100LX floppy broken right hinge

I recently bought a relatively cheap 100LX from a disingenuous seller who claimed the right hinge cover was missing, but that it did not affect function of the device. What he meant was that he had broken the right hinge and lost whatever doodad goes in there probably while replacing the screen.

Anyway, I've searched for 95LX, 100LX, 200LX hinge fix and found a lot of bitching but no solutions. Surely someone has 3d-printed a kick-stand or found/adapted some common object to hold the screen up? I'd rather not carry around a book.

You could try the veterans over at hplx@lists.hp200lx.net but my guess is that a repair via usedhandhelds.com is in order, and that will set you back about $125usd. Their repairs are guaranteed and I've had a 200LX screen replaced without problem.

Jake

I am aware of that repair service and decided it would not be very much fun. For $125--possibly much less if it is very broken in other ways--I can just buy another 95LX (or even another 100LX) for parts and tinker.

I’d just look for some kind of tablet kickstand that you can modify to work on the palmtop?
With a flat base ?

It is that shipping to the US is already $12 as a letterbox package, or I would advise my 200lx.net.(hint, hint....yes, I can get you an intact 100lx screen case plus hinge caps and some spare screws for $50 including shipping, lots of work because of the required customs form).

But better news - it might be 80% cheaper: if it is a clean break, a drop of industrial grade polyacrylate glue might do wonders. I do use it for hinge repair. , but also then lubricate the hinge before with some silicone oil (NO WD40 which breaks down the plastic ).
Yes, a special type of superglue - you might have to look around for it, and it is about only 30 times the price of the 30 cents cheap superglue , but this type really works.

Michel

@michelbel good to see you here! I have a squeaky right hinge that I tried to treat with a very expensive silicon for guns, of all things. Didn't work but the hinge hangs in there, nonetheless. Would you recommend your polyacrylate for broken chasses of other non-PalmTop models?

Also, would you mind seeing if you have an answer for this PalmTop frotz question: https://www.hpcfactor.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=20443&start=16&posts=17

Jake

This works better than I expected: I bought a few of those 8" tablet cases that fold into a (landscape-oriented) stand. They have mostly disappeared from Walmart and now can be found in thrift stores for like $1. Works well on a table, but a clothes pin is needed for added stability laying down. Amazing! I can now edit my config.sys in bed!

I used other case for my 8" tablet; almost any tablet case can be "universal" if you have some flush cutters, LOL.

I don't think lubrication is needed in my case as it is completely floppy. It looks like something is missing inside the right hinge. Viewed from the right side, there is just a thin metal bar in the center of a maybe 1cm round hole. I don't know what was supposed to be in there, but it sounds like people are saying to put glue on it?

To each his own of course, but I wanted to chime in that I also used Biba's repair service (for a Jornada 720 with a bad digitizer) and had a wonderful experience. The device I got back was literally like new. And I say this as someone who has done complete teardowns of almost all the HPCs in my stable and even done some screen swaps. They're just....better at it. You count that $125 as part of the cost of having bought a nicer unit and I think you'll still be getting a good deal. Just my $0.02.

Yes, and then to think that Thaddeus' 200lx repair price has remained stable for some 25+ years... No inflation rise there.
Considering the cost of shipping (i am in the Netherlands) I usually refer repair requests from the US to them.

Edited by michelbel 2023-08-13 2:46 PM