Registered: Jan 2002
Location: NYC
Posts: 5

Visorphone antenna broke! What now?

I dropped my visorphone (while it was attached to the visor). The visor was not damaged but the phone's antenna came off.

I scanned the area for bits of plastic and metal but didn't see any.

The antenna still fits into the antenna slot of the visorphone, but I can see that (the little metal tab sticking out the bottom of the antenna) doesn't come close to touching any contact point inside the visorphone.

Where do I stand: out o' luck, can I fix it myself, do I have to send it back in to Handspring?

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
Posts: 790

I did almost the same thing. Actually, I put my VDX+VP in my back pocket then sat in a hard chair.

Here's my suggestion, it worked for me:

without the antenna, turn the phone on. Go to the phone app and look at signal strength. Hopefully, it's low. Bend the antenna tab and insert the antenna so that the tab lines up with the tab in the VP. Check signal strength. Hopefully it's near full.

Good luck,

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Jeff

Registered: Feb 2000
Location: Noblesville, IN
Posts: 96

I wouldn't worry about it too much... I had the same problem with my VP. It seems like the contact only sticks out about 1/16" from the post of the antenna, but it still makes contact okay. I can take the antenna in and out anytime I like. (But there's not really a good reason to.)

THe tension on the spring/contact is strong enough that it's never come out on it's own -- only when I pull on it. And, the signal strength is just as good as before it came out the first time.

Briguy

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Utah
Posts: 78

My antenna broke off once. (note to self - don't pull the visor out of pocket by grabbing onto the antenna!)

I just jammed the antenna back in, and it has worked perfectly ever since.

Registered: Jan 2002
Location: NYC
Posts: 5

Update on my situation...

Some of you were able to get your antenna working again just by jamming that in. I tried that immediately after the antenna came out, and it didn't work.

I tried the suggestion of bending the little metal tab coming out of the antenna. I tried three different positions, each time trying to get the tab to hit something inside the visorphone. No signal.

The fourth time I tried it, I snapped the little metal tab off.

So now I guess I have to call Handspring and pay their $15 techsupport fee, just so they can tell me I need to buy a new visorphone to the tune of $99.

Registered: Jan 2002
Location: Augusta, Georgia, USA
Posts: 15

I'm sorry the antenna tab broke off that bites. Let us know what happens with Visor... I would hope that you could purchase a replacement antenna since it is so easily removed/replaced.

Weeks ago, I couldn't get a signal in a place where I normally have a signal. I noticed that one of my cats had put some lovely teethmarks in the antenna, so I started fiddling with the antenna and it popped out. I put it back in with no results, so I started twisting it and checking for signal... finally I got a signal. I've noticed since, however, that twisting it doesn't really seem to affect signal strength. I guess the cat had pulled it slightly out and that's what had been my problem.

I just noticed a couple of days ago that somehow I had managed to break off part of the black plastic holding the antenna in. (I guess one of the times I dropped it...) Luckily it seems that I didn't break off enough to make a big differerence - and, since it is all black plastic, you can only see it if you are looking closely.

The bite marks, on the other hand, are much more obvious. If you find out that you can order a replacement antenna, I'd love to know about it.

Registered: Feb 2002
Location: Alabama
Posts: 11

I don't even have an antenna!

I keep my VisorPhone in a cellphone pocket in my backpack (which has a cutout where the antenna sticks out). One day I pulled out my Visor, and the antenna was totally gone! (I had noticed cracks around it a few days earlier)

Does anyone happen to have an extra antenna you've given up on, or a broken VisorPhone with a good antenna? Or does anyone know of a place where I can buy a broken VisorPhone?

I would be willing to pay for a replacement part (but not the $99 Handspring wants).

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
Posts: 790

Re: I don't even have an antenna!

quote:

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Originally posted by mwshook
I would be willing to pay for a replacement part (but not the $99 Handspring wants).

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Jeff

Registered: Feb 2002
Location: Alabama
Posts: 11

Wow

Yeah, I hadn't noticed that. Now I'm even more angry about the whole thing.

Registered: Jan 2002
Location: NYC
Posts: 5

Yep, $99

When I first called them up, they wanted to charge me $129.99 for the replacement visorphone! Apparently not all the guys in India have heard of the price decrease yet! I protested that it was ridiculous that they couldn't just ship me the one part. Reading between the lines of what he said, I figure it's technically possible for them to just ship out the replacement part, but since they know they've got you locked into a service contract, they plan to turn the screws tight.

So now I have to choose whether to pay the $150 early termination fee, or keep on paying $20 a month for the next 9 months for service I won't use.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
Posts: 790

Re: Yep, $99

quote:

---

Originally posted by jrr7
I protested that it was ridiculous that they couldn't just ship me the one part. Reading between the lines of what he said, I figure it's technically possible for them to just ship out the replacement part, but since they know they've got you locked into a service contract, they plan to turn the screws tight.

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Jeff

Registered: Feb 2002
Location: Alabama
Posts: 11

Nokia antenna in a VisorPhone!

Under the suggestion of someone in another forum, I successfully used a Nokia Replacement Antenna to fix my broken VisorPhone.

I ordered this because he said it would work, but there has to be a better fit than this. I won't go into details about how I did this, because I don't think I did it very well (I cut and filed a lot more plastic than was probably necessary)

To make a long story short, when you open up the phone, there is a small copper patch on the main circuit card under where the antenna fits. The antenna has a thin metal wire, and a flat metal ribbon. Cut the ribbon off, it just gets in the way. You want the small wire on the antenna to contact the copper patch somehow.

You will still probably have to cut some plastic off of the antenna and widen the hole on the phone (I used a file), and bend the wire some.

Then use some glue of some sort to make the antenna stick (I still haven't done this step).

Still, the Nokia wasn't a great fit. There has to be a better antenna on the RadioShack website somewhere.

Registered: Jan 2002
Location: NYC
Posts: 5

Great!

I still have the antenna and it still has the metal wire attached. A friend of mine is handy with a soldering iron and he says he'll be able to attach another wire to it and bring it to the copper plate.

I'm glad things really are that simple!

Thanks a bunch!

Registered: Feb 2002
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 1

No excuses for lame customer service on this issue

I'm sorry, PDAENVY, I'm not buying the idea that Handspring can't ship such a basic, fundamental part as an antanae. I'm going through this situation right now too and I'm absolutely livid. I also mistakenly pulled out my antane as I was about to leave my apartment for work one day...the thing popped out and disappeared and I haven't seen it since. If I had been near Handsprings headquarters on the day that a customer service rep told me I'd have to spend $99 when all I needed was a $10 part, I would have started throwing rocks at the place. Yes, producing and supplying extra antanaes is outside the production routine for a foreign manufacturer. But the antanae is really the only moveable part on the visorphone module...If they can give me an extra fuzzy little foam ear cushion, and an extra ear plug...I can't believe they can't include a extra antanae. And have replacement antanaes available.

The whole think smacks of a big disgusting rip-off. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy with Visor Platinum and my Visor phone. But that's what makes me so angry. That because I truly value it, they're able to exploit me in as calous a way possible. It's the kind of basic lapse of customer service that tempts me to want to say that this company flat-ouyt deserves to fail...and I've found their service to good before now.

Now for a technical question for the folks who have been through this and have taken the measure of customizing their own antanae: Basically, you're confirming that there isn't anything specific or special to my Visor's antenae that can't be replaced. In other words, that little nub I can't find didn't contain any special properties that make it indespensable to my specific visorphone...

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MitchellT

Registered: Jan 2002
Location: NYC
Posts: 5

Consider "impedance matching"

Every wire and antenna has a certain "impedance". If you connect two wires together and they have different impedances, you lose some of the signal and get some interference.

I don't know how you measure impedance. I'm sure that any freshman in college majoring in EE would be able to tell you, though.

Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 447

Impedence is measured in ohms, isn't it? Get a multimeter to measure the resistance, I suppose.

Registered: Feb 2002
Location: Alabama
Posts: 11

Antenna performance

I know nothing about the technical qualities of the antennas, but the Nokia antenna does work very well. If anything, I am getting better reception than with the original antenna.

But, my reception started getting bad as cracks developed, and was pretty lousy the three days before my antenna disappeared, so maybe the reception is just back up to where it was originally.

I would think (just guessing) that any GSM phone's antenna would work with the Visorphone, just as long as you can get it to fit.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 1

Antenna "turret" is the weak link in my VP

My VP antenna's "turret" has lost about 30% of its cirumference and another 25% is cracked and bending away. It's getting to the point that I think it's affecting signal strength. Time to glue the sucker in, or get a Treo 180 (whose antenna seems to live in a flexible turret).

Registered: May 2002
Location:
Posts: 44

Impedance Calculator Link

Check It Out!

http://pr.erau.edu/~newmana/imped.html