All I can see are horizontal lines !!

[Malcolm]

My MC 218 worked perfectly fine till last night, then this morning when I flipped it open, all there was on the screem were a bunch of horizontal lines across the whole screen, like a perverse barcode albeit rotated 90 deg.

The voice recorder still works.

I've tried resetting the machine, and leaving the main batteries out for a few minutes, but the lines just change appearance.

Can anyone enlighten me as to what is going on, how it occured, and most importantly, if and how it can be fixed please?

Thanks!

[diem]

Its the fabled screen-cable failure I'm afraid - the flexible cable that joins the motherboard to the screen has cracked.

The only solution is a repair - check my FAQ at the URL below for more info.

[Malcolm]

Thanks Yan,

Now all I have to do is find a ribbon cable....

Why am I not feeling at all lucky ?

[diem]

We've yet to hear from someone successfully fitting a ribbon cable for themselves - it is a highly fiddly process even for someone skilled with a soldering iron (and you will need a tiny iron tip too!).

Your best bet is to pay Psion for the repair - you could try POS Ltd, but I think they don't handle MC218's for some reason.

[Malcolm]

Things are looking better...

I found the local importer for psion, and they will be repairing it for me.

They told me it's their second MC-218 screen problem this week.

The machine is already at their offices!

phew.

[netBookBabe]

Malcolm

Assuming that your repair goes well, perhaps you would like to share the contact details for the benefit of anyone else in your area who might need Psion service?

It is always difficult for those of us in the UK to recommend repair centres to members in other countries.

Thanks
Julie

[Malcolm]

Sure.

Their called BDS Ltd, and their number is (+356) 21442123

I'll post with the results of the repair as soon as the machine is back!

Now this makes me wish I had done another backup after the one I did last June....

[netBookBabe]

Originally posted by Malcolm
Now this makes me wish I had done another backup after the one I did last June.... Ouch! :eek:

Thanks for the info.

Julie

[Malcolm]

Just got the machine back...

Repairs cost around 125 Euro/USD Ouch!

[diem]

Hi Malcom,

This is in line with UK prices - the screen parts are simply expensive to source - so expensive yes but not disproportionately so.