I just got one in the mail today from an eBay auction I won about a week ago. It is very well used, the sides are all shiny, and some keys don't bounce back as well as others, but the thing still feels very solid. It had the nameplate of some engineering firm on it, which is gone now.
While hanging out here, I learned that HPs of this era were designed for HPs proprietary battery pack. However, I didn't know they put the contacts on the bottom instead of the end. So I'm going to have to figure out how to wire this baby up properly. I don't care much for athenticity or collectibility; I just wanted an old-school LED RPN HP. So now the barrage of questions begin. ;)
1. What voltage is the input, 3.6? 4.5? (the battery input, that is..)
2. As you look at the open battery compartment from behind, which terminal is positive? the upper or the lower one?
3. Lastly, what is a good way to jury rig this to hold AAs or AAAs. I'm thinking that if it is 4.5 volts (or 3.6 for Ni-Cads) a three cell holder from Radio Shack might be just the thing to hardwire in there...
What are your thoughts? Thanks.
-Jeremy
PS- the next step will be to tear this baby down and clean the keypad contacts. Some of them are a bit sticky. It is obvious to me that whoever used this, didn't not treat it gently. Maybe some chucklehead even did some durability demos on it... ;)