I have been working on this for about two weeks with a 9 month old Palm TX. After many hours of reading never ending threads on Palm screen issues, I think I have enough facts to post a fairly correct summary of what is at work with the "Mad Digitizer" syndrome/dead and dying palm screens and screen sync problems. Having wasted so much time figuring the problem out, I think it is necessary to present the issue in one place.
The Mad Digitizer syndrome is an infuriating loop of target tapping which should calibrate the Palm screen /digitizer in a few short touches so that the point touched with the stylus corresponds to the area reached on the Palm. Failing this it is difficult to impossible to enter text from the screen, graffiti interface or virtual keyboard. In addition, stylus users find that their graffiti is read with less and less accuracy, that random dots and backspaces occur rather than the intended characters.
There is some suggestion that this could indicate software incompatibility or that an automatic OS update could send the digitizer off center and thus obstruct data entry, but this is probably not generally the case. Following my own experience with two Palm Pilots (T3, TX) and the many pages regarding this problem I have read on the Internet, the Mad digitizer syndrome and the accompanying increasing inaccuracy of stylus based data entry are more frequently the first symptoms of a failing touch screen.
To check you screen for signs of failure, open Notepad and draw lines close together, first horizontally, then vertically close together the entire length and with of the screen. If the screen is failing you will experience a) gaps in your lines and b) possibly a switch from line drawing to graffiti mode when the stylus registers at the other side of the dead spot.
For fun try to color in the area around the spot to see the size of the dead area. It could just be a few dots initially, but will probably be about the size of a small thumb print in the area you most often use for graffiti. This happens often enough and early enough, judging from the many entries on palm boards, to indicate a basic flaw in design or construction of the T/TX and other Palm products. Some owners who have had units replaced recently feel that the new unit is more solid and may have a different screen, so Palm may have made an improvement.
There may be a number of different causes for screen failure. Some users indicate that it is a capacitor issue. Others believe that the required spacing between screen and digitizer is somehow compromised, causing a widening dead area. A few affected owners report that their screens are off kilter and knocking them to restore balance will remove the dead spot.
Other "quick" fixes include opening the case, unplugging and reconnecting the cable to the screen or replacing the rubber gasket between screen and digitizer with a piece of cardboard/very thin plastic. While both of these fixes may work, they sound pretty Jerry Rigged. Palm suggests that running a folded piece of thin paper around the edge might scoop out debris that is pressing on the screen. Might work. Some users also feel that their screen protectors are causing the problem. Removing a screen protector is about as easy as it gets. (Note to palm: If lint entering a pilot is really an issue that can impair functionally, why, then, deliver the pilot with only a fold over protective cover which will invite it?)
Software issue?: If the screen is intact, then it may be a software conflict issue. Hard sets (which would remove updates as well as any software and data not backed up) would remove any conflicting programs. The suggestion made most often is to reinstall the removed information by clicking on the programs and files in the backup and archive files one by one to see which one causes the problem. Another option is a nifty little freeware program named FileZ, which allows you to view and manage unit content. Be careful.
Another software solution is a third party digitizer such as Digifix (free) or IeDigi (shareware, but purportedly more effective). I personally suspect that these are temporary at best and that once a screen announces reluctance to perform that it is only a matter of time until a new one is in order.
What about hardware failure.
If the screen is going or gone, it needs to be replaced (Unless the plug in or tapping works for you).
There are several options for replacement.
Palm: If your unit is less than a year old, Palm will replace it with a refurbished model. The problem is that although these models seem to work well for a while, a distressing number of users report relapses or worse in periods from a few weeks to a month or so. I do not know what the warranty on repaired palms is, but I fear the worst.
Other screen possibilities: Purchase a new third party screen and do a DYI repair. At this time there seem to be two leading suppliers of replacement digitizers (when I say screen, I mean digitizer), and . PDA parts dot com offers a glass screen/digitizer for about $60 plus shipping. The bad side of this is that glass breaks (but it can be replaced). People who use the glass swear that it is much better than the original LCD style screen. You will also need to get a screwdriver to fit the case screws. These cost about $6.
Usedpdaparts.com seems to have a number of satisfied customers for a new (despite the name) lcd style screen, which costs something like $45. In addition to their lower price, they will install the screen for an extra $10.
Workarounds, none really satisfactory:
1) Don't digitize. Just don't do it. Learn to live with the gap between the place you want to write and where your pen is registered. Soft reset to get out of the digitizer.
2) On a tX use landscape mode. The dead spot will be in a less troublesome spot.
3) Use a keyboard to enter data. Not always practical, but if you aren't carrying it around the wards on patient calls, well it could help.
Personal note: Palm obviously knows of this issue. This would, in a perfect world be the subject of a recall. Palm being in some distress, as we hear, a recall would have a possibly fatal impact. The failure of Palm, however, to address this common issue on their web site and to offer a replacement beyond the one year warranty (I suspect a lot of people just throw them away) shows an egregious lack of customer respect and sense of service. Companies with this level of integrity do not often last long. Let's hope that the PC based units improve.
(Of course, we speak of a company which does not have a fully functioning VISTA interface a year after release, and which has stated openly that it will not be providing an interface for XP64, so it's not surprising).
Concerns: Palm TX dead screen, dead spots on palm screen, mad digitizer, failing digitizer, digitizer loop, scree failure.
The Mad Digitizer syndrome is an infuriating loop of target tapping which should calibrate the Palm screen /digitizer in a few short touches so that the point touched with the stylus corresponds to the area reached on the Palm. Failing this it is difficult to impossible to enter text from the screen, graffiti interface or virtual keyboard. In addition, stylus users find that their graffiti is read with less and less accuracy, that random dots and backspaces occur rather than the intended characters.
There is some suggestion that this could indicate software incompatibility or that an automatic OS update could send the digitizer off center and thus obstruct data entry, but this is probably not generally the case. Following my own experience with two Palm Pilots (T3, TX) and the many pages regarding this problem I have read on the Internet, the Mad digitizer syndrome and the accompanying increasing inaccuracy of stylus based data entry are more frequently the first symptoms of a failing touch screen.
To check you screen for signs of failure, open Notepad and draw lines close together, first horizontally, then vertically close together the entire length and with of the screen. If the screen is failing you will experience a) gaps in your lines and b) possibly a switch from line drawing to graffiti mode when the stylus registers at the other side of the dead spot.
For fun try to color in the area around the spot to see the size of the dead area. It could just be a few dots initially, but will probably be about the size of a small thumb print in the area you most often use for graffiti. This happens often enough and early enough, judging from the many entries on palm boards, to indicate a basic flaw in design or construction of the T/TX and other Palm products. Some owners who have had units replaced recently feel that the new unit is more solid and may have a different screen, so Palm may have made an improvement.
There may be a number of different causes for screen failure. Some users indicate that it is a capacitor issue. Others believe that the required spacing between screen and digitizer is somehow compromised, causing a widening dead area. A few affected owners report that their screens are off kilter and knocking them to restore balance will remove the dead spot.
Other "quick" fixes include opening the case, unplugging and reconnecting the cable to the screen or replacing the rubber gasket between screen and digitizer with a piece of cardboard/very thin plastic. While both of these fixes may work, they sound pretty Jerry Rigged. Palm suggests that running a folded piece of thin paper around the edge might scoop out debris that is pressing on the screen. Might work. Some users also feel that their screen protectors are causing the problem. Removing a screen protector is about as easy as it gets. (Note to palm: If lint entering a pilot is really an issue that can impair functionally, why, then, deliver the pilot with only a fold over protective cover which will invite it?)
Software issue?: If the screen is intact, then it may be a software conflict issue. Hard sets (which would remove updates as well as any software and data not backed up) would remove any conflicting programs. The suggestion made most often is to reinstall the removed information by clicking on the programs and files in the backup and archive files one by one to see which one causes the problem. Another option is a nifty little freeware program named FileZ, which allows you to view and manage unit content. Be careful.
Another software solution is a third party digitizer such as Digifix (free) or IeDigi (shareware, but purportedly more effective). I personally suspect that these are temporary at best and that once a screen announces reluctance to perform that it is only a matter of time until a new one is in order.
What about hardware failure.
If the screen is going or gone, it needs to be replaced (Unless the plug in or tapping works for you).
There are several options for replacement.
Palm: If your unit is less than a year old, Palm will replace it with a refurbished model. The problem is that although these models seem to work well for a while, a distressing number of users report relapses or worse in periods from a few weeks to a month or so. I do not know what the warranty on repaired palms is, but I fear the worst.
Other screen possibilities: Purchase a new third party screen and do a DYI repair. At this time there seem to be two leading suppliers of replacement digitizers (when I say screen, I mean digitizer), and . PDA parts dot com offers a glass screen/digitizer for about $60 plus shipping. The bad side of this is that glass breaks (but it can be replaced). People who use the glass swear that it is much better than the original LCD style screen. You will also need to get a screwdriver to fit the case screws. These cost about $6.
Usedpdaparts.com seems to have a number of satisfied customers for a new (despite the name) lcd style screen, which costs something like $45. In addition to their lower price, they will install the screen for an extra $10.
Workarounds, none really satisfactory:
1) Don't digitize. Just don't do it. Learn to live with the gap between the place you want to write and where your pen is registered. Soft reset to get out of the digitizer.
2) On a tX use landscape mode. The dead spot will be in a less troublesome spot.
3) Use a keyboard to enter data. Not always practical, but if you aren't carrying it around the wards on patient calls, well it could help.
Personal note: Palm obviously knows of this issue. This would, in a perfect world be the subject of a recall. Palm being in some distress, as we hear, a recall would have a possibly fatal impact. The failure of Palm, however, to address this common issue on their web site and to offer a replacement beyond the one year warranty (I suspect a lot of people just throw them away) shows an egregious lack of customer respect and sense of service. Companies with this level of integrity do not often last long. Let's hope that the PC based units improve.
(Of course, we speak of a company which does not have a fully functioning VISTA interface a year after release, and which has stated openly that it will not be providing an interface for XP64, so it's not surprising).
Concerns: Palm TX dead screen, dead spots on palm screen, mad digitizer, failing digitizer, digitizer loop, scree failure.
