interesting: my PE goes crazy in the sunlight

[teledyn]

Anyone else get this effect? Sitting outside, in the shade of a tree, the touchscreen does random focus and scroll effects unless I tip the plane of the screen away from the sun, even when sitting in the shade of the tailgate of my Caravan! Must be some sensitivity to rays that passes through an automobile door!

Perhaps the PE could be remarketted as a low cost portable neutrino detector?

[PhilWA]

Yes, mine does the same thing. Basically the tablet side is useless in sunlight, or even when the temperature rises.

[exscentric]

Is it related to screen savers?

[teledyn]

screen savers? I don't use any screen saver, I just let it timeout to black. I'd think it may have to do with infrared or UV tripping whatever mechanism the touchscreen uses to detect a touch, but maybe not?

[ivanjt]

The touch screen is a resistive one (look it up on wikipedia to get the low down on how it works) so it is unlikely to react to UV or even IR. It is probable that it is reacting to uneven expansion of the surface caused by the heating from the sunlight.

[teledyn]

the expansion must be microscopic because I was sitting with the unit held up between myself and the sun, with the open back door of a Dodge Caravan (not the glass window, but the door itself, steel and plastic) and the folliage of a large oak tree between us, and the ambient temperature outside was only perhaps 20C -- if I tilted the plane of the screen in any way within 90 degrees of the line to the sun, the screen would react, but if I stayed on the shadow side, everything was fine.

so I can't see heat-deformation as being a factor unless perhaps individual photons can cause localized deformations that will trigger the screen events.

hmmm ... so it is a real mystery then!

[teledyn]

it may be related to the circular polarizers somehow employed in resistive screens; haven't found a definitive discussion yet, but it could be that it isn't rays penetrating the car door, but rays of polarized light from the direct sunlight that are being reflected or refracted and their polarization is confusing the touchscreen sensors as if the surface had been deformed by a press.

[Filark]

Wow! Cool! I read outside in the sun sometimes (e-ink side of EE) and have never noticed anything odd. Recently I did a crossword on the tablet side of my PE while sitting in the shade (waiting for a locksmith to let me back into my car ) and it worked fine. Will have to experiment next time I take my eDGes out.

[Gunnerp245]

There is a thread in the ereaders forum where a new ereader was too sensitive to sunlight causing similar effects you describe.

[PhilWA]

Originally Posted by Filark

Wow! Cool! I read outside in the sun sometimes (e-ink side of EE) and have never noticed anything odd. Recently I did a crossword on the tablet side of my PE while sitting in the shade (waiting for a locksmith to let me back into my car ) and it worked fine. Will have to experiment next time I take my eDGes out.

Filark - try reading a book on the TABLET side in the sun. Pages turn automatically, so read fast!

[ivanjt]

Maybe there is a difference between the PE and EE. My EE gets used quite a lot out in the sun (we do get quite a lot of it in the South of France). I usually have something on both screens at the same time and, so far, have not had sunlight cause problems with the LCD screen other than making it hard to read.

[T-virus]

Originally Posted by teledyn

Anyone else get this effect? Sitting outside, in the shade of a tree, the touchscreen does random focus and scroll effects unless I tip the plane of the screen away from the sun, even when sitting in the shade of the tailgate of my Caravan! Must be some sensitivity to rays that passes through an automobile door!

Perhaps the PE could be remarketted as a low cost portable neutrino detector?

Dude, your PE has an optic D-Pad which uses IR and sunlight is full of it.

Same thing happen when you let your IR mouse's sensor faces direct sunlight

[Filark]

Originally Posted by PhilWA

Filark - try reading a book on the TABLET side in the sun. Pages turn automatically, so read fast!

I did try using the tablet in the shade recently: My lists were writing themselves! Actually it wasn't so bad that I couldn't get things done, but yes -- I see what you mean.

Optical mouse seems the sensible explanation, especially if the EE doesn't have the same behavior. Just for kicks I think I'll try the PE with my hand over the mouse and see what happens.

Always something interesting with these devices!

[teledyn]

the optic mouse! of course! I keep forgetting that thing is even there, even thought it is pretty useful when I remember to use it so a well placed thumb should solve the problem.

[lorenzoens]

Boox M90 & 91 had the same trouble, 'cause of the same kind of IR controller