Since there seems to be some other people in this situation, I thought
I'd share my experience.
I bought a MP130 on uPay a short time ago. The MP was advertised as
having a broken backlight, which was indeed the case when I got it.
However, while playing around, it flickered enticingly for just a split
second. This convinced me that the backlight itself was ok, so being
brave (or stupid) enough, I tore it apart looking for loose
connections. I couldn't see anything obvious inside, so I put
everything back together again (whew! it still works!). I installed
Avi's Backdrop, which is supposed to give a button on the screen to turn
the backlight on and off. There was no button! This seemed odd. If
anyone actually knows how the NOS decides whether the Newton has a
backlight or not, this could be useful in figuring out what goes wrong
with the light.
After this, I was able to leave the 130 alone for about a day or so
before being compelled to try again. This time, I resoldered the power
switch connections, reasoning that this might have something to do with
it. It would seem that this is a likely failure point due to stress,
dirty contacts, etc. After getting it back together yet again (yep,
still works), the backlight still didn't work. But, after 5 minutes or
so, the light started working! Everthing works great now. The power
switch turns the light on and off, and the button in Avi's Backdrop is
present. I have noticed a couple of times the light flickers still, but
still has worked almost perfectly for about a week.
Anyway, I don't know if resoldering the power switch is what fixed it,
or if it was something else, like stressing a connection just right or
something. It does seem though, that there is hope if your MP130 has a
dead light.
Mark Marr-Lyon
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