HP Forums

my card reader just died.... It made traces on the card and it finally stopped working.. I know this is a classic failure but I wonder if any of you knows how to fix this? Thanks in advance, thib

Check out the Steve Loboyko document on the repairs page of this site.

If "traces" are a kind of gooey film left on the cards, then you've got a deteriorated pinch roller. I fixed this myself a month ago. Go into the HP Forum archive and follow the "thread" of Wayne Brown's post of 10 April 1999 and Steve Borowsky's post of 17 April 1999. They had excellent instructions on how to get into the card reader and make a new roller. I used Steve's method of using two O-rings. I think that material is more robust and can be found at any good hardware store. Cheaper, too, than buying a few feet of model airplane hose.

I seem to remember there was a guy advertising card reader repair services in the museum classifieds recently.

Thanks to everybody! I found all the instructions and fixed my card reader! I took some surgical tubing of the appropriate diameter and replaced the old junk. Basically, I found this fairly easy. I only had to difficulties : remove the little pin that holds the wheel without breaking it (it's kinda tough...) and put back the hole case and especially the springs that maintain the reader on the calculator. Otherwise I would say it's not difficult. Thanks to all of you anyway! Thib.