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New HP-41CV owner - Resurrection story
12-10-2020, 07:34 PM
Post: #1
New HP-41CV owner - Resurrection story
I recently went on a rabbit hole excursion starting with slide rules and ending on calculators. I used an E-6B aviation slide rule in flight training so mechanical computing devices have a place with me. Then I noticed someone in a video talking about an HP*** calculator and I remembered that my dad had one and it was passed to me after he passed away in `89.
I went to my storage unit and sure enough I located his old HP-41CV with card reader, X-FUNCTIONS, AVIATION, and TIME pacs all installed. I pulled open the battery case and to my dismay the rechargeable batteries had long ago leaked out. But I was hopeful, the leak only appeared to be minor and confined one cell. Determined to get this thing working I located the alkali battery pack and bought new N cells, the rechargeable case was not salvageable. I cleaned the terminals using some white vinegar, cotton swabs, and distilled water and gently cleaned the corrosion off the terminals. I was ecstatic to find the terminal with the most corrosion was in fact quite minor and mostly surface damage only. Tragically the unit failed to turn on when the new batteries were installed. I pulled out a set of small screw drivers and with a nervous but steady hand began pulling off the rubber pads and gently pulling the case apart. It turned out the corrosion had gotten to the contact pad on the mid board. With the same process as before I removed the corrosion and lucked out, surface corrosion only no other damage. With the calculator reassembled and looking brand new, the pack was installed and after 32 years the MEMORY LOST message flickered then vanished. Determined not to be beaten, I gently partially reinserted the battery pack and the unit powered on, but on further insertion of the pack, the unit powered off again. After a couple rounds of gently coercing the pack in, VICTORY! The power remained on and the unit came to life.

Diving further into the bag of wonders I had brought back I found all the manuals:
"Owners Handbook and Programming Guide", "Operating Manual: A Guide for the Experienced User", "82182A Time Module Manual", "Aviation Pac" manual, "Standard Applications", "82104A Card Reader Owner's Handbook", "Games", "Games II", and a couple original overlays, high contrast, Stop watch, and blank with a full sheet of stickers.

Then I discovered the Magnetic Programming strips with titles. I tried to use the card reader but after disassembly noticed the drive wheel plastic tubing had shrunk over 30 years and was no longer able to pull cards through. The motor turned and everything appeared otherwise functional. I have a new card reader enroute, I hope the cards are still viable and I will be storing their contents on my PC if they are. I have had a couple fun days with this calculator and am amazed by how nice it it.
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New HP-41CV owner - Resurrection story - WrongWay - 12-10-2020 07:34 PM



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