Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 68

Platinum contrast has gone haywire!

Most bizarre!

My current Visor, a Platinum which I've had for about 3 months, suddenly is having contrast problems as of this morning. An attempt to find relevant threads in these groups brought up ctmikesell's at http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...hlight=contrast , but I'm having a different problem.

First off, no hacks, no afterburner stuff, nothing funny at all. It's been months since I've installed anything.

This morning, upon turning on the screen, it was fairly dark, as if one had moved the contrast slider to about 1/3rd from the right.

At this point, after a day of fooling around with it, resets, etc, it appears that once turned on, the contrast is dark (independent of whatever setting it has), and it slowly gets lighter the longer you have it on. After about a minute, it's stabilized, and at it's typical setting (about a third from the left).

Let me re-iterate, that the contrast changes independent of the contrast slider. The slider never moves, yet the contrast varies.

ANY clues? Ugh. I'd hate to swap this or buy another. I'm not sure I can, as I got this off of ebay.

Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 447

First, do you try a soft reset, and, failing that, a hard reset?

From what people have said, Handspring doesn't check or ask about the warrenty. Also, even if you did get it on eBay, the warrenty applies to the end user. In this case, you.

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 68

Yes, I did soft resets. I didn't do a hard reset.

Anyway, I found the problem, unfortunately with tragic consequences. My Platinum is dead.

Turns out one of the Rayovac alkaline rechargeables got a little "crusty" on one end. I noticed the corrosion while discussing with a friend. I pulled out the batteries, and reseated them. It hasn't turnd on since.

I attempted to clean the contact spring, but that didn't help. I'll return it to Rayovac with a nice note and see what they come up with. Shame, as I haven't done a backup in 2 weeks, and thought of doing one last night. But I was so tired, I just went to bed.

*sigh*

Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Chicago
Posts: 67

rayovac

I used to use rayovac alk. recharg.. but they leaked twice in my VDX.... no ill affects to the visor. I sent the batteries back - rayovac was great.. I do now use rayovac NiMH - they're great - no problems... let us know what rayovac does...

Pete

Registered: Dec 2000
Location: Elkins Park, Pa
Posts: 577

Darn, I just got Rayovac rechargable NiHM. Do I have anything to worry about? What causes the crusting?

__________________
-Bernie

"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice president, and that one word is 'to be prepared'.
-Dan Quayle

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 68

I'll let you guys know what Rayovac does. I doubt they'll be able to repair it.

Just to be clear, I was using Rayovac rechargeable alkalines, not Nimh. And I have a Rayovac recharger too.

*sigh*

Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 80

It seems it might be rechargable alkalines. I was using Grandcell rechargable alkalines and both sets started leaking. Im no expert but it might have something to do with the output

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 68

To bring this thread to a close...

I shipped my Platinum back to Rayovac on Wed, Sept 26 via Priority Mail and the confirmation thingie that you can check on the USPS website, along with insurance for the cost of a Platinum.

They got it Friday morning.

I got a package on Oct 4 with a letter in it dated Oct 3 sent UPS second day. The letter stated that they couldn't repair my Visor, and to find a brand new replacement inside, along with a set of batteries.

They did indeed send me a new Visor, with the hard cover and stylus. No box, no cradle, etc. Interesting. Wonder what they did with it? They also interestingly included 4 alkaline batteries, non-rechargeable. I'm not sure if it's a statement against their alkaline rechargeables, which I had been using or not.

I'll call them on Monday and find out, though.

So, all is happy. I lost 3 weeks of small data because I was too lazy to hotsync (Eudora and Avantgo take too long for this original MTV generation adult), and had to revert to my Deluxe with the cracked case by the power button for the meantime.

So, Andrew's tips for those with rechargeable batteries:
- always have a fresh set with you, even if you just replaced a set
- visually check the batteries daily
- backup daily, or at least routinely.


Andrew