Bloody Mice

[vk6ti]

Disaster,
whist looking for some deoxit I was horrified that a draw full of HP calcs were
shared with mice. Bloody things pissed on my calculators to a point were I hope that I can reverse damage. So a note of warning to those storing their gear, make sure it's rodent proof. I was so sure they were safe, this will give me incentive to pull the lot out ( about 5 drawers ) and put them on display which has been ready and waiting for the last year. Good news is that the 80, 67, 55, and 70 are safe, 45's and 41's are OK, lucky the HP01's were in cases, but they were particularly fond of the 25's, and the rest of them.

Damn rodents

[Dave Britten]

Damn, that sucks. I spent a good portion of yesterday evening trying to clean cat piss off quite a few HPs. :/

I think I'm just going to start storing all of my collection in plastic tubs with latching lids. Of course, the problem with that approach is you have to be very careful about storing any that have a baked-in smoke smell, or it'll fill the box and start to permeate other clean ones. Maybe I should drill a few small (1/4") ventilation holes in the sides too.

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(01-30-2020 12:33 PM)vk6ti Wrote:  Bloody things pissed on my calculators

Another question to ask to eBay sellers!

Sorry for your loss.

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(01-30-2020 12:50 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  trying to clean cat piss off quite a few HPs. :/

Epidemy!

(01-30-2020 12:50 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  Maybe I should drill a few small (1/4") ventilation holes in the sides too.

Good for cockroaches.

[Dave Britten]

(01-30-2020 12:58 PM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  

(01-30-2020 12:50 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  Maybe I should drill a few small (1/4") ventilation holes in the sides too.

Good for cockroaches.

If I've got cockroaches in the house, I'm just going to carry out whatever valuables I can and burn the place down.

[smp]

(01-30-2020 12:33 PM)vk6ti Wrote:  Disaster,
whist looking for some deoxit I was horrified that a draw full of HP calcs were
shared with mice. ...

That's terrible! Very sorry to hear this bad news.

smp

[twoweims]

(01-30-2020 12:50 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  Damn, that sucks. I spent a good portion of yesterday evening trying to clean cat piss off quite a few HPs. :/

Yikes! I was going to suggest getting a cat until I read this!

If you get a couple of Weimaraners none of these pests will stand a chance and the weims will not bother your calculators.

[vk6ti]

   
Topolino

[teenix]

Somewhat off topic but...

I was digging in the back yard once, clearing out overgrowth. I came out again later to tidy up and I saw a tiny mouse sitting on a small pile of dirt. It didn't move when I approached it and on closer inspection it didn't have its eyes open yet. I figured ma and pa took off for a safer Mouseville so I thought maybe I'd care for it and let it go later on.

About a week later, its eyes were beginning to open and the nights were getting quite cold. My attempts at making a warm bed didn't seem to do much so looking in the shed, I found an old frypan. I turned it on and wound the knob to its lowest setting for an hour or so and it was only just warm to the touch so I thought electric heating for the mouse on those cold nights.

Next morning I came out and looked in the pan and there was nothing but a small black crater where my little friend had been sleeping. It seems the thermostat decided to stick on and turned Mr Jingles into a miniature Chernobyl.

I guess the frypan was not such a cool idea after all :-)

cheers

Tony

[vk6ti]

(01-31-2020 07:07 AM)teenix Wrote:  Somewhat off topic but...

I was digging in the back yard once, clearing out overgrowth. I came out again later to tidy up and I saw a tiny mouse sitting on a small pile of dirt. It didn't move when I approached it and on closer inspection it didn't have its eyes open yet. I figured ma and pa took off for a safer Mouseville so I thought maybe I'd care for it and let it go later on.

About a week later, its eyes were beginning to open and the nights were getting quite cold. My attempts at making a warm bed didn't seem to do much so looking in the shed, I found an old frypan. I turned it on and wound the knob to its lowest setting for an hour or so and it was only just warm to the touch so I thought electric heating for the mouse on those cold nights.

Next morning I came out and looked in the pan and there was nothing but a small black crater where my little friend had been sleeping. It seems the thermostat decided to stick on and turned Mr Jingles into a miniature Chernobyl.

I guess the frypan was not such a cool idea after all :-)

cheers

Tony

That is the makings of a good joke, if it weren't a true story.
You know Mr Jingles would have come back to betray you.

[cruff]

(01-30-2020 12:50 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  Of course, the problem with that approach is you have to be very careful about storing any that have a baked-in smoke smell, or it'll fill the box and start to permeate other clean ones.

It is possible to remove most or all of that horrible smell with careful cleaning. I was able to clean up a 41CX such that it no longer reeked, and it became tolerable to be around. Now it doesn't smell even if you get your nose right next to it.

[grsbanks]

(01-31-2020 12:56 PM)cruff Wrote:  Now it doesn't smell even if you get your nose right next to it.

Or you've just got used to the smell

[Dave Britten]

(01-31-2020 12:56 PM)cruff Wrote:  

(01-30-2020 12:50 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  Of course, the problem with that approach is you have to be very careful about storing any that have a baked-in smoke smell, or it'll fill the box and start to permeate other clean ones.

It is possible to remove most or all of that horrible smell with careful cleaning. I was able to clean up a 41CX such that it no longer reeked, and it became tolerable to be around. Now it doesn't smell even if you get your nose right next to it.

I've got a 32SII that is/was pretty rank, but I had fan blowing on it at full speed for quite a few hours yesterday, and it's improved considerably. It's mostly only smelly inside the battery compartment, where there are various holes and seams leading to the inside of the case, which presumably didn't get aired out quite as well. Probably a few days of letting it sit outside in the shade on a breezy spring day will help with the rest.

[Jurgen Keller]

You have to put one of those into the drawer so the mice know which one is exclusively for them:



Just kidding ... nothing against TI.

Thank you for the hint, I'm storing some calculators in the attic. They are in a closet but you never know, I will have a look.