Screen lost Touch functionality

[lucretia1987]

My beloved Psion has again lost the touch screen functionality of its screen (won't respond to stylus). I am navigating by keyboard only.
Does anyone have any ideas on how I could possibly fix this myself?
Because last time I sent her off for repairs for a similar problem they replaced most of the body and it cost a bomb.
Am thinking that if she goes terminally blank again it might be time to retire her rather than pay big $ to fix again.
Any ideas welcome.

[Jim Cooke]

I'm sorry to hear you're having touch screen problems. In terms of fixing this yourself, it's really not possible. If the digitizer itself has gone then an entire new screen is needed to make it work. If it's a flat cable fault then you really need some experience in working with very small electronic parts and soldering. Even if you have this type of experience, it's difficult to tell if this is a cable or digitizer failure.

If you really have an orginial Series 5 (not a 5mx) then I wouldn't spend any more money on it. You can check with Expansys or POS in the UK and Pulster in Germany for availability of new or refurbished 5mx's. They are also available on e-bay. Replacing your Series 5 with a 5mx will likely cost you the same or even less than getting the Series 5 repaired and you'll have a faster Psion with more RAM in the bargain.

[cslim]

Hi Lucretia,
You can confirm if the screen cable is faulty or the digitizer is bad by using the peek-a-boo method.
Open Psion and tap a particular icon while closing the screen slowly. If along the way, the touch screen works, then you know that it is a cable issue. This is by far the most common fault.
You may want to repeat the procedure to confirm.

If the cable is at fault, then a simple repair is possible and it will last if done properly. This is possible because the 4 wires connecting the touch-screen to the psion is very thickand broad. By scrapping the orange resist away, you can solder thin flexible wires to join back the broken tracks.

Email your address privately and I will send you a drawing showing you how to do it. You should only do this if you have soldered surface mounted components before. Otherwise, better to sell it.
Best regards,
CS lim

[lucretia1987]

Thanks for the replies guys. Unfortunately I have never soldered, although have watched it being done lots of times.

Yes, my beloved Psion is a genuine Series 5 - with regards to getting a 5MX,
1. are they sturdier as regards screen problems; and
2. has anyone restored Series 5 psi-win backups to a 5MX successfully? Otherwise I suppose I'd have to manually transfer all the files and resynchronize the calendar/addresses.
Hmm. :cool:

[cslim]

Lucretia,
What I said above applies to a 5MX.
For a series 5, 8 Meg Psion, it is not possible
to repair the touch screen function if the cable
is cracked. The touch screen wires are just too fine.
But it may be worth while opening it up to check.

In the series 5, 8 Meg, the touch screen is just attached to the electrical connector of the glass - no soldering. So it is possible that the contacts are loose.

Open with care.

Best regards,
Cs lim

[Jim Cooke]

You can restore files from Series 5 to a series 5mx from backup. The only excetion is any Message Suite files. The 5mx has e-mail software built-in and restoring Message Suite will cause the 5mx not to be able to connect ot the internet or sync mail. The difference is syncing would be if you wanted to keep your address database or convert it to the 5mx Contacts application. It's best to convert it to Contacts and there are freeware applications that will do that job. Syncing to Agenda is exactly the same as the 5mx.

The screen cable continues to be a weak point with the 5mx although perhaps not quite as bad as the original Series 5. The good thing is that there are now third party companies that are retrofitting much stronger screen cables so a repair should last much longer than the the original screen cable. As in all things electronic, the element of chance places a big role. I've had my 5mx for just under two years and haven't had any screen cable problems. Others have had the problem in less time, others after a longer time, and others not at all. There's no doubt that the screen cable problem exists but it's not a universal problem.

[lucretia1987]

Thanks so much. Gee this makes me mad that the screen cables on the Psion 5 and 5mx are so flimsy. grrr. One little let down in an otherwise brilliant machine!

[vinceho]

Hi, I gave up on my 5mx after having them repaired, replaced, more than twice. yes, cost me a bomb each time. The cable breaks after a few years. I just got myself a 2nd hand HP jornada 690 on ebay. However, this may give me other problems. Too early to tell.

[psimon]

Originally posted by vinceho
Hi, I gave up on my 5mx after having them repaired, replaced, more than twice. yes, cost me a bomb each time. The cable breaks after a few years. I just got myself a 2nd hand HP jornada 690 on ebay. However, this may give me other problems. Too early to tell.


why didn't you get a jornada 720 ;) afaik, that machine is far better (much better cpu -> speed, and better OS). i have one too ;) and i haven't heard of universally typical hardware faults like screen cable breaks... problems aren't the hardware, more likely the software. however i think, these are not unbearable problems after you've got to know them :).

[vinceho]

Yes, you are right ... I thought of that AFTER I bought the 690. But partly it's the money... the 690 is cheaper on the market.
But on hindsight, yes.... I SHOULD have bought the 720 - running on ARM instead of the older Hitachi.... and I supposed more software. available...
Thanks for the input.

[psimon]

you could still sell it :) but if, using it, you find that you just don't need more than that, not a big problem then! :)
anyway, the arm cpu is really an advantage, not only the speed difference, but the availability of PPC2002 programs (requires a little - but not serious- tweaking)! i'm not sure how many can be found for the SH3 out there.
but i'll shut up now, this is a Psion forum after all :)

[lucretia1987]

The digitizer on my original Series 5 is on its way out now. Not going to have it repaired.

So I decided, before it goes to PDA heaven to run it concurrently with my new iPAQ rz1710 and make sure all the data is across properly.

Cost was a factor in my newest purchase.

Before I zip on over to the iPAQ forums, thanks everyone for your PSION help.

:D