Technology PDA screen broken. Now what?

[SLUser11]

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I rarely used my Palm pilot in the three years since I've bought it. It was simply too bulky to carry around in the white coat, and I'm more of a tarascon's pharmacopoeia man myself.

However, since I've started moonlighting, I find the programs amazingly helpful (5 min CC, Harrison's, etc).

Then, last night, I must have sat on it or something, because now the screen is all jacked up, and I can't even make out a single word. It has the definite look of a crushed screen. Is there a way to salvage this palm pilot, or do I need to buy a whole new one?

I have a Palm TX, which I paid $200 for 3 years ago.

Thanks for your help.

 

[tkim]

http://shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=pa...86.m270.l1313&_odkw=palm+tx+display&_osacat=0

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-PALM-Tungst...286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66:2|65:15|39:1|240:1318

It's probably best to determine if just your display is jacked, or the digitizer is also jacked as well. You might as well replace both as a unit if you're going to dig around in there.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXJSnL60DlA[/YOUTUBE]

If you want someone else to do the work: http://cgi.ebay.com/BROKEN-Palm-Eva...911.c0.m14&_trkparms=66:2|65:15|39:1|240:1318

 

[16846]

Just get a new Palm, unless you are too poor. Most Palm's I know of that have undergone a similar repair never worked quite right after that.

 

[tkim]

Just get a new Palm, unless you are too poor. Most Palm's I know of that have undergone a similar repair never worked quite right after that.

It's a simple swap of non-soldered parts. I've done the same with my Treo with 100% success, although I've heard that if you use a plastic digitizer versus the OEM glass one they sometimes get flaky. It's either $50 to do it yourself, about $90 to have someone else replace it, or buy a used one on ebay.

Looking at past selling trends on ebay, you can buy a used TX for about $90 as well.

 

[SLUser11]

It's a simple swap of non-soldered parts. I've done the same with my Treo with 100% success, although I've heard that if you use a plastic digitizer versus the OEM glass one they sometimes get flaky. It's either $50 to do it yourself, about $90 to have someone else replace it, or buy a used one on ebay.

Looking at past selling trends on ebay, you can buy a used TX for about $90 as well.

Thanks for the replies. I can't look at youtube at work, but I'll definitely check it out when I get home.

Is this something I can do with nothing but a screwdriver?

I'm really on the fence here about spending money for a completely new palm. I will honestly only use the PDA for moonlighting, which I only do like once a month, and I'm sure I can wing it if I absolutely have to.

Also, this is just a side thought, but I can usually kick my PC's @ss in hearts, but for some reason, the computer players on my palm version of hearts are excellent and ruthless, and I lose almost every time.....not sure if this should factor into my decision making, but I'm not always rational.....

 

[tkim]

Thanks for the replies. I can't look at youtube at work, but I'll definitely check it out when I get home.

Is this something I can do with nothing but a screwdriver?

I'm really on the fence here about spending money for a completely new palm. I will honestly only use the PDA for moonlighting, which I only do like once a month, and I'm sure I can wing it if I absolutely have to.

You will absolutely need a Torx T5 or T6 screwdriver to open the case. If you don't have one either buy one or get an ebay repair package that includes those screwdrivers. You can get a set from China on ebay for $2 shipped. The dowside is that it takes like 3 weeks to show up.

 

[DrJosephKim]

I'm sure you can find an older PDA from one of your colleagues.

 

[SLUser11]

I'm sure you can find an older PDA from one of your colleagues.

Excellent advice from everyone. I really appreciate it, as I am not very good with technology.

I looked on Craig's List, and found a lot of older PDAs for $10-30 which would probably do the job. I also sent an email to my co-residents, and had an offer for a Dell Axim for around $50, and my buddy also offered me a Sony Clie for free.

Then, of course, after all that research, I decided to try to get mine fixed instead. Main reason: All of the programs, etc I've put on there. They wouldn't be too hard to replace, but it would probably take several hours on the computer, and I'm a big fan of the model I have.

I am going to send it to Chris Short (from tkim's link) to get an estimate, and if it's more than $70-90, I'll probably go with the cheaper replacement. I just want to make sure I didn't mess anything else up (besides the LCD) when I stepped on it.

Once again, thanks for the help.

 

[DrJosephKim]

Keep in mind that older PDAs probably have diminished batteries. You can often find a do-it-yourself battery replacement kit online that will bring new life to these older PDAs.