HP-85 belts/Capstan repair

Michael - I was part of the HP-85 belt group buy (5 sets,) but I can't find your note with the total owed and mailing address to send payment. Would you please resend the info to me? Thanks! -- Tony Eros 2105 Anson Road Wilmington, DE 19810 -----Original Message----- From: Michael Grigoni [SMTP:msg@computerpro.com] Sent: Monday, March 08, 1999 3:46 PM To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers Subject: HP-85 belts/Capstan repair Greetings to all: Since I've been absent for about a week, 800 messages have piled-up from the list; reviewing them will take awhile so I'm posting this to report on the HP-85 belt/capstan issues status globally. The belts have arrived and are being mailed-out early this week. I installed a set in our HP-85 and they work well. I tried a new approach to capstan repair which I find works very well. Clean the capstan of old rubber down to a minimal amount of residue with isopropyl. Obtain a can of dipping vinyl (for coating tool handles, etc.); most hardware stores should have it. Remove the capstan/encoder wheel ass'y from the motor shaft. Prepare the vinyl properly according to directions with the product. Dip the capstan (inverted) at the rate of about 5 seconds for its length, being careful to just dip just above the bottom rim of the capstan wheel so that the vinyl creates an overlap of 90 degrees. Withdraw the part at the same rate as insertion. Immediately invert the part and place on a level surface in a warm place to dry for four hours. During the drying time you will note that any vertical asymmetry evens out. Repeat with another dip and 4 hour dry. The results were very good and tests with an old tape containing an 84 record program produced no errors (reading or writing). Attached is a small jpg which gives an idea of the appearance of the results (max mag. avail with the camera lens). Michael Grigoni Cybertheque Museum << File: CAPSTAN2.JPG >>