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Joined: Mar 21, 2007 Posts: 261 Location: Cambridgeshire, UK
Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 9:36 pm Post subject: Scratched screen
Has anyone contacted Satmap to get a scratched screen repaired? After a walk in the Dark Peak in high winds I got tiny grains of gritstone sandwiched between the screen and the transparent cover, so I decided to remove the cover and blow them away with a photographic blower brush. Unfortunately, the only way to remove the cover is to slide it upwards once the top catch has been undone (the one under the grey "GPS" logo on the aerial patch on the A10) and as soon as I slid the cover up, it scraped the gritstone particles in nice straight lines up the screen glass, leaving ugly and distracting 2cm-long gouges permanently in the glass . It looks really bad with the backlight on, a bit like interference patterns (?caused by the dot pitch of the LCD screen?) and at times actually looks like black lines on the map. Because both the "protective" plastic cover and the glass screen underneath are scratched, there's no point in replacing the screen cover (Satmap sell packs of 3). Has anyone discussed repair of the glass screen with Satmap?
Joined: Mar 19, 2007 Posts: 310 Location: Plymouth
Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 11:50 pm Post subject:
Someone on this forum has had Satmap replace the glass screen cover which sits above the screen and under the plastic protector. So it can be done. _________________ I like mapping, I like mapping, I like mapping and I like to map!
Way back last November, when I first got my unit, I used it in the rain and water got between the cover and the base screen. I couldn't dry it out and didn't know how to remove the cover. By the time I'd contacted Satmap and got the info (now posted as a Sticky at the top of the Satmap topic list) the water had dried, etching a puddle pattern into the base screen, materially detracting from the general visibility. In my view, the screen material is far too soft. As luck would have it, something else went wrong with it and Satmap replaced the whole unit, but I'd learnt my lesson and subsequently have used mine with a protective PDA style screen protector film on the base screen, and usually without using the cover at all.
I appreciate this isn't much help to you, lucevans, but others might like to think on it, and I would say it's well worth 'phoning Satmap and appealing for help because as robs1972 says, someone else already has had it done.
and subsequently have used mine with a protective PDA style screen protector film on the base screen, and usually without using the cover at all.
Interesting. Does it improve the visibility. I have an HTC 'phone running Memory Map which is far easier to see than my A10. It has a PDA protector on it and is as clear now as it was a year ago in spite of using a stylus on it and just dropping it in my pocket when I am not using it.
I don't think the Satmap case helps much either. The very harsh rim and the tight fit could have been designed to scratch the polycarbonate cover on the A10.
Happily I have a Lowepro D-Res 10AW bag that I bought for a digital camera. It is a much kinder case, is easier to get the A10 in and out of and it has a waterproof cover!
Satmap sent a circular email / newsletter before Christmas. advertising their maintenance service. I think a new screen was quoted as £40. Sorry.
I happened to have a spare screen for my ipaq 2750 maide by Propota which I fitted. These are made of a thicker plastic than some others and use the sort of sticky found on wall walker toys and clothes brushes. That means they can be removed, washed and replaced.
and subsequently have used mine with a protective PDA style screen protector film on the base screen, and usually without using the cover at all.
Interesting. Does it improve the visibility.
Actually, yes, I do find the protective film reduces the reflective nature of the screen and therefore does improve visibility despite the fact that the extra layer probably reduces slightly the amount of light emitted from the screen.
Interesting. Does it improve the visibility. I have an HTC 'phone running Memory Map which is far easier to see than my A10.
I would be interested to know what HTC phone that is. Every one I have used has had much worse visability than the Satmap. _________________ SatMap Active 10 - 1:50K maps
Garmin Vista HCx - Topo GB II, City Navigator Europe.
HTC Artemis - Memory Map, Tomtom 6
TomTom 520 - 8.320 firmware 815 maps.
Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 9:34 pm Post subject: Getting rid of inner screen scratches
Hi, thought I'd offer this advice for anyone who has scratches formed on the inner screen caused by grit rubbing beneath the outer screen protector/cover.
I've had my Active 10 for about a year and this problem occurs from time to time because I often transport mine in the panniers on my motorbike and I think the extreme vibration causes it.
Anyway the solution I use and it works 100% if the scratches are not too deep is to polish the scratches out of the screen with Silvo silver cleaning wadding. Despite what some have posted in this thread, the inner screen is not glass but a plastic. The actual display unit within does have a glass front but that isn't the piece you can touch once you've removed the screen cover.
Give it a try and you'll be impressed how well it works, mine always looks like new after 10 minutes polishing.
Cheers
Joined: Mar 21, 2007 Posts: 261 Location: Cambridgeshire, UK
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 7:23 pm Post subject: Re: Getting rid of inner screen scratches
GSer wrote:
Hi, thought I'd offer this advice for anyone who has scratches formed on the inner screen caused by grit rubbing beneath the outer screen protector/cover.
I've had my Active 10 for about a year and this problem occurs from time to time because I often transport mine in the panniers on my motorbike and I think the extreme vibration causes it.
Anyway the solution I use and it works 100% if the scratches are not too deep is to polish the scratches out of the screen with Silvo silver cleaning wadding. Despite what some have posted in this thread, the inner screen is not glass but a plastic. The actual display unit within does have a glass front but that isn't the piece you can touch once you've removed the screen cover.
Give it a try and you'll be impressed how well it works, mine always looks like new after 10 minutes polishing.
Cheers
Thanks for the great tip GSer - I was in two minds whether to try it or not, but eventually decided to give it a go and if it messed my screen up, send my A10 in to Satmap and pay the £40 to get the inner screen replaced.
20 minutes of polishing later....it hasn't destroyed my screen and it has definitely improved the appearance, making the many smaller scratches no longer noticeable. I still have 3 or 4 deep gouges which haven't completely disappeared, but I think they are less noticeable too (particularly the one I referred to in my original post that sometimes looked like a black vertical line on the map)
In fact, the only downside is that my Active 10 now smells strongly of WD40! (I'm hoping this won't affect the seals and/or plastic housing)
There are three layers to the screen. At the very lowest there is the screen (which is glass), then there is a plastic lower screen cover which seems glued to be part of the casing, and finally the screen covers which you can purchase from the shop. This is ample protection, and I have replaced the top screen cover once, and that's it.
GSer's tip is great and you should always try and buff out any scratches in the plastic screen cover before having to send your device away for however long, surely this is common sense!
Quote:
Unfortunately, the only way to remove the cover is to slide it upwards once the top catch has been undone (the one under the grey "GPS" logo on the aerial patch on the A10) and as soon as I slid the cover up, it scraped the gritstone particles in nice straight lines up the screen glass, leaving ugly and distracting 2cm-long gouges permanently in the glass .
Firstly, there are three catches, one at the top, and one either side, all you have to do is lift two of these, I usually do the top and the right hand one, to lift the screen cover clean away without having to slide it at all! Secondly, it is not a glass screen cover, as I have previously said it is a plastic one, lets try not to scare monger people here, when this could be easily avoided, and if it's too late for that corrected by following GSer's tip.
Finally, there is a £40 service which I asked about when I ordered my screen covers, and this is for the actual LCD screen, there is a £25 service which replaces the casing (lower screen cover as well) which you might be interested in to save you some money.
Joined: Mar 21, 2007 Posts: 261 Location: Cambridgeshire, UK
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 10:10 pm Post subject:
bob1988 wrote:
There are three layers to the screen. At the very lowest there is the screen (which is glass), then there is a plastic lower screen cover which seems glued to be part of the casing, and finally the screen covers which you can purchase from the shop. This is ample protection, and I have replaced the top screen cover once, and that's it.
GSer's tip is great and you should always try and buff out any scratches in the plastic screen cover before having to send your device away for however long, surely this is common sense!
Quote:
Unfortunately, the only way to remove the cover is to slide it upwards once the top catch has been undone (the one under the grey "GPS" logo on the aerial patch on the A10) and as soon as I slid the cover up, it scraped the gritstone particles in nice straight lines up the screen glass, leaving ugly and distracting 2cm-long gouges permanently in the glass .
Firstly, there are three catches, one at the top, and one either side, all you have to do is lift two of these, I usually do the top and the right hand one, to lift the screen cover clean away without having to slide it at all! Secondly, it is not a glass screen cover, as I have previously said it is a plastic one, lets try not to scare monger people here, when this could be easily avoided, and if it's too late for that corrected by following GSer's tip.
Finally, there is a £40 service which I asked about when I ordered my screen covers, and this is for the actual LCD screen, there is a £25 service which replaces the casing (lower screen cover as well) which you might be interested in to save you some money.
Thanks for the info on the inner screen - i didn't know it was two layers (one glass, one plastic) - that would certainly account for the disappointing ease with which it got scratched.
I did know that the screen protector had 3 clips, but I've never been able to undo the two at the sides by pulling them outwards - I tried once and they wouldn't budge by hand, so I resorted to twisting a flat-blade screwdriver under their edges - all this did was chew the plastic casing of my A10, hence my resort to sliding the protector upwards towards the antenna. I'm certain that this is what led to the nasty scratches.
It was not my intention to "scaremonger" - I was just reporting my experiences and asking for advice. It's a shame that Satmap don't seem to be able to fit a single-piece hardened screen like the one on Garmin's 60CSx.
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and it has definitely improved the appearance, making the many smaller scratches no longer noticeable. I still have 3 or 4 deep gouges which haven't completely disappeared, but I think they are less noticeable too (particularly the one I referred to in my original post that sometimes looked like a black vertical line on the map)
