View Full Version : Frustrated
50scraze 06-26-2011, 10:18 PM I bought a 42" Plasma and it already has issues. Its only about 2 years old and part of the screen is dead already! :mad:
I think im going to give up on flat panels all together and use my 71' chroma color as my daily watcher. Those sets have a reputation of running forever! Just curios as to what vintage sets you all use as your daily watchers?
newhallone 06-26-2011, 10:35 PM The Tv that gets the most use in my house is a 53 Zenith.
miniman82 06-26-2011, 10:37 PM Daily watcher: 65" Mitsu DLP. Not too bright, but it's a hell of a big picture for an apartment. If that went down, I'd be watching the '68 Philco-Ford roundie or my CTC-7.
ctc17 06-26-2011, 10:53 PM They dont last do they? To much heat and micro electronics crammed in a a small space.
2-3 years seems like the magic number for consumer technology, think of cell phone contract length. Think 2 years is a magic or a well researched designed number?
Average sweep tube life was one year but those could be purchased at the local drug store.
mstaton 06-26-2011, 11:08 PM You will have more complex and expensive problems with plasma's than LCD Tv's. Like anything, some brands are MUCH better than others. I sold a friend of mine my 2004 Toshiba 42" Plasma and It's still going. Never a repair, never! The only reason: It says "made in Japan" on the back. I have never seen one since and probably never will again. I use Sony's(LCD) and I find them better than most others. As for an older TV, I use my Admiral roundie in the bedroom and I rarely turn on the LCD anymore.
radiotvnut 06-26-2011, 11:54 PM My Daily watchers are a 19" Zenith CCII motel TV from '79 that's used almost every day. The bedroom TV is a '69 23" Zenith B&W console that may get turned on once or twice a month. The shop TV is a '78 Sylvania 22" solid state B&W console that is connected to a DTV converter, DVD player, VCR, and it gets used a good bit. I also have a '76 Toshiba 9" color blackstripe TV that still works fine.
Basically, most any solid state TV from the '70's until the mid '90's will be more reliable than most Chinese junk made today.
rcaman 06-27-2011, 12:08 AM daily watcher 2004 pioneer 64 hdtv stunning picture on hdtv. the other rca 42" plasma that has a beautiful pix reds are out of this world. one repair that was a bad connection then i installed 2 computer fans on the y and z sus boards it is a 03 model. steve
CoogarXR 06-27-2011, 05:17 AM My old 50" Pioneer plasma from 1998 is still going strong. I think the "more problems from plasma" is a misconception. I work for an electronics recycler, and I see a pretty even number of LCDs and Plasma TVs on the scrap pile. I think both categories have winners and losers.
Anyway, to the OP, what model TV is it? It might be one I have seen. Some of these have easy fixes (some don't though, heh).
sampson159 06-27-2011, 07:11 AM my daily watcher is my magnavox bicentennial console.i have a 122 inch infocus projector that has over 10,000 hours on it.it does flicker occasionally and i just put it on high output for a minute.there is a sony 65 inch dlp that has one lamp replacement in the main room.it gets little use.my garage set is a zenith chromacolor II remote set.my xl100 doesnt get used much anymore and the roundie hasnt been turned on in a year.
Reece 06-27-2011, 07:55 AM Seven-year old Toshiba 36" CRT set that goes probably 12 hours a day or more, and eleven-year old 25" Magnavox (that I changed a filter cap on several years ago) that goes maybe 4 hours a day. Both make perfect pictures.
50scraze 06-27-2011, 01:24 PM Anyway, to the OP, what model TV is it? It might be one I have seen. Some of these have easy fixes (some don't though, heh).
Its a Panasonic Viera. about 4 inches of the screen is completely dead on the right side all the way down.
I noticed many of you are using solid state sets as your daily watchers. The Chroma color i have is the tube model and works perfectly . Would it still be good as a daily watcher in the long run?
radiotvnut 06-27-2011, 01:42 PM Since it's a Zenith and since it's built on a steel non-PC board chassis, I'd say it would be OK to use as a daily watcher. Like any tube set, don't leave it on unattended. If something like a flyback or power transformer decided to go up in smoke while you were out of the room, the results could be a disaster.
CoogarXR 06-27-2011, 02:58 PM Its a Panasonic Viera. about 4 inches of the screen is completely dead on the right side all the way down.
There is a 50/50 chance you could fix that by replacing the lower buffer board on the side that's dead. Sometimes they die, sometimes it's the chip embedded in the ribbon cable. If the embedded chip dies, there's no fixing it. It's worth a shot, you can probably get a lower buffer board for $30 or so on e-bay.
rcanewvista 06-27-2011, 06:19 PM The only tv I have is a 1968 magnavox magna color stereo theatre. I watch it only about 1 to 2 hours a. Day, 3 days out of the week. I use the stereo every day though. I like that it has concealed doors so it looks like furniture when not in use. When I have guests over they always ask me why I don't have a tv, then I proudly open the door up haha.
Electronic M 06-27-2011, 06:36 PM I'm not fond of non-CRT type displays.
My daily driver sets are the top two in this photo.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0429.jpg
The top left set is a 71' Zenith Chromacolor hybrid.
Tom C.
magnasonic66 06-27-2011, 06:47 PM The only tv I have is a 1968 magnavox magna color stereo theatre. I watch it only about 1 to 2 hours a. Day, 3 days out of the week. I use the stereo every day though. I like that it has concealed doors so it looks like furniture when not in use. When I have guests over they always ask me why I don't have a tv, then I proudly open the door up haha.
I like the way you think rcanewvista! I aspire to own a working color theatre someday, both Magnavoxes I bought for the stereos, the televisions never worked. I'm getting my moneys worth out of the armoire I picked up at Christmas on the record player and the radio. :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:
Zenith26kc20 06-28-2011, 09:12 AM Daily driver for my girlfriend is a Sharp 25 inch BPC. Runs as long as she is home. I use a Motorola TS-18 for most news and weather with an OTA box on it. TS-933 Maggie in the bedroom (my avatar). For visitors a Sony D-50 CRT projo (87 inch). The projo gets little use (has to be dark in room to use and the fans are a bit noisey).
Hemingray 06-28-2011, 08:18 PM I'm not fond of non-CRT type displays.
My daily driver sets are the top two in this photo.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0429.jpg
The top left set is a 71' Zenith Chromacolor hybrid.
Tom C.
Looks like those left two are startin to get some cataracts.
Electronic M 06-28-2011, 08:55 PM Catreacts indede! I want to try my hand at decating this summer, but it has been cool and overcast most of the time here in southern Wi, and I need to reserch and create a hot wire Zenith decat rig. I've got a source of NOS CRTs near by so if I scerw up and have one implode(provided the flying glass doesn't kill, or injure me me) I'm not completely screwed.
I've begrudgingly lived with the cateract on the top set for around three years, and the lower one for about 2 years, and now I have even more sets with cateracts so now is the time for me to get off of my dead rear and learn to fix cateracts!
Tom C.
rcanewvista 06-28-2011, 10:41 PM thanks Magnasonic66! you have a really nice armoire combo, I've always wanted one of those. How is the picture on the tv? Is it the one that has videomatic, where it dims or brightens the depending on room lighting?
mbates14 06-30-2011, 10:47 AM since you said it was a panasonic viera, you probably need to reprogram the mainboard, those panasonic plasmas were notorious for that, eeprom goes corrupt. There was a "jig" they made to fix this, but its long since discontinued.
Lately in the living room I've mainly been watching my 1974 Zenith Avanti (with the 25EC58 chassis and the SC600). Bedroom - 1966 Zenith 19" steel cabinet b/w with the SC300 and the auto-shutoff control. And I got a 1971 Zenith 23" b/w in the steel cabinet set up right next to the desk I use for repairing other sets on.
But I've used my remote ctc-10 as a daily watcher for a while, and plenty of older b/w sets than those I listed above (mostly early-60s Zeniths) - But probably the oldest being a little 8" RCA from '56 I was using in the bedroom for a while. But I've never really used anything older than the mid-50s on a regular basis.
holmesuser01 07-02-2011, 01:19 PM This is blasphemy, but where I work, we have a flat plasma screen set by Hitachi, with the Christie Electric brand name on the front running commercials in our lobby 18+ hours a day. It's been running fine since 2005. It's vent holes are brushed out every 3 months or so. Amazing how dirty they get.
NowhereMan 1966 07-03-2011, 11:00 AM I'm not fond of non-CRT type displays.
My daily driver sets are the top two in this photo.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0429.jpg
The top left set is a 71' Zenith Chromacolor hybrid.
Tom C.
I have one of those too, it has a cataract too. Still, I would have to live with it, I'd be afraid I'd screw something up otherwise and that could be dangerous.
freakaftr8 07-03-2011, 02:13 PM The problem with the panasonic plasma is te lower address buffer board. Hopefully it's no the panel cof (chip on film) ic's.
TerrySmith 07-03-2011, 07:29 PM Daily watcher: 65" Mitsu DLP. Not too bright
Go into the setup menu and turn off the "energy star" setting. I did it on my 60" Mitsu and the picture is brighter and more detailed. The lamp may be dimming also, doesn't hurt to have a spare on hand!
|