HP Forum Archive 14

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hot to test hp65 card reader and ... Message #1 Posted by linter on 27 Jan 2004, 5:12 p.m. first, sorry for all these damn questions ... but some of ya'll might benefit when i finally get these suckers up on eBay. Anyway, I've got an HP-65. Is testing the card reader as simple as turning the calc on, sliding the switch to w/pgrm, and slipping a program card into the reader? Nothing else to do? Is the reader supposed to then suck it in? Well, if that's the case, then this reader doesn't work. Bummer. Also -- is there an ez fix for this: the on-off switch is a little flakey in that if you slide it all the way over to on, it doesn't come on; you've got to stop just shy of it clicking into the on position; when you do that, it works great. Any quick fixes? thanks again, all!

Re: hot to test hp65 card reader and ... Message #2 Posted by Randy Sloyer on 27 Jan 2004, 6:22 p.m., in response to message #1 by linter You'll need a good battery to test the card reader, it will not work on the charger alone. If you get it to go through the reader, look on the back of the card - if it has goo on it, it needs to be opened and serviced. Classic classic problems: gummy wheel and dirty switches. PS: In order to READ a card, leave the switch set to RUN. Set the switch to PGRM if you want to WRITE to the card. Edited: 27 Jan 2004, 6:24 p.m.

Re: hot to test hp65 card reader and ... Message #3 Posted by Ernie Malaga on 27 Jan 2004, 6:28 p.m., in response to message #1 by linter To see if the card reader WRITES correctly: 1. Turn on the calculator. 2. Switch it to W/PRGM. 3. Select an unprotected card (intact corners; if clipped, the card is read-only). 4. Push (gently!) the card through the right slot of the card reader. The mechanism should engage, pass the card across the calculator, and the card emerges on the left side, already written. 5. Switch to RUN. To see if it READS correctly: 1. Turn on the calculator. 2. Make sure the switch is in the RUN position. 3. Insert the card as above. 4. Verify that the card reader has read the program by switching to W/PRGM and pressing [SST] repeatedly to see the program steps. You cannot use an HP-67 or 97, or a HP-41 card reader to read or write cards intended for the HP-65, because the 65 uses a different format. Good luck.

Re: hot to test hp65 card reader and ... Message #4 Posted by Victor Koechli on 28 Jan 2004, 7:40 a.m., in response to message #1 by linter Come on, that what this forum is for: Asking questions. Just don't feel bad about it! If your card reader has the 'gummy wheel' problem, i.e. a degraded rubber wheel, check the articles section on this site for several good documents on how this can be fixed. General (and excellent!)instructions on restoring / repairing these calculators can be found in Restoring Calculators, also on this site. However, if you're unfamiliar with such repairs and want to sell the calc, you'd probably want to either sell them the way they are, describing the condition and leaving the fix to an (experienced) buyer, or having someone else fix it for you. Just ask, someone might be able to help. Cheers, Victor

Re: hot to test hp65 card reader and ... Message #5 Posted by John L Shelton on 28 Jan 2004, 10:13 a.m., in response to message #1 by linter The power switches for HP-65 can be cleaned if you disassemble the calculator. If you are lucky, the PC board contact, or the metal contact that slides above it (off to on) just need cleaning up. It's possible that the PC trace has been worn off, but less likely.

Re: hot to test hp65 card reader and ... Message #6 Posted by Ron Ross on 28 Jan 2004, 12:56 p.m., in response to message #1 by linter http://www.fixthatcalc.com/ You might contact this site to get an estimate to repair your calculators vs butchering them yourself. Read http://www.rskey.org/calcsell.htm on his advice to sellers of calculators. You are probably going to devalue your equipment with any hap hazard repair. I make this comment only on the nature of all of your other questions and I could certainly be mistaken.

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