froncio@caip.rutgers.edu (FRONCIO) (12/15/88)
Hi out there! I know alot of you out there are gonna get mad when you read this but here goes: I and a few people I know have HP-25 calculators (one of, if not THE, finest calculator ever made!) that still fulfill all of our requirements of a good, usable calculator. The problem is the darned battery pack/power supply/whatever-handles-getting- juice-to-the-chips part of it. It seems that no matter how many times we replace the battery pack, the calculator returns to its old state (can't hold a charge, flickers, etc...) within a couple of weeks. Questions: 1) What's wrong? (Obviously seems to be a flaw in an otherwise perfect product...) 2) Does HP still fix them? 3) If so, how much might it cost? If any of you out there know the answers to these questions, we'd sure like to hear from you! advTHANKSance, Andy Froncioni (froncio@caip.rutgers.edu)
garyg@hpcuhb.HP.COM (Gary Gitzen) (12/28/88)
Re the HP 25/25C/29C (My personal love is my 29C), they have a few easy to correct areas. I've fixed power packs with broken output wires (they break at the exit from the charger) and fractured solder joints. Takes patience and a soldering iron. Heat shrink helps too. Display flickering is another problem. Take that critter apart and fix it. Remove 2 phillips (really size #0 pozi, I think) under the rubber feet. Yeah, the feet pull right out. Remove the battery pack, and carefully separate the case halves. Pull the boards apart and *very carefully* spread the brass finger connectors. Replace the boards (again carefully, so as to not bend the connectors) and reassemble. Guaranteed to last until you drop it again. :-) BTW, if the keyboard is sticky for some reason (mine was maple syrup, don't ask how) run the keyboard through the dishwasher. Dry it in front of the furnace heat duct. And of course everyone is aware that this in no way is an official or unofficial statement or recommendation from Hewlett-Packard Co.; merely the ramblings of a satisfied customer and employee. Regards, Gary Gitzen