The right way to store Psion Series 5/5MX

Psion Series 5 has a CF slot. When the CF door is closed. it pushes a small button inside the device, which indicates that the door is closed. When this button in not pressed, the device will not recognize the installed CF card.
Unfortunatelly, the little piece of plastic, which presses this button is very fragile. Sometimes it cracks: Psion Series 5 not recognizing CompactFlash cards : OldHandhelds.
In order to eliminate the tension on this piece of plastic, the door must be open.

Besides that, the stylus holder mechanism also contains a spring. The spring is weak when the stylus is removed from the device.

Therefore I follow these two simple rules for storing Psion Series 5:

  1. Keep the CF door open.
  2. Remove the stylus.

Repairing broken hinge of GPD MicroPC

Few days ago my GPD MicroPC joined the club of broken hinges. I have successfully repaired it. I drilled two holes through the lid and enforced the lid using aluminum strip and steel screws.

It feels very sturdy now. The only disadvantage of this repair is that the lid cannot be opened at full angle anymore, because of the strip (see the comparison photo below). However, the angle is still quite comfortable.

The effect of thermal paste on MicroPC performance

The screws on the inside portion of my MicroPC hinge come loose, therefore I had to disassemble the whole unit (see Repairing screen flop on the GPD MicroPC).
During this process I also replaced the thermal paste with Arctic Cooling MX-4 2019. I was quite surprised with the result. The thermal paste does affect the performance of the device.

Here is the comparison (left: the original paste, right: the new paste):

Here is the comparision of Windows 10 (left) and Gentoo Linux (right) with the new thermal paste:

BTW, the result on the right is better that all other GPD MicroPC benchmark results.

Sources:

Safety measures for storing Li-Ion batteries

Almost every handheld computer produced since early 2000s runs on a Li-ion battery. When you become serious about collecting handheld computers, you end up storing quite a large amount of batteries in your home. In this case you should consider taking safety measures for storing batteries, because a Li-ion battery is a potential fire hazard.

Here are the very basic principles of storing Li-ion batteries:

  • Batteries should be stored in fireproof containers.
  • Do not expose the batteries to high temperatures (e.g. direct sunlight).
  • Prevent external short circuits (store batteries in separate insulating bags).
  • Prevent internal short circuits (prevent mechanical damage).
  • Batteries should not be stored with other products that could accelerate a fire.

And, of course, keeping a fire extinguisher in the vicinity of the storage area is also a good idea.

Here is a set of useful articles on this topic:

Soviet handheld computer in video game

I noticed a vintage handheld computer in ATOM RPG.

ATOM RPG is a post-apocalyptic indie game, inspired by classic CRPGs: Fallout, Wasteland, System Shock, Deus Ex, Baldur’s Gate and many others.
In 1986 both the Soviet Union and the Western Bloc were destroyed in mutual nuclear bombings. You are one of the survivors of the nuclear Holocaust.

The device looks like Elektronika MK-90:

It must be a prototype. According to wikipedia, in 1986 there was only a prototype of this device.

You can find more information about Elektronika MK-90 here: Vintage programmable calculators.

Using handheld computer as a main workstation

In this post I would like to share with you some detail about using GPD MicroPC as a main workstation.

Using MicroPC as a portable workstation

Monitor – Lenovo ThinkVision M14
Keyboard – ThinkPad Wired USB Keyboard with TrackPoint

The keyboard is OK. It’s quite light (398 grams) The build quality of the keyboard is decent. The layout is obviously much worse than the layout of the famous 7-row ThinkPad keyboard (AKA UltraNav). But these USB keyboards are no longer produced. The chinese copies of these keyboard available today are awful (read the user reviews on Amazon).

The monitor is very light for 14 inch screen (624 grams) and durable. The build quality is fine. I was quite surprised that 14 inch screen can be powered by such small device as GPD MicroPC. The only issue I have with this display is that sometimes it spontaneously turns off for a second or two. It does not bother me too much, because it happens 1-2 times per hour. But evetually I would like to resolve this issue somehow.

Using MicroPC as a home workstation

Monitor – Dell U2713HM

In general, MicroPC does the job pretty well. However, there are two notes I would like to mention.

  1. This monitor does not support the native resolution (2560×1440) via HDMI port. In order to connect MicroPC to this monitor I had to use StarTech HDMI to DisplayPort Adapter. This’s an active digital video converter, which requires external power (via USB port). All passive HDMI to DisplayPort cables do not support resolution higner that 1920×1080.

  2. It’s not very convenient to attach 5 cables in order to "dock" the MicroPC. I would really to have a dedicated docking port on MicroPC (like the docking port on ThinkPad laptops).

UPDATE from 2019 Sep 30: The second issue was fixed according to the anonymoushindeiru‘s suggestion. The USB Type-C Hub does the job pretty well. I’m using Satechi ST-TCMAM. See the last photo in the gallery.

Happy Hacking

I have recently attended a talk by Richard Stallman and used the opportunity to sign my Ben Nanonote. It’s a clamshell handheld with free hardware designs. It runs free software (OpenWrt operating system).

More information on Ben NanoNote and free hardware designs