Mean screen

[Palmed]

I've had a T/X for a couple of years and compared to other Palms over the last 10 yrs. it is great. But, my screen is being mean! After reading here for several hours I believe my digitizer is bad. The graffiti writing has never been as easy for me as the old III's, but the screen is beautiful. Recently, strokes on the input screen started showing up blue and were a little eratic, now almost all inputs no matter where on the screen are random. I can not enter text or numbers with any degree of success.

My question: As my Palm still looks like new (stays on my desk most of the time) and I have not done anything I can think of to damage the digitizer, how do they, "go bad"? Has anyone seen it be just a loose ribbon cable? Is there anyting else I should check before biting the bullet and buying a new digitizer?

I have seen the references to Dmetri's products, but, it seems that in at least some cases that is just a temporary fix. I would just as soon replace the digitizer now as wait and have it frustrate me again later.

Many thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[Gregte]

...Recently, strokes on the input screen started showing up blue and were a little eratic, now almost all inputs no matter where on the screen are random....

I don't know for sure what that would mean, showing up blue?

I also don't know what you mean by the "input screen" so I will assume you mean the graffiti input area below the normal display part of the screen.

Do you have "write anywhere" turned on unknowingly? It is toggled on and off by tapping the little squiggle just to the right of the WiFi icon in the status bar at the bottom of your screen.

At any rate, the digitizer is a weak link on the TX. They do go bad from usage. The harder you press and the more you use it the sooner it will fail. Some seem to last much longer than others but I tend to think it is how the individual user uses them since there are reports of some users having as many as a half dozen TXs replaced due to bad digitizers and some users report not having any problem at all.

If your digitizer is worn out you can make Palm replace it (you may get a refurbished device back) if it's under warranty or you can replace it yourself or hire it done elsewhere. If you replace it yourself or hire it done you have the option of choosing the more expensive but reportedly higher quality 'glass' digitizer.

[Palmed]

Sorry for the confusion. I have tried with both the, "write anywhere" turned on and off. Sometimes I get only the most random results and sometimes it seems the stylus is activating areas that are one quarter inch off. Just now I tried again and moved the stylus across the graffiti input area. The straight line showed up well below the stylus and as a white dot followed by a white squiggle as if I were violently scribbling instead of making a line. Before, the white line was coming out blue hence the previous reference.

I guess there is little hope of there being an alternative explination for the problem so I will order a new digitizer. Seems a shame that even with years of experience they can not seem to build in reliability.

Many thanks for the reply!

[BrentDC]

Before you buy a new digitizer why don't you download mySkin. It's shareware but the digitizer callibater will work in "free mode". It will let you callibrate the whole screen, even the Dinamic Input Area.

[cyberdude]

Before you buy a new digitizer why don't you download mySkin. It's shareware but the digitizer callibater will work in "free mode". It will let you callibrate the whole screen, even the Dinamic Input Area.
Or myKbd. :) (also has the same digitizer)

[phreakonaleash]

If that fails, demo Dmitry's app PowerDiGi (it is, in mine and other's opinion a better solution)

:-) one of those ma fix it, at any rate

[Church Punk]

uhm my experience was almost the same. I decided to buy a glass digitizer -after half year >.<- and change it myself. And to tell you the truth, i coulndt have been more happy with my "new" TX. Digitizer growing deadspots are gone, drift is no more after the replacement (btw, i use handy aid to calibrate my TX with the DIA down; which helped A LOT with the old digitizer *thanks to handy aid, DIA DA, and to pruss*), and i must say that the screen whine is completelly gone! (when the screen was tapped, there was a lil noice to be noticed, but not any more with the new digi...)

I think the TX should have come ith a glass digitizer from the biginning. It feels better and has not many issues...

[Church Punk]

i mean, has not issues at all

sry, im on my palm now :o

[phreakonaleash]

CP, did you so the install yourself? I want to get a glass digi but don't wanna risk borking my precious... *crouches in corner* precious... ;)

EDIT: *reads CP's post thoroughly* ah, ok. sorry.

[BrentDC]

If that fails, demo Dmitry's app PowerDiGi (it is, in mine and other's opinion a better solution)

:-) one of those ma fix it, at any rate

I downloaded PowerDigi but I didn't get very good results. After calibrating my digitizer with it (by the way before using it my digitizer was slightly off, but no big deal) my screen went totally nuts. I would press on one area and two inches across my screen it would register. I tried recalibrating with the built in calibrator, but it wouldn't fix it. I even deleted PowerDigi and tried calibrating again but still it wouldn't work. I ended up hard reseting my palm and restoring from last backup, that finally fixed the problem. So I wouldn't recommend that software to anybody (especially not novice users).