This is probably the most important tip regarding the Psion 5. If your backup battery is low, and your main batteries run out or you change them, you will lose all the info on your internal card (external Compact flash cards will be alright, but these can get corrupted). You can back up your data to a PC using PsiWin's backup utility - it will only backup files that have changed, you do not have to copy everything across every time you backup. If you do not have PC, you can backup the contents of your internal disk to a compact flash card. 8MB cards are really cheap now (about £40). Make sure that you do not keep the backup CF card in your Psion, or in the same case as your Psion, in case the whole thing gets lost or stolen. If you use your Psion regularly, you should back up every day or more, but if you only use it occasionally, about once a week is enough.
(I have moved this bit, please click here to view it)
- Use Rcom, a small DOS app that will fit on a floppy disk. You can download it from Psion's site.
- Use a terminal program, such as Windows 95 HyperTerminal or Linux's Minicom, and Psion's Comms app. Set the speed to 115200 bps on the Psion and the PC. Set the data bits to 8, parity to None, and stop bits to 1, on both ends. Set both to VT100, or TTY, just make sure they are both the same. On the Psion, turn off the remote link, and make sure "Port active" is selected on the Transfer menu of Comms. In HyperTerminal, you have to select "Direct to Com 1", assuming Com 1 is your serial port, instead of your modem, when it asks to dial a number. If you have established a connection succesfully, what you type on the S5 will display on the PC screen, and what you type on the PC, will appear on the S5. If all you get is garbled text, then make sure the speeds are set exactly the same. You can then send and receive files using the Y-Modem protocol, but of course you cannot convert between PC and Psion formats.
The following are examples of conditions where a soft reset might help:
- If programs have irretrievably locked up (this doesn't happen very often - EPOC32 is very stable), and killing the program by pressing Ctrl+Shift+E in the "Open file / programs" dialogue, or by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Fn+K whilst in the program, has messed something up.
- If you get a "Not found" message when activating the Remote Link in the system screen. This happened to me once, and it worked again after the Psion reset itself (see next tip). I found out I was not alone when someone else on Usenet had the same problem.
- You run something really stupid in OPL, like this :-)
DO
OFF
UNTIL 4 = 5
- Any other problem with things not working on the Psion. Remember, a soft reset will not harm anything!
- comp.sys.psion.misc
- comp.sys.psion.programmer - if you are into programming
When viewing GIF or JPEG images, either on the internet or ones stored on the Psion, if you keep the zoom level on the second highest setting, the images will load much quicker than on any other zoom level. Even so, it is still painfully slow, however that is hopefully different on the Series 5mx.
If you have an additional Compact Flash (CF) card (Drive D:), you may notice that it is slower than the internal memory card (Drive C:). For this reason, it is best to put programs that need to be run fast, or files that need to be accessed quickly on the internal card, provided that they are small enough.
CF cards can become corrupt if you attempt to read or write to them whilst the battery voltage is below around 2.2/2.3 volts. I have not personally had this problem, but I know that it can happen. Battery voltage can fall this low if you are using NiCd or NiMH batteries, which have a nominal voltage of 1.2v each (2.4v together). Don't try and squeeze every last bit of power out of them, the voltage may drop too low. You could also use alkaline batteries, because two of them have a voltage of 3 volts. However, it can be expensive to have to keep replacing them if you use your Psion a lot, so if you do use them, buy a mains adaptor (see next point).
You can buy the Psion mains adaptor, which is rated at 6v 1A (positive tip). This adaptor is quite cheap, and is very small. However, it is also possible to use a universal mains adaptor. Make sure that it has a regulated voltage, and that it can supply 6 volts at 500mA DC. 1 Amp is never reached in practice, so you can get away with 500mA, or even 300mA. Set it to 6v, positive tip, and it should work fine.
One of the Series 5's biggest problems was the tendency of the screen hinges to break. This might be caused by snapping the case closed.