Is there not value in a DIY project that keeps a product out of the
landfill for a couple more years?
Of course there is, when it is something that one can manage and is able
to accomplish within reason.
Sure the crt is likely aging, but
we fix these all the time and find that the crts are still looking
very good. Did one a couple of weeks ago. Looked great, client was
happy.
Uh huh. And where is this, at "Emmet's Fix It Shop" over in Mayberry?
Lemmie guess, the Sears catalog is still a big ticket item for bathroom
reading too? It did not "look great" but may have been acceptable for the
time being.
He could have replaced it with a POS Philips set for tnot much
more than the repair, but chose to fix it. A DIY on these should cost
no more than about $25 and some time and patience. I do things myself
all the time that a professional in some field would not bother with
and spend more time than it might be worth, but there is the sense of
satisfaction in completion of such a project.
Agreed, but you have a clue and some obvious experience with television
repair. You can tell by the questions that Ladybug is asking and the
terms being used that this person has no television repair experience at
all. You would recommend a 10+ year old Mitsubishi set with caps bad by
the pound, along with bad solders and everything else that can go wrong
with a 10 year old set to a beginner to cut his eye teeth on? Ladybug
would have been better off with a Radio Shack 150 in One electronic
project kit and I am not being cruel in saying that. At least then
Ladybug could have accomplished something useful like a photosensing
alarm for the front door and would have learned something along the way.
Here, this auction has ended, but the seller still has a 300 in One
Electronic Project Lab Kit for $5.50.
http://tinyurl.com/lsdef
I find Ladybug's tenacity in this repair to be interesting and
laudable.
I am not "down on Ladybug" at all, I simply tried to temper Ladybug's
enthusiasm with some of real life's harsh realities. Like the cost of a
replacement set v.s. the hours that would be spent on trying to fix it
and the fact that after all is said and done, Ladybug would be left with
a 10+ year old television with a picture tube that is fading away, never
to return to it's original brilliance and luster afterwards, possibly
flaring wherever there is green in the picture, you get the idea, and
nothing can be done about it other than to lower the contrast to a very
dim picture, short of replacing the CRT, unless you want to start with a
single winding around the flyback and the necessary resistors to try and
boost the filament voltage of the set, a temporary measure at best.
Oh, make that 15, F-I-F-T-E-E-N years old! Here is what Ladybug had to
say in an earlier post...
I don't want to buy ESR meter for one time repair. I used to work with
electronics a lot but now I switched to software and don't touch this
anymore. This was my kid's TV and it worked flawlessly for almost 15
years. I desided to give it a shot but don't know if it worth my time.
Do you suggest not to mess with it any longer and get a new set? I can
get 27" tube TV set for under $200
Sure it is worth Ladybug's time, as long as Ladybug is accustomed to
earning twenty seven cents an hour. Yes. I suggested not to mess with it
any longer and get a new set and that was pretty darned good advice.
"Been there, done that" sort of thing.
So Leonard, how are you and Ladybug coming along on this DIY project
anyway?
