Broken screen on TJ-37, what to do?

[scott_p_1]

My TJ 37 hit the floor the other day, and the screen cracked, so now I've got a few questions as I try to revive it from the dead.

It seems to me that it's just the digitizer that's broken. The cracks are in the lower right corner of the screen going over the calculator button and the grafitti area. The unit still powers on, and the screen is still perfectly viewable. The digitizer barely works though. I can still click on things sometimes, but it could take 20 or 30 presses before it actually registers.

Now for my options:
1) Buy a new screen from http://www.gethightech.com/ which is $100 and install it myself. (it says it works for the SJ22, SJ33, TJ25 and TJ35, so is it safe to assume that it also works for the TJ37?)
2) Buy a new digitizer for my PDA and attempt to install it ($40 from gethightech), but it doesn't seem like it's very easy to install
3) Pick up a clie from Ebay and swap the screens between the two and sell the second one as a broken clie. For this to work alright, I'd have to be able to pick up a SJ22 or SJ33 from ebay for around the $100 price range. This also assumes that the SJ22 and SJ33 use the same screen as the TJ37, which I'm assuming is true from the 1st option.
4) Send it to Sony and have them replace it.

Does anybody have any suggestions?
Are the screens for the SJ22, SJ33 and TJ37 the same?

[TJ37]

Let #4 be your last resort, you can probably get a refurb or an entirely new PDA for their offering price. The warranty doesn't cover screens, and if you don't pay up your CLIE will encounter "obsticles" its journey home (from what I've heard).

I think several people have replaced 37 screens with 25/35 screens without problems, you'll have to look deeper in that (to start: Search). If your willing to take the chance, that's your best option.

eBay, I wouldn't go for. The reason for this would be most "broken" CLIE's up for sale on eBay for spare parts are up there because they have broken screens. Also, there's always a risk of scammers.

I wouldn't know much about your digitizer replacement.

Good luck.

[dalego]

I would problably go for #2 solution. its not really that hard to replace the digitizer. I've read in a forum how somebody was able to to it with instructions but I forgot which forum it was. At least you know that the screen you will get from gethightech.com is new and working.

[phlyphish]

You can even pick up an old T615C or T665C. They use the same digitizers as the TJ37. But you'll probably end up spending pretty close to the $40 that gethightech charges. And although it's not terribly difficult to remove a broken screen and install a new one, it does get a bit tricky trying to remove a functional screen from an existing unit. There's a small metal rim around the edge of the digitizer that makes it hard to get an exacto knife under the digitizer to separate it from the LCD (which is less of an issue if the one you're removing is already broken). Beyond that there's only one ribbon cable to connect; just pay attention to how the old one is connected when you remove it.

So anyway, I'd recommend the $40 screen from gethightech (the one for the T, SL, SJ, and TJ series).

[The Mad Dog]

do not replace the digitiser yourself. These digitsers are glued with the display and the case of the TJ37. It is really hard to do. let Sony do that.

[TJ37]

Sony doesn't repair screens even under warranty. You'll probably end up paying > $120.

[daver]

Sony gave me a quote to replace the digitizer on my old SJ20 for about $100 USD. and that was a almost 2 years ago. now, i'd say add about $50-$100 more to taht since they've pulled the Clie. they'll give some sort of excuse to add on the extra money, just cuz they can. personally, i'd go for the risk and try replacing it myself. then again, i'm a hands-on kind of person, so i love playing around with things like this. now my SJ20's working fine again, with a new digitizer purchased from www.gethightech.com. however, i'm not sure how difficult it would be to replace the digitizer of a newer unit. for my SJ, the digitizer popped off without a hitch.

[salguod]

I ordered a new digitizer for my TJ27 and my old S320. I've replaced the S320 just fine, although it's probably not for the faint of heart. You'll need some tiny pliers or some way of pulling the plugs.

I haven't done the TJ yet because it has some special Y socket screws (triwing I think they're called). I've serached the forums and have disovered a link (http://shop.brando.com.hk/trino1screwdriver.php) in this thread (http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83712&highlight=screwdriver) for a screwdriver for similar screws for the TH55. Someone in this thread (http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75264) said they got a "1.2mm precision slotted screwdriver" to get the screws out when changing their battery.

I did a Google search for 'triwing screwdriver (http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-38,GGLD:en&q=triwing+screwdriver&spell=1)' and found several for under $10.

[salguod]

Well, I fixed it but it was quite a bit harder than the old S320. The S320 opened up and with one screw you could remove the LCD and digitizer from the PCB and flip them to the side. You then had access to the LCD and digitizer connectors. On the TJ, it's a lot more complicated. I didn't really take enough pictures to do a thorough 'how to', but I'll give you what I can in words.

Once you get the triwing screws out (Micro Center (http://www.microcenter.com) has a 100 piece bit set (http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=185613) for $6 right now that includes them. I borrowed one from a friend.), you can remove the entire 'guts' of your Clie. The LDC and digitizer is attached to a metal frame. That frame is attached to another metal frame that holds the other components. The LCD frame is only held in by double stick foam tape. Stick a tiny flat blade screwdriver in between the frames and pry them apart.

On the back side of the main metal frame (the side you can see the battery from) is a PCB held on my 3 Phillips head screws. You'll need to remove that to access the connector on the board for the digitizer. Unfortunately because of all of the connections to this board you won't be able to separate it too far from the frame. Oh, and the digitizer connection is down at the bottom near the battery. There’s a little plastic cover on top of the connector that is just glued on.

Now that you've got the LCD out you can use an x-acto to get the old digitizer off. Since the new one won't come with the printed icons, you need to make sure that you get the blade between the icon film and the digitizer. It’s pretty easy to end up cutting the film. I ended up loosing the gray border around the screen, but the icons themselves are intact. You’ll also have to get to the underside of the frame to remove a piece of tape or two that holds the tail in place. I just cut the tail off the old one to get the glass out and then removed the remnants of the tail itself. Once it’s off, clean up as much old adhesive and glass bits from the metal frame.

On the new digitizer note the position of the connector tail compared to the old one so you can know which side is up on the new one. Once you figure that out, there are two protective films to remove. Once covers the entire digitizer so it doesn’t get scratched (there is one of these on each side) and the other, under that, is just around the perimeter and covers the adhesive. Be very careful at this point of fingerprints. Any prints on the LCD itself or the underside of the digitizer will be there forever.

Now the fun begins. You have to get the old tail out. The connectors are tiny and made of two plastic pieces. The lighter colored one is attached to the board. The darker colored one ‘locks’ the tail in place. To get the old one out use tweezers or the x-acto to work it down (towards the battery) by alternating pressure on each end. Be careful, it will be loose and can get lost easily. Push is a little at a time until the tail just slides out of the connector. If you do it right, the moving part can be left right in place for connecting the new one. The new tail slides in over the moving (darker) part and under the fixed (lighter) one. Then you work the moving part pack into place.

Once you’ve got that connected, just put it all back together. :D Make sure you wrap the digitizer tail tight to the LCD frame when pressing the frame back in place. Ant extra tail sticking out will prevent the cases from going together.

If you’re interested, here’s a post (http://www.salguod.net/weblog/archive/000276.shtml) about it at my blog (http://www.salguod.net/weblog/). A few pics to follow in another post.

[salguod]

Here's all the parts on the table:
http://www.salguod.net/images/clie/Clie_parts.jpg

Here's the connector for the digitizer. You can see the connector tail about the center of the image and the socket it goes into to the right of it. That's all the farther I cold get the frame and that PCB apart. My wife's scrapbooking tweazers came in handy here.
http://www.salguod.net/images/clie/Clie_connector.jpg

This shows the LCD in it's metal frame, lifted out of the main metal frame.
http://www.salguod.net/images/clie/Clie_LCD_out.jpg

This is the back side of the 'guts'. The memory stick socket is flipped out to the upper left and the battery is slid out to the lower left. The copper foil was screwed down horizontally across the PCB.
http://www.salguod.net/images/clie/Clie_back.jpg

[cerberus]

do not replace the digitiser yourself. These digitsers are glued with the display and the case of the TJ37. It is really hard to do. let Sony do that.

I second on this one. Sony's glue is not something to screw with. Although I got my SJ33 apart, many things got bent that shouldn't and a ribbon cable got cut. Once that happens, you just wasted $40 on the digitizer and your Clie is now not fixable. :(