Hp67 and others, Drill or not to drill?

[jftman]

I have an HP67 and tge card reader turns on but the card does not feed.
Tge plate on the back is pristine, has not been pried up, if original implies never opened.

I am inclined to create hokes to remove the screws obscured by the plate.
I think it bests a plate that has been malled over the years by multiple owners.

What do You think?
Better to have access and not ruin the flatness of the plate?

[Raymond Del Tondo]

From the pic you provide the back plate already has ears at two edges.
That's not what I would call "pristine";-)
Maybe the ears are there because someone tried to peel the plate off.
There are several possible reasons why the edges are not as flat as the rest.

AFAIK it is possible to remove the plate without much damage, but I don't exactly recall the procedure.
The right amount of hot air, and much patience will help.

I repaired many HP card readers in the past.
On the HP-65/67 , I always push very small holes at the middle of the two screws hidden behind the plate.
Using a small Phillips screwdriver will avoid widening the holes too much.
Unscrew the screws only as much as needed, so their heads will stay under the plate.

Of course all my customers knew beforehand that the plate would be pierced.

This method may not be suitable for the perfectionists, but trying to remove the plate undamaged is much more effort,
with no guarantee of success. If it fails, you may have to provide an aftermarket plate.

[jftman]

Umm,
I like your idea.

[Helix]

The holes can easily be masked by small pieces of black adhesive. In the attached picture they are more visible than in reality.
I’m glad that I didn’t try to remove the back plate, because now the appearance is still excellent.
For a better result, it is even possible to buy from Amazon, Ebay, etc. round auto-adhesive stickers. A diameter of 6 mm should be perfect.

   

[Helix]

Another solution is to order a replacement back plate, made by a French guy:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/225771932494?ha...Swsl5kXM5G
Or just search for "metallic back label for HP 67".
I’ve ordered one on these. The printing quality is not on par with the HP plate, and the whole look is different from the original, so in case of a well preserved plate it’s probably not a good idea to change it.
But in case of a damaged plate, which is very common, there is no doubt that this replacement plate looks much better.