HP Forum Archive 15

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HG48GX cable plug : where can I get it repaired ? Message #1 Posted by Antoine M. Couëtte on 24 Oct 2005, 4:47 a.m. Hello to all ! Problem with one of my HP48GX's : its cable plug ( 4 pin connector located next to IR transmitter / Receiver ) no longer works . It went loose and some of its four pins show a different lenght as usual : one seems (very) short and two are (quite) long . After spending over one half hour on HP site, I have been unable to check whether there is technical support in France or even in Europe ( seems there is some in the US ) . What are the options to get it repaired ? Thanks for your help Antoine M. Couëtte antoine.m.couette@club-internet.fr

Re: HG48GX cable plug : where can I get it repaired ? Message #2 Posted by HrastProgrammer on 24 Oct 2005, 6:11 a.m., in response to message #1 by Antoine M. Couëtte Antoine, what have you done to the poor connector? :-) Personally, I would try to correct the pins using thin pliers, pincers or something like that (while calculator is turned off, of course). Best regards.

Re: HG48GX cable plug : where can I get it repaired ? Message #3 Posted by I, Claudius on 24 Oct 2005, 10:01 a.m., in response to message #1 by Antoine M. Couëtte Antoine: HP should hire you to test equipment, if it survives your usage, it should work for the general user ;-) Probably the best solution is simply to order another cable from ( since you're in Europe ) Cynox: http://www.cynox.de/eng/index.html?det=48G-Int

Re: HG48GX cable plug : where can I get it repaired ? Message #4 Posted by HrastProgrammer on 24 Oct 2005, 10:14 a.m., in response to message #3 by I, Claudius As I understood, the problem is not with the cable but with the connector on HP-48GX ...

Re: HG48GX cable plug : where can I get it repaired ? Message #5 Posted by Antoine M. Couëtte on 24 Oct 2005, 1:14 p.m., in response to message #4 by HrastProgrammer Thanks to both of you I, Claudius and Hrastprogrammer for your replies. As Hrastprogrammer indicates, the problem is not with cables - I have a few which work quite well - but with the HP48GX connector itself. As it is no longer firmly attached ( glued ? ) to the HP48GX, the cable connector - should I write cable plug ? - can move around a little but still seems to be ( fully ? ) connected to the machine itself. I attempted to make the 4 pins look " of reasonable lenght " because with thin pliers I can rather easily make them - one by one - stick out more or less from their support : if I "push" on one, I can insert it more deeply into its support and conversely the other way around . Apart from that the pins do no seem do be bent and I feel nothing different when I attempt connecting a four hole cable . Still my HP48GX desperately remains "cable deaf". Any other idea ? Thanks again for your kind attention. Antoine

Re: HG48GX cable plug : where can I get it repaired ? Message #6 Posted by Tony Duell on 24 Oct 2005, 2:33 p.m., in response to message #5 by Antoine M. Couëtte It sounds as though the 4 pin plug has broken away from the PCB. If it's just come unsoldered, then the repair is possible, if you've ripped the PCB pads off as well, it's going to be a lot harder. Remember that the 48 is not intended to be taken apart. Much has been written here about opening up the later HPs, basically there are heat-stakes under the IR/card cover, and more under the metal overlay on the front. I generally carefully peel off the overlay, then drill off the tops of the heatstakes. You can then attempt to re-solder the connector to the PCB. Since these machines are not intended to be taken apart, HP never _repaired_ them. They did offer a replacement service at one point, but I suspect that's long since ended.

Re: HG48GX cable plug : where can I get it repaired ? Message #7 Posted by Antoine M. Couëtte on 24 Oct 2005, 3:25 p.m., in response to message #6 by Tony Duell Thanks Tony - we have the same first name :-) - for your very valuable advice and information. As I feel TOTALLY unable to attempt repairing my HP48GX myself, I am left with 2 options : - either find somebody of confidence who can repair it for me, - or leave it as it is . The IR data transfer works fine, but as I happen to need data transfer in excess of 2 mb, it DOES take time with IR whether it be through XSEND/XRECV or through KERMIT . Thanks anyway for confirming me - a very important point to me - that HP does not maintain these wonderful machines - actually WONDERFUL to me since I am mostly using them as super/duper HP41's thanks to the fantastic HP41 X/Y/Z Emulator by Hrastprogrammer - more comments on this later and soon !!! Best Regards from Antoine ( some people keep calling me "Tony" now and then :-) )

(deleted post) Message #8 Posted by deleted on 24 Oct 2005, 9:50 p.m., in response to message #7 by Antoine M. Couëtte This Message was deleted. This empty message preserves the threading when a post with followup(s) is deleted. If all followups have been removed, the original poster may delete this post again to make this placeholder disappear.

Re: HG48GX cable plug : where can I get it repaired ? Message #9 Posted by James M. Prange (Michigan) on 25 Oct 2005, 3:22 a.m., in response to message #8 by deleted I think Don meant: FixThatCalc.com. Regards, James

Re: HG48GX cable plug : where can I get it repaired ? Message #10 Posted by Antoine M. Couëtte on 25 Oct 2005, 5:41 a.m., in response to message #9 by James M. Prange (Michigan) Thanks to you James and Don for your kind information on how I can get HP48GX repaired. I will shortly make my decision to get it repaired or leave it as it is. Best Regards from Antoine

Re: HG48GX cable plug : where can I get it repaired ? Message #11 Posted by Tony Duell on 25 Oct 2005, 6:33 a.m., in response to message #7 by Antoine M. Couëtte It's a pity there's no active HP calculator club in France any more, this was the sort of thing that some club members would have at least looked at. I do do some repairs for HPCC members and their guests _but only if I meet the person face to face at a club meeting_. Sorry about that, but there have been misunderstandings (relating to condition mostly) in the past, maybe my fault, maybe the other chap's (I don't want to start a flamewar), and I don't want it happening again. Actually being able to talk to the person, show him the problem in the machine and discuss the possible repairs helps a lot.

(deleted post) Message #12 Posted by deleted on 25 Oct 2005, 7:37 a.m., in response to message #11 by Tony Duell This Message was deleted. This empty message preserves the threading when a post with followup(s) is deleted. If all followups have been removed, the original poster may delete this post again to make this placeholder disappear.

Re: HG48GX cable plug : where can I get it repaired ? Message #13 Posted by Tony Duell on 25 Oct 2005, 8:07 a.m., in response to message #12 by deleted To be honest, SMD repair is not that hard when you've done it a few times. And the pins on this connector are at 2mm spacing, so it's not even that fine a pitch (compared to some of the ICs I've hand soldered). Of course if the pads on the PCB are damaged, it's a lot harder. If you can find somebody who does SMD rework, it would be literally a few minutes job to re-solder the connector. If you do decide to open the machine up, of course be aware that the chips are easy to damage by static. Don't touch anything inside when you get the cover off. If you're going to let somebody else do the soldering, then when you've got the machine apart, put the cover back over the board and take the whole lot to him. Do NOT remove the PCB from the keyboard, getting it aligned with the display connections is a nasty job. I've found the best tool to remove the stakes is a 3.5mm (or sometimes 4mm) twist drill bit held in my fingers. Yes, it's slower than a power tool, or even a hand wheelbrace, but it's a lot more controllable.

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