HP-97

[Mark Monica]

Any suggestions on where I can find a battery pack for a HP-97 (p/n 82033A)? How can I find out what voltage this battery pack is? Could I bypass with a power supply?
Thanks,
Mark Monica

[Dave]

4 C size NiCads (~4 X 1.25V) or 5 V total.
Never bypass the power supply or use adapter without batteries in place. Calc will be fried.

Use ads to get battery pack, they can be rebuilt cheaply at BAtteries Plus.

[Dave Shaffer (Arizona)]

re: "... Never bypass the power supply or use adapter without batteries in place. Calc will be fried."

While this may be true for the usual/normal el-cheapo wall socket power adapters (batteries act like super-duper capacitors in this case, to regulate and smooth out any variations from the supply), you ought to be able to use a well-regulated power supply as a stand-alone, non-destructive substitute.

re: "... they can be rebuilt cheaply at BAtteries Plus."

Good idea. I got a battery pack rebuilt for my father's '97 a couple of years ago at Batteries Plus - it took only a day or two and $20 (parts and labor).

[Mark Monica]

Thanks for the info, I have the old pack but the batteries (or super capacitor) must be open. When the adaptor is plugged in the calculator with the battery installed, it's dead. I am getting voltage thru the adpator. I think I should try running the unit off 4 C size batteries (WITHOUT the adaptor) before I try to get the orginal battey pack repaired.

[Christof]

you might not want to use 4 regular C batteries, though if you go to rat shack and grab a 4 cell holder and 4 *nicad* (1.2 volt, not 1.5 volt like alkalines) batteries, you can test that way.

before you try much of anything, realize that a repaired battery pack is worth as much to someone here as you pay to get it rebuilt even if the 97 is dead. So it is worth getting the batteyr pack repaired anyway.

I always rebuild my own packs, as it isn't really very hard.

(you should be able to function test off *any* 4 cell nicad pack, so using a cheap 4 cell (4.8 or 5 volt will be printed on the package) cell phone battery pack should allow for testing. I keep a few of those around for that reason, too.

don't mix the + and -, though- I don't think you have a short protection in the 97

[David Smith]

The cells used are the "sub-C" size... NOT C sized. Just take your old pack to your local battery store and they will know what to do.

[Sambonator]

Try EBay. Here's a link to a battery for it:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3009562800&category=11713

Sam