TouchStream: short in ribbon cable

[VaderPi]

I think that my TouchStream has a short in the ribbon. I carry my TouchStream in my bag to and from work. I fold it over with the usb cable coiled between each half and I keep it in a safe position when it is in my messenger bag.

After I took my TouchStream out of my bag this morning, I noticed that the left side was not responsive. Even to the two hand touch trick. I ran the diagnostics and the entire left side reported "L" for low. I poked at the ribbon cable a little and managed to get the diagnostics to pass.

Does anyone have any tips. I would send it off for repair, but.....

[ivanw]

Although I have not experienced this problem myself (yet ) , I've seen many posts about it.

According to what you can get from FingerWorks Support Forum, it seems to be possible to put the cable back in place or even replace it.

• Technical documentation from FW (DoctorJack) on the subject: http://www.fingerworks.com/TouchStreamLongCable.pdf.
• Electronic component ordering : Digi-Key Catalog C052 Page 52 (pdf)
• ...and more material to read from the FWSF search page with digikey as a keyword.

You even have this in Google cache : Seasons Touch Keyboard Support

[VaderPi]

Thanks for the information. I ordered a replacement last night. I took the left side apart last night, so that I could try to disconnect and then reconnect the ribbon cable. This did not have any affect on the diagnostics results. Hopefully the replacement will work. I will keep you all posted.

By the way, it really sucks to have to use an archaic keyboard and mouse again.

[Rqyteqto]

Condolences on your hopefully temporary situation. It does sound a lot like you have a break in your ribbon cable. I certainly hope so.

If that's the case, the replacement should be simply enough.

Good luck and let us know how it goes. Any information on self repair is invaluable for all the rest of us. If you can, take some pictures and post them.

[VaderPi]

I tried to take pictures, but my camera must not be very good because all of the close ups came out very blurry. I will give it another try when I get the replacement cable. I know that it is a little off topic, but if you have any tips on how to take decent close ups with a 2.0 mega-pixel camera, I am all ears.

[ivanw]

You can try something like this :

[Rqyteqto]

VaderPi -
Without knowing the brand or model, nor what the capabilities of the camera are, here goes.
1-Good light, almost as much as you can get. This will shorten the exposure and cut down on 'shake'.
2-If you have a tripod, use it. Again, this cuts down on camera movement.
3-Set camer to use its flash if it has one.
4-See if your camera has a 'macro' setting. This is sort of a 'tele' setting specific for closeups.
5-Don't use any digital 'tele', this often just expands the pixels without increasing their number which is needed for detail.

2 MP will give you 1600 x 1200 resolution, which should be relatively good for enlargements up to 8" x 5". Don't try for over magnification or using the camera really close in. Without having a 'macro' setting, your camera will have a minmum focal length, probably about 0.5 to 1.0 meters. If you shoot closer than that, it will be blurry. If you don't have 'macro', you might try using your 'tele' from a bit farther back.

At least with digital, you can try it without burning a bunch of film. Good luck.

Specially like to see the opened board. Just greedy and nervous. I assume most of us, given our TS boards are now essentially irreplacable, are a bit nervous about opening them up to poke about. as they say, if its not fixed, don't break it.

[VaderPi]

Thanks for the tips. I think it may just be best to take shots from farther away, and then crop them manually. I was getting very close, and I bet that the focal length was the largest problem. It was not something that I had thought about.

I have not seen the open board either, though I did get a peek. I will try to capture it on film (well the digital kind). I was startled to see that there is basically no separation between the typing surface and under side of the circuit board. There is thin layer of plastic, maybe 3mm at most that seems to be secured to the bottom of the board with an adhesive. I did not try all that hard to pull it off.

Also, the form on the bottom really on covers up the ic chips that are on the board. It also seems to be secured with an adhesive. I hope that I can take pictures that make this more clear, but after seeing that, the TouchStream felt much more fragile in my hands than it had before.

I should get the ribbon cable from DigiKey today, so expect to see my next post be a link with lots of pictures. I should have it up by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.

[VaderPi]

Okay. I lied. I could not wait that long. I am typing this post on my repaired TouchStream. I took a bunch of pictures, and I will post a link with all the juicy details later. The short version is that the ribbon cable just completely tore. The new one does not have a logo on it but, it works just as well as one that does. If you transport your TouchStream by folding it in half, go buy a few cables from DigiKey. I think that I am going to order at least three more. Oh, you want DigiKey part number HF26U-03.

[ivanw]

Nice happy ending for VaderPi! This is just the very purpose of a forum like this one , this thread is valuable to all of us here.
I am not meaning that guesses about who bought FW is not interesting at all, ...well may be I do
BTW Apple just totally forgot to mention about it last Wednesday

[Rqyteqto]

Couldn't agree more with you ivanw.