connectors
From left to right:
Power Supply/74HC174 /RAM/ROM /Capacitor 1mF/74HC00
 
 

Battery Case
 
 
 
 
 

3. Pin outs Description
 
A0-A16 Address lines
A17-A21 Extended lines for port 2 (A18 is inverted, actually: NA18) 
AR17-AR18 Extended lines for ROM 
BEN Bank Switching Enable
buzz Buzzer (the second line of the buzzer is grounded) 
CDT1-CDT2 Card Detect Type for port 1-2 (H:RAM L:ROM X:No Card) 
CE1 Card Enable 1 (In GX, is used to enable A17-A21 for port 2) 
CE2 Card Enable 2 (In GX, is used as CE for port 1) 
CE2.2 Card Enable port 2 (Not from CPU; CE2.2=BEN*N(AR18) ) 
ChkBat Probes the boost-switching power supply
D0-D7 Data lines 
DrvBat Drives the MOSFET of the boost-switching power supply
GND Ground 
LD(0) Display: The first bit of display information 
LD(1) Display: The next bit LP: Display horiz sync (Fall. edge: a new line is about to be started) 
NC Not Connected
NCE0 Card RAM Enable 
NCER ?Card ROM Enable 
NOE Original Output Enable (Not used in G/GX) 
NOE2 Output Enable for all RAMs and ROM (Not from CPU; NOE2=N(NWE) )
NWE Write Enable for all RAMs 
ON-key ON-key is wired directly to CPU 
RX RS232 Reception 
RXir IR Reception 
SPD Processor Speed (H:4MHz L:2.4MHz) 
sync1 ?Display sync line (between both drivers) 
sync2 ?Display sync line (between both drivers) 
sync3 ?Display sync line (between both drivers and the CPU)
sync4 ?Display sync line (between both drivers and the CPU) 
sync5 ?Display sync line (between both drivers and the CPU) 
TX RS232 Transmission 
TXir IR Transmission 
V1-V299 Display data lines for the LCD 
Vbat Directly wired from battery + pin 
Vbb1-Vbb2 Card battery check (L:warning low bat port 1-2) 
Vco =5V if HP is turned on else =0V 
Vdd =5V if HP is turned on else =4.5V(bat) 
Vh =10V if HP is turned on else =4.5V(bat)
XSCL Display clock (Falling edge: 2 bits of display data may be read) 
Xtal1 To X'tal 32kHz 
Xtal2 To X'tal 32kHz 
(GND) Ground (pin out of the RS232 I/O)
(RX) Reception (pin out of the RS232 I/O)
(SH) Shield (pin out of the RS232 I/O)
(TX) Transmission (pin out of the RS232 I/O)
4. 74HC174: Hex D-type flip-flop with clear ( Only on GX )
 
Ext. Pin Int.
74HC174
upside down
Int.
Pin
Ext.
CE1 9 CLK
GND
8
BEN 10 4Q
3Q
7
A5 11 4D
3D
6
A21 12 5Q
2Q
5
A4 13 5D
2D
4
A3 14 6D
1D
3
A20 15 6Q
1Q
2
Vco 16 Vdd
NCLR
1
Vdd 3V is just made by a voltage divider: GND --- 100k --- Vdd 3V --- 47k --- Vco
 
NCLR
CLK
D
Q
L
X
X
L
H
^
H
H
H
^
L
L
H
L
X
Q0
5. 74HC00: Quad 2-input NAND gate ( Only on GX )
 
Ext. Pin Int. 74HC00
Int.
Pin
Ext.
Vco 1 1A
Vdd
14
AR18 2 1B
4B
13
4(HC00) 3 1Y
4A
12
3(HC00) 4 2A
4Y
11
BEN 5 2B
3B
10
10(HC00) 6 2Y
3A
9
GND 7 GND
3Y
8
Logic: Y=N(A*B)

Results: CE2.2=BEN*N(AR18) and NOE2=N(NWE)

6. RAM 32k(G) or 128k(GX) ROM 512k
 
Ext. Pin 
128/32
Int.
RAM 32/128
upside down
Int.
Pin
32/128
Ext.
D3 17/15 D3
GND
14/16
DIV ALIGN=right> 

GND

D4 18/16 D4
D2
13/15
D5 19/17 D5
D1
12/14
D6 20/18 D6
D0
11/13
D7 21/19 D7
A0
10/12
NCE0 22/20 NCE
A1
9/11
A10 23/21 A10
A2
8/10
GND 24/22 NOE
A3
7/9
A11 25/23 A11
A4
6/8
A9 26/24 A9
A5
5/7
A8 27/25 A8
A6
4/6
A13 28/26 A13
A7
3/5
NWE 29/27 NWE
A12
2/4
Vdd 30/28 CE/Vdd
A14
1/3
32 stops here
A15 31/* A15
A16
*/2
Vdd 32/* Vdd
NC
*/1



 
Ext. Pin Int. ROM 512k 
upside down
Int. Pin Ext.
D3 17
16
GND
D4 18
15
D2
D5 19
14
D1
D6 20
13
D0
D7 21
12
A0
NCER 22
11
A1
A10 23
10
A2
GND 24
9
A3
A11 25
8
A4
A9 26
7
A5
A8 27
6
A6
A13 28
5
A7
A14 29
4
A12
AR17 30
3
A15
AR18 31
2
A16
Vco 32
1
GND
7. Ports ( Only on GX )

Two 40-pin card connectors for plug-in cards :
For ease of expanding the HP48's capabilities, dual 40-pin connectors are installed on the logic board.
These connectors will accept credit-card-size plug-in RAM or ROM cards.
Each connector has its own chip select line but all address and data lines are common to the internal ICs.
The 1LT8 tests the connectors to determine if a card is present and if it is write protected.
It does this by checking the card's write protect output. If the write protect signal is high, a card is plugged in and can be written to (RAM).
If the output is low, a card is present and is write protected (RAM or ROM).
If the line is floating, no card is present.
RAM cards have their own lithium keep-alive batteries.
When the HP48 goes into deep sleep, the power supply to the cards (Vco supply) is turned off.
When the supply drops to between 3.9 and 3.5V, the RAM switches to its internal battery.
The lithium voltage is sampled by the 1LT8, and when it drops to between 2.5 and 2.2V, a low-battery annunciator is turned on.
 
Pin Port 1 Port 2
1 Vco Vco
2 Vbb1 Vbb2
3-19 A0-A16 A0-A16
20 NWE NWE
21 CE2 CE2.2
22 NOE2 NOE2
23-30 D0-D7 D0-D7
31 AR17 A17
32 AR18 A18
33 XSCL A19
34 LP A20
35 LD(0) A21
36 LD(1) BEN
37 CDT1 CDT2
38 NC NC
39 NC NC
40 GND GND
In Seiko-Epson Cards: pin 38: Card Present, pin 39: Card Type

8. Drivers for LCD

Column drivers
Refs: SED1181Fla Japan
The 64-row-by-131-column STN LCD is driven by two commercial column drivers, each driving 64 columns, and the 1LT8 which drives 64 rows, 3 columns and 7 annunciator lines.
The column drivers receive their data, timing and control signals, and voltage levels from the 1LT8.
One of the problem with the commercial column drivers is that they require a negative voltage.
To overcome this, their + V line are connected to Vh (~10V) supply, their GND to Vdd (~5V) and their negative supply to GND.
This requires all data and control signals received from the 1LT8 to swing from 4.4V to 8.5V.
Display data is stored in system RAM, and the 1LT8 display controller interrupts the CPU for 22 to 23µs every 244µs (SX) to access it.
As display data is received, it is serially shifted to the column drivers.
When the column drivers have received 128 bits of data, they store it and output it to the display synchronously with a row driver output from the 1LT8.
 
Left 
(reversed)
Right
1-28 V254-V281 V222-V249
29 sync2 NC
30 NC NC
31 NC NC
32 LD(0) sync1
33 LD(1) sync2
34 XSCL XSCL
35 LP LP
36 sync3 sync3
37 V87 V52
38 V86 V51
39 V85 V50
40 V83 V49
41-50 V82-V73 V47-V38
51 V71 V37
52 V70 V36
53-62 V69-V60 V34-V25
63 V58 V24
64-68 V57-V53 V22-V18
69 sync4 sync4
70 sync5 sync5
71 sync5 sync5
72 Vdd Vdd
73 Vh Vh
74 sync1 NC
75 NC NC
76 NC NC
77-80 V250-V253 V218-V221
9. Keyboard

Mylar domed keyboard with carbon graphite traces
Refs: MXS 00048-80038
! on the other side of the PCB, so X'tal is on the left
17 pads:
 
1 Vdd 7 A3 13 A1
2 ON-key 8 A11 14 A15
3 A5 9 A12 15 A16
4 A4 10 A2 16 A0
5 A10 11 A13 17 AR17
6 A9 12 A14
Pressing a key makes a shortcut between 2 lines.
The 49-key keyboard is scanned by the Yorke chip via multiplexed RAM and ROM address lines.
Address lines A9 to AR17 scan the keyboard while A0 to A5 are inputs to the Yorke.
The keyboard is read asynchronously every millisecond when the CPU drives its output register lines, A9 to AR17, all high and reads its input register lines, A0 to A5.
When a key is pressed, contact is made between an input register line and an output register line, putting a high level on the input register line.
This high level generates an interrupt, causing software to scan the keyboard to determine which key is pressed.
The ON key is not scanned but is wired to Vdd.
This allows the system to be turned on while in deep sleep.
The ON key is the only key capable of generating an interrupt and waking the system up.
All key lines are isolated from the main system address lines by built-in 4-kohms carbon graphite resistors.
 

Correspondence Table:
 
A B C D E F
O A10 
I A4
O AR17 
I A4
O AR17 
I A3
O AR17 
I A2
O AR17 
I A1
O AR17 
I A0
MTH PRG CST VAR up NXT
O A11 
I A4
O A16 
I A4
O A16 
I A3
O A16 
I A2
O A16 
I A1
O A16 
I A0
' STO EVAL left down right
O A9 
I A4
O A15 
I A4
O A15 
I A3
O A15 
I A2
O A15 
I A1
O A15 
I A0
SIN COS TAN sqrt Y^X 1/X
O A12 
I A4
O A14 
I A4
O A14 
I A3
O A14 
I A2
O A14 
I A1
O A14 
I A0
ENTER +/- EEX DEL back
O A13 
I A4
O A13 
I A3
O A13 
I A2
O A13 
I A1
O A13 
I A0
alpha 7 8 9 /
O A12 
I A4
O A12 
I A3
O A12 
I A2
O A12 
I A1
O A12 
I A0
shift left 4 5 6 *
O A11 
I A5
O A11 
I A3
O A11 
I A2
O A11 
I A1
O A11 
I A0
shift right 1 2 3 -
O A10 
I A5
O A10 
I A3
O A10 
I A2
O A10 
I A1
O A10 
I A0
ON 0 . SPC +
O Vdd 
I ON-key
O A9 
I A3
O A9 
I A2
O A9 
I A1
O A9 
I A0
ML Correspondences:
 
OUT:  #001 A9
#002 A10
#004 A11
#008 A12
#010 A13
#020 A14
#040 A15
#080 A16
#100 AR17
IN: #0001 A0
#0002 A1
#0004 A2
#0008 A3
#0010 A4
#0020 A5
#8000 ON-key
10. LCD Display

Refs: LD-F8845A-23 363D Epson Japan
! on the other side of the PCB, so X'tal is on the left
202 pads:
 
up: 1-105 V1-V105
down:  201 V201
202 NC
203-297 V203-V297
298 NC
299 V299
11. Yorke Chip

Refs: 00048-80063 D3004GD NEC Japan
The SX one is also know as the 1LT8
Contains the CPU, an LCD driver controller, a memory controller, and a UART for RS-232 and IR I/O control.
 
 
1 NC 90 NWE 137 LD(0)
2 NC 91 RESET 
(if low)
138 LD(1)
3 TXir 92-99 D0-D7 139 V88
4-18 V217-V203 100 AR17 140 V282
19 V201 101-117 A16-A0 141 V89
20-35 V16-V1 118 Xtal2 142 NC
36 NC 119 Xtal1 143 sync5
37 SPD 120 NC 144 sync4
38 NC 121 NOE 145 Vbat
39 V84 122 TXir 146 Vbb2
40 V72 123 GND 147 Vbb1
41-56 V90-V105 124 ChkBat 148 Xtal1
57 V299 125 Vdd 149 Xtal2
58-72 V297-V283 126 Vco 150 CDT1
73-80 NC 127 NCER 151 CDT2
81 RX 128 DrvBat 152 V17
82 TX 129 -1.5k-buzz 153 V23
83 XSCL 130 Vh 154 V35
84 ChkBat 131 TX 155 V48
85 AR18 132 GND 156 V59
86 ON-Key 133 RX 157 V72
87 CE2 134 XSCL 158 V84
88 CE1 135 LP 159 GND
89 NCE0 136 sync3 160 RXir
12. Printed Circuit Board

Refs: 00048-80050
The printed circuit board measures 5.1 inches by 2.75 inches (13 * 7 cm) for the SX
and 5.25 inches by 3 inches (13.3 * 7.6 cm) for the GX
For production testing, main logic boards traces have dual test points.
These test points are probed by a special test block that is connected to an HP 3065 test system.
The HP 3065 tests all discrete components and ICs before the unit goes to final assembly.(SX)

Some tracks are interlaced to allow to solder a bridge on it.
These jumpers exist to allow to construct easily a SX with this PCB.
 
Left one : CE1<->CE2.2 
Right one : NOE<->NOE2 
Middle one : SPD<->Vdd CPU at 4MHz (soldered originally) 
Upper one : SPD<->GND CPU at 2.4MHz
! Never solder these two last ones at the same time.

13. IR Reception

Q1,Q2,Q3: 2N3904
Q4: Receiver
Refs: EG&G VATEC VTT 9112

14.1 IR Transmission for the G/GX

14.2 IR Transmission for the S/SX

Rem: schema picked up from HP I/O Technical Interfacing Guide

15. RS232 Description

Four-pin RS-232 connector:

 



16. Power Supply

The system is powered by three AAA batteries and has three power supplies, which are controlled by the Yorke chip.
The Vh(~10V) supply is used for the LCD display and RS-232 voltage swings.
The Vdd(~5V) is the main logic supply.
The Vco(~5V) supply is derived from the Vdd supply and is used to power the ROM and plug-in cards mainly.
The power supply requires only two discrete diodes, an inductor, an n-channel power MOSFET, and three filter capacitors.
This is a boost-switching power supply in which the Yorke chip controls the current in an inductor, which is connected to the batteries, via the MOSFET.
When one of the supplies (Vh or Vdd) is low, the Yorke pulses the MOSFET at a 122.84kHz (for SX) rate, increasing the inductor current.
The current from the inductor is then dumped through one of the diodes, charging its filter capacitor.
If both supplies are low the Yorke switches the charge between them at a 30.72-kHz rate.
To conserve battery life, the power supplies (and the product) have three modes of operation:

The1LT8 chip also monitors the battery voltage.
When the voltage falls to between 3.4 and 3.0 volts, the low-battery annunciator is turned on.
If the batteries are not changed and the battery voltage falls below 1.5 volts, the system turns off.
A 1000-µF capacitor maintains the Vdd supply for several minutes while the batteries are being changed.
 

Warning!
The schematic is partially wrong! please wait for the right one.
x4 and the base must be switched
x3 is ChkBat and x4 is DrvBat and the voltage lines have their name changed
the zener is not omitted on recent PCBs but simply physically moved in another place! (5.6V)
the self is 1.2mH
the transistor is a MOSFET

17. Backup Power Supply

18.1

When a current larger than ~120mA flows through the CPU, all the indicators will be set independently of the HP state.

19. Contacting the author

Philippe TEUWEN Belgium Philippe.Teuwen@student.ulg.ac.be

20. Contributors

Elbert S. Liu : he made good looking schematics GIF for the IR part
Matthew Mastracci : he helped me for some language mistakes
Christian Daniel : He corrected a missed part in the RS232 circuitry and gave me wonderful docs
from HP about the SX.


Philippe Teuwen

E-MAIL: Philippe.Teuwen@student.ulg.ac.be
URL: http://freezone.exmachina.net/doegox/Default.html