Taking a look at the Psion II LZ

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Taking a look at the Psion II LZ

Рет қаралды 739

Күн бұрын

3 years and half a million units later Psion released the follow up to its hugley sucessful Psion II XP. The new display and more additions to the ROM than you can shake a stick at the LZ represents a huge leap forward in pocket organisers!
Music - Last Train North by TrackTribe
Looking for freedom - David Hasselhoff
X-files intro

Пікірлер: 24

@gcolombelli 11 ай бұрын

Wow, I'm amazed by how stunning this looks. It also looks like a lot like (but way more compact than) the 1st gen TSD rally computer from a brazilian manufacturer (Totem Colosso, 2001 model), I wouldn't be surprised if they took inspiration on the Psion Organiser for their product. I noticed the inactive line in the display, this is sadly very common on vintage portable computers and calculators, for some it can be a simple reflow job on the driver IC to fix cracked solder joints, but on others it can be a much more annoying damaged connector or FFC/FPC. But on a such well preserved unit it is always a though call on whether to leave it as is or trying to restore it.

@HandheldComputing 11 ай бұрын

I looked up the rally computer, yes there are definatly some design similarities. I was wondering about trying to fix the LZ but having had a look inside I have determined that a fix is way beyond my capabilities.... for now....

@zedex82 3 ай бұрын

Nice video. I have just got one of these to use. I will check out the OPL tutorial next.

@HandheldComputing 3 ай бұрын

The LZ is such a great machine, episode 6 of the OPL tutorials should come out next month with a bit of luck 😉

@MrMan-ll6pf Жыл бұрын

Great video - but I don't think the icon on the top left on the main menu is a battery indicator though. Thanks for the video 🙂

@HandheldComputing Жыл бұрын

Hummm... perhaps you are correct I cannot find mention of that icon in the manual 🤣

@martinprest9668 Жыл бұрын

That icon on the main menu is referred to as the 'organiser symbol' in the LZ operating manual and represents an image of the organiser itself. Battery monitoring is described in a similar way to that of the XP, in the 'replacing the battery' section of the LZ operating manual. It's just a 'battery too low' warning message, before the organiser switches off to a low power state.

@stevengoldstein114 9 ай бұрын

I used it for college in 1993 to 2002, had a change of major

@HandheldComputing 9 ай бұрын

Wow! So you used the LZ for 9 years!!! What did you swap to after that? Psion/Palm/CE.... A paper diary 🤦‍♂

@stevengoldstein114 9 ай бұрын

@@HandheldComputing I had one since 1986, we used them to control a custom built gas analyzer. I would type by class syllabus into it in the beginning of the semester, allocate my homework times, and test info. Thereby having a work plan that I simply had to follow. Also taking some , free time schedule. It was so good to work with. And a 9 vet battery lasted as much as 4 mths. That’s when I got my Nokia 6200 cell phone, then after that my G1

@HandheldComputing 9 ай бұрын

@@stevengoldstein114 Wow so you were an early adopter! Its amazing to me just how many uses were found for the Psion II both by hobbyist's and industry! The battery life is amazing, maybe I don't use mine as much or maybe 9v batteries are better but I am getting 10-11 months from a single battery! 😃 The G1 is a very cool phone!

@richardhedderly 3 ай бұрын

I really don't think people realise just how tough these units are. You literally could drive over them and they would be fine.

@HandheldComputing 3 ай бұрын

🤣😂 I'm not about to try that but I think you probably could! Which do you think would win in a toughness competition the Psion II or a Nokia 3310 🤔

@richardhedderly 3 ай бұрын

@@HandheldComputing The Psion would win over the 3310.

@TheBasementChannel Жыл бұрын

Great showcase of the LZ!

@HandheldComputing Жыл бұрын

I'm glad you likes it!

@inkshock Жыл бұрын

I had the chance to grab an LZ for cheap and of course I did ^^ It has a broken battery compartment lid, though. It has been glued back together again, but I guess it is only a matter of time until it falls apart. Does anybody know of a good source for STL-files for retro-tech like this, or maybe has one for the lid so I can just print out a new one?

@HandheldComputing Жыл бұрын

There's a seller on ebay who has replacement battery compartment doors for the Psion II. Not sure about STL files but there's lots of software and documentation on Jaaps Psion II page www.jaapsch.net/psion/

@funkykoval2099 Жыл бұрын

Hi. Nice machine! Have you tried to reheat that not functional row on lcd display? I would take gameboy aproach = place baking paper on lcd connector and start heating and massaging with soldering iron. I also saw psion workabout. Do you think it's possible to write document on 3MX and then take out card and read it from workabout? My friend has 3MX but no cable to download notes... I have siena but also no cable..(must try irda option) All best!

@HandheldComputing Жыл бұрын

Hello Funky Koval, good to hear from you. Thank you for the suggestion, I will give that a go. What's more annoying than the missing line is there is a constant whistle when the device is in use. Removing the speaker gets rid of the buzzing so I suspect a voltage leak or bad capacitor... Yes! It is absolutely possible, the workabout runs the same OS. It has sheet and data but not word on it so you cannot open any word documents. Like my LZ the workabout also has 1 faulty line on the LCD 🤣

@funkykoval2099 Жыл бұрын

@@HandheldComputing Great ! Can't wait to try it on! Having psion without any interface is super annoying as those palmtops are still usable and programmable if you want in opposite to "super cool" apple ipod/ipads.

@HandheldComputing Жыл бұрын

@@funkykoval2099 Yes they are! There's a lot to be said for retro cool tech like Psions!