HP-41 repair

[Ken Hartman]

Anybody know who fixes hp-41s?

[steve]

Possibly you, what's the problem?

[Kendall Hartman]

My surveying firm has 5 41s that need fixing(I dont know whats wrong with them.) We used to send them to HP (89), but they dont service them anymore.We use 48s now but a 41 is good to have on your hip.

[steve]

OK, what are the symptoms?

[kendall]

They wont turn on.

[steve]

OK, you have 5 of them, and they won't turn on.

Were they powered by nicads or disposable batteries?

Has there been any leakage in the battery compartment?

If they were used with nucadsm, have you tried them with normal batteries?

How long have they been in this state?

Have they been stored without batteries? (apart from preventing damage due to leaking batteries, a prolonged period without batteries may effect a cure)

Were they suffering other problems before they failed (i.e. were any "hard to turn on?"

Do you have access to a barcode wand? (Swiping some barcode will power up an HP41 with a bad on/off rocker)

Do you have any other information you feel may be relevant? (e.g. they all failed just after we tried to charge them from a van der graaf generator)

[kendall]

Steve, Most of them have been dropped, ie bounced off the pavement. We use disposable batteries. No apparent leakage in battery compartment. We do not have access to a wand. We're looking for a repair shop that can diagnose and fix these calculators. My land surveying firm uses hp-48s for data collection, we use hp-41s for simple math routines so we don't have to get out of the program in the 48s. I wish I could give you more detail about what is wrong with them, it sounds like you could save me some money.

Thanks, Kendall

[steve]

> it sounds like you could save me some money.

Maybe not me, I live in Australia! :-)

> Most of them have been dropped, ie bounced off the

> pavement.

Ouch! As long as the display is intact (and they often go black after they are cracked) then the problem may just be mechanical in nature (i.e. broken connection inside, or even a broken post)

If it's a broken post, you may notice that the calculator "flexes" a little more than usual, or the two halves don't appear to be held together as tightly as they once were.

I'm surprised that nobody has popped ap and offerred to have a look at them. If nobody does, then I will, but postage to Australia might cost you $20

[steve]

Actually, you may want to go here

http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/hpmuseum/articles.cgi

and see if you think you can cope with this sort of repair.

(one of the topics is the repair of an HP41CX)

[kendall]

Steve, If I have to send them to Australia, I'll send them to Australia. Please enclose your name of business, business address and telephone number. I'll have my office manager make the proper preparations. I would think there is somebody here in the states that could fix these. Thanks, Kendall

[steve]

> I would think there is somebody here in the

> states that could fix these

So would I, and I keep waiting for someone to pop up and volunteer.

I'll email you the information you need, but I expect someone closer will contact you. (where are you guys?)

[kendall]

Thanks for your help Steve.

[John]

Hi have contacted Kendall with the name of a guy in the US who does 41 repair. I could also have a go at it, but I am in Australia too. - John

[db]

k - sounds like you are suffering from a case of "you bought the 41 and im a pig who dosnt have to care and also bangs the keys"-itis. steve and me and others have explained how to clean keys in the past here. if you're in the S.F. area and you want to do the check that steve recomended with a barcode reader you can contact me. that will tell you, and him, if the problem is the in switch or something more ominous. for when you get them beck from ausland: you can put the 41 in a regular fold lock sandwich bag and tape it on the back to keep the dust out of the unit. - d

[Steve Kersey]

I repair/trade/buy/sell HP41C/CV/CX calculators & accessories. Please contact me by email for a quote.

Steve Kersey rehp@msn.com 1166 SW 13th Avenue Boca Raton, Florida 33486 USA