HP-41C Card-stock Paper keyboard overlay

[Chris Catotti]

Has anyone seen a precission die-cut card-stock overlay for the HP-41C before? I believe they came in a tablet, and each overlay is about the thickness of a 3 x 5 inch index card. Does anyone have any idea what it would cost to make more? It looks like:

[bill platt]

These days, you see CNC type or even LASER CNC used for jewelry and trinkets---these sorts of devices should not be very expensive.

regards,

Bill

[Raymond Del Tondo]

Hi,

back in the eighties these precision cut paper kbd overlays were available here in Germany, too.
However, I more like the plastic ones because their stability and nicer look.

Raymond

[Bill Wiese]

I went to college with this dude who created these!!

The guy is John Hudson, who came up w/the idea. John wanted these for experimentation/development, etc. and didn't wanna use up his existing 2 plastic overlays which were all set up for his USER-key profiles. I think it was around 1984?, and I believe these even got into the EduCalc catalog.

I've lost contact w/John for ages now, but he was the dude!

Bill Wiese

San Jose CA

[Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz]

I think several people had the idea of card overlays independently, not only John Hudson. The blocks of overlays were sold by a company called Star Fleet Engineering by someone who was also a PPC enthusiast so they were available via PPC as well as EduCALC. I think it was David Shier, but would be happy to be corrected. These overlays had two double-size holes in the row where the ENTER key was, so they could be used either way round - an idea that Richard Nelson pointed out HP had missed when designing their plastic overlays.

Wlodek

[David Yerka]

I still have some blank ones. Got mine through PPC when I was a member. I came accross them in a file folder with sheets of rub on letters a few weeks back. As I remember it was some kind of deal because I think I got a couple of hex table/byte code reference cards for synthetic programming as well.
I still remember painstakingly rubbing on discriptors for keys then spraying on several coats of fixative-top & bottom-to preserve them. Susprisingly, they held up pretty well & I remember how impressed engineering students were that I had a "customise-able" calculator.

[erik jones(9122)]

I got mine from the PPC as well-that as I recall was one of the many products-applications the club or its members suggested that other members made happen. The hp-41 answering machine was one of the ones that floored me as a high school student..anything seemed possible with the 41.
oh yeah 9122 my PPC member # ->- ->-

[V-PN]

I'm not sure if I understand correctley, but I think I have a few HP-41 plastic overlays stashed somewhere. How many do you need?

The price is: HP-15C

[VPN]

[Giuseppe Marullo]

Chris,
there are cheap services that cut plastic sheets with a laser beam for few bucks, and in low qty.
It is a useful service for hobby robots builders.

[Artur-Brazil]

Hello Giuseppe

Could you inform some address of this kind of enterprise?
Artur

[giuseppe]

Check your email, Artur :)