[NTLK] eMate revival instructions

[NewtonTalk]

> I'm sure that you've received many responses, but in my opinion, you need
to get a new eMate
> My reasoning is that if you are plugging your eMate into a power supply
and 
> it's not working, then it is beyond the batteries.

Errmmm... hold your horses for a second while your purse is still safely
tucked away in wherever you normally carry it...

1) For a start, unplug the AC adapter, remove the battery.

2) Make sure to set both the volume and the contrast slider to center
position. You wouldn't be the first who considered a perfectly healthy eMate
dead just because the poor thing had contrast and volume set to minimum, and
you won't most likely be the last.

3) If the volume and contrast slider can be moved with next to no
resistance, chances are good that somebody took the eMate apart, set both
sliders to minimum and then made a mistake when reassembling it, leading to
2).

4) Plug the AC adapter back in. The eMate will boot without a battery. If it
doesn't, your AC outlet does not work, the AC adapter is toast or not an
original one, the eMate requires a brainwipe, or it is dead.

5) Brainwipe this stubborn thing. Press and hold the power key, press the
reset button at the bottom for two seconds, release it, wait until a
confirmation window appears, release the power key. If you do not see such a
window after a couple of seconds, the eMate probably has a hardware problem.
If you do, tap "Yes" unless you care about the data that's on the eMate.

Be aware that all this is a waste of time without taking care of the hinge
spring problem or having someone do it for you. Do not think your eMate will
be the exception to the rule. It won't. There are no exceptions. My eMate
disassembly page provides info on how to tackle this. I can do it for you if
you want. If this isn't fixed, the eMate will be damaged out of the blue
when it is least convenient.

If you decide you want another eMate:

As luck will have it, I just finished rebuilding one. The battery has been
rebuilt, the hinge spring problem taken care of, and the device is fully
tested. It comes with a 4 week money back guarantee. Since I am not a
company, but a humble and not very affluent Newton fan who does these things
during the time he should be sleeping, "money back" means that I will refund
the purchase price minus what I paid for shipping if you send it back at
your expense and it arrives in the same condition I sent it in.

This beast would set you back EUR 95.00 plus what I pay for stamps. Shipping
would be from Germany. I'd knock 20 Euros off if you can't fix your eMate
and send it my way to serve as an organ donor for future repairs.

Other list members are of course welcome to get in touch off-list if they
are interested.

Cheers

Frank

-- Newton software and hardware at http://www.pda-soft.de