How To Identify the Latest netbooks? [Archive]

markdeppe

12-08-2002, 03:29 AM

Does anyone know what to look for to tell whether a netbook is one of the new ones with the updated mother board or whatever it is they have done that delivers extra current to the PCMIA - as in a serial number after which the new ones were introduced or an info page where this would be given

markdeppe

12-12-2002, 09:26 PM

Really can't believe no one knows this. Maybe someone who definitly has a latest hardware model could post some info. Mine says the same as the older netbooks under the information tab / hardware = SA-1100 speed 191.692 etc, and nothing inthere about voltages to PCMIA slot etc.

harveyr

12-13-2002, 04:46 AM

Originally posted by markdeppe
Really can't believe no one knows this.

I know ;)

There's no real way of telling by just looking at the machine - apart from taking it apart and looking at the PCB.
The way to tell is by examining the Serial Number. This is found of the side of the box packaging, or if you don't have that, it will also be inside the CF card tray. The Serial Number shows the week the product was manufactured. Rev 10 board production began week 35, therefore as a general rule, any unit with a serial number code including the following date code will be a rev10 board...

xxxx035xxxx

The thing to watch out for however is if you send it in to Psion for repair, it will get a new serial number....unfortunately for those wanting to upgrade the PCB, if it is a rev 7 board it will either be a board level repair of replaced with a rev 7 board. Rev 10 boards would of course be repaired or replaced with a Rev 10 board.

There are some exceptions to this date coding in that we did continue to build a certain number (about 300) of machines post week 35 with Rev 7 boards however these were for specific customers and they should not have found their way into general release.

Harvey

netBookBabe

12-13-2002, 06:49 AM

Thanks, Harvey. We've all been wanting to know! ;)

Julie

diem

12-13-2002, 09:12 AM

Cheers Harvey,

Does this theory extend back to the Series 7 too? We know that there were three OS releases for the 7 (751, 754, 756), and we also know that at some point the PCB was modified to increase the current supply to the PCMCIA slot (long before this year's revision).

What we don't know is when this change occurred. I know its going back a bit, but is there any way to identify this for any given 7?

harveyr

12-13-2002, 09:25 AM

Oh blimey....now you're really taxing me!

I can try and find out, but I really don't hold out much hope of finding out. The problem is there are so few people in the company with the history on that product.

I know the board was changed at some stage and I can try and find out when that happened but I can't guarantee I'll get an answer. We no longer make Series 7 and haven't done for some time now.

The manufacturing site they used to be made at no longer exists hence why I think it will be hard to get some clarification on the changes which were made. The best I might be able to find out is an approximate time period, but info as to serial numbers and date codes would be (I'm guessing) impossible to discover at this point in time.

Harvey

diem

12-13-2002, 09:50 AM

fair comment - it is all a bit "annals of computing history" isnit?

markdeppe

12-13-2002, 11:09 AM

Thanks for that Harvey. I think I am missing something and /or being a bit stupid, or it maybe the French netbooks use a different serial number system but my serial number is JBBDD8420128 thus I can not work out the date as my middle 3 digits (xxxx035xxxx) are 842. Appreciate you taking the time to help clear this up.

Thanks for pointing out the repair thing to be aware of.

harveyr

12-13-2002, 11:41 AM

Hmmmm. You see....this is what happens when I try and clarify things....I get it wrong and make a twit out of myself!! :D

Mark....are you sure it's a D and not a 0 before the 8? That would seem to imply it was built in week 42 but the year before last (I think). At any rate, the 0 before the week represents this year.

The serial number on mine is JABC9250281 which shows mine was manufactured last year in week 25.

I also have a Spanish unit next to my desk with the serial number:
JBBM0240076 which shows it was built this year in week 24 so it is not an issue regarding language variants...they're all built in the same place and use the same software for serial numbering.

I have not seen one which has 5 letters at the beginning...

The other way of finding out of course would be to stick an Option GPRS card or a Psion ISDN card in and see if it works!! ;)

harveyr

12-13-2002, 11:47 AM

AHA....I've just thought of another way to tell.

(I've never really understoof the serial numbering process anyway. Fortunately I don't need to!)

If your machine was shipped with the new OS (version 158) on the CF card, then it's new hardware. We released the new software and hardware to manufacturing at the same time. If it came with 156 software on the CF then it'll be a rev 7 board.

Cor...that was hard going....wonder why I didn't think of that in the first place!

WolfUK

12-13-2002, 12:21 PM

Wow, my supposedly 'only just two years' old netBook was made in week 39 of 1999! When were the netBook first produced?

Mind you, it's a pretty good testament to the build of these things ... I did have to send it on for repairs (screen cable issues) about a month or two ago but apart from that it seems to work perfectly (despite the previous owner letting his dog chew the case ... well that's what it looks like!).

Anyone got an older one than me?

netBookBabe

12-13-2002, 07:32 PM

Originally posted by WolfUK
When were the netBook first produced?Mid 1999, as far as I recall, Simon, because I remember thinking it took me just over a year to acquire one - though it seemed a very long year!

I just checked my serial number, which seems to indicate my netBook was manufactured in week 30/2000. I purchased it from Clove in week 33/2000, so that certainly seems to add up quite nicely. :)

Julie

markdeppe

12-13-2002, 09:35 PM

OOPS sorry Harvey, slipped an extra "D" in there. It is JBBD8420128 so from your posting I guess it was made in week 42 but I can not work out where you get the year from, please enlighten me, I was looking for the logic in the numbers of lettters but I'm no code breaker, I bet its obvious though, never was much good at seeing what is right in front of me. Anyhow it did not ship with the latest OS so problem solved :-(

WolfUK I might have an older one, what year is JBBA8330110? still works great, and look as new, now when I sell it I can tell the buyer its real age, which might devalue it as I brought it second hand 2 years ago and am not sure how long the previous owner had it., oh well, might have to see if I can draw the wife into the psion clan with this temptation, she has rejected previous non colour attempts.

WolfUK

12-14-2002, 06:06 PM

Originally posted by markdeppe
WolfUK I might have an older one, what year is JBBA8330110? still works great, and look as new, now when I sell it I can tell the buyer its real age, which might devalue it as I brought it second hand 2 years ago and am not sure how long the previous owner had it.8 33 is week 33 in 2000 I think. That's quite modern compared to mine! :)

The previous owner must only have had it for a few weeks if you've had it for two years now.

markdeppe

12-14-2002, 07:44 PM

Thanks for that Simon, still can't see how the year is worked out. what is the year for the other netbook JBBD8420128

<<<The previous owner must only have had it for a few weeks if you've had it for two years now.>>> Hmm that is impressive as the person I brought it off said he brought it second hand and thus he did not have a receipt and there was no warranty left. Strange indeed.

diem

12-14-2002, 07:57 PM

Twould seem that an 8 before the week number is year 2000, 9 is 2001, and 0 2002?

WolfUK

12-14-2002, 07:57 PM

Originally posted by markdeppe
What is the year for the other netbook JBBD8420128Week 42 of 2000.

It's quite easy to work out ... Digit four of the serial number denotes the year (see below) and digits five and six are the week number.

For the year, based on what Harvey said, 2002=0, 2001=9, 2000=8, 1999=7.

Hmm that is impressive as the person I brought it off said he brought it second hand and thus he did not have a receipt and there was no warranty left. Strange indeed. Maybe he stole it! ;)

markdeppe

12-14-2002, 08:36 PM

Ah I see, yes. In which case it is very strange then as this new netbook I just brought, with warranty card etc in box a few weeks old must have been sitting on a shelf in france for 2 years - bother there was me hoping I might have had the latest hardware.

<<<Maybe he stole it! >>> Hmm Maybe (and yes I did see the smiley), seriously though I wonder. I guess teklogic have a registration of all netbook owners - though come to think of it I registered on their site with that netbook and it didn't come up with a "this netbook is already registered" sort of note. In which case 2 years ago I got a Bargin as I paid £500 and thought it was a good price for a machine I thought was at least a year old. I bought it via email from a add on google board I think it was. Oh well i am happy with my new French one even though technically it is only 9 weeks younger than my old one, though would love to source some new keys for it :-)

I wonder what the letter are for?

JBBA8330110 old one
JBBD8420128 New one French

netBookBabe

12-14-2002, 11:24 PM

Mark

It seems to me, on Harvey's explanation, that if year 0=2002, then 9=2001 and 8=2000

The digits on my serial number are xxxx830xxxx, which signifies to me week 30, year 2000. Since I bought mine brand new around week 33/2000 (and had to wait a short while for availability) then that seems to make sense. From your numbers, Mark, it looks like you have one from week 33/2000 and one from week 42/2000, so that doesn't make sense, if the one you just acquired is supposed to be just two months old.

I think we've opened a can of worms here - sorry, Harvey! :rolleyes:

Julie

cshandley

04-09-2003, 03:13 AM

Harvey - if you are still about, I have a question :-)

When did the notorious improvement to the screen ribbon cable connection on the motherboard take places? (This is supposed to stop it coming loose & the calibration drifting or worse)

And do you happen to know if this modification can be retro fitted onto OLD motherboards, or does it require replacing the entire motherboard?

I ask this because my Psion7 was fixed under warrenty, and it now has the ribbon cable fix (a large lump of black plastic from what I can see). If you answer the above info, then I can deduce if my motherboard now supports higher current on the PCMCIA port.

Regards,
Chris Handley

markdeppe

09-30-2004, 11:04 PM

<<<When did the notorious improvement to the screen ribbon cable connection on the motherboard take places? (This is supposed to stop it coming loose & the calibration drifting or worse)>>>

Its a shame Harvey never got back to you on this chris, as I am still toying with buying another netbook epoc and would like to at least have the cable fix, as you say I could look in under the memory cover to see if the black box is there. Could be hard via ebay to get someone to do this would be easier with th serial code. anyone got one who could post the serial number and then anything newer we can assume has the fix. ideally I would like the rev 10 latest model which I know the codes for though - not being greedy or anything like that just want to ensure my psion future

All said and done 4 years down the line with this one still running as good as new, actually better as soon as my new souped (dyslexia sorry no idea on this one, never seen it spelt or is "speld" before - sooped, couped, s.. give up ) up battery arrives.

talking of Harvey is he still going. if still reading a mate of my was at the NEC yesterday for mobile thingy, and said tecklogic were there with new netbook pro, said they were not very helpful on it (mainly pushing the other handhelds) and definitly not wanting to talk about old netbooks epoc or new netbook pros with symbian: Shame :-(

netBookBabe

10-01-2004, 06:29 AM

Originally posted by cshandley
I ask this because my Psion7 was fixed under warrenty, and it now has the ribbon cable fix (a large lump of black plastic from what I can see). If you answer the above info, then I can deduce if my motherboard now supports higher current on the PCMCIA port. Chris

Did you ever find the answer to this question?

Julie

fwaechter

10-01-2004, 07:02 PM

There were different threads at Psionwelt about fixing screen cables:
http://www.psionwelt.de/phorum31/read.php3?f=2&i=4339&t=4328
http://www.psionwelt.de/phorum31/read.php3?f=2&i=16883&t=16879
http://www.psionwelt.net/phorum31/read.php3?f=2&i=16986&t=16986
Of course it's in German, but there are several pictures included, which should be self explaining. I attach a zip file with my downloaded pics.

I have repaired my netbook some weeks ago (it's really easy) and all calibration problems have gone.

Cheers,
Fritz

fladda

10-02-2004, 05:35 AM

fwaechter

10-02-2004, 06:58 PM

Netbook screen cable 'fix' that is being described here by Fritz appears to be the same as that applied by Psion on later models of the Netbook. A rectangular piece of plastic is screwed down firmly on top of the cable socket; thus holding the screen cable in place. Plastic 'cover' is held in place by two screws.

I am no expert, but if those German postings are correct, a rectangular piece of plastic is always there: only exist different forms dependent on the age of the machine.

The fixing is to put something like leaves of paper between the piece of plastic and the socket to raise the pressure on the cable (it decreases gradually).

Fritz