When the touch screen on a handheld device goes out, you're in big trouble. It pretty much turns your expensive electronic toy into a paperweight. Fortunately, with twenty bucks and about half an hour of your time, you can fix one of these yourself. I'm not sure what the insides of other handheld models look like, but the Palm TX was a very simple fix.
Just a quick disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damage you do to your device or warranty. There are plenty of little fiddly bits inside one of these things that can be easily damaged through carelessness or accident. Also, I'm pretty sure if you open one of these yourself you invalidate the warranty. You have been warned.
***UPDATE 8/4/09:
I forgot to mention, you should probably try PhilB's instructable on the crazy digitizer problem first--you may not need a new digitizer at all! It didn't work for me, but after I'd installed the new touch screen, the DigiFix program was better at calibrating the new screen than the basic software.
***UPDATE 5/4/10: If you've repaired your Palm using my instructable, go into the Notepad and write, "Thanks depotdevoid!" or something along those lines. Take a picture of it and post it to the comments below, and I'll send you a DIY patch!***
Just a quick disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damage you do to your device or warranty. There are plenty of little fiddly bits inside one of these things that can be easily damaged through carelessness or accident. Also, I'm pretty sure if you open one of these yourself you invalidate the warranty. You have been warned.
***UPDATE 8/4/09:
I forgot to mention, you should probably try PhilB's instructable on the crazy digitizer problem first--you may not need a new digitizer at all! It didn't work for me, but after I'd installed the new touch screen, the DigiFix program was better at calibrating the new screen than the basic software.
***UPDATE 5/4/10: If you've repaired your Palm using my instructable, go into the Notepad and write, "Thanks depotdevoid!" or something along those lines. Take a picture of it and post it to the comments below, and I'll send you a DIY patch!***
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Ebay was the best place I found. It took me a few minutes to figure it out, but apparently a "Touch Screen" is actually known as a "Digitizer." I found mine with a search for: digitzer+palm+tx. There were several different options, but being the cheapskate that I am, I bought the one that ships direct from Hong Kong for $19.99, shipping included. That meant I had to wait a couple of weeks for it, but I can be patient if I have to be.
The digitizer actually came in a kit that included a couple of screwdrivers and plastic prybars. I didn't need the screwdrivers, but the prybars certainly came in handy.
The digitizer actually came in a kit that included a couple of screwdrivers and plastic prybars. I didn't need the screwdrivers, but the prybars certainly came in handy.
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Other than that, it was painless. Thanks much for posting this information and the great photos!
This instructable was helpful for my m500-series Palms. Both look good and work great!
After replacing, on both units I had trouble getting the Palm touchscreen program to calibrate exactly. I also have Digifix and a trial version of PowerDigi. The Digifix did not seem to calibrate it accurately either, so I tried the PowerDigi. This one worked a lot better. I have 4 days left on my trial version. When it expires I am going to try the calibration again with both the Palm program and the Digifix. If either one of these do not work I will purchase the PowerDigi.
If you do learn anything about what causes this or how to fix it, please let me know and I'll add it to the instructable so anyone who comes here in the future is aware of it.
Either way, contact with the LCD shouldn't matter, as the flexible top layer of the digitizer is designed to make contact with the bottom layer, closing the gap between them and activating it. If it's not an issue with your software, that leaves only three options I can think of:
- A problem with the Palm's other hardware
- Damaged/defective digitizer
- Faulty installation
If it's #1, there's probably nothing you can do about it. I doubt it's #3 as you've gone back over everything. If it's #2, you'll have to get a new one and try again.None of these sound good. Go back over all the connections one more time. If that doesn't work, you'll basically have to make a decision whether you want to spend more money on a maybe by buying another digitizer. Unless you can convince whoever sold you the original one that it was defective (which is actually my guess as to the problem).
Good luck and keep me posted!
It's probably #2 as basically there is an issue with sensitivity, ie fingers are detected but not the find stylus point.
Something new: If I open notepad, I can draw with the stylus on the right side only, BUT if I use my finger I can draw anywhere on the screen, just not very precisely..