TV Experts??????

[cn8cg]

I have a ten year old Sony Trinitron that has suddenly developed a color problem. The color all of a sudden changed to mainly green and pink. No adjustment brings it back to normal. A friend told me a color gun failed. Might this be so? Can a repair be done reasonably?

[Kyle Boatright]

Your friend is right. The tube is more or less shot. Given that a BIG set was 27" when you bought that unit 10 years ago, you can find an equal or better new one for less than it will cost to have the tube replaced.

KB

[TCS]

Your friend has mentioned one part of dozens that could cause the problems you describe. Do you repair your car by randomly replacing components till it is repaired? Don't do the same w/ a TV. It'll be chaper to replace it four times over if you use that approach.

Try sci.electronics.repair; do a google search for 'sci.electronics.repair faq'

[TCS]

That was big in the early 80's. In the 90's, a big set was 36-40".

[jim]

will cost more to fix than the value of it.. buy a new one alot cheaper than what you paid for the sony 10 yrs. ago... 10 yrs is a long timer for a tv....

[rj]

[TX_Dude]

**** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com ****

Probably the BLUE driver transistor went out on the video board. Easy to fix for someone that's knows how to solder and is experienced in this sort of thing. If not.....I don't recommend getting getting inside of a TV.

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[do_not_spam_me]

It's possible, but picture tubes can sometimes be fixed by burning off shorts with a special machine

can explain this) or by isolating the cathode heater. But the problem may not be in the tube itself but in the video amplifier, especially the part on the small circuit board that plugs into the end of the picture tube. It may have developed a bad solder joint, burned out resistor, or shorted transistor, and the socket holes may have loosened from the picture tube pins that plug into them because they get hot enough to turn blue. Sometimes just unplugging and reseating this circuit board will fix the problem, but don't do this unless you know how because the board is often glued to the tube, and cutting through the glue can scratch the picture tube glass and cause the tube to break and then violently implode then explode. One technician reported that when his tube did this it shot a piece of metal across the room that embedded itself into the wall. When the AC cord is unplugged, broken glass can be a bigger hazard than electrocution, and TVs can easily tip forward because they're very heavy at the front, especially flat tubes and Trinitrons. Also you can get shocked even with the AC unplugged because the picture tube retains high voltage, so don't play with the suction cup attached to the side of the picture tube with the thick cable going to it.

If you're thinking of fixing this yourself, try to find a Sony manual, either one that covers all Sonys or one specifically for your model, such as a Sams Photofact (some libraries have them). Don't play with the internal adjustments because some affect voltages and can cause damage or shutdown or, more likely, just create a mess that's hard to undo. Always mark any controls before adjusting them, and perform adjustments only with all-plastic rods made for high voltage, not with screwdrivers covered with electrical tape.

It's possible that your TV can be fixed for about $100, but be careful because some shops are so bad that they'd have to improve to become completely incompetent. Generally, shops that have been around for a long time and that have employees who've been working for a long time are the best, especially if it's full of cigarette smoke. Beware of any shop where everybody is young, not because youth is bad but because it's a sign that management is too cheap to pay for anybody but entry-level people.

[do_not_spam_me]

True.

It's about average, but if you know how to make simple repairs it's probably barely middle aged. And Japanese TVs that old tend to be of better quality than newer ones, especially in the durability of the picture tube (I have some over 25 years old, still bright and sharp).