Editing Psion netBook

{{Infobox computer
| name         = Psion netBook
| image        = [[File:Psion netBook.jpg|250px]]
| caption      = A Psion netBook running EPOC ER5
| developer    = Psion PLC (Psion Enterprise Computing)
| manufacturer = Psion PLC
| type         = Clamshell sub-notebook
| release_date = 1999
| discontinued = November 2003
| cpu          = Intel StrongARM SA-1100 at 190 MHz
| memory       = 32 MB DRAM, expandable to 64 MB
| storage      = CompactFlash Type II (including IBM Microdrive), PC Card Type I/II
| display      = 7.7 in 640 × 480 backlit colour STN touchscreen, 256 colours
| sound        = 12-bit audio, built-in speaker and microphone
| dimensions   = 235 mm × 182 mm × 37 mm
| weight       = 1150 g including battery pack
| os           = EPOC32 (ER5), loaded from an OS.img file
| predecessor  = [[Psion Series 5mx]]
| successor    = [[Psion netBook Pro]]
| model        = Also sold, in reduced form, as the [[Psion Series 7]]
}}
The '''Psion netBook''' of 1999 is Psion's corporate sub-notebook: a StrongARM clamshell with a 7.7-inch colour VGA touchscreen, a full-travel keyboard and an operating system that is not in the machine at all. Psion Enterprise Computing sold it to fleet buyers who wanted to configure their own image, and the [[Psion Series 7|Series 7]] that followed in 2000 was the same machine cut down for consumers.<ref name="wpnb">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psion_netBook "Psion netBook"], Wikipedia. Source for the release date, the corporate positioning, the relationship to the Series 7, the netBook Pro succession and the netbook trademark history.</ref><ref name="faqgen">[https://www.oocities.org/epoc_32/general.html "Psion Series 7 FAQ: General & hardware information"], oocities.org/epoc_32 (February 2000). Source for the netBook's OS.img boot arrangement, the RAM difference, the CPU speeds, the ROM-board swap results, the screen behaviour, the reset procedures and the hardware quirks described here.</ref>

It is also the machine that gave the world the word ''netbook'' — a trademark Psion Teklogix was still defending with cease-and-desist letters in December 2008, by which time the term had escaped.<ref name="wpnb" />

== Hardware ==

{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left;"
|+'''Psion netBook specification'''<ref name="openpsion">OpenPsion (formerly PsiLinux), [https://linux-7110.sourceforge.net/howtos/netbook_new/x43.htm "Linux on the Psion netBook HOWTO — section 3.4, The netBook Specifications"]. Source for the processor and cache sizes, memory configurations, the bootloader Flash part, display and panel notes, the serial interface chip, the power specification and cell type, the physical and environmental ratings, and the Malaysian netBook history.</ref><ref name="wpnb" />
! Item !! Specification
|-
| '''Processor''' || Intel '''StrongARM SA-1100''' at '''190 MHz''', 16 KB instruction cache, 8 KB data cache
|-
| '''RAM''' || '''32 MB''' DRAM, expandable to '''64 MB''' with a 32 MB module
|-
| '''ROM''' || '''None.''' In EPOC, about 14 MB of RAM is presented as the Z: drive
|-
| '''Boot Flash''' || 16 Mbit (2 MB) rewritable Flash holding the bootloader — reported as a '''Sharp LH28F160S3HT-L10A''' (LHF16KA7). netBooks carry bootloader version 11
|-
| '''Display''' || 7.7 in '''640 × 480 backlit colour STN''' touchscreen, '''256 colours''', nine brightness levels
|-
| '''Storage''' || CompactFlash Type I/II 3.3 V (IBM Microdrive supported); one PC Card Type I/II slot, '''3.3 V and 5 V''', with live insertion and removal<ref name="ds2001">Psion Teklogix, "netBook" product datasheet, document code NBOOK-01/01-5K-A4-UK, February 2001, hosted at [[Psion netBook Documentation]]. Psion's own specification: 58-key keyboard, 15 V 1.5 A adapter, up to 8.5 hours battery life with a 2.5 hour recharge, CR2032 backup cell with a 55-hour lifespan, PC Card slot rated for 3.3 V and 5 V, 0.7 m drop onto carpet, IP30.</ref>
|-
| '''Serial''' || RS-232 to 115200 baud via a Maxim '''78266''', a part made for Psion and functionally close to a MAX3243; plus SIR infrared
|-
| '''Main power''' || '''11.1 V, 1500 mAh''' Li-ion pack of three '''CGR18650H''' cells. Psion quote '''up to 8.5 hours''' with a '''2.5 hour recharge'''<ref name="ds2001" />
|-
| '''Backup power''' || '''CR2032''' lithium coin cell, '''55-hour lifespan''' — it holds the machine's contents for hours, not weeks<ref name="ds2001" />
|-
| '''External power''' || '''15 V, 1.5 A''' per Psion's own datasheet<ref name="ds2001" />; the contemporary community FAQ says 15.5 V. Connector 4.75 mm OD / 1.75 mm ID. The adapter itself weighs 220 g
|-
| '''Keyboard''' || '''58 keys''', standard layout<ref name="ds2001" />. The widely-repeated "84 key" figure comes from a community specification list and does not match Psion's own datasheet or the machine.
|-
| '''Size and weight''' || 235 × 182 × 37 mm, 1150 g with the battery
|-
| '''Environmental''' || 0–50 °C operating, −10 to 60 °C storage; 75 % RH maximum non-condensing; designed to withstand a '''0.7 m drop onto a carpeted surface'''; IP30; EN55022 Class B, FCC Part 15 Class B, EN50024, EN60950<ref name="ds2001" />
|}

=== No internal operating system ===

This is the single most important thing to know about a netBook, and the reason a perfectly healthy one can look dead.

'''The netBook contains no operating system.''' At power-on it searches the D: drive for a CompactFlash card holding a file called '''OS.img''', loads it into a walled-off region of RAM, and runs from there. If no card is present it displays a message saying so. Psion's own datasheet puts it plainly: the operating system "is loaded from CF card or serial port into RAM on first 'cold' initialisation, allowing system software to be customised and upgraded"<ref name="ds2001" />. Because the OS lives in RAM, the netBook ships with twice the Series 7's memory.<ref name="faqgen" />

The arrangement was deliberate: fleet customers could build their own image, roll out updates by replacing one file, and standardise a thousand machines without opening any of them.<ref name="faqgen" />

=== The personality module ===

The memory and bootloader sit on a removable card — Psion's "personality module" — reached under the covers above the keyboard. Swapping it changes what the machine is, and the community established this by experiment:<ref name="faqgen" /><ref name="lindsay">Eric Lindsay, [http://psiphi.server101.com/epoc/psion7.htm "Psion 7 and NetBook Portable Computers"], mirrored at ericlindsay.com. Source for the motherboard revisions and week-coded serial numbers, the memory-size restrictions, the netBook-to-Series 7 downgrade caveat, the microphone contact fault, the display description and the RS-232 port cover comment. Includes material posted to comp.sys.psion by Ralph Barrett.</ref>

* Fitting a netBook module to a [[Psion Series 7|Series 7]] produces a working netBook. The reported CPU speed changes from '''132.71 MHz to 191.692 MHz''', RAM rises to 32 MB, and the netBook logo replaces the Series 7 one.<ref name="faqgen" />
* '''The reverse — netBook down to Series 7 — is the safer direction.''' Going the other way "may not work, as some Series 7 failed the test for being able to work reliably at the higher speed."<ref name="lindsay" />
* '''Only 16, 32 and 64 MB configurations are accepted.''' 48 MB does not work, and a Series 7 memory upgrade will not work in a netBook.<ref name="lindsay" />

Remove '''all''' batteries before changing the module.<ref name="faqgen" />

=== Boards and revisions ===

The netBook and Series 7 share the same motherboard, with revisions over the production run:<ref name="lindsay" />

* "Most Series 7s and Netbooks share exactly the same motherboards. Early Series 7s appeared to have a lower power limit on the PCMCIA slot. Very recent Netbooks have a higher power rating for GPRS cards."<ref name="lindsay" />
* '''Revision 10 began in week 35 of 2002''' and replaced revision 7; it supplies more current to the PC Card slot.<ref name="lindsay" />
* Date of manufacture is encoded in the serial number, on a paper slip inside the CompactFlash slot: after the four letters, the first digit is the year (8 = 2000, 0 = 2002, 1 = 2003) and the next two are the week.<ref name="lindsay" />

=== PC Card slot current, and what the board change did ===

Psion Teklogix published the actual limits, which explain a great deal of otherwise mysterious card behaviour:<ref name="psionfaq">Psion Teklogix, netBook customer FAQ, hosted at [[Psion netBook Documentation]]. Psion's own PC Card slot current limits: 800 mA on the netBook after the September 2002 main logic board change, 300 mA before it, 200 mA on the Series 7. Also confirms the Series 7's 133 MHz clock and ROM-resident operating system.</ref>

* '''netBook built from September 2002: 800 mA''', supporting 3 V and 5 V cards. A '''main logic board design change''' that month raised the available power, which is what allows GPRS cards such as the Option GlobeTrotter to work.
* '''netBook built before that change: 300 mA.'''
* '''[[Psion Series 7|Series 7]]: 200 mA''' — the hard number behind that machine's reputation for refusing cards a netBook runs happily.

Psion's stated reason is thermal: PC Cards are designed either for machines with cooling fans or for machines without, and the netBook is in the second group.<ref name="psionfaq" />

Two independent sources agree on the timing. Psion date the board change to '''September 2002'''; the community record has '''revision 10 beginning in week 35 of 2002''' — the same month.<ref name="psionfaq" /><ref name="lindsay" /> That convergence is worth noting, because it means the manufacturing week in the serial number is a reliable way to predict what a machine's PC Card slot will do.

A teardown in December 1999 found an '''SA1100''', an '''ASIC manufactured by NEC''' and a '''Philips CPLD''' with five visible JTAG programming pads on the underside of the board.<ref name="newell">Craig Newell, [http://netwinder.osuosl.org/users/c/craign/public_html/netbook/insides/index.html "Disassembling the NetBook"], 14 December 1999. Source for the disassembly sequence and the identification of the SA1100, the NEC ASIC and the Philips CPLD.</ref>

The board also carries '''two unfitted DRAM sockets and what appears to be an unfitted Flash ROM site'''. At least one owner soldered Hitachi HM5165165LTT-6 devices to them to make a 32 MB Series 7 mainboard, noting that low-power parts are essential because the DRAM is powered continuously.<ref name="lindsay" />

== Malaysian netBooks ==

A few thousand netBooks reached the market in late 2002 when the education company OneEd went bankrupt. These "mBooks" or "malayBooks" are hardware-identical to an ordinary netBook but carry '''bootloader version 12''', which prevents standard EPOC upgrades from installing.<ref name="openpsion" />

Replacing the personality module with an ordinary netBook one is the understood route to making them behave normally. For Linux they need no special treatment at all.<ref name="openpsion" />

== Linux ==

The OpenPsion project (formerly PsiLinux) ported a 2.4 kernel to the netBook, with framebuffer, X11, CompactFlash, PCMCIA and touchscreen support. Two boot routes exist: '''ArLo''', which starts Linux from a running EPOC system, and '''bookboot''', which builds a Linux OS.img the bootloader loads directly.<ref name="openpsion" />

Three things never worked: '''power management''' (there is no way to switch a Linux netBook off), '''battery level reading''', and '''sound'''. Infrared never worked either.<ref name="openpsion" />

== Docking station ==

Psion offered an optional flat-bed docking station providing power and RS-232 through a connector on the underside of the machine. '''While docked, the side communications port is disabled''' and everything is routed through the station's own port; the operating system handles the switch automatically, so no settings change is needed.<ref name="nbhw">Psion PLC, ''netBook Hardware'' v2.0, hosted at [[Psion netBook Documentation]]. Source for the docking station's automatic communications re-routing, and for the PC Card slot's release lever and blanking plate.</ref>

The PC Card slot ships with a '''blanking plate''' against dust ingress, which should be refitted whenever no card is in use.<ref name="nbhw" />

== Documentation ==
{{Main|Psion netBook Documentation}}

Psion's own user guide, product datasheet, customer FAQ, hardware note and serial pinout are all hosted on this wiki.

== General maintenance ==
{{Main|Psion netBook General Maintenance}}

== Troubleshooting ==
{{Main|Psion netBook Troubleshooting Guide}}

== Battery service ==
{{Main|Psion netBook Battery Service}}

== See also ==

* [[Psion Series 7]] — the consumer version of the same machine
* [[Psion netBook Pro]] — the 2003 Windows CE successor
* [[Psion netBook Documentation]] — Psion's own manuals and datasheets for this machine
* [[Psion Series 5mx]] · [[Battery Refurbishment]] · [[Recommended Tools]]

== References ==

<references />

{{Navbox-Psion}}

[[Category:Psion]]