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PDAs July 2002 • Vol.8 Issue 7 Page(s) 66-69 in print issue |
This Old PDA Rescue Your Palm OS Device From The Scrap Heap | ||
 You rush through yet another unfamiliar airport terminal, trying to catch a flight. As you pull out your trusty PDA (personal digital assistant) to check flight information, some other harried traveler racing down the terminal bumps into you. The collision catches you unaware, and before you can react, the PDA is flying out of your hand and crashing to the floor. The once pristine glass screen now sports multiple cracks. Let's face it, your PDA is much more accident-prone than its big brother desktop PC. And although prices are quickly plummeting, PDAs are still expensive enough that any injuries suffered in the line of duty are truly minor disasters. Do you throw an injured device away and purchase a new model, contact the manufacturer and send it away for repairs, or, if the device is still functional, simply soldier on with that cracked screen? If you are pondering what to do with your injured PDA and don't like any of the repair, replace, or grin-and-bear-it alternatives, don't despair. Read on to learn how to repair your PDA yourself and restore it to mint condition. All you need is a willingness to follow instructions and confidence in your abilities to wield a screwdriver and an X-Acto knife.  A Word Of Warning. As with most electronic devices, manufacturers discourage performing repairs to a damaged unit yourself. PDAs are designed to be compact and moble, and they wield a lot of complexity in a small package. Unlike desktop PCs, they are not designed for easy upgrading or dismantling. PDAs are more like consumer electronics devices, such as telephones, cellular phones, or stereo components: When something breaks, you send it to a professional for repairs or simply throw it away and buy a replacement. Thus, the repairs we describe in the next few paragraphs are not sanctioned by the PDA manufacturers and will void any warranties on your device. Palm OS Device Repair. Robby Stanley, president of Gethightech (http://www.gethightech.com), a Morgan Hill, Calif., company that specializes in PDA repair, says the most common PDA accident is a cracked or broken digitizer (the clear piece that sits on top of the unit's LCD [liquid-crystal display]). Stanley warns that even a short fall onto a soft surface, such as carpet, can result in a broken or cracked digitizer. Factor in users who throw their PDAs into handbags and briefcases without any protection (such as a case or a lid), and you can see how digitizers are damaged so easily. Scratches, Stanley adds, run a close second. If you use a Palm OS device and are a Graffiti master, you write frequently on your device's digitizer. Over time, dust and grit particles accumulate on the screen, causing scratches whenever your stylus catches one of these particles and drags it across the surface as you write. The stylus itself, Stanley says, is capable of causing scratches, as well. A stylus tip can pick up dust and dirt and drag it across your screen while you write, for example. Unfortunately, Palm and Visor's warranties do not cover cracked or scratched digitizers. Even if your Palm OS device is well within its warranty period (normally one year), the manufacturer does not cover the repair costs. If you contact Palm for a repair to a cracked digitizer, for example, it will cost you anywhere from $75 to $125, depending on the model. This amount does not include shipping charges incurred when a unit is sent to the manufacturer. Thus, knowing how to remove a broken digitizer and install a replacement is a useful skill for PDA owners. Many Web sites sell replacement digitizers. Gethightech, for example, sells digitizers for Palm devices, ranging in price from $30 for a Palm III to $60 for a Palm IIIc.
Before You Begin. To repair a broken or cracked screen, you must take the device apart. Palm OS devices have three components that must be separated prior to replacing a broken digitizer: a screen, a motherboard, and the plastic frames that encase all the components and hold them together. The digitizer is part of the display and is attached to the motherboard by one or more ribbon cables, depending on the model. A Palm OS device's screen must be separated from the motherboard before you can replace a broken digitizer, hence the need to open up your device. To perform surgery on your PDA, you must remove the batteries. Because removing your unit's batteries for an extended period clears its RAM, the very first step you must take is to back up your data. A HotSync backs up most of the Palm OS applications, such as the To-Do List and the Address Book. Other applications on your PDA that exchange data with your PC must be backed up using a third-party application, such as BackupBuddy (http://www.bluenomad.com). Palm III, IIIx, IIIxe & IIIe. Once your data is backed up, place the unit face down on a firm surface and remove the unit's batteries. Using a small Phillips screwdriver, remove the screws located at each corner of the unit and lift the rear section of the device away from the case. Now, you must separate the unit's screen from the motherboard. To do this, locate the ribbon cable that connects the display to the motherboard. The ribbon is a white cable located on the edge of the unit above and to the left of the two springs inside the battery enclosure. Locate the two white tabs that attach the ribbon to the motherboard and gently pull them toward you to release the ribbon. Once the ribbon is released, the screen and motherboard are easily separated from the plastic frame. Palm V & Vx. The sleek design of the Palm V and Vx handhelds is the main reason they are some of the most popular PDA models ever released. This cool design, however, makes it a bit more difficult to expose the innards of the Palm V series and requires the addition of another tool to your surgical kit: a blow dryer or heat gun. After you back up your data, flip the unit over so its back faces up. The plastic front, back, and middle plastic pieces that make up a Palm V are held together with glue. Thus, the glue must be heated so the three pieces can be pried apart. To heat the glue and loosen the pieces, take a blow dryer or heat gun and apply heat evenly to each side of the unit. Be careful not to apply any heat to the front of the unit as heat can melt and distort the screen. Continue applying heat for 30 to 60 seconds but use common sense: An industrial-class heat gun delivers more heat more rapidly than your sister's old blow dryer. Adjust your heating time accordingly.
To replace the device's motherboard or the screen, you must remove the rechargeable battery, which is glued to the back of the screen. Apply heat evenly around the battery until the glue softens and you are able to release the battery. Unplug the battery from its connector to complete the process. If you are merely replacing your unit's buttons, you won't need to remove the battery. To remove your unit's screen, you must loosen two ribbons that connect the screen to the motherboard by flipping up the two sets of tabs securing the ribbons. To remove the entire motherboard from its plastic frame, you must loosen yet another ribbon by flipping a third set of tabs to release the ribbon. Now the motherboard easily separates from the unit. To put the unit back together, retrace your steps and use clamps to hold the unit together. To reseal the unit, apply heat to the clamped unit to reheat the now cooled glue. Palm IIIc. Palm's IIIc handheld was the first device to deliver your Palm OS experience in color. Color display notwithstanding, the Palm IIIc looks exactly like a Palm III so begin the disassembly procedure by removing the screws located at each corner of the plastic case's rear. Notice the three tabs that hold the back case to the rest of the assembly and press these carefully while lifting to release the rear piece from the assembly. With the back plastic cover removed, disconnect the battery by unplugging a small connector plugged into a socket on the motherboard assembly. With the battery removed, you must now unplug three ribbons from the motherboard. These are released by pulling up on the plastic tabs that secure the ribbons in place. Another connector must be released from the motherboard before the assembly is completely free of the plastic frame. To release this connector, you must first remove a label that reads "Warning High Voltage—Do Not Remove." Remove the label and unplug the connector. Now the motherboard and screen come off easily by pulling three tabs away from the plastic frame. Palm VII & VIIx. The Palm VII and VIIx are very similar in design to the Palm III series. Remove the batteries from the handheld and flip it so the rear of the unit faces up. Remove each of the screws located at the corners of the case and press on the three tabs on each side to release the rear section of the case. Once the motherboard is exposed, locate a ribbon cable on the board and gently lift the tab securing the ribbon to the motherboard. The ribbon is glued to the board so lift the ribbon firmly but gently. Locate a second ribbon along the side of the case and pull toward you the two tabs securing it to release the ribbon. Gently press the three tabs along each side of the unit to release the plastic frame from the motherboard and slide the ribbon cable around the battery as you separate the frame from the motherboard. The screen and motherboard now separate easily. Palm m100 & m105. Disassembling a Palm m100 or Palm m105 requires a Torx T5. This special tool, which resembles a screwdriver, is required to remove the four Torx screws that hold the unit together. Begin the disassembly process by removing the flip-top lid. The faceplate comes off next by pushing the tab at the top of the unit. Now flip the unit so the rear faces upward, remove the batteries, and use your Torx screwdriver to remove the screws. Lift the back cover and set it aside.
Visor & Visor Deluxe. To disassemble a Visor or Visor Deluxe, remove the batteries and use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the two bottom screws at the rear of the case and remove any Springboard modules in the unit. When this is done, remove the two screws at the top of the unit and separate the rear piece of the case from the assembly. Before removing the screen, you must release a ribbon connecting the screen to the motherboard. As with the other units we've discussed, two tabs hold the ribbon in place. To release the ribbon, lift the tabs at a 45-degree angle. To separate the screen from the plastic frame, press the two tabs at the bottom of the assembly that hold the screen to the frame. Remove the screen from the frame, taking into account the two guides holding the screen at the top. Repair The Digitizer. A common question many users ask, according to Stanley, is how to determine whether a Palm device needs a new digitizer or an entirely new screen. The only function the glass top handles, Stanley explains, is to take input from the stylus. If just the digitizer is damaged, using the stylus renders the characters on the screen correctly, even through the digitizer's broken glass. If the screen itself is damaged, Stanley says, characters don't render at all, and black lines (in some cases, a whole portion of the screen may be completely black) appear under the glass. If you see these symptoms in a damaged unit, you need a new screen. The digitizer repair instructions that follow apply for all the Palm and Visor models discussed above except the Palm V, Vx, and m100/m105. This is the moment when you finally get to wield your scalpel. Actually, these X-Acto blades are very sharp, so take due care. These instructions assume you already have taken the device apart and the screen is ready to be worked on. To begin, turn the screen over and release the ribbon from the screen. The secret to removing a broken digitizer from a Palm or Visor screen is simple: Run a sharp blade all the way around the device, along the area between the metal on the screen and the glass. On Palm devices, you must lift up two tabs that secure the ribbon in place; the ribbon on the Visor devices is not secured and simply pulls out. Once the ribbon on your unit is released, take your X-Acto knife and insert it between the metal and the glass. Carefully work the knife all the way around the screen to release the glass from the metal frame around the screen. Also, you must remove the thin metal piece stenciled with the four icons surrounding the Graffiti area on your device. When you finish, remove the glass piece from the screen. Now, it's time to attach your pristine new glass to the screen. To attach the glass, take some double-sided tape and apply it along the entire length of the screen's metal rim. Cut away any excess tape with the X-Acto knife and lay the new glass piece on top of the metal rim. Press gently down all along the glass surface to ensure an even fit. Once the new glass is in place, reattach the ribbon. Your new screen is now ready to go. The Palm m105 and m100 models do not have separate parts for the digitizer and the screen; the entire assembly is one piece and must be replaced as a unit if the digitizer or screen is damaged. Accident Prevention. Naturally, the best way to avoid repairs is to never incur the need for them. Although no person and the devices he carries are ever 100% accident-proof, there are some common-sense, affordable ways to give your Palm or Pocket PC device the utmost protection possible. Stanley advises that screen protectors (translucent sheets of plastic you place over your PDA's LCD) are a very good way to prevent your writing surface from becoming hopelessly scratched. The plastic protectors cost $1 each and last for about a month. Another key accessory a lot of people neglect to buy, he says, is a protective case for your device. Even if your PDA is protected by a case, that is no guarantee your digitizer surface can survive a fall without incident. At the very least, use your device's plastic flip-top lid. Hammer & Nails. Performing basic repairs to a Palm OS device is not difficult and results in significant savings. So the next time your trusty assistant suffers an accident, consider fixing it yourself.  by Sixto Ortiz Jr. |
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