Posts: 1,322
Threads: 115
Joined: Jul 2005
they pop up on ebay regularly and for some reason go for relativly cheap prices; usually 15 to 45 dollars. unfortunatly; now that i've said this "texaspyro" is going to start buying up every one he sees no matter how much he has to bid.
maybe you can get lucky and find someone with one that has a blown motor or that got run over by a truck without smashing the print head. it could happen.
if you have to buy a working one; please be sure to offer the carcas in the classified ads. you may make someone elses day. btw: i'm not shilling. my 82143 works fine.....knock on wood.
good luck.
Posts: 1,788
Threads: 36
Joined: Aug 2007
Yes, your best bet is finding another printer on Ebay. Changing the printhead out is a rather delicate and involved process. Main things to worry about are flying tiny "C" clips (we don't call 'em Jesus clips for nothing), tearing the flex circuit where it plugs into the circuit board, and cracking the printhead when you tighten down the screws.
Things to watch out for when buying these printers are bad dots in the printhead, missing paper tear bars, stretched out drive belts (a workingable replacement is available from Projector-Recorder Belt Company - www.russellind.com - part SCX2.4), bad paper feed cams, or just a lot of dirt and paper dust gumming up the works. Figure 1 in 3 machines will be unusabale, 1 in three will require work, 1 in three will be fine.