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Hello from a brand new HPC fan!

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ntware Page Icon Posted 2020-09-25 1:42 PM
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H/PC Elite

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660
Location:
Florida, US
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Thanks C:Amie! It always feel good to be able to help someone. Now it feels even better
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ken680428 Page Icon Posted 2020-10-14 4:49 PM
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Factorite (Junior)

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26
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Canada
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I am a new/old user of HPCs. Back in 1997 I bought a Casio Cassiopeia A-10. I used it for a year then sold it and then bought a Casio Cassiopeia A-11 in 1998. I used the A-11 till 2001 then I traded it for a low end Compaq 486/LTE notebook with dock. I wish I never made the trade and kept the A-11.

Present time. I recently got a PayPal account on eBay Canada. I bought an old Sharp PC-1262 HPC with printer dock. I had all of the Tandy line of Pocket PC models in my possession throughout my youth. Then I found Windows CE HPCs available. I bought a Compaq 2930A. Unfortunately I did not read the fine print in the ad that mentioned it had a broken left hinge. And nowhere in the add did it state the rechargeable battery was missing. And the unit is not compatible with AA batteries. So when I received it I found a compatible AC Adapter to make it work. I also fixed the hinge by melting the plastic together with my soldering iron. It looks ugly but works. But the HPC is not portable.

Then later I found a Casio Cassiopeia A-11 on eBay and read even the fine print. I said it was working but not tested. The pictures showed it turned on in the first few startup screens to the touchscreen calibration screen but no screens after that screen. I never thought about it and ordered the A-11. When I received it 2 months later it would boot to the touchpad calibration screen, But I could go no further because the touchscreen does not register the touches with the pen finger or anything else. The ad said nothing about this. The ad just said it works but not fully tested. He also did not list it as a parts machine he listed it as a working but used machine. That is what I expected but did not get. I opened up a PayPal dispute case, after 2.5 months PayPal found for me to get a refund, but only if I ship the device back to the owner. Shipping would have cost me almost as much as what I paid for it so I declined and decided to keep it for spare parts or possibly repairable. It did come with a Windows CE 2.0 ROM module though.

After that I found a used but guaranteed working Compaq C140 that came with a carrying case for a good price so I ordered it. After 1.5 months it arrived and worked perfectly but had Windows CE 1.0. So I swapped the CE 1.0 module out of the C140 for the CE 2.0 out of the A-11 and it worked perfectly. I already knew the C140 was just a rebadged A-11.

Now all I need to find is a Casio/Compaq Dock and or a Casio/Compaq RS-232 Serial Cable. If anyone can point me in the direction to get one or the other would be a great help. And thanks for reading this long Newcomer post.

Kenneth Finch

Edited by ken680428 2020-10-14 5:03 PM
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hpcboy Page Icon Posted 2020-10-15 2:54 PM
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H/PC Philosopher

Posts:
256
Location:
Hong Kong SAR
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Great stories about your good oddies. I wasn't even aware of the Casio models you mentioned until reading your post. The early Compaq models are very interesting indeed. The C140 on the cradle looks strikingly similar to the later HP Jornada.
Sadly the HPC era was vibrant but too short.
Yet it's 2020 and they've just started holding a place in my hand and in my heart.
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