new, inbox 9825

[tomlianza]

Hi all,
I have a new, in box, 9825. All the documentation is shrink wrapped and the test tapes and program tapes are there. I wanted to test the unit, so I unwrapped the error code pamphlet and ran the diagnostic tape. I believe the capstan has disintegrate over time. Should I fix the drive, send it to someone for repair or just leave it as it is? I have fixed the readers in the handhelds, so this is probably not beyond my skill set. I plan on selling the unit, but I would like to sell a working version if I could. Any inputs from the forum would be welcome.

[Paul Berger (Canada)]

(03-29-2017 01:51 PM)tomlianza Wrote:  Hi all,
I have a new, in box, 9825. All the documentation is shrink wrapped and the test tapes and program tapes are there. I wanted to test the unit, so I unwrapped the error code pamphlet and ran the diagnostic tape. I believe the capstan has disintegrate over time. Should I fix the drive, send it to someone for repair or just leave it as it is? I have fixed the readers in the handhelds, so this is probably not beyond my skill set. I plan on selling the unit, but I would like to sell a working version if I could. Any inputs from the forum would be welcome.

Did you look into the tape drive? If you shine a light in there you should be able to see if the capstan wheel has fallen apart of not, it is not a given I have a 9835A and a 9825T in both of them the tape drive works and I have not had to replace the tire on the capstan. Is is equally possible that the tape cartridge has degraded to to point of not being useful. Common problems with the cartridges are the drive band bonds to the media where it contacts it a rips some of the oxide off as soon as the tape moves, another is the drive bands go rotten and fall apart as soon as the tape tries to move.

There are two possible ways to recondition the tape drive if the drive wheel has in fact disintegrated, the first is to replace the tire with something like silicon tubing, the other is to modify the drive wheel so that it will support QIC 40/80 tapes as well as DC-100A, you can find info on the later in the files section of hpseries80 group on groups.io in the directory QIC conversion. I repaired one in a HP-80 by cleaning off the old debris and putting a couple layers of shrink wrap onto the capstan, it worked but was not entirely satisfactory.

Paul.

[Dave Frederickson]

Larry Atherton refurbished the tape drive on my 85B and it works wonderfully, but it was not cheap. A new, taller capstan was made with a lathe and the refurb included four new QIC tapes.

As Paul said, old tapes fail in many ways and are highly unreliable. If you have an old tape I would suggest obtaining new drive bands from Athana before attempting data recovery. At best I've been able to recover a few files from an old tape using Plasti-Bands as a replacement drive band.

There's an excellent 9825/DC-100 story here:
http://www.hp9825.com/html/qic_and_the_dead.html

Dave

[Geoff Quickfall]

Well now I am jealous!

Check out this recent thread:

Geoff's 9825a

Larry remachines and supplies a new capstan covering called Tygon. The second concern is the impact printer pads which will compress with time and lose its bounce qualities and make the printer LOUD.

Your error message, let me guess, ERROR 43, which is a result of the capstan rubber decomposing and or the tape delaminating. I guarantee the tape drive capstan is rotted and should be replaced. It is not just a matter of replacing the capstan as the goo contaminates many parts around it so it needs to be dismantled and cleaned. The tapes are another matter, there is a statistic out there that only 20% of shrink wrapped NOS tapes work and then only for a short while until they delaminates.

Larry converts the drive to accept modern versions but that also requires milling the plastic bezel or surround to accept the wider new tapes.

The printer repair is easy if you are tool worthy.

I will e posting further on the link above when I get my tape drive back from LA. It is in the mail!

Geoff

[sleibson]

There's a fast test for the tape capstan. Put your index finger into the tape slot and push on the capstan. If it's OK, no harm done. If it's gone soft, the capstan will fell like chewed gum, it will deform, and your finger will come out black. I too have a Larry Atherton conversion. In fact, I wrote the "QIC and the Dead" story cited in this thread. There are two reasons for getting Larry to convert your drive. One is to get it fixed. The other is to make it compatible with tapes newer than a quarter century old. Both are excellent reasons, in my opinion.

[Geoff Quickfall]

Great article Steve!

Geoff

[Paul Dale]

(03-29-2017 03:25 PM)Dave Frederickson Wrote:  There's an excellent 9825/DC-100 story here:
http://www.hp9825.com/html/qic_and_the_dead.html

A lovely read. Fascinating.


Pauli