Lots of people here restore and/or repair Antique TV's, radios, and apparently arcade cabinets as well. I remember one poster on here had a CRT go BOOM! while he was trying to remove a cataract.

Here's a couple stories of my own to get this thread started:

Tried to fix a rather old VCR once, and I accidentally spilled soda pop into it while it was plugged in and operating. The segnented LED display went crazy. Before it could do anything else, like possibly catch fire, I yanked the plug out of the wall and threw the thing away.

Found a console TV one time several years ago. I don't remember the brand. It was probably made in the early 80's. I had it in the garage, tweaking it, it had a nice picture. I was actually commenting on how good it was working when I heard a POP! The inside of the TV cabinet flashed a brilliant blue, and the TV no longer worked. This was before I joined AK I believe, so it went out to the curb.

I've never had a single problem, everything I've worked on went smooth as silk with no problems whatsoever.:D

If you believe that I have a bridge to sell.

:lmao:

I had a fly go up in flames while i was working on a set once.

Had to change my pants after that.

Here is one of many: 19 y.o., had a pile of repair shop rejects in the shed behind my mother's house. In the doorway was jambed a late model RCA console and on top was a late 70s JCPenney (RCA) 19" set. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the JCP; I took the back off out of curiousity. I was standing there and the wind came up and closed the door, knocking the JCP over. One strong RCA crt gone to air.

I probably mentioned this on AK before, but:

I was trying to fix a 90's Zenith. It was a late 90's set, so the CRT wasn't completely shot yet. It was getting there, but enough tweaking would have made it sellable, and I really needed the money at the time, so I was willing to at least try and make it sellable.

This TV sat out in the rain before I found it. The dust had gotten wet, and clumps of it stuck to the chassis. I gave it several days to dry, then I spent hours cleaning off as much of that crap as I could. I replaced the nearly destroyed speakers with an identical pair from another junked 90's Zenith. I put it back together, plugged it in and fired it up.

After tweaking the G2 and customer controls, I had an okay picture... it wasn't great, but it was watchable. There was still some color bleeding even after tweaking, but I could have easily gotten $20.00 for it...

... Then during the test, suddenly there was a loud buzzing noise coming from inside the TV! The horizontal hold was completely lost, and the whole raster shrunk down to less then half of its original size. I unplugged it, and it went out to the garbage. I think even 5 seconds longer and I would have had a fire on my hands. It's made me hesitant to grab a TV that's been sitting in the rain.

I installed an new electrolytic backwards once in a late-40's radio. Shortly after applying the mains, it went POW! (imagine brightly-colored P-O-W letters from an original Batman episode here)

Upon looking under the chassis, I found a mess that looked like a kitty cat exploded in there... kinda like in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!

The first time I plugged in my Sylvania Halolight, the power transformer burst into flames!

I guess it was the second Christmas after I met my wife; she was living with her great aunt who had a lot of neat stuff around the house. Kim ended up buying a Motorola table top radio/phono that was in the garage, and giving it to me. Of course she wanted me to try it. I knew better but did it to please her. It played okay for a few minutes and then P-O-W! A black beauty had turned to confetti. So, I pulled the chassis and showed how smart I was. In the cabinet I found a NOS black beauty and installed it. Took about the same length of time, with the same results! Lots of confetti in those jokers!

One night I was sitting here at the computer and there was something I wanted to watch on TV, so I grabbed one of the Portacolors. I noticed the picture was getting dark, with a sorta smear in it. It was slowly getting worse and worse. Then, P-O-W! That El-men-co ceramic cased paper cap by the HO tube had blown apart. I'm surprised it didn't short something. Interesting thing is, once it blew, the set started working better again, just with a little defect in the picture.

Probably my worst disaster was recapping an Emerson model 571 TV, this set uses 5 25Z6 tubes to rectify the low voltage.

Well I recapped it and powered it up, turns out I had a cap in backwards and it was getting hot, turned it around but it was too late, as soon as voltage got high enough it shorted out, instantly taking all five, brand new, JAN spec 25Z6 tubes with it!

I got the set basically working but never did finish it.

Hmmm...I've been trying to think of a good electronic flame-out story, and I can't. Oh sure, I've made plenty of idiotic mistakes and destroyed some good equipment, but my stuff has never had the decency to give a good light show before its demise.

Now, my brother and I once came across our parent's Super 8mm home movie gear, which included a deadly bright "sun gun" home movie light for indoor filming. We played with it for a bit, and then set it aside directly on the carpet, while it was still lit. It took about twenty seconds for the thing to melt through to the plywood underlay. That was spectacular...

That reminds me, I once left a soldering iron on my rug while I was doing something else inside an amp or receiver (dont know which it was but it wasnt a tv set) and that was bad. Ruined a section of rug as well as the iron itself. I keep all soldering related stuff on a powerstrip w/ a little LED on indicator so I never run the risk of forgetting and torching the place.

I have had a set go on fire in my family, but not to me. This was before I was born even. But the story goes, that my grandfather fell asleep in front of their brand new tv (color, brand unknown, circa 1973-4) and my grandmother called down wondering why the hell he was making toast so late at night for.... and she came down to discover the set's back engulfed in flames. Must have been a hybrid.

Does Peeing on an Electric Fence when you were 5 or 6 count ? (grin)

In H.S. my teacher told us to never pee on the 3rd rail of the subway.... Learned from experience? Probably, if you've ever met this guy....hehe.

This isn't exactly a repair disaster, but it is a mishap that led to to the need for repairs. I was moving some stuff in the mobile home I use for storage, and had to move an armoire across the room. As I scooted it along I unknowingly bumped the CRT neck of a late 60's G.E. color console (with the back missing) and suddenly heard the unmistakeable sound of the vacuum being let out. So now it looks like I've got to hunt for a CRT now. ouch!!!

1. Back in the late '90's, Someone gave me a late '60's (probably a CTC31/38) RCA console. Someone gave it to the person that gave it to me and they didn't know anything about it. It was just a basic console with screw on legs. It was clean looking and I could tell that the CRT had been changed in recent years. It was dead and I soon discovered that the circuit breaker was defective. Like an idiot, I jumped the CB with a clip lead, turned the set on, and fire immediately started shooting out of the chassis from around the power supply area. I yanked the plug and let the fire die down. The whole area around the LV rectifier diodes was burnt to a crisp. I have an idea that lightning killed that set. Needless to say, I've never bypassed another circuit breaker.

2. Picked up a Panasonic built mid '80's 17" GE color TV off the curb. I soon found a bad power switch and installed another one. I was letting it play on the bench before putting it back together. All of a sudden; the picture pulled in on the sides and the horizontal lost sync. Before I could react - BOOM!!!SMOKE!!!STINK!!! The flyback transformer blew up, leaving a large crack around the case with little shards of windings hanging out. After replacing the flyback and HOT, all was well.

3. Around '97, someone gave me a nice 25" Zenith 4 tube hybrid color console. I fixed it and gave it to the church for their annual rummage sale. Some members of the church who had custody of their wild grandkids ended up with the set. It wasn't long before the grandson took a baseball bat to the face of the screen. I guess he got mad because he had to wait on the set to warm up, LOL! I ended up with the set (again) and was going to stick a used CRT that I had on hand back in there. While removing the broken CRT, I cut a big gash across my thumb and ended up having to go to the ER. I still have the scar to this day; but, the TV went to the dump.

3. Around '97, someone gave me a nice 25" Zenith 4 tube hybrid color console. I fixed it and gave it to the church for their annual rummage sale. Some members of the church who had custody of their wild grandkids ended up with the set. It wasn't long before the grandson took a baseball bat to the face of the screen. I guess he got mad because he had to wait on the set to warm up, LOL! I ended up with the set (again) and was going to stick a used CRT that I had on hand back in there. While removing the broken CRT, I cut a big gash across my thumb and ended up having to go to the ER. I still have the scar to this day; but, the TV went to the dump.

That little bastard... Someone should have taken a baseball bat to him...

My only "serious" incident occurred the summer when I was 17. I was helping my Dad swap CRTs (25AXP22's) between two sets at his TV shop. I pulled the bad CRT out of the set and set it on the dump pile outside, then busted the "tit" to let it go to air, no problem. Dad, meanwhile, left to go get a new blue lateral assembly at the parts place a mile away. I was alone and with the vigor of youth, decided to pull the "good" tube to have it ready when Dad got back. I unbolted it just fine, and I lifted it from the set (by the neck) and set it on the edge of the cabinet to reposition it. I then hoisted it up by the sides (face down), only to have the 2nd anode button come in contact with my abdomen and now-sweaty t-shirt. WHAM!! - I got the residual charge. I reacted by pushing it away from me, into the corner of a workbench, imploding the CRT about 6-8" from me. I was shaking, and alone, and uninjured. :thmbsp: My only scare was what was I going to tell Dad when he returned. Thankfully, he laughed it off after ensuring I wasn't hurt. Glass shards were everywhere, and we even found some 6 months later when we moved some equipment around in the shop.

And now, Dad's:

Dad was working on a hybrid Magnavox 19" color set and was reaching in to do something when the back of his right arm contacted the screen controls and +570 volts of boost. Now the screen controls on this Maggie were the type with wire wrap terminals - those long, sharp ones that will dig into your skin if you jerk back suddenly, as Dad did. He had the presence of mind to pull the cheater cord, and ended his trauma. Thankfully, the current only conducted along his arm from fingertip to forearm, but the damage was done. He saw a specialist who diagnosed nerve damage, no treatment. Dad could lift a coffee cup only so far before he would lose control and loosen his grip. It took him about a year to heal up from that one. He's had close calls since, but he talks about that one the most.

Live and learn they say.....

I then hoisted it up by the sides (face down), only to have the 2nd anode button come in contact with my abdomen and now-sweaty t-shirt. WHAM!! - I got the residual charge.

Your belly-button was smokin! :D

I know! Had I done something like that to our TV, I wouldn't have been able to sit down for a month.

Back around '95, one of my classmates brought an early '70's tube type 19" RCA color TV to our electronics class in an effort to sell it to me. Even in '95, I was shocked to see that he had a 20+ year old tube set. He said he had a new TV in his room; but, got mad one day and shot it while it was on (I wonder if he was related to Elvis). I asked what his parents thought about that and he said his dad laughed about it. I think I gave him $10 for the tube set. I'm surprised he didn't destroy it just because it was "old". Once again, it would have been hell to pay had I done that. First, I would have gotten my rear end beat. Then, there would have never been another TV in my room, even if it was one that I obtained on my own. I would not have mattered that I was a teenager. My Dad's rule was "As long as you're living under my roof, you follow the rules".

About ten years ago, one of my friends found a Playstation (the first version) in the trash. We hooked it up to a TV and the mains and hit the power button - but nothing happened. So we removed the top cover and quickly noticed that the power supply fuse was blown. Well, that was no big deal, we replaced the fuse, plugged it in again and hit the button a second time and heard a loud "snap" as the fuse blew. But we decided not to give up that easy, so we bypassed the fuse with a piece of 4mm2 wire. "I assure you, this will not burn over" was my friends last words before he put the plug into the 230 volt 63 amp 3-phase outlet. The ceiling lights dimmed, we heard a loud 50Hz "BZZZZZZZ"-sound and flames were shooting out of the power supply. In a matter of seconds the whole Playstation console were engulfed in flames. When we got the fire put out, the Playstation's main transformer were completely gone, and the only trace of it was a hole in the circuit board. Needless to say, that Playstation went back in the trash.

About 17 years ago, a friend gave me a nice VCR that was dead - no display, and no LEDs lit up when plugged in. I replaced a blown 2A fuse, which blew immediately when I plugged the VCR in. I tested all the power supply components, but could not find anything that was shorted or obviously defective. I tried another 2A fuse, then a 3A and a 4A - same result. I was determined to find the cause - it was the VCR or ME, and I was not going to lose to a stupid machine. I connected my multimeter to the fuse holder and set it on the 10A high amperage setting. Plugged in the VCR and stood back - the VCR powered up briefly, the meter quickly rose to just above 7 Amps, and then 1 of the transistors on the power supply exploded! I replaced the transistor and put in another 2A fuse - VCR worked perfectly for about 5 years after that without any problem.

BTW - I would never use a paper clip, piece of wire, or tin foil to bypass a fuse!!!!!!!!

. Plugged in the VCR and stood back...


That part of the story, by itself, absolutely cracks me up!!! :yes: :lmao:

That part of the story, by itself, absolutely cracks me up!!! :yes: :lmao:


HEY - I'm no FOOL!! I wasn't getting anywhere near that thing when it went!

Best was a UPS specifically designed for Audio and video high end systems. Sorry, no names mentioned but it big and heavy (1500 watt, sine wave, always on line, no standby). With the system playing, I unplugged the UPS from the wall to let a friend hear the difference from plugged in and on battery.
About three minutes later it sounded like a shotgun went off in the house. The stereo was still playing! Another louder blast and everything went off.
Flames came out the back and I (I know, not a bright thing but panic will do things to you) pulled it from the rack and threw it in the back yard where more smoke and noise continued!
A few Heinekins later it was finished. What a stink! I boxed it up and sent it back. The company replaced it with a refurb which lasted about three months and went dead. No excitement that time.
I use a different brand UPS now......

I have a story but it isn't mine, it was my uncle's from the mid seventies. Brand new color Zenith 25", fourth floor window, and anger. LOL Supposedly it " blew up in the backyard real good "

Not quite as spectacular, but I remember a story at AK a few yrs ago about a couple of guys who rescued an old console radio from a barn/shed, loaded it up in a van, set out & suddenly had 17,234 VERY angry waspers to deal with...

Not quite as spectacular....

I bet those two guys would beg to differ!! :D

When I was about 12, my neighbor, an old man who lived alone, passed away. A few months later, there was an estate sale in his house. I was immediately drawn to a 1951 Hallicrafters TV in the rear addition, price: $ 10 (had raster/no pic/no sound). I really wanted this set, and begged for $10 from my parents all afternoon. My mom said "there's no room", and "we can't afford it" (B*******, I was one of 5 kids, my mom couldn't watch us all, and she would not tolerate my watching TV unsupervised).
In order to shut me up, they consented to giving me $5 to buy the table radio atop the TV, which I did.
This old radio sounded pretty good, with deep bass, and I made fairly good use of it for several months, until the family cat chewed the power cord.
So I bought an extension cord, cut off the socket end, and wired it to the old radio. The radio's old cord had three wires, so I wired the cold to the cold of the extension cord, and both of the others to the hot.
Then I plugged in and turned on the radio, fully expecting to enjoy some music. My eyes were greeted with a brilliant flash of white light from the loctal tubes inside the partially open cabinet, and no sound. Soon after, the radio went out with the trash.

About 8 years after this, I would learn that the third wire was for the old resistor line cord, which dropped the 120v house current to 30v, powering five (?) 6v 300mA filaments in series, and distributing the remaining heat (90v x .3 A = 27w) along the length of the cord. My replacement toasted the tubes with 120v.

About 22 years after this, I would see a radio just like mine in a completed auction on you-know-where.com. The Detrola radio, with cream bakelite cabinet, China red knobs and trim, fetched over $ 600!

When I was a wee lad of 10 the TV repair man was called one day to diagnose and fix a no picture but sound only problem on the family 23" Silvertone b&w set. The TV guy quickly found an intermittent electrode in the gun of the picture tube. The fix was to use the blunt end of a screwdriver and give the neck a couple of taps. Apparently, these were supposed to be "gentle" taps. The guy left the back off the set so Dad could give the prescribed treatment. Well, about a week later the set acted up, Dad wasn't around, and Bug Bunny just couldn't wait, soooo.... I got out the screwdriver and gave the CRT neck a few good whacks ...while the set was operating! ZAP, WHOOSH, sparks, sizzle, smoke, and stint of burning varnish and plastic filled the living room. :yikes: I hit the neck so hard it cracked and all hell broke loose as air entered the CRT. Oh...that model operated at 20KV. Burned a nice hole clean through the deflection yoke. Fortunately, I wasn't hurt but did get a good scare.