PSION Series 3/3a palmtop FAQ part 1/6
Daniel `HB9VBC' Pfund
Version: $VER: Psion FAQ v2.6 (Jun 1997)
Posting-Frequency: monthly
URL: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/faq.htm
PSION SERIES 3/3a FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
Original author: Chris Wesley
Actual author & maintainer: Daniel Pfund
Jun97 - v2.6
Welcome to the FAQ for the comp.sys.psion.* Usenet hierarchy. Find the
contents table below. Questions and constructive comments are welcome.
Send them to me at: Pfu...@uni2a.unige.ch
IMPORTANT NOTE: this article does not contain any software infos on
the Series 3c or the Siena. I will NOT include specific informations
concerning these new machines (except hardware stuff). Maybe there
will be a Series3c/Siena FAQ written by someone else in the future?
_________________________________________________________________
-CHANGE-Indicates a change since last version
- NEW! -Indicates an addition since last version
_________________________________________________________________
Contents
part 1
I. DISCLAIMER
II. CREDITS
III. COPYRIGHT
IV. FAQ UPDATES
V. WHERE CAN I GET THIS FAQ?
VI. NEWSGROUP NETIQUETTE
1. INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION
1.1 What is the Psion Series 3/3a?
1.2 Which model should I buy?
-CHANGE-1.3 When will the "new" Psion come out?
-CHANGE-1.4 What other machines does Psion make?
1.5 What other palmtop alternatives are there?
part 2
- NEW! -1.6 Where can I purchase a Psion?
1.7 How can I contact Psion?
2. HARDWARE
2.1 Hardware specifications
2.2 What batteries does the Psion use?
2.3 How long do the batteries last?
2.4 How does the Psion measure the battery usage?
2.5 How can I make my batteries last longer?
2.6 Can I use an external power supply?
2.7 Can I upgrade my Solid State Disk (SSD)?
2.8 Can I upgrade my internal RAM?
2.9 Can I change the keyboard?
2.10 Can I use a big (normal) keyboard?
2.11 How can I build a serial link?
2.12 How can I build a parallel link?
2.13 What is this "soap on a rope" thing?
2.14 How do I print with my Psion?
2.15 Can I take my Psion through an X-Ray machine?
2.16 Can my Psion wipe out magnetic data?
3. SOFTWARE
3.1 How do I reset my Psion?
3.2 What is killing a process?
3.3 How can I save what's on the screen?
3.4 What is the soak test?
3.5 How can I find a text in my memos with Agenda?
3.6 How can I make the cursor bigger?
3.7 How can I take out the "hum" when I record sounds?
3.8 How safe is password protection?
3.9 How can I change the icon of a program?
part 3
3.10 How can I permanently change the distance units in World?
3.11 Why do some programs crash with an "Invalid arguments"
error?
3.12 Why is my Psion not switching itself off automatically
anymore?
3.13 How can I change the fonts in the system applications?
3.14 Is Perl ported to the Psion?
3.15 How do I undelete a file if I've accidentaly deleted it?
3.16 How can I synchronize my desktop agenda with my Psion's?
4. TIPS & TRICKS FOR GENERAL USE
4.1 Known hardware problems & solutions
4.2 Known software problems & solutions
4.3 Other official Psion repair centres
4.4 User groups
4.5 Online services
4.6 Bulletin boards (BBSes)
4.7 Magazines
4.8 "Anti-thief" tips
4.9 Lost/stolen Psions
5. SHAREWARE AND FREEWARE
5.1 Relevant FTP sites
5.2 WWW internet sites
5.3 Shareware for those without online access
part 4
6. CONNECTING YOUR PSION
6.1 With an IBM or clone
6.2 With an Amiga
-CHANGE-6.3 With a UNIX machine
6.4 With a Macintosh
6.5 With an Atari
6.6 With an Acorn Archimedes or Risc PC
6.7 With a serial modem
6.8 With a PCMCIA modem
6.9 With a packet radio TNC
6.10 With a cellular phone
6.11 Via the IrDA port (3c/Siena)
6.12 Terminal emulation
6.13 TCP/IP stack
part 5
7. THE EMULATOR
7.1 Limitations & bugs
7.2 Tips & tricks
7.3 Changing permanently the keyboard mapping
8. PROGRAMMING
8.1 Overview of development possibilities
8.2 OPL programming directly on the Psion
8.3 OPL programming from a PC
8.4 C Development on PC
8.5 Advanced C Development on a PC
8.6 Available books
8.7 How to do various things: tips & tricks
A. SHAREWARE/FREEWARE AVAILABLE SOFTWARE
A.1 Applications
A.2 Games
part 6
B. COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE SOFTWARE, SERVICES & ACCESSORIES
B.1 Business & Legal
B.2 Education
B.3 Drawing, Leisure & Guides
B.4 Navigation
B.5 Communications & Utilities
B.6 Diet, Health & Safety
B.7 Time Management
B.8 Mapping & Surveying
B.9 Databases
B.10 Services
B.11 Books & Accessories
_________________________________________________________________
I. DISCLAIMER
This article is provided "as is" without any express or implied
warranties. While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy
of the information contained in this article, neither the authors, the
maintainer or the contributors will assume responsibility for errors
or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information
contained herein. This document is compiled in spare time for free,
and I cannot resource thorough checking of all its contents. However,
I am interested in making the FAQ as good as it can be, so your
constructive feedback is welcome.
This FAQ is not sponsored or endorsed by Psion PLC or any subsidary
companies they may own in any way.
This FAQ is *NOT* intended as a replacement of the User Guide which
comes with each Psion. Be sure to read that first and - most important
- please double read the manual and this FAQ before posting any
questions to the comp.sys.psion.* hierarchy!
II. CREDITS
To create this document Chris (the original FAQ author) reviewed the
Newsgroup activity of the old comp.sys.psion (it has split on the 19th
of June 1996) group over some months, used that to generate a list of
Frequently Asked Questions, used THAT to generate a FAQ structure,
then populated it with extracted wisdom from the news traffic. So a
lot of information here is provided by the newsgroup contributors, who
are too numerous to credit individually. (Chris said "I'm just the
clerk that put it all in one place.") Special thanks go to Markus
Illenseer, who owned the first (Series 3) FAQ - from which Chris also
extracted useful information. Chris also thanked Clive D.W. Feather,
Daniel Senie, Roger Burton-West, for extensive helpful comments on his
preliminary FAQ. I would like to thank Mark Gould and Jason Savage for
their precious help and comments. Other contributors are credited in
the sections they provided special help in compiling.
If you have a question which is not answered in the actual FAQ, please
Email it to me (Daniel Pfund, see address at the top of this FAQ),
otherwise if you want more information from one specific section of
this FAQ, please try to contact the author of that section first. All
the Email addresses of people mentioned in this FAQ are listed here
for convenience (in alphabetical order):
Andrew Baldwin Andrew-...@psion.com
Michael Baas Mic...@psiologic.com
Daron M. Brewood dbre...@nest.demon.co.uk
Roger Burton-West rbur...@nyx10.cs.du.edu
Mark Chapman ma...@cix.compulink.co.uk
Steve Clack scl...@cix.compulink.co.uk
Nick Craig-Wood n...@axis.demon.co.uk
Alban Debeaupuis A.De...@ellis.fdn.org
Mike Dolan m.d...@bcs.org.uk
Tom Dolbilin tdo...@ncsa.uiuc.edu
Paul DuBois dub...@primate.wisc.edu
Clive D.W. Feather cl...@demon.net
Mark Gould Mark....@bris.ac.uk
Roman Habrat ro...@robix.comp.waw.pl
Steve Hawtin st...@tsort.demon.co.uk
Jochen Hollmann jnho...@immd4.informatik.uni-erlangen.de
Charlotte Holmquist c...@advivum.se
Markus Illenseer Mar...@tiger.teuto.de
Erik Johansen e...@it.dtu.dk
Uwe Kallmeyer uw...@yedik.escape.de
Edwin Klement ekle...@crcg.edu
Dan Ko dan...@danielko.demon.co.uk
Philippe Lebreton lebre...@ccmail.cgi.fr
Steve Litchfield slitc...@cix.compulink.co.uk
Neil Masson nma...@datlog.co.uk
Roger Muggleton h...@cix.compulink.co.uk
Blake Nancarrow bla...@computer-ease.com
Daniel Pfund Pf...@POBoxes.com
Angus Rae ang...@festival.ed.ac.uk
Dan Ramage Dam...@juno.com
Alan Roberts al...@rd.bbc.co.uk
Konstantin I. Saliy k...@ipmce.ru
Jason Savage Jason_...@mbnet.mb.ca
Daniel Senie d...@world.std.com
Jochen Siegenthaler jochen.si...@alcatel.ch
Bruce Stephens step...@math.ruu.nl
Toby Smith t...@cs.bham.ac.uk
Oliver Wagner owa...@lsd.wupper.de
Lloyd Wasser LWa...@infowave.net
John A. Watson JAWa...@thelcastle.win-uk.net
Chris Wesley Ch...@people.demon.co.uk
Walter Wright wa...@ceemore.demon.co.uk
If you happen to change addresses or know the new address of someone
on this list, please Email it to me, thanks!
III. COPYRIGHT
I assert copyright on this document. I encourage you to distribute it
widely, but only in its complete and original form and if you do not
make any money out of it.
IV. FAQ UPDATES
For the time being, I (Daniel) am the keeper of the FAQ. If you have
comments or suggestions, corrections, or you have some information you
want to see added or a request that I find some new answers, please
let me know. Please contact me via the Email address at the top of the
FAQ, or if that address doesn't work anymore (will stop working around
the 20th of October 1997), then contact me at: pf...@poboxes.com which
(should) work all the time by forwarding me my mail to my current
account. If all else fails, do a web search on my name or check out my
current homepage for more info at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/
V. WHERE CAN I GET THIS FAQ?
You're reading it aren't you? SAVE it :-). This FAQ is part of the
"official" news.answers FAQs and is posted monthly to
comp.sys.psion.announce and cross-posted to comp.sys.palmtops,
comp.answers, and news.answers. If you don't have reliable Usenet
access, you can also retrieve the FAQ by:
FTP
This article is archived at any site that archives
news.answers.
News.answers' main archive is at rtfm.mit.edu, and this article
is available there via anonymous ftp in the directory
/usenet/news.answers/psion-faq/partX
Other news.answers FAQ archives are:
+ cnam.cnam.fr in the anonymous ftp directory /pub/FAQ
+ ftp.uu.net in the anonymous ftp directory /pub/usenet (also
available via mail server requests to net...@uunet.uu.net, or
via uunet's 1-900 anonymous UUCP phone number)
+ ftp.cs.ruu.nl in the anonymous ftp directory pub/NEWS.ANSWERS
(also accessible via mail server requests to
mail-...@cs.ruu.nl).
You probably will find a location closer to you with the help
of archie or some other search tool. Usually, the news.answers
FAQs are held in a directory like
"usenet/usenet-by-group/news.answers/" and you would be looking
for the "psion-faq" subdirectory in there.
EMail
You can use the mailserver at rtfm: send a message containing
the lines "send usenet/news.answers/psion-faq/*" to receive all
parts or send a message containing "help" and "index" to
mail-...@rtfm.mit.edu for more information on how to obtain
seperate parts.
WWW
There is a HTMLized version of this FAQ on my homepage at
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/faq.htm (Note that
there is no "l" at the end of "htm", this is not a typo!)
Please use this site for any reference from your own web pages
because it is under my direct control and easily changeable. It
contains links to all the Psion HTML FAQ mirrors available in
the world as well as an archive file of both the text and the
HTML versions of the FAQ for easy downloading and offline
reading.
There are also numerous WWW sites archiving all the
news.answers FAQs. My favorite site is in Oxford at:
http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/internet/news/
Please do NOT Email me or anybody else mentioned in this FAQ for the
latest version. We simply cannot handle such matters effectively.
If the date at the top of this FAQ is more than a couple months old,
there is probably a new version available online.
If you're interested to learn how I prepare this FAQ, you can check
out my page about that at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/howfaq.htm
VI. NEWSGROUP NETIQUETTE
I thought it might be useful to include a few words about using the
comp.sys.psion.* newsgroup hierarchy. We get a steady trickle of
transgressions and the ensuing admonishments. Maybe we can fix these
before they happen in future. Egg-sucking grannies may skip this
section. (Does that work outside the UK?)
1. READ THE FRIENDLY MANUAL (RTFM) and then the FAQ before posting
any questions! Remember that thes groups are here to help you out
but only if the answer can't be found by yourself. Also remember
that each time you're posting a question to the group, hundreds
(if not thousands) of people will read your question. If the same
questions come up again and again, people will just get bored and
not answer anymore...
2. DON'T BE RUDE. Obvious? Apparently not. Our newsgroup is an oasis
of civilization in a sea of adolescent vitriol and worse. Let's
keep it that way. Say it nicely or don't say it at all. If you
need to be uncomfortably direct, do it in personal mail - don't
post it.
3. When responding to a post, most handlers will give you an edit pad
with the original post inserted. Delete most of this, leaving only
the part which will set the context for your reply. This is more
effective communication, it cuts down on crud to scan through, and
reduces phone bills for those that pay them.
4. Official NETIQUETTE says you should not use the net for
advertising, but the prevalent view here is that the current level
of activity is useful without being obtrusive.
5. Posting binaries is definitively not recommended in the
comp.sys.psion.* usenet groups! There is a seperate Psion binaries
group called comp.binaries.psion which is a moderated group. The
moderator is Erik Johansen. If you wish to post to this group,
either Email your binary directly to the news group's Email
address: psion-b...@it.dtu.dk and it will arrive to the
moderator or if your news program is configured correctly, post it
directly to the group. You will receive a message in return
usually in a laps of 2-3 days maximum to confirm your binary. It
has been agreed that very large programs which are not Psion
specific (ie: don't run directly on the Psion) should NOT be
posted there but to the relevant computer group. But you should
send a small message to the comp.binaries.psion group stating that
you have just posted your program. It is also common practice to
send a description of your binary; it helps to know if it's worth
downloading it or not! Usually, this description has the same
subject line but with part0(/x) suffix. All postings to this group
have been archived and are indexed on the following FTP site:
ftp.it.dtu.dk/pub/psion/index.html
6. Consider whether you should be mailing or posting. PING-PONG
personal dialogues may - or may not - be of interest to others. If
not, please don't post.
7. Post to the relevant newsgroup, and please don't cross-post!
Here's a guide to help you:
+ comp.binaries.psion
Used for ALL Psion binaries. Also used for large source code.
+ comp.sys.psion.announce
Used for posting announcements about new programs/hardware;
the FAQ is also posted to this group. This is a low volume
group and it's moderated, that means that all postings must
get approved first by the moderator (Michael L. Kaufman). If
your news server does not send your post to the moderator
(but they all do generally), you can send it yourself
directly for approval at ps...@acm.org.
+ comp.sys.psion.apps
Used for posting questions/answers to all Psion related
programs; frequented by all Psion programmers to get your
feedback and ideas of course ;-)
+ comp.sys.psion.marketplace
Used for selling/buying Psion articles
+ comp.sys.psion.misc
Used for any subject which does not fall into one of the
other categories...
+ comp.sys.psion.programmer
Used for posting programming questions ( OPL / C / ... ), NOT
programs!
+ comp.sys.psion.reviews
Used for posting reviews about Psion programs/hardware. This
group is also moderated by Michael L. Kaufman and again, if
your news server is not set up correctly, you can also send
your postings directly to him at ps...@acm.org.
_________________________________________________________________
1. INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION
1.1 What is the Psion Series 3/3a?
I will describe the more advanced 3a here. Refer to the hardware
section to see what you lose on the Series 3.
The Psion Series 3 and 3a are palmtop computers. Though packaged as
personal organisers, they are fully general, programmable, powerful
computers. The quality of the built-in applications, coupled with the
power saving hardware make Series 3's excellent personal organisers.
The sophisticated operating system, the hardware, the built-in
programming language, and the options to program in C and assembler
make them excellent general-purpose computers, with the major benefits
of compactness and battery endurance.
Optional link facilities can connect the Series 3 to desktop machines,
allowing data backup and access to the resources of the larger machine
from the Series 3. Modems, fax modems, printers and other peripherals
may also be connected via industry-standard serial and parallel
interfaces.
The built-in applications include a database manager, a sophisticated
word processor, time manager, world date/time and dialling codes
database, calculator and spreadsheet. The latest models (1Mb and 2Mb
RAM models) also include the spell checker/thesaurus and a patience
game (solitaire card game). Many other applications are available
commercially and from shareware outlets. More details in the last part
of this FAQ.
The built-in OPL programming system provides a structured BASIC-like
programming language with access to all the features of the machine.
This includes the ability to program polished Windows/Icons/Menus
interfaces like those found in the built-in applications.
The sound interface can record and playback digital sound. DTMF
dialling tones can be created which allow the Series 3a to dial
numbers directly through a telephone.
1.2 Which model should I buy?
This question is really a personal matter. I would definitively
suggest getting a Series3a (and not 3) because of the greater screen
resolution. As for which memory model, this depends entirely of your
needs and what you plan on doing with your Psion. In general, the more
memory the better (and keep in mind also that the 1/2Mb models offer
the spell checker/thesaurus and solitaire game which you might need).
If you're reading this, you probably have access to Psion
free/shareware also. You will see that these programs will quickly
fill up your memory ;-) so I would suggest to get the biggest model
(2Mb). If on the other hand, money is tight and you don't plan on
using much more than the Agenda and the built-in apps, then I think a
512k is big enough for you. As you can see, there is no simple
solution to this answer!
1.3 When will the "new" Psion come out?
Good question... next please!
Joke apart, nobody really knows. So please folks, just stop asking!
Before the 3c was announced, people didn't expect a new Psion until
1997, but Psion was 3 months early (just in time for Christmas,
heh?!).
The reason no one knew exactly is that Psion is quite relunctant to
give such information simply because they've learned from the past
(from Osborne computers to be more precise ;-) .
Psion have formally announced that their will be new machines during
the year 1997. By the time you read this, the new "Series 5" will
probably be available as it has been rumoured to come out during June
97. That will mean the end of this FAQ... as I'm sure the Series 5
will be a must-have fantastic palmtop!
People were hoping for Infrared comms (IrDa compliant), PCMCIA (most
debated!), RISC (ARM 7100) 32bits, pen for navigation (but hopefully
still a keyboard!), backlight ... You see that Psion have added most
of these features into the 3c!
1.4 What other machines does Psion make?
1.4.1 WorkAbout
This is the latest Psion machine. Very comparable to a Psion Series
3a, it is more robust and has an A-Z keyboard for size reasons. One
nice point: a back lit screen is present. Targeted at the vertical
market, thus not so well known to the general public.
1.4.2 Acorn Pocket Book (by Acorn)
Re-badged Series 3a, aimed at education-related markets. Contains all
the 3a applications, though named differently, plus a spell checker,
thesaurus and a graph plotting application in a 2MB ROM. Password
protection capability is removed. Costs about 20 GBP more than a 3a.
1.4.3 Series 3
The immediate predecessor to the Psion Series 3a is the Series 3. It
is the same machine in size and concept, but is more limited in many
respects. See the hardware comparison table in section 2a for a list
of differences.
1.4.4 Series 3c
The immediate sucessor to the Psion Series3a; was launched 05Sep96
(same time as the Siena). It has the following added features:
* Infra Red connector for Psion to Psion or Psion to printer
connections
* RS232c internal connector for fast connections (upto 57k6)
* Toggleable backlight screen (US model only?)
* Data APP includes a table view and sort option
* Agenda supports a month view (finally!)
* Jotter application added
* Calc application cosmetically changed
* Sound editor included
* Filer app (sort of File manager) with the much awaited "move"
command ;-)
* OVAL run time in ROM (for programmers)
* Tips on startup a la MS
* Optional add on synchronizers for Lotus Organizer and Schedule+
* Optional self powered PC-CARD (PCMCIA) adapter
But, it must also be noted that the 3c does NOT have the definitions
in it's spelling checker/thesaurus application. Psion didn't have
enough room in the ROM to keep them.
1.4.5 Siena
This is not really a palmtop computer, but should more be classified
as a "PDA" (Personal Digital Assistant). It is basically the same as a
3a but available only in 512k/1Mb RAM versions with a half-sized
screen (240*160 pixels). It also includes Jotter but not Files nor
Oval. Next to the top half of the screen you can find a numeric
keypad. Unexpandable (no SSD slots built-in, but you can buy an SSD
adapter); has built-in RS-232 port. See Psion's web site for more
infos.
1.4.6 Organiser II series:
* CM - available in 16K only, 16x2 screen, limited software
* XP - available in 16K or 32K, 16x2 screen, limited software
(database, OPL)
* LZ - available in 32K or 64K (LZ64), 20x4 screen, introduced
notepad (basic text processor), dialing codes database, on-screen
clock)
There is an Organiser II homepage at
http://homepages.enterprise.net/djw/psion/psion.html
1.5 What other palmtop alternatives are there? (by Jason Savage)
See section 2.1 for the Psion Series 3 and 3a hardware specifications.
Make: Apple
Model: Newton MessagePad 120
Processor
Model: ARM 610
Speed: 20 Mhz
Bit size: 32-bit
Display
Type: Monochrome, reflective LCD
Pixel Screen size: 320 x 240
Memory
Size: 1MB RAM (385K user data & 639K system) or 2MB RAM (1,361K
user data & 687K system)
Expansion slots
Type: Type II PC-Card (PCMCIA 2.0)
Number: 1
Dimensions
Size (W x D x H): 10.16 x 20.32 x 2.9 cm (4.0" x 8.0" x 1.2")
Weight: 480 grams (16 ounces)
Power Requirements
Batteries: 4 x AA (main) & 1 x CR2032 (backup)
Battery Life (Approx): Up to 22 hours
Provision for AC Adaptor: Yes
Input/Output Ports
Serial (max speed): Yes, RS-422 8-pin DIN (230,000 bps)
Parallel: No
Infrared: Yes, (38,400 bps)
Other: Optional FAX modem
Keyboard: Yes, Popup virtual keyboard (QWERTY, Numeric, & Phone pad)
Included Applications:
+ Newton Intelligence (Handwriting Recognition, Object Oriented
Database Programming language and Communications services)
+ Calendar (like Agenda)
+ NewtonMail (email client)
+ To-Do Lists (like Agenda)
+ Rolodex-like Address Book (like Data)
+ Digital Ink ScratchPad
+ Calculator (like Calc)
+ World Time Clock (like World)
+ Dictionary (13,000 words)
+ Notion List Manager (like Data)
Make: Casio
Model: Z-7000 (AKA: Zoomer, Tandy Z-PDA, AST GRiDPad 2390)
Processor
Model: NEC V20
Speed: 7.7Mhz
Bit size: 16-bit
Display
Type: Monochrome reflective, touchscreen
Pixel Screen size: 320 x 256
Memory
Size: 1 Mb (384K user data & 640K system)
Expansion slots
Type: Type II PC-Card (PCMCIA 2.0)
Number: 1
Dimensions
Size (W x D x H): 10.76 x 17.62 x 2.6 cm (4.2" x 6.8" x 1")
Weight: 430 grams (15.2 ounces)
Power Requirements
Batteries: 3 x AA (main) & 2 x CR2032 (backup)
Battery Life (Approx): 100 hours (catalog: 90 hours)
Provision for AC Adaptor: Yes
Input/Output Ports
Serial (max speed): Yes, 10-pin, (19,200 bps)
Parallel: No
Infrared: Yes, (9600, Casio)
Other: Round telescoping pen
Keyboard: Yes, Virtual Pop-up software QWERTY, A-Z or International
Included Applications:
+ Date Book (like Agenda)
+ Address Book (like Data)
+ Note Book (Digital Ink Scratchpad & Document Manager with
outliner)
+ Pocket Quicken (Financial Organiser)
+ America Online (Access software for the service provider of
the same name)
+ Calculator (like Calc)
+ Forms Calculator
+ World Clock (like World)
+ Language Translator (26 languages & up 1000 words per
language)
+ Games (Solitaire, Pyramid Solitaire & UKI)
+ File Manager
+ Consumer Information
+ U.S. Information
+ World Information
Make: Hewlett Packard
Model: 200LX
Processor
Model: variable speed Hornet
Speed: 7.91 MHz
Bit size: 16-bit
Display
Type: CGA-compatible FTN liquid crystal
Pixel Screen size: 640 x 200
Memory
Size: 1 or 2MB of RAM
Expansion slots
Type: Type II PC-Card (PCMCIA 2.0)
Number: 1
Dimensions
Size (W x D x H): 16 x 8.64 x 2.54 cm (6.3" x 3.4" x 1")
Weight: 312 grams (11 ounces)
Power Requirements
Batteries: 2xAA (main) & 1xCR2032 (backup)
Battery Life (Approx): 80 hours
Provision for AC Adaptor: Yes
Input/Output Ports
Serial (max speed): Yes, 9-wire (115K?)
Parallel: No
Infrared: Yes
Other: No
Keyboard: Yes, QWERTY
Included Applications:
+ Pocket Quicken (Financial Organiser)
+ cc:Mail (E-mail client)
+ Data Communications (VT-100, ANSI & TTY emulation)
+ Lotus 1-2-3 r.2.4 (like Sheet)
+ Laplink (like Remote Link) for file transfers
+ Appointment Book (like Agenda)
+ Phone Book (like Data)
+ HP financial calculator (like Calc)
+ Memo editor with outliner (like Word)
+ Notetaker (like Notepad)
+ Database (like Data)
+ Filer (like File Manager)
+ Worldtime & Stopwatch (like World)
+ System Macros
+ Application Manager
+ Setup Utility
See also the following WWW site for a more complete comparaison
of Psion3a-HP200lx with over 170 articles:
http://www.primate.wisc.edu/people/dubois/psion/index.html
Make: Hewlett Packard
Model: OmniGo 100 Organizer Plus
Processor
Model: Intel 80C186 compatible
Speed: 16 Mhz
Bit size: 16-bit
Display
Type: FSTN LCD with Touchscreen
Pixel Screen size: 240 x 240
Memory
Size: 1MB RAM
Expansion slots
Type: Type II PC-Card (PCMCIA 1.0: SRAM memory cards no Flash
or Modems)
Number: 1
Dimensions
Size (W x D x H): 15.3 x 9.5 x 2.6 cm (6" x 3.7" x 1")
Weight: 329 grams (11.6 ounces)
Power Requirements
Batteries: 2 x AA (main) & 1 x CR2032 (backup)
Battery Life (Approx): ?
Provision for AC Adaptor: No
Input/Output Ports
Serial (max speed): Yes, 10-wire, (?)
Parallel: No
Infrared: No
Other: Yes, Pen
Keyboard: Yes, QWERTY (5 function keys)
Included Applications:
+ Appointment book (like Agenda)
+ Phonebook (like Data)
+ Notepad (like Word)
+ Database (like Data)
+ Worldtime and stopwatch (like World)
+ Jotter (Digital Ink Scratchpad)
+ Geoworks Book Reader
+ Financial Tools
+ Spreadsheet (like Sheet)
+ Emulated HP 12C financial calculator (like Calc)
+ Graffiti handwriting system (handwriting recognition)
+ Transfer (like Remote Link)
+ Setup Utility (like Install)
+ Solitaire
Make: Motorola
Model: Envoy Communicator
Processor
Model: Motorola Dragon 68349
Speed: 16 Mhz
Bit size: 32-bit
Display
Type: Reflective FSTN Touch Screen
Pixel Screen size: 480 x 320
Memory
Size: 1 MB
Expansion slots
Type: Type II PC-Card (PCMCIA 2.0) slots
Number: 2
Dimensions
Size (W x D x H): 14.8 x 19.2 x 2.9 cm (5.8" x 7.6" x 1.2")
Weight: 770 grams (1.7 pounds)
Power Requirements
Batteries: Rechargeable Ni-Cad (main) & 1 x CR2032 (backup)
Battery Life (Approx): 8 hours
Provision for AC Adaptor: Yes, combined with Charger
Input/Output Ports
Serial (max speed): Yes, 14-pin MagicBus (38,400 bps)
Parallel: Yes, MagicBus
Infrared: Yes, FSK compliant
Other: 2 round full length pens, 4800 bps send/receive radio
packet modem, 9600 bps FAX send modem & 2400 bps data modem
Keyboard: Optional, QWERTY
Included Applications:
+ Date Book (like Agenda)
+ World Time Clock (like World)
+ Address Book (like Data)
+ Notebook (like Agenda To-Do List)
+ Calculator (like Calc)
+ America Online (connection software for the service provider
of the same name)
+ AT&T PersonaLink (connection software for the service
provider of the same name)
+ SmartWallet
Make: Sharp
Model: ZR-5000 & ZR-5000FX AKA: Zaurus K-PDA
Processor
Model: Sharp Proprietary
Speed: ?
Bit size: 16-bit
Display
Type: DFSTN LCD, Touch screen (finger or stylus)
Pixel Screen size: 320 x 240
Memory
Size: 1MB RAM (750k user data & 250K system)
Expansion slots
Type: Type II PC-Card (PCMCIA 2.0)
Number: 1
Dimensions
Size (W x D x H): 17.0 x 10.0 x 2.54 cm (6.7" x 3.9" x 1.0")
Weight: 385 grams (13.6 ounces approx.)
Power Requirements
Batteries: 2 x AA (main) & 1 x CR-2032 (backup)
Battery Life (Approx): Up to 60 hours (~2 months)
Provision for AC Adaptor: Yes
Input/Output Ports
Serial (max speed): Yes, 15-pin proprietary, (19,200 bps)
Parallel: No
Infrared: Yes, (IrDA & ASK Compliant)
Other: Round pen & FAX modem with ZR-5000FX
Keyboard: Yes, QWERTY configuration
Included Applications:
+ Activities (like Agenda)
+ Contacts (like Data) limited to 3 files
+ Data Files (also like Data) limited to 3 files
+ Notes (Digital Ink Scratchpad)
+ Documents (like Word) with Spell Checker
+ Outline (like Outline mode in Word)
+ Home & World Clocks (like Time & World)
+ Calculator (like Calc)
+ Filer (Manages Printing, Faxing, Email & File transfers)
+ Messaging (E-mail client)
+ FAX/Sending (FAX client)
+ Terminal Mode (ASCII & VT-100 emulation)
Make: USR
Model: Pilot
Specs thanks to David Richards at d...@rci.ripco.com
Processor
Model: Motorola 68328 "Dragonball"
Speed: 16 MHz?
Bit size: 16-bit
Display
Type: Monochrome, reflective LCD
Pixel Screen size: 160 x 160
Memory
Size: 512K ROM
128K RAM (Pilot 1000), 512K (Pilot 5000), or 1Mb upgrade
Expansion slots
Type: Proprietary memory (replaces RAM)
Number: 1
Dimensions
Size (W x D x H): 3.2" x .7" x 4.7"
Weight: 385 grams (5.7 ounces approx.)
Power Requirements
Batteries: 2 x AAA (main)
Battery Life (Approx): 30 hours
Provision for AC Adaptor: No
Input/Output Ports
Serial (max speed): Yes, Proprietary edge connector (57,600
bps)
Parallel: No
Infrared: No
Keyboard: Yes, Popup virtual keyboard (QWERTY, Numeric, accent)
Included Applications:
+ Date book
+ Address book
+ To Do List
+ Memo pad
+ Calculator
End of part 1/6
_________________________________________________________________
[Go to next part]
_________________________________________________________________
All pages coming from http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/
(and this is one of them!) are copyright 1996 Daniel Pfund.
--
|\ |\ PSION specialists: http://www.planet-pfund.com
| )|/ *--------------------------------------------*
|/ | http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/
Daniel `HB9VBC' Pfund
Version: $VER: Psion FAQ v2.6
URL: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/faq.htm
part 3
See part 1 for complete table of contents of this FAQ (including this
part's).
3.10 How can I permanently change the distance units in World? (by Ian
Phillipps)
World takes its distance cue from the printer defaults set on the
System screen (Psion-y on UK Psions). Set it to centimetres and World
will use kilometres as default.
3.11 Why do some programs crash with an "Invalid arguments" error?
Some applications (mainly free/shareware) crash with an error message
like:
ERORR in PROGRAM\PROC
Invalid arguments
This is due to changes in the UK default settings of either number
formats (System menu) or time format (Time). You could try changing
these but you're better off informing the programmer of the problem!
3.12 Why is my Psion not switching itself off automatically anymore? (by
Philippe Lebreton)
1. Obvious: because you changed the "Auto switch off" to NO.
2. You changed it to "If no external power" and you're using external
power...
3. The Series 3 will only switch off if no task is outpending (eg: a
spreadsheet is calculating in the background).
4. Some badly programmed programs do never stop performing a task. If
you know which one it is, close it. If you don't, close them all.
5. Some files are still running but you can't see them on the System
screen. These are often IMG programs which might sub-application
programs (ie: launched by another one) that you are not supposed
to see. You can attempt to see them by cycling through the running
processes with Shift-System. If you want to kill a process, you
can use Shift-Psion-k. If you cannot find any suspect processes,
then the process probably doesn't allow you to bring it to the
foreground. The only way to find these is to use SPY from Psion
and kill them from there. But beware, don't kill any SYS$xxxx
processes as these are system processes and need to be running
(otherwise your Psion would reset itself).
6. If all else really fails, do a soft reset. All your files will
still be there but your System screen needs to be re installed.
3.13 How can I change the fonts in the system applications? (by Roman Habrat)
"A time ago I sarched for a method for changing the fonts used by
standard applications. I wanted to implement polish national
characters in the fonts. No success. The only fonts one can replace
are dialog/menu fonts, "screen corner message" font and some
little, unimportant fonts used by i.e. clock. The other fonts are
opened directly from ROM by the applications.
I understand why. The Psion creators prepared methods to use other
fonts by additional applications (by opening a user's own fonts).
But user applications use also menus and dialogs. So there is
wSetSystemFont() function to change font in them. And that's all.
The creators did not foresee that one would want to change fonts in
the built-in application.
There is commercial solution for national characters problem (apart
of changing the hardware ROM). It was implemented in Czech
Republic, and now in Poland. Parts of operating system located in
memory (RAM) are replaced, and new parts are added. All English
system texts are replaced by Polish texts. The fonts are modified.
Additional key combinations are interpreted. It works. But it uses
170 KB of RAM (80 for OS, and 90 for resource files), so it is
better for 1MB/2MB models."
3.14 Is Perl ported to the Psion? (by Bruce Stephens)
"The answer is no, because of memory limitations. Something
Perl-like is surely practical, but I don't know of anything. Scheme
exists though, in a rather limited (just about useless) form; see
my "port" (more "compilation" really) of scm
http://supr.scm.liv.ac.uk/~bruce/"
3.15 How do I undelete a file if I've accidentaly deleted it?
If you've deleted your file from the internal RAM, then there's
nothing you can do to get it back. If on the other hand you've deleted
a file on a SSD, there's a chance of getting the info back. For flash
disks, you can use Konstantin I. Saliy's "Undelete" shareware. For RAM
SSDs, you'll have to phone Psion and send it in to them directly. Be
sure not to use the RAM SSD anymore or the data may get overwriten!
3.16 How can I synchronize my desktop agenda with my Psion's? (by Dr. Karl
Leo)
I tried the following approaches:
1. PsiWin from Psion: It should convert Lotus Oganizer 2.1 files, but
on my file (containing about 300 appointments and 200 To-do
items), it crashes and even takes Windows 95 down with it.This
might be related to some instabilities of Lotus Organizer files I
had to cope with from time to time. Also, PsiWin is not of much
use for my purposes since it is not able to synchronize the two
systems.
2. Thomas Lansing (10002...@compuserve.com, Fax +49-203-372570) has
written a Shareware Windows version of Agenda called Psioman.
Although it is a very nice program, it does not reach the
functionality of programs like Lotus Organizer and Microsoft
Schedule. However, for people who do not have too large Agenda
files, the program is a good way to keep things on the PC.
3. Finally, I bought Agenda Link 2 written by John Whiting (Widget,
+44-1438-815444). This program allows to transfer Agenda files to
Lotus Organizer and Microsoft Schedule and back. Also, it allows
synchronization, with definable ways to do it (which is the master
file, automatic and manual). Apart from a few minor quirks, this
program works very well and has solved my problem.
4. TIPS & TRICKS FOR GENERAL USAGE
4.1 Known hardware problems & solutions
4.1.1 Battery warnings (see also below: "problems when opening the
machine")
The contacts to the main batteries are poor in many machines. This
causes the machine to report low battery power inappropriately, and
may cause automatic switchoff. The fix is to ensure the contacts are
clean, and making firm contact with the battery. Different battery
brands can be slightly different sizes, so pick a larger one.
Batteries with dimples in either contact are more prone to problems.
You might consider kludging a fix by bending the contacts, or decide
to return your machine for replacement. Note that when replacing dead
batteries with NiCads, you may see the REPLACE warning for a few
seconds after the new cells are inserted. This is normal, and will go
away on its own.
The backup battery may also have faulty contacts. Kathleen James
suggested putting a little piece of paper between the battery and the
contact on the top of it. Be sure not to obstruct the contact though!
She said: I kept getting the message 'Replace Backup battery!' but
never 'Backup battery is low'. Putting the paper in got rid of the
message, and Battery Info says: Good.
4.1.2 Problems when opening the machine
Opening/closing the older Series 3's can cause (possibly intermittent)
problems to the machine's power supply, which in turn can manifest
several problems mentioned in this FAQ. The constant twisting of the
lead connecting the main board to the battery contacts can cause
damage. This problem is the most serious one and is know as the
"dreaded battery lead problem". Psion will repair this in warranty.
You can fix it yourself if your machine is out of warranty. Remove the
screws behind the batteries. Sometime re-seating the two-pin connector
will give a permanent fix, otherwise, if you're handy, replace the
wires. This problem is the number one problem. If you've got a battery
problem, check these wires first! It will most likely happen to all
Psion Series 3a's after a more or less long period of time. It has
happened to me personally after two and a half years. Apparently, the
gentler you close your case, the longer the wires will last.
4.1.3 Automatic dialling
The built-in dialer is reported as variously as excellent, through
unreliable to un-useable. Sometimes it will work on internal phone
systems but not BT - sometimes vice versa. The recommendation for
improving performance is to place the Series 3 on a flat non-resonant
surface, and holding the phone just above it - not against it.
4.1.4 Alarms replaced by odd beeps
Not a bug, but a response by your machine to low battery power. When
there is insufficient power to play the chosen alarm, it makes this
noise which is designed to be loud but economical on power. Low
available power can also be caused by poor battery connections or by
the "dreaded battery lead problem" mentioned earlier.
4.1.5 Alarms come in pairs
Several people report that their machine can get into a mode whereby
alarms sound - and need to be acknowledged - twice. This problem can
be fixed by doing a soft reset or sometimes by exiting and restarting
Agenda.
4.1.6 Display problems
The Psion display flickers in bright sunlight - use an umbrella.
The LCD display works in such a way that the reflected light is
polarized. If you wear polarising sunglasses who plane of polarization
is at odds with that of the Psion, you'll see a blank screen. Fix:
Take your shades off, or get some which are not simple polarizing
lenses. Ray-Bans, for example, do not polarize in a single plane.
Some people have noticed problems with odd pixels, lines, rows or
patches of pixels (usually in a corner - usually the lower right
corner). These remain on (dark) all the time. In each case, there is
no real fix but to return the machine for repair or replacement.
4.1.7 An area of darker pixels appears in one corner of the LCD (by Nick
Craig-Wood)
This just seems to happen with ageing of the LCD. It doesn't appear to
get any worse, and if you have your LCD replaced it is likely to
happen again. It may be related to the stresses of the LCD in the case
but this is unverified.
4.1.8 Lifting button bar
Older Series3's had problems with the button bar at the top of the
keyboard, which has a tendency to lift off. Also, some often-used
buttons could stop working. Replacement is the best option. Glue might
help those with no warranty. See the manual for key presses which can
in all cases duplicate the function of defunct buttons (Series 3
only).
For Series 3a owners, several programs are available to help you
switch back to the System screen. The worst case is if you're stuck in
the Time app since you cannot close it anymore. It has been found out
by a 2 year old (sic!) that you can "emulate" the Sheet button with
the key combination of "up cursor, down cursor and Esc". Yes, it seems
strange but it works! This will either put you into an open Sheet file
or bring you to the Sheet icon on the System screen. To go directly to
the Sheet icon each time, press the Psion key at the same time as the
above combination.
Another such key combination has been reported by Timothy Giles: "up
cursor, p key and Esc" will emulate the Calc button. Apparently, there
is a pattern and this key sequence was found by studying the keyboard
values of keys...
Series 3a's with non functioning button bars may be due to some
impact. Pat Egan at EEI...@eeiatns01.eei.ericsson.se passed this nice
tip to me (originally writen by Kevin Reilly and anotated in capitals
by Pat): Kevin wrote:
"I've had this problem twice now (I think it's caused by impact;
has your machine been dropped recently?). The problem is caused by
a ribbon cable becoming detached from the 'bottom' PCB - the one
with the loudspeaker and SSD connectors. There are two solutions
depending on your bravery and/or whether the warranty's expired.
1. Send it to Psion for repair. I've not done this so I don't know
about turnaround times or costs.
2. The 'do it yourself' method. You won't need many tools (a smallish
watchmakers' screwdriver is actually sufficient) but I'd suggest
ESSD handling precautions should be taken if possible. Having said
that I once did this repair in a hotel room in Boston so workshop
conditions aren't essential :)
If you're confident enough to have a go, here's the method:
* Back up all the data, or copy everything to an SSD. If it's a RAM
SSD make sure the battery's OK!
AS I DO NOT HAVE BACK UP FACILITIES, I DECIDED TO HAVE A GO BY
LEAVING THE MAIN BATTERIES CONNECTED. AS IT HAPPENS ON BOTH
OCCASIONS I DID NOT LOOSE ANY FILES TO MY SURPRISE
* Remove all SSDs and batteries. Remove the four screws inside the
battery compartment and remove it by unplugging the battery lead
connector.
* Remove the two screws inside the SSD doors. You'll have to break
the warranty seal to get to one of these
* Open the Psion (take care not to damage the button bar which can
become trapped by the keyboard cover).
* Remove the keyboard cover (with the yellow legends on). This is
the tricky bit. I've found by experience that the best way is to
carefully lever the rear part up past the hinges, then lift it out
towards you.
I FOUND ON MY PSION, THE BEST WAY TO REMOVE THE KEYBOARD COVER WAS
TO LEVER THE FRONT PART OVER TWO RETAINING LUGS. A FLAT SCREW
DRIVER PUSHED INTO THE DEAD CENTRE OF THE FRONT EDGE COVER AND
TWISTED APPROX. 45 DEG. WILL REVEAL THE RETAINING LUGS. WHEN THE
FRONT EDGE IS LIFTED A FAIR AMOUNT OF FORCE IS REQUIRED TO PULL
THE BACK EDGE AWAY FROM THE HINGES
* Remove the rubber membrane with the keys on it. Carefully. Drop
all those little keys and you'll be there all night trying to
remember what goes where :)
* Lift the keyboard/PCB panel out, front edge first. This just
'sits' on the connections beneath; lift it up about 40 degrees and
slide it out towards you. You might have to press the comms port
cover in with the screwdriver to release it.
* Near the middle/front of the lower PCB there should be a BLUE
ribbon cable going into a socket (it's the thinner of the two
cables). This is the little baby which comes loose. PUSH THE
RIBBON LOCKS ON THE CONNECTOR FORWARD. Carefully slide the cable
into the connector then slide in the small plastic 'tabs'. These
should lock the ribbon in place. It is these tabs which detach
when the unit is dropped. I've been tempted to seal them with a
drop of adhesive but I wonder if the next drop won't then split
the ribbon cable
ON MY SECOND OCCASION I DECIDED TO TRY PREVENTING REOCCURRENCE BY
STICKING A THIN STRIP OF SELLOTAPE / SCOTCHTAPE ACROSS THE
CONNECTOR TO THE BLUE RIBBON.
* Reassembly is generally the reverse of disassembly, but take care
when refitting the keyboard/PCB board; the serial connector is a
very tight fit. Don't try to force it. It'll almost drop in when
it's positioned correctly."
4.1.9 Left hinge breaks
This might be due to excessive wear and tear on the extension port
(but unverified). It seems that it is a design flaw which Psion
doesn't want to admit... whatever the case, there is no other solution
than glue or replacement! Ali Manson (Psion Inc's Technical Manager)
stated that this problem occured in about 1.5% of all returns they
receive. So don't be scared off by the apparently huge number of
people stating having had this problem in the news groups!
A solution was posted by Charlotte Holmquist posted a solution to the
newsgroup a while ago. Steve Hawtin commented the fix with his own
version which also entailed detaching the icon bar completely. Here is
the transcript with Steve's comments as they were posted:
"You will need: mini-Philips screwdriver, xacto knife, drill, 1-2
mm diameter square nail or small drill bit, 1-2 mm diameter spring
wire, wire-cutters, pliers, tweezers (optional, depends on how big
your paws are).
______________________________________________________________
Steve: I used a small screw, by trimming the head off I managed to
get about 2mm of plain cylinder (for the hinge) with just the start
of the thred to screw it into the plastic of the icon strip.
______________________________________________________________
1. Back up ALL information
2. Make sure your back-up battery is healthy, preferably fresh (mine
wasn't fresh but it lasted through the surgery)
_____________________________________________________________
Steve: You really have three options here:
1. Attempt to last out on the backup battery like Charlotte did
2. Keep a mains adaptor plugged in
3. Give up on trying to save the contents
I went for the final one, this is because I wanted to detach the
icon strip from the Psion rather than working with the Psion
attached.
_____________________________________________________________
3. Remove battery cover
4. Remove batteries
5. Remove 4 small screws
6. Remove battery holder -- it swings out to the left, looking at the
psion from behind, battery holder on top
7. The blue battery lead is attached to a socket on the main body,
the leads run under a holder, protected by a rubber collar
8. Carefully slip the collar from under the holder and use the
tweezer (or your tiny fingers) to unplug the battery plug. Pull on
the plug, not on the wires.
9. Your psion now runs on the back-up battery.
10. You will see how everything is put together. You will notice two
springs on either end of the buttonbar.
11. Slip the loops of the spring-wires off the plastic pegs.
12. Lift the long arms of the spring-wires out of position on the
button-bar to release it.
13. Note that the button-bar still is attached by its lead to the main
machine.
_____________________________________________________________
Steve: To detach the icon bar completely:
+ Remove the backup battery if you haven't already done so.
+ Open the two drive doors, you will see two screws (one is
obscured by a warning about warranty, only remove it if you
don't mind losing your warranty).
+ Tease out the two pins holding the screen to the main body.
+ Use a screwdriver to carefully lever the keyboard circuit
board from the back of the case, note the two tabs next to
where the icon bar used to be, these need to be gently pushed
in during the levering. Make sure that the screwdriver does
not touch the circuit board (use the metal shields to push
against).
+ Once the back of the keyboard has lifted the two lugs at the
front will slip out easily.
+ You can now see the connector on the main circuit board, push
the two catches on either side until they are all the way
out, the icon ribbon will now pull out easily.
The icon strip is now completely detached from the rest of the
system.
_____________________________________________________________
14. You should now be able to manipulate the button-bar so that you
can see the place where the plastic peg of the left hinge has
broken off. You will also see where the peg fit into a hole in the
case.
15. Use a small drill to drill through the root of the peg, the spot
where you will see that it broke off from. I didn't have a small
enough drill so I used a small square nail in my drill machine.
_____________________________________________________________
Steve: To reassemble follow the above steps in reverse order. The
main "gotcha" is the pair of lugs at the front of the keyboard,
make sure they are well in before pushing the back down. The 3a
has some connectors between the back and the main circuit board
(the 3 just had wires) these seem to always just snap into place.
_____________________________________________________________
16. Cut approximately 2 cm of the wire and bend it at a right angle in
the middle.
17. Trim one end so that approximately 1-1.5 mm will reach into the
case of the psion when you've slipped it through the hole you made
in the arm of the button-bar.
18. Trim the other so that it slips down to the edge of the button
bar, in the slot where the arm of the spring normally rests. I had
to trim a bit of the plastic (approx. 0,2 mm) in the ridge to make
my wire fit. After trimming the wire will be approximately 5 mm.
19. Slip your new peg through the hole you made, into the case. Place
the other arm in the slot where the wire-spring rests.
20. Replace the spring-wires. First the long arms, then slip the loops
onto their peg.
21. The beauty of it all is that the left spring now keeps your new
peg in place: No glue needed.
22. Enjoy!"
As I said before, I won't accept responsibility for any damage
caused by trying out my tip. Just because it's worked for me, it
doesn't need to work for you. If you are unused to using your hands
or careless or impatient or simply have bad luck you can cause
damage!
______________________________________________________________
Steve: This goes double for actually delving inside the main box!
4.1.10 Key marks on display
This is a quite common problem when the Psion is new. The upper and
lower body of the case are a little too tight so when you open it
again, you see some key marks on the screen. Apparently it also has
something to do with the "oilness" of your fingers... To fix this,
either put something between the two or clean the screen with a soft
cloth.
From Philippe Lebreton:
"It is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY to clean the marks on the display
regularly (or I'm a very strange guy), it appears that the
"oilness" can be "acidness", at least in my case. Because the marks
on the S3a where much much less visible than they where on the S3,
I did not bother to clean them, and my screen is now permanently
marked (I can feel the dent with my nail)."
From Jochen Hollmann:
"Some (greenish) displays have a protection film on the surface,
which makes these displays thicker than other (grayish) displays.
To test if this is the case, remove the gray frame with the printed
Psion logo on it carefully from the inner side. This frame is
actually glued on the display itself. You should be able to sense
the film. (It was mounted about 2mm from the outer boundary of my
display.) When removed, put the frame back to the old place.
You should wait as long as possible before you remove the
protection film, because you can do it only once in the lifetime of
your display."
4.1.11 Keys rubbing off
Unfortunately this was quite common with some older Series 3 and 3a.
Actually there seem to be several different keyboard types, so it is
not predictable if it will happen to you or not. There is no simple
solution to this problem. If your Psion is not in warranty anymore,
you can contact Psion PLC which offer a "cosmetic upgrade".
Blake Nancarrow suggests placing a piece of clear ("Magic") tape on
the key(s). He finds that the tape wears out after 1 to 2 months.
Some other people suggested to use some nail polish to protect the
keys. I have done this myself and it works quite good! The polish
wears off after some months.
4.2 Known software problems & solutions
4.2.1 World phone numbers wrong
Apparently, a number of the country codes are wrong. You can fix this
by editing the country information as required, though there is a
limited number of slots available in the database. Also note that a
complete change in area codes was done in the UK during 1994/5. See
the Phoneday program at the IC or on CIX for details and a suite of
programs to fix your databases.
4.2.2 Area codes causing problems
The Psion will dial all of the number you select. In some countries,
(not the UK) dialling the area code for a local call causes problems.
Psion's recommended fix is to have two entries for the party -
specifying the number both with and without the area code.
4.2.3 Data security with link connected
If you have the link switched on, then files can be copied from your
machine even when it is password protected. Be sure to turn the link
off to remove this possibility. Note also that the link can turn the
Psion on when it is off, and will transfer data even as the password
screen is being presented.
4.2.4 Security affected by the Macro System
Users of Tom Dolbilin's Macro System should be aware that macro key
presses work even on a password-protected Series 3.
4.2.5 Word hangs on "busy" when saving a text file forever
This is a quite annoying bug which has still not been resolved by
Psion. Actually, it is a limitation: the first paragraph should not be
bigger than 512 characters. Either start your file with a CR or make a
small paragraph ;-)
4.2.6 Size limits of inbuilt programs
The Psion Series 3(a) have a limited memory for each process they run
of 64Kb. This means that the program and it's data must always stay
below this limit. Usually you don't need to worry about this, but some
people have found out about it the hard way: they couldn't save their
document anymore. There is no way around this except to split your big
document into smaller ones. Be extra careful with the Agenda program,
make sure you regularly delete/tidy and compress it to regain space.
The Agenda files don't have to be under 64k themselves, but it is the
entries' index which must stay within this limit. It is quite possible
to have an Agenda file consisting of long memos but few entries; hence
the file could run into hundreds of k in size without a problem.
4.2.7 Shell panics - exit 130 (from Konstantin I. Saliy)
If you press home (Psion-left) in an empty directory, you will cause a
shell panic (and lose all your icon information, beware!). This is
because "home" moves to the first file and not directory entry. It was
found up to v3.4F (3c).
4.2.8 Bug in world application (from Konstantin I. Saliy)
It doesn't allow you to enter 0 (zero) as the first digit of an area
code.
4.2.9 Bug when using proportional fonts with the OPL editor
The program editor does not work correctly if you set the font to
proportional. Be sure to always leave it monospaced!
4.2.10 PostScript printing not putting a "%!PS" in the file
This is a problem with the PostScript INI file in the Psion's ROM. You
need to copy that file into your \WDR directory and then add the
"%!PS" yourself. The Psion will then use your edited INI file instead
of the ROM's.
4.2.11 Searching fault in Word Application (from Mark Chapman)
When Psion Word does a search, it breaks the text up into 256
character chunks. When doing a forward search the chunks start at the
current cursor position, and at the start of each following paragraph.
When doing backward searches the chunks start at the current cursor
position and at the end of each preceding paragraph. If the word you
are searching for straddles the join between 2 adjacent chunks, the
search fails!
This can easily be demonstrated by entering a paragraph of text which
is over 256 characters long, positioning the cursor at the start, and
then searching for the word which includes the 256th and 257th
characters.
A few ideas which reduce (but not eliminate) the problem.
1. Keep search strings as short as possible
2. Do two searches, one in forward direction from the start of the
document, and the other in the reverse direction from the end of
the document. It's far less likely that a word will be n * 256
characters from the start of a paragraph, as well as i * 256
characters from the end, where i and n are integers. (About 0.1%
failure rate with an 8 character search string, which is probably
tolerable).
3. Keep paragraphs short (difficult to keep under 256 characters!)
It shouldn't crop up in the OPL editor, (where global search and
replace is often used to change variable names), because there's
usually a return character at the end if each line, and each line will
be <256 characters?
Basic message is don't rely on global search and replace to work
properly in Word app.
4.2.12 Comms app crashes when you try to end a script that has already
ended (from Jochen Siegenthaler)
Bug still found on the 3c!
4.3 Other official Psion repair centres
Pinnock Organiser Service (POS)
Paul Pinnock
143 Streatham High Road
Streatham, London SW16
Phone: +44 181 677 9246
Vodafone: +44 831 194985
Email: 10605...@compuserve.com
Paul has moved (on the same street), but I lost his new address! I
believe the phone above will redirect you to his new one though.
Paul is an ex Psion employee and does an excellent job (reading the
good reports he always gets on the net and compuserve).
_________________________________________________________________
Fa. Harlander
Mr. Peter Hodac
Altmannsdorferstr. 92
A-1120 Vienna
AUSTRIA
Email: psion_...@pan.at
Peter also offers a 512 KB upgrade to a full 2MB machine by changing
the motherboard as well as the troublesome flexible link Kabel between
the bottom and the screen. Price around 500 USD, turnaround time 2
working days.
4.4 User groups
Club Series 3 [France & International]
Contact Alban Debeaupuis for more infos or write to:
Club Series 3
6 rue de Fecamp
75012 Paris
Phone: +33 1 40 04 92 19
Fax: +33 1 43 07 25 96
http://alex.union-fin.fr/usr/dcabuzel/psion/clubpsion.html
Club Series 3 Suisse Romand [Switzerland's french speaking part]
You can contact me directly (Daniel) by Email or write to:
Andre Robert
rte de la Maladiere 4
1022 Chavannes
Phone: +41 21 691 89 62
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/
PEAT - Psion Enthusiasts Association of Toronto [Canada]
E-mail Blake Nancarrow (bla...@computer-ease.com) for more info
or call him directly at (416) 535-1899 extension 3.
http://www.computer-ease.com/ce/psion/
PSILOG [Switzerland]
Fluelastrasse 47
8047 Zurich
Phone: +41 1 401 12 12
Fax: +41 1 401 08 15
http://www.village.ch/psilonet/
Psion Friends Vienna
Responsable: BorisMichaelv. Luhovoy
Email: bmv.l...@magnet.at
Online support and private lessons at the owners workplace/home
(50 USD/hour)
Psion Users Group Netherlands (Psion gebruikersvereniging Nederland)
Postbox 82
8700 AB Bolsward
The Netherlands
Fax/BBS: +31 515 574188 (upto & including 28K8, 8N1 24H)
Sysop: Alex Brandsma
4.5 Online services
See also "Connecting your Psion" elsewhere for information on how to
connect your Psion with modems.
4.5.1 Internet
There is a Usenet newsgroup hierarchy called comp.sys.psion.* in which
even Psion employees lurk around (see first part for details of the
newsgroups). There is also the comp.binaries.psion group for binaries.
Before posting, it is considered good practice to read the messages
and get the "feel" of the group for a while (apart from thoroughly
reading through this FAQ ;-)
The comp.sys.psion.* groups are entirely archived at the IC FTP site
in the packages/psion/comp.sys.psion.*/ directories. The
comp.binaries.psion group is archived at the moderator's direct FTP
site: ftp://ftp.it.dtu.dk/pub/psion/index.html and at the IC FTP site
in the packages/psion/comp.binaries.psion directory.
4.5.2 CIX
Psion is also on CIX. Check the Palmtop A forum. There is an offline
reader for the 3a (only) called "ReadCIX"
4.5.3 Compuserve
There is a Psion discussion forum called the palmtop a forum. You can
access it by typing GO PALMTOPA. There is also an offline reader for
the 3a/c (only) called "ReadCIS".
4.5.4 AOL
There is a Psion discussion forum that you can access with GO PSION.
4.5.5 Microsoft Network
Who has experience here?
4.6 Bulletin boards (BBSes)
All numbers are given in ITU format. To dial numbers outside your
country, replace the + by your international code. To dial numbers
inside your country, replace + and the country code by your national
dialling code. For example: UK: for "+", dial "00", except for "+44"
dial "0". US: for "+", dial "011", except for "+1" dial "1". Note that
the Psion 3a at least knows how to do this. (Clive D.W. Feather)
* Crystal Tower +44 817 598 244 [UK]
* Dacom BBS +44 1908 260 435 [UK]
Sysop: Andrew Morrow
Notes: Psion Dacom, updates for PCMCIA Gold Cards
Location: Milton Keynes, UK
* Ellis BBS +33 1 43 33 15 47 [France]
* Excom BBS +41 1 781 4225 [Switzerland]
* Flightpath +44 181 759 3332 or +44 181 759 6664 [UK]
* Metcom BBS +44 1442 257 527 [UK]
* Pacific BBS +44 1430 431 145 [UK]
* Psychotic Mouse +44 149 475 8998 [UK]
Sysop: John Portwin Jo...@lyster.demon.co.uk
Time: 9am-4pm GMT
* Psion BBS +44 175 289 4422 [UK]
* Psion GmbH BBS +49 6172 969350 [Germany]
Sysop: Matthias Hlscher
Notes: Series3/3a software, PCMCIA Gold Card updates
Location: Bad Homburg
* The User Group +44 1752 894 422 [UK]
Sysop: Adam Taylor
Notes: Privately run, but Psion UK have an account there
* Datalink BBS +44 1202 660 838 [UK] (closed down for some months)
* Skywaves BBS +44 1202 523 842 [UK] temporary replacement for
Datalink
Sysop: Francis Creese v...@cix.compulink.co.uk
* ??? +32 3 226 20 79 [Belgium]
4.7 Magazines
4.7.1 Palmtop
This is an excellent publication entirely devoted to the Psion. It is
called (quite rightly IMHO): "PALMTOP - The journal for today's Psion
user". It is an independant magazine in the B5 format running 108
pages (minimum) bimonthly. It is run by two people full time. Only
available by subscription, credit cards accepted. For more info email
Steve Clack at pal...@aol.com or check out their web site at:
http://www.palmtop.co.uk
4.7.2 Handheld Systems (previously PDA Developers)
As the title says, this is a magazine clearly devoted to developers on
Personnal Digital Assistants (PDAs). This is a general denomination
and covers a wide range of machines, amongst which the Psion (although
this could be arguable...). It can get quite technical at times but
always very instructive with loads of examples and source code. Only
problem: being an american magazine & Psion not being too well known
over there, it tends to get quite thin on Psion articles. Published
bimonthly. For more info, contact:
Handheld Systems
293 Corbett Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94114
USA
Phone: +1 415 621 4252
Fax: +1 415 621 4922
http://www.cdpubs.com
4.7.3 Mobilis: The Mobile Computing Lifestyle Magazine (by Jason Savage)
This on-line webzine found on the World-Wide Web is devoted mainly to
all palmtops and PDAs currently on the market including the beloved
Psion series 3. Like PDA Developers, the Psion specific articles are
sparse but having Steve Clack on staff as the European Correspodent
and Psion Editor should ensure a steady flow of articles and best of
all the magazine is free. (Well almost free. You still have to pay
your service provider for connection time while you read it on-line).
Mobilis can be reached at: http://www.volksware.com/mobilis/
4.8 "Anti-thief" tips
There's nothing you can do against your Psion being stolen... on the
other hand, you can increase your chances of finding it again. It has
been suggested to put a warning message of the like "$$$ REWARD if
found - useless without password $$$" in the owner info. Not strictly
true, but you never know. If you don't want to type a password each
time you use your Psion, you should get PasOn from Andrew Lord. This
excellent utility turns the password feature on at the time you set
(usually in the night) and only asks for the password the first time
you use your Psion the next day.
4.9 Lost/stolen Psions
Mark Avey has set up an independant worldwide service to keep track of
lost or stolen Psions' serial numbers. It is available on the web at:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/groucho/
You can register your lost/stolen freely. Be sure to also check the
pages first if you intend to buy a Psion from an unknown person.
5. SHAREWARE & FREEWARE
5.1 Relevant FTP sites
* Imperial College
ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/psion/icdoc/
Administrator: Lee McLoughlin lm...@doc.ic.ac.uk
Location: London UK
Upload policy: you have to get a password from Lee first.
Note: Lee is extremely busy, so don't expect an answer for a long
time :-(
Mirror for the USA at: ftp://ftp.phone.net
* Frontiernet
ftp://ftp.frontiernet.net/pub/psion
Administrator: Fric fr...@frontiernet.net
Location: Rochester, NY, USA
Upload policy: put your soft in the incoming directory.
Note: doesn't seem to be maintained anymore. If anyone has news
from Fric, please pass them on to me!
* New World Technologies
ftp://ftp.nwt.com
Administrator: aj...@nwt.com
Location: NYC, NY, USA
Upload policy: put your soft in the submit directory.
Mirror: Micro Hensa site in UK (micro.hensa.co.uk ?)
* Mirror site
ftp://ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de/pub/palmtops/psion/
Mirrors all of the above sites, extremely useful!
Location: Berlin, Germany
Upload policy: no uploads here; upload on mirrored sites.
5.2 WWW internet sites
A lot of personal Psion pages (as opposed to the official Psion page)
have appeared on the World Wide Web and the number seems to be growing
from day to day! I don't want to start a huge list here but you will
find most pages by either doing a web search on the word "Psion" or by
navigating the "Psioneers Web Ring" which you can find on my pages at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/
One site of great interest to programmers are the ever changing
Psionic files which document most OS Services (INTs) at:
http://www.gold.net/~cdwf/psion/psionics/
I also maintain a list of Psion programmers on the web with direct
links to their homepages. You can find all (hopefully!) programmers
homepage URLs linked at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/prgers.htm
5.3 Shareware for those without online access
Steve Litchfield runs a shareware library in the UK:
3-Lib
Shareware for the Series 3 and Series 3a
SAE for catalogue to:
22 Grays Crescent,
Woodley,
Berks,
RG5 3EN,
England
Phone: +44 1734 265081
Email: slitc...@cix.compulink.co.uk
http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk
From Steve himself:
"3-Lib tries to be *the* clearing-house for new PD & shareware!
Authors can send programs in to me and I'll act as the definitive
source for others to get new versions etc from, in addition to
uploading to Compuserve, CIX, and sending floppies of new stuff to
src.doc and some BBS systems etc. Although set up originally for
people who have no access to modems, PCs etc, 3-Lib can be useful
for those who are on the net and would like large amounts of
shareware on floppy disk very cheaply!"
Alternatively, you can send him 4 HD (1.44Mb) disks and 11 UKP with a
return envelope (and stamp/IRC) to receive the best of the library.
End of part 3/6
_________________________________________________________________
[Go to previous part]
[Go to the index]
Daniel `HB9VBC' Pfund
Version: $VER: Psion FAQ v2.6
URL: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/faq.htm
part 2
See part 1 for complete table of contents of this FAQ (including this
part's).
1.6 Where can I purchase a Psion?
Prices for 2Mb Psion are quoted for each when known, but you should
contact vendors for latest prices, as they change quite a bit, and I
don't track those changes here very often.
Numbers marked "[US/CA only]" means that the number can only be called
from the USA or Canada (sometimes both, sometimes only one). If no
other number is specified, the person or company presumably does not
want to deal with customers from elsewhere.
Usually, you will get the best deal from a UK vendor (but keep in mind
that you will also get a UK version!) If you travel to London, you can
get a good deal at the "Duty Free" shops in the airports or by
haggling in the Tottenham Court Road shops.
Important note: these addresses have NOT been verified, so check
before you intend to buy from one of them! Also, I am NOT listing any
more vendors without web sites. For a (maybe) more up to date listing,
you may want to check out the PDA Page homepage at:
http://www.pdapage.com which lists the best sites which sell PDAs.
Byson Computers [UK]
Fax: +44 1635 874 022
Email: i...@byson.demon.co.uk
http://www.hiway.co.uk/~byson/
Clove Technology [UK]
+44 1202 302 796
Email: 10025...@compuserve.com
http://intertrader.com/computers/clove/
Internet Shopping Network (usually have very cheap prices but actually
restricted to the USA)
http://www.internet.net
New World Technologies
110 Greene St, Suite 1100
New York, NY 10012 USA
Phone: 1 800 886 4967 [US/CA only] Will price match
Phone: +1 212 941 4633
Fax: +1 212 274 8527
Email: aj...@nwt.com, (GidNEW on AOL)
http://www.nwt.com
NDS Distributing
11875 Dublin Boulevard, Suite D-270
Dublin, CA 94568 USA
Phone: 1 800 425 7725 [US/CA only]
Phone: +1 510 803 8790
Fax: +1 510 803 8792
http://www.ndsdistributing.com
Planet Pfund
Daniel Pfund
19, ch. Tirelonge
CH-1213 Onex
Phone / Fax: +41 (0)22 792 10 82
Mobile: +41 079 350 60 64
Email: in...@planet-pfund.com
http://www.planet-pfund.com
PSIOlogic GbR
Matthias & Michael Baas
Taunusstrasse 4
D 63589 Linsengericht
Phone: +49 (0)6051 470065
Fax: +49 (0)6051 470066
Email: 10604...@compuserve.com
http://www.psiologic.com
Official Psion distributors/importers:
For an upto date list, you may like to take a look at Psion's web
site.
Argentina
PSIAR
Avendia de Mayo 963,
3rd Floor
Buenos Aires
Phone: +54 1345 4052
Fax: +54 1345 3705
Australia
Psitech Ltd
Kangy Angy
Phone: +61 4362 2014
Email: psi...@cix.compulink.co.uk or psi...@ozemail.com.au
Belgium and Luxembourg
Micro-Connection
Korte Winkelstraat 15,
2000 Antwerpen
Phone: +32 3 232 34 68
Fax: +32 3 226 17 49
BBS: +32 3 226 20 79
Email: fe...@cix.compulink.co.uk
Canada
Compulys Data Inc.
Place Montreal Trust
1800, Avenue McGill College, Bureau 2102
Montreal (Quebec) H3A 3J6
Phone: 1 800 361 0609 [US/CA only]
Phone: +1 514 98 PSION [International]
Fax: +1 514 987 9611
Denmark
Mobi Data Ltd
Phone: +45 38 33 55 01
Finland
Hand Held Systems
Torikatu 6-A, 451000
Kouvola
Phone: +35 8513 710 017
Email: Pekka Aikas - Pai...@cix.compulink.co.uk
Italy
Videocomputer Spa
Via Antonelli 36
Collegno (TO) 10093
http://www.videocomputer.it
Kuwait
Nascorp Kuwait
c/o Anwar Essa Al-Saleh Est.
P.O. Box 4704
Safat, Kuwait 13048
Phone: +965 573 7684/5
Fax: +965 571 6674
Email: Essa Al-Saleh - esa...@kuwait.net
Netherlands
Psion Nederland B.V.
Avio Trade Park
Zandsteen 52
2132 MR Hoofddorp
Phone: +31 20 446 9444
Fax: +31 20 653 3427
BBS: +31 20 653 1075
Email: psionnl...@psion.com
New Zealand
Pocket Solutions Ltd
PO Box 44 070
Lower Hutt
Phone: +64 4 566 7808
Fax: +64 4 569 6452
Email: pso...@ibm.net
Poland
Centum Informatyki Energetyki
Phone: +48 22 625 22 83
Fax: +48 22 693 32 6
Portugal
Comp 3 Lda
Rua Augusto Gil 30 A/B
1100 Lisbon
Phone: +35 11 7972 259
Fax: +35 11 7951 928
Saudia Arabia
Nascorp
P.O. Box 2951
Jeddah 21461
Phone: +966 2 667 6204 (Jeddah)
Phone: +966 1 231 1785 (Riyadh)
Email: Essa Al-Saleh - esa...@kuwait.net
South Africa
Psionet Distributor CC
Phone: +27 21 683 1192
Spain
Paresa SA
c/ Balmes 113, ppal 1a
08008 Barcelona
Phone: +34 3451 6505
Fax: +34 3451 6231
Switzerland
Excom AG (Psion importer)
Moosacherstrasse 6, Au
8820 Wadenswil
Phone: +41 1 782 21 11
Fax: +41 1 781 13 61
http://www.excom.ch
1.7 How can I contact Psion?
1.7.1 World Headquarters
UK Offices:
1 Red Place
London W1Y 3RE
Phone: +44 990 134 224 Main desk
+44 990 143 050 Sales & customer services
Fax: +44 990 561 046
Email: Psion...@cix.compulink.co.uk
http://www.psion.com
UK Service centre:
17-19 Bristol Road
Greenford
Middlesex UB6 8UP
+44 181 575 9919
1.7.2 USA (Psion Incorporated)
Corporate Headquarters
150 Baker Avenue
Concord, MA 01742
USA
Phone: +1 800 54 PSION
Phone: +1 508 371 0310
Fax: +1 508 371 9611
Email: usa-s...@psion.com
http://www.psioninc.com
Midwest Office
225 West Washington St., Suite 2242
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 1 312 419 5300
Fax: 1 312 419 7142
West Coast Office
800 Airport Blvd. #417
Burlingame, CA 94010
Phone: 1 415 373 1234
1.7.3 Germany
Psion GmbH
Daimlerstr. 16
61352 Bad Homburg
Germany
Phone: +49 6172 6630
Fax: +49 6172 663100
Fax-on-Demand: +49 6172 663179 (FaxAbruf)
Mailbox (BBS): +49 6172 663170
(Dacom GmbH is on +49 6172 9654-45, Hotline on -42)
Email: gmbh-s...@psion.com (technical support)
Email: gmbh-v...@psion.com (Sales)
http://www.psion-gmbh.com
2. HARDWARE
2.1 Hardware specifications
All Psion machines are based around the "SIBO architecture", which was
developed to meet common goals which span the SIBO range, including
Series 3.
Of paramount importance is low power usage. To this end CMOS circuits
are used, the CPUs are static - meaning their clocks can be slowed
down or stopped and restarted without impairing function, and the
specially designed ASIC chips implement sophisticated power
management, which always ensures that only those parts of the machine
which are needed, are powered up. Power is provided by 2 AA batteries
during normal operation. A Lithium backup battery, a CR1620, is
provided which maintains memory during battery changes. A mains
adaptor inlet is provided.
A system clock runs independently of the CPU even when the machine is
"off". This allows it to keep time and to wake the machine up when
(for example) alarms expire.
A six-pin outlet is provided, through which serial and parallel ports
may be connected. This outlet has exactly the same signals as the two
expansion ports (SSDs).
A sound system implements beeps on the Series 3 through a low power
piezo-electric element at two volumes. On the 3a there is a more
sophisticated system employing bi-directional digital-to-analogue
conversion, a conventional speaker, and a microphone, which together
support the recording and playback of digitally-recorded sound.
Digital sound data is compressed and expanded between 8 and 13 bits by
hardware in an ASIC using the Alaw algorithm during recording and
playback respectively, at a sample rate of 8KHz. This performance
conforms to the ISDN standard for digital phone systems. A Series 3
buzzer emulation is also available on the 3a.
For both machines, there are two expansion ports, also called SSD
drives, into which RAM or EPROM memory modules may be placed.
The memory is split into two types: process and storage. Storage
memory is only used for storing data. Process memory is the memory
used by the processor. Programs run in this type of memory. Process
memory is limited on all Psions to 512k maximum. There is no storage
memory on Psions with 512k RAM or less. To be honest, this is a not a
big problem, since the Psion implements a real good memory management
and "windows" the memory needed for each application. In practice,
this means that you can open several huge databases for example and
only need 10k of memory for each one.
In tabular form, the differences are summarised below:
Item Series 3 Series 3a
HARDWARE
PROCESSOR
name V30H (80C86 compatible) V30H(80C86 compatible)
Bitwidth 16 16
Speed 3.84 MHz 7.68 MHz
video mem access 8 bit - half speed 16 bit - full speed
DISPLAY
Type Monochrome LCD Monochrome LCD
Physical size 97 x 39 mm approx 126 x 45 mm approx
Display size 240x80 480x160
Display depth 2 - black/white 3 - black/grey/white
MEMORY
Internal 128 or 256Kbyte 256Kb,512Kb,1Mb,2Mb
Expansion 2 slots = 16Meg max 2 slots = 16 Meg max
DIMENSIONS
Size 16.5 x 8.5 x 2.2 cm (6.5" x 3.3" x 0.9")
Weight 275 grams including batteries
SOUND
Output device Piezo beeper Loudspeaker
Capability variable pitched Beeps Any sound
and DTMF [*]
Digital system NONE DAC/ADC 8/13 bits
Sound recording NONE 8K samples per second
Telephone dialler DTMF capability DTMF capability
*Further sounds can be generated if a custom device driver is written
PARALLEL PORT Via optional link Via optional link
SERIAL PORT Via optional link Via optional link
Software Installed in link pod In Psion 3a ROM
Max speed 9600 baud 19200 baud
SOFTWARE
SYSTEM SHELL Controls applications Upgraded on Series 3a
DATA Database application Upgraded on Series 3a
WORD Comprehensive document Upgraded on Series 3a
processing system
AGENDA Personal management Major upgrades on 3a
application
TIME Clock and alarms manager Upgraded on Series 3a
WORLD World info database Cosmetic upgrade on 3a
CALC Calculator Calculator
Allowing OPL extension Cosmetic upgrade on 3a
SHEET [*] Spreadsheet application Speadsheet application
available as add-on [*] built-in
*In the US, and latterly in the UK, the "Series 3s" includes the
spreadsheet as standard (not for 128k models)
SPELL CHECKER/THESAURUS add-on Only on 1/2Mb models *
PATIENCE GAME add-on Only on 1/2Mb models *
*Spell checker/thesaurus and patience game are apparently only
available on UK/US country specific 1/2Mb models (ie: not available
for french nor german models!)
OPL Programming application Series 3 compatibility
mode also available.
2.2 What batteries does the Psion use?
Normal power is provided by two AA (also known as LR6) batteries.
Standby power is provided by a small Lithium backup battery, a CR1620,
which maintains system data during main battery changes or failure.
2.3 How long do the batteries last?
It all actually depends on what type of batteries you use. Here are
the advantages and disadvantages of the different battery types:
* Alkalines. These are the "normal" batteries and work well.
* Carbon/Zinc. These batteries are cheaper than alkalines but of
course don't last as long. Might be interesting if you can get
them really cheap and are ready to change batteries often.
* NiCad rechargeables. These proivde less energy than conventional
batteries (reports suggest maybe half) and they fade rapidly once
their charge is nearly gone, but - they are rechargeable, and so
offer a cost effective alternative. Note that NiCads are NOT
recharging while the machine is powered by the adaptor.
* Lithium AA batteries. They are 30% lighter than alkalines, and
they last longer, but they are more expensive. Recommended if you
really need long battery life and in extreme conditions. These
batteries have a very long shelve life.
The link causes high battery loadings, as does the sound system.
Accessing the SSDs also increases power drain. Because of the static
architecture, a busy CPU drains more power than a sleeping one, so
compute-intensive tasks will burn power. For these reasons, it is
difficult to quote battery performance exactly, but the table below
summarises reports received on the net (for a 512k version).
Alkaline NiCad Lithium
Running time (Hrs) 40-80 20 65-100
Power delivered (mAh) 1500 800 1600-2700
Price each (UKP) 0.5 4.5
Comment 30% lighter
1/2Mb models use more battery power since they use memory bank
switching which is processor intensive.
The backup battery typically lasts 15 months.
2.4 How does the Psion measure the battery usage? (by Alan Roberts)
Actually, the battery consumption is only estimated, there is no real
voltage meter inside the Psion. The Psion knows the average battery
consumption in each state (ie: xx mA when playing a WVE file; yy mA
when writing on flash ... ) and keeps a record of the time spent in
each state. When the voltage drops below a threshold, the "replace
batteries" and "emptying batteries" display appear.
2.5 How can I make my batteries last longer?
The most important thing is to always turn the serial link OFF when
you don't use it. This is the number one power eater on your Psion.
Here are some other more or less obvious tips:
1. Be sure to set the "auto power off" feature ON
2. Turn the auto update list to OFF, set it to use the System button
3. When you want tu update just one list, use delete and ESC. This is
much quicker than pressing the System button (and should save
battery power).
4. Avoid switching on with the System button, as this would update
all the lists.
5. Let the applications open multiple files. Preferably set the
preference to "Enter" instead of "Shift-Enter" as you often forget
to press shift-enter. Saving and opening files uses more battery
power than to leave the files open.
6. Avoid playing long or loud sounds
7. Set volume low
8. Avoid saving many files to Flash SSD
9. Avoid reformatting, particularly Flash SSD
Thanks must go to Philippe Lebreton and Blake Nancarrow for these
great tips.
2.6 Can I use an external power supply?
Yes, the Psion comes with a standard power outlet so you can use
either the official Psion power supply or a general-purpose mains
adaptor (which is cheaper). Negative polarity should be selected - ie
the tip should be negative. The power supply should be able to deliver
150mA at 9V. The Psion adaptor has an indentation around the outer
conductor near the tip which facilitates snug fit for improved
reliability.
You can plug the external power supply in/out while the Psion is on.
It will then immediately use the external power or batteries. The
Psion also has an automatic turn off possibility. This is very useful
if you often forget to turn it off! One of the choices for this auto
turn off feature is "If no external power", so you can safely use it
on external power and it will not turn itself off anymore until you
unplug it again.
2.7 Can I upgrade my Solid State Disk (SSD)?
Flash SSDs are cheaper than RAM SSDs because the filesystem doesn't
actually allow you to recover deleted space on them. Even if they're
cheap compared to real RAMs, they're still quite expensive because
they're not manufactered on a big scale (they're Psion proprietary).
This tempted several people to accomplish upgrades. It has been
successfully done, but I decided not to describe it here for several
reasons:
1. It wouldn't be fair to Psion PLC. Think about it: it would prive
them of rightly owned money for their R&D and that wouldn't make
us many friends, would it?
2. The chips you need aren't easy to find.
3. It is quite easy to do for a trained electronics technician, so
that person wouldn't need any instructions anyway. If you don't
have the expertise, don't even think about it!
In the mean time, there has been a company that has specialised in
making SSD upgrades: Exportech in London. You can contact them by
email at: 10012...@compuserve.com
2.8 Can I upgrade my internal RAM?
The big question when the 1/2Mb models came out: can I upgrade my 512k
to a 2Mb model? Well, sorry, but the (short) answer is no. The new
models use a new ROM to access the extra memory. Psion PLC does not
offer upgrades for new models either. The best solution is to sell
your old model and get a more recent one.
In mid 1996, several companies have offered their services to upgrade
512k models to 2Mb models. They will change the motherboard
completely, so I suppose you'll have an exact 2Mb version with spell
checker/patience?...
Try to contact the following company:
* Broadway Management Services Ltd
Room 1604, CLI Building
313 Hennessy Road
Wanchai , Hong Kong
Price: about 303 USD!
If you own a 128/256k or 1Mb model, upgrading it is just a matter of
adding more RAM to it. Psion PLC or other official repair centres can
do this for you, contact them about it. For info, Pinnock Organisers
will upgrade your 256k Psion to a 512k model for 65 UKP.
For the help of us all, Fionn Behrens has made a nice web page with
details on how to upgrade your internal RAM with pictures and step by
step instructions. You can find his pages at:
http://www.informatik.uni-siegen.de/~fionn/e/Psion/
For the time being, process memory is limited to 512k on every model
and you cannot add more whatever you do.
2.9 Can I change the keyboard?
A lot of people buy their Psions in the UK because of the huge price
difference compared to their own country. This is not a problem in
itself if you just remember that you will be getting the UK version,
thus the UK keyboard, applications and manual. This also the reason
why so many people would like to change the keys of their keyboards.
For these people, there is no simple solution. The keyboard map is not
just a file held in RAM, so basically, you're stuck with your
keyboard, but there are workarounds to this:
1. In many applications, you can enter special characters (for
example foreign characters not found on the keyboard) by holding
down control, then typing the three digits of the ASCII code for
the character (ASCII code table on page 246 of the User Guide).
This works for all characters in the range 32 to 255. Some lower
codes are used for control purposes.
2. There is also a quicker way to enter letters with accents, umlauts
etc. CONTROL can be used with the number keys as a character
modifier directive. For example, "2" is the "Add an Umlaut"
command, so you can hold down CONTROL then press "2" and "o" to
get a umlauted "o". Most numbers are chosen as convenient
mnemonics: 2 has " above it - which looks like an Umlaut; 3 has \
which simulates a grave accent but 4 has ~, which produces
(oddly!) and acute accent, whereas 5 which has a ' produces a
tilde! See the Character set section of the user guide for
details.
3. Use Tom Dolbilin's excellent Macro System package to assign a
"macro" to a regular key, thus emulating another key.
4. Use Konstantin I. Saliy's keyboard map program to remap the keys
in a very efficient manner which works with all programs and only
uses 10k of memory!
2.10 Can I use a big (normal) keyboard?
Yes, if you have Tom Dolbilin's Macro System installed, there is a
macro called "BigKeys" which actually reads the serial port and sends
the key to the HWIM application you're currently running.
Unfortunately, it will not work with normal OPL applications. On the
other hand, you will still need another computer to send the keys over
the serial line, so it really isn't what people are looking for!
Keith Baker k...@ecs.soton.ac.uk has made a little interface for just a
normal keyboard (without the need for another computer) connected to
the Psion using the 3-Link interface . Note that it will not work with
OPL applications either.
2.11 How can I build a serial link? (by Konstantin I. Saliy)
For the common mortal: you can't (we're talking about 3a 3-Links
here). If you have the C/OPL SDK, there is a diagram of a TTL RS232
interface... BUT the diagram is based around a Psion custom chip
called "ASIC5". This chip converts the SIBO serial channel into
standard RS232 signals and back. According to the documentation this
chip is available from Psion for custom expansion development.
Documentation also provides information about modification of example
device for CMOS levels.
But this device is a serial link only, not a real 3-Link. The 3-Link
contains a ROM "SSD" with software. You can use the serial link
instead of 3Link but some applications (I'm not sure, it's only my
opinion) can check if disk C is present or even for disk C's serial
number. Of course if an application uses only device drivers interface
(VT100 emulators) it will work anyway.
The SIBO Serial Protocol is also described in the SDK. Refer to it if
you want know more about Psion expansion port.
For the 3c, this is entirely different! The 3c serial cable is just
that: a simple cable. Justin Buckland has been kind enough to send me
the pinouts for such a cable. He will also sell such cables himself;
you may like to contact him by email at jr...@cam.ac.uk or by
telephone (+44 1223 570477) or simply check out his web site at:
http://www-sp.phy.cam.ac.uk/~jrb25/psicable.html
Justin found the parts from CPC (tel. +44 1772 654455). Connections
for Psion 3c / Siena serial cable are:
Psion:
___________
1 /___________\ 15
9-pin D socket:
---------------
\ 5 4 3 2 1 /
\ 9 8 7 6 /
---------
9-pin: Psion: RS232:
1 nc DCD data carrier detect
2 12 RD received data
3 8 TD transmitted data
4 11 DTR data terminal ready
5 1 SG signal ground
6 13 DSR data set ready
7 9 RTS request to send (= DTE ready)
8 14 CTS clear to send (= DCE ready)
9 10 RI ring indicator
2.12 How can I build a parallel link? (by Konstantin I. Saliy)
If you have read the previous section, you can realize that a one-way
parallel link is much easier to make for people who are familiar with
digital logic. Two way parallel link is possible also: typical
parallel link baud rate is 40K bytes/sec, and SIBO interface allows
you 1.5M bit/sec, but you'll need a hardware buffer and PDD/LDD pair
to receive data.
2.13 What is this "soap on a rope" thing?
The "soap on a rope" is simply another name for the 3-Link. It is
named like that because of it's ressemblence with (guess what ;-) the
well known soap on a rope.
2.14 How do I print with my Psion?
There are a number of ways you can print from your Psion
1. Through the parallel link, connect your Psion directly to your
printer but do not turn the link on in the system screen!
2. Through PsiWin. See your PsiWin manual for instructions.
3. Through the serial link - use the printer setup dialogues
appropriately and do not turn the link on in the system screen!
4. Use PRINT SETUP to select printing to a file called REM::C:\LPT1
Run MCLINK on your PC, and activate the link from the Psion. Now
all print requests will go through the link to the PC printer, and
MCLINK is available for file transfers - better than MCPRINT. This
solution also works with RCOM. On some PCs running Windows, it may
be better to print to LPT1.PRN, which traverses through the
DOS/Windows device drivers slightly differently. (by Daniel Senie)
5. Use RFM (see elsewhere in the FAQ) to make Psion drives visible,
then use a conventional PC tool to print files from the Psion.
2.15 Can I take my Psion through an X-Ray machine?
Yes you can without fear. Nowadays the airport's X-Ray machines are
harmless to palmtop computers and diskettes (hopefully ;-). In any
case, if you're really not assured, ask to pass it seperately.
2.16 Can my Psion wipe out magnetic data?
Yes it can! Be careful with the underside of your Psion because it is
actually the speaker which contains a magnet whom is responsible for
such problems. Credit cards and other magnetic data seem to be the
easiest "victims" of the magnet. Check out the first page of your User
Guide for Psion's own warning about this. You can try the paperclip
test which consists of taking a pile of paperclips and placing the
Psion on top of it. Lifting the Psion will typically take 5 paperclips
with it!
3. SOFTWARE
3.1 How do I reset my Psion?
You should not normally need to reset your machine at all. See "What
is killing a process?" to find out how to terminate misbehaving
applications. Doing a RESET re-initializes the system's processes. It
re-starts things as though it had just been powered up, and so will
make many error conditions go away. Doing a reset will also remove any
software patches you may have applied. These would need to be
re-applied after each reset. A soft reset will also make you lose your
user-defined groups and installed software icons (but the real
software, ie: the program, should still be there).
There are two kinds of resets:
* A SOFT or WARM reset will restart processes and lose your time
zone information, but leave the contents of the RAM disk, and
environment variables intact. Do this by gently pushing something
like a straightened paperclip into the small hole above the ESC/On
key to do a "warm reset".
* A HARD or COLD reset will completely re-initialize the whole
machine, removing all memory contents. Complete instructions for
performing this action are included in the "Troubleshooting"
chapter of your "User Guide".
3.2 What is killing a process?
Killing a process is like closing an application but without letting
it know. This will result in loss of data if the application didn't
save it before being killed, so be warned! Usually, you can exit an
application (from within it) with Psion -x (for english Psions) or
Psion-Esc. If the application doesn't respond to keypresses anymore
and nothing else works, you will have to kill it. For this, you can go
to the system screen and press Psion-shift-k (for english Psions). You
can also use other specific programs which allow killing of any
process (Spy is one of them).
3.3 How can I save what's on the screen?
From any point, you can take a screen snapshot, by holding down shift,
control, Psion, and S. The PIC file generated is placed in
M:SCREEN.PIC.
3.4 What is the soak test? (by Jason Savage)
WARNING: INITIATING THE SOAK TEST WILL CAUSE THE LOSS OF USER DEFINED
GROUPS AND USER INSTALLED SOFTWARE!!!
It has long been known in the computer and electronics industries that
electrical components, for the most part, fail either shortly after
they are first activated or after many years of service. Because of
this fact the concept of the soak test or burn-in or life test was
invented. Simply put, the machine (in this case a computer) is put
through a repetitive testing loop for several hours (24 for the Psions
to be more precise). This procedure would then filter out most of the
bad batches and prevent them from reaching the hands of the general
consumers.
To activate the soak test on the Psion series 3, press (See warning at
the beginning of this section) Control-Shift-Psion-K on the System
screen. This procedure will cause a soft-reset of your Psion.
3.5 How can I find a text in my memos with Agenda?
Actually, you can't! Psion hasn't implemented this feature yet. What
you can do, is use another program called "MemoFind" which will do
just that. It's a freeware program from Psion available at usual FTP
sites.
3.6 How can I make the cursor bigger?
It may get difficult trying to find the cursor in Word for example.
Unfortunately, there is no way to make it bigger. Some suggested
solutions are to press shift-right (to highlight a character) or home
(to find the cursor on the far left).
3.7 How can I take out the "hum" when I record sounds?
The hum (apparently a 60Hz sound) appears only when you record using
battery power. It is probably due to the voltage converter inside your
Psion (from 3V to higher). If you use the AC adapter, the hum
disappears.
3.8 How safe is password protection?
See also "Data security with link connected" in next section.
The Word password protection is not really good. It is known that it's
possible to "crack" the password (but not find it) and see the clear
text in a very short time (reported by Clive D.W.Feather in Dec94 and
now included in his Psionics files). Obviously, you do need some
programming skills to do it, but all in all, it is feasible, so be
warned!
Also, never use a single letter password! This could be way too easily
broken by brute force. It is recommended to have at least 6 characters
and even better, a mix of letters and numbers.
Another issue is power on password protection. Apparently, it is
possible to bypass it somehow; no infos are given!. Just don't rely on
it too much. Also, remember that if you keep some data on your SSD
Disks, the potential thieve can still read those informations by
simply transfering the disks into another Psion!
The bottom line is that the password functions of the Psion are useful
for keeping casual snoops from reading your data while you're off
making a phone call, but if you're seriously worried about security
then you shouldn't be keeping sensitive material on a handheld machine
in the first place.
3.9 How can I change the icon of a program? (by Matthew Powell)
1. Install the application on the System screen in the usual way.
2. Use the "create new list" command (Psion-E). Enter the same
working directory and file extension as for the original
application.
3. The "create new list" dialog will allow you to specify a custom
icon in exactly the same way as when creating a group.
4. Enter a name for the new list.
Once you've done this the application should have two lists on the
System screen. Remove the one with the original icon.
If you create a new list for Word, read this: The Word application
maintains a different template (which holds the styles and default
preferences) for each list. To carry on with the same template as you
had before, you will need to make a copy of the file Default.wrt in
the \WDR directory. The copy should have the same name as your list,
with a .wrt extension. For example, if your new list was called
"Notes", copy \WDR\Default.wrt to \WDR\Notes.wrt.
Alternatively, use a program called NEWICON2.OPA which does just that!
End of part 2/6
_________________________________________________________________
[Go to previous part]
[Go to the index]
Daniel `HB9VBC' Pfund
Version: $VER: Psion FAQ v2.6
URL: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/8130/faq.htm
part 6
See part 1 for complete table of contents of this FAQ (including this
part's).
B. COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE SOFTWARE
This is the official Psion commercial Software list taken from Psion's
"Software & Accessories" catalog v2 (Oct95). Thanks to Psion for
providing it. All telephone numbers are UK unless stated otherwise.
Prices are either known from v1 of the catalog or fall into one of the
following categories in v2 (in UKP)
* A: Less than 30
* B: 30-50
* C: 51-74
* D: 75-99
* E: 100+
B.1 BUSINESS & LEGAL
Agenda Link - Please inquire for price.
from Widget Software Ltd. +44 1438-815-444
Share information in your Series 3 or 3a Agenda by linking it
to either Lotus Organizer or MS Schedule Plus. Agenda Link
translates the data from Series 3/3a to these popular Windows
information managers.
Asset Tracking - Please inquire for price.
from Advanced New Technology +44 182 571 3058
Equipment Inspections,PAT checks plus more all within this well
proven system. Control of all items, history, inspections,
overdue status, locations and status. Full PC management
control interface.
Banker - Please inquire for price.
from Pelican Software +1 713 242 8928
Personal finance software for the Series 3a. Banker Imports and
Exports to Quicken. Very easy to use and provides features such
as easy transfers, split transactions, password protection,
unerase, reconciliation, pop up Calculator and Calendar,
reports, printing, reminders and Tidy.
Banking Assistant - GBP 89.95
from Portable Software +44 190 463 3918
Built around a multi-currency, multi-account system with tax
handling and cash flow forecasting. Separate budget planner and
petty cash recorder plus an energy monitor. Complete with over
100 sophisticated financial calculators and converters.
Child Support and Legal Aid - cat E
from Dodona Ltd. +44 122 264 4131
ChildSupport calculates liabilities and entitlements to child
support and includes welfare benefits calculations. LegalAid
calculates entitlement and contributions to a Green Form,
ABWOR, Civil and Criminal Legal Aid.
Electrical Design Suite - cat E
from Electrical Engineer +44 1275 462 113
The programs come in the form of spreadsheet files, together
with technical data for the on-board database, some utilities
for OPL and readme files.
Finance Pack - GBP 49.95 for Series 3, GBP 59.95 for Series 3a.
from Widget Software Ltd. +44 1438 815444
Ideal for home finance, self-assessment for income tax, small
business accounts (without VAT). Ask for the "Widget Software
Guide to Getting Rich", a four page booklet containing full
details on this package.
Helper 3 and Renovator - cat E
from Ferret Information Systems Ltd. +44 122 264 4660
Helper 3 calculates Income Support, Family Credit, DWA and
Housing Benefits. Renovator calculates entitlement to
Renovation, Grants for Owners and Tenants, Landlords and
disabled Facilities Grants.
Office Assistant - GBP 89.95
from Portable Software +44 19 463 3918
Designed to help co-ordinate a busy office. Integrated time
facility includes project monitor. Helps with filing and
retrieving documents. Petty cash account plus inventory and
loan equipment tracking.
Plain Paper Invoicing - cat D
from Lasersoft +44 1904 633918
The convenient and efficient way to issue invoices and to
prepare quotations, particularly suited for small businesses
and for those who are self-employed.
Pocket Publishing - cat C
from Hockney Engineers Ltd. +44 113 245 5061
The easy way to print personalised letterheads and the quick
way to write every day letters, with a choice of high profile
distinctive styles. For use with Canon Bubble Jet Printers or
Hewlett Packard and compatible laser printers.
Sales Assistant - GBP 89.95
from Portable Software +44 190 463 3918
Integrated order processing, stock control and customer care.
Full set of output documents and management reports. Special
versions available for several industries.
Text Assistant - GBP 89.95
from Portable Software +44 190 463 3918
Assembles letters, memos, orders, invoices or notices without
lots of typing. Lays out the page automatically. Financial
documents totalled allowing discount and tax calculations.
Links to the Data system to produce mail shots.
Training Assistant - GBP 89.95
from Portable Software +44 190 463 3918
Contains a register and results recording system. Designed for
use in industrial training as well as educational
establishments. Allows for self assessment by students. Carries
out much of the tedious analysis and report writing.
B.2 EDUCATION
Note: The "Acorn Pocket Book" is a re-badged Series 3.(the II is a 3a)
Acorn Schedule - GBP 19.95
from Acorn Computers Ltd. +44 122 325 4254
Supplied on an SSD ROM card with manual. This combines a diary,
personal organiser and timetable. Also includes the spell
checker.
Acorn Plotter - GBP 35.19
from Acorn Computers Ltd. +44 122 325 4254
A graphical plotting application meeting all curriculum needs
in Math and Science for key stages 3,4 and onwards as well as
most of the requirements for A-Level. Supplied on SSD with
manual.
Explorer - GBP 92.82
from ExpLAN UK Ltd. +44 182 261 3868
Designed to allow the introduction of an IT content to field
trips and surveys by replacing the traditional pen and paper
worksheet with a structured set of questions on an Acorn Pocket
Book or Series 3/3a.
Event - GBP 24.95
from ExpLAN UK Ltd. +44 182 261 3868
A desktop diary for Acorn RISC computers designed to work with
Schedule on the Acorn Pocket Book and Agenda on the Series
3/3a.
Occasion - User version GBP 69.95. Network version available.
from ExpLAN UK Ltd. +44 182 261 3868
A personal organiser application for Acorn RISC computers.
Comprising a diary, address book, phone book and note book.
Information may be exchanged with applications running on the
Acorn Pocket Book and Series 3/3a.
B.3 DRAWING, LEISURE & GUIDES
3a Bridge - cat B&C
from Interdata Developments +44 161 792 2871
Email: la...@cix.compulink.co.uk The ultimate Bridge program
specifically written for the Series 3a. This Acol-based program
will appeal to both inexperiences and serious players at all
levels.
3a Chess - cat B
from Purple Software Ltd +44 171 388 3111
Email: 10052...@compuserve.com A powerful chess game that
incorporates a wealth of useful features.
Adventure pack I - cat B
from Interdata Developments +44 161 792 2871
Email: la...@cix.compulink.co.uk Adventure pack is an Infocom
text adventure interpreter with games such as Zork, The
Hitchhicker's Guide To The Galaxy, Colossal Cave Adventure and
many more.
A cornucopia of leisure programs - cat A
from BroadOak Computing +44 1491 576837
Includes 10 programs: Biorythms, Lottery, RPI '95 (purchase
price comparaisons), Tchance (for football pool results),
Roulette, Nim, Poker Dice, Quintet, Papillons (a cryptic
crossword like game), and Looksat (directions for satellite TV
reception).
Diamond Score - cat C
from ProCreations Inc. +1 206 335 4470 (1 800 599 7828 in USA)
A fun, easy and powerful way to score Baseball and Softball,
whether professional, amateur or little league.
DrawIt - cat B
from Purple Software Ltd +44 171 388 3111
Email: 10052...@compuserve.com DrawIt is an object based
drawing program incorporating and extensive set of pre-drawn
lines, arrows, curves and shapes. Shapes can be re-sized,
grouped, ungrouped, ordered and rotated.
EMCC Backgammon - GBP 21.90 + (depending on disk/SSD)
from EMCC
Email: p...@cix.compulink.co.uk Multilingual backgammon game
with loads of features like Undo user move, save & retrieve
game, best move hint... For 1 or 2 players. Available either on
disk or SSD.
Expotel Pages
from Mobile Software +44 181 906 0002
Email: sba...@cix.compulink.co.uk UK Hotel Reservations
Service. Significant discounts for booking your hotels with
Expotel. Booking service is free. Used with the relational
database "Mobile Pages". Expotel Pages is available for 6.95
GBP from Widget Software.
FloChart - cat B
from Purple Software Ltd +44 171 388 3111
Email: 10052...@compuserve.com FloChart is a free form flow
chart designer which supports the full ANSI set of flow chart
shapes.
Games 3 - GBP 34.95
from Widget Software Ltd. +44 143 881 5444
Seven exciting and innovative games for your entertainment.
Includes Castle, a full text adventure game; Bandit, a fruit
machine; Poker and Solo, classic card games; Reversi, Quad and
Minesweeper.
GolfCard - GBP 69.95 and Analyst - GBP 25.00
from M-P (Golf) Systems +44 181 394 2049
GolfCard is a Database and Scoring System for use on and off
the golf course. Use it to score all popular match formats for
1 to 4 players, Then save course details and match for
reference and analysis. Analyst allows you to monitor you and
your partners' progress. It can show all or a selection of a
player's scores on one course at once, and then calculate
averages, eclectic scores and other statistics.
Transmedia
from Mobile Software +44 181 906 0002
Email: sba...@cix.compulink.co.uk Directory of over 4500 UK,
USA & Australian restaurants. Members enjoy 25% savings at all
participating restaurants. Used with the relational database
"Mobile Pages". Fully working versions are available free from
Transmedia Europe on +44 171 930 0700.
Miscellany - GBP 34.95
from BroadOak Computing +44 171 836 7640
Includes Biorhythms, the Series 3 character set, the date of
Easter 1901-2199, Football Pools manager and draw selector, RPI
price comparisons 1947-1994 (9 indices) Games for Thinkers &
Gamblers. Includes Roulette, Nim, Poker Dice and Quintet.
OrgChart - cat B
from Purple Software Ltd +44 171 388 3111
Email: 10052...@compuserve.com OrgChart is a free-form
organisational chart designer. Built-in intelligence ensures
logical connections are maintained when charts are edited.
Paint and Compose - GBP 69.95
from Widget Software Ltd. +44 143 881 5444
Paint can display or print downloaded PCX, GIF, or BMP files,
create new pictures or capture and print spreadsheet graphs or
screen shots. Compose can create and print melodies on bass or
treble clef.
Voyance Astrology - cat B
from Voyance Astrology +44 1636 611 563
A comprehensive Astrology program for the Series 3a. Comes with
an introductory manual on Astrology which provides everything
necessary for anyone to learn the basics of this ancient
science.
B.4 NAVIGATION
Air Navigator - GBP 116.33
from Dolphin Digital +44 120 248 3050
Flight Planning software for PPL through to commercial use.
Flight plan, fuel consumption and cost displayed or printed.
Stores aircraft and route information, full weight and balance
schedule plus dB Hold, crosswind, conversions, sunrise, and
sunset etc. Full European or American database available.
astroNAVCOMP - From GBP 149.00
from Intecma Associates OMEGA +44 184 434 4570
Multi-leg rhumb line and Great Circle passage planning.
Celestial navigation with integral almanac for sun, moon,
planets and stars. Easy to use - fixes computed without
plotting. Running fixes. Graphic display of D.R., fix, and
position lines.
Astro-Navigation - Please inquire for price.
from Maritek +44 141 554 2492
Sextant sight reduction calculations done quickly.
Automatically compensates for refraction, parallax and sun
diameter. Equally easy for moon, planets and stars. Running
fixes, use for predictions and gives time of sunrise/sunset,
twilight and transits. May be combined with Navigator.
Coastmaster 3 - Please inquire for price.
from Dolphin Maritime Software Ltd. +44 172 845 4171
For the Yachtsman or professional Navigator who needs to store
very large numbers of waypoints and routes. Computes
intermediate points along a rhumb line, automatic route, ETA,
true/apparent wind and many others.
FindIt - cat E
from Widget Software Ltd. +44 143 881 5444
FindIt provides drivers real-time information on journeys. It
can also display details about road junctions, petrol stations,
fast food outlets, banks and 12 other databases.
Flight Analyser - Please inquire for price.
from Top of the Stack +44 123 585 0157
For glider pilots and balloonists. Allows you to upload, view,
analyse and archive electronic barograph traces on the Series
3/3a. Features include auto scaling, multiple zooming, GPS
support, automatic selection of climbs and descents and many
useful utilities.
GNAV3a - cat E
from Pooleys Ltd. +44 181 207 3749
Professional flight planning using waypoints created from
latitudes and longitudes, national grid references or bearing
and distances from known waypoints or a track and distance.
Pooleys, Europe, US databases available.
grafTIDE - cat E
from Intecma Associates OMEGA +44 184 434 4570
Heights of tide Tidal curve plotted for any day and any port in
a user-maintained Port library. 30 day hi/low curve.
LGBK3a - cat E
from Pooleys Ltd. +44 181 207 3749
An electronic logbook for the Professional or Private pilot.
Handles both Fixed Wing and Rotary Wing. Includes a CAA CAP371
calculator for flying limitations and duty hours. Produces A4
certified print outs.
Navcomp - GBP 149.00
from Intecma Associates OMEGA +44 184 434 4570
Passage and race planning. Multi-function multi-leg system with
built-in tidal streams for N. Europe. Estimated hourly
positions with graphic display of groundtrack. Up to 99 legs,
234 named waypoints with index. Wind oriented tacking. Optional
NMEA0183 interface.
Navigator - cat D
from Maritek +44 141 554 2492
A chart table companion for navigation, passage planning and
keeping a log. Unlimited waypoints/routes. Computes a detailed
passage plan. Computes present positions, bearings, ground
track and speed, and keeps performance data. Full GPS
capability with optional receiver. Optional astro-nav facility.
Navplan - cat E
from Airtech Systems +44 1224 74225
Email: air...@cix.compulink.co.uk Navplan is a flight planning
package for pilots of all experience levels, both helicopter
and fixed wing. It is flexible enough to be simple and
informative to any user, whilst remaining powerful enough to
cope with any demands placed upon it by a commercial operator.
Nautical Assistant - Please inquire for price.
from Portable Software +44 190 463 3918
Check the European tide tables from the built-in data tables.
Numerous navigational, waypoint and racing calculators
included.
Odyssey - cat D
from NavTech Software +44 181 291 5475
Email: 10027...@compuserve.com A comprehensive record of
flying hours including night, x-country, instrument and
simulator time, plus approaches, landings and remarks. Uses
defaults for rapid entry.
Oil Survey 3 - Please inquire for price.
from Dolphin Maritime Software Ltd. +44 172 845 4171
For oil and chemical cargoes. Up to 99 surveys may be stored.
All the usual ASTM-IP tables plus many extras. Ability to print
out survey with surveyor's name etc. via optional cable.
Sierra - cat D
from NavTech Software +44 181 291 5475
Email: 10027...@compuserve.com IFR/IVR flight planning and
utilities for the private or professional pilot. Uses default
values for fast planning with auto fuel plan and auto frequency
windows. Uses TAS, RAS or MACH no. and can save multiple
routes.
Sightmaster 3 - cat D
from Dolphin Maritime Software Ltd. +44 172 845 4171
Email: 10041...@compuserve.com An Ocean Navigation program
which includes memory of all data for navigation, Sight
reduction with all corrections automatically applied, Almanac
for 59 stars, the sun, the moon and all 4 planets until 2100
AD.
Stability Draft and Trim 3 - Please inquire for price.
from Dolphin Maritime Software Ltd. +44 172 845 4171
For ship loading calculations. Storage for up to 10 ships, up
to 99 voyages per ship, up to 99 cargo spaces, stores etc. per
ship. All results printable via optional cable.
Tides - cat D
from Maritek Ltd. +44 141 554 2492
Fast calculation of tidal heigth for hundreds of ports round
the British Isles and Western Europe. You may also add more
ports yourself.
B.5 COMMUNICATIONS & UTILITIES
S3 Backup - Please inquire for price.
from Point.X +42 224 225 347
Provides simple and easy to use file backup from specified
Series 3/3a disks (internal, A, B or any combination). Program
runs from MS-DOS command line and can be included to the batch
files. Program compares the files on Series 3 with contents of
"archive" on PC to copy a new file.
3BASE - Please inquire for price.
from The Turing Machine Company +31 206 533 033
A user-friendly Windows application offering data integration
between your Series 3/3a database and many of the world's
PC-based database applications. 3BASE will convert between
Series 3, Series 3a, dBase IV, Windows Card, IIP95LX and FoxPro
files and a variety of other database formats.
S3WP - Please inquire for price.
from Point.X +42 224 225 347
Converts text between Series 3/3a Word processor and
WordPerfect 5.1 files without losing any formatting information
(styles, emphasis etc.). Database files (application DATA) can
also be converted to WP 5.1 files. Utility is running from
MS-DOS commands with various parameter settings.
Commander 3a -Please inquire for price.
from Yellow Computing +49 713 695 1111
A toolbox of utilities for the Psion Series 3 and 3a. The
Commander-Shell allows all file functions such as copying,
renaming, deleting etc. Also includes a fast Database-Viewer,
Data Compression, Hex Editor, SSD-Manager, Graphics view and
print utility etc.
dBase Convert - Please inquire for price.
from Point.X +42 224 225 347
Converts Series 3/3a database files from and to DBase file
format (dBase III compatible). Also the ODB files (OPL data
files) are handled. Program is MS-DOS command line driven and
several parameters are provided. Agenda files can be
transferred to dBase as well.
ESP/3 (Electronic Sales and Purchases for Series 3) - GBP 75.00
from Oak Software +44 192 681 5041
A communications base using the ESP/Net service which brings
customers and producers together electronically. Additional
applications can easily be written as required.
InterData - Please inquire for price.
from Lacegem Ltd. +44 161 792 2871
Gives you the power to manipulate your data effectively on your
Series 3/3a and to work with, share and convert your data for
use with your favourite Windows database. InterData S3 and
InterData PC are supplied as a suite of two programs on a 3.5
inch disk. Interdata S3 available alone on flashpack.
PComm - contact ASC
from Advanced System Consultants Inc. +1 513 429 8575
PComm is an easy to use PC-like communications program for the
Psion Series 3(a), HC or WorkAbout. Supports ANSI, VT100,
IBM3270, X/Y Modem. Scripts are compatible with Procomm 2.0.
Series 3 Tools - GBP 49.95
from Widget Software Ltd. +44 143 881 5444
Puts you in control of your Series 3/3a, telling you how much
RAM you have left, how much space each file on your SSDs takes
up and how to make the most of what you have left. Also
includes Convert utility and Task Manager.
Tool Kit I - cat B
from Purple Software Ltd +44 171 388 3111
Email: 10052...@compuserve.com Comprises 4 programs: File
Manager (also available seperately), Convert (converts various
things like currencies, length ...), PicView (view PIC, PCX,
BMP and GIF pictures on your Psion) and ScnPrint (Print your
screen direclty).
VT100 Emulator - GBP 58.75
from Widget Software Ltd. +44 143 881 5444 Keep in touch with
your
office system or test equipment on site direct from the Series
3a. Use with remote system via modem or connect direct to any
host requiring VT100 capability. Supports most VT100 features
including underline, bold, reverse video, scrolling and keypad
emulation.
Wasp Time Recorder - Please inquire for price.
from Wasp Software Ltd. +44 173 755 5989
Portable Time Recorder for professionals. A host of features
which you would have been pleased to think of yourself to make
your business more fluent and profitable. Download and upload
client details from network or mainframe. Report locally or on
any supplier's system.
Waspbox - Please inquire for price.
from Wasp Software Ltd. +44 173 755 5989
Provides office machine costs recovery for professionals.
Copier, fax control and direct chargeback to client account
irrespective of computer software supplier. Any office machine
can be made to function only when valid client codes are
entered. Stand-alone or networked. Local reports or mainframe.
Winlink - GBP 29.99
from Widget Software Ltd. +44 143 881 5444
Winlink makes communicating between a Series 3 or 3a and
Windows easy. You need a Serial Link (RS232) Cable in order to
use Winlink.
B.6 DIET, HEALTH & SAFETY
Berdy Smartdocs - Please inquire for price.
from Berdy Medical Systems +1 201 843 3366 (or 1 800 66 BERDY)
SmartDocs is an easy to use hospital rounds assistant. With
SmartDocs, you can quickly record your patient's diagnosis and
procedure information on the spot. SmartDocs stores basic
patient information, insurance data and ICD-9 and CPT codes
with a minimum effort.
Compute-A-Diet - cat C
from Comcard Ltd. +44 190 577 8957
A complete dietary analysis system incorporating the UK
National Food Database. Calculates your ideal weight, dietary
requirements, daily averages and much more. US and Aus.
versions also available.
COSHH Assessments - Please inquire for price.
from Advanced New Technology +44 182 571 3058
Allows H & S mangers to view COSHH details directly from the
Series 3 and also enables them to undertake COSHH Assessments
using the base chemical details. Full PC management control
interface.
Ezey-Log - Please inquire for price.
from Ezey-Log +44 161 903 9888
Ezey-Log is a computerised log book designed by doctors for
doctors. Allows you to store and generate your Anaesthetic,
Surgical or Procedure Log Book. Package includes PC archive and
link. Features include quick form-type input, simple transfer
protocol to PC, workload breakdown, flexible input facility.
Risk MATRIX Assessments - Please inquire for price.
from Advanced New Technology +44 182 571 3058
Full, user driven, Risk assessment system. Employs the Risk
Matrix method of determining the risk level. Full risk action
control and measures in place facilities. Full PC management
control interface.
Risk HRN Assessments - Please inquire for price.
from Advanced New Technology +44 182 571 3058
Full, user driven, Risk assessment system. Employs the Hazard
Rating Number formula technique to determining the risk level.
Full risk action control and measures in place facilities.
Room Safety Checks - Please inquire for price.
from Advanced New Technology +44 182 571 3058
The H & S Manager can walk into a room and check all safety
aspects. Complete with hazard ratings, notepad and automatic
action alarms directly from the Series 3 Agenda. Full PC
management control interface.
Visual P.A.T Inspections - Please inquire for price.
from Advanced New Technology +44 182 571 3058
All electrical equipment can be checked easily and quickly for
any obvious visual defects. Full recording of inspector, date,
time and full results. Full history and overdue reporting. Full
PC management control interface.
B.7 TIME/CONTACT MANAGEMENT
Contact Edge - cat C
from Total Computer Systems +44 199 257 5151
Manages prospects, sales and business contact information by
integrating a relational contact database and user defined
report generator with the Psion 3 Agenda, Word and Spreadsheet.
Contact TEAM links 3a's with Lotus Notes sales and marketing
database for 2 way data exchange.
Contact Team - cat E
from Total Computer Systems +44 1992 57515147
A complete sales and marketing multi-user system, written in
Lotus Notes, which has a sophisticated gateway to the Series
3(a) and integrates with the built-in applications (ie. Word,
Sheet ...). Handles Email linking to Lotus Notes mail and Lotus
cc:mail.
G-Tabs - cat C
from Gartside Neville Ltd. +44 1703 268001
A sophisticated, easy to use system for collecting time,
expense and cost data. Comprehensive facilities include
activity timing, reviewing, cutting/pasting, merging,
backing-up, printing and data transfer to the Psion Spreadsheet
and PC-based accounting, database, spreadsheet and bespoke
products.
Job Search - cat B
from Maritek +44 141 554 2492
Helps the job seeker keep track of job applications,
interviews, etc. It displays details of any application, lists
applications and gives breakdown of the current state of
applications.
Timebase - cat C
from Widget Software Ltd. +44 438 815444
Timebase records time, activity, expenses and costs
electronically, either in "real-time" using the built-in clock
of the Series 3a or by manual entry after the event.
Timebase Integrator - cat C
from Total Computer Systems +44 1992 57515147
A powerful, multi-user time recording system with several
options for data capture, including recording time on a Series
3(a), and additional report generating and project monitoring
modules.
Timing Assistant - GBP 89.95
from Portable Software +44 190 463 3918
Contains a set of business and domestic timing utilities. These
include a professional work timer, a scheduler plus fitness,
phone and chess timers. With Data Assistant which extends the
built-in Data system.
B.8 MAPPING & SURVEYING
Asset Tracker & Portable Appliance Testing - Please inquire for price.
from Surveying Technology +44 171 702 3850
A Facilities Management tool that utilises the Series 3a and
interfaces with Seaward PAT testers. Simplifies using the Psion
Series 3 in conjunction with a CCD barcode scanner to keep
track of company assets.
Condition Survey Master - Please inquire for price.
from Surveying Technology +44 171 702 3850
Designed for Building Surveyors and Property Managers. A fully
customisable Condition Surveying system using GUI allows fully
detailed internal and external works to be monitored and
downloaded into the Windows database.
Geodos - cat E
from Viker Data AB +46 31 36 32 00
Geodos is a complete surveying software package for the Series
3. Connectable to optional surveying instruments and GPS
systems. Free stationing, traverse measurements, eccentric
measurements, polar and rectangular setting out and
measurementm resection, intersection...
Geographical Database - cat D
from Fawnbench Ltd. +44 127 645 1239
Displays a map of the UK from a digital database including
roads, railways, and rivers with full annotation showing town
and road names. Features can be searched for by name and
location. Users can add their own features represented by
custom icons.
Planned Building/Room Inspections - Please inquire for price.
from Advanced New Technology +44 182 571 3058
A complete Building/FM managers package. Buildings/Rooms can be
set-up with standard blocks of questions, enabling all aspects
of the room to be checked. Full hazard ratings and automatic
agenda and alarms when actions are due.
Spotter's Mate - cat D
from Brider Ltd. +44 1344 360290
Spotter's Mate is the ideal companion for the railway
enthusiast on the move. It contains all the current British
Railways locomotives and multiple units, details of which can
be displayed in seconds.
Survey Master Graphique - Please inquire for price.
from Surveying Technology +44 171 702 3850
For creating survey drawings. A comprehensive list of commands
that include entering symbols, editing data on site,
calculating angles and viewing drawings on site. Download the
survey drawing into AutoCAD or use DXF translator.
Tube - cat B
from SW Systems +44 1793 872146
Email: sw...@cix.compulink.co.uk Enables you to navigate the
Lodon Underground, locate stations and places of interest and
automatically calculate routes between any two stations.
B.9 DATABASES
DataDeLuxe - GBP 69.95
from Pocket & Soul +32 3232 3468
Database for the Series 3 and 3a. Works with all existing data
files. Toggles between a record view and table view of all
selected records. Contains multiple search and select options
and fast alphabetical sort routine.
DataView and DataView Pro - cat B/C
from Purple Software +44 171 388 3111
Email: 10052...@compuserve.com DataView is an easy to use,
yet versatile, database manager that offers complete
compatibility with databases prepared using the built-in Data
application.
Information - cat B
from Surerange Analysis Ltd. +44 483 304960
Email: in...@sureanal.demon.co.uk A collection of small
databases in Psion Data format containing commonly used facts.
Disciplines include Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Geography,
Language and Computing.
Mobile Pages - cat E
from Mobile Software +44 181 906 0002
Email: sba...@cix.compulink.co.uk Mobile Pages is an
innovative solution to an age old problem - equipping people on
the move with the information they need to do their job. It
allows easy downloading of information normally stored on
business and corporate computers, providing access to that
information in a simple and flexible manner by creating a
relational database.
Multivue - cat B
from The User Group +44 1752 262627
The complete businessman's database - design your own
split-screens, scroll through information, select any mix of
records, with full mail merge and label printing. Simple export
facility to remote computers.
B.10 SERVICES
Advanced New Technology +44 182 571 3058
With a wide range of on-hand experience, work closely as
partners with companies requiring custom systems to provide an
effective solution in almost all aspects of business and
industry. References for quality satisfaction available.
Iceberg Software Ltd +44 137 181 0829
A consultancy service offering a professional team to meet your
software requirements. Experience includes financial trading
software, analytical, datafeed and remote Psion based access to
PC applications. Can develop ideas and produce software for MS
Windows, MS Windows NT and the Psion Series 3a.
PNJ Consultants-Software Engineering +44 181 740 0215
A software engineering and consultancy service is provided for
all types of Psion machines. Applications can be developed
professionally to your requirements for use on their own or in
conjunction with larger systems.
Right Hand Software Ltd. +44 181 319 8576
Develop general and business applications for the Psion range
of computers. Services include business requirement analysis,
software design and programming in C or OPL, integration with
desktop systems and implementation, training and support.
The User Group - +44 175 276 8515
User group for Psion. Receive unlimited technical support,
advice, newsletters, shareware, new software, discount
hardware, special offers, own bulletin board, regional seminars
and fun. Cost is GBP 28.00 per year.
Psion Rentals
Blake Nancarrow can rent Psions in Canada. See the credits
section for email contact address.
B.11 BOOKS & ACCESSORIES
First Steps in Programming the Psion Series 3.
By Mike Shaw. GBP 14.95
from Kuma Books Ltd. +44 173 484 4335
Step by step instruction of the programming process of OPL.
Introduction to Using the Psion Series 3.
By Rod Lawton and Issac Davis. GBP 14.95
from Kuma Books Ltd. +44 173 484 4335
Disregards all the computer jargon and concentrates on the
machines abilities and potential as your own Personal
Assistant.
Serious Programming on the Psion Series 3.
By Bill Aitken. GBP 14.95
from Kuma Books Ltd. +44 173 484 4335
Program planning and writing with many worked examples.
Graphics programming on the Psion Series 3.
By Bill Aitken. GBP 14.95
from Kuma Books Ltd. +44 173 484 4335
Detailed explanations of graphics programming with numerous
worked out examples.
Serious Programming on the Psion Series 3a.
By Bill Aitken. GBP 16.95
from Kuma Books Ltd. +44 173 484 4335
Covers all the commands of the Series 3a including sound,
drawing and filling in black and grey plus a major section on
graphics.
Programmeren in OPL - Please inquire for price.
from Portasoft +31 757 042 05
Describes how you design an application in OPL for the Psion
Series 3 and 3a. It starts with simple programming and
continues with subjects like using structures, procedures,
menus and window functions. Available in Dutch.
Desk Stand - GBP 16.99
from Widget Software Ltd. +44 143 881 5444
If you don't have enough hands to talk on the phone and use the
Series 3 at the same time, then you need this black, anodised
aluminium desk stand. The angle of display makes it easier to
read the screen and reduces glare. Designed to make your Series
3/3a stand out above even the largest mound of paperwork
The Cradle - cat E
from Widget Software Ltd. +44 143 881 5444
The Cradle is a docking station for Psion computers in a
vehicle. It provides connections to the power and data and is
easily adjustable for viewing.
End of part 6/6
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