Hi,
My TV set (Zenith) just started displaying strange colors. The image is still clear, except that, I see 3 vertical bands, one too much red, one too much green and one too much blue, I know they are the basic colors, what I don't know, is it easy to fix it.
Does someone here knows is it the tube, magnet or soemthing else.
It seems to me that 10 year isn't that much for a TV set,
Thanks.
Average is closer to 7 or 8 years.
I don't know what the problems is, but there is a TV newsgroup that may be of more help to you. As for getting it repaired, that depends on the size of the TV and the cost of repair. Small TVs can be had for $100. Ed
Not for something that old. Time to go TV shopping.
if its a portable bring it into a shop for an estimate and find out it will cost you more than a new one... we had a $1200 floor model about that old and threw it out and went to walmart for a 26 in. phillips portable and put it in a $2,000 real wood entertainment center.. now the next time we need a tv we can get a $200 tv from walmart instead of paying a repair of over $200 to nurse the old one along... 10 yrs. is max for a TV... its just that from watching it so long you got so use to the bad picture that you did not see how really bad the picture was for so long... thats the problem we had... never even knew the BLUE gun was out on the TV set until we say a new tv in the stores... then realized that we were watching junk for so long....
I am not totally clear about the problem, but about the only thing I can think of that might be descried that way and might be worth fixing would be if the picture tube needs to be degaussed, and your description does not exactly fit that one. Other than that, the fix is the same for almost every other problem, buy a new one. It is cheaper than fixing almost anything else and will come with a warrantee and likely a better quality TV.
Dosen't that describe TV in general?
Barry
See if you can find a tv repair place that gives free estimates. I have
2 small tvs that would have cost 450 to replace both, i got them both fixed for 200 several yrs later they are ok. Im just tried of throwing things away. But these were tvs that had little use were old and the repair shop was close. If you have watched it every day for a few hrs, then it may not be worth it , tubes and components deteriorate wih use. New tvs are cheap.
The yoke has slipped out of position on the neck of the tube. At ten years old, it probably isn't worth fixing.
BB
If you have to pay someone to fix it, it probably won't be worth it: $50
- $80 per hour for the repair shop to fix the old one vs. $1 per hour for the Chinese or Korean assembly-line workers that make the new ones.
MB
On 06/06/04 02:20 pm Yves put fingers to keyboard and launched the following message into cyberspace:
MY 16 yr old JVC went out something like that last month: pink and green only. I took it to a shop that gave free estimates and he found it was the 'degaussing' circuitry. Fixed it the next day for $ 80 and its fine now.
Hmm- around here a new generic flat-tube 20" goes for a couple of hundred bucks. How many years do you think that JVC has left in it?
aem sends....
Good advice, but I haven't seen a repair shop that gives free estimates in
15 years! After all, it takes longer to diagnose the problem than it does to fix it. They gotta charge for that time.
Its a 27" and working fine now for 80 bucks. I try not to support the "throwitaway" philosophy thats everywhere today.
OK, for 20 bucks, I'll tell you where it is
I have a Japanese TV over 20 years old that still works fine, and unless the picture becomes fuzzy, dim, or all one color, indicating a possible bad picture tube, it can almost always be saved, but whether it's economical is another matter.
What you describe seems like a purity problem caused by a nearby magnet. You may want to check a TV repair book to see if there are any example pictures that are similar. If you have any speakers, fans, or electric motors nearby, move them away, and the colors should return to normal, although it may happen gradually each time you turn on the TV. When you do this after the TV has been left off for over a minute, the degaussing coil runs for about 2 seconds. Also some older TVs don't activate the degausser if you turn them on with the remote rather than the switch on the front, so try using that switch the next dozen times.
The degaussing circuit can fail and gradually allow the metal screen just behind the front of the picture tube (shadow mask) to become magnetized. This circuit is typically controlled by a timer that shuts off after about 2 seconds when a thermistor heats up, but the thermistor can run hot enough to cause its solder joints to fail and prevent the degausser from ever running, especially if the thermistor is the type that increases in resistance (PTC, Positive Temperature Coefficient) as it heats up. The thermistor is a common, cheap part that looks like a disk with 2 leads on it, or it may be housed in a small plastic container with 2-3 leads (3rd lead is for mechanical support). A good parts supply will know what you need, and it's important to get the right type, PTC or NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient), which work in opposite ways. The bottom of the circuit board is often darkened around the thermistor, and just resoldering it usually restores function. Or you can do without the degausser if you're willing to occasionally degauss the TV manually. There are handheld degaussing coils available from TV or electronics parts supplies, or you can use a handheld bulk tape eraser. But improper use can cause these devices to burn out (they're meant to run only
10-30 seconds and then cooled for 1-10 minutes) or make the color worse (must not be turned on or off within 6 feet of TV). You hold either device at least 6 feet from the TV, turn it on, and then move it all over the screen in a wiping motion. I wouldn't let a bulk tape eraser get closer than 3" from the screen because it's powerful that a powerful one could damage the picture tube's internal metal screen. Move the degausser at least 6 feet away before turning it off. The TV can be on or off while you degauss it, but don't substitute a permanent magnet for a degausser because that too can worsen the picture.Somebody suggested that the yoke may have slipped, but that tends to cause misconvergence, where the red, green, and blue guns don't line up properly relative to one another and cause slight color fringes that are especially noticeable around the white lettering of any on-screen displays (DVD player or VCR). Yokes are held in place by rubber wedges and glue, and the adjustments are set by movable rings with magnets in them and by small magnets glued around the yoke or picture tube. Sometimes those magnets fall off, but if you try gluing one back you have to orientate them correctly (top or bottom, direction of rotation) or the picture may worsen. If you can't tell the original position and orientation, the only way to reinstall the magnet is with the TV turned on. But never do that because all the high voltage exposed inside that can kill you, but even if it doesn't it could cause you to jerk your hand and break the picture tube, which will then like a small bomb. Flying glass can be as much a hazard as electrocution, which doesn't downplay the dangers of high voltage. Work on the TV only while it's unplugged (not merely turned off) and only if you know how to work with high voltage.
Yves:
Y > My TV set (Zenith) just started displaying strange colors. The image is Y > still clear, except that, I see 3 vertical bands, one too much red, one too Y > much green and one too much blue, I know they are the basic colors, what I Y > don't know, is it easy to fix it. Y > Y > Does someone here knows is it the tube, magnet or soemthing else. Y > Y > It seems to me that 10 year isn't that much for a TV set,
Do you happen to see any image ghosting? I'm thinking perhaps the vertical bands are the black 'sides' of the image being overlaid because of signal bounce.
I would check the antenna connections at the antenna/cable/satellite source and work in towards the TV. Could have one which loosened/is failing.
- ¯ barry.martinþATþthesafebbs.zeppole.com ®
If you have a friend lives in an apartment building, you may want to ask if he can give his old TV to you. He may be happy to get rid of it and get one of the fancy flat-panel screen with HDTV and such. Of course, you need to go there to pick it up. If you feel guilty about getting a TV for free (I don't), you can help him with something.
Jay Chan
That can't be right. It's got to be closer to 15+.
I have 3 sets that are at least that old and the only reason I haven't tossed them is because they simply work.
Hell, one of the sets I use is pushing 25 years.
I have one t hat lasted less than five years bringing the average back down quite a bit. There are exceptions and fortunately, you have one of them One of my sets is 8 years and while it still works, it is in need of repair. It has been sent to a little used bedroom.
As for the 25 year old set you have, it is probably better built and has better circuitry than some of the cheapos around today. Ed
No, I have 3 of them. The average is back up again. ;)
Seriously - I know quite a few people who have old clunkers well over 8 years old. It's certainly not "uncommon" at all.
Well - define works. My sets are not pristine by any measure. One has the UHF knob missing, but I don't care anyway because it's always on channel 3 for the cable box. The manual volume knob can get a little dirty sometimes requiring me to spray some cleaner on the potentiometer so I don't get that "crackling" noise when adjusting the volume.
I would agree with that. I dread the day it dies and I have to toss it out. It will take 3 people just to get it out to the curb!
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