Anyone who owns a mouse and uses it extensively will have encountered the same problem over the last 10+ years: at some point, a single click turns into a double click. Not always, but more and more often. It may sound harmless at first, but it’s not—you can no longer use your computer properly. Actions that require you to hold down the mouse button are particularly problematic. Impossible.

The reason is easy to find: manufacturers, especially of expensive gaming mice, use very cheap buttons that produce these double clicks as a final symptom of wear and tear. My partner and I have been using a Roccat Kone XTD and a Roccat Kone Pure gaming mouse for many years, respectively, which were not exactly cheap. We are also very happy with them; the sampling rate is good and the lighting is nice. If only it weren’t for the double clicks, which started to occur more and more frequently after 3-4 years of use. Later, this even happened with the right mouse button.

I have also experienced this problem with various models from Logitech (from $10 to high-end, it doesn’t matter), Microsoft, and Mad-Catz.

Repair?

Actually, the fix is very simple. Unfortunately, gaming mice are more often than not held together by plastic clips, which makes disassembly very difficult. Added to this are RGB lighting, cable routing, and adhesive. The process with the Roccat Kone XTD was anything but pleasant, but it was doable.

I have now repaired more than 20 mice in this way. One side effect is that the clicking sound is louder and you have to press a little harder to click. It has been over six years since I repaired the Kone XTD and Kone Pure, and they still click very well, despite even increased use. I think the plastic of the housing will wear through before the problem occurs again.

The following tools should be at hand:

• Soldering iron, preferably with medium power (no SMD!)
• Small flat-nose or needle-nose pliers
• Slotted screwdriver
• Small vise
• One or more sewing needles
• Bit set for disassembling the mouse

The only spare parts needed are new buttons, which are available in various quality grades. I can recommend the well-known manufacturer Omron, which also produces the often inferior originals. I used the D2FC-F-K model in the “50M” quality grade, which stands for 50 million possible clicks. The originals are often 1M, 2M, or 5M buttons. I bought these on AliExpress*; they are significantly more expensive on eBay or Amazon.

⧉ Omron

Let’s go…

First, the mouse must be disassembled until you are holding the actual circuit board with the buttons in your hands. Then, generously tin the three contacts of both buttons with new solder*, also so that the button is heated through.

Next, secure the button with either a small vise or pliers and pull on the circuit board while moving the soldering iron back and forth between all three contacts. After a short time, the button will slip out of the circuit board and can be discarded.

Once this has been done for both buttons, insert a suitable sewing needle into the circuit board hole from the underside (to prevent damage to the conductor tracks when lifting!) for each contact in turn and heat the solder residues. This reshapes the hole into a round shape, which makes it easier to insert the new button.

Now insert a new button through the holes in the circuit board (pay attention to the alignment!) and press it firmly against the circuit board. Then fix it in place with new solder, starting with the middle contact. Once you have done this with both buttons, you can solder the whole thing properly and reassemble it. Done!

Test

Over the years, this problem has occurred frequently with all kinds of mouse models. For testing purposes, I created a small program back in 2018 that can be used to test mice – Download (Windows x86, ZIP-Archive).

Der Beitrag The problem with low-quality switches in expensive mice (and how to fix it!) erschien zuerst auf flohs blog.

Particularly light-colored plastic parts do not tolerate UV radiation well, as demonstrated by computer cases from the 1980s and 1990s, which many people remember as being yellowed. These were once light gray or white.

I have often read about methods for chemically reversing this yellowing. “retr0bright” is one such method.

I decided to try a slightly different approach:
The basic chemical used to remove the yellowing is hydrogen peroxide, a rather dangerous substance that is also subject to certain trade restrictions. The problem is not only obtaining this chemical, but also applying it evenly to the plastic part so that it bleaches evenly.

It turns out that there is a “ready-to-use” solution to both problems, available in stores that sell cosmetics and hairdressing supplies. Namely, “oxidation developer”!

Legal framework

The maximum concentration that such an oxidation developer is allowed to have in Germany or Europe is 12% hydrogen peroxide. That may not sound like much, but it is – it has a strong effect on the skin and must be used with extreme caution.

There are several ready-made containers available with this concentration level. I bought a very inexpensive version of “Comair*” in a 1-liter container.

Using it

It’s actually quite simple:

• Clean the plastic part thoroughly, preferably with isopropanol.
• Remove or cover anything that is sensitive (stickers).
• Apply the cream as evenly as possible to the plastic part with a brush.
• Wrap the coated object in cling film.
• Place in direct sunlight or use a UV light source.

…it works. With the sun as a UV source, it takes a few hours or, in some cases, several days for a few hours, but it works really well. It is advisable to check regularly how far the plastic has faded in order to catch the right moment to take it out of the sun.

Der Beitrag De-yellowing plastic parts with hydrogen peroxide erschien zuerst auf flohs blog.

After using several of these AA Li-ion batteries for some time, we needed a way to store them sensibly. At the same time, it should be possible to charge the batteries in the intended holder, among other things to prevent short circuits caused by dangling.

After several revisions, we now have a number of holders in use, printed in gray PLA with green or black sliders (to indicate the charge status, black because I didn’t have any red available):

Downloads

Here are the STL files needed for printing:

Der Beitrag USB-C Li-Ion battery replacement for alkaline – charging and storage holder erschien zuerst auf flohs blog.

We’ve all been there: the moment you need a device, the batteries are dead. Or how often do we throw away alkaline AA or AAA batteries, especially in things like wall clocks, remote controls, or flashlights?

Far too often, unfortunately. The concept of disposable batteries has never been the best, especially from an environmental perspective. So how can we remedy this?

There are rechargeable batteries in the common AAA and AA sizes, based on nickel-cadmium (NiCd) or modern nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) technology. In the latter case, Panasonic’s Eneloop batteries* are worth mentioning, although they are now manufactured to a lower standard than before and have some side effects.

⧉ Panasonic

⧉ Panasonic

⧉ Panasonic

Both types of cell chemistry have the peculiarity of delivering only 1.2 volts when fully charged, instead of the 1.5 volts expected by many devices from a standard alkaline battery. If several batteries are required, the discrepancy naturally multiplies. In my case, the problem was most noticeable with our Brother PT-D600VP*, a label printer that can be powered either by a power supply or AA batteries. A total of six batteries are required, which, at 0.3 volts less per cell, amounts to a difference of 1.8 volts. So you could say that for this device, slightly more than one cell is already empty.

Of course, the label printer also works with NiMH AA batteries, but noticeably for a shorter time. The difference is not visible, as there is no charge level indicator. The situation is different with some flashlights or, for example, Nintendo’s GameBoy, which only show a charge level of 2/3 with full NiMH batteries from the outset, because the voltage is simply lower than expected and the batteries are therefore never completely discharged.

In addition, both NiCd and Ni-MH batteries require special chargers, and it is possible to charge or store these batteries incorrectly, causing damage. It is also worth mentioning that both of these battery types have a certain degree of self-discharge, meaning that they become emptier over time when charged but unused.

What to do?

For several years now, there have been new types of AAA or AA batteries that have a lithium-ion polymer battery inside, together with BMS and control electronics in the positive pole cover. This is not ideal from a technological point of view, as these batteries also have cycle limits and wear out. From an electronic point of view, this is a good solution, but not for every application.

These new batteries are usually charged via a USB-C socket built into each battery, using a standard USB-C cable. A status LED that either changes color or flashes provides information about the current status. In my case, it is a green LED that flashes when charging and stays lit when the battery is full.

The big advantage is that these cells deliver a constant 1.5 volts thanks to an integrated DC-DC step-down converter, which is also the biggest disadvantage of many of these new types of batteries—the device cannot detect the decreasing capacity and the devices suddenly switch off because the battery itself delivers 1.5 volts until the end and then switches itself off.

There are some models that circumvent this problem by slowly lowering the output voltage. I was fortunate, if you can call it that, and use models from Verico (Pollin) and Lumak Pro (Hornbach), both of which simulate this behavior. Such models are also available on Amazon, even from well-known manufacturers*.

⧉ Lumak

⧉ Lumak

⧉ Lumak

It is also important to note that the self-discharge rate of these Li-ion batteries is significantly lower than that of other battery types in AA and AAA formats.

Areas of application

There are areas of application where these new batteries are clearly superior to alkaline, NiCd, or NiMH batteries:

• Remote controls
• Controllers (Nintendo Wii, XBOX, PlayStation, etc.)
• Mobile consoles (GameBoy Pocket, Color, Advance)
• Wall clocks
• Temperature sensors and displays
• Smart heating thermostats
• Wireless mice and keyboards
• Flashlights
• Decorative lights
• Mobile BT speakers
• Various small power tools
• Instant photo or label printers

…basically anywhere where there are no thermal issues for Li-ion batteries and you can live with rapidly declining capacity towards the end.

Conclusion

These new batteries are great – but they’re usually also very expensive. To get started, I would recommend the very affordable AA batteries from Lumak Pro; you can’t go wrong with the price. However, the charging cable must be purchased separately. The price is due, among other things, to the relatively low capacity and the lack of accessories. We use several of these batteries everywhere and can highly recommend them.

There are also disadvantages. For example, these batteries are more susceptible to damage due to the integrated USB-C port, so you should handle them with care. Dirt can also cause problems. If the intended use is rather rough or wet, I would rather resort to Eneloop or alkaline batteries.

Only time will tell whether the specified charging cycles can be achieved.

Der Beitrag Adequate replacement for AA and AAA alkaline batteries erschien zuerst auf flohs blog.

After prolonged use and heavy wear, four of our six 8 Ah smart batteries gradually stopped charging. After a quick search, we discovered that this is a known problem that can fortunately be remedied quickly.

To do this, you need to make two jumper cables, preferably with flat plugs at the ends. Then take a fully charged battery and the “problem battery” and jumper + to + and – to – and leave it like this for one to two minutes.

Then carefully disconnect to avoid causing a short circuit and put the problematic battery into the charger, which should now start charging again and, in some cases, already start with 2 out of 3 bars. The reason for this is that at least one of the cells inside has fallen below the minimum voltage limit accepted by the charger and the battery therefore refuses to be charged. Bridging briefly raises the voltage of all cells inside to exceed the charger’s limit voltage, allowing it to charge again.

Unfortunately, this is only a temporary solution. After repeated use with our four batteries, they ultimately failed completely.

In addition, here is the YouTube video that helped me understand the problem and make the batteries usable again:

Der Beitrag Parkside X20V System – Battery no longer charging? erschien zuerst auf flohs blog.

After the car came back from the repair shop a few days later with a rather hefty bill, and the brakes were working again and the air conditioning was blowing cool air again, I first went in search of a second set of original rims or, better yet, complete wheels with winter or all-season tires. What is needed:

• Bolt circle 4 x 100
• 185/65 R15 88T
• 5.5 J x 15 ET 43.0

After a quick search, I found what I was looking for less than 20 km away in the classified ads: a complete set of slightly older but well-profiled Yokohama all-season tires on original steel rims from exactly this Dacia model. The price was low (€120), so the deal was quickly closed.

I deflated the tires, masked everything off neatly, and, after lightly sanding the rims, painted them with several coats of “rim silver” acrylic paint from a spray can. I did the same with the summer tires on the car, so I now have two sets of freshly painted complete wheels, one with summer tires and one with all-season tires. The long-term plan is to wear out the summer tires and replace them with all-season tires as soon as the other all-season tires are also worn out.

The driver’s seat

Next, it got more difficult. I needed a replacement for the defective driver’s seat—but once again, classified ads were a huge help, albeit much further away (approx. 80 km). A driver’s seat was being offered there for a very reasonable €50, but unfortunately in a different fabric color. However, I wanted new seat covers anyway, so the color was acceptable at that price (the original seats were gray and made of fabric, the “new” ones are now black, made of fabric and imitation leather).

Clearing the maintenance backlog

To address all remaining maintenance issues, I researched what parts or tools were needed and ordered them from various online shops and on eBay.

After a few days, everything was ready, and I went through the list of defects piece by piece; everything was feasible.

Replacing the rear muffler would have been difficult without a lift, especially since it was welded on in addition to the usual clamps. I screwed a “diesel-look*” tailpipe onto it so that the rear apron would not melt any further – this now points downwards. I also cut out and deburred the melted area to make room for the tailpipe.

I ordered the worn-out central locking motors for the four doors directly from China on AliExpress*, as the price difference compared to local dealers was quite significant and the components were probably the same. Replacing them was a cramped affair and took quite some time.

I changed the engine* and transmission oil* on the lift, naturally with a new oil filter* and new copper sealing rings. The original oil drain plug for the engine and transmission is the same type, a typical Renault 8 mm square*. A compression test and cylinder head endoscopy revealed no abnormalities; everything looks good. The spark plugs were also replaced, of course, as it was a good opportunity to do so.

The key was quickly converted to a very inexpensive new housing* and is now presentable and fully functional again.

⧉ Mannol

⧉ Bosch

⧉ Liqui Moly

⧉ Car1

⧉ Renault

⧉ Pilot Sport

Adjust valve clearance

Adjusting the valve clearance was convenient, as the valve cover gasket was being replaced anyway. To do this, you first have to remove the air filter box and air filter, and then bend the existing hoses and cables out of the way a little. This gives you access to the valve cover, which is secured with 8 screws and can be loosened with a standard 8 mm ratchet socket.

To adjust it, you need a feeler gauge with the appropriate thickness* and something to turn the crankshaft. The following dimensions should be observed when the engine is cold:

Intake (rear): 0.10 to 0.15 mm
Exhaust (front): 0.25 to 0.30 mm

I chose the steel version from Elring with part number 773.700* as the new valve cover gasket. Although this is slightly more expensive than the original coated paper/rubber version, it should be able to withstand significantly more (especially thermally).

⧉ Elring

Improvements?

Finally, everything that needed repairing and servicing had been taken care of, and now it was time to expand on what was already there. I added the following items:

• Menabo Sherman* aluminum roof rack
• Smartphone holder
• Hands-free control and charging option
• Black tinting on rear windows
• New seat covers
• New floor mats

⧉ Menabo

⧉ TOPK

⧉ Essager

Now everything is as desired, let’s move on to the conclusion.

Der Beitrag <h5>Dacia Logan MCV LPG #3: </h5><h3><b>Repairs, maintenance and improvements</b></h3> erschien zuerst auf flohs blog.

Not too long ago, I came across this fossil of a monochrome laser printer, with a request to dispose of it:

⧉ HP

⧉ HP

⧉ HP

Before throwing it away, I googled it, and my interest was piqued. Should I save this device from the scrap heap? I immediately liked the fact that it only has two buttons and a power switch on the side, that’s it. The easiest way to decide something like this is to weigh up the pros and cons compared to a modern printer.

The starting point:

We currently have two printers in use, both of which are multifunction devices.
Both are laser printers, a monochrome Brother* and a color HP Color LaserJet Pro (Newer model*):

⧉ Brother

⧉ HP

I also ended up with the Brother, as well as the HP LaserJet 2100M.
I bought the HP second-hand—it prints well, quickly, and can do just about anything.
Years ago, it replaced a very unreliable HP Photosmart inkjet printer (due to infrequent use). So why have multiple printers?

The original toner cartridges for the M477fdw* are expensive, and I have had several very unpleasant experiences with refilled or non-original cartridges from various toner and printer manufacturers. In addition, the durability of the wear parts is no longer what it used to be.

The Brother has the great advantage of being monochrome—meaning it only has one toner cartridge—black.
These are relatively inexpensive*, even from Brother directly. Other replacement parts such as rollers or replacement drums are also affordable, at least. Unfortunately, they didn’t skimp on buttons and key combinations.

It prints well, but has already had to work hard and therefore shows slight signs of wear.

What does he need to be able to do to be considered?

My requirements for a printer, in order to decide whether I consider a model to be worth using, are clear:

• Network-compatible, preferably via Ethernet, Wifi if no other option is available
• Low maintenance costs
• Acceptable print quality
• Preferably not an inkjet printer—long periods of non-use are very unfavorable (drying out)
• OPTIONAL: Drivers that don’t cause any problems

After looking in the service manual (https://www.laserexpressinc.com/manuals/HP/hp-lj-2100-service-manual.pdf, archive.org) and the German user manual (https://printego.de/mediafiles/pdf/Laserdrucker/HP/HP%20LaserJet%202100-handbuch.pdf, archive.org) the decision has been made:
If financially feasible and repairable, the HP LaserJet 2100M will remain in use!

Why and how come? Simple:

• The mechanics are very robust.
• Any relevant spare parts are easy to obtain.
• The print quality is really good at 1200 x 1200 dpi, especially considering its age.
• IEC power connector*. Standard.
• The documentation is very good. It could hardly be better.
• No ozone, it’s that modern – luckily, because that would have been a deal-breaker. Health comes before economy.
• The “M” model has an additional 4 MB memory bar installed at the factory, along with PostScript capabilities! (Presumably, M stands for Macintosh, which was necessary or advantageous at the time).
• Toner is cheap*, even from third-party suppliers, and lasts a very long time (5000 pages at 5% coverage!).
• The RAM is expandable (4 MB was standard, so the “M” model with an additional 4 MB has a total of 8 MB)!
• The most important thing for me: you can optionally upgrade to network functionality!

If you read a little about this printer on the Internet, you will find that it seems to have been a real “workhorse,” and many older people among us still mourn the loss of this model series today. Especially in HP’s home country – the USA.

Having a monochrome alternative to the existing Brother is also no mistake, because who knows if something will become irreparably defective one day.

Is it printing at all?

First, I simply pressed the two buttons on the large dial to print a test page. That’s what it says in the manual.

Disappointing, everything is covered in streaks and the opacity is only half there – but at least the rest seems to be working, no unusual noises, etc.
The proportions are correct where the print should have been, i.e., the mechanics are working as intended (the spacing is good, no perspective distortion, etc.).

Next, as also described very well in the manual, open and close all maintenance flaps.
What do I see? The toner is ancient, from a third-party supplier, and has also been refilled with a bottle (the necessary hole was sealed with tape). There was also some toner dust on the toner roller, which shouldn’t be there. All of this could explain the poor print quality.

In addition, the “interior” is visibly dirty, especially the rollers.
So first of all, remove everything you can, blow it out, and clean everything carefully (isopropanol*).

Without knowing whether it would help, I went in search of a better, preferably original toner cartridge:
I quickly discovered a significantly overpriced but originally packaged HP toner cartridge (96A) from a commercial supplier. It couldn’t have been any cheaper than new old stock:

⧉ HP

⧉ HP

Once the toner arrived, I installed it immediately. The printer itself had already been thoroughly cleaned and reassembled.
And lo and behold: the 2100M prints, and even prints really well!

On the first clearly legible test page of the 2100M, I discovered that this model had printed just ~13,200 pages in its “working life” – which is really not much for a business laser printer (a toner cartridge is supposed to last for 5,000 pages, so the device has probably only seen three). The service manual states on page 13 that this model is designed for approximately 15,000 pages per month.

Of course, this value could have been reset, as I will do later.
But the overall condition actually contradicts this – not even the plastic housing is anywhere near yellowed. There was also no typical wear and tear inside, such as grooves, scuff marks, or a lot of paper abrasion.

What can be improved? More RAM!

From a technical point of view, the printer must have a total of four RAM banks, one of which is permanently assigned and directly equipped (i.e., without a slot) with 4 MB.
Therefore, there are only three slots under the plastic cover above the mainboard, of which the rearmost slot in the 2100M is additionally occupied with the special “4 MB incl. PostScript emulation” module described above. This results in a total of 8 MB RAM.

⧉ HP

⧉ HP

⧉ HP

To expand the whole thing, I bought two used DIMMs with 4 MB each for the two RAM slots still available on the printer’s mainboard, adding 8 MB – giving a total of 16 MB with PostScript emulation.
According to the manual, a maximum of two 32 MB modules would have been possible, resulting in a total of 72 MB (32 + 32 + 4 + 4), or even 100 MB if the 4 MB PostScript DIMM had been removed.

At the time, however, only the aforementioned 4 MB modules were really affordable and compatible for me to purchase, and more RAM doesn’t directly make the printer faster, it just provides more space for data (let’s be realistic, $50 plus shipping for ONE 32 MB memory module would be completely disproportionate, which was roughly the price).

I didn’t plan on breaking any world records with PDFs, so I found 16 MB acceptable (better than 8 MB).
If I ever come across larger sticks in the right format (8 MB, 16 MB, or ideally 32 MB) at a reasonable price, I might replace them after all. But I don’t think so.

What else can be improved? The interface, network!

In my opinion, the most important upgrade by far, which suddenly makes the old device very useful again, is mentioned on page 36 of the user manual—the possible expansion cards that fit into the device—for network functionality. The mere fact that this EIO card slot (EIO = Enhanced Input/Output, proprietary to HP) exists at all (on the motherboard, top right connection) shows that devices used to be designed differently – more durable, more maintainable. These are the compatible options:

Without one of these cards, printing is only possible via the parallel port (LPT), LocalTalk, or infrared—none of which are particularly convenient options these days. USB was not yet available on this model, but I wouldn’t have wanted local printing anyway. It is possible to adapt LPT to USB at a reasonable cost, but as I said, networking is the goal.

So I went in search of the only sensible option available today (100 Mbit, i.e., Fast Ethernet—this will definitely work with any network device such as a switch or router upstream; 10 Mbit is already very outdated. I don’t think the theoretically higher speed of 100 Mbit will have much influence on the actual data transfer speed of the printer—everything else in this Stone Age device limits it anyway) in the list above.

I was able to purchase a used JetDirect 600N card in what I consider to be the optimal J3113A version, i.e., Fast Ethernet (10/100 Mbit), for just €12.40 including shipping:

⧉ HP

⧉ HP

Communication via the network was initially impossible because the existing configuration had disabled DHCP (statically configured). By reading the manual, a full reset of everything was quickly accomplished without having to use LPT, and the 2100M now happily communicates at 100 Mbit on the local network via an IP assigned by the router, as DHCP is now reactivated (and working perfectly).

Controls, settings?

It should be mentioned that this printer, more precisely via the now retrofitted JetDirect-600N print server, could also be configured with software that is as old as it is completely incompatible today called “JetAdmin” or a web interface (yes, seriously!). I even got the software to run on Windows XP.

It turned out that this exercise was not in vain – after a full reset, the printer was set to the US-typical “LETTER” format with regard to page margins and standard format, but I was able to change this back to “DIN-A4” using the software. The test page already looked much better in terms of the side margins. I then changed the name of the printer there as well, to make it easier to find on the network.

The web interface only runs in a (very) old version of Internet Explorer with the Java plugin enabled – that also just about worked under Windows XP, but even then I had to turn down or disable absolutely every security setting to get it to work. It was very slow, but at least it worked. Incidentally, the default format setting described above cannot be changed there.

The software actually expects Windows 95, 98, or 2000 – you can tell.

Driver?

Fortunately, this wasn’t a problem at all with this old printer, which I hadn’t expected.
Anyone who has ever had to struggle with a printer driver knows how exhausting and time-consuming it can be—especially when the manufacturer’s drivers are huge but only have limited compatibility (hello, modern HP!).

In this case, however, HP in the 90s deserves praise. But this is probably also due to the technical simplicity of the device, which can only print in black and white and nothing else—a lot has changed since then.

How to get your older darling ready for printing:

Windows provides the necessary drivers via Windows Update. The following procedure installs the printer on modern operating systems such as Windows 10 or 11:

• The printer must, of course, be connected to the network, have an IP address, and be in working order—or it must be connected locally to the LPT port or to a USB port via an LPT-USB adapter.
• Open “Settings” and select “Bluetooth and devices”
• Select “Printers and scanners” and then click the “Add device” button.
• After a brief unsuccessful search, the text link “Add manually” will appear. Click on it.
• The first entry is spot on: “My printer is a little older…” – Correct, so click “Next”
• The LaserJet 2100M should then appear in the list. Click on it and click “Next”
• When selecting the driver, click on the “Windows Update” button.
• Now it takes a while for Windows to download all (!) INF printer drivers available online from Microsoft.
• When the lists finally appear, select “HP” or “Hewlett-Packard” on the left and “HP LaserJet 2100 Series (PCL 6)” on the right.
• Click “Next” to install the driver. It doesn’t take long, and you’re done!

I think this is a great solution, I can’t say otherwise. If all printers worked so smoothly, this issue wouldn’t be such a pain so often. Here you can see how the printer was correctly installed under Windows 11:

Conclusion and thoughts on this printer:

As expected, the device is very slow when it comes to complex documents—really extremely slow.
Large PDFs with many pages can take tens of minutes to print (graphics in particular slow it down considerably). This is where you really notice the extremely outdated hardware struggling with modern data volumes (16 MB of RAM isn’t exactly a lot either, which doesn’t help).

For text documents or simpler print jobs, on the other hand, it is downright fast, and the print quality is very good, which surprised me. The opacity is comparable to a brand-new laser printer, as is the sharpness.

Based on my experience with this model, I would say that it is ideal for use as a label printer, e.g. for shipping labels, in conjunction with self-adhesive paper labels (e.g. from Avery Zweckform*). Or for invoices, delivery notes, labels, and data sheets. Anything that consists mainly of text or simpler structures. The 2100M can play to all its strengths with such requirements and is incomparably robust and inexpensive.

I also find it technically interesting that inside there is an Intel 80960J RISC processor with an impressive 66 MHz driving a 33 MHz bus. Who can say that their printer has “Intel Inside”?
Even if it’s not an x86 processor, which Intel is known for.

All the components I bought for upgrading or retrofitting cost less than €50, including everything except paper. Monochrome laser printing doesn’t get much cheaper than this – the brand-new toner cartridge could last for 5,000 pages.

I’m satisfied and confident that this 2100M has the potential to last for decades to come.
Finally, here is a photo of the “nameplate” on my model:

Der Beitrag HP LaserJet 2100M – A surprising dinosaur erschien zuerst auf flohs blog.