From: Dylan Stewart (rxs015500_at_utdallas.edu)
Date: Wed Mar 19 2003 - 14:27:05 PST
I recently got an eMate and gave it to one of my brothers. When I got it,
it had hardly been used. It's battery held a good charge and its screen was
_completely_ free of scratches. However, it quickly developed the hinge
problem. About two months after I gave it to him, the screen became
completely slack. All four clutch springs had popped out. I opened it in
an attempt to fix the hinges and the cable because I had heard that the
clutch springs always punctured it.
It took me almost another month to find a T-8 screwdriver to take the thing
apart. I ended up using a T-9 screwdriver. It fit the T-8 screws perfectly
and it even fit the T-10 screws well enough to remove them and put them
back.
Well, I got most of the way through the disassembly. I stripped it down to
the case and keyboard. When I looked at the screen cable, I noticed that it
was caught between the spring and the place where the spring used to go. I
carefully removed it by opening the screen and pulling the cable out of the
space between the two. I could see that it had been deformed by the spring,
but I couldn't gauge the damage without a better inspection.
I began testing the cable to see how many conductors had been broken and,
miracle of miracles, they were all completely intact! I didn't believe it
at first, so I checked again. All of them conducted and there was no leak
between conductors.
My step-dad and I decided that the best way to fix the hinge was to machine
a small metal plate that would cover the entire clutch assembly. We had
some license plates left over from the last time we registered one of our
cars, so he took his Dremel to it and produced some good plates that fit
perfectly.
Many thanks to Frank since without his wonderful guide, I surely would have
broken the case at some point.
Dylan Stewart AC5ZH
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