Psion - snapping sound. Ribbon Problem?

[klrosenberg]

I'm a new member of Pdastreet with a Psion 3a potential problem:

I've been real careful with my Psion 3a since buying it in 1996. (I knew about the ribbon problem when I bought it, I have always been very careful opening and closing the cover.) But two weeks ago on a cold day, I opened it and I heard a snapping sound. Now the Psion won't stay completely open, nor completely closed. The ribbon is more exposed than before on the back of the Psion, and the strip of agenda, word, ... keys doesn't move properly any more, and instead tends to move with the top portion of the Psion. My Covertec case keeps the Psion's guts held together now.

Everything still works (screen still visible), and I made a backup, but the future looks dim for my Psion.

Would anyone happen to know if this is the fated "ribbon" problem, and what I should do/urls/pointers to how to order, repair, etc. Time to find a new PDA? What would you suggest I migrate to? Sony Clie? Or used 3mx?

Thanks so much for any advise.

(P.S. My apologies about our Country's leadership, but if it helps -- my relatives came from the U.K.

[diem]

Hi there,

First of all, kudos to you for using a single Psion for so long!

I've never owned a 3 before, but to be honest this doesn't sound as though the ribbon cable has broken, more like some part of the casing mechanism has snapped off inside.

As you say though, the prognosis is not good. A quick Google turned up this (http://www.home.unix-ag.org/nils/s3a_512kb.html) page which has some texual instructions to help you dismantle your device to see if you can find and repair the breakage.

If this all fails, then I'd certainly recommend a secondhand 3mx, or even a Revo or 5mx. The EPOC OS these use is quite different from the 3a, but the machines retain Psion's philosophy of being palmtop computers, rather than portable diaries/notetakers such as the Palm range (which includes the Clie you mention).

Check this (http://www.pdastreet.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12822) thread for an excellent comparison of Palm VS Psion devices, and go here (http://pub.alxnet.com/guestbook?id=1297836) for a secondhand palmtops classifieds listing.

[Jim Cooke]

What has probably happened is that the hinge on the left side of the case has partially broken. This is what's keeping your 3a from closing and opening completely and is causing the button bar to lift up. 3 series machines rarely had ribbon failures but broken hinges were very common. You can try repairing the breakage yourself but my experience was that the breakage simply continued to spread so it really wasn't worth the effort.

If you want to stay with the Psion 3 series, you can try EBay for used 3mx's which are the same size as the 3a but with some feature improvements, including backlight and a much faster operating system. As Yan said, you can also look at the Mako/Revo line, which is about the same size as a 3a but thinner or a 5mx, which is considerably larger than a 3a but also has many more features. Of, course, jumping to a Palm or Pocket PC is always an option - it really depends on what you need and expect from a PDA.

BTW, as a fellow American who has ancestors that also came from Britain, I don't feel a need to apologize for my country's leadership and find it rather distasteful to be doing so in a forum that has nothing to do with politics.

Regards, Jim

[Beakynet]

Something similur happend to my Series 3c and it was the hinge. It snapped completly. I glued it back together with epoxi resin (glue that comes it two separate tubes). Since that time the hinge has separated once and the glue put it back together. The problem is that the spring that opens and shuts the unit is quite strong and eventually the hinge gives way. My Psion 3c also dates from 1996 and is still inworking order, I still play some of the games on it!

[klrosenberg]

All,

Thanks very much for your flurry of quick responses. Before joining PDAStreet I had done some Google research, but didn't turn up much for how to disassemble/reassemble the 3a except the FAQ's. Thanks to your help, I feel more confident to give it a try.

I still may purchase an upgrade or replacement Psion via Ebay first, before attempting the repairs. However, I will eventually let you know how things turn out.

And sorry about the political remark -- I was attempting to make a joke. Won't do so anymore.

Still loving my Psion,