HP Forum Archive 14

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painted keys voyager Message #1 Posted by tom on 16 Dec 2003, 4:59 p.m. in the voyager and pioneer series, what models or s/n have painted keys as opposed to molded?

Re: painted keys on voyagers Message #2 Posted by Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz on 17 Dec 2003, 12:05 a.m., in response to message #1 by tom HP certainly had painted key labels on HP-12Cs, 15Cs, and 16Cs. I have seen HP-15Cs with HP-12C key labels shaded beneath the 15C labels, also 16Cs with 15C _and_ 12C labels below the 16C labels. Dave has some images of these on this very web site! More recently, it was pointed out to me that some 12Cs have 15C labels below the 12C key labels. I do not know of other combinations, and suspect that all 10Cs and 11Cs, as well as early 15Cs and 16Cs had moulded key labels, not painted ones. What really interests me is what the technology was behind the key labelling at the time when these "interchangeable" keys were produced. Did HP make one huge batch of keys at a time, sometimes 12C, sometimes 15C, then paint the others over them? But in that case, why vary the basic keys, sometimes 12C and sometimes 15C? Or was a technique used such that traces of the previous label were left in the machine when a new design was used? In that case, someoene, somewhere, should have a 12C or a 15C with signs of 16C key labels below them. Does anyone have such a 12C or 15C? Thanks, tom, for reminding us of this interesting bit of history. Wlodek

Re: painted keys on voyagers Message #3 Posted by Veli-Pekka Nousiainen on 17 Dec 2003, 12:37 a.m., in response to message #2 by Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz Wlodek wrote: "...also 16Cs with 15C _and_ 12C labels below the 16C labels." How do you know that the keys below are 15C, not 11C ? [VPN]

Re: painted keys on voyagers Message #4 Posted by GG on 17 Dec 2003, 12:19 p.m., in response to message #2 by Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz Let's say I want to hit eBay for old Voyagers and Pioneers. Is there a sure way to tell (say, through the serial number) whether a unit has painted or moulded keys?

Re: painted keys Message #5 Posted by Randy on 17 Dec 2003, 7:42 p.m., in response to message #4 by GG IMO, the number of Voyagers made with (re)printed keys was very small, impossible to tell by serial number. It was not a widespread practice. All Pioneers made in Indonesia (except for 42S service spares) had painted keys.

Re: painted keys on voyagers Message #6 Posted by Keith on 17 Dec 2003, 9:37 p.m., in response to message #4 by GG Why paint over these keys to begin with? How expensive could it have been to just use new keys instead of reusing them? Seems cheaper to just scrap the molded keys that you don't want and use new keys to start from scratch. Couldn't have saved more than a few cents per key.

Re: painted keys on voyagers Message #7 Posted by Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz on 20 Dec 2003, 9:23 p.m., in response to message #6 by Keith VPN wrote: "How do you know that the keys below are 15C, not 11C ?" Sorry, of course I don't, as these are the same. I just called them that as I have seen plenty of 15Cs, but no 11Cs, with faint 12C labels below the 15C words. Naturally, when I was shown 16Cs with both sets, I assumed these were the 15C keys repainted a second time. Same for 12Cs with 15C or 11C labels below the 12C labels. Does anyone here know of HP-11Cs with keys that show traces of HP-12C or HP-16C labels below the 11C labels? That would be very interesting! Keith asks why they repainted keys instead of using "new" ones. These are not keys from old voyagers returned for repair and recycling, if that's what you meant. These are HP-15Cs and HP-16Cs made late in the product lifecycle, when HP might have thought it not worth making large batches of 15C and 16C keys. Instead, they could have painted over newly made 12C keys, or used a production line that made small batches of all the different keyboards, but left some traces of what had been made in the previous batch. Regards, Wlodek

Re: painted keys voyager Message #8 Posted by John on 17 Dec 2003, 7:28 p.m., in response to message #1 by tom I have a Voyager (12c) made in the US in 1987 that has painted over keys. I didn't notice it until recently. Don't know how this affects the overall quality of the calculator, except for the paint on the keys wearing off eventually.

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