TV Repair musing

[Lenp]

No, I don't need technical help, but I have been wondering if anyone is making any money in the TV repair business today?

Years ago, more than I want to admit, I was in that business and did quite well. In my area there were many suppliers so parts and counter talk tips were abundent. As time progressed I realized I was spending more time looking for places to dump the rejected repair sets than I was going to the bank. A picture tube replacement or a major repair like a flyback often was rejected because the new sets had dropped in price, offered better performance, and features.

I did have a couple of old timers that came back with their metal chassis models because they did not want those sets build on 'peanut brittle' (PCB'S). Unfortunately they did not sustain the business. I quit, got $50 for a truck load of tubes, modules and drawings; moved into industrial repairs where the owners are willing to pay reasonable fees for their expensive equipment to be services, and I never once looked back.

Occasionally I will get TV and boom box calls, and cannot refer them to anyone since I can't find anyone in the area!
The shops, suppliers and all but a few customers are gone. I do see MCM stocking an odd array of parts but other than that, where are the parts guys, if they are still around?.

Anybody out there doing this for profit?

Len

(And NO! I am not going back to that business.)

[dacflyer]

it's a throw away lifestyle now..
i rarely get a tube set in any more..last one was a year ago...
Goodwill , Salvation Army and the Trade-it store have some that they almost cannot give away..
i have seen sets given away for $20.00 on average.
i still repair some flat screens once in a while, but they are almost not worth the effort either.
they are hard to repair..hard to find any info. you take a chance and replace the board that you think is bad.. typically only 2 boards that can go bad...either PS or the main board.
if it's a cracked screen, then i might give the owner a few bucks to buy it for parts.
then i try to sell em on ebay...
i have been doing more electrical work than electronics lately..
last big job i did for someone was to assemble a 8x8x8 led cube, that a lady bought for her son..only to discover it was a kit..lol
i made 125.00 to build it.
i was thinking to build a new work table for flat screens, but i almost think i might reject that idea.

i got a bunch of SAMS manuals if anyone is interested..bout 2 milk crates full, not sure if they still have value or if i should just trash em..

[Janitor Tzap]

I'm like dacflyer,

I'll work on a older CRT TV, if the problem is miner.
Same with DeskTop Computer's, Laptop's, Stereo's, VCR's, DVD's, and some Phones.
But I've been getting more people asking me to do Flat Screens.
And as Dacflyer says:

But they are almost not worth the effort either.
they are hard to repair..hard to find any info. you take a chance and replace the board that you think is bad.. typically only 2 boards that can go bad...either PS or the main board.

The only way to make it worth while.
Is too buy a pallet at an auction {For Cheap} of 20 or more of the same exact model Flat Screens.
Then check them all out.
Ones that have Simple problems; {Cracked Screens, Damaged Case, or PCB's}.
You can swap the good parts from them to make a few good Flat Screens to resell.

I did this working with a guy who hit large business auctions,
and would buy pallets of CRT Computer monitors, that we'd fix up and resell.

It worked out okay for awhile, till the price on New Monitor's had dropped so low.
There was no longer any profit too be made on the used Monitors.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[dacflyer]

i used to do sort of the same thing back then..i'd go by a large business type tv shop, one that did a lot of warranty repairs etc.
i'd stop by once in a while and pick up 1-2 trailer loads of tv's that they deemed not economically repairable. i'd either fix them and sell them, or if it was not worth fixing, then i'd scrap the boards and save them for parts..if tube was bad, and i knew chassis was good, then i'd tag the board as good and put it on another pile. saving old boards for donors saved me a lot of money back then.
i think last year i threw 98% of them away..actually took them to the E-recycling center.
i still have a box of new flybacks. i hope to use them in a few HV projects later on.
like a MARX Generator or to drive a Tesla coil.
so much of the stuff i hated to throw out, but then again its truly useless stuff now
still debating what to do with all them SAMS manuals i have..
i wonder if library would be interested in them..

[Robert Reed]

As to SAMS Manuals and old tube type TVs, etc. I do a lot of electronic oriented research on the web at times, and many times the websites direct me to various forums. I am blown away by the specific interests in some of these forums that dwell on old consumer electronics repair and restoration. Apparently there are groups of people out there that still do this for a hobby. I would imagine quite a few would be very interested in old components and especially SAMS.
Of all the skills and tools I use in trouble shooting- one stands out above all the rest-Vital information (SAMS in this case). You have all heard the saying "One man's junk is another man's treasure". I cringe when I think back 20 years of the tons of "Junk" that I pitched out.

[Janitor Tzap]

I hear ya Robert,

I had to move back in 99.
I had boxes of TV tuners I had kept from old televisions I scrapped out,
dozens of PCB's from the set's, and bunches of Zenith Modules that I had kept.
They went to a electronic recycler I knew, whom was more than happy too take it all.

Later,
After I got settled into my new digs.
A guy showed up with an old television that needed a tuner.
I had to turn him away, because he was going to throw out the set if it couldn't be repaired for fairly cheap.

Edit:
I was at the local HAMFEST this last Saturday.
It is amazing what you can find.
Some old stuff, and newer.
Computers, Monitors, Parts, Tubes, Radios, Televisions, Satellite Recievers, and parts, Phones,Tools, Bags, Wire, etc.....

I picked up a set of Logitec $70 Head Phones for $3!

A 104 Dell\Keytronic keyboard $5.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[dacflyer]

wow.. did not think anyone would still be interested in satellite stuff. i got a ton of old c-band units..
i got one that is a radio tuner to pick up free radio.. but it is analog c-band.. will not work on the digital stuff now but free satellite radio was great

[frhrwa]

I've got one of the Toshiba 65" triple gun tv's, but... as expensive as it was, it won't mate up to the new DVD players or my surround system.. the tv is mostly co-ax, RCA, and the old connectors.. the new stuff is HDMI, Fiber, and ?... how can I adapt one to the other dependably? I've tried a few of the HDMI to RCA adapters, they last about 1 day and die..

[Lenp]

About older technology ....is anybody doing SCA broadcasting anymore? In the early 70's in my area (East Coast) there was reading for the blind, and the Physican's Radio Network (PRN) being broadcast. Muzak switched from leased phone lines to SCA around that time also. I vaguely remember some kind of radar display for marine use but not sure. SCA kits were available for connection to an FM receiver and with some tweaking and the narrow bandwidth, they more or less worked.
Len

[dacflyer]

frhrwa >> does your tv have any S-Video connections ?

[frhrwa]

I believe there is an "S" video connection.. will look in the am..

[dacflyer]

if there is a S-video it can adapt to to RCA

maybe the DVD or other device has S-video out ?

[frhrwa]

nope, my DVD Blu-Ray only has HDMI and I believe fiber..

[dacflyer]

oh, ok,, so much for that idea then....

[Lenp]

Would this help?

http://www.amazon.com/Composite-Convert ... +component