Psion headcount

[julesjones]

Looks like I'm getting a new second-hand Psion 5mx. :-) However, I have a box full of decrepit Psions of various types, and a mixed bag of their accessories, mostly acquired from eBay a few years ago in pursuit of a 5mx that worked. I pulled out the not-in-use ones today to ascertain exactly how decrepit, with a view to thinning the herd. (I seem to be down to two functional styli amongst them.) I think this is the correct acquisition history:


Psion 5mx #1 -- the original purchase from eBay. The one currently in use. This one's hinge is nice and tight, but a couple of the keys are flaky and getting more so with age -- I need to correct stuff too often for comfort now, which is why the recent whining about having to get a new machine. It has also managed to fold a flexi in such a way that it sticks out at the top when the unit's shut, which is going to kill it one of these days. The infra-red port cover is missing.

Psion 5mx #2 -- replacement purchased from eBay in view of #1's keyboard issues. Or possibly the other way around, I can't remember now. The keyboard itself is in perfect working order, but the way it's supported isn't -- there's something wrong with the hinge and the keyboard unit flexes when you try to type on it. It also doesn't shut tightly. AC port is pretty flaky.

Might be able to use one of the above as spares to repair the other, but only if I'm willing to risk destroying them both while experimenting.

Psion 5 #1 -- acquired as part of a job lot with the replacement 5mx, cracked screen and sold as non-working, for parts only. Beeps when turned on, but otherwise no sign of life.

Psion 5 #2 -- acquired as part of a job lot with the replacement 5mx, sold as non-working, for parts only. Beeps when turned on, but otherwise no sign of life.

Psion 5 #3 -- I think da_Pol may have given me this as an emergency spare about 3 years ago when I was worried about the 5mx machines both being on their last legs. It turns on and the screen comes up, but the touch sensitivity wasn't working as of today. Could be a flexi issue. Effectively not usable other than as last resort -- I'm too used to having the touch screen to deal with learning keyboard commands.

Psion 3mx -- doesn't turn on at all. I think it was part of the same job lot of stuff I bought to get the replacement 5mx and some accessories I was after. Has a 1mb flash drive and the Autoroute Express module, which together appear to be most of the value of the beast on ebay these days. :-)

Leather pouch, RS232 cable, 2 mains UK adaptors for 6V machines, a V34 GoldCard modem with series 5 adaptor, an infrared printer link, and something which appears to be a case for turning 4AA cells into an external battery pack.

Comments

[autopope.livejournal.com]

Special Psion 5MX hint:

You can still, sometimes, get CF to SD card adapters. (Make sure it's a type I CF card, not type II -- which is physically fatter.)

If you get one of these, you can stick SD cards of up to 1Gb capacity (FAT32 formatted) in the MX and they will be recognized.

Extra points for getting one of the increasingly rare Ultra-II SD cards that Sandisk used to sell, which convert into a USB stick -- the back half is a fold-down flap with a USB connector embedded in it. (They make backing up a Psion really easy: switch off, yank CF card, remove SD card, plug SD card straight into USB port of laptop or desktop, then use 7zip or GNU tar or something.)

For my part I had a Viliv N5 shaped shopping accident which is due to be delivered tomorrow. Despite reports that Ubuntu can be bullied into running on it, it will initially run Windows 7. 32Gb SSD with a 32Gb micro-SD card on order. I will report back ...

[julesjones]

Ta for that. I've got a CF to USB adaptor which I use for transferring stuff, but I would like something a little less fragile, especially as I've never got the RS232 link to work.

I look forward to the Viliv user report. I suspect that I will carry around a Psion for general use as long as I can keep one going, for the simple reason that it's not 400 quid to replace if it gets lifted from my handbag, but the Viliv is looking like a serious option for "I need connectivity in a small form factor" situations.

[autopope.livejournal.com]

I note that my first Psion 5 cost £400 +VAT when I bought it in 1999. Same as the N5 today, in numbers. Which might be a lot more in value (given the deflation in the computer biz over 13 years), or a lot less (given the inflation everywhere else).

But yeah, the "gets lifted from handbag" problem is significant. Although in my case it'll be either in a zipped/buttoned jacket pocket or a zippered backpack or similar. So it'd have to be a mugging rather than a casual pickpocket.

[julesjones]

I remember looking at a 5mx in 2000 and regretfully concluding that I simply couldn't justify what was essentially two months' mortgage payment, even with the amount of travelling I was doing at the time. At least not while $EMPLOYER was willing to supply me with a laptop for business use, however much of a pain it was to lug with me between Schipol and Teesside.

I finally got one at the point when it was possible to pick one up for 50 quid on ebay, and I was doing a lot of sitting on trains for hours on end for a couple of months a year. And fell in love...

[neyronrose.livejournal.com]

Once you get the new one, do you think you'll cannibalize the others to get a properly working backup one? Do you have a tinkerer in your online neighborhood (and in real life Britain) who could get things working right for you?

[da-pol.livejournal.com]

I think I may have given you the 3MX too

[julesjones]

Quite possibly, I wasn't sure which batch of Series 5 it had arrived with.

Would you like your assorted electronics back at some point? I've hit the stage of needing reading glasses since you gave them to me, so these days I don't really feel up to fine soldering work for any needed repairs.

[julesjones]

I might do, but I think at this point I may well just stash them carefully in case of need, and cannibalise them when they've both broken down. Eventually I *will* have to give in and buy a modern device with connectivity.