From: crath@bnr.ca (Christopher Rath)
Subject: Re: HP110 Laptop
Organization: Bell Northern Research, Ottawa, Canada
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 16:42:27 GMT

In article <92365.225241IO10677@MAINE.MAINE.EDU> IO10677@MAINE.MAINE.EDU (Douglas M. Howell) writes:

>   I'm seeking advise.  I recieved a HP110 laptop (circa 1985) for
> X-mas.  It has Memomaker, Lotus 123, and a terminal program on it's
> read-only memory disk.  It runs MS-DOS v2.11.
>   Is this compatible with an IBM-XT and if so can anyone direct me
> to a software archive.  At the moment I have only the computer
> itself, there is no disk drive, but there is an internal modem so I
> can download.

No it is not XT compatible.  It is MS-DOS compatible, however very few
programs restricted themselves to being merely MS-DOS programs.  Older
versions of Turbo Pascal, and some other MS-DOS software ran; HP also
sold some other software for it.

>   How much should I expect to have to pay for a new or used disk
> drive for the HP110?  Will only HP drives work with my machine or
> can I shoot for a 3rd party compatible drive (at a lower cost
> hopefully).

I don't know how much you can expect to pay for a used drive.  You
should be aware that disk drives were connected to the HP110 using the
HP-IL connectors on the back of the machine.  The least costly
solution to disk drives when the machine was current was to purchase
an HP-IL Card for your PC, and then utilize the floppy drive(s) of the
PC.  That PC Card was about $100US new.

>   Lastly, is there a way to boost the internal memory (RAM) ?  The
> machine has 265k; of that 97k is used for the read-only programs.

It has been too many years.  I don't remember if the memory was
upgradable, or not.  HP very quickly released a successor to the HP110
called the HP Portable Plus; my memories of the HP110 are clouded by
its successor.

> Hard drives are usually rather expensive and and at the moment I'm
> not sure the investment would be worth the cost. (seeing how old the
> machine is).
>
>   Ps. Can any one give me a ballpark figure of how much a machine
> such as this is worth?  Would be good to know, before I start
> investing time and money, whether this is a white elephant or
> treasure.

I can't determine for you if it's a white elephant.  It all depends
what you want to do with it.  It's not a bad portable HP terminal, and
if you need a portable machine to do email away from home it probably
would do an admirable job.

>   Doug Howell             | (Inter)Bitnet: Io10677@Maine(.maine.edu)
>   University of Maine     | "Science is nothing but trained and organized
>   Psychology, Technology  | common sense."  - Thomas Henry Huxley

There was, a couple of years ago anyway, very good third party support
for the HP110 and the HP Portable Plus.  I moved recently and I can't
find the company's catalogue, or even their name.  "The portable
connection" comes to mind, but I don't think that's correct.  I'm sure
someone else will fill in the picture.

BTW, you can extend battery life by turning off the serial port when
the port is not in use.  There is a configuration screen somewhere...:)

Best of luck,
Christopher
--
 Christopher Rath   | crath@bnr.ca
 BNR Lab 5          |
 Ottawa, ON, Canada | "Hydrogen is a colourless, odourless gas which, given 
 (613) 765-3141     | enough time, turns into people." -- Henry Hiebert
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp