HP 9845B Workstation and a lot of Extras

[NeXT]

So if you remember this thread I did manage to carve out a deal. I ended up paying the $30 plus another sum of cash to have it dropped off closer to me by someone who was passing through town. After a brief inventory I now have a better idea of what was in the lot:

So here's what we got:

-HP 9845A that's been upgraded at some point to a 9845B
--Has one tape drive (dead capstan) and no thermal printer
--Has the I/O, Mass Storage and Graphics ROMs
--Has the basic and extremely cataract-ridden monochrome monitor

I have not yet powered it up to see what revision the ROMS are, how much memory it has or if it works at all. I've heard rumors about how iffy the system ROM likes to get with time. The power supply first needs to be removed, several AC caps replaced and load tested.

-2 x 9885M 8" floppy drives
-1 x 9895A dual 8" floppy drive
-3 x 98034A HP-IB interfaces (two of which indicate they are the "revised" versions)
-2 x 98032A 16-bit I/O interfaces (presumably for the two 9885M's)
-1 x 98036A RS-232 interface
-2 x 2631B Dot-Matrix printers (not pictured because they're big and heavy and I'm leaving them in the car for the winter to act as weight on my back axle )
-9 x NOS printer ribbons for above printers
-MOUNTAINS of documentation for the machine and peripherals, plus printouts of some BASIC programs.

That being said I received some manuals for hardware I did not receive. This included a 7225A plotter, 9869A card reader (now that would of been cool), the Assembly Execution ROM and an L-series HP 1000 (or at least a memory upgrade for one). It all seems to be what remains of multiple systems that were operating at the formerly named Chemainus Highschool. I'm optimistic contacting them about any remaining hardware would yield any results. Everything is also disgustingly filthy. It will all need a pretty good cleaning.

Unexpectedly two of the binders yielded software on tapes.

There is indication in the printouts that these were all backed up to disk at one point but no floppies came with the lot so if I want to try anything on these tapes they will once again have to be dumped.
I needed a reason to get a dehydrator and rebuilding the tape drive isn't that hard but man do QIC tapes scare me these days. So many stories about tape shed and loose tension belts.
Surprisingly the system with the Revision B Mass Storage ROM supports my 7925 pack drive which frankly is a bit absurd but what the hell, lets try that once I find that damn 12745D HP-IB interface kit.
Also to my relief there is a LOT of information online about the 9845, including manuals, ROM dumps and some tape images. This is going to go a long way towards getting this up and running.

 

[Fleetingthought]

If I'd been 500 miles closer you'd of had a fight on your hand for that kit. Congrats!

Tom

 

[gslick]

The 9895A dual 8" floppy drive is nice with the HP-IB interface. I have one and had it hooked it up to an HP-85 series at one point.

Someone currently wants one enough to be bidding $295 for one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/172055959066

I don't know anything about the 9845B. Never had one or used one.

 

[commodorejohn]

$30.

$30.

Thirty. Dollars.

Holy cripes did you ever get lucky.

 

[NeXT]

$30.

$30.

Thirty. Dollars.

Holy cripes did you ever get lucky.

He did mention he was hoping it would go to something who would better appreciate it. I can only assume that's why the price was so low and frankly he found exactly the person he was looking for. While it's my first serious investment into the older HP machines there's more than enough parts now to breathe life back into it and give a disk drive to my HP85 which as been gathering dust since I got the EPROM board for it. I'll probably make a full video out of the cataracts treatment once it warms up outside. There's barely a dozens video on the subject on Youtube and they're all rather poor.

 

[Fleetingthought]

If that's the same 'mold under the glass" that my 2645 terminal suffered from, once you get the CRT out, it was just a matter of digging the not so clear optical gel out from between the safety glass and the front of the CRT. I used a long small diameter (maybe 6" x3/32") screwdriver that was flexible and a hacksaw blade, pushing into the gel at varying angles to cut wedges of the gel, then digging out the wedges. Worked all the way around the CRT, leaning on the safety glass instead of the CRT. Had the safety glass off and the CRT going back together in a little more than an hour. Wear something like nitrile gloves and eye protection, don't know what the gel is, but it's moist and weeps a liquid. Mine had a black goo that had leaked out of the tape seal and dripped in several spots in the terminal. I assumed that it was the gel liquid that had oxidized. I left the safety glass off after not coming up with a method to reattach. This process made a large mess with lots of little gel bits scattered about. I worked at my shop bench with a large heavy shop towel for padding, that seemed to work well. Hope this provide some insight to cataract surgery.

Tom

 

[NeXT]

The cataract issue is extremely common with older tubes that used safety glass and a PVA bonding agent. The vintage TV folks know it well but it's still a little alien to the Vintage computer crowd so there's no video tutorials showing the removal process on a computer CRT. I've treated another CRT in the past with the same problem and there's a much less......mechanical way to more safely remove the glass using a heat gun.

 

[Fleetingthought]

I had considered heat that would have used very hot water, but figured I'd end up scalded and wet so I went with the mechanical removal. So, it releases with heat? I'll have try that when I run across it next. I would assume it would require a fairly even distribution of heat to keep from popping the glass.

Tom

 

[KC9UDX]

Yes, but keep in mind that a heat gun is a good way to implode a CRT.

 

[dfnr2]

Very nice score!

 

[NeXT]

Yes, but keep in mind that a heat gun is a good way to implode a CRT.

IF you don't know what you're doing. One of the reasons I stated I'm going to wait until it's warmer outside is that it's currently -3c in the shop. Having worked with Pyrex before it's unwise to handle glasswork when you are dealing with thermal extremes. I think my support jig is still buried under the bench.

 

[xjas]

Cool stuff! Glad it found its way to you in one piece.
I really wouldn't know where to even start with this thing. What kind of stuff does it run?

BTW it goes pretty well with your shag carpet & tweed sofa there. "Period correct."

 

[NeXT]

I have great taste in furniture. Now if only I could strip the white paint off the fake wood panelling in my bedroom.

That I've found so far it runs Rocky Mountain BASIC which I believe allows me loose compatibility with my later 9816 but not the HP 85. There is an absurd amount of software available for the machine online. I'm totally tempted once I get that 7925 going to start dumping software en masse to a pack however aside form games I don't yet have a real purpose for it besides HP-IB control.

I swear at some point someone designed a ROM addon that let you dump ROM images to a cartridge or something that plugged into one of the drawers. I have not the faintest idea where to find more ROM modules for this thing.

 

[tingo]

Nice score! Keep us updated on your progress.

 

[NeXT]

I knew there was an issue with RIFA caps in the power supply so I pulled that apart (which was really painless as the four board piece of equipment was held together with half a dozen screws) but totally forgot the others hiding in the AC line filter deeper inside the case so with the PSU removed I plugged it in anyways to see how the fans were doing. The line filter is a sealed metal box so I couldn't tell if the smell of burning toast was me about to have a seizure or not until the filter was pretty much on fire and spraying smoke and the tar-like substance out from around the IEC power connector....

Man this reeks. Went to the local electronics store to order new ones. He didn't have any. You call yourself an electronics supply store? Now I gotta make a trip to Vancouver to get the parts.

 

[NeXT]

Additional progress today. The top sections of the machine were stripped of electrical components and washed. The lower half was blasted with compressed air and brushed with the exterior wiped down. There is two original HP support and service tags on the machine. I'll be leaving those on.

With the tape drive removed I evaluated its condition. The capstan roller was almost unrecognizable but cleaned up well with a sharp xacto knife and is now ready for a substitute roller to be fitted (if I can find the recommended material). The head was was filthy and you chould visibly tell that a shedding tape had plugged the head up. After a heavy cleaning it looked a lot better but there were signs something a bit more abrasive than a Q-tip had been rubbing against it in an up and down motion.

Again, the (first revision) power supply is extremely easy to dismantle. I love it!

The keyboard was also absolutely filthy. It was amazing just how much grime and dust bunnies were between the keys. Some of the keys were also sticking. I decided to pull all the keys off, soak and individually hand wash them. The rest of the keyboard was scrubbed with a toothbrush, blasted with compressed air and the stuck keys which turned out to be push on/off were oiled using a sewing machine oil soaked Q-tip.

 

[Klyball]

It cleaning up nice, i used a hacksaw blade to remove my safety glass had no problems, reinstalled it with double sided foam tape then silicone around the edge to seal it

 

[gslick]

It cleaning up nice, i used a hacksaw blade to remove my safety glass had no problems, reinstalled it with double sided foam tape then silicone around the edge to seal it

View attachment 29509

View attachment 29510

Did you post an earlier message about that? I didn't see it. Is that an HP 264x terminal? I have a pile of those. I'll have to have a go at cleaning out the CRT goo on some of mine.

-Glen

 

[NeXT]

Been a month delay, sorry. My supplier of new fliter caps is not responding to his email so I gotta drive down to the coast tomorrow and order the parts. Still have no clue if we will run into any additional problems. I'm kind of hoping that we do not run into a bad ROM in here. We'll find out. STill having a hell of a time sourcing the supposed vinyl tube to repair the tape drive though. Any other 45 users know of a good source?

 

[Klyball]

When I replace my Rifa caps I can find replacements at digikey.ca usually get them overnight , would save you the gas and time, there are a lot of rom images over at hp9845.net, if you find a good source to fix your tape drive I would love to here it.

Grant