Any ideas on fabricating a new clutch (between the motor shaft and the worm) on card readers? This is a 97 but the 41 looks the same. Steve Loboyko's article mentions this but only if there is some of the original nylon insert left. I've had partial success with shrink wrap tubing but it still slips a bit. Is there *really* a problem with making a solid connection here? Maybe use a fuse? Please reply with email also if have a fix. Thanks.

John, I posted an idea for replacement pieces before. I'm assuming HP used standard items - gears, shafts, wheels - for all its designs. If that's true then you could simply purchase new pieces to replace the old worn parts.

There is a company producing a catalog, design book, and handbook for such items - Stock Drive Products / Sterling Instruments. Their number is (800)345-1144. They even have tiny motors!

A better solution for all older HP's is for a "devoted" owner (glutten for punishment with too much time on their hands)to catalog/cross reference the HP item to the Stock Drive replacement. This would really be a service to all owners of older HP's. Maybe someone has original (HP) design specs to the calc's which would greatly ease the task.

By the way, I've done something similar to repair older Audio/Visual machines. There is a local distributor which makes the job easy. I cannot help with the HP's because I don't own any older ones.

Hope this helps, Joe

I have repaired an HP-67 where the worm gear shaft detached from the motor. A small, very tiny drop of epoxy was able to refasten the shaft and the card reader worked well after. Good Luck