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What's new in my pocket computers pages?
Friday, October 15th : Ricoh RDC i-700 received
Device securised this morning! No page for it yet; will be one some day.
Wednesday, September 15th : Sharp MI-10 added
Created a page for the Sharp MI-10 i've received.
Friday, July 23rd : new homepage, new machines listed
My collection reached 49 units yesterday as i've received 2 new watches. Added them to the list (no pages yet) and changed the homepage to a weblog format.
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This feature will soon be available
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FAQ
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Since i've put my collection page online, i've received quite a few e-mail requests about the machines i own or about others.
I've attempted to gather most of those questions in this page. If you came across this site looking for help or information about one specific machine; please read the question list and see if you request matches one of these.
If you have any specific question that is not covered by this page, please feel free to contact me (link on the left), and i'll do my best to reply quickly (although i known that i sometimes reply very late. In such a case, please do not hesitate to insist! I won't be offended!)
However, please note that i may ignore requests that are already covered by the page (user manual requests mostly...)
Thank you!
Frequently Asked Questions :
Can you send me a user manual for [specific device]?
Where can i find a user manual for [specfic device]?
I have a [device reference] and it's not working. What's wrong with it?
Where can i have my [device reference] repaired?
Will you sell your [some device from my collection]?
Where could i find a [device reference]?
I have just found my old [specific device]. Will you buy it?
I want to sell my old [specific device]. How much is it worth?
Replies :
Can you send me a user manual for [specific device]?
Sorry, i can't. First off, i don't have a manual for every machine in my collection.
Next, i just cannot give away the few manuals i own. Technically, i could just make copies of them to send away, but copying manuals is very likely to cause them damages.
There are also copyright issues, not to mention the time it would take to turn my manuals into usable digital documents, or the cost involved if i had to ship paper copies worldwide.
I may consider accepting donations in exchange for the time i spent, but that would be only under exceptionnal circumstances and under my conditions, as i cannot guarantee the time i would need nor how many free time i will have available to allow to the task.
However, if you have more specific questions about using your machine, i will be reply and bring the help i can!
Where can i find a user manual for [specfic device]?
That's a good question, but i'm afraid i cannot tell you for sure. The best thing to do would be to ask your local manufacturer representative for information. If the machine has been discontinued for long, you might be lucky anyway, but that could take lots of time and convincing. If the machine is still in production, or at least, still available in your country, then your local representative can surely help.
Internet is also a place to search, as some manufacter now offer online resources. For instance, Casio have a manual section in their product support page. Check their manuals page and see what they can provide.
I have a [device reference] and it's not working. What's wrong with it?
This question should be much more specific. There are lots of reasons why an ancient machine "won't work". Providing as many details as you can is always a good thing to try and understand what the problem is.
The following advices may help :
- rechargeable batteries weaken drastically over the years. If you're testing a machine that runs on rechargeable batteries, make sure you plug the AC adaptor in before attempting to switch the device on. Switching on a machine that has a dead battery in it will have no effect. Switching on a machine that has a dead battery in and *only then* pluging the ac adaptor in may not solve the problem (residual power in the battery could cause a malfunction that the AC adaptor won't solve).
- some devices use a "backup battery" (for memory protection) aside from the main battery. Be sure this battery is present and working.
- of course, when testing an old machine that runs on replacable batteries, always replace the batteries with a new set before testing, by the way (unless you're trying to retrieve old data from the unit, but in this case, i assume you know what you are doing).
- on ancient LCD screen devices, the contrast may be set too low, which could look like there's no display or a bad display. Make sure you can check and adjust the contrast settings.
Where can i have my [some device reference] repaired?
This will basically depend on where you live. The best idea would be to ask your local manufacturer representative. Be aware that, as you will tell them about a discontinued device, chances are than they cannot offer support any more.
If you're ready to struggle, however, manufacturers sometimes contract third party companies to handle their repairs, so getting the name of the company for your country from your representative would be a good thing.
Maybe that company still has the instructions and everything it takes to repair old machines (that sometimes happenned to me).
Replacement parts can be a real issue with old units, so, depending on the problem, finding someone who's theorically able to fix it may not be enough, as they might be unable to find suitable parts.
Will you sell your [some device from my collection]?
Sorry, i will not. As i've written on top of my pages, items displayed here are not for sale.
Where could i find a [device reference]?
For most of the collectible items in my collection, that have been discontinued for years, so finding them is a matter of time, patience, and careful searches.
Internet is one of the best thing to find rare items all over the world. Check eBay (http://www.ebay.com) worldwide (ebay.de, ebay.co.uk, ebay.au, ebay.fr are not to be left apart) and make multiple searches, day by day, for that specific reference you're after.
Second hand shops are also a very good place to hunt.
Auctions from Japan are also a very interesting place to search. Sites like Yahoo Auctions Japan used together with third party services like Rinkya may reveal wonders. I use those without reading/speaking/understanding one single word of what's written on the japanese auction site (yet!).
I have just found my old [specific device]. Will you buy it?
The quick and simple reply to this question is no, i won't.
The most common reasons why i've actually never bought any device from an e-mail offer are that i was not interested in the machine, or i already had one, or i did't have the money at the moment.
Ever since i've started to receive e-mail regarding my collections, i've never actually been offered to buy a machine i was interested in.
This might happen, tho, but whenever one would send me an e-mail offering to sell me a device, and i would be interested in the device, then i would be ready to buy it only under my conditions.
I prefer asking every incoming sellers to trust me rather than having to trust every incoming sellers, so my conditions are that i would send the payment only uppon item's reception and inspection.
On the other hand, i always accept donations, for which i usually send thank-you presents in return.
If you are interested in knowing which machines i'm interested in acquiring in the first place, please check my Wanted page.
I want to sell my old [specific device]. How much is it worth?
There is no real reply to this question, as we are talking about old discontinued devices that today only have a collectible value if any.
As for the collectible values, this kind of collection is pretty recent and there are not many people around the world interested, so there's basically no official quotation in regard for the devices values.
So, to have an estimate for the value of your item an any given time, my best guess would be to turn to eBay, see if you can find identical items for sale there and see how much they make.
You could still observe important differences in selling prices from one sale to another, simply because the selling price only depends upon how much the seller will be ready to pay for it at a given moment.
There's actually no way to be any more precise.
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