screen calibration problem

[anton593]

Hi,

I'm trying to reuse an 'old' Psion 5mx with the following problem:

The machine seems to work fine with one major problem, the screen calibration is very wrong, but only in the vertical direction.

When I manage to navigate to Jotter with only the keyboard, when I draw on the screen the horizontal calibration is OK, the vertical calibration is completely off. Lines are drawn at less than half of the upper screen half. So when I draw on the bottom of the screen, less than half way (from above) the pixels appear.

This makes practical use of the screen input impossible.

When I try to recalibrate, the program tells me after point 1, that I'm pointing 'too far off'.

I'm willing to open the machine myself (found: How to open a Psion? (http://www.portal-pda.com/guides/openings5/openings5.html )
in this forum), but I don't know where to look for...

Anyone any ideas? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Anton.

[diem]

Hmmm, doesn't sound too promising.

The only thing I can suggest is a very hard reset. Do a full backup, then take out both the main and backup batteries for a good ten minutes before replacing them. If the fault is in software then this will fix it.

Before you do this, check that your machine is not a 5mx 'Pro' (there is a label top-right of the screen which says 'Pro'). These store the operating system in RAM, and taking the batteries out will leave you with a completely dead machine :eek:

[anton593]

Thanks for your reply, but I already did the very hard reset.

In fact I'm reviving my wife's Psion, that has been with dead batteries for several months now... Seems like a very hard reset to me. And the problem is still there.

So I'm thinking of servicing it myself, by starting to unscrew it. But then? Where to look for?
A broken (vertical) cable, replace a (vertical) calibration chip, rescrew some screws . . .

Any suggestions are welcome.

Greetz, Anton.

P.S.: and it's not the PRO ;-)

[anton593]

Found the Psion website in The Netherlands, there (http://www.psion.com/mypsion/repairhomenl.htm) they give a fixed price of 150 Euro (GBP 90) for repairing a machine. I find it hard to believe that every repair costs the same.

Do you think they will repair my screen? I would like to ask them, by phone or e-mail. Can someone point me the way?

Thanks in advance, Anton

[anton593]

Sorry, I found this:

the country is :Netherlands
Company: Psion Digital Limited
Address:
Telephone: 0900 774 6628
Fax:
Email:
Website: http://www.psion.com/mypsion/repairhomenl.htm
Country: Netherlands
Notes: 0900 774 6628 A.U.B Dit nummer is 30cent per min

[diem]

If the repair situation is anything like the UK, the basic flat-rate price does not include screen repairs :(

This is especially ironic (or maybe just not surprising) given that the screen is the source of most failures!!

Check my FAQ for the URLs of dismantling guides out there on the web. If you choose the repair route (and UK postage is okay with you) I can highly recommend the service offered by POS Ltd. (www.posltd.com).

[anton593]

Thanks for the advice and URL's.

I'll let you know here if the gets repaired, if ever. And how.

-o-o-o-o-


Perhaps a last question: any ideas how to reach for Calc and Contacts,?

Since they are on the bottom half of my screen I can't 'reach' them. Word, Sheet and Agenda (BTW: great Agenda!) I can open from the document browser.

[diem]

check here (http://www.ericlindsay.com/epoc/mkeys5.htm) for a complete list of keyboard shortcuts.

[Johnny]

Psion is no longer active in the Netherlands, all repairs have to be done in the UK and all cost 150 pounds. It doesn't get there for free either.

You could try find some help at www.symbian.info the Dutch user group.

The cheapest way to get your Psion repaired is in Germany, at www.psion-store.de

[anton593]

%$@!&^%@!

But thanks for the info any way :-\