HP48 SX/GX card port pinouts

by Joel Kolstad

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Pins are numbered 1 to 40, going from RIGHT to LEFT as you look at the
CONTACTS on a plug in card with the card oriented such that the
contacts are on "TOP" of the card, like this:

____________________________
Pin 40 -> /****************************\ (Back of card --
| Top of card ^^^^^^^^ | contacts visible)
| |

So then... a card inserted into an upright HP-48 has its contacts

facing the sky and pin 1 on the left hand side of the calculator.

Here are the pin functions:

1 -- Vdd (Power to the card)

2 -- Vbb (Low battery... if the card pulls this low, the 48 will
complain about a low battery in the card)
3 -- MA[0] (Memory address from the 48 to the card, LSB)
4..19 -- MA[1]..MA[16] (More memory addresses)
20 -- *WE (When low, the card is being written to)
21 -- CE (Note that conventional RAM chips often use *CE)
22 -- *OE (When low, the card is being read)
23 -- MD[0] (Data line, LSB)
24..30 -- MD[1]..MD[7] (More data lines)
31 -- Not used (SX, GX port 1)
-- MA[17] (GX port 2)
32 -- Not used (SX, GX port 1)
-- MA[18] (GX port 2)
33 -- XSCL (LCD data clock, LD[0..1] are valid on the falling edge)
(SX, GX port 1)
-- MA[19] (GX port 2)
34 -- LP (Horizontal sync of LCD display upon falling edge) (SX, GX
port 1)
-- MA[20] (GX port 2)
35 -- LD[0] (Even column LCD data) (SX, GX port 1)
-- MA[21] (GX port 2)
36 -- LD[1] (Odd column LCD data) (SX, GX port 1)
-- Not used (GX port 2)
37 -- CDT (Low is a ROM card, high is a RAM card)
38..39 -- Not connected
40 -- Ground

Note that the "ground" on the serial port isn't the same as pin 40's
ground. In fact, ground on the serial port is really... Vdd!
Connecting the two together will most assuredly damage your
calculator.

Have fun, and remember that you get to use this information at your
own risk.

---Joel Kolstad
kolstad@lagally.engr.wisc.edu