Posts: 61
Threads: 17
Joined: Jan 1970
Hey Ray,
All things being equal, I would opt for the 9114B. Check out these old threads.
http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/hpmuseum/archv001.cgi?read=2285
http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/hpmuseum/archv013.cgi?read=34101
...or google on "HP 9114A 9114B"
AFAIK, the "B" has a better drive mechanism, and slightly more modern circuitry. It also has some LED indicators on the front to give an idea of battery life remaining.
Batteries are 100% compatible with each other, although there are differences within the battery packs themselves (nnnnnnA vs nnnnnnB).
Edited: 7 July 2004, 9:35 p.m.
Posts: 48
Threads: 13
Joined: Jan 1970
Ok, thanks a lot. Just one more question, it's been awhile since I played with these old floppys. Are the HP-IL floppy drive take "Double Sided" (720k) or single sided (360K). I heard them refered too as "low density" disks in those threads, but there seemed to be some debate over what they actually took.
Thanks again,
-Ray
Posts: 899
Threads: 193
Joined: Jan 2005
There are a couple of differences. The first is most noticable. There is a single power indicator on the 9114A. The "B" has a 3 LED indicator.
The other difference isn't easy to see. The 9114A has an older drive that is prone head damage. This happens because the drive can get dirty and sticky and jam the disk. Users sometimes try to use force to remove the stuck disk. This will definitely damage the heads. The newer drives in the 9114B are less prone to this problem, however anytime you use force to remove a stuck disk, you are asking for trouble.
However, if the drive is serviced properly, and if you never force a stuck disk, there won't be any problems.
Batteries are the same.