Daleus Posted September 30, 2008 Posted September 30, 2008 A promethean board has stopped working here, All the cables are in, the computer can't detect it and the little light in the top left does not come on when the pen is on the board. The power supply for it seems fine, but due to the fact its almost built onto the wall, its almost impossible to check cables on the back. Anyone had anything similar, if so, is it time for a new board? protip: it's out of warranty.
LeMarchand Posted September 30, 2008 Posted September 30, 2008 Not at my school that uses them today but IIRC the light comes on when they are powered up, rather than when the pen is deployed. I'd double-check connections and mains fuses. (The cleaners totally unplugged one board at the school over summer - I seem to remember that the cable has multiple parts). The boards (at that school) aren't difficult to remove from the wall to check the connections - it's easier with 2 people though, and (of course) your setup may be different. The most common problem they get is that the computer randomly "loses" the driver. Check Device manager, and if it is crossed reinstall it - but do not "search" at any time. From memory: Device Manager>HIDs>Activboard>Update Driver>Do not connect to Windows Update>Choose Driver from List(> Choose Activboard).
plexer Posted September 30, 2008 Posted September 30, 2008 The light in the top corner should be on when the board is powered nothing to do with the pen being near it so I'd double check the psu. Ben
AJT1 Posted September 30, 2008 Posted September 30, 2008 Yes, the logo in the top left corner of the board should be lit up white when powered up and should turn red when the pen is used on board, we've had about 7 power supplies go here! They don't seem to mind paying £25 for a power supply everytime one blows rather than buy surge protectors.
Daleus Posted September 30, 2008 Author Posted September 30, 2008 Thanks guys, I knew the light did something when the pen goes near/touches it, I'll try another power supply when they're out of the room I'm not a fan of the prometheans, I'd punch one, but I'd have to replace the membrane (well, buy a new board)
plexer Posted September 30, 2008 Posted September 30, 2008 You'd have to punch it pretty damn hard to break it like that. Ben
Daleus Posted September 30, 2008 Author Posted September 30, 2008 You'd have to punch it pretty damn hard to break it like that. Ben Promethean Boards make me RRAAAGGGEE!!! and I'm not a small lad, I reckon I could break one in two.
DMcCoy Posted September 30, 2008 Posted September 30, 2008 Yes, the logo in the top left corner of the board should be lit up white when powered up and should turn red when the pen is used on board, we've had about 7 power supplies go here! They don't seem to mind paying £25 for a power supply everytime one blows rather than buy surge protectors. They are just bad PSUs, we have had the odd one DOA, and usually some fail in the first week.
mullet_man Posted September 30, 2008 Posted September 30, 2008 We have all promethan boards, had to replace at least 15 over the 4 years I have been here.
witch Posted September 30, 2008 Posted September 30, 2008 Sounds like the psu to me - we have had 4 go in 3 years. You'll probably have to reinstall the drivers too, the slightest thing loses them, I find!
broc Posted September 30, 2008 Posted September 30, 2008 I would suspect the PSU, we have had a fair number of failures. At one time you could buy new PSUs from Promethean for £12-50 without the cable, now they charge £30 with the cable regardless of whether you need it or not. They add insult to injury by charging £15 delivery too.
HodgeHi Posted September 30, 2008 Posted September 30, 2008 This thread is interesting to me. We are having a new school built and at the moment we are mostly Smart (apart from some crappy things in the infants). I thought that this was to continue but a deputy here raised her voice a little over the promethean boards and how much she liked them. Now the head is looking into them. It's interesting to hear how many people have had failed boards in such a short time period. Is this just coincidence? I have been here now for two years and not one smart board or USB cable that powers the boards has failed. Is this the difference between the two? Would be interesting for some to comment on how many Smart boards they have had problems with...
LeMarchand Posted September 30, 2008 Posted September 30, 2008 Around 14 in the school I support that has them. No failures in the 2 or 3 years years I have been there, but plenty of the aforementioned driver problems. There's around 30 Smartboards in my other 2 schools, and I haven't had any problems with them. It's also a lot easier to get the updated software.
Daleus Posted September 30, 2008 Author Posted September 30, 2008 USB? Our Prometheans are so old they run off the COM port, And the machines they are connected to are Pent 3's and are USB 1.1. They work fine though, no slowdowns at all.
MunkySpanner Posted October 1, 2008 Posted October 1, 2008 Got about 26 promethean boards ranging from about 4 years old to some of the newer style all in one units that can be raised/lowered on the wall. Some USB, most connect via serial which is far more reliable. Used to have no end of connection issues but seems to have died down with the new v4 drivers Had about 4 PSU failures. Older installs were an easy swap out with the psu plugging into the serial connector on the back of the pc. Newer install had all the cables going into a box on the wall with the psu inside it, all fastened up with the star bolts that have a little sticky up bit in the middle. Right pain to get undone without the proper tool! Also had a couple of the serial cables fail, but all in all no real complaints.
maniac Posted October 1, 2008 Posted October 1, 2008 We must have about 30 promethean boards here, and generally get very few problems with them. Some of them are the older style boards, but they still work well. We've had a few PSU failures so we now keep a few in stock to swap them out straight away. The boards must know this, as none have failed since we've been doing this. Mike.
Butuz Posted October 2, 2008 Posted October 2, 2008 Yep got 28 here. PSU's are weak and can fail - keep spares in. Serial boards are far more reliable than USB ones. Don't really have many problems with them to be honest.
Michael Posted October 2, 2008 Posted October 2, 2008 Before you go and spend £25 on a new adapter, try another working adapter. If the board lights up, chances are the fuse has gone. As for punching a board, funnily enough I've never tried. I think the wall behind it would be enough to break anyone's hand!
Mike-j Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 Hi 45 boards installed over 5 years we have had 3 psu blown, 2 board controller units replaced under warranty, driver dropping is a problem, Using the same usb port on the laptop/computer all the time solved a lot of the issue with the dropped drivers and the latest drivers. Pens not in the rooms with board is an issue, as they are easily place in the jacket pocket:( also projector remotes going for a walk) Software is spot on! .
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