Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!pt.cs.cmu.edu!dsl.pitt.edu!pitt!unix.cis.pitt.edu!fmgst
From: fmgst@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Filip M Gieszczykiewicz)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Broken HP handheld... anyone?
Keywords: 31E, broken, what????
Message-ID: <24676@unix.cis.pitt.edu>
Date: 4 Jun 90 04:45:20 GMT
Reply-To: fmgst@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Filip Gieszczykiewicz)
Distribution: all
Organization: The Last Jedi
Lines: 38


	Greetings. I got a HP 31E... It's one of the very first
	ones, I believe. I seems to be BRAINDEAD.

	When I turn it on the 0.0000 appears and stays for
	as long as I keep it on.

	However, as soon as I press any key, any key, it flashes
	some _weird_ numbers and has one of many "fits".
	It can either turn the display off, do what the key is
	meant to do, flash a 0.0000 back on, blank the dispay,
	or, plainly, go banannas...

	I thought that is was just the connectors and the like but
	I cleaned all of them with alcohol and made sure that they
	TOUCH everywhere. All connections are FIRM. I know that
	because whatever it has on the display does not change when
	I "bang" it against the table :-) 

	It seems to be an electronic problem... Most of the chips
	are unmarked. There is one big one, 3 small ones, and a
	small DC-DC converter (or DC-AC?). One interestion note
	is that the memory feature doesn not work. The only function
	that works is F - FIX - number  this sets the number of
	decimal places after the point. It works sometimes but if
	I turn it off and back on it does not remember... should it?

	This is long... I think that HP discontinued this one a
	WHILE back... So support is not easy (read:possible)

	Anyone? Any retired HP repairmen???? Take care.

	P.S. Please use e-mail... some people get "touchy" :-)
-- 
_______________________________________________________________________________
"The Force will be with you, always." It _is_ with me and has been for 10 years
Filip Gieszczykiewicz "..of future fame...." "Ok! So I have a dream..."
FMGST@PITTVMS  or  fmgst@unix.cis.pitt.edu "My ideas. ALL MINE!!"