CF-VDW07 Wireless Display HOW-TO...

Just so you know, the CF-07 is the PC (brick) so you may have gotten the wrong service disk. You need to make sure you get one for the CF-VDW07 which is the model number of the display.

 

For what it's worth, when I upgraded to 200L13, I was able to run it from Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Once the connection to the display was established, I didn't have a problem completing the upgrade, though the LEDs were not signaling any error conditions beforehand, either.

The following excerpt was in the upgrade instructions document, which is how I did mine:

Looks like you did this, though, so that is probably not an issue.


At a different time, I did have a problem with a red LED. As it turned out, the battery was actually bad and was causing the system to give the red LED indication. I know mnementh asked if the lights only flashed when the battery was in. If I recall correctly, the problem battery to which I'm referring here was actually in the "brick," but I believe when I played around with it the behavior was the same regardless of whether that battery was in the brick or the wireless display.

In short, I would try to eliminate the battery as a potential source for the red LED. Either way, that should hopefully give us a little more to go on.

 

Hello everyone,
thank you for all the posts, I must now wait for the CD to see if this failure is described, and if there is a possibility to repair ...
For information, there is a possibility to avoid making the same mistake as mine:
before starting the upgrade, open "BL_VerUp.ini", and change the line
VERSIONCHECK = 0
in
VERSIONCHECK = 1
The program then checks if the machine is compatible with the upgrade (it is unfortunate that Panasonic did not put this option by default!)
there may be other commands in this file, but I will not venture to get into uncontrollable experiences! (even if my device is probably totally damaged..)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone, I'll give you news of my screen as soon as possible
Olivier

I hope that it is the right CD: it was dedicated to CFVDW07, but I don't what it content...

I also think there is no more hope
I will keep you informed of the following events ...

 

You know... I vaguely remember having an issue with mine where it blinked the red & green lights at me; I too thought I had bricked my display.

It's been so long I can't remember what I did to bring it back - I'm thinking either I had to unplug the CMOS battery & main battery & let it sit for a week to discharge EVERYTHING so it reloaded defaults into the BIOS, or it had a faulty dead or shorted CMOS battery which was causing the issue.

Take out your CMOS battery & check it with a meter; see if it puts out the rated voltage.

mnem
*Best-educated-guess-ily*

 

thank you Mnementh ,
it is also the idea I had: I thought unplugging the CMOS battery to clear all data, but the SPRINGFIELD's post, made me doubt, perhaps, your idea to wait long time to discharge everything will be the solution.
the other problem is finding the right firmware, so I shall wait for my CD, in fact, on the website " pan-toughbooks.com", they indicate that they provide drivers for all different models, so I hope to find one that exactly matches the CFVDW07CH2
I'll keep you informed
Olivier

 

That's a good idea, but I suspect you will find they only list the firmware versions I have listed above; probably the older version.

Once you have that successfully installed, you can upgrade to the firmware that supports the universal meiWDS software.

You REALLY need to check the voltage on that CMOS batterythough... if you don't have a meter, take it to someone who does. And if it's got blue crusties on the connector, it's junk anyways and needs to be replaced.
mnem
My firmware isn't so firm anymore...

 

I hope I'm wrong, but I got a CF-07 disk from Pan-Toughbooks a long time ago and there was nothing on the disk which was not readily available on the internet. We have better sources on this forum. I'll look on my backup drive, I've just installed a new hard drive and have not moved over a lot of my archived files, I might have a service manual.
CAP

 

I checked the battery to 1.59V, but I do not know what the right level ...
after disconnecting and reconnecting the CMOS battery, I tried rebooting but without success, then I tried again to load the firmware, starting V100L12 (unsuccessfully), then trying to upgrade with V200l13 (unsuccessfully)
the log file indicates that even if the CMOS battery has been disconnected, the firmware loaded before disconnecting the battery was still "up". I will follow your recommendation and wait a few days with the battery disconnected to completely remove the wrong data
Olivier

 

Thanks Cap, I hope that the CD will be OK...
I found some manual and one service manual, helpful to disassemble the display, but no information about my problem, I also didn't found information about the right voltage for CMOS battery

 

I would expect 3vdc

Every bios battery ,both on desktops and laptops that I know of use this standard voltage as they are Lithium based

That being said ,I expect these to last for a least 10 or more years from manufacture date (usualy, the useful life of the laptop)

A few very old cf-71's have needed battery replacement ,but I have not changed out batterys in any newer toughbooks

Hopefully one of the tech's will confirm

 

I took a look at my pix from disassembly on my screen; it uses a 1F supercap for CMOS, not a battery. I have no idea whether other models use a battery; but if they do, it's most likely rechargeable.

I need to look through my notes on this; I may have written down the flashing lights issue. I think. Maybe.

mnem
*Trying to cudgel his memory into service*

 

this is not a common CMOS battery (like a coin), see picture attached
I didn't see any other battery
in service manual, the reference is DFJS702ZA, noted as 'Y, CAPACITOR /CABLE, but no information about voltage, I found 2 hits in Google from parts distributors, but no technical informations
I suppose it is the CMOS battery, am I wrong?

 

Like I said; it uses a 1F/5.5v supercapacitor instead of a battery. That is EXACTLY what I was talking about. It probably charges to 3.3v in circuit; but I dunno for sure. The fact that it shows a voltage out of circuit at all indicates it is not shorted; I suggest you should do the "unplug everything & wait a week" thing. Yes, REALLY a week.

mnem
I remember when my Electronics Textbooks told us that to make a 1F capacitor would be as big as a building; now we have them the size of an aspirin...

 

I'll wait a week before reconnecting the battery.
I understand that the supercapacitor should be completely discharged during that period, and that I should reconnect only when the voltage is at 0
this morning I tested it at 1.00V

 

Actually, it doesn't matter what the supercap reads; it's out of circuit. What matters is that the board itself completely loses any residual energy.

mnem
Static.

 

OK,
everything is disconnected since 2 days, appointment next week for the verdict
I take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy new year 2011, and many elucidations of case with our dears Toughbooks ...

 

you are not wrong, there is nothing interesting on that CD

Some news about my display: I reconnected the capacitor after one week, and checked, but unfortunately, the LEDS are still blinking

I think there is no more hope...

 

Does ANYTHING happen when you turn it on?

mnem
Dangitoonie...

 

Nothing happen, except the two leds which are blinking
the screen stays black
without any troubleshooting informations (like in a service manual similar to those we can find for others Toughbooks), it stay difficult to know which component is defect
fortunately, I have an other display (CFVD07WJS) whose brightness is very weak, I think that it comes from inverter, so I plan to use parts from my defect CFVDW07CHM to repair (or totally destroy ) this CFVD07WJS

I'll wait a little longer to see if any ideas come on the forum, and then I'll start by exchange the inverter
I'll keep you informed
kind regards, and thanks for your helps

 

I have seen many posts here on the forum over the years ,especially in the gaming laptop sections where a failed bios update has bricked the laptop and the new unit in most cases has had to be returned to the manufacturer (without free warranty coverage, as that is a user fault)

Swapping parts to make a good unit out of two is a good option
Btw, sent you some info

 

thank you so much Tomcat57
I received the info
this will help me to swap the parts between the two devices

 

IC4 is the PROM-chip (SST39VF040 ?) with the BIOS inside. Go to the next University or technical highschool. Ask for an prommer-device. Probably they can help u, to reprogram ur BIOS-chip. Or u can send it to me...but it's a long way ;-)
Ah yes, and maybe TOMCat gave u the disassemble instruction, otherwise I can give u too.

 

thank you onirakkiss,
I am afraid I will not be able to find a prommer-device, nor to reprogram the BIOS-chip. I will try to find someone able to do that.
if you would do it, I'd be very grateful, and sending the device to you would not be a big problem, we are almost neighbour...
I received the disassembling instructions from Tomcat
I found the IC4 ref in the manual (N° C3FAKC000008), available on Appliance parts, electronics parts & more from PartStore.com website, but I am not sure of being able to exchange the piece myself
I'll keep you informed
thanks
Olivier

 

Partstore.com is not a valid resource for Panasonic parts. We don't know why is keeps showing up, but do not order from them. you will never get your part. They just don't carry them. heartlandsi.com is the only place other than us or ebay that can give you parts.

 

Doobi -

Partstore.com is an electronic parts retailer; for individual components, you are actually a lot likelier to find it there than anywhere else except maybe Mouser or DigiKey.

mnem
The electrons don't care if it's a Panasonic-branded eeprom...

 

thanks for insights, for the moment, I will follow Onirakkis's counsel and ask to one of my friends who works for an electronics company if he would be able to reprogramme the BIOS-chip, I know also that, if necessary, the parts is available somewhere...
I am sure that I am not capable to do it myself

just for information, my idea to swap the inverter from CFVDW07CHM (defect) to CFVDW07JS was not a good idea: in fact the CFVDW07JS is a transflective screen, and the CFVDW07CHM a high bright, that showed to me when I opened the displays (see picture, where the JS is up and the CHM is down)
so I looked a bit more to my CFVDW07JS and it appears that the installed firmware was not the good one. After flashing the BIOS with the good firmware, the CFVDW07JS regained his brightness
I hope these informations will help...

 

Hi All,

Great thread. I have just picked up a cheap CF-07 and CF-VDW07 off ebay. They work great together straight out of the box but the CF-07 is running Win98 SE and ultimately I want to use the screen on a yacht with a (probably non-panasonic) laptop.

I am 90% sure that it is the trans-reflective version as it works well outdoors. In fact outside I can't tell the difference between having the backlight off, low or high.

At the moment the frimware is version V1.00L12. The model number is shown as CF-VDW07M and serial no is 1KKSA01482. I have read here the horror stories of using the wrong firmware and "bricking" it.

Ultimate question: how can I know for sure that my display is the transreflective version?

 

CF-VDW07M Mobile Data Wireless Display 8.4"

"The unit's transflective touchscreen display takes advantage of ambient lighting combined with high-intensity backlighting to provide optimal screen brightness in any environment, including direct sunlight."

 

So the M on end signifies transreflective?

 

please have a look at my previous post, and follow that recommendation before trying to flash the memory:

For information, there is a possibility to avoid making the same mistake as mine:
before starting the upgrade, open "BL_VerUp.ini", and change the line
VERSIONCHECK = 0
in
VERSIONCHECK = 1
The program then checks if the machine is compatible with the upgrade (it is unfortunate that Panasonic did not put this option by default!)


regards

 

I downloaded the latest firmware update, V1.00L14 and I did look to set that option as you suggested and was pleased to see that it is now 1 by default

 

Has anyone had any success running meiwds on Windows 7? The included tablet features would be useful.

 

The universal version of meiWDS is confirmed on other forums to work with Vista; I see no reason it shouldn't work with 7. This does not necessarily mean it will work with either OS in 64-bit version, however - that I have yet to see confirmed.

mnem
Don't be so 8-bit...

 

I have to say, this forum has been a tremendous help to get this far. I even successfully set up the connection previously, though our boat maintenance guy left the computer in a wet bag for a week...losing everything on the host PC. I can say easily that from now on I'm not letting the electronics out of my sight.

So...now I have another PC. I have XP on my PC, and am connecting the CFVDW07 (again). The PC is logged in through a network as opposed to "this computer" (I am hoping I can do this as I am not psyched about the other option on this comp).

I have the ad-hoc created and named "CFVDW07-xxxxx", firewalls are up, exceptions are added including port 11900, I even see the computers connect and packets go back and forth. I have MeiWDS installed and the pass is still the default. I see the little monitor-icon in the bottom corner. So it seems I have everything.

I go to click "connect" on the CFVDW07, it shows the moving packets on the PC, then the tablet states "Connection Timed Out" and goes off. Its like the meiWDS is not working right or something.

Any thoughts would be amazing, especially since I need to use this by 10am PST 5/25 and feel super close.

 

If you are connecting through a WiFi access point on a network rather than directly via a WiFi network adapter on the host computer, you need to be operating in "Infrastructure Mode" not "Ad-Hoc" Mode which is how I've done it in my tutorial.

No, I'm sorry, I do not have any experience in that type of setup, but I do believe that you need NAT and port forwarding turned on, and you need to create an exception for port 11900 in the firewall on your Router/AP. I also believe you need a static IP address for the host computer, which should be generated by the CF-VDW07 just like it does for Ad-Hoc mode.

It was one of those things I've been meaning to get back to but real life just keeps getting in the way.

mnem
My job is a near-life experience.

 

NEWBIE with CF-VDW07. Just got a transflective unit from EBay. very clean, batteries seem fine. My intent is to use this on a yacht deck while the main (laptop) computer is below.
Question #1: Powering on, the CF-VDW07 asks me for password. i don't have it. Do i need to open the unit, remove the CMOS for a week, reinstall and try again?
Question #2: Can anyone share the secret for making these work with Windows 7? Or am I restricted to WinXP while using the communications software Meidws (ro whatever it's called).
THANKS!

 

Trolling other places revealed: WDSP was the password. You folks might just find that useful (or the next newbie might).

Still would love to learn how to slave this to a PC running Win7... anyone?

 

First off: what is the unit's full Model Number; such as CF-VDW07CH, CF-VDW07BHM, CF-VDW07CRFM, etc.?

You might want to peruse this entire Subject:

CF-VDW07 Wireless Display HOW-TO...

This will also come in handy:

Panasonic CF-VDW07 Setup Instructions

Then:

Panasonic CF-VDW07 Operating Instructions

 

One of the things I'm going to try when I get a bit of time to play, as my CF-28 is a dual boot Xp and Ubuntu, I'm wondering if I could get MEIWDS to run under WINE so that (especially on my new CF-07 brick) I could take advantage of the fact that Linux works considerably better than XP on small memory and slow processors and still use the Wireless display. Kind of thinking it won't but it won't be too hard to try plus at least I can do it on the Dual Boot and not Toast my CF-07.

Cheers
Andy

 

Has anyone gotten the meiWDS software to work with Windows 7 yet? I have connection, but the screen on the CFVDW just locks up at the start with the Wondows little "working" circle. Any ideas?

 

To my knowledge, the closest we've managed is still Vista with Aero turned off. This is not something I've actually done successfully myself; I have posted the relevant (at the time I wrote the tutorial) links to other forums in my tutorial.

I don't believe there would be any other issues with Win7; just make sure you have Aero turned off and that you run meiWDS with Administrator rights.

mnem
*Still flogging my CF-28*

 

Yeah, it's a no go as far as I can tell. I have tried all display modes. Next try is run a virtual machine with XP and see what I can come up with I guess.