BEL Tablet PC

Assisted:

1. Srinivas R.
2. Rajesh R.

I had an opportunity to get hold of a non functioning BEL Tablet PC which was launched for the Ministry of Rural Development’s poverty survey. The tablet was manufactured at BEL’s Bangalore plant and it had received huge orders for manufacturing the same.

Look and Feel:

The tablet as a whole with the keyboard and leather carry case looks like a diary, heavy for it’s size. You can remove all this an just carry it with the stylus, which fits into the tablet itself. The added advantage is the additional battery pack which comes in handy when you require more life out of it, but compared to what is available in the market now, this model seems out dated. Being an indigenously built product, I would love to see it’s future in the market.

Specification:

1. 7 inch display with a Stylus
2. Android 2.2 version
3. Solar-backed battery?
4. A mini USB keyboard
5. SD card slot
6. 2 USB ports
7. RJ 45 slot
8. Microphone/Speaker jack
9. An external battery pack with a charger.

Note: Battery pack can be charged by the big pin Nokia Mobile charger also.

Problem: The dreaded blue screen error.
Solution: There were a lot of solutions available in the forums but none seemed to work for me.
Support: Since there was a warranty sticker on the tablet we called up BEL customer care and they informed that one need to carry the equipment to the place from where it is brought from. They also questioned from where one got hold of it, since it is still not handed over to the masses. WT?
Solution: Open up the tablet and start debugging.

Electronics Inside:

I don’t understand the components wired in the circuit, but Srinivas have taken a picture of the same for reference.

The components that matter for debugging are marked,

Trail 1: Tried removing the display cable and fixing it back. Powering on, same blue screen error.

Trial 2: Removed the mini SD card that is used for booting and and inserted our card with L Ubuntu (https://www.miniand.com/forums/forums/2/topics/1) on it. Powering on, same blue screen error.

Trail 3: Re-inserted the old mini SD card having Android OS. Powering on the tablet while holding the back button and the power button simultaneously for 1-2 minutes. Something new appearing on the screen,

SD card detected
Updating kernel
Wait for 2 minutes
System updated

Note: Don’t stop pressing those keys until the whole procedure is over.

Viola, the tablet is booting. One can see the BEL logo after which Android OS booting. Tried using external keyboard/mouse, all seem to be functional except the stylus, but we are not sure whether this was working before or not, so left like that. Overall, seemed like a loose connectivity.