Survey posted 1999-11-15 01:07 by Andy.

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I don't see why someone would want to open their calculator(s). TI makes very good products and there really isn't a reason to risk a $100+ calculator just to "upgrade" or fool around with it.

Two good reasons to mess around with a calculator are: a) to add a backlight which could be very useful, and b) to overclock it, if you want to be able to graph very fast and/or make BASIC programs run faster.
Also, only the 92(+)/89 and 86 [85?] cost $100+, and it is fun to mess around with electronic devices.

a third reason is to void you're warranty...everyone loves to do that :)

BTW, according to the guidlines, I can use any swear word I want, except f**k, or s**t.

Other swear words are heard often on US TV

While most swear words can be heard on US television, you almost never hear other words like racial slurs (unless it's a documentary on racism or something).

In a Supreme Court ruling in the sixties, a justice declared, "I can't define obscenity, but I know it when I see it."

--BlueCalx

Stop being legalistic.

Well, I'll offer a tidbit of advice: Stop being whiny.

Or how about: stop being such a follower...

MUHAHAHAHA!

there are actually seven words you can't say on tv, ask George Carlin, but I like your thinking

I'll ask you..
what are they?

risk makes it that much more fun :)

it is fun and interesting to open up electronic devices like remote controls, mouses (computer type), R/C cars, etc. I havent taken apart my calculator yet because I just bought it, and it would be bad if I broke it. I did however take apart my old TI scientific calc, but it didnt have too much in it. Taking apart stuff usually does not do damage, unless you fool around with sensitive things or dont put it back together right.

Hey, My link port wore down completely, I opened it desoddered the old one and put another one in from an old broken 83. Its also fun to void the warrenty, how would ti know unless you put a foren object in it.

I didn't think that many calculators would have been broken when opened up. I mean, it would take a little more than exposure to regular air to mess something up! Even touching the microchips wouldn't really effect the operation of them! Well, unless you have some really greasy/buttery/dirty/nasty/etc. fingers! But, I don't think people will actually endanger their calculator!
I personally haven't opened up any of my calcs, but have been thinking about it since I don't use my regular old 83 anymore (ROM v1.07--WORST version ever made!). So, that might come some weekend that I don't have any homework--commonly known as the great weekend of SUMMER!

Matt H.

Well I opened my TI-30 Solar up before. I was really bored in class and had a bunch of time to do nothing. First I unscrewed the screws, took all the chips out ( There was one ) and then tried to put it back together. Unfortuantlly it didn't work when I put it back together so I just threw it away. Since then, I have never opened any electronic device ( Except my computer ). Hope this has helped.

- Derrick

Maby you messed up the connections between the chip and the circuit board. Be careful when removing chips.

This comming from someone who has taken apart almost every electronic device he ever got. The only things I havent taken apart would be the tv(danger of getting shocked, even if you unplug it), monitor(same as tv), printer (very easy to put off balence, and the microwave, (if you put something back wrong it might kill you).

Nope, Opening it sounds stupid to me. I would rather keep my calculator up and running.

Also, don't you think there should be the option "No, and I STILL broke it." :-)

~Jonathan Taylor (AKA da JET)

Opening up your calculator might seem like a better idea if you have two calculators, so that if you break it, then you would still have a calc to use for school. If you only have one calc than it is not such a fun idea, especially if that calc happens to be a 92/89.

Right now I have only one calc, a TI-86.

It okay to open up your calc, just as long as you can get the thing back together and it still functions. And hey, if it doesn't function in the first place, what's the loss. I opened my 85 when it got a huge line in the screen and it got annoying. I tried to fix it to no avail.

Umm, yes, there should be an option "No and still broke it." Yes, I broke my calc without even cracking the case. I was playing Penguins on my TI-86 and the game crashed. No biggie, pull out a battery, wait a few seconds, put the battery back in, turn the calc on. I turned the calc on and now screen showed up. Once again, no biggie: turn up the contrast. I turned up the contrast; or, I tried to turn up the contrast. Blank screen.

I'm going to get new batteries and see if they help, but I doubt they will; I was playing Penguins before the calc broke and so I think the batteries are Ok. So you see, I'm the one who has not opened my calc and still broken it.

I had the same problem, take out your batterys (including the backup one, you'll need a small phillips screwdriver) and let it sit for a while ( let mine sit overnight because i was tired) put the main batterys in and crank it up, the mem-cleared screan should come up, then put the backup battery back in and screw it down.
this clears all your programs, so have a graph link handy afterwards (ps. anyone know how to get graph link to work w/ a computer with the serial port on com 5?)


Capt. Bubba

COM5? what do you have on the other 4?

COM1--TI-83
COM2--TI-85
COM3--TI-86
COM4--TI-81?!
COM5--TI-82

It has to be 8 hours. Same thing happened to me. Since you left it out overnight, it worked.

that happens to me to. I just hit the contrast button for a long time and it goes back to normal without loseing memory

That would be a good idea. I managed to break 2 calcs, without droping it or opening it. The first, a TI-86, I was testing a game I was working on, and the screen suddenly went blank. I thought, "ok, I just crashed it again. I'll take the batteries out overnight and try again." It didn't work, called tech support, and after doing several things, they told me to send it in. This was in February of this year.

Then in August, I was upgrading the rom of my TI-89 and I walked away from the computer(I heard an upgrade could take up to 45 mins). Came back and the screen was blank. I thought APD shut it off, and tried to turn it on. I ended up sending that one in too.

Has anyone else have two calcs die for no apparent reason?

I almost broke my calc one time but i fixed it. I have an 86 and it froze while playing a game( i for get which one) so i tried taking out all of the batteries (even teh backup one) and it still didn't work, my screen was still blank. then i thought that if i knew how to reset it without without looking at the screen it might work. i just looked on my ti86 emulator on my pc and saw what to push. i reset it, turned up the contrast and boom, it worked, i think that might fix other peoples calcs too.
ps. i did try messing with the contrast before hand so that wasn't the only thing wrong with it, it still stayed blank until i reset it then messed with the contrast. maybe the video memory got full with 0's or something.

it's pretty cool if you have a calc to spare, i'm going to buy an 83 or 85 just to take it apart.