[geeks] ANyone used "www.fixyourownprinter.com" repair kits? [AKA Anatomy of lesson learned]

[Lionel Peterson]

--- phoetoid <phoetoid at pyrospheric.net> wrote:
>  I surely wouldn't do that! Unless you are desperate for that
> printer...heh you can get a brand new one for that much $$. Hell, I
> have a couple older epsons in my basement you can have (color too!)
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: geeks-bounces at sunhelp.org [mailto:geeks-bounces at sunhelp.org] On
> Behalf Of Lionel Peterson
> Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2003 5:12 PM
> To: geeks at sunhelp.org
> Subject: [geeks] ANyone used "www.fixyourownprinter.com" repair kits?
> 
> I have an HP IIP printer I found on the street, and it used to work
> fine (but slow 4 ppm, IIRC ;^), now I get "12 no ep or open" error
> message. THis site says 99% of the time, it is a bad density control
> board. Their repair kit is $40, incl. instructional video.

Well, I think I've lost my mind.

I found the printer, and once I got it working (minor physical damage,
just needed a little obvious TLC), I went out and spent $20 on a 4 Meg
upgrade card.

Then it sat idle for the better part of the last year.

When I powered it up, I got the "12 no EP or open" message. I want this
to work - it's a big printer, and I'd hate to pitch it if there is just
a simple problem with it. So I investigate repair options... I find the
above web site. $40, well, it's less than I expected...

Then I post my question about the website here.

Then I proceed to eBay - and low and behold, I find a printer selling
for $10 a few miles from my parents hosue in FL. Maybe I could buy this
printer (which is giving off a different error cose) - so I shoot a
question off to the seller "will you hold this for two weeks, until I
come down for vacation?" - I'm clearly losing track of the logic in
this project.

I start to think I'm losing touch with the point of this exercise.

Then, later that evening, I start to think about a friend I am going to
visit tomorrow - a year ago he had a similar printer in his basement,
but without a toner cartridge... He offered me the printer the last
time I visited - maybe he still has it...

Then I step back and take an assessment of my current printing
resources...

HP 4M in basement, along side an HP 855 ink jet printer and an Epson
C-80 inkjet (very nice).

On the first floor I have no functioning printers.

On the second floor, I have an HP 4MV (11" x 17" postscript laser),
that is having problems picking up paper from the tray (manual feed is
fine, and th eprint quality is great - very low page count on the
engine).

Then we get to storage - two IBM/Lexmark ValuePrinter 300s in need of
toner (couldn't give them away at a recent garage sale), and a Brother
HL-10V printer (non-Postscript, but works great).

WHere does this leave me? Well, I'll keep the ptinter off the curb for
a few days and see if my friend still has his printer. If he does, then
I'll take it off his hands and try and get it working.

If not, out it goes to the curb, but I'll pull the memory card and sell
it for a few $$ (less than $20 for sure)...

Oh well, the art of rescue/salvage may be passing out of it's golden
age, with the advent of cheap technology.

(I did take a 27" TV to be repaired recently, when the vertical amp
gave out... The TV worked fine, but the picture dropped to a solid
white line across the middle of the screen. The repair shop said it was
a $90->120 repair. I decided to fix it - obviously an emotional
decision, given the price of a new TV these days.)


=====
Lionel

"Nothing would please me more than being able to hire ten
programmers and deluge the hobby market with good software"
Bill Gates, in "An OpenLetter to Hobbyists" dated February 3, 1976