Can an HDTV be fixed at home?

I think I'll buy a (plasma) HDTV soon.

I have fixed my 20-year old Panasonic several times over its lifetime
(typically
capacitors, etc.that I've learned about here), but will I be able to fix an
HDTV?

I'm competant with scopes, DVMs, soldering and the like but if new TVs are
made like the computers I work on, the repair philosophy is "replace the
board"
and my experience is not valuable then.

What do shops do now? Do they just replace the defective board like a
computer
motherboard or troubleshoot the problem to the part? Are the devices
surface
mounted that prohibits their replacement or can devices be easily replaced?

I typically don't take the "extended warranties" but in this case, is it
worth it?

Finally, do you think I would be able to buy service info like I got for my
Panasonic?

It's a different (service) world these days.

TIA
Mike

 

Yes it is probably worth while to buy the extended warranty, plus you
want to make sure you homeowners insurance covers accidental damage to
the unit.

The units are board level repair plus some adjustments. Manufactures
typically will only sell the boards to authorized servicers. Some use
special computer interfaces and software to perform adjustments.
Schematics are typically block diagrams with test points, sometimes a
power supply schematic is provided.

Some of the circuitry is now etched right onto the plasma panel and if
there is a problem with a row driver, the unit is pretty much not cost
effective to repair as the whole panel would need replaced.

There are several things you can do that will improve the quality life
of your unit.
1. Keep the unit on good clean stable power. No el-cheapo UPS power.
A properly installed whole house surge protection and filter or one
just on the circuit at the main circuit breaker box. Proper grounding
off all outlets and equipment is always important.
2. Keep it cool. They generate a lot of heat and the cooling vents
must be kept clear and the unit kept at normal room temperature.
3. No graphics or static images. Screen burn can happen very quickly
on a plasma monitor due to the way they excite the phosphor.

 

Because of the type of technology employed, you will not be able to do
much in the way of repairs. These sets are serviced mainly at the board
level only. The proper setup is required for many of the service
adjustments. Service manuals are mainly block diagrams.

I would strongly suggest a service contract for this type of set. If
there are problems after the warrenty runs out, it can be very
expensive to service.

Jerry G.

 

No support for HDTV. No service manuals, all special order. No parts,
all special order. Wonderful new technolology, isn't it? A month to
order the manual, another month to order any part. Gotta love it, great
new shit here. Shit being the key word.

 

Just to clarify on HDTV. Replace the entire board? Either not available
or $1000. Replace the individual IC or any other part? 1 month special
order. Not fixed? well reorder another part and wait another month.
This is by far the greatest thing that's ever been introdused to the
general public ever. Gotta love this crap, Nope. Being in the repair
business, I'll have to say HDTV is the end of the road here.

 

True with some, not true with others. More sets are becoming board level
repairable only to a greater degree and may have no support, but others do.

The OP should ask a specific question on a specific product and someone can
give a meaningful answer. Generalizing gets results like the post above.

Sorry you are so bitter about the business, RonKZ650, but there are
opportunities out there if you are willing to adapt to the market...

Leonard

 

I know where he is coming from. Look at the influx of no name
Chinese OEM'ed LCD Plasma TV's now. You think you got a chance in
hell of ever getting parts for those? YOU might get lucky on a few,
But for the most part there un fixable. And even the RPTV. WHat will
the bulb supply be in 5 or 10 years? How much if available at all?
The future will tell how long the optical engines will last. Those
little DMD mirrors are only rated for so many operations. And the
dye color filters in front of LCD's can fade and wear out too.
For the most part, the optical engines are depot repair.

The gravy years of fixing VCR's is over. Sure, there are still some
fixable items, but its getting less and less. The biggest growth
industry will be the disposal or CRT based displays after flat panels
take over and the US HDTV transition takes place in 2009 (?).

Hell, i tried to fix some factory ford radios from 2003 last month.
Think i could get parts? Had to buy Ebay cores to fix them.
Scavengers are going to be the successes of the future.
That's if you got the space and the patience.


BOB
nse

 

I don't have much experience with plasmas, but for other types of
HDTVs a lot of those same old problems still apply. I still see a lot
of sets with things like bad soldering, broken coax connectors and
power supply problems. In my experience, those hard to find,
impossible to solder large ICs rarely fail. When they do, it's
usually the result of a lighting hit, or botched repair attempt. I've
observed a lot of the poorly skilled people resort to board swapping
when it wasn't at all necessary. These people don't last long because
there isn't much money in board swapping.

The lack of schematics would make me avoid a plasma if I was
interested in repairing it myself. CRT HDTVs are pretty conventional
apart from the metal box that contains all the digital processing.
Andy Cuffe

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