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From: djf@merit.edu (David J. Fred)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: Melting 48 Display
Summary: DANGER (maybe), Will Robinson
Message-ID: <1990Oct15.045443.11891@terminator.cc.umich.edu>
Date: 15 Oct 90 04:54:43 GMT
References: <9095@helios.TAMU.EDU>
Sender: usenet@terminator.cc.umich.edu (usenet news)
Reply-To: djf@merit.edu (David J. Fred)
Organization: U of Michigan, Merit Network
Lines: 35

In article <9095@helios.TAMU.EDU> n233dk@tamuts.tamu.edu (Rick Grevelle) writes:
>
>I was hoping someone, perhaps at HP, could tell me what in the world happens
>to the display when the following key strokes are executed?  It looks quite
>disturbing, but seems to have no ill consequences; I've always believed that
>in order to destroy my calculator, it would have to be done in ways that are
>not readily available through user keys.
[ . . . ]
>ii)  Go to address #00100: [ENTER]
>
[ . . . ]

I don't know whether I'd call use of a, more or less, undocumented hex
editor "readily available through user keys" ;-) But I know what you
mean.  After using bigger computers for quite a while now, it's nice
to have such control of an environment, though it is potentially
dangerous...

As I remember, from a c.s.h posting of a couple months ago, there are
several LCD hardware control registers at, or around, #00100.
According to this article there were some values for these registers
that could theoretically damage the display.  (something about DC
bias, or a test mode?)

Therefore, until someone "in the know" says it's harmless; it seems it
*might* not be a great thing to grab the calculator and try... 

--
David J. Fred / djf@merit.edu
Merit/NSFNET Network Operations Center
"Do warnings need disclaimers?"
--
--
  David J. Fred     Merit/NSFNET Network Operations Center
  djf@merit.edu     University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI