Question about hinge

[edeab220]

Before you answer...please try this.

While closed, by holding the edges of the screen part of the NR70(v), pick up the PDA.

How much play do you get? w/o doing anything and following the directions above, I get about an inch of play w/o forcing anything to open.

Is this normal? Is there anything i can do about it?

And also, when you close up the NR70, do you have to press on the left hinge to close it fully?

[pigburger]

Very similar to what I got, it closes but if I press the upper left hand corner I feel it fall into place better. My screen only opens up about a half an inch, but I've taken mine apart on several occasions to tighten things up and to fix the MS problem.

[yOyOYoo]

I have to press the left hinge to "snap" it into place. It is quite annoying. I haven't been able to fix it myself, i'm thinking of sending it to sony for warranty. Also on the right side of the hindge, there is a lot of play, as I can wiggle that corner a lot.

[tenderidol]

There is a fix for the loose hinge problem.... You need to remove the backcover of your clie, and tighten the screw under the audio jack output piece. I have done it twice so far. It holds up fine for ~ 6 months, then it becomes loose again.
I will try to upload a picture to my ftp and send a link, so that you'll know exactly which screw I am talking about.
Cheers!

update: here is the picture. The screw that is giving the problem is the one pointed with a yellow arrow.

http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~vcoskun/loose_screen.jpg

[Unregistered]

Originally posted by tenderidol
There is a fix for the loose hinge problem.... You need to remove the backcover of your clie, and tighten the screw under the audio jack output piece. I have done it twice so far. It holds up fine for ~ 6 months, then it becomes loose again.
I will try to upload a picture to my ftp and send a link, so that you'll know exactly which screw I am talking about.
Cheers!

update: here is the picture. The screw that is giving the problem is the one pointed with a yellow arrow.

http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~vcoskun/loose_screen.jpg

It's supposed to hold for six months? I've only had my NR70 for 3 months...

[edeab220]

opps..sorry about that

^ was me

[yOyOYoo]

Thanks for the picture, but actually my hindge problem is on the OTHER side (away from camera), which I cannot seem to find a fix for. When in tablet mode, this is the "left" side and when in clamshell this is the "right" side. Sooo annoying but I guess I have learned to deal with it, I don't want another clie at this time...oh where oh where is my t-series with virtual graffiti?

[NYC150]

Has anyone yet solved the hinge problem on the non-camera side? I tried the above fix and now the camera side is tighter, but the other side isn't - so now it's a wobble with a tighter left side.

[arkaneslayer]

i just opened up my NR70 to fix this problem. it seems that there is a similar screw on the other hinge. you mght want to try that.

[yOyOYoo]

Thanks arkaneslayer! It worked. To access the other hindge screw which is hidden by a bunch of red and black cables, I unscrewed the memory stick slot, lifted it up, then pushed the cables to the side while I tightened the screw. For the most part it's a lot tighter now, but in tablet mode, my screen still has to "snap" into place on the left side...

[NYC150]

Thanks. I'm a little chicken about disassembling such a tiny bomb. I opened it up, having done the other side, and I just closed it up again when I couldn't dope out which thing to touch first. Would you mind talking me through the order of things - the conductor tape, screws, and taking out the stick slot, and any wires not to cut which will make it explode... Seems like the interest in 'NR70V Wobble' is continuing in other posts.

[GadgetMan]

anyone know where to buy the tiny screws that hold the top and the plastic strip on the sides? I've lost two of them now.

Thanks

[Willber-Force]

Originally posted by GadgetMan
anyone know where to buy the tiny screws that hold the top and the plastic strip on the sides? I've lost two of them now.

Thanks

I don't know where to get them but you can do what I did. If you rotate the screen 90 degrees you see those two copper coloured tabs each held in by a screw? Well, on my machine they have absolutely no effect on anything the NR does. They look like they are meant to hold the screen from tilting but I have noticed do difference between having them on and having them off. The screws that hold them in are the same as the ones that hold the plastic strip on. So you just have to sacrifice this two useless tabs and put them in the plastic strip.

[GadgetMan]

Originally posted by Willber-Force


I don't know where to get them but you can do what I did. If you rotate the screen 90 degrees you see those two copper coloured tabs each held in by a screw? Well, on my machine they have absolutely no effect on anything the NR does. They look like they are meant to hold the screen from tilting but I have noticed do difference between having them on and having them off. The screws that hold them in are the same as the ones that hold the plastic strip on. So you just have to sacrifice this two useless tabs and put them in the plastic strip.

Thanks, that worked just fine.

[sralmas]

Strange. I've had my NR70V since April of last year (I got the first one that came off the truck at Circuit City) and mine opens less than 1/4 inch and has no trouble closing. I use my Clie CONSTANTLY. Always hanging from my belt, I take it to bed at night, etc.

Nevertheless, I WANT MY NEXT GEN NX with Stowaway and XT compatibility!!!

[stevec]

Mine was loose on the camera side - now the other side is getting slack. As it's still under warranty I'm sending it back - they're collecting it from my office on Tuesday and say it should be back in 10 days.

So I'll be relying on my back-up T625C for a couple weeks...

[jthompson]

At 6 months:

- Mine opens 1/4", but the main hinges are farily creaky and resist range of motion a little. I've tried flossing with silicone, but that only works temporarily.
- Twist screen hinge got a little wobbly at 3 months, but that hasn't progressed.
- I have a little of the "snap left top corner down in table mode" problem, but it is minor.
- the two main hinges are still pretty solid, not wobbling much yet.

[jthompson]

To prepare for surgery, I'm collecting all the posted DIY repairs for these problems in a comprehensive note. Here's what I have so far (the words in quotes are scrolled from newsgroups and not my own):

NR70 anatomy pictures:
http://www.palmare.cz/PalmOS/PalmOS...r70v021230.html

Creaky Main Hinges:

"I went to use the unit and there was the most awful grinding feeling when I opened it. "OK," I thought, "I'm going to have to re-apply the lubricant periodically". Nothing I did would stop the grinding. I traced it to the clutch on the left side by the capture button (the right hand side doesn't appear to offer any resistance - it's just a hinge). I removed the front & back plastic hinge cover (two outer screws visible with the display half rotated. I just inserted a very thin flat screwdriver near where I'd removed the outer screws from, and gave a quarter turn to unclip. Be careful of the camera switch PCB and the small wires coming from when if you do this. When re-assembling, put the rounded parts of the plastic covers together first, i.e., exactly the reverse of how it came apart. Make sure that none of the display cables are protruding.) I found that the problem was related to the left-most ring of the clutch assembly, and was able to relieve the grinding somewhat by running some floss around to get rid of the crap in there - small metal particles, I assume. This only helped for a few uses of the hinge, then the problem was back as bad as ever. I suspect the floss was actually leaving wax deposits in there which were lubricating the clutch slightly. I finally got rid of the grinding feeling and returned the hinge almost to its normal state by wrapping some floss around the clutch mechanism and leaving it there. Actually this worked amazingly well, but I'm sure it will be ground into fluff in no time and the problem will be back".
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Wobbly main hinges:

"Remove the seven (7) screws holding the back cover in place. Lift the cover off. Towards the top, in the hinge area, will be a couple more screws, partially covered by some 'flap'. Check these for tightness. I found one, just slightly loose. Tightened it up carefully, and the hinge is now secure again."

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Wobbly Camera-side Main Hinge:

(None found)

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Camera-side Main Hinge has to be pressed down with a click in tablet mode:

(None found)

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Wobbly Main Hinge opposite to Camera side:

"The right side of the main hinge (with the metal thing) was loose, i could move up down and all around. It scared me so i daringly took it apart with a littel screw driver. Once i got the main unit apart i found the problem. A tiny screw on the vert top attaches a little metal piece to the top of the clie. I undid the three screws attached to the MS slot and flipped it up, moved the screen wires and re screwed in the small screw. Then put everything back together good as new(With no loose Hinge.) IT can be done."

"To access the other hinge screw which is hidden by a bunch of red and black cables, I unscrewed the memory stick slot, lifted it up, then pushed the cables to the side while I tightened the screw."

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Wobbly Twist Hinge:

Repairing the broken screen “flip” switch on a Sony NR series Clie.
http://home.attbi.com/~clayglad1/clie/

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If you lose a couple of those tiny screws:

"If you rotate the screen 90 degrees you see those two copper coloured tabs each held in by a screw? Well, on my machine they have absolutely no effect on anything the NR does. They look like they are meant to hold the screen from tilting but I have noticed do difference between having them on and having them off. The screws that hold them in are the same as the ones that hold the plastic strip on. So you just have to sacrifice this two useless tabs and put them in the plastic strip."

[nabilovsky]

My NR has a hinge problem so severe that I have to tighten the camera side screw on average every two weeks :(

I have resigned to carrying a small screwdriver, to tighten it when needs be...

Cheers.

BILL

[jimroad]

I would put medium strength thread lock on those screws and hopefully they won't wiggle loose.

[PDADiddy]

Just waiting for the day I need to do this procedure on my NR.

I hope future Sony hinge designs improve, seems like an emerging technology. ramble.. I like the Nikon CoolPix hinges, but their sturdiness derives from thicker posts, not directly related to solving the thin Clié problem is different.

[Spiral]

Tightened the screw today, added some lubricant, and wiped off some gunk that was on the hinge, it's like new :) If i open it it doesn't wiggle, just moves the screen, and when i close it i don't have to push ti hard to get it to "snap" completely closed, just falls in by itself, quite nice.