Hi all,
A few months ago, I bought an HP-67 on eBay. I've been too busy to do anything but gaze at it lovingly since, but now I would like to actually start using it. (OK, play with it, at least!)
The problem is, I don't have a charger for it. So, I figured I'd do the same I did with the HP-25 I bought at around the same time -- which I don't have a charger for, either -- that is, I'll just take apart the battery pack, get rid of the old NiCd cells (they're probably shot anyway), and replace them with NiMH cells which I'll charge outside the calculator.
This approach worked fine with the HP-25: I managed to pry the pack apart with my fingers, so if I ever want to sell it, I can glue it back together and it will be as good as new -- I didn't have to break out the piece of plastic in the middle like you see on a lot of old Woodstocks. All I have to do is glue the thing together with a few inches of Scotch tape whenever I change the batteries.
No such luck with the HP-67 battery pack, though: I can't figure out how to pry it apart without damaging it! The plastic seems to be a lot softer than the stuff they used for the HP-25 pack; when I try to pry it apart with a screwdriver, I just end up cutting notches into it, and when I try to pull it apart with my fingers, it gives a little, and then snaps right back the moment I let go.
I'm thinking I should just build my own pack -- fortunately the Classics don't have a pack that doubles as the battery compartment door, like the Woodstocks, so it's OK if it isn't pretty -- and then, if I do it right, I'll be able to take it apart and charge the batteries outside the calculator.
I'm wondering: is there a better way? I have heard there are companies that supply rebuilt Classic battery packs -- are there any that supply battery packs that are easy to take apart, so charger-less individuals like myself can charge the batteries using a regular off-the-shelf NiMH charger?
Thanks for your insights --
- Thomas