Dear HP Calc Community,
I got a crippled HP-97 in the mail the yesterday. I came home from work and set out to do the overhaul. I rebuilt the battery, and one thing led to another. 3 a.m. I was done... new card reader roller, polished switches and cleaned case (scrubbing the casing in the sink with soap and a brush). I have a great, working, flawless 97.
Now I know many here have done this, and though I already own one HP-97, I'd never fixed one... because the one I have was working and fixed already.
Excuse my enthusiasm. THIS THING IS AWESOME! Incredible engineering. Beautiful circuits and keyboard design. A thing of art and beauty to behold. Inside and out! No wonder Mark Sims (Texaspyro) loves these things!! I can see why!!!
About 5 hours of calculator heaven. Now I'm excited and ready to fix my next one... maybe one that needs even more extensive work. Darn... missed one by a buck on eBay today. There will be others.
I've been doing this over three years now. I thought I'd tire of this by now, but I haven't. I still love it!
One last thought. I looked into insuring my collection, but my homeowner's insurance guy says I really need an appraisal of my collection. I told him that * I * was the most qualified person I know (in town) to appraise these. He suggested I become a certified appraiser in this area, which I will look into. In the mean time, are any of you officially certified to do an appraisal of my collection (by photos or list?) If not, I just may find out how to become an officially certified appraiser myself and offer it as a service to the Museum community!
I think I'm going to go look at my HP-97. And my HP-25. And my HP-67.....
Michael