Spilt coke over HP27S

[zswobbie1]

Help... I spilt coke over my beloved HP27S!
It has dried out, but dead.

Is it too late to recover it

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Robin

[Dave Frederickson]

(03-28-2018 06:04 PM)zswobbie1 Wrote:  Help... I spilt coke over my beloved HP27S!
It has dried out, but dead.

Is it too late to recover it

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Robin

So you completely rinsed the calc with water then put it into a bag of uncooked rice to absorb the moisture? (This is the same technique used when you drop your phone into the toilet.)

[AndiGer]

Look at this thread on the old forum. Coffee not coke, Voyager not 27S but similar problem
http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/...read=92663
Good luck

[teenix]

(03-28-2018 06:04 PM)zswobbie1 Wrote:  Help... I spilt coke over my beloved HP27S!
It has dried out, but dead.

Is it too late to recover it

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Robin

(03-28-2018 06:36 PM)AndiGer Wrote:  Look at this thread on the old forum. Coffee not coke, Voyager not 27S but similar problem
http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/...read=92663
Good luck

Hopefully not :-)

As mentioned in the posted thread, get the batteries out or disconnect any power source ASAP after spilling any liquid into any electrical device. All sorts of weird electrical currents that are not supposed to be there, will be flowing around the circuit board. Damage, if any, might depend on how much power your batteries can deliver to the now dodgy circuit. Modern electronics is quite robust but can fail when under duress - temperature extremes, liquids, improper handling etc.

After washing and during drying, "lightly" tapping the circuit board at right angles to a surface might also help dislodge unseen water trapped under components.

Please note that the calculator circuits are also sensitive to static electricity and your body can store lots of it. Ever walked up to a steel door and got zapped when opening it :-) It is possible to destroy, or more frustratingly, partially destroy parts on a perfectly ok circuit board just through miss handling. Partially destroy, meaning it will work oddly sometimes. This caution is even mentioned way back in the HP-35 manual on top of page 23. When you handle circuit boards, I think it is best to have your fingers only on their edges.

Best of luck.

cheers

Tony

[damaltor]

I am failry sure that you are the first person i know who actually liked that calculator. Still, it should be tried to recover it
If i am right the housing cannot be opened?
I would actually give the calculator a bath in distilled water for quite sime time and maybe even isopropanol, let it dry thorougly and then re-try. letting it sit in a bag with lots of rice or fat free pop corn quickens up the drying process.

good luck!

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(03-29-2018 08:50 AM)damaltor Wrote:  I am failry sure that you are the first person i know who actually liked that calculator.

May I humbly suggest you to widen your circle of acquaintances? ;-)
It almost is the ALG equivalent of a 42S, plus a touch of financial functions.

[damaltor]

Not saying that it is a bad calculator.

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(03-29-2018 11:41 AM)damaltor Wrote:   Not saying that it is a bad calculator.

Ok, you're right.

[rprosperi]

(03-29-2018 08:50 AM)damaltor Wrote:  I am failry sure that you are the first person i know who actually liked that calculator.

Massimo is exactly right, lots of folks like it, despite it being Algebraic. Unique combination of features (finance, clock, trig) plus the great solver make it useful for many situations. If only HP had released the -II version (adding RPN like the 17BII, 19BII), it could have rivaled the 42S for title of best Pioneer. Check it out with an open mind, you will probably like it.

[toml_12953]

(03-28-2018 06:04 PM)zswobbie1 Wrote:  Help... I spilt coke over my beloved HP27S!
It has dried out, but dead.

Is it too late to recover it

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Robin

It's usually not the liquid but the sugar in drinks that is the problem. Sugar is corrosive to printed circuits. The thing to do as soon as possible after the spill is to remove the batteries, rinse the whole thing in distilled water, blow it thoroughly with a hair drier on low (don't keep the drier on one spot too long. Use a back and forth motion) and then let it dry out in a container of uncooked rice for a few days (I usually wait a week).

[everettr]

Somewhat off topic: Coke contains phosphoric acid. an interesting chemical with many uses. From Wikipedia:

Quote:In addition to being a chemical reagent, phosphoric acid has a wide variety of uses, including as a rust converter, food additive, dental and orthopedic etchant, electrolyte, soldering flux, dispersing agent, industrial etchant, fertilizer feedstock, and component of home cleaning products.

My favorite use for Coke, and I assume its phosphoric acid, is as an electrolyte to anodize titanium. The colors, which depend on applied voltage, are striking.

[Maximilian Hohmann]

(03-30-2018 01:41 AM)toml_12953 Wrote:  It's usually not the liquid but the sugar in drinks that is the problem.

I am not so sure. I once destroyed the logic board of my Titanium Powerbook with a very small quantity of pure water. Only a few drops reached the board through the keyboard but they were enough to route enough current into some delicate components. Luckily that computer was already quite old then and I could get a replacement board from eBay for much less than a new HP-27S would cost.

NB: And I tried the combined wisdom from the internet to revive the board. Like drying it with rice and silica gel, "baking" it in the oven at 70°C for several hours and similar. Nothing could bring it back to life.

[toml_12953]

(03-30-2018 05:10 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  

(03-30-2018 01:41 AM)toml_12953 Wrote:  It's usually not the liquid but the sugar in drinks that is the problem.

I am not so sure. I once destroyed the logic board of my Titanium Powerbook with a very small quantity of pure water.

Yes but that's with power applied. Sugar destroys circuit boards even after the liquid has evaporated. The effects might not be seen for weeks depending on the width of the traces exposed.

[everettr]

(03-30-2018 05:15 PM)toml_12953 Wrote:  Sugar destroys circuit boards even after the liquid has evaporated.

Since sugar is hydroscopic, the liquid never completely evaporates. I think this is the major reason behind sugar's corrosive power.

[Jlouis]

That's why I only drink diet coke when near a calculator

[Csaba Tizedes]

(03-28-2018 06:04 PM)zswobbie1 Wrote:  Any ideas?

My first idea: 20 USD + 15 USD for shipping. Is it acceptable for you?!?

Csaba