Crazy Digitizer On Palm Tungsten

[+Cleenjeep & Danger Girl]

It seems that I have to recalibrate my digitizer a bit too often. Some days I need to do it several times, others I can go all day, sometimes a few days.

What is causing this? It's a tungsten t, if that makes any difference.

Is there something wrong with the screen, or is this an unrepairable problem?

Anyone else experienced this?

These symptoms started before I ever loaded cachemate, or any other programs. When I was only using it as a memopad and date book even.

Michael

[+Cleenjeep & Danger Girl]

I guess I should clarify a bit.

When I am using the stylus, where I put it on the screen, is not where it thinks it is. if I were to point to, for example, tuesday, it would click on monday, or not anything at all. The problem seems to be confined to the area above the graffiti pad usually, but not always. Sometimes I cannot get the backlight popup.

Hope that makes sense.

[+IVxIV]

Years ago I bought a Palm m100 that sounds like it did the same thing. The stylus calibration simply would NOT behave itself at all. Often the unit would sense my stylus touch being more than 1/2 inch away from where it was actually being pressed.

 

I replaced the unit for another m100. It did the same thing

 

I finally washed my hands clean of the m100 and found a good deal on a Palm Vx (this was a few years ago). I don't think there is anything YOU can do to resolve this calibration problem other than returning/replacing the unit.

[+Learned Gerbil]

Check google - there are issues with the digitizers on some Tungstens. I think there may be some patches you can download for some models.

[+embra]

See my post in this thread for an explanation.

 

If you want to try and fix it you can try the instructions here to disassemble the T (it's not too hard IMO...it's a tight fit reassembling, but if you are careful and follow the directions carefully, it's not much of a problem).

 

Here's a paste where I got the info off a Tungsten T group:

 

Yeah, this sucks, I have the same situation with my T. It is caused by

corrosion on the two connectors that receive the electric signals from

the digitizer screen. I had to open up my unit (twice!) to clean them.

They are located at the top of the motherboard, just behind the little

Palm logo on the front. It also seems these connectors (at least on my

unit) are quite low on tin, so if you feel confident with a soldering

iron, it could be an idea to add just a touch more. Myself, I've not

been so bold just yet, but if it gets worse, the unit is basically just

an expensive paperweight anyway, so then I'll try that as a last resort.

 

The connectors and the "plug" sit on two different circut boards inside

your Palm. Another part of the probem is that these two boards can shift

a little relative to one another, reducing the allready bad connection

further. This happens almost directly if I keep my Palm in the pocket of

a pair of cargo pants, for instance. So, to re-align them, you can give

your unit a sharp (but gentle) whack on the side. I whack mine against

the top of my hand to the left, around the area with the record-button.

 

So, clean the connectors, possibly add some tin, keep it out of damp

environments and keep vibrations to a minimum.

 

The procedure involves plugging out the battery as well, so be sure you

have a recent backup. Be sure to have good tools, some of those screws

can be pretty tight.

 

The other solution would be to call Palm for a replacement and pay them

whatever they charge these days.

 

Let me know how you make out. I decided to trade in on an E.