Any CF-28 transflective other than MV?

Need expert advice ...

Interested in getting a transflective display model. The Panasonic configuration site lists a 12" transflective display on the Type I (M class) models as a M"V"xxxxx part number, but didn't see any others listed. However on eBay and elsewhere a number of sellers list a 13.3" transflective display -- are they simply wrong, or is there a 13.3" version of the transflective display and what would be the corresponding model number(s)?

 

Have you seen first hand the transflective display in use
I don't like them
I had a cf-28 mk-2 that I bought new and sold it after a few months as the shinny screen reflects like a mirror at different angles
And the colors are quite different
And they are 12.1” only at 800x600 resolution
The cf-29 models have a better screen in my opinion

Alex

 

Yes... They are wrong. There were no transflective 13.3" Toughbook monitors for the CF-28... Or CF-29 for that matter. It is just that the CF-29 is so much brighter than the CF-28 that you can read it in daylight.

The 12" daylight readable monitor for the CF-28 is great if you use it outside 100% of the time. One issue is that it is only 800X600 resolution so that if you are surfing... You will be using the scroll bars A LOT.... Not only up and down but from side to side as well... Unless you try to resize the page using the Ctrl+Scroll on the touchpad. The 13.3" is 1024X768....

The other issue is that there is a blue cast over the whole screen. Colors are VERY muted and it looks very "bland"... I haven't talked to a person yet that liked it.

I have a few 12" CF-28 complete screens if you want to give it a try.... PM me if interested.

 

I do have a CF-28 Mk 1 that has a blue tint with very little red. The screen is not too bright but does seem mostly readable in sunlight. Unfortunately there is no sticker with model number on the bottom, and nothing on the BIOS pages showing the model number (is this normal for a Mk 1?).

Is there any way to tell for sure if it's a transflective screen, without the model number?

 

Sure

The transflective screens have a light sensor built-in the bezel to reduce the backlite power in bright conditions
If you see a hole in the top left it’s a transflective screen

Alex

 

Cool, it's there. Looks like I already have a platform to try "daylight readable" experiments.

Thanks Alex!

 

Don't get me wrong... If you are in the direct sun... Especially with the sun at your back, looking at the screen... There is no other screen that will work except the 12" transflective by Panny....

But if you are an indoor web-surfer.... You'll hate it.

 

So maybe a transflective unit with GPS installed in the truck for navigation, a nice bright CF-29 with great WiFi for web surfing at home, and a few spare Toughbooks lying around for general purposes and loaning out to friends. I get it ...

 

Congratulations Rick... you've got another addict...errr, convert...

mnem
There's a special place for guys like you...

 

I'm a newbee here and just received today my first CF-28 toughbook. It's a CF-28PBJAZEM (P2, 800MHZ) with the 12.1" transflective screen. Everything works great except I can't read the screen outside. The screen is acceptable indoors but I mainly got it for use outside. I don't see any settings to change the screen for indoor/outdoor use and the screen brightness is adjusted as bright as it will go. Does anybody have any suggestions as to what is wrong and what I can do for a fix.
EARL

 

The transflective screens are designed to USE the sun to their advantage; you want to have the sun shining on the screen, over your shoulder but at such an angle that the glare from the screen isn't blinding you. If this doesn't work, then you don't have a transflective screen; they don't even NEED the backlight - there's a sensor at the top of the screen which turns off the backlight when sun shines directly on the screen.

mnem
Trans-WHAT-ive?

 

mnementh, I know how the transflective screen is suppose to work but mine is not readable outside in sunlight. It has the hole in the upper left side of the screen bezel. When I took the CF-28 outside on my deck I couldn't read the screen. This is a touchscreen also and it doesn't seem likely that someone would have swapped out the original screen. Did panasonic make a CF-28 model that had a 12" touchscreen not transflective and with the hole in the upper left of the screens bezel?

 

No... They didn't. You may have a dirty or bad sensor. Try to use the corner of a moist paper towel to auger into the sensor hole to clean the lens. Se if that works.

I suspect that the backlight is staying on outside and that it is partially washing out your screen...

Just a thought...

 

Use some black electrical tape and cover the hole to block out all the light.
Do this inside your house, if you notice a difference then it is working.
Then check it in the sunlight to see if that helps..

Bob

 

Umm... no, Bob - actually, it works the OTHER way around... That sensor is designed to ONLY engage when bright sunlight is shining DIRECTLY on the screen. The black tape won't do anything for you.

Inside, you need to shine a REALLY BRIGHT flashlight on the sensor to make it trip; my 5W LED will do it on my Mk1... but a regular MagLight WON'T.

That sensor does TWO things; not only does it turn OFF the backlight, but it ALSO changes the gamma settings on the LCD to a high-contrast profile. This is where I suspect your problem may lie.

Inspect the sensor opening carefully; if the sensor inside is clean, it will have a slightly greenish tint to the glass, and a tiny metal square with a black dot in the middle will be visible underneath the glass. If this glass is not clean, that will probably be your culprit.

See photo below for a clean, functioning unit.

mnem
A picture is worth a thousand whacks...

 

!? OH ?!
I got it backwards
Well,,,,,, Thanks for the info on that
(my turn to feel dumb)

Bob

 

Bob... We ALL take THAT turn... Believe me...

Actually... Just about every flashlight I have will trigger a functioning sensor IF I hold it close enough. (IE, right on it!)

I should have mentioned this... (Now MY turn to feel dumb!)

So... Paul... Were'd you get that electron microscopic pic of the sensor?... I'm impressed!

 

Sony DSC-W150 set on MACRO.

Took about a dozen tries to get one with good focus where the shadow of the flash didn't make the sensor disappear. That's my $30 BEATER camera... bought it as-is on eBay for $22 and a battery for $8 figuring to find another DSC-W150 to make one good one; a little cleaning and a drop of superglue fixed the lens and I been using it ever since.

Thank heaven for those hackers in Hong Kong; no WAY I'd spend the $50 Sony wants for the battery on these; or their obscenely overpriced Flash Memory...

mnem
Suck Our Nuggets, Yo...

 

I posted this reply below on 10/24 via email reply but it didn't seem to get on this thread. I guess you have to reply from the forum site.

I did try to activate the photo sensor in a dark room using a flashlight and
it didn't have any effect on the brightness level of the screen. Even if
the photo sensor was not working it seems that the outside light and
backlight would illuminate the screen enough to make it readable outside in
daylight.
I am going to be gone for a week and not able to make any follow up posts
till I get back.
Thanks guys for your inputs with my dilemma.

 

I am still away from home but I'm in a camp site in Sedona, AZ that has WiFi.
I emailed the seller of my CF-28 and he said this is the first time anyone has reported a bad screen and I could return it for a replacement, but I still want to check it out more when I get home from camping.
EARL