Replaced my Casio E115 screen - now touchscreen doesn't work??!

[timbley]

Hey everyone,

I inherited a Casio E115 with a shattered screen. I carefully removed the LCD and touch screen (both were shattered, but the rest of the unit was fine). I took a working LCD and touch screen from a fully functional Casio E105 and installed it into the E115. Now the LCD display is fine on the E115, but the touch screen doesn't work! I touch it, and nothing happens - it doesn't register.

Any ideas? I have the 4-connector touch-screen cable plugged in properly (the cable in the lower-left of this picture, near the IRA diodes: http://www.pocketpcpassion.com/Casio/TomA/DaughterBoardRemoved_sh.jpg) but it still doesn't work.

Does anybody have any ideas of what might be wrong? Are the touch screens on the E105 and E115 just incompatible? I noticed a small metallic sliver that was screwed to the plastic chassis that the display sits in. Does the touch display have to be touching this to close some kind of resistive circuit? It doesn't seem to touch it - I don't really know if that matters.

Please, anybody have any ideas, or has anybody done this kind of thing successfully?

Thanks!
Tim

[pmshah]

Did you replace the entire working backlight assy from the E-105 or just the 2 parts - touch screen & LCD ?

There are 2 things you have to check for.

The touch screen was changed in the middle of production run. The flexible connector & the corresponding socket on the main board were inverted. In other words the exposed track side was moved from upper to lower side. The older type of touch scrteen is no longer available. Casio made the socket available to their service centre to change in on the main board to suit the newer type of touch screen.

If this is the case you will have to get the newer type touch screen to suit the E-115.

The second aspect is that there are 4 self adhesive spacer tapes ( approximately 3 mm x 80 mm x 0.5mm thick on the long side & 3 mm x 60 mm x .5 mm on ythe short side ) on the periphery of the LCD. This is to keep the touch screen from touching the LCD. This is to prevent Newton's rings as also to prevent malfunction of the touch screen. These are an absolute must.

Other than that the touch screens are absolutely the same.

Hope this helps.

[timbley]

Hi pmshah!

Thanks so much for your reply! I figured out that the sockets had been inverted, and have been working on making a little bridge connector that flips the contacts on the ribbon from one side to the other (nothing fancy - I just cut the remaining ribbon from the shattered screen, and scraped the plastic off one side so that it works as a "side flipper" bridge for the contacts). Darn hard to get it to work, although I have had some limited success with it.

Do you know how much E115 touch screens cost, or where they can be had?

Thanks again!
Tim

[pmshah]

A new one should set you back about US$ 20/= max. Casio service centre / parts warehouse in your country/ area would be a good choice.

Be very careful with your adaptation of the original touch screen. If this process involves change in thickness of the connector in the section that fits in the socket you might end up cracking the socket itself.

If you are REALLY handy with micro soldering tools it might be a good idea to transfer the socket too !!!

[Richie Rich]

I had an E100 that needed a new motherboard, so I sent this letter to Casio:

>Sirs, I have a E100 that I determined needs only a new motherboard. I swapped out parts with my wife's E100 and through process of elimination determined that the motherboard needs either repair or replacement. What would be the costs to repair this machine, and/or can I upgrade the E100 with a motherboard from a newer E-1XX device?

This is the response I got back from Casio:

>From: Casio Repair Center
>Tech: Tim Chapin

>Rich, got your question about repairs and the Casio E-100. First off, the repair costs are initially $65.00 per hour to diagnose the problem, and even if you have determined the problem, due to warranty constraints the diagnosis charges would still incur. Repair is then $40.00 afterwards plus repair parts costs. If you only need a new motherboard, it will have to be ordered as we no longer keep any of the E-100 series parts in stock. This may take about 5-10 weeks.

>As far as upgrading goes, you stated your motherboard was bad but your display worked properly. The E-100 and the E105 both use the same display and digitizer. The E-115 uses the same lcd display unit, but uses a different digitizer that will not work with your E-100 because of capacitive discharge differences. The E-125/EM-500 uses a different lcd unit, but the same digitizer as the E-115. Basically, by what you wrote, you could upgrade to an E-105, but nothing else.

>If you are interested in repairs, simply send the device to the address listed below, but call the number on the attached form for a repair submission. Casio Repair Center 210 Riser Road, Little Ferry, NJ 07643. Phone: 201-329-9030

It was hard to believe that all the Casio machines were so different, so checking on the Pacparts place, I made a list of what their part numbers were...and some of them use the same part and some use different part numbers. Their website and phone number are as follows: https://www.pacparts.com (800) 421-5080

ITEM....................E100...........E105....... ......E115.............E125.............EM50
a/c adapter.........33010448....<-same.......acc50200u......10017213....adc59200u
battery cover lg....65663480........----........10015850........ 10034732........n/a
battery cover sm...65663510.......----.........10015852....... 10034730...10028440
battery............jk210lt.....<-same.......<-same........<-same.......jk211lt
cradle........chc42110up........<-same.........<-same.....10036981.........jk515cr
flash cover..........65663490...........<-same.........10015854..........10034731........... n/a
lcd unit.........10151478...........<-same............<-same......10026477..........10026477
cradle.............jk512cr............<-same............<-same........10036981...........jk515cr
digitizer............33356844..............<-same.......10003145........<-same.........<-same
main motherboard....n/a......66702883.........n/a...........n/a.........n/a
Case lower........----........----.........----........10034759........n/a
Cover top..........----........----.........----.........10034754...n/a

Too bad this message doesn't format properly for tabbing columns....you'll have to space them out to see them under the proper column....

[timbley]

Hey Rich,

Thanks for the great information! I actually succeeded in getting the touchscreen to work properly in the E115, and had meant to post a follow up. The problem was that the E115's socket connect for the touchscreen strip is upside-down compared to the E105's. I just had to fold the ribbon cable over so the contacts were on the other side, and it worked! I guess they just flipped the socket over and made the correspnding change in the contact ordering.

Thanks very much, though!! I love my "new" E115. :)

Cheers!!
Tim

[birawa]

Hi Tim,

Though not the same brand (I am using Navman PIN 570), I have a similar problem with my touch screen. I cleaned it carelessly using a dish washing detergent only to find the detergent so easily entering beneath the touch screen creating a "lake" between the two panels. It stops to register to any touch.

Forget about the warranty. So it is better to hack it myself before sending it for repair.

My question is: is that easy to separate the touch screen and the display screen beneath it? I already managed to open the case. At bottom there is a black plastic plaster gluing the touch screen. I also noticed there were some connections there. At the top, there is a much slimmer black plaster like stuff. Should I start from here to open it?

I would appreciate any help from anyone experienced.

birawa

[pmshah]

The touchscreen is made up of a glass panel & pessure sensitive membrane on top of it.

DO NOT detach any connectors from the touch screen or the LCD. Disconnect from the PCB only. These should be NOT soldered type but socket type.

If you are a careful type you should be able to separate the LCD & the touchscreen. Remember these have to have a small gap ( area where you see the liquid) otherwise you end up with "Newton's ring" problems. Clean & dry carefully. Now sll should work normally.