FX-602P Page

I love this color!!

What's New (YYYY/MM/DD)

2013/01/03

New (helpful?) hints for Quiz are added.

2008/03/21

*Big News* New links, including FX-602P Simulator project are added. Thanks, Martin!

Index

• FAQ
• Quiz
• Programming Tips (under translation)
• Program Library (under translation)
• Wave Files Handling (under translation)
• Let's Play Music! (under translation)
• Links
• History
• Guestbook

FX-602P FAQ

What is FX-602P?

It is a programmable calculator made by CASIO Corp. It was released in March, 1981 and had been sold until (at least) 1989. The list price in Japan was 29,500 yen. (See below & informations in other countries are welcome.)
Although it has passed more than 10 years since its end of sales, there are still a lot of freaks of this calculator in Japan (including myself). ;-)

Price Record (FX-602P)

Year	Country	Price	Source
Aug-Sep, 1984	France	690-700 FF (french francs)	Y. Gour
1984	Germany	199 DM (tax incl.)	Dusan
1981-89	Japan	29,500 JPY (list price)	CASIO Catalogue
1982-83?	Japan	19,800 JPY? (shop price)	my memory :-)

What can it do?

It has a lot of functions so you may hardly believe it was created 20 years ago. :-) I remember its catalog which claimed (in Japanese) it is 'a programmable calculator of new generations.' :-) :-) :-)

Followings is a brief list of functions of FX-602P

• alphabet-display in both upper and lower cases.
• 50 mathematical functions and 22 variables (88 variables max.)
• 512 steps (wow!) programming area
• password protection
• save/load programs and variables with a cassette interface (*1)
• playing music! (*1)

(*1) You need a cassette interface option FA-1 or FA-2.

What kind of programming system does it have?

Although most other calculators made by CASIO uses BASIC (these calculators are actually called pocket computers), the programming system of FX-602P series is different. Its programming system is much similar to an assmbler. So, especially for those who are familiar with an assembler, it is not hard to understand. You will learn more details in a quick command reference shown below.

Do you have a quick command reference?

Partly. Here it is.

Quick Command Reference (functions excluded)

Command	Meaning
Minxx	Put a current value (=x register) to variable xx (xx=00 to 19, F, 1F)
MRxx	Refer variable xx (Put variable xx to x register)
M+xx	Add x to variable xx
M-xx	Subtract x from variable xx
X<-->Mxx	Exchange x with variable xx
x=0	if x is zero, go to the next command as usual. Otherwise, skip the next command
x>=0	if x is equal to or greater than zero, go to the next command as usual. Otherwise, skip the next command
x=F	if x is equial to variable F, go to the next command as usual. Otherwise, skip the next command.
x>=F	if x is equal to or greater than the variable F, go to the next command as usual. Otherwise, skip the next command
GOTOx	jump to label x(x=0 to 9)
LBLx	label for GOTO command
GOSUBPx	Call a subroutine program Px(x=0 to 9) and come back when it is finished
HLT	Stop and wait until EXE key is pushed
PAUSE	Pause for around 1 sec.
"..."	display "..." (This command is called an ALPHA sentence.) You may refer x by #, variable xx by ARxx (xx=00 to 19, F, 1F)
ISZ	Increment the variable 00 (MR00) and if it is equal to zero, skip the next command. Note: This command is useful for loop control.
DSZ	Decrement the variable 00 (MR00) and if it is equal to zero, skip the next command. Note: This command is useful for loop control.
IND MRxx	Indirect reference. Refer variable of variable of xx. For example, if MR00 is 3 and MR03 is 5, IND MR00 is 5. (Do you understand?)
IND GOTOx	Indirect jump. Jump to label of variable x(x=00 to 09). For example, if MR00 is 3, IND GOTO0 means "jump to LBL3."
IND GOSUB(0)	Indirect subroutine call. Call a subroutine of variable 00 (fixed). For example, if MR00 is 3, IND GOSUB(0) means "GOSUBP3."

Do you have a manual?

Ask Google.

Are there any brother machines?

FX-602P (601P) is based on its brothers FX-501P and FX-502P. FX-50xP has 7-segmented displays and can't show alphabets. It has only 128 ot 256 steps for programming. As a whole, FX-50xP is similar to FX-602P.

FX-601P is a cheaper version of FX-602P. The difference between 601P and 602P is that FX-601P has only 128 programming steps and 11 variables.

FX-702P is quite different. Its programming language is (simplified) BASIC, though both FX-702P and 602P can use the same cassette interfece FA-1 and FA-2.

FX-603Pis an upper version of FX-602P released in 1990. Its list price (19,800 yen) is even cheaper than FX-602P. :-) It has 6144 steps and 110 variables (Monster!), and two-line alphabetical displays. However, it is much bigger than FX-602P and its interface is not compatible with FX-602P. It needs FA-6S for cassette/PC interface. Some people still prefer FX-602P for its small size and well-balanced functions. In other words, they (or I should say 'we') love FX-602P. :-)

How can I get one?

It seems almost impossible to get FX-602P now. If you are really, really lucky, you may find one in some auction sites. I recommend to try FX-603P instead, which is also a nice calculator and can be still obtained from CASIO (I think). However, FX-603P is no longer on CASIO's home page, too. So it will be getting hard to obtain one in the future.

Are there any options?

As far as I know, FA-1/FA-2 (cassette interface) and FP-10 (printer) were only options for FX-602P.
For FX-603P, FA-6S(cassette/PC interface) and FP-40? (printer) are available. FA-6 is a former version of FA-6S and is not VCCI compatible.

Can I change screen contrast?

For FX-603P, you can do it with a contrast adjustment dial on the side. However, it seems impossible to change screen contrast of FX-602P easily. According to this page, you may have to adjust an internal potentiometer. If you know a key combination to change screen constrast of FX-602P, please let me know.

Quiz

Programming Tips

Equal or lesser

You can use the build-in commands x>=0 or x>=F to check "equal or greater." If you need to check "equal or lesser", try following combinations: "x>=0 x=0" or "x>=F x=F"

If not ...

Let's say you want to make a program which jumps to label 2 if register x is NOT equal to MRF. The following program, "x=F GOTO1 GOTO2 LBL1", works just fine, but there is a better answer. With the following program "x=F x=0 GOTO2", you don't waste a label and can save a step. In this case, x=0 works as a 'short jump command.' Please note that this technique can not be applied if MRF is 0.

If A and B

When you want to check both MR01 and MR02 are equal or greater than zero, the following 4-step program works for you. "MR01 x>=0 MR02 x>=0" Similarly, if you want to check whether both MR01 and MR02 are zero, your program will be like this: "MR01 x=0 MR02 x=0"

[Advanced tips] Basically, the first condition and the second condition must be the same. But if the first condition involve the second one, then you may use this tip. For example, consider the following program. "MR01 x>=0 MR02 x=0"

If A or B

This is similar to the above tip, but this time you would like to check if either MR01 or MR02 are zero. The above program should be slightly changed as "MR01 x=0 x=F MR02 x=0". MRF is arbitrary number but must not be zero. You may notice x=F in the above example is a 'short jump command' shown in the 'If not ...' tip. Please check the above 5-step program really works as expected.

[Advanced tips] If the second condition involve the first condition, this tip can be applied. For example, "MR01 x=0 x=F MR02 x>=0" means 'If MR01 is equal to zero OR MR02 is equal or greater than zero, then ...'

Range Check (0 <= x <= MRF or 0 <= x < MRF)

These 3-step commands are useful for range checking: "x>=0 x>=F x=F" and "x>=0 x>=F x=0". The first one is to check 0 <= x <= MRF and the second one for 0 <= x < MRF. Please check by yourself why they work.

Hidden characters

Please check this image. :-)
Some hidden characters shown by a normal ALPHA command.

MP3'ed programs are here: Program1, Program2 (Right click to save files)

Quick way to load these programs into your FX-602P with FA-1: Enter Mode 3 INV LOAD P0(or any) EXE. Then start the MP3 file.

Program Library

Program Source:

• for FX-602P (in FX-603P ASCII format), (in wav2bin text format) (510 steps)
• for FX-603P (in FX-603P ASCII format) (530 steps)

Game Rules:

• Each player has 8 tiles randomly numbered from 1 to 9.
• A finishing hand must have 3 sets of Shuntsu (ex. 123) or Kotsu (ex. 555).
• A player draws one tile and then discard one in his turn. Then the other player does the same.
• A player can claim a finishing hand in his turn (Tsumo) or in the other player's turn using the discarded tile (Ron). Press EXE for Tsumo or 0 for Ron.
• The finished hand is evaluated according to its base and bonus.
• There are unlimited numbers of tiles, turns and games. ;-) Your average per game is shown.

Scores:

FX-602P Links