Calculator storage

[John R]

I'm about to embark on a much-needed reorganization of my HP calculator collection. Before I start, though, I wanted to solicit the forum for suggestions, tips, and lessons learned regarding safe and effective storage of calculators, manuals, and accessories. Right now I've got my collection packaged in plastic Sterilite containers of various sizes. I've taken a couple obvious steps -- such as removing batteries to prevent leakage, and keeping the calculators in their cases to avoid scratches and scuffs -- but I'm curious what else I should probably be doing, and what methods others are using for efficient and safe storage.

Any and all comments welcome!

[Peter Murphy]

I suggest that you start by googling as follows:

<long term storage site:http://hpmuseum.org/>

You'll have your pick of a fair number of threads on this topic.

[HP67]

I would make sure everything is good and dry and if you live in a humid climate or a place that is humid part of the year, buy a bunch of dessicant packages and put them with each device and wrap all the devices with saran wrap. But make sure there is a layer between the packet and what you are trying to preserve so the moisture trapped in the silica doesn't make a nice square mark on your calculators. I wrap books in paper (even newspaper is ok) and box them.

Most long term damage seems to be from moisture and dust.

[John R]

(06-16-2014 05:38 AM)Peter Murphy Wrote:  I suggest that you start by googling as follows:

<long term storage site:http://hpmuseum.org/>

You'll have your pick of a fair number of threads on this topic.

Aha! I had tried searching the site for "storage" but, as seemed obvious in hindsight, I was buried in thousands of links about the numbers of registers of various models. Thank you for the mot juste -- I am perusing previous forum articles about long-term storage now.

[John R]

(06-16-2014 06:24 AM)HP67 Wrote:  I would make sure everything is good and dry and if you live in a humid climate or a place that is humid part of the year, buy a bunch of dessicant packages and put them with each device and wrap all the devices with saran wrap. But make sure there is a layer between the packet and what you are trying to preserve so the moisture trapped in the silica doesn't make a nice square mark on your calculators. I wrap books in paper (even newspaper is ok) and box them.

Most long term damage seems to be from moisture and dust.

I am fortunate to live in a dry climate, so I probably won't need to use dessicant. But thank you for the excellent tip about wrapping manuals in paper. I have not been doing this, but will definitely do so for my reorganization.

[walter b]

Any recommendations will depend strongly on the climate zone you live in. Can you be a bit more specific on that?

d:-?

[John R]

(06-16-2014 06:51 AM)walter b Wrote:  Any recommendations will depend strongly on the climate zone you live in. Can you be a bit more specific on that?

d:-?

I live in the high desert of the southwestern USA. The calculators live in a climate-controlled area, with temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit (18 to 29 degrees Celsius) all year. The relative humidity is well below 25% essentially all year.

[lmmt61]

I recommend that you lend the collection to a museum, exhibition hall or a college. They will keep it quite well, your name will appear as the donor and people (not too many but some, at least) will see and learn about the machines. If you write a small article about the calculator you may enjoy all this even more.

[John R]

(06-16-2014 08:41 AM)lmmt61 Wrote:  I recommend that you lend the collection to a museum, exhibition hall or a college. They will keep it quite well, your name will appear as the donor and people (not too many but some, at least) will see and learn about the machines. If you write a small article about the calculator you may enjoy all this even more.

My wife has also suggested that I ship the whole collection off to a museum -- though I suspect this may have more to do with a desire to reclaim shelf space than with a genuine desire to educate and edify the masses.

[Dave Frederickson]

(06-16-2014 08:41 AM)lmmt61 Wrote:  I recommend that you lend the collection to a museum, exhibition hall or a college. They will keep it quite well, your name will appear as the donor and people (not too many but some, at least) will see and learn about the machines. If you write a small article about the calculator you may enjoy all this even more.

The HP Computer Museum pays shipping for donations.

If you have a 2225B printer then be sure to remove the ink cartridge.

Dave

[John R]

For anybody still following the thread, or interested in my solution: I have reorganized into a bunch of 9" x 12" x 4" corrugated cardboard boxes. These are almost perfectly sized for storing most HP calculators, which are generally slightly less than 4" in width and thus fill the space nicely if I line them up on their sides (which also seemed preferable to stacking on top of each other, which could conceivably place some stress on the keys). This size is also nearly ideal for manuals, as it is a large enough footprint to accommodate not only 8.5" x 11" printed matter, but also two spiral-bound manuals (e.g., from the Pioneers) laid next to reach other.

The corrugated boxes offer slightly less protection than the plastic Sterilite containers I had been using, but they offer other advantages: they store the collection with much less wasted space, they are more stackable, and they also keep out the light (more a concern for the printed manner than for the calculators themselves).

All batteries are removed and stored in a separate container. Because I live in a dry climate, I am not using desiccant in any of the boxes.

I think that's it. Thanks to everybody who offered suggestions.