Can anyone spare a small piece of tubing (known to work) for repairing a HP-65 cardreader? I only need about one inch. I will be happy to pay for any costs involved in advance. Just e-mail me.
A certain member of this forum promised to send me and another member some tubing, a few months ago, but it never happened. He not even replies to e-mails. I also can't find suitable tubing in the shops so I am quite desperate.
Thank you very much for your help!

Why don't you just buy some O-rings from one of the sellers on eBay that ship internationally. That's all I use and they work very well.

O-rings in USA

O-rings in Czech Republic

Edited: 21 Oct 2012, 5:41 p.m.

I would be happy to send you some tubing. I have vinyl as well as rubber. I will send you some of both.

Not a problem.

I have repaired a HP-65 with O-rings. It works, but I think tubing is probably a better way to restore it, providing I've got the correct type and size. I have another HP-65 that needs fixing so I want to use tubing for that one. Tubing is also more in line with the original construction.

HI.

I tried to use tubbing but I definitely moved to o-rings - a pair for each reader gear. In my case, probably because of a bad choice, tubes were never regular and readers failed reading existing cards, neither could read their own recorded cards. I noticed a fluctuation in the sound of the motor and I decided to adjust the pulling gear shaft. That's when I noticed that the tubes did not have a regular thickness: either the card would briefly stop a few times while pulling - thus the malfunction message - with low pressure, or it would vary the motor pitch and speed with higher pressure, giving then a card error message.

This never occurred with o-rings.

My experience, though.

Cheers.

Luiz (Brazil)

I concur Luiz,

I've tried tube but have had much better success with orings.

Adam

Hi Kees, I have repaired 67's and 41's with o-rings and I think it's a good solution; almost my friends repair such a reader with o-rings without any problem.
Being in line with the original not always means (up to me) to get the best, at all..........and these readers, wonderful machines, had their Achilles heel in .....the gummy wheel!

Edited: 27 Oct 2012, 12:24 p.m.

I think it is very important to have the right tubing, for it to be a succes. The correct diameters inside and out, even thickness all round, and the right material. It is probably easier to find O-rings that work, than it is to find tubing that works. Still, I want to try tubing on the HP-65 I am working on. One other thing. How about the lifetime of these new materials. Is silicone more stable than rubber? Will modern rubber (or silicone) also turn into goo after 30 years?