display flickers on old palm iiixe

[+ncparolelady]

While most people that do paperless caching have upgraded to smartphones, etc. to handle the paperless part, I still use an old Palm IIIxe that I got off Ebay. However, I've noticed that after about 10 mins. of continued use, the display starts to flicker (the contrast is really what's flickering). It starts out slow but eventually the flickering becomes so bad that you can no longer read anything on the screen. Anyone have any ideas about what might cause this or how I could fix it? This happens whether the batteries are brand new or not. I have noticed though that if the batteries are wearing down, the flickering begins much sooner and gets worse much quicker. Hope all that made sense...

Edited December 1, 2009 by ncparolelady

[NordicMan]

Sorry to hear about the problems.. but those things are so cheap to replace I wouldn't spend much trying to repair it, just grab another one. Maybe it's a good time to upgrade to something like a Palm M500 series PDA

 

When the screen starts to flicker, try giving it a good SMACK with your hand from various angles? lol

[+ncparolelady]

Thanks NordicMan! I definitely have tried the SMACK from all angles!! Didn't seem to help much. haha. Seriously though, I have thought about upgrading since the Palm IIIxe only cost me 19.99. You mentioned the Palm M500 series-would you recommend any specific model? I'm going to check out the other threads that deal with "best pda for caching" but a lot of that info is old now. Seems most people are switching to smartphones and apps to do their paperless stuff. I really don't want to go that route just yet. Anyway, thanks again for your reply!

[NordicMan]

The M5xx series are quite a good PDA for Geocaching, as they're fairly common so finding one on Ebay should be no problem There's the m500, the m505 and m515. All have USB connection to PC which is much nicer than the old serial connection! And more memory, faster processor, and even a color screen on the 505/515.

 

Some here prefer the Windows Mobile based PDA's for Geocaching. They work well too, but personally I think they're overkill if all you're going to do is Geocache with it. They're usually more expensive and their battery life isn't as good. Just some food for thought

[ggilbert76]

I have a question to add. I just got an m500 from ebay, and am now wondering how to get apps and info on it for geocaching as well as using it as an ebook reader, off my vista computer. If anyone can help me get going I would REALLY appreciate it!