Re: [NTLK] Jaggies make me sad

I have three MP2100s and all developed severe cases of the jaggies.
After some research, I decided to give the case mod a try, since all
other efforts failed, including hard reset, electroshock therapy,
voodoo, etc. This case mod/bezel procedure was discovered by somebody
else and reported in this mailing list, I believe, a couple years
back. His theory was that the top case bezel inevitably warps after
everyday use, and that the edge of the upper plastic touches the
screen and causes the jaggies. Well, he's right.

After taking one of the Newtons apart for a test, I asked an
acquaintance who was a machinist to mill the upper half of the
plastic case about 1/8". He did so by hand using a dremel-like tool.
Jaggies fixed. I then proceeded to do the same modification to the
two other newtons myself, and I can safely say that all the jaggies
on all three newtons are gone for good.

I am convinced this is the cause of 98% of the jaggies reported. If
you have a dremel and have a fairly steady hand, and can disassemble/
reassemble the Newton, and don't mind a slight gap between the screen
and plastic case, you should give it a try. It is certainly cheaper
than buying another Newt that, in all likelihood, will develop the
same aggravating the problem after a while.

Cheers,
James

> Date: Thu, 04 May 2006 12:47:45 +0200
> From: Karel Jansens <kareljansens@tiscalinet.be>
> Subject: Re: [NTLK] Jaggies make me sad
>
> Steven Frank schreef:
>> Since the 2100 I was playing with recently developed jaggies, I
>> pulled another 2100 and a 2000 out of the closet to see how they were
>> doing.
>> Both of them have good calibration on one half of the screen, but the
>> ink is about a quarter-inch away from the stylus tip on the other
>> half of the screen, making it hard to accurately tap things.
>>
>> The other 2100 I was using was behaving fine, but now any pressure on
>> the bottom-right quadrant of the case (assuming standard portrait
>> orientation) will cause a jaggies frenzy. No pressure, no jaggies.
>> Unfortunately, it's exactly the spot where you rest your palm while
>> writing that causes them.
>>
>> I disassembled this 2100 completely -- motherboard out; screen
>> separated from front of case -- wiped down the entire screen surface,
>> applied rubbing alcohol to the digitizer ribbon cable and the
>> contacts on the board that it mates with, and for good measure, even
>> crudely shaved down part of the inside of the front case as has been
>> oft-suggested.
>>
>> Got it all back together (even had a few extra screws left over ;))
>> and to my amazement it actually powered back up, but was no different
>> at all with regards to the jaggies behavior.
>>
>> So, I have three 2x00 series Newtons all with varying degrees of
>> failing touchscreens. Sadness. :( Here's hoping that Einstein is
>> progressing nicely...
>>
>> I'm not sure why I'm posting this, other than to add my jaggies
>> experience to the NTLK archives for future reference, and maybe as
>> sort of a group therapy process. Is this the part where we all hug?
>
> I have a 2100 with exactly the same jagged behaviour: all kinds of
> weirdness happening in the bottom right of the screen in portrait
> resolution. Funnily enough, merely rotating the display 90 degrees
> counterclockwise got rid of it alltogether: the entire screen behaves
> nicely again.
>
> The snag? I can only use that Newton in landscape mode.
>
>
> Karel Jansens

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