EEVblog #535 - HP Designjet Dumpster Dive - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 07:54:39 am
content: Those things weren't cheap. They probably threw it out because it got too expensive to operate or maybe someone just moved out.

author: hagbard
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 12:58:34 pm
content: For what it's worth, there's a firmware upgrade to A.03.07 on the HP website.Also, the first byte of the error codes indicates the component/system.63: network i/o card79: firmware error (suggestion is to upgrade to latest firmware).61: language interpreting (postscript or hpgl+ error)86: carriage movementThe service manual is easily had via google if you're curious.If your printer does not have an HPGL2 card, then it's memory card cannot be upgraded. IMHO, that's fine. I've found my workstation to almost always rasterize loads faster than a printer's embedded CPU.Also, the JetDirect card in the back (the network interface) may well have/need/could use a firmware upgrade as well.Gorgeous find! Thank you for all the videos.

author: cengland0
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 01:26:15 pm
content: Ha, Dave. You had me laughing when you printed the Enterprise. Seems like something I would do as a first test too. hehe.

author: Mike_H
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 04:09:13 pm
content: Wow!What luck! I never seem to have such wonderful finds.Cool printing the Enterprise as well.

author: Rory
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 04:45:15 pm
content: I wonder if Dave realizes how much of a moneymaker he got his hands on.

author: synapsis
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 05:00:28 pm
content: Dave: You suck.

author: LaurenceW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 06:07:47 pm
content: Dave's luck/find prompted me to nip out and check our own Dumpster.Nah, nothing there but a fresh turd

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 06:14:00 pm
content: Quote from: LaurenceW on October 16, 2013, 06:07:47 pmYou let people drop a deuce in your dumpster?

author: firehopper
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 06:18:58 pm
content: this wasnt a dumpster dive, but still I aquired this printer for $80

author: smashIt
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 06:51:38 pm
content: i own a designjet 450c (cost me 40€ + a new belt)maybe we should start a plotter-fanclub

author: Steffen
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 07:08:01 pm
content: Nice plotter Dave. Now you can fit all schematics in one A0 page without need to split it into multiple pages. ;-) It'll also be nice to print the MSD of the Enterprise NCC-1701-D. Nerds wet dreams :-)

author: railman
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2013, 07:33:38 pm
content: Man thats the best dumpster dive ever. That plotter must have cost a bundle back in its day.

author: peter.mitchell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 05:10:26 am
content: I pretty sure he ebay'd it for like $1000

author: MauriceS
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 06:21:57 am
content: Great find. Love those dumpster finds... ;-) I found a Tek 784A once, (NO problems), and other test equipment with minor - repairable - issues...

author: jancumps
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 06:46:35 am
content: Will this be the end of DaveCad©?

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 06:59:44 am
content: I've god an old trusty LaserJet 4000. Got it like 4 or 5 years ago for 50€ and I haven't yet replaced the toner

author: railman
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 08:24:49 am
content: Dave how old is the video and have you gotten rid of the plotter yet?

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 08:31:30 am
content: Quote from: railman on October 17, 2013, 08:24:49 amIt's his latest video.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 08:32:32 am
content: Quote from: railman on October 17, 2013, 08:24:49 amHave tried ebaying it a few times. One guy failed to pay.Still have it and will probably re-list.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 08:34:08 am
content: I know someone who turned one of thee into a duck-shooting game...

author: cengland0
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 09:57:14 am
content: Quote from: andtfoot on October 17, 2013, 03:35:00 amWhen I was in the retail business, I would always smash the defective customer returns before putting them into the trash. Last thing I wanted was someone to dig through the trash, get that item, and then attempt to return it again for another refund or exchange.The products I sold were store branded items so it was only sold by our retail chain. If they brought something back without a receipt, I might just swap it out for customer goodwill anyway. And some people think we can just ship it back to the manufacturer but that was false. We took the loss at the individual store level.I would love to take some of those items home with me but that could have been viewed as a conflict of interest or something. Imagine me taking home a bunch of our merchandise. What would the district or regional manager could think if they found out. Could be interpreted as stealing or purposely marking things as defective to get free merchandise.

author: Fryguy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 11:35:16 am
content: Nice score Dave ! Too bad i'm on the other side of the planet - i'd love to come and pick it up without oBey . . .

author: stempile
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 04:09:44 am
content: Who's dumpster and how was it you had to take a lift to get it out of there? Looks like you've got a pretty good spy working for ya! None of my dumpster diving surfaces a prize like that... Nice!My luck is limited to recycle boxes full of handy power supplies and fans.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 04:12:01 am
content: Quote from: stempile on October 18, 2013, 04:09:44 amIt's my dumpster, and my building has lifts. So much so that if the lifts stop working, I can't access my lab.

author: ElektroQuark
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 07:06:07 am
content: No emergency stairs?In fire case?

author: sonic
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 02:26:42 pm
content: What a score! I bought a DesignJet 110NR for the last company I was working at and miss it so much! Why do you want to list it on eBay? It's so nice for printing out complex diagrams!

author: Neilm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 04:40:32 pm
content: I company I worked for did something similar - I paid £20 for the plotter, stand, 8 rolls of paper, 3 black cartridges (including head), 2 colour cartrdges and the manual. The only missing thing was the quickstart / quick reference guide that listed common errors and the menu tree.Sold it for £300

author: hikariuk
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 04:41:55 pm
content: Quote from: EdoNork on October 18, 2013, 07:06:07 amMy guess is the fire escapes are external.

author: kcozens
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2013, 08:21:12 pm
content: Another nice score from the dumpster room! I find it hard to believe someone was disposing of that printer when it was still working. Those are expensive devices. Even old it should still be worth a few dollars. Love the choice to print out plans of the Enterprise.

author: Hypernova
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 19, 2013, 01:27:08 am
content: Quote from: kcozens on October 18, 2013, 08:21:12 pmSome bean counter may have decided that since it's value on the books have depreciated to zero it's garbage.

author: grego
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2013, 01:42:29 am
content: Those Design Jets aren't worth a ton out here. I just checked Craigslist here in Chicago and they list for $400 - $900 - which means (likely) much less than that actual.It got me thinking of picking the one up that's listed for $400 locally -- but I think my wife would kick my ass if I got it.

author: PaulAm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2013, 02:45:10 pm
content: I just picked up a 36 inch Designjet 650c with a couple rolls of paper from a local prototype firm for $80. My office/lab is getting a bit crowded, but I like the idea of not having to enlarge/cut/tape pages together to get a readable schematic.Cartridges are going to be a killer though.I hadn't considered this until I saw this thread. Maybe I can blame Dave

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2013, 08:49:29 pm
content: Quote from: PaulAm on October 21, 2013, 02:45:10 pmI can't recall the last time I printed out a schematic. All our work benches have 2 monitors so no need to have paper copies for us.

author: smashIt
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2013, 03:26:05 pm
content: Quote from: PaulAm on October 21, 2013, 02:45:10 pmjust so you know: the color-inks for your plotter seem to be EOL (hp doesn't sell them anymore)

author: iXod
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2013, 06:31:39 pm
content: We just cleared out a print shop and had a couple similar models. Can't give these away.The people who use this type of printer want the new higher-resolution, and the ones who'd "like to have one" won't pay anything for it.Only "bottom-feeders" (as my partner calls them) want them.But if it becomes the new "DaveCad" it's great!(Great BTTF poster!)

author: PaulAm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2013, 07:03:07 pm
content: HP doesn't sellanythingfor these plotters anymore. It's strictly a graveyard, NOS and 3rd party supplier situation. I've also used the refill kits in the past.Turns out to be just another project., the VFD is dim and I'm seeing a Y encoder error, at least. We'll see when I can get it into the lab for a teardown.On the bright side, when it works, it won't refuse to print because an ink cartridge is outdated.

author: smashIt
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2013, 09:51:58 pm
content: Quote from: PaulAm on October 23, 2013, 07:03:07 pmblack ink is still availableprobably the only thing that matters with a plotter

author: Chipguy
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 25, 2013, 11:06:41 pm
content: Hi Dave and all othersI got a Hyunday Q17 TFT montor left over, not touched for at least 4 years which I wanted to get rid off.However, I figured that these older monitors go for almost nothing on ebay. Like 1 to 7 EUR.Since I didn't want to put up with ebay for that kinda money I asked around who wanted to have them.Indeed I found a family, who have a very low income and also a 13 year old boy that still ran an old 15 inch tube at 1024/768.So I donated the monitor to them and they were happy.I noticed that you have a whole lot of TFT monitors, mostly dumpster scores laying around collecting dust.Since y they are INDEED to good to just let them go to waste and not worth putting them on ebay I was wondering if there are also people in need for donations in Australia and as an idea if you would like to donate them.We got these "shops" here in Germany which "sell" those items for 1 EUR to people who live on social service or have an income so low that they simply can not afford to buy IT stuff new.