Tony Duell wrote:
FWIW the teeth on these belts are pitched at
0.080 inch - the standard "mini
pitch", unlike some equipment I have which uses belts with the teeth at 0.081
inch...
Can you really measure 1 thou difference on something like this? I would
have thought the 'wrong' belt would have fitted anyway, since the rubber
is somewhat elastic, and over the 20-or-so teeth engaged on a typical
sprocket, you've only got an error of 20 thou...
In any case, how hard is it to make new sprockets with the right pitch
(or even skim a bit off the existing ones to reduce the diameter
slightly)? If the 'right' belts are impossible to obtain, this would seem
to be a sensible solution.
-tony
Actually, the proper belts for the HP-85 printer are still easy to come
by. It took just two phone calls and I found a company called Stock
Drive Products in New Hyde Park, NY (516-328-3300). They ship these
belts from stock, and it doesn't appear that they have a minimum order
quantity (I ordered three of each of the two belts). The two part
numbers are A6B16-175012 and A6B16-078012, and they cost about two or
three dollars each.
Stan