It’s a good thing that electronics evolve at a fast pace. This brings down the cost in a relatively short time. However, the cheap labor, design, and components assure that consumers would rather buy a new unit rather than repair the old one.
My 50 inch Plasma TV cost me $700 at Walmart in 2007. It was the thing back then. It is, or was since it has passed onto TV heaven, not a “smart” TV of today. I can replace it now with a 50-inch LED version for $269 on sale (standard no smart version). It decided to not come on the other morning, and then it started coming on for 20 secs, and turning itself off without producing a picture. A taunt?
Just for kicks though, and because I’m a glutton for punishment, I brought it into the
office to tinker. First I had to enlist the help of two people to remove it from the wall, the thing weighs in around 80+ pounds. Once in the office I treated it like the alleged aliens treat humans, I poked, prodded, probed and otherwise dissected its inner workings.
YouTube provided me with warnings of death, which I was already aware of, since my oldest brother had been a TV repairman in years past. The Internet provided me with Instructional YouTubes of others that like to tinker with these mammoth throw away’s. To narrow down what it might be, I had to wedge a screw in some prongs on the circuit board, Sounds real barbaric and crazy huh. Then I had to add a jumper wire, which if you don’t know what you’re doing, will produce plenty of noxious, stinky smoke, from all sorts of things. We all know once you let smoke out of electrical components they stop working, that’s my theory anyway.
So I gathered up my trusty poking around tools and set about checking it. The YouTube instructions placed it in a self-test mode which revealed most of the major parts were working, it could be the main board that controls all those parts. Checking online I discovered, 1.) The main board is $140. 2.) The board is half the price of another TV. So even though I could fix it, another computer board could go out at anytime since the TV is 9 years old.
Anyhow, I learned a bit, and will donate it to some repair shop so they can use the plasma screen and other good components.
On the positive side, I didn’t release any toxic smoke, melt anything, start a flame, or as the YouTube videos cautioned, “feel like you just held defibrillator paddles to your head and shouted Go!”
So in all the crazy Initials we use today I will say, RIP MCB that controlled PSB which maybe sent too much power from the PCB, ultimately killing the whole TV. Whew!
Comments welcome,
I am always astounded at how fast electronics “go bad.” I was raised when refrigerators lasted 30 years. We are on our 3rd TV in 14 years so you are doing good. The good news is that they no longer cost thousands of $$. The one we have has an amazing picture (remember I grew up with blurry black and white). Refrigerators on the other hand, have not come down in price. The first one we had in this house lasted 6 years. We are going on 8 years with the current one. Every morning I ask it how it’s doing and rub it’s belly hoping that helps.
The tummy rub part was funny, Kate- hope it purrs for a long long time.
In my parents time refrigerator lasted for 30 years, minimum. Now 10 is good.
Susie
Your so right. I just wish appliances lasted long as you say. Thanks for the comment!
10 is marvelous! When we bought our last one, they told us around 8 years.
Ron you sure gave your TV a good send off with this lighthearted post. I have to agree that electronics do not last. My fridge freezer died aged 6 – far too young!
The fridges use cheap components in them that start leaking the refrigerant out after about that time. They don’t even bother putting valves on the lines anymore where a person could add some refrigerant. Thank you for the comment.
We have an aging plasma TV. My husband is rooting for its demise so he can get a new, bigger OLED. I, on the other hand, think what we have is just fine. We take opposite points of view on things like clothes and shoes.
I’m with you, our Son visited last night, while we were talking about the TV, he asked if I had seen the new 4K ones. They’re AWESOME! he says. I told him that I don’t see enough difference to spend the extra money. I noticed last night that my eyes are not hurting as bad, and getting as tired, as they were watching that large screen from the same distance. Thanks for the comment!
Glad that you survived to tell the story! 😉
I had a slightly different experience with built-in double-ovens. (They came with the house. In other words, it was not my idea.) When the touch-screen control panel died, I had no choice but to have it repaired, though I did consider using only the microwave and the stove top. $800 to replace the circuit boards – about half the cost (labour extra) of replacing the units.
I had the exact same response as you, too – I wrote about it on my blog. 🙂
They really stick it to everyone on repairs. The part might cost them $10 but to install and markup on the part, it is $200. Thank you for the comment this Monday.
Haha, I like your initials “alphabet-soup” last paragraph!
As you described your poking and prodding of the virtually dead TV, I could imaging – and identify with – your poor wife in the other room, gritting her teeth and praying that no explosion/smoke seepage would occur.
Just. Be. Careful!
Glad my daughter and husband’s old plasma TV is still working ok. They had to be the “first on their block” to get one (they’re really into the “home theatre” idea, so it’s even older (and bigger!!) than yours is – I mean was. They paid somewhere in the four figures for it. Yikes.
Yes, you have to love the alphabet-soup. I’m not fond of electricity work. Something sparks and you have to peel me off the ceiling. So I was ultra jumpy the whole time. Michelle said a prayer and sat on the couch in the living room, in case I set fire to the office she says. Thanks for the great comment.
Sorry for my typo! “Imaging” should have been “Imagine.” My bad!
Ah, I had just come in about that time from outside and I was hot, so I didn’t even notice, I think I fried my little brain.
Ok good then. I mean, OH NO!! ?
It appears that almost everything is only meant to last a day after the warranty expires 😉
So true!
I tried replacing my freezer gasket using You Tube. Then I had to pay even more for the repairman who had encountered other DIY failures of freezer gasket repairs! And I have a useless extra gasket. At least I didn’t have to be scared of electrocution.
At least you tried, There are some things that just take prior experience to know how to do. Thank you for the comment.
You are marvelous to attempt a repair. I’ll try simple things, but not a TV. It seems to me you did the very best things — trying to fix it and donating it for others to use.
Thanks Anne. I try to donate when possible. I remember times when I appreciated donations. I enjoyed the comment.
Ron
I would have tried repairing, if I knew how. I am currently trying to fix a sewing machine-using youtube.
I wish I had the guts to open up a TV myself. When our own TV is outdated, or my husband thinks so, he denigrates it to one of our bedrooms and gets a new one for our living room. I would have loved to have no TV at all but we are all so addicted.
Susie
I know what you mean by being addicted to TV. It’s amazing how quiet things are when it is off. Thanks for the comment.
Many years ago, I read about the theory of ‘Planned Obsolescence’. Manufacturers were starting to realise that they were making things too well, and they lasted so long, nobody ever bought a new one. They got together, and invented new ways to make us poor consumers have to buy new ones.
Over here, they stopped broadcasting TV signals in analogue. This meant that everyone had to either buy a new digital TV, or a receiver to plug into the old one. Then they messed with the refrigerators, as you mention in the post. When camera companies started to make only digital cameras, they soon assured that photo printing became too expensive, so everyone had to change to digital photography if they wanted it to be affordable.
Although prices for electrical goods have fallen dramatically, (My first Sony colour portable cost almost three month’s salary, in 1977) we are now left with a huge disposal problem of millions of unwanted fridges, TV sets, and old washing machines. There are vast ‘graveyards’ of these things all over the world, and they are not being actively recycled.
Modern times…
Best wishes, Pete.
I was introduced to the Planned Obsolescence by my Father in law. He showed to me the sub standard solder used on the tubes of refrigerators. they are done so that pic holes develop from the gas used in the units.
Thanks for the great post Pete, The part I dislike about the digital camera revolution, is although they are easy to use, out “memory boxes” that everyone used to drag out and go through are gone.
Very true, Ron. No families actually look through albums anymore.