iPAQ Touchscreen Difficulty

[jcarlyle]

Has anyone experienced touchscreen problems with their iPAQ in heat?
Any

Yesterday with ground temperature at 90F I had great difficulty after
landing in selecting the ConnectMe program in Settings, then in
commanding various actions to download. I'd get things above and below
the item I wanted, or I'd see a shimmer when I pressed the on screen
button but would get no action. Today at 70F there's no problem at
all.

My iPAQ is a 3760, it doesn't have a screen protector, and the little
groove around the edge of the screen seems clean

-John

[Doug Hoffman[_3_]]

On Aug 16, 8:38*am, jcarlyle > wrote:
> Has anyone experienced touchscreen problems with their iPAQ in heat?
> Any
>
> Yesterday with ground temperature at 90F I had great difficulty after
> landing in selecting the ConnectMe program in Settings, then in
> commanding various actions to download. I'd get things above and below
> the item I wanted, or I'd see a shimmer when I pressed the on screen
> button but would get no action. Today at 70F there's no problem at
> all.
>
> My iPAQ is a 3760, it doesn't have a screen protector, and the little
> groove around the edge of the screen seems clean

Maybe try carrying a small spray can of "Component Cooler" from Radio
Shack or wherever?

Regards,

-Doug

[jsbrake]

I was using an iPaq hx2410. In the heat, the screen would constantly
flicker and it looked like an old TV with the vertical hold out of
whack. Totally unreadable and unusuable, but it did keep recording
the igc file.

I now run a Navigon 2120 Max, works nicely. Can't connect it to a
flight instrument, but I don't have one that can send the data,
anyway.

[Darryl Ramm]

On Aug 16, 5:38*am, jcarlyle > wrote:
> Has anyone experienced touchscreen problems with their iPAQ in heat?
> Any
>
> Yesterday with ground temperature at 90F I had great difficulty after
> landing in selecting the ConnectMe program in Settings, then in
> commanding various actions to download. I'd get things above and below
> the item I wanted, or I'd see a shimmer when I pressed the on screen
> button but would get no action. Today at 70F there's no problem at
> all.
>
> My iPAQ is a 3760, it doesn't have a screen protector, and the little
> groove around the edge of the screen seems clean
>
> -John

All sorts of problems can happen in heat with iPAQs and the touch
screen becoming unresponsive or erratic is fairly common. The best way
to avoid this is to keep sunlight off the PDA while on the ground in
the heat and maybe leave the canopy open if safe to do so. A light
colored cloth covering over the PDA can help but the ultimate is the
Franklin fabrication Platinum canopy cap which keeps the whole cockpit
cool. Failing that replace the PDA.

Darryl


Darryl

[Eric Greenwell]

Darryl Ramm wrote:
> On Aug 16, 5:38 am, jcarlyle > wrote:
>> Yesterday with ground temperature at 90F I had great difficulty after
>> landing in selecting the ConnectMe program in Settings, then in
>> commanding various actions to download. I'd get things above and below
>> the item I wanted, or I'd see a shimmer when I pressed the on screen
>> button but would get no action. Today at 70F there's no problem at
>> all.
>>
>> My iPAQ is a 3760, it doesn't have a screen protector, and the little
>> groove around the edge of the screen seems clean

> All sorts of problems can happen in heat with iPAQs and the touch
> screen becoming unresponsive or erratic is fairly common. The best way
> to avoid this is to keep sunlight off the PDA while on the ground in
> the heat and maybe leave the canopy open if safe to do so. A light
> colored cloth covering over the PDA can help but the ultimate is the
> Franklin fabrication Platinum canopy cap which keeps the whole cockpit
> cool. Failing that replace the PDA.

My 3850 hasn't given me any heat related problems, perhaps because I
prop open the rear of my front hinged canopy about 3" to allow air
circulation. This doesn't keep the sun off of anything, but it limits
the cockpit temperature rise considerably, especially if there is any
breeze at all. I use a block of the firm white foam used in packaging
heavy electronics.

The Franklin cap works as well or better, but I find the foam block much
more convenient. I do have a car shade (the rounded rectangular ones
with the flexible steel edge) that I spread over the inside of the
cockpit to protect the parachute and other stuff in the cockpit if it's
going to be a long time before I fly.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* Sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more

* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

[jcarlyle]

Thanks to all for their replies.

I have a Platinum canopy cover, which I use prior to flight. The
problem occurred 3.5 hours later, after landing. The canopy cover
wasn't used for the 5 minute tow to the trailer, and the canopy was
closed during tow. I'll be more vigilant next time its so hot - naybe
Eric's foam block idea would be simpler post-flight than the cover.

What is the physical mechanism whereby the touch screen gets flaky
with heat? Is it something in the sensors, is it heat within the
decoding chip(s), or is it an iPAQ on the way out? As far as I could
tell, it was limited to the screen only - the iPAQ itself was fine.

-John

Darryl Ramm wrote:
> All sorts of problems can happen in heat with iPAQs and the touch
> screen becoming unresponsive or erratic is fairly common. The best way
> to avoid this is to keep sunlight off the PDA while on the ground in
> the heat and maybe leave the canopy open if safe to do so. A light
> colored cloth covering over the PDA can help but the ultimate is the
> Franklin fabrication Platinum canopy cap which keeps the whole cockpit
> cool. Failing that replace the PDA.

[Roger Worden[_2_]]

> What is the physical mechanism whereby the touch screen gets flaky
> with heat? Is it something in the sensors, is it heat within the
> decoding chip(s), or is it an iPAQ on the way out? As far as I could
> tell, it was limited to the screen only - the iPAQ itself was fine.

I have had my iPaq 22xx totally lock up and lose its memory. I've also
had it lose contact with the GPS unit plugged into the CF slot. These
problems have not occurred on cooler days.