Stephanie's HP 200LX Pages

Specifications

Details

When closed, the 200LX is about the size of a wallet. It fits nicely into a purse, briefcase, or even a large portfolio. It is a tad long for a shirt pocket, and you really wouldn't want to carry it about with you in a pant-pocket -- or if you do, don't sit down!

Running for about 30 hours (non-stop) on a pair of AA batteries, I find I get a month out of it before I get low-battery warnings. If you do get caught-short though, there is a memory back-up battery, a CR-2032 Lithium coin cell, which will keep your memory going for days, or even weeks, without loss. Of course, it's always a good idea to replace or recharge the batteries as soon as they are low.

HP reccommends that you change the CR2032 backup battery every year, although some people have gone for several years with the same one. It probably makes a difference though, how fast you change / recharge your main cells when they are low.

The HP 200LX will accept Alkeline, NiMH, or NiCD batteries. If using either of the two rechargable kinds, it can even charge the batteries itself if you are using the 6VDC adaptor.

On the left-hand side of the 200LX, there is a normal PCMCIA slot, which can accept normal cards designed for that format. I am pretty sure it is a 16-bit slot, but it is limited to a maximum of 150 mA of current. This means that a lot of cards out there are not going to work, such as network or wireless cards. The other limitation on card use, is software. The 200LX is a DOS device, so for a given card, you need DOS drivers. Again, this rules out many current cards.

There are of course a lot of cards which do work just fine. Flash memory cards work just fine. (Not the Newton-compatible ones, the other / modern kind.) SRAM cards also work fine. Some modem cards work, and a few network cards work. Compact-Flash memory cards work, with the appropriate adaptor. I've used both CF and full-sized Flash cards without any trouble. I've never used a modem or network card with my 200LX, as those are functions I do not require of a PDA.

The 200LX has all its I/O ports on the right-hand size of the case. Towards the back, is the D/C power jack. This jack has it's polarity reversed compared to most typical generic adaptors, so it is important to use only the correct HP power adaptor, or ensure that whatever adaptor you use, has its polarity set correctly. Otherwise you risk damaging the 200LX's motherboard. Units damaged this way will typically function on battery power but the DC port is fried (unless later repaired.)

Next to the DC jack is the Serial Port. Although this port is electrically equivalent to a 9-pin RS-232 D-Sub connector, it is physically different and smaller. It is a 10-pin port, arranged in two rows of five pins. The pins follow a standard 1/10 inch spacing. The 10th pin is the 'chassis ground' which takes the role of the shield, in a traditional RS-232 connector.

Nearest the front of the unit is a dark red plastic 'window' which hides the I/R port and the memory backup-battery slot. The I/R port is not, unfortunately, IrDA compatible. The 200LX was designed and built prior to the IrDA standard. Instead, the 200LX uses a somewhat proprietary, obsoleted HP IR protocol.