HP-67 Diagnostic cards, different versions different behavior

[albertofenini]

Hi everyone,

when testing read and write capabilities for the HP-67 we usually take Lunar Landing or Days Between dates as test cards.
We read them, we try to copy them, usual things

Don't know why, yesterday we run the diagnostic card (as it should be done by good technical people )

We have one version SD15A that behave as described in the Standard Pac Manual,
but we also have found a couple of Diagnostic Card SD15C (possibly a later revision)
that behave differently

The SD15C is a two sides card like the SD15A, but after having read it and pressed the A key to start the test
it pause almost immediately showing a 57 and then it goes on almost forever (*) without showing
anything interesting

(*) we have stopped the execution after more then three minutes

BTW:
The unit is working fine and the SD15A returned positive results
Two different SD15C on this same unit has shown the same described behavior

Does anyone has ever experienced this before ?

Thanks everyone !

If someone is interested in the pictures, have a look here : HP-67 1612A01116

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(09-21-2021 08:36 AM)albertofenini Wrote:  Hi everyone,

when testing read and write capabilities for the HP-67 we usually take Lunar Landing or Days Between dates as test cards.
We read them, we try to copy them, usual things

Don't know why, yesterday we run the diagnostic card (as it should be done by good technical people :) )

We have one version SD15A that behave as described in the Standard Pac Manual,
but we also have found a couple of Diagnostic Card SD15C (possibly a later revision)
that behave differently

The SD15C is a two sides card like the SD15A, but after having read it and pressed the A key to start the test
it pause almost immediately showing a 57 and then it goes on almost forever (*) without showing
anything interesting

(*) we have stopped the execution after more then three minutes

BTW:
The unit is working fine and the SD15A returned positive results
Two different SD15C on this same unit has shown the same described behavior

Does anyone has ever experienced this before ?

Thanks everyone !

If someone is interested in the pictures, have a look here : HP-67 1612A01116

Try the SD15B, too... :)

[albertofenini]

Thanks Massimo, I should have searched the Forum
The SD15C effectively shows a 57 but then it looks like is stuck in an endless loop
We took the time with a watch and it was definitely beyond a minute and a half ...
Will try again this evening
Thanks for the hint !

(09-21-2021 09:47 AM)Massimo Gnerucci Wrote:  

(09-21-2021 08:36 AM)albertofenini Wrote:  Hi everyone,

when testing read and write capabilities for the HP-67 we usually take Lunar Landing or Days Between dates as test cards.
We read them, we try to copy them, usual things

Don't know why, yesterday we run the diagnostic card (as it should be done by good technical people )

We have one version SD15A that behave as described in the Standard Pac Manual,
but we also have found a couple of Diagnostic Card SD15C (possibly a later revision)
that behave differently

The SD15C is a two sides card like the SD15A, but after having read it and pressed the A key to start the test
it pause almost immediately showing a 57 and then it goes on almost forever (*) without showing
anything interesting

(*) we have stopped the execution after more then three minutes

BTW:
The unit is working fine and the SD15A returned positive results
Two different SD15C on this same unit has shown the same described behavior

Does anyone has ever experienced this before ?

Thanks everyone !

If someone is interested in the pictures, have a look here : HP-67 1612A01116

Try the SD15B, too...

[teenix]

Is there a print out of the program, you may be able to figure out if there is a problem, if you single step in program mode, while following the printed steps.

cheers

Tony

[Klaus Overhage]

My sd-15c card belongs to the hp-97 and is descriped in the book for the hp-97 standard pac. With my hp-67 it runs 1 minute 46 second until the many 8 displayed. The 57 after the start is a good sign, its all ok so far.

[albertofenini]

Thanks Klaus
will check again later this evening

(09-21-2021 12:36 PM)Klaus Overhage Wrote:  My sd-15c card belongs to the hp-97 and is descriped in the book for the hp-97 standard pac. With my hp-67 it runs 1 minute 46 second until the many 8 displayed. The 57 after the start is a good sign, its all ok so far.

[AndiGer]

Lately found this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efCmVBfyjeA
HP-97 vs. HP-67 running SD15C - both take about 2 minutes

[albertofenini]

Thanks, I'll let it run till the battery lasts

(09-21-2021 03:07 PM)AndiGer Wrote:  Lately found this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efCmVBfyjeA
HP-97 vs. HP-67 running SD15C - both take about 2 minutes

[albertofenini]

Here we go !

HP-67 1612A01116 SD15C
HP-67 1612A01116 SD15A

It actually took a little over 2 minutes, but the SD15C worked out
As you may see I'm running the SD15A from a copy, since the original look to be corrupted

Would I overwrite the original, if I connect the WPS to ground will I be able to write onto write protected cards ?

This unit has a weird behavior, once restored, if used without the outer green bottom shell reads and write 10 times out of 10 times

With the bottom shell this ain't true anymore ...

I have found that, probably because of the de-soldering of the head, the cables push the card reader PCB a little out
of its original place and this, when the bottom shell is tightened, twists the unit hence the unreliable behavior

By putting a small piece of double sided adhesive tape between the card reader pcb and the inner shell we have
somehow fixed this, I'm saying as it may be useful to someone, still it is not reliable as we would like

Also, even if cleaned with a 50% vinegar solution the card reader PCB is not really really clean and I'm not
sure whether what is going to be worst between letting some small spot of oxidation (under the sense amplifier) or
molest it again with another vinegar solution bath, what's your take on this ?

take care and thanks for the support !!!

[teenix]

Yes, grounding WPS should defeat the write protect mechanism. This will make sure that this switch is sensed LOW by the CRC chip "before" the HDS goes LOW as the card moves through.

Warping of the main board when assembling the calculator can also upset the card switches and cause false write protect situations for cards that are not protected.

cheers

Tony

[dmh]

For comparison, my HP 67 takes just under 2 minutes to complete the SD-15C version of the Diagnostic Program as shown in the following video.

https://youtu.be/K2Wf7L2kEIE