Smart board not aligned, what to try?

[talksr]

Hi there, I have a 2 year old integrated smart board and projector which is playing me up a little.

I don't have any spare systems to try on the board to establish if it could just be the laptop playing games.

 

No matter how many times the user re-aligns, using 20 points, 80 points or more, when using her fingers to press, it is pin point accurate, as soon as you use any pen, it is about 7 or 8 centimeters off.

 

If I use the diagnostics software, I can trace lines perfectly, as soon as you go back to normal user mode, the pens are all over the place.

 

I have tried updating software, reinstalling, etc etc.

 

What could this be?

[talksr]

There are two alignment options, one for the computer in the smartboard software, and one on the boards own menu. Make sure you align the board with itself (no computer) and then align with the system tools within windows and see how that goes.

 

 

I was not aware of this. How can you align the board with its self?

[jcubbin]

Hi Talksr,

 

you say you have tried updating the software and drivers etc on this machine, have you tried to update the Firmware for the SmartBoard?

 

If not try locating the smartfirmwareupdater.exe file located in C:\Program Files (x86)\SMART Technologies\Education Software or

C:\Program Files\SMART Technologies\Education Software

and go through the firmware update process.

I've fixed a few SB680's using this method

[hallb15]

Before you try updating the firmware, have you tried the reset button on the right-hand side of the smartboard - its pretty small so can be hard to find, but it is there!

Press it in and hold it in until the lights on the pen tray start to flash, then let go and wait for it to do its thing.

Then to orient the board and software, press both buttons on the pen tray at the same time and the windows orientation should come up. Use the pens to orient, not fingers.

[MattDLEA]

Just A quick one we have this board

 

After doing a software align its alligned on the horizontal but not the vertical. I cant find any hardware reset buttons or how to align the board to itself, any ideas

[StevieM]

@MattDLEA - Gosh, I've not seen one of those in a while! As far as I know, SB500s don't need hardware calibration; that's for the cameras on the 800 series (although I may be wrong). I can't remember if it has a reset button or not, but on the 600s the reset button is near the bottom on the right-hand side of the board behind the frame. Here is the link for the support documents if that is any help to you. If not, I think it may be time to buy a new board.

@talksr - If you're using an 800 series board, try replacing the nibs in the pens if they have become worn down. I know it sounds crazy, but that's worked for me on several occasions.

[hallb15]

There is no reset button on the SB480/SB500. The only way to reset it is to unplug the USB cable.

http://downloads01.smarttech.com/media/sitecore/en/support/product/smartboards-fpd/400400iv600iv/guides/guidesb480usersv10jul12.pdf

 

Has it just started doing this recently? If you've installed newer software, which is highly likely given the age of the board, then updating the firmware is probably your next best bet.

 

Have you tried using the shortest USB cable possible connected directly to a laptop?

[RobD]

Have a read through the below, may help:

Interactive Smart Boards

[MattDLEA]

Some of them are still connected by serial cable.

 

I think its time for a refresh as they are 13 years old

[Reverend_Dan]

Ive had a few where a couple of turns off the mounting screws at the bottom sorted it out as the installers had put them on too tight. Was very sceptical when told this off a smart engineer but its works on about 5 boards

[truebluesteve]

I'd look for any physical damage too - even a small pinprick can render a whole area of the board unusable. If fact as I type this, I have just been told that one of ours has exactly that issue and will need to be replaced. There goes another £1000

[timbo343]

Have a look at this thread. I found a hidden 80 point calibration feature http://www.edugeek.net/forums/windows-7/100928-problems-smartboard-under-windows-7-a.html