Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

^
What an asshole- shitbay strikes again.

Time for a chargeback with your CC- do not believe for a second scambay or paypig will help.

I hope you're screencapping or otherwise keeping records.

Just as with me, you bought that particular item for a specific purpose; not to play games with a complicit seller. Another jackoff that only cheapens the reputation of honest sellers...

Lying, degenerate piece o' shit- "Barely used. It's been sitting in a closet for a year or so. When we tried booting up, it worked fine for a bit" but gives you BS as an "escape clause."

Hardly meets description, appears to be different item than shipped, etc, etc.
Not that it matters at this point, but did the bumblefuck use packing materials? If it was poorly packed, that would suggest that they really didn't care once they had your money.

It clearly was working in the pictures.



Sorry RD- ebay has become insufferable.

Honestly if I don't get my $12.79, it's not the end of the world. As I mentioned I'm ahead either way.

They did pack it well. Plenty of bubble wrap. They got that part right.

edit- I got a reply

The tablet sent is the one in the picture... only had the one. I do not know why you are getting the start-up error. I will offer you a partial refund of $5.00

umm no buddy... that's a slap in the face. I didn't even ask for the full price back... and I did send a link to the part needed to fix it that I ordered.

I'll give one more reply, if I don't get the full $12.79 back, I'll just take the $5 to be done with the douche. Edit- I just remembered that I did best offer the price down a bit ($80 became $60) so whatever, $5 to be done, whatever.

[kaboom]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

umm no buddy... that's a slap in the face. I didn't even ask for the full price back... and I did send a link to the part needed to fix it that I ordered.

I'll give one more reply, if I don't get the full $12.79 back, I'll just take the $5 to be done with the douche. Edit- I just remembered that I did best offer the price down a bit ($80 became $60) so whatever, $5 to be done, whatever.

No, don't do that! Upon "accepting" that $5, you lock yourself out of your previously-seeked partial refund; accept that slap in the face, and you've "closed" the dispute against your best interest.

Make the idiot aware of that, and never waver from your original position. You want the $12.79- your cost because of a terrible seller. It was no fault of your own!

This is how scambayers hurt all of us; by baiting people into partial refunds for defective goods, then "backing out" and keeping too much. Do not accept that low-ball- it obviously worked in the past, which is why he so smugly tried it on you. Be that one customer of his that does not play along- you (the customer) are in the right here.

They need to be "spoken to" in a language they understand.

None of these sleazes ever seem to man up and either admit any wrongdoing or act to assure repeat customers. Or, it's somehow the buyers' fault. The fact that it was originally listed for $79 speaks volumes for this "seller." It never should've sold over $50- it seems as if seller wasn't telling the entire story.

For all we know, the picture in that listing was from somewhere else; showing a "good" unit in "working" condx.

"Includes power supply and pen." Well... these are your pictures- show us the items included!

I won't even get into how the "back 'n forth" bullshit on ebay is worth as much in time as some of these items... I've already beaten that horse.

RD, be succinct- accept nothing but what you initially set out for.

[stj]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

if you get this junk working,

it would be cool to have internal SDR tuner - like this.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/381208081323
http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr
it looks like this undressed.
https://steve-m.de/pictures/rtl-sdr/rtl2832_r820t.jpg

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

No, don't do that! Upon "accepting" that $5, you lock yourself out of your previously-seeked partial refund; accept that slap in the face, and you've "closed" the dispute against your best interest.

Make the idiot aware of that, and never waver from your original position. You want the $12.79- your cost because of a terrible seller. It was no fault of your own!

This is how scambayers hurt all of us; by baiting people into partial refunds for defective goods, then "backing out" and keeping too much. Do not accept that low-ball- it obviously worked in the past, which is why he so smugly tried it on you. Be that one customer of his that does not play along- you (the customer) are in the right here.

They need to be "spoken to" in a language they understand.

None of these sleazes ever seem to man up and either admit any wrongdoing or act to assure repeat customers. Or, it's somehow the buyers' fault. The fact that it was originally listed for $79 speaks volumes for this "seller." It never should've sold over $50- it seems as if seller wasn't telling the entire story.

For all we know, the picture in that listing was from somewhere else; showing a "good" unit in "working" condx.

"Includes power supply and pen." Well... these are your pictures- show us the items included!

I won't even get into how the "back 'n forth" bullshit on ebay is worth as much in time as some of these items... I've already beaten that horse.

RD, be succinct- accept nothing but what you initially set out for.

Well, I'm not about to get in a massive fight over $7.79. If it were over $10 or so I'd be a little more inclined to argue it. My concern was that it would turn into a "fine send it back and I'll give you your $60 back" sort of situation. Hell, that's $5 more than he could have given me (as it was AS-IS). You gotta pick your battles. It is possible that the fault occurred in shipping. Who knows.

In my last reply to the seller I did point out that it wasn't what I asked for. Let the feedback speak for the service I guess.

It did come with a lite-on brick (which works and is indeed OEM) and the original pen. So everything was there.

STJ- Nah, that would require a lot of hacking to make fit, and I'm not about to go hacking up a nice Latitude. If this were some chinese POS I'd be more inclined. Besides, that antenna is a bit bulky, and if I'm in a place where bulky is OK, I'll just grab one of my laptops .

[stj]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

you wouldnt use "that" antenna,
you would select an antenna for the frequency range you were interested in.

that's the thing with those dongles - they tune from 24 - 1766 MHz !!

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

you wouldnt use "that" antenna,
you would select an antenna for the frequency range you were interested in.

that's the thing with those dongles - they tune from 24 - 1766 MHz !!

Still, I'd have to do more modding that I would want to. Not to mention I don't really care for OTA tv (assuming that's what it was made for?)

Now, if it were an FM radio band spectrum analyzer I'd be more intetested (to use with one of my laptops)... there is a part of the interstate that is always getting swamped by signals off some transmission towers nearby... I've always been curious as to what frequency(s) are being transmitted so strongly that the resultant noise is wrecking the whole FM band.

[stj]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

ah.. but it can do that!

it can waterfall a specific frequency range, tune any signal (digital or analog) and decode/resolve it.

these things are like magic!
you could listen in on CB or HAM, decode pagers - you name it.

look at these links for some screenshots.
http://www.hdsdr.de/screenshots.html
http://gqrx.dk/
http://www.sdr-j.tk/index.html

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

mobo came in, installed it, booted up no problem (posting from it actually).

This is the tablet they described, the video is a it wonky. However it seems to be a bad conenction between the LCD itself and the screen driver. If i can catch it acting up ill get pics.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

Got pics. Gotta run, so I'll just attach them and explain them later. It will "work" or "not work" depending on how I tilt the tablet, which does seem like a physical connection issue. Suggestions?

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

Made a Diagnosis... LVDS cable. I took a look at the hot bar connections to the LCD driver, which looked fine. ... then, while messing with it, find that it's contact with a particular part of the back cover causes the glitch to happen and stop. Hmm... pull the "logo cover" and sure enough, the mobo side of the LVDS cable is in the vincinty. I power it up w/o the cover, and I can make it fail/work just by pressing said connection. Since it's done this on two different motherboards, I say it's safe to call it a cable fault.

Whew... beats having to get a new panel edit- $15 for a used cable... sorta pricey but still not bad.

---

One thing I miss from windows 8: the on-screen keyboard. I wonder if anybody ported it to 7... as I'm not spending $ on a 8.1 key.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

I also scored a dock for $14 shipped, BRAND NEW. This will be pretty slick when I'm done.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

Ok, I've messed with it some more and now I'm only 60% sure it's the LVDS cable. It also seems like messing with the driver board's edge has an effect, which would point to bad LCD tabs, which in turn would mean bad LCD.

All I can do here is try the cable and pray that fixes it... if not, then IDK. An new LED screen (not sure if my stock screen is LED as well?) is $45; a used screen+digitizer is $40+

Insert "the cheese is never free" joke here... it's otherwise a nice (but somewhat anemic) tablet.

edit- I'm a noob. Since it's mostly all-over the screen, it's safe to say it's a TCON issue of some sort... still hope it's the cable.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

Hey dell:

Well, here's the problem. Apparently the only way to get the LED flash on the rear camera to work (under 7, not sure about 8.1, as I don't have a key readily available) is dell's webcam central app. For this tablet, it is a special version that is for all intents and purpouses unobtainium because it is only available on the resource disk which I didn't get. Dell's "my downloads" service doesn't work with these, and supposedly this disk was never available for purchase in the first place.

What sucks even more is that there are no good webcam camera apps for windows 7... Amcap is geared towards keyboard shortcuts, and the rest are slow and clunky. The versions of dell webcam central I have found are not compatible (as they are driver specific ).

All of this is based on this (especially the last post): http://en.community.dell.com/support...518/t/19524172

I've looked online, all I've found is a listing on dell's support tips (which says to use said disk) and a malware scan report.

So, looks like that aspect is fucked. I'm half-tempted to try to install windows 8.1 using the 30 day demo just to see how much I can make work (and if I can make it run better, this thing is a dog at best).

I know, it's not a major part of the tablet, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist and having the cameras working as smartphone-style cameras would be handy (the rear is a 5MP with flash for crying out loud).

PS- if you happen to have one and would be willing find and send me R316147, then I'd be so happy. Otherwise, F*CK you dell!

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

Did some research, it looks like 8's camera app may indeed support camera flash. I found a x86 8.1 usb stick I had sitting but being the "with bing" edition, it required a key to install (no preview option unlike the full x86 8.1 image).

Shoot, this may be one time I do upgrade from 7 to 8.1 (but not 10, hell no). If anybody has a key for a decent version they'd like to sell (and can sell), PM me, as if my 8.1 tests go well (once I make a new stick), I'll be looking to get a key.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

Windows 8 testing was a fail... webcam drivers didn't do crap. So, this is a win7 tablet, and nothing more.

I wonder if there is any way to purchase the resource disc from dell even if it is out of warranty?

[diif]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

http://en.community.dell.com/support...519/t/19448019

This one ?

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

http://en.community.dell.com/support...519/t/19448019

This one ?

Nope. The versions are driver specific and that one doesn't recognize my webcams.

Hello again Allen D. I prefer this forum in the hopes that if someone else is also caught in this trap they will learn the truth. Dell forgot and then abandoned the download or addition of this program/software from the hardware index. The only reason I was able to even figure out what happened was a German site (in German) spelled it out. After a gruelling ordeal with support they found the answer. It still is not available to the public, that which has transpired or the remedy. At this point it appears if you have to reinstall your operating system in the st slate and do not have the recovery Drivers CD Part # M8KCC then you are out of luck. The webcam Central modified version 2.01.06 is buried in that disk. It unzipps as R316147. Also the driver for Vertual Webcam 94RR4 must be used if you have updated the bios to A8. I was told there is no purchase of this Recovery Driver CD and a Dell support agent told me there was none shipped with this model. Really ???!! Also this model does not appear to be supported by Dell in the "My Dell Downloads" department either (If you try to register the item it comes up Service Tag unsupported). Wow, total abandonment to this product. I ask myself why, and it is obvious. Anyway thanks for your attempts Allen D, the secret must even be kept from you.

Without that disc, I'm screwed...

[Topcat]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

I wonder if there is any way to purchase the resource disc from dell even if it is out of warranty?

Their resource disks have part numbers on them, if you can get that number, you could probably track one down somewhere. I've done that with a few obscure dell laptops.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

Their resource disks have part numbers on them, if you can get that number, you could probably track one down somewhere. I've done that with a few obscure dell laptops.

I do, and it's quoted above. It's part M8KCC. A quick googling turned up nothing. Edit- nope, not on ebay, not for sale anyplace else. Unobtainum. Thanks dell

[Topcat]

Re: Ratdude's Tablet Chronicles, Part III

^
well poo then.... since 8 was a flop, feeling lucky and wanting to try 10?