Why does nobody talk about how long it takes to fix a broken TI-83 ribbon cable

Tried bringing my old graphing calculator back to life last weekend. The screen was all garbled so I figured it was a loose ribbon cable. Took me 45 minutes just to get the back off without breaking the clips. Then another 30 minutes of fiddling with a piece of tape to hold the cable down. Finally worked but now the contrast is dimmer than before. Has anyone actually managed a permanent fix on these things?

2 comments

2 Comments

dixon.ryan1mo ago

Agree on the back clips - those things are like they were designed to snap off. I spent an hour just getting the case open on mine and now it has a permanent wobble from the broken tabs.

park.tara1mo ago

Oh man, I feel your pain. I finally learned to use a plastic pry tool from an old phone repair kit and work it along the seam really gently. The trick is to start at the bottom corner and push the clip inward instead of prying outward. And if you break a clip, a tiny dab of superglue on the tab before you snap it back together can actually hold it solid for months. Just don't use too much or you'll never get it open again.