TV repairmem coming back

PBMAX · Sep 29, 2004

I would say no for now because most components today are made up ckt boards with chips and such and some times even mutple layers of ckt traces that can't even be tested without special machines. In days gone by most Tv's were basically the same concept(s) with tubes to test and basic ckts to test. But with elctronic ckts and machines building them one company can have a very different design than their competetor(s). So a repair person would need a laptop just for schematics and specs....

Unless we see a system set up as modular components (as ckt boards).
In which case you would buy a new board(s) to replace the offender(s)...

COUTION THE FOLLOWING IS PER IMAGINEEE.... Please fill free to add on im sure i'll miss something.

For example in the near future your plasma tv might have the following.
1. Main board (mother board) With inputs hard mounted (Composite/S-video)
2. Video receiver board with changable chips for your choice of service,SatTV,Cable,and free air (receives signal and pumps it to screen).
3. 10 point surround board (with audio in/out) Goes with up to 4 RF headsets.
an addtional 6 will be extra.
4. xbox/playstation board(s) (game ports)
5. Stereo (new digital radio/HDR)board
6. Plasma tube
7. Back light for extra brightness.
8. Media player as DVD is already dated.
9. PC that will be absolete in 6months and can be upgraded by owner for a price...
10. Micro fuel cell for power outages good for 5yrs. 4hr perday use.
11. Monster remote for onscreen programming of all applicable options.

This would be fairly easy to fix... Just sell them a new board(s)/Module(s) at 40% mark up and charge for the service callas well....

So what did I miss /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

RobertN · Sep 29, 2004

Yes, some entire circuit boards and components have been put on chips these days. Add that to multi-layer circuit boards, and it makes for difficult testing. Still, certian signals should be expected at each pin on the chip. However... That chip may be surface mounted, where there is absolutely no access to the "pins", or in this case solder balls.

They should, however, be getting to the point wehere you could plug the computer in to the tv, and it could put out error codes, like cars do.

Even if you find a real repair tech, it will be $65+ an hour for debug, add parts, waiting for parts, ect. It is back to being less expensive to get another tv.

It is a shame, because we have become a throw-away society. Where does all that stuff go???

bgott · Sep 30, 2004

Re: TV repairmem coming babk

I'm glad you brought this up. A couple of weeks ago I went to my brother's house for a free dinner and his big screen was dead. I plugged it in and got it to flash a code out of the power on light. Well, I didn't get it to do anything, it just did it. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I had him post the code on an electronics website in hopes that someone could let us know what the problem was. I had forgotten to call him back, I'll do that tomorrow and let y'all know if he found out what we need to know to fix it.

Another thing I've noticed lately is that the techs I used to work with in auto repair have been commenting on how the diagnostic equipment manufacturers have been handling repair on their equipment lately. When the machine has a problem and they call it in the rep walks them through the diagnostic proceedure and then ships the tech a board and has them install it themselves. That system seems to work about half the time but it beats having to wait months for a repair tech to show up. I don't think they would do that with homeowner products, can you imagine how many people that would try to fix their TV even though they can't even change a light bulb? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

slowrev · Sep 30, 2004

There is talk and prototypes of refridgerators and such that will let the service center know when they are broken. I think that some will have the Windows CE os in them. Where is the ctl-alt-del keys on a fridge anyway /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ben

MossRoad · Sep 30, 2004

Behind the milk! It's always behind the milk! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

slowrev · Sep 30, 2004

Well I guess the votes are in and it appears that our disposable items are just getting larger and more expensive /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

I do not disagree with that at all, just would like to see these types of items take a more repairable tack, like naybe at lease a modularized board change out approach or something. Less stuff in landfills which means less taxes,polloution, etc. And also cheaper costs of ownership. oh well, we do seem to live in a disposable society.

Thanks for all the input it was a good discussion.

Ben

PBMAX · Sep 30, 2004

RobertN, yey you said it. But i figure they would rather sell you a diagnostic module to tell you whats broken. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Than let the average joe poke around in their toys... Or they would offer to sell you some software to go on the built in PC that would email them and they send the repair feller out with the part in hand... along with a bill for diagnosing the probelm and ther repair mans time and the module of course.........

mikim · Sep 30, 2004

We have a 1957 GE fridge ..... very low tech ... works everyday just fine and has since new ... the door gasket and power cord (mice chewed) have been replaced but otherwise all original .....too bad they just don't make stuff to last anymore so we wouldn't have to worry so much about repair/replace.

slowrev · Oct 1, 2004

Yep, I use a 1968 tractor, still going strong....

Ben

MossRoad · Oct 1, 2004

Just as some examples that I have experienced over the years...

A keyboard for a PC gets pop spilled in it. I can open up the keyboard, wash it out, dry it off and put it back together in about 30 minutes. If I make $10.00 an hour, that's $5.00 in labor plus a few cents in solvent. A new keyboard cost $5.00, so we throw it out and put in a new one. Takes 1 minute. So we save half an hour in labor plus the few cents in solvent every time we toss out a perfectly good keyboard.

Computer monitors... we buy them for $100.00 new. They last about 3.5 years... which is .5 years longer than warranty. The flyback transformer goes out. We can buy the part for $135.00. It costs more than a new monitor before you even add in the labor to change it. So, we toss out a monitor that probably could be repaired and last another 3 years, but we save labor and get a new monitor with another 3 year warranty.

My 19 year old 21" Sanyo TV. Every 5 years the horizontal driver dies on it. The part is about $100. The TV was $400 new. I can get a 25 inch or so TV new for about $200. I chose to fix it because I could do it myself. I have about $300 dollars in it. If I had it done at a TV shop, it would have been about $600. Now, I can no longer get the part, so it is junk and has to be tossed.

Sometimes I am convinced that companies build in obsolecense. Other times I blame "advances in technology" (think thundering reverb when you say that!). Where are those advances really getting us? Is information technology all that important in the big picture? Only if you are looking up a cure for a disease. Everything else is marketing to sell something that people have been convinced they need /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

I like repairing things that I can because of the satisfaction of learning how something works, saving money, the feeling of saving the planet, etc... but it comes to a point where you have to draw the line. When does it become economically un-responsible to repair something VS replacing something? Unfortunately, too many times it becomes the issue of the almighty dollar.

Maybe I'll go out and rescue an old 8N. At least those seem to still have parts available for reasonable costs and are still usable well into the future. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif