Does the CF-73S require a stylus?

Hi All!

Does anyone know if a stylus is required for a CF-73S model? I'm in the calibration utility and not getting any response from finger touch. It says in the utility:

"Using the stylus, firmly touch and briefly hold at the center of the red target...."

 

Ideally a soft rubber tipped stylus would work great.... But the back side of a Bic pen works too.... The softer and pointier... The better the calibration.

 

My73 does not require a stylus but it will make the calibration more precise using one.
I think this answers your question.

I am not sure if they made both Touchscreen and Digitizer versions of the 73 though?
If so and yours is a digitizer model then you would require the stylus.

Ed

 

The cf-73 was not available as a digitizer

Alex

 

Well the stylus question was my straw grasping attempt...

This is the situation...about 6 months ago I bought one of these from a local utility company and ended up having a problem. The model number indicated that it had the touchscreen and it had the touchpanel. However, there was no option to enable/disable the touchscreen. In fact, there was not even a mention of touchscreen in the BIOS. It wouldn't accept any driver in Windows. I just came to the conclusion that the hardware had gone out and ended up getting rid of it.

I had forgotten about this when I bought another of the EXACT model from them again! And again it is the EXACT same situation...it has the hardware, the model indicates that it has the touchscreen but again no BIOS mention of the touchscreen.

I have a CF-72 that has a touchscreen option in BIOS so I would think it'd be in there for the 73. All the connections are good and tight.

I contacted the company I bought it from and none of their 73s have the BIOS option!

Does anyone have any idea what the answer would be?

Maybe they received a batch of faulty 73s...but why no BIOS option? I mean if the wireless card or serial port or something fails it doesn't get removed out of BIOS does it?

Maybe they received a batch with an alternate BIOS?? My version is V4.00L11 with the EC at V4.00L10...can anyone confirm that this is correct BIOS version?

The model in question is the 73SCUTSBM

 

One of the techs posted something on this the other day
Sometimes if there is a hardware failure in the touchscreen the bios looses that option

I have noticed on my own Toughbooks a high failure rate of touchscreen panels with models produced about 4 years ago

I have 2 mk4 cf-29's and 2 mk1 cf74's with defective touchscreens
This is unusual for Toughbooks as I have never had problems with earlier models

Maybe a bad batch of panels in those years

Alex

 

Yeah... remember that Panasonic, like all major manufacturers, has to buy their components from SOMEWHERE. They buy from other major manufacturers with good reputation for quality (I think in this case it was Fujitsu).

But, as with any mass-produced hardware, if that manufacturer made a bad design & didn't find out about it until years later then the end-user usually winds up having to foot the bill once the product reaches end-of-warranty.

mnem
Don't touch me THERE!

 

I deal with only the rugged models but every touchscreen model that I have ever seen where the touchscreen has gone bad... The touchscreen STILL shows up in the BIOS.

<Go ahead... Touch the Dwagon!>

{Hmmmm... Crunchy!}

 

So I guess there is no solution....note to self...do not buy one of these from them again!

 

Guys! I have cf-73YC it is a touchscreen model(federal issue) but there is no option on the bios but it works perfectly. I do beleived you haven't have the right driver. It uses usb for touchscreen not serial port and a fujitsu driver. It is self extracting file and after the installation go to the folder where it is located and calibrate(caldwin) the setup file (ftsetup). It doesn't have any icon on the task bar either. The touchscreen installation for this unit is not similar for those of cf-28, cf-29 and etc.

Here how it works: extract the right touchscreen driver for your unit. After the extraction, go to the folder where it extract. then do the setup by just clicking "ftseup" then follow the instruction. After the installation was finished go again to the touchscreen folder and click "caldwin" instead of 9 points for calibration it is twelve points. After the calibration hit ok and then save. On the device manager under mouse and other pointing device : It must be HID-compliance mouse and synapticPS/2 port-touchpad. Of course you need to install the touchpad driver which is the mouse that you downloaded from pan...c. Same installation on CF-74 model

ohlip

 

Hmmmm....I did download the the correct usb for touchscreen package and installed it. I ran the utility but couldn't get any response.

Perhaps I did it incorrectly....but I'm pretty sure I did do it just as you stated...just ran the installer in the default folder and then ran the calibration from the folder it created in the start menu. I don't need to make any changes in device manager, correct?

 

Hi. The same with my CF-73 SCUTSBM (mk4). Touchscreen doesn't work at all
No "Touchscreen Enabele/Disable" in BIOS (i think because it's USB touch)
In Windows XP Device Manager there are in
"Mouses and other pointing devices" - "hid compatible mouse"
and
"HID Devices" - "Fujitsu Touch Panel (USB)"

i've already tried to reconnect all touchscreen cables - nothing works.
(from touchscreen film to Touch-PCB, and from Touch-PCB to MainBoard)

 

Confirm what ohlip said. I have a CF-73S with touchscreen that works good and calibrates properly. There is nothing in the BIOS that says it has a Touchscreen.