Fruitful TouchStream Repair Tactics

[pythagoras]

[ivanw]

This is nice. This is understandable. Anyone could have guessed that something simple happened to explain the end of an episode. At last we know that this is not one of those damned profit motive again. It's just that it would have been comforting to know that sooner. I know, there has been so many good reasons why no one could talk by then.

Now for the repair advices. Thanks, whomever you are . Maybe we won't worship you for this but it will help the community in its contribution to make it happen again. As I said before, we had to work hard too. Keeping the spirit alive is our task in the process.


Ivan

[nomaded]

I think "Prometheus" would have been a better pseudo than "pythagoras".

Thank you very much for some of those insights are what to look for, for future repairs. I really hope you will be able to stay and participate in this little community - your experience is invaluable.

[The00Dustin]

[ivanw]

Worshiped? I would just say that some genuine experienced fellow would be appreciated to say the least. There must be some still alive I think. Is that truly not feasible? If so, could anyone explain why?

Any suggestion about coming up with someone that could build up the required skills and equipment? These are typical symptoms analysis that should be written down into some repair procedure. More information has to be collected as well, like schematics, test points and their typical readout: voltages, frequencies, wave shape. In fact, all this is the matter of a specialized organization. And I know that efficient servicing facility can only be achieved by someone close enough from the repair activity.

If one of us is ready to put his/her hand on a and manage to know how to , then I will be confident in our ability to repair a damaged device. All this talking comes from my previous life experience of the field. That's why I can tell that I am not able to do it myself.
- I know that I don't know what has to be known to do a good job.
- Does anyone knows/wants us to know he/she knows?

[pythagoras]

[ivanw]

[aat0995]

[ibrandt]

[Michael.Massing]

[ivanw]

[Rqyteqto]

[Michael.Massing]

[Rqyteqto]

[-jeffB]

[Michael.Massing]

[jwr]

Hey, some news on the repair front. The right half of my failed TouchStream has been opened and boards desoldered. Several components have been replaced, but it seems that indeed the problem is with one of the Xilinx FPGAs.

Many thanks to pythagoras for the tips, they are extremely helpful.

Next things to try will be to read the programming off the JTAG vias for the FPGA, so that it can be replaced and reprogrammed. Hopefully Fingerworks did not protect the software from being read. If they did, I hope some good soul has the binary lying around on the hard drive somewhere.

I'll be posting new pictures of the processor board soon (probably tomorrow).

[goldfish]

Wow! I missed this thread. Good stuff, many thanks to Pythagoras for the excellent info.

Great to know in case my iGesture breaks down. Makes me wish I was an electrical engineer.

The FingerWorks technology really was innovative and superior--which of course was why the company was bought out. Regardless, the market for products which minimize RSI will only grow, and grow immensely.

Were "history" to restart, I think the market would definitely still be there. With a big marketing machine raising sales, and economies of scale lowering costs, the future for this technology would be very bright, and would benefit many more thousands--in addition to the thousands already helped.

Regardless, thanks again to Pythagoras for the repair tips, and as well to the creators of FW for the superb products.

[Michael.Massing]

As a quick update, I think I have narrowed my particular problem down to the ribbon cable. With this (apparent) knowledge, I've been taking steps to minimize cable strain and shock, both for home use and traveling.

A neoprene pad - custom cut from a spent wetsuit - was devised to both cushion and stabilize the ribbon connectors when I fold the kb for travel: keying surface out, since it is relatively indestructable. To my pleasant surprise, I discovered that deploying the pad under the keyboard during use at home made a significant improvement in "deadening" the previously imperceptible bounce of the metal tent, and made the keyboard as a whole much closer to the "zero-force" ideal.

I still have a bit of a potential issue with increasing the angle between the halves of the kb (I use the right half more perpendicular to my body's center line and closer to the body, to compensate for trackpad use), since that torques the connectors more than they were designed for, but so far so good.

Best to all,
M.

[jwr]

For all those interested, I've posted pictures of the right half of the keyboard, at . You can see how the board with the CPU looks like

It seems that indeed one of the Xilinx FPGAs has failed in my keyboard. We'll have a try at it with a programmer using the JTAG interface. I hope to high heaven that the code in the Xilinx does not have the protect flag set! If it does, there is little else I can do unless a kind soul sends me the code or makes it available on P2P somewhere.

More to come.

[jwr]

[ahales]

[TorbenGB]

[ahales]

Thanks a lot man !!!

[jwr]

…and let us all know if the repairs were successful!