HP Forum Archive 07

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HP 15C REPAIR Message #1 Posted by D E on 25 Jan 2002, 2:10 p.m. IS IT PRACTICAL TO REPLACE THE BRUSHED METAL FRONT TRIM PIECE WITH A BETTER CONDITION ONE FROM A DONOR CALC. DOES ANYONE OFFER THIS PIECE NEW ?

Re: HP 15C REPAIR Message #2 Posted by Thibaut.be on 25 Jan 2002, 4:05 p.m., in response to message #1 by D E PLEASE DON'T SHOUT ! You'll have problems to find it. And if you find it, it's quite difficult to replace, for you have to beware not to fold it. Good luck !

Re: HP 15C REPAIR Message #3 Posted by doug on 27 Jan 2002, 8:39 p.m., in response to message #2 by Thibaut.be What about the screen also? The bezel is bent over the screen on three edges. Even if the design idea was to put something over only one end to hold it in place they still glued it on both ends to the bezel. So you have to find some chemical type genius that knows the kind of glue and plastic so you can remove it without damage. Then you have to know the kind of glue to use to properly place it in the new bezel. Some types of glue react to certain kinds of plastic. Even if you find a new replacement screen you would probably want to save the old screen if it is in good condition. These things are always more complicated that you would think. I would be interested in knowing how someone got the bezel loose from the case in the first place without damage to the case. They appear to be glued also. Or there is a trick to getting them loose. Doug

Re: HP 15C REPAIR Message #4 Posted by Steve Borowsky on 27 Jan 2002, 10:47 p.m., in response to message #3 by doug I don't know if it would work on the 15C but one of the tricks I use to losen glued cover plates without bending them is a hair dryer. The heat is not likely to damage the electronics or melt the plastic but it seems to losen the glue pretty well. 5-10 minutes should do it then carefully pry it up and apply more heat as necessary. The remaining glue on the back of the cover plate can be removed with 'goo gone' or another citrus-derived solvent. keep the solvent away from the display bezel as a precaution. Don't worry if the LCD turns dark when exposed to heat, it's not damaged and will go back to normal when the heat is removed. I haven't found a reliable replacement for the original glue though.

Re: HP 15C REPAIR - to remove bezel and other experiences Message #5 Posted by Ellis Easley on 28 Jan 2002, 4:32 p.m., in response to message #3 by doug I can't really recommend this, but I found my 12C in parts, lying in the street. First I saw the button cells, then the bezel, then the rest of the calculator except the battery cover, which I found several minutes later when a car drove by and flipped it into the air and I heard a little tinkle when it hit the pavement. The calculator must have been run over and this caused the bezel to pop completely off. This calculator worked except for one segment of the LCD when I put the found batteries in. Later I re-seated the LCD and it has worked fine since election day, 1988. The bezel was a little scuffed and bent. I bent it back pretty close and stuck it on with two pieces of scotch tape until I clean it up better (or find a good one)and attach it permanently with transfer adhesive. To get to the LCD, I cut all the heat stake heads to free the keyboard/PCB and then built up a pad from layers of duct tape so when I screwed the case back together, the PCB stays in place, although the keys are somewhat mushy as a result. I also freed the PCB on my 15C which had serious corrosion that caused it to draw more current off than on. In that case I reattached the PCB permanently by putting a tiny drop of superglue on each heat stake post, one at a time, holding each till set. If I ever decide to do this to the 12C I will build a fixture first to press the PCB into place so I can glue all the posts at once.

Re: HP 15C REPAIR Message #6 Posted by David Smith on 28 Jan 2002, 4:40 p.m., in response to message #2 by Thibaut.be I had a bezel come off of a machine once. It was originally held on by what looked like the double sided tape used to hold HP41 halfnut beepers in place... it had a slight blue-green tint. It is almost impossible to get the bezels off without leaving some kind of damage but you might try a thin, strong thread soaked in UnDu (heptane) adhesive release. This compound causes all adhesives to temorarily loose their stickiness. It does not appear to damage cases but can leave "water spots" on the keyboard. Use the thread like a saw. You will probably have to keep rewetting it.

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