Good morning guys, who helps me to reset the Philips HCS80 Videotel blocked by password, I was unable to find the manuals.
Thank you
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if it works the same as French Philips Minitel 2, you have to:
- Unplug plug it
- Plug it
- Simultaneously press the « Func » key + letter T
- Then, press letter I
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Hi, it seems that the videotel is the same or compatible with the French minitel 1b, I still haven’t managed to unlock it anyway, thanks
Hello, I have categorized the topic under Hardware.
Regards.
Have you found how to unlock it in the meantime?
The HCS 80, according to this report [1], looks very very similar internally (but not identical) to the Minitel 1 RTIC (see [2]), with the exception of an extra board on the right.
The Minitel 1 RTIC has neither storage nor a phonebook: it boots straight into the terminal! Therefore, I think that the secret code is stored in the extra board that is not present in the Minitel 1 RTIC.
Some Minitels stored the phonebook in battery-powered RAM, and I do see a 32 KB RAM (KM62256ALP) and a reference to a coin-cell battery (« una pila de botón ») in the board on the right. My guess is that this is what is keeping you locked out. Have you already opened the case it to try to remove it and put it back (or, even better, replace it before it starts to leak)?
That said, I’m sure there’s some key combination to reset it, as other people have said. But who knows what it is… there seems to be very little documentation about this terminal, unfortunately.
P.S.: I don’t know how familiar you are with CRTs, but beware of the CRT voltages, if you open the case.
[1] Retro Ordenadores Orty: Terminal Philips HCS 80/08 (Videotel)
[2] HxC2001 HeadQuarters : Inside a RTIC Minitel 9 NFZ 330