Psion Series 5 Hinge Wire Repair

The Psion Series 5 has a pair of hinge wires, one for each side, which behave as springs to produce the tension that causes the lid to snap open or snap shut. The base moulding contains the necessary hook retainers to secure the ends of these spring wires, and unfortunately, in very old units the plastic hooks can become brittle due to the high-tension forces around them. In addition, if you open the unit improperly in your daily use, then that can exert further forces to act on the plastic hooks and these can break eventually.

As you can see, in this unit, the hook is fine on one side and it secures the spring hinge wire. However, on the other side, the hook has broken off and the wire floats upwards.

The only solution I was able to come up with was to drill a tiny hole through the side -- making sure that the ribbon cables were not in the way -- and then using another piece of wire to go through the hole to tie the hinge wire. It is not pretty but it does the job, and besides where else are you going to find the base chassis moulding today?

Unfortunately, the wire fasteners at the centre are also in bad shape and barely remaining in place, hence I had to make holes and use wire ties there as well. A closer forensic look shows that the spring wires place considerable force on the nearby plastic resulting in cracking. The plastic fasteners will eventually break!

This Article Continues...