TommyCooper

Have you made the teachers aware of how much replacement pens cost, and that every time you have to buy replacements it's money that can't be spent on other teaching resources? Sounds like your teachers need some additional education!

Have you tried another computer to see if that show the same fault? If it still drops the connection after 5 to 10 mins I'd suggest getting hold of the serial number and contacting Steljes (the warranty holder for most 4065s sold in the UK). They might have some other suggestions for you to try but they can probably also help if it's still under warranty and has a fault.

The PSU is a 5 volt, 2 amp supply with a centre-positive connection to the board. Any replacement PSU that has the right connector and meets those specs should be suitable.

Did you get this fixed? I'd suspect the affected laptops had USB 3 ports, and should normally be fixable by connecting the boards via a USB 2 active extender.

I agree on the cabling being the likely issue here. If you're using VGA cables make sure they're fully populated and properly shielded too.

Can you set the projector to be the primary display? In duplicate display scenarios Windows will default to the resolution of whichever display is set to be primary.

Try this: https://www.epson.co.uk/gb/en/viewcon/corporatesite/products/mainunits/faq/3812/2867

Have you installed Intel's proprietry drivers? Their control panel should have options to adjust the display scaling to hopefully eliminate the letterboxing.

It'd be unusual but not unheard of to have the same fault on multiple displays. Does the flickering issue happen if a different make or model of laptop is connected? I'd want to confirm that it isn't a fault with Dell E5540 before going any further as the manufacturer will probably want to check that before authorising any warranty work. If the issue is still there with a different laptop I'd get hold of all the serial numbers and contact Steljes about it (they're the warranty holder for most SMART E70s in the UK). They'll probably ask you to check a few things first but if they're under warranty I wouldn't be surprised if they suggested swapping one of them under warranty to see if it improves things for you.

I don't blame you for writing off the mirror replacement! If my memory's correct the projector's as good as built around the internal metal bracket that the mirror's glued to.

UF70's can overheat causing premature lamp failure if they're fitted too close to the ceiling. There should be a 10 3/8" - 26.4cm air gap between the projector and the ceiling. If they're fitted too close go back to your installer and ask them if they read the installation template before fitting the projectors (copy available from http://downloads01.smarttech.com/media/sitecore/en/support/product/smartboards-fpd/800i6series/textless/mountingtemplatesb800i6sb600i6v07may2013.pdf).

4065's can be picky about the total length of the USB cable (including anything that's fitted in dado trunking). Try a shorter cable directly between PC and the panel, and make sure it's connected to a USB 2 port not a USB 3 one.

Have you tried using a separate VGA cable running directly between the PC and projector? When using VGA projectors have to "lock-on" to signal timing information that's sent to it along the VGA cable by the PC to show the correct resolution on screen. If the cable you're using is slightly damaged then picture data may be getting through properly but the timing information might not be. You could also try doing a factory reset on the projector. You'll need to go into the service menu to do this, and make sure you know how to change the projector installation orientation before starting as it might flip the image upside down at the same time.

Just found this thread - did you manage to swap the mirror assembly earlier this year? UF75's are fairly time consuming to repair so I suspect a large part of the cost you were quoted by TSC was the labour cost. SMART's newer UF70w will fit on the same wall fixings as the UF75w but I don't think you'll be able to buy them without getting another board too! A good alternative which will normally fit in almost the same place on the wall (you'd need to take a couple of measurements to check clearances) is Epson's EB-575W, but a de-install and re-install is needed as the fixing points aren't the same.

If everything's gone greyscale with no input it probably isn't the DMD chip. It could be a completely failed and stuck colour wheel, but more likely is that it's a failure on the main driver board. Both are technically repairable but might be costly if the unit's out of warranty.

The control panel from the UF65 that attaches to the bottom bezel of the 600-series board should work okay. All the control codes and cabling at the projector end is the same on both models. I haven't tried using a control panel from a UF55 with a UF70 so the best I can say is that it might work. The control codes for the UF55 are also the same as the UF70, but cabling at the projector end is different. It all depends on whether or not the UF70 is wired-up internally to supply the additional power that the UF55 control panel needs through the projector's serial port. Both the height that the projector bracket is above the board and how central it is are important. In an ideal install the upper fixing screws for the projector bracket should be 43.5cm above the fixing screws for the board mounting rails, but you can usually get the image lined-up okay if it's a little higher or lower. The UF70 projector bracket allows a small amount of lateral movement if your original projector was off-centre, but if the image from the UF55/65 was square on the board you shouldn't need to use this.

Looks like you've got a faulty DMD chip so the only option would be to replace the projector. SMART's UF70 fits on the same fixings at the wall end (the 3 middle ones of the 5 fixings on the UF55) so swappong the boom arm should be fairly straightforward (as long as the UF55 was fitted in the correct position!)

That functionality is by design and isn't a fault. The ST20 was designed to allow a (for the time) very high projection angle, so the digital keystone was configured to go from 0 to -60 (I think - it's a really old unit now!) instead of +30 to -30. Try adjusting the angle of the projector mounting on the end of the boom arm first if you find you need to use positive keystone.

SMART don't officially support SB580s any more so they don't provide drivers for newer operating systems. If either the product drivers or Mac OSX have been updated since the teacher moved then the board might not work. You'll probably find you get the same problem if you try to use a SB580 with a PC with a 64-bit version of Windows on it.

Sounds like whatever caused the dent warped the board, causing the permanent contact you're seeing. If you've not replaced it already try removing the board from the wall and see if it works properly when it's loose.

The boom arm is supplied with the UF70. The fixing holes at the wall end of the boom arm are in exactly the same position as the middle three fixings that your UF55 and UF65 projectors used. As long as the original projectors were fitted in the correct position (experience in the UK is that this isn't always the case) then swapping them for UF70s should be straightforward. UF70s are a big improvement over the UF55and UF65.

Never had any problens running firmware updates from win7 machines. 600 and 800 boards have very different internal architectures so the fact that you're having problems with both is pointing quite strongly to a problem at the laptop end of things. Unfortunately that doesn't make troubleshooting much easier! Are you able to try a different make/model of laptop with a vanilla win7 install? It could also be a problem with insufficient usb voltage from your laptop. If you plug in a 600 series board the smart diagnostic tools will automatically record the board voltages in the diagnostic log. There's 3 of them but the important ones here are USB_IN and VDD. The boards also need a different driver to go into firmware update mode and the default behaviour of win7 is to try windows update first. You can run into problems if group policy, firewall settings etc prevent win7 doing this - hence the suggestion of a vanilla install. Good luck!

Please think very carefully before using your own mounting hardware instead of the plastic bracket. It may seem trivial but you could be opening a big can of worms! At the end of the day its your choice but: 1. You will void any warranty on the board. If a warranty is voided and the install has been signed-off by a certified installer the certification could also be jeapodised. 2. Metal-on-metal contact between the board and the wall can cause interference in some cases. 3. If the board falls from the wall for any reason and somebody is injured your insurer is likely to decide that you are personally liable for any compensation etc if you haven't used what the manufacturer considers to be appropriate fixings. The HSE may also decide to investigate you.

It sounds like you might need to turn-off the single-finger panning option in Windows 7. If that doesn't work try calling Steljes (SMART's UK distributor) for help. They're on 08450 724999.

There's a huge number of possible causes of 600-series boards that won't orientate correctly. A few of the most common are: - On Windows machines if the user doesn't have sufficient priviledges for the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SMART Technologies\SMART Board Drivers part of the registry it won't orientate correctly. This is where the board orientation data is stored and the user will need to be able to create and modify subkeys and their contents within this key. - If boards are exposed to high temperatures for extended periods of time the tension of the front surface can become uneven - the tell-tale sign of this is that lines drawn along the edges of the board appear broken or wobbly. They are only designed to work up to 35C - mounting them above radiators or next to hot water pipes can cause this type of failure. (This would not be covered by warranty as the boards would have been installed incorrectly). - The controller module could be failing. As silver_uk says try swapping with another one that's working properly to prove this quickly. If none of these work arm youself with the serial numbers of the boards and try giving Steljes (SMART's UK distributor) a call. Their technical guys are on 08450 724999. Sorry to dispell a popular myth: but smart boards aren't affected by interference from electrical wiring behind the board, although they can suffer from earth loops and should have the bottom two fixing screws isolated from the fixing holes on the board. Promethean boards however can suffer due to electrical wiring behind the board as they're electromagnetic in design. Good luck!