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Fixing the Hitachi Handheld PC HPW-10

A long time ago, when Windows CE first came out, I had gotten a Hitachi Handheld PC HPW-10. It was running Windows CE version 1.0, which was very buggy and crashed all the time. But it was still fun to use and had a lot of new features that I couldn't take advantage of at the time, such as a PCMCIA slot for CompactFlash. I have already liked it, because unlike handheld's today, it had a keyboard and a horizontal layout. I carried it everywhere with me and dropped it 5 times! The fifth time, the LCD screen broke off from the main unit . . .

Attached Image:

broken in two.jpg

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 30 Dec 2004 14:24:53 -0800

Nevertheless, I still kept it around, hoping to fix it one day.

I managed to take the main unit apart to find the ribben cable. Start by removing all of the screws from the bottom of the HPW-10.

Attached Image:

bottom.jpg

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 30 Dec 2004 14:33:58 -0800

Remove the speaker cover and you will discover a modem daughter card. Work it upward to disconnect it from the connector below.

Attached Image:

modem.jpg

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 30 Dec 2004 14:38:12 -0800

Once the modem card has been removed, unscrew the remaining screws.

Attached Image:

modem removed.jpg

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 30 Dec 2004 14:39:55 -0800

Remove the bottom to discover the circuit board and the PCMCIA slot.

Attached Image:

circuit board.jpg

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 30 Dec 2004 14:42:06 -0800

The ribbon cable to the screen is located by the battery compartment. It was ripped when I dropped the HPC on the floor.

Attached Image:

ribbon cable.jpg

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 30 Dec 2004 14:45:23 -0800

The ribbon cable can be removed by pulling the white tab on the connector upward. Once the white tab is loose, the ribbon cable can be removed easily.

Attached Image:

connector.jpg

Chieh Cheng
Thu, 30 Dec 2004 14:48:18 -0800

By the way, in the process of finding replacement parts for the HPW-10, I found out that it came out of the same factory as the LG Phenom. The two devices are identical as pointed out by "Personal digital assistants - nine evaluated - includes related article on PDA shopping tips - Hardware Review - Evaluation".

The following picture is the keyboard contact surface on the circuit board. It didn't have to be removed, but I did it anyway. LG is stamped quite visibly on it.

Attached Image:

keyboard contacts.jpg

Chieh Cheng
Tue, 4 Jan 2005 15:55:10 -0800

The next thing to do is to take apart the LCD side and see where the ribbon connectors go. There are no external screws on the LCD panel. Instead, the two halfs of the gray plastic can be easily pulled apart to reveal the internals.

Once done, unscrew the plastic bracket that is holding the LCD onto the plastic molding. Now the LCD can be removed.

The ribbon cable is soldered onto the LCD circuit board. I made the mistake of pulling the ribbon cable of, taking the solder and the electrical contacts with it. Now I have a headache on how to repair this thing.

The picture below shows where the ribbon cable was soldered, and that it is a 22 pin connection.

Attached Image:

LCD Ribbon Connection.jpg

Chieh Cheng
Tue, 4 Jan 2005 16:09:44 -0800

I managed to find a good post on "Ribbon Cable Repair". When I have time, I am going to find this epoxy and try it on this project.

Chieh Cheng
Mon, 31 Jan 2005 16:40:55 -0800

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