Whiteboard Calibration

[Friez]

Not entirely sure which forum I should really be dumping this topic in... buuuuut HEEEELP!

 

Got a teacher here who whinges almost every day about his interactive whiteboard (he's officially the schools biggest moaner!) Anyway.... this time he does have something to moan about!

 

His interactive whiteboard (SMART) has trouble calibrating. In the mornings he declares that it is knocked well out of line (and sometimes during the course of the day). At first I suspected a student may have been playing a prank on him when he had his back turned, but now I'm not so sure.

 

I managed to catch him when his board was knocked out of line and attempted to recalibrate myself.... and I discovered that it actually refused to calibrate properly!

 

Check the attached image.

 

Those lines were drawn using a straight edge as a guide, notice how they're significantly wobbly on the far left / right side near the bottom.

 

Admittedly this is better than it was, the lines were almost an entire square out of line before calibration, but its still not spot on (even after several failed attempts at calibrating).

 

This guy is a maths teacher too, so it causes him hell in lessons where precision is required (such as coordinates and the like).

 

Anyone had a problem like this before? Anyone figured out how to solve it? Should I be going back to the manufacturer?

[Domino]

is the projector at a strange angle or straight on?

 

Also is the keystoning all set up right?

[elsiegee40]

We had this problem with one of our boards. It was only a couple of months old, but it turned out it had started to delaminate. For us it was replaced under guarantee...

[dave.81]

We are getting a similar problem with one of our smartboards i am going to give it a good test at breaktime see if it's the user or something more important. Will let you know how i get on.

[alexknight]

Umm, strange. We have the same problem with one of our newer Smart Boards.

 

When it has been calibrated the alignment is not correct. the problem is that when you write on the board the actual writing appears about 2 cm above where you are writing. Never had this problem before and I don't think it would be down to the projector?

 

Alex

[Disease]

What point calibration are you set at? We use 20 point callibration here and never had a problem.

[Halfmad]

I use 9 point calibration and never had a problem - never noticed any improvement with the higher level calibration even for handwriting.

 

Looking that the OPs picture I'd say it was a faulty smartboard, but you could replace the USB cable to see if that helps - hell you never know!

[davyboi]

is it an older 500 series bored (with the black plastic around the edges) or a newer 600 series with the silver edges?

 

how long has it been in? did you register the board for the extra 3 years warrenty when you installed the software?

[enjay]

We had something similar on one of our 580s - got it replaced under warranty for a 680!

[SimpleSi]

Make sure you register the board for the guarantee extension.

 

Many people have no problems with their boards - that just means they are lucky - I've had 2 reported faulty in last 2 weeks

 

You need to go down the route of software/hardware subsitution.

 

Swap board with another class - does the fault go with it.

 

Try a laptop (pref that has never had Smart software on it before) see what happens.

 

Swap cable if possible.

 

Check version of driver on a a working machine vs the faulty class.

 

Sacrifice small animal.

 

Contact your supplier and see if they are interested in helping you find the fault

 

When all else fails - contact Steljes (the UK importer) but pe prepared for the worst support you've ever ever experiencd

 

Good luck

 

regards

 

Simon

[TechSupp]

I had a similar one, caused problems when teacher was trying to demonstrate correct hand writting techniques! Eventually fixed by re-routing the USB cable away from any power sources. If its a new board (silver edge) there is a warning that they are very sensitive to EMF, even to what walls they are fixed to.

[Friez]

Sacrifice small animal.

Will do.

 

how long has it been in?

Only a few months.

 

is the projector at a strange angle or straight on?

It's mounted to the ceiling, not straight on (kids would be bumping their heads otherwise), but it's reasonable. Same height as other rooms, and this issue never used to exist before. It's keystoned rather well, seems pretty well aligned with the board.

 

What point calibration are you set at?

I set it to the finest (20) as part of my usual install routine. I've discovered from experience that 9 or 4 tend to achieve less accurate results, and these guys are zealots for accuracy.

 

I'll try as many of the suggestions above that I am able to while the NM is out and report my findings back here! Thanks for the advice!

[davyboi]

if it is a new 600 series board try removing the pen tray, (a couple of clips undernearth if you look you will see them) then loosen the 2 screws that hold the board to the wall slightly, if these are 2 tight is will bend the board slightly making the orientation go out.

 

you could also try swapping the control box on the back if the problem carrys on, i cant see it being this tbh but it is woth a try its only a couple of screws.

 

finaly get your self an A-B usb cable and unplug the existing usb cable from the back of the board and go straight from there to your computer canceling out your break out box.

 

if all this fails contact the company that installed it and let them deal with it if it has only been in a few months.

[steven19852001]

Make sure you register the board for the guarantee extension.

 

Many people have no problems with their boards - that just means they are lucky - I've had 2 reported faulty in last 2 weeks

 

You need to go down the route of software/hardware subsitution.

 

Swap board with another class - does the fault go with it.

 

Try a laptop (pref that has never had Smart software on it before) see what happens.

 

Swap cable if possible.

 

Check version of driver on a a working machine vs the faulty class.

 

Sacrifice small animal.

 

Contact your supplier and see if they are interested in helping you find the fault

 

When all else fails - contact Steljes (the UK importer) but pe prepared for the worst support you've ever ever experiencd

 

Good luck

 

regards

 

Simon

 

Hi Simon,

 

Apologies for the bad experience you have had with steljes. Please email me your concerns at [email protected] and I will be more than happy to look into this for you. Please note that this email applies to everyone. Please email us and we will look into resolving the issues you have.

 

Regards

 

Steve

[DarrenC]

Its nice to hear a distributor offering assistance to schools, however I would suggest that everyone should speak to the company they bought their equipment from first.

 

It is most definitely the suppliers job to offer support and assistance where ever possible to their customers. Too many companies now rely on the distributors/manufacturers to offer their customer support for them.

 

It sounds like this may end up with replacing the board under warranty, if not it will be an install issue so you should definitely contact your supplier.

[ricki]

HI

 

I have had this on several occasions and have found it to be caused by several things.

 

The smartboard software is not working correctly and has been damaged. Uninstall and try again.

 

The usb cable has been extended too much without a booster, or the booster cable is not working correctly.

 

The cable has been partially pulled out on the computer at the join with the extender or on the back of the board.

 

The serial connector on the smartboard end has been damaged or bent or knocked. They used to be on the bottom of the board and were always getting banged.

 

Or like I saw the other day the board was damaged.

 

Just some ideas

 

Richard

[sidewinder]

The USB cable can often be the cause here

 

But we had something almost identical on a 500 series board a few weeks back, nothing would solve it, so it got replaced under warranty. Thankfully we had a helpful supplier too who dealt with Smart on our behalf

[James_ACS]

Hi there.

 

I have read everyone's replies on here and i believe that one person has it right.

 

I've had this fault on hundreds of occasions in the past working as part of an installation team in schools in my previous job. It's to do with the adhesive thats used to stick the white of the smartboard to the backing. It slightly comes away and causes issues with calibration and alignment.

 

If you give steljes a call i'm sure they'll be more than happy to look at your board if its under warranty, and repair or replace.

 

Failing that theres not much you can do.

 

Regards.

 

James.