Faulty Pocket Books


Repairing Pocket Books
Inevitably, the day comes when your Pocket Book or Psion no longer works properly. Common faults are related to the cables that flex every time the machine is opened and closed. These manifest themselves in two ways: one is that the low battery warning comes on after a few hours, and the machine tends to turn on and off as you open and close it. This is due to the intermittent contacts in the wire that runs from the battery compartment, through the left hand pivot area, to the motherboard. It can be replaced yourself if the machine is out of guarantee, and you don't mind removing the back of the battery compartment with a jeweller's screwdriver. The leads used to be sent out free by Psion UK on request, but they've started charging £10 for two now. Replacing the lead is easy, but if you're nervous the only alternative is to send the machine away (and you should do that anyway if it is still under guarantee).
The other common fault is that vertical black lines appear on the screen, and they are caused by cracks in the ribbon cable you can see behind the button bar on opening the machine. That needs the whole cable replacing, and is not a job for the faint-hearted. Psion UK have a repair centre, but their turnround tends to be rather long, and their standard charge quite high. A better bet is Pinnock Organiser Services.

Their address is:

143 Streatham High Road,
London SW16 6EG,
tel. 0181 677 9246,
fax. 0181 769 9293.

Paul Pinnock used to work for Psion at Greenford (he replaced the battery lead of my S3a under guarantee before he left them), and is authorised by them to carry out repairs. Generally, the repair will take 2-3 days, and cost less than Psion would charge. Just make sure you back the machine up and remove all SSDs before sending it off, and it will be returned promptly. I sent mine to them last year for the screen cable to be replaced, and got a new battery cable and keyboard fitted in the standard repair price. If you make arrangements beforehand and are willing to deliver it yourself, machines can sometimes even be repaired while you wait.

Stuck in Time!
One problem that can be very irritating in preventing you from backing up the machine before sending it off is that the button bar stops working. That means that you can't switch between applications unless you exit one, go to the System screen, and navigate to the next one. That works well until you go to Time, and discover that you can't get out of it! There is an undocumented way of escaping from Time (the application, that is!). You need to press the following three keys at the same time: <Escape><up arrow><down arrow>. That will leave Time, and go to an open Sheet file, or to the far left of the System screen if no Sheet file is open. On the Psion S3c or the Xemplar Pocket Book III, <Psion><x> will leave Time without closing it, which is a more obvious keystroke for emergency use!

Still No Good?
If your machine isn't economically repairable, or you don't have a use for it anymore, then there is an alternative to throwing it away. I've been in touch with Phil Creed, who some of you may know from his design of icons for Psion games authors. He says:

"I am looking for donations of old S3 and S3a Psions for use in a UK project with kids. Damaged goods happily accepted. We are building a young peoples' internet site for Dudley (in the West Midlands) and need a dozen cheap machines for young writers to produce plain text copy, which is then exported to a PC for inclusion in various web pages.

Key to the project is confidence building and a keen sense of "ownership". Most of the kids we are working with have low self-esteem and putting a Psion in their hands is a very powerful way of making them feel "included". I've seen it happen: kids who feel they don't count, starting to contribute because somebody has told them that they do - by giving them trust and encouragement.

On a practical note: Such things as broken button bars or cracked screens - Psions which are "beyond economic repair" are not a problem! If you have anything which you have held on to (but never use) I can cannibalise where I have to. Before training as a youth worker, I used to be a techie with Hewlett Packard (years ago) and it would enjoy the chance to bring a few machines back from the dead - to a second working life."

Please reply to:-

Phil Creed,
"The Source" Youth Arts Centre,
Barnett Lane,
Stourbridge,
West Midlands,
DY8 5PY

email: cdusource.ed@mbc.dudley.gov.uk


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