From: pfund3@uni2a.unige.ch (Daniel `HB9VBC' Pfund)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.psion.announce,comp.sys.palmtops,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: PSION Series 3/3a palmtop FAQ part 3/6
Followup-To: comp.sys.psion.misc
Approved: news-answers-request@mit.edu,kaufman@mcs.com
Summary: This article is a collection of information on the Psion
         Series 3(a) palmtop computers. It should be read by anyone
         intending to post to the comp.sys.psion.* newsgroups.

Archive-name: psion-faq/part3
Version: $VER: Psion FAQ v2.6
Posting-Frequency: monthly
URL: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/faq.htm

part 3

3.10 How can I permanently change the distance units in World? (by Ian Phillipps)

3.11 Why do some programs crash with an "Invalid arguments" error?

    ERORR in PROGRAM\PROC
    Invalid arguments

This is due to changes in the UK default settings of either number formats (System menu) or time format (Time). You could try changing these but you're better off informing the programmer of the problem!

3.12 Why is my Psion not switching itself off automatically anymore? (by Philippe Lebreton)

1. Obvious: because you changed the "Auto switch off" to NO.
2. You changed it to "If no external power" and you're using external power...
3. The Series 3 will only switch off if no task is outpending (eg: a spreadsheet is calculating in the background).
4. Some badly programmed programs do never stop performing a task. If you know which one it is, close it. If you don't, close them all.
5. Some files are still running but you can't see them on the System screen. These are often IMG programs which might sub-application programs (ie: launched by another one) that you are not supposed to see. You can attempt to see them by cycling through the running processes with Shift-System. If you want to kill a process, you can use Shift-Psion-k. If you cannot find any suspect processes, then the process probably doesn't allow you to bring it to the foreground. The only way to find these is to use SPY from Psion and kill them from there. But beware, don't kill any SYS$xxxx processes as these are system processes and need to be running (otherwise your Psion would reset itself).
6. If all else really fails, do a soft reset. All your files will still be there but your System screen needs to be re installed.

3.13 How can I change the fonts in the system applications? (by Roman Habrat)

"A time ago I sarched for a method for changing the fonts used by standard applications. I wanted to implement polish national characters in the fonts. No success. The only fonts one can replace are dialog/menu fonts, "screen corner message" font and some little, unimportant fonts used by i.e. clock. The other fonts are opened directly from ROM by the applications.

I understand why. The Psion creators prepared methods to use other fonts by additional applications (by opening a user's own fonts). But user applications use also menus and dialogs. So there is wSetSystemFont() function to change font in them. And that's all. The creators did not foresee that one would want to change fonts in the built-in application.

There is commercial solution for national characters problem (apart of changing the hardware ROM). It was implemented in Czech Republic, and now in Poland. Parts of operating system located in memory (RAM) are replaced, and new parts are added. All English system texts are replaced by Polish texts. The fonts are modified. Additional key combinations are interpreted. It works. But it uses 170 KB of RAM (80 for OS, and 90 for resource files), so it is better for 1MB/2MB models."

3.14 Is Perl ported to the Psion? (by Bruce Stephens)

"The answer is no, because of memory limitations. Something Perl-like is surely practical, but I don't know of anything. Scheme exists though, in a rather limited (just about useless) form; see my "port" (more "compilation" really) of scm http://supr.scm.liv.ac.uk/~bruce/"

3.15 How do I undelete a file if I've accidentaly deleted it?

3.16 How can I synchronize my desktop agenda with my Psion's? (by Dr. Karl Leo)

I tried the following approaches:

1. PsiWin from Psion: It should convert Lotus Oganizer 2.1 files, but on my file (containing about 300 appointments and 200 To-do items), it crashes and even takes Windows 95 down with it.This might be related to some instabilities of Lotus Organizer files I had to cope with from time to time. Also, PsiWin is not of much use for my purposes since it is not able to synchronize the two systems.
2. Thomas Lansing (100024.333@compuserve.com, Fax +49-203-372570) has written a Shareware Windows version of Agenda called Psioman. Although it is a very nice program, it does not reach the functionality of programs like Lotus Organizer and Microsoft Schedule. However, for people who do not have too large Agenda files, the program is a good way to keep things on the PC.
3. Finally, I bought Agenda Link 2 written by John Whiting (Widget, +44-1438-815444). This program allows to transfer Agenda files to Lotus Organizer and Microsoft Schedule and back. Also, it allows synchronization, with definable ways to do it (which is the master file, automatic and manual). Apart from a few minor quirks, this program works very well and has solved my problem.

4. TIPS & TRICKS FOR GENERAL USAGE

4.1 Known hardware problems & solutions

4.1.1 Battery warnings (see also below: "problems when opening the machine")

The backup battery may also have faulty contacts. Kathleen James suggested putting a little piece of paper between the battery and the contact on the top of it. Be sure not to obstruct the contact though! She said: I kept getting the message 'Replace Backup battery!' but never 'Backup battery is low'. Putting the paper in got rid of the message, and Battery Info says: Good.

4.1.2 Problems when opening the machine

4.1.3 Automatic dialling

4.1.4 Alarms replaced by odd beeps

4.1.5 Alarms come in pairs

4.1.6 Display problems

The LCD display works in such a way that the reflected light is polarized. If you wear polarising sunglasses who plane of polarization is at odds with that of the Psion, you'll see a blank screen. Fix: Take your shades off, or get some which are not simple polarizing lenses. Ray-Bans, for example, do not polarize in a single plane.

Some people have noticed problems with odd pixels, lines, rows or patches of pixels (usually in a corner - usually the lower right corner). These remain on (dark) all the time. In each case, there is no real fix but to return the machine for repair or replacement.

4.1.7 An area of darker pixels appears in one corner of the LCD (by Nick Craig-Wood)

4.1.8 Lifting button bar

For Series 3a owners, several programs are available to help you switch back to the System screen. The worst case is if you're stuck in the Time app since you cannot close it anymore. It has been found out by a 2 year old (sic!) that you can "emulate" the Sheet button with the key combination of "up cursor, down cursor and Esc". Yes, it seems strange but it works! This will either put you into an open Sheet file or bring you to the Sheet icon on the System screen. To go directly to the Sheet icon each time, press the Psion key at the same time as the above combination.

Another such key combination has been reported by Timothy Giles: "up cursor, p key and Esc" will emulate the Calc button. Apparently, there is a pattern and this key sequence was found by studying the keyboard values of keys...

Series 3a's with non functioning button bars may be due to some impact. Pat Egan at EEIPEN@eeiatns01.eei.ericsson.se passed this nice tip to me (originally writen by Kevin Reilly and anotated in capitals by Pat): Kevin wrote:

"I've had this problem twice now (I think it's caused by impact; has your machine been dropped recently?). The problem is caused by a ribbon cable becoming detached from the 'bottom' PCB - the one with the loudspeaker and SSD connectors. There are two solutions depending on your bravery and/or whether the warranty's expired.

1. Send it to Psion for repair. I've not done this so I don't know about turnaround times or costs.
2. The 'do it yourself' method. You won't need many tools (a smallish watchmakers' screwdriver is actually sufficient) but I'd suggest ESSD handling precautions should be taken if possible. Having said that I once did this repair in a hotel room in Boston so workshop conditions aren't essential :)

If you're confident enough to have a go, here's the method:

• Back up all the data, or copy everything to an SSD. If it's a RAM SSD make sure the battery's OK!

  AS I DO NOT HAVE BACK UP FACILITIES, I DECIDED TO HAVE A GO BY LEAVING THE MAIN BATTERIES CONNECTED. AS IT HAPPENS ON BOTH OCCASIONS I DID NOT LOOSE ANY FILES TO MY SURPRISE

• Remove all SSDs and batteries. Remove the four screws inside the battery compartment and remove it by unplugging the battery lead connector.
• Remove the two screws inside the SSD doors. You'll have to break the warranty seal to get to one of these
• Open the Psion (take care not to damage the button bar which can become trapped by the keyboard cover).
• Remove the keyboard cover (with the yellow legends on). This is the tricky bit. I've found by experience that the best way is to carefully lever the rear part up past the hinges, then lift it out towards you.

  I FOUND ON MY PSION, THE BEST WAY TO REMOVE THE KEYBOARD COVER WAS TO LEVER THE FRONT PART OVER TWO RETAINING LUGS. A FLAT SCREW DRIVER PUSHED INTO THE DEAD CENTRE OF THE FRONT EDGE COVER AND TWISTED APPROX. 45 DEG. WILL REVEAL THE RETAINING LUGS. WHEN THE FRONT EDGE IS LIFTED A FAIR AMOUNT OF FORCE IS REQUIRED TO PULL THE BACK EDGE AWAY FROM THE HINGES

• Remove the rubber membrane with the keys on it. Carefully. Drop all those little keys and you'll be there all night trying to remember what goes where :)
• Lift the keyboard/PCB panel out, front edge first. This just 'sits' on the connections beneath; lift it up about 40 degrees and slide it out towards you. You might have to press the comms port cover in with the screwdriver to release it.
• Near the middle/front of the lower PCB there should be a BLUE ribbon cable going into a socket (it's the thinner of the two cables). This is the little baby which comes loose. PUSH THE RIBBON LOCKS ON THE CONNECTOR FORWARD. Carefully slide the cable into the connector then slide in the small plastic 'tabs'. These should lock the ribbon in place. It is these tabs which detach when the unit is dropped. I've been tempted to seal them with a drop of adhesive but I wonder if the next drop won't then split the ribbon cable

  ON MY SECOND OCCASION I DECIDED TO TRY PREVENTING REOCCURRENCE BY STICKING A THIN STRIP OF SELLOTAPE / SCOTCHTAPE ACROSS THE CONNECTOR TO THE BLUE RIBBON.

• Reassembly is generally the reverse of disassembly, but take care when refitting the keyboard/PCB board; the serial connector is a very tight fit. Don't try to force it. It'll almost drop in when it's positioned correctly."

4.1.9 Left hinge breaks

A solution was posted by Charlotte Holmquist posted a solution to the newsgroup a while ago. Steve Hawtin commented the fix with his own version which also entailed detaching the icon bar completely. Here is the transcript with Steve's comments as they were posted:

"You will need: mini-Philips screwdriver, xacto knife, drill, 1-2 mm diameter square nail or small drill bit, 1-2 mm diameter spring wire, wire-cutters, pliers, tweezers (optional, depends on how big your paws are).

---

Steve: I used a small screw, by trimming the head off I managed to get about 2mm of plain cylinder (for the hinge) with just the start of the thred to screw it into the plastic of the icon strip.

---

1. Back up ALL information
2. Make sure your back-up battery is healthy, preferably fresh (mine wasn't fresh but it lasted through the surgery)

   ---

   Steve: You really have three options here:
   1. Attempt to last out on the backup battery like Charlotte did
   2. Keep a mains adaptor plugged in
   3. Give up on trying to save the contents
   I went for the final one, this is because I wanted to detach the icon strip from the Psion rather than working with the Psion attached.

   ---

3. Remove battery cover
4. Remove batteries
5. Remove 4 small screws
6. Remove battery holder -- it swings out to the left, looking at the psion from behind, battery holder on top
7. The blue battery lead is attached to a socket on the main body, the leads run under a holder, protected by a rubber collar
8. Carefully slip the collar from under the holder and use the tweezer (or your tiny fingers) to unplug the battery plug. Pull on the plug, not on the wires.
9. Your psion now runs on the back-up battery.
10. You will see how everything is put together. You will notice two springs on either end of the buttonbar.
11. Slip the loops of the spring-wires off the plastic pegs.
12. Lift the long arms of the spring-wires out of position on the button-bar to release it.
13. Note that the button-bar still is attached by its lead to the main machine.

    ---

    Steve: To detach the icon bar completely:
    • Remove the backup battery if you haven't already done so.
    • Open the two drive doors, you will see two screws (one is obscured by a warning about warranty, only remove it if you don't mind losing your warranty).
    • Tease out the two pins holding the screen to the main body.
    • Use a screwdriver to carefully lever the keyboard circuit board from the back of the case, note the two tabs next to where the icon bar used to be, these need to be gently pushed in during the levering. Make sure that the screwdriver does not touch the circuit board (use the metal shields to push against).
    • Once the back of the keyboard has lifted the two lugs at the front will slip out easily.
    • You can now see the connector on the main circuit board, push the two catches on either side until they are all the way out, the icon ribbon will now pull out easily.
    
    The icon strip is now completely detached from the rest of the system.

    ---

14. You should now be able to manipulate the button-bar so that you can see the place where the plastic peg of the left hinge has broken off. You will also see where the peg fit into a hole in the case.
15. Use a small drill to drill through the root of the peg, the spot where you will see that it broke off from. I didn't have a small enough drill so I used a small square nail in my drill machine.

    ---

    Steve: To reassemble follow the above steps in reverse order. The main "gotcha" is the pair of lugs at the front of the keyboard, make sure they are well in before pushing the back down. The 3a has some connectors between the back and the main circuit board (the 3 just had wires) these seem to always just snap into place.

    ---

16. Cut approximately 2 cm of the wire and bend it at a right angle in the middle.
17. Trim one end so that approximately 1-1.5 mm will reach into the case of the psion when you've slipped it through the hole you made in the arm of the button-bar.
18. Trim the other so that it slips down to the edge of the button bar, in the slot where the arm of the spring normally rests. I had to trim a bit of the plastic (approx. 0,2 mm) in the ridge to make my wire fit. After trimming the wire will be approximately 5 mm.
19. Slip your new peg through the hole you made, into the case. Place the other arm in the slot where the wire-spring rests.
20. Replace the spring-wires. First the long arms, then slip the loops onto their peg.
21. The beauty of it all is that the left spring now keeps your new peg in place: No glue needed.
22. Enjoy!"

As I said before, I won't accept responsibility for any damage caused by trying out my tip. Just because it's worked for me, it doesn't need to work for you. If you are unused to using your hands or careless or impatient or simply have bad luck you can cause damage!

---

Steve: This goes double for actually delving inside the main box!

4.1.10 Key marks on display

From Philippe Lebreton:

"It is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY to clean the marks on the display regularly (or I'm a very strange guy), it appears that the "oilness" can be "acidness", at least in my case. Because the marks on the S3a where much much less visible than they where on the S3, I did not bother to clean them, and my screen is now permanently marked (I can feel the dent with my nail)."

From Jochen Hollmann:

"Some (greenish) displays have a protection film on the surface, which makes these displays thicker than other (grayish) displays. To test if this is the case, remove the gray frame with the printed Psion logo on it carefully from the inner side. This frame is actually glued on the display itself. You should be able to sense the film. (It was mounted about 2mm from the outer boundary of my display.) When removed, put the frame back to the old place.

You should wait as long as possible before you remove the protection film, because you can do it only once in the lifetime of your display."

4.1.11 Keys rubbing off

Blake Nancarrow suggests placing a piece of clear ("Magic") tape on the key(s). He finds that the tape wears out after 1 to 2 months.

Some other people suggested to use some nail polish to protect the keys. I have done this myself and it works quite good! The polish wears off after some months.

4.2 Known software problems & solutions

4.2.1 World phone numbers wrong

4.2.2 Area codes causing problems

4.2.3 Data security with link connected

4.2.4 Security affected by the Macro System

4.2.5 Word hangs on "busy" when saving a text file forever

4.2.6 Size limits of inbuilt programs

The Agenda files don't have to be under 64k themselves, but it is the entries' index which must stay within this limit. It is quite possible to have an Agenda file consisting of long memos but few entries; hence the file could run into hundreds of k in size without a problem.

4.2.7 Shell panics - exit 130 (from Konstantin I. Saliy)

4.2.8 Bug in world application (from Konstantin I. Saliy)

4.2.9 Bug when using proportional fonts with the OPL editor

4.2.10 PostScript printing not putting a "%!PS" in the file

4.2.11 Searching fault in Word Application (from Mark Chapman)

When Psion Word does a search, it breaks the text up into 256 character chunks. When doing a forward search the chunks start at the current cursor position, and at the start of each following paragraph. When doing backward searches the chunks start at the current cursor position and at the end of each preceding paragraph. If the word you are searching for straddles the join between 2 adjacent chunks, the search fails!

This can easily be demonstrated by entering a paragraph of text which is over 256 characters long, positioning the cursor at the start, and then searching for the word which includes the 256th and 257th characters.

A few ideas which reduce (but not eliminate) the problem.

1. Keep search strings as short as possible
2. Do two searches, one in forward direction from the start of the document, and the other in the reverse direction from the end of the document. It's far less likely that a word will be n * 256 characters from the start of a paragraph, as well as i * 256 characters from the end, where i and n are integers. (About 0.1% failure rate with an 8 character search string, which is probably tolerable).
3. Keep paragraphs short (difficult to keep under 256 characters!)

It shouldn't crop up in the OPL editor, (where global search and replace is often used to change variable names), because there's usually a return character at the end if each line, and each line will be <256 characters?

Basic message is don't rely on global search and replace to work properly in Word app.

4.2.12 Comms app crashes when you try to end a script that has already ended (from Jochen Siegenthaler)

4.3 Other official Psion repair centres

Pinnock Organiser Service (POS)

Paul Pinnock

143 Streatham High Road

Streatham, London SW16

Phone: +44 181 677 9246

Vodafone: +44 831 194985

Email: 106051.2651@compuserve.com

Paul has moved (on the same street), but I lost his new address! I believe the phone above will redirect you to his new one though.

Paul is an ex Psion employee and does an excellent job (reading the good reports he always gets on the net and compuserve).

Fa. Harlander

Mr. Peter Hodac

Altmannsdorferstr. 92

A-1120 Vienna

AUSTRIA

Email: psion_harlan@pan.at

Peter also offers a 512 KB upgrade to a full 2MB machine by changing the motherboard as well as the troublesome flexible link Kabel between the bottom and the screen. Price around 500 USD, turnaround time 2 working days.

4.4 User groups

Club Series 3 [France & International]

Contact Alban Debeaupuis for more infos or write to:

Club Series 3

6 rue de Fecamp

75012 Paris

Phone: +33 1 40 04 92 19

Fax: +33 1 43 07 25 96

http://alex.union-fin.fr/usr/dcabuzel/psion/clubpsion.html

Club Series 3 Suisse Romand [Switzerland's french speaking part]

You can contact me directly (Daniel) by Email or write to:

Andre Robert

rte de la Maladiere 4

1022 Chavannes

Phone: +41 21 691 89 62

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/

PEAT - Psion Enthusiasts Association of Toronto [Canada]

E-mail Blake Nancarrow (blaken@computer-ease.com) for more info or call him directly at (416) 535-1899 extension 3.

http://www.computer-ease.com/ce/psion/

PSILOG [Switzerland]

Fluelastrasse 47

8047 Zurich

Phone: +41 1 401 12 12

Fax: +41 1 401 08 15

http://www.village.ch/psilonet/

Psion Friends Vienna

Responsable: BorisMichaelv. Luhovoy

Email: bmv.luhovoy@magnet.at

Online support and private lessons at the owners workplace/home (50 USD/hour)

Psion Users Group Netherlands (Psion gebruikersvereniging Nederland)

Postbox 82

8700 AB Bolsward

The Netherlands

Fax/BBS: +31 515 574188 (upto & including 28K8, 8N1 24H)

Sysop: Alex Brandsma

4.5 Online services

4.5.1 Internet

The comp.sys.psion.* groups are entirely archived at the IC FTP site in the packages/psion/comp.sys.psion.*/ directories. The comp.binaries.psion group is archived at the moderator's direct FTP site: ftp://ftp.it.dtu.dk/pub/psion/index.html and at the IC FTP site in the packages/psion/comp.binaries.psion directory.

4.5.2 CIX

4.5.3 Compuserve

4.5.4 AOL

4.5.5 Microsoft Network

4.6 Bulletin boards (BBSes)

• Crystal Tower +44 817 598 244 [UK]
• Dacom BBS +44 1908 260 435 [UK]
  Sysop: Andrew Morrow
  Notes: Psion Dacom, updates for PCMCIA Gold Cards
  Location: Milton Keynes, UK
• Ellis BBS +33 1 43 33 15 47 [France]
• Excom BBS +41 1 781 4225 [Switzerland]
• Flightpath +44 181 759 3332 or +44 181 759 6664 [UK]
• Metcom BBS +44 1442 257 527 [UK]
• Pacific BBS +44 1430 431 145 [UK]
• Psychotic Mouse +44 149 475 8998 [UK]
  Sysop: John Portwin John@lyster.demon.co.uk
  Time: 9am-4pm GMT
• Psion BBS +44 175 289 4422 [UK]
• Psion GmbH BBS +49 6172 969350 [Germany]
  Sysop: Matthias Hlscher
  Notes: Series3/3a software, PCMCIA Gold Card updates
  Location: Bad Homburg
• The User Group +44 1752 894 422 [UK]
  Sysop: Adam Taylor
  Notes: Privately run, but Psion UK have an account there
• Datalink BBS +44 1202 660 838 [UK] (closed down for some months)
• Skywaves BBS +44 1202 523 842 [UK] temporary replacement for Datalink
  Sysop: Francis Creese vui@cix.compulink.co.uk
• ??? +32 3 226 20 79 [Belgium]

4.7 Magazines

4.7.1 Palmtop

4.7.2 Handheld Systems (previously PDA Developers)

Handheld Systems

293 Corbett Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94114

USA

Phone: +1 415 621 4252

Fax: +1 415 621 4922

http://www.cdpubs.com

4.7.3 Mobilis: The Mobile Computing Lifestyle Magazine (by Jason Savage)

4.8 "Anti-thief" tips

4.9 Lost/stolen Psions

You can register your lost/stolen freely. Be sure to also check the pages first if you intend to buy a Psion from an unknown person.

5. SHAREWARE & FREEWARE

5.1 Relevant FTP sites

• Imperial College
  ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/psion/icdoc/
  Administrator: Lee McLoughlin lmjm@doc.ic.ac.uk
  Location: London UK
  Upload policy: you have to get a password from Lee first.
  Note: Lee is extremely busy, so don't expect an answer for a long time :-(
  Mirror for the USA at: ftp://ftp.phone.net
• Frontiernet
  ftp://ftp.frontiernet.net/pub/psion
  Administrator: Fric frac@frontiernet.net
  Location: Rochester, NY, USA
  Upload policy: put your soft in the incoming directory.
  Note: doesn't seem to be maintained anymore. If anyone has news from Fric, please pass them on to me!
• New World Technologies
  ftp://ftp.nwt.com
  Administrator: ajai@nwt.com
  Location: NYC, NY, USA
  Upload policy: put your soft in the submit directory.
  Mirror: Micro Hensa site in UK (micro.hensa.co.uk ?)
• Mirror site
  ftp://ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de/pub/palmtops/psion/
  Mirrors all of the above sites, extremely useful!
  Location: Berlin, Germany
  Upload policy: no uploads here; upload on mirrored sites.

5.2 WWW internet sites

One site of great interest to programmers are the ever changing Psionic files which document most OS Services (INTs) at: http://www.gold.net/~cdwf/psion/psionics/

I also maintain a list of Psion programmers on the web with direct links to their homepages. You can find all (hopefully!) programmers homepage URLs linked at: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/prgers.htm

5.3 Shareware for those without online access

3-Lib

Shareware for the Series 3 and Series 3a

SAE for catalogue to:

22 Grays Crescent,

Woodley,

Berks,

RG5 3EN,

England

Phone: +44 1734 265081

Email: slitchfield@cix.compulink.co.uk

http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk

From Steve himself:

"3-Lib tries to be *the* clearing-house for new PD & shareware! Authors can send programs in to me and I'll act as the definitive source for others to get new versions etc from, in addition to uploading to Compuserve, CIX, and sending floppies of new stuff to src.doc and some BBS systems etc. Although set up originally for people who have no access to modems, PCs etc, 3-Lib can be useful for those who are on the net and would like large amounts of shareware on floppy disk very cheaply!"

Alternatively, you can send him 4 HD (1.44Mb) disks and 11 UKP with a return envelope (and stamp/IRC) to receive the best of the library.

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