The WORST ever - Page 5 - Videokarma.org TV - Video

holmesuser01 · #61 10-11-2005, 07:43 PM

Yeah. The Phillips built Maggies were tough sets. Once the soldering was done....

I soldered a bunch of them.

I saw fires in more than one of the first console Maggie solid states. Now, the 1960's console color chassis were great. Rarely did more than a tube or 2, and an occasion flyback to one. Then, replacement flybacks became very hard to get. Then I started trashing some of the prettiest cabinets you have ever seen...

I remember a wave of Sylvanias that were burning resistors galore in the video sections. D12's I think. I know of a couple of early 1960's GE roundies that are still running. They need some work, but basically look good for over 40 year old TV's One of them was on a maintenance agreement until 1979.

Chad Hauris · #62 10-12-2005, 01:27 PM

The pre-Philips magnavox solid states seem to have a lot of trouble with the modules. Every one of these I have worked on has had intermittents on the modules.
The Greeneville? Tennessee built N.A.P. magnavox sets do seem to be high quality...we repaired one recently at the shop that just had a bad cap, found it with the ESR meter and it has a great picture again. My parents bought one in about 91 and it is still going great.
It seems like the Mag sets went to pot at the time they started branding them "Philips-Magnavox"...these seem like el-cheapo sets from what I've seen, like they are Funai's or something.

dewickt · #63 10-12-2005, 02:24 PM

In the mid 90's Phillips moved chassis design from the Knoxville office to Singapore, went down hill with the move and were designed with COST as the driving factor.

Keefla · #64 10-13-2005, 12:01 AM

Unless the part(s) are under warranty, I always leave them with the client. I have replaced a few glow plugs. After the furnace is back up and running, I always show the client where the plug failed. In all cases, i show the client the problem. I did this when i did TV repair in the 80's (I was in my teens). To me, showing the client the problem and why I did what I did is the most important thing.

I run a small auto repair shop with a couple friends and we make a habit of doing the same thing. Doesnt matter how big or small the part is we keep it to give the customer the option of seeing it. I find that people are more willing to pay the bill, especially the diagnostic fee, if they can hold the source of the problem in their hand. Plus theres no way they can say that you 'didnt do anything' . Especially it the part is hidden in the engine. Even if its just a tuneup, i keep every part till the customer says throw it out.
And from my end on the electronics repair end of it, i brought a TV in for service not too long ago and the small, out-of-the-way-hidden-down-a-one way-road repair shop kept the defective part for my TV (cracked HV boot arcing) to show me exaty what failed. Let me tell you i will definatly go back to them again because they cared enough about my satisfaction to do that for me!

Sorry its off topic, i just had to add my comment

colortrakker · #65 10-13-2005, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chad Hauris

It seems like the Mag sets went to pot at the time they started branding them "Philips-Magnavox"...these seem like el-cheapo sets from what I've seen, like they are Funai's or something.

Some of the Magnavox TVCR/DVD combos you see in stores ARE Funai. They've taken over Sylvania completely.

holmesuser01 · #66 10-13-2005, 08:01 AM

I LOVED working on the Panasonic-built Magnavox VCR's. When Funai took over, I stopped doing repairs on them. Phillips sets are no better than anyone else anymore. Thats too bad, too, because, if I owned a company, I would want my product to be of quality, and NOT just getting by. It was a sad day when the accountants took over the manufacturing process.

Off the soapbox.

Around 1981, I would buy Sampo flybacks by the case. The county jail had a load of them. They rarely had other problems, at least for me.

andy · #67 10-13-2005, 10:50 AM

---

Randy Bassham · #68 10-13-2005, 12:39 PM

My vote for worst is the Magnavox T952-T971 hybrid portables. One huge PC board, slide controls and a knack for melting a hole in the back cover next to the horizontal output tube. That piece of junk came out around 1973 and we had a 100% failure rate during warranty period. On top of that it weighed a ton and had a small plastic handle that was prone to break.....

domfjbrown · #69 10-14-2005, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andy

I've heard that Philips made their own VCRs for the European market. I've seen a few from around 1990 that used Panasonic mechanisms and Philips electronics. The ironic part is that most VCRs are made by Funai now. It's funny how crap took over the market where quality only cost a little more.

I dunno who makes the transpot in my 1999 Philips VHS, but the picture quality is still excellent now. The Philips incidentally was a replacement for a top-of-the-line Panasonic from the previous year that had rave reviews. I had two of them in series and both were problematic - the Philips has been fine

My next TV will probably actually be either a Philips or Toshiba as well - UK spec Sonys are now not so competitive.

Telecolor 3007 · #70 10-15-2005, 05:20 AM

90% of today's sets.
The "Teleolcolor" with Romanian components and Polish color CRT's.
The Soviet colour sets - better they the Soviet CRT's (luckly, "Elcrom" could be fitted with "GoldStar" picture tubes

andy · #71 10-15-2005, 10:43 AM

---

Chad Hauris · #72 10-15-2005, 11:14 AM

I really do not miss working on VCR's...it seems like VCR's are fortunately finally are starting to quit being used. I really enjoy old electronics but I somehow have very little nostalgia for VCR's. (except for maybe the old mechanical Beta and 3/4")...VHS units always seemed to have all of those complicated mechanisms with cheap plastic parts, tons of belts and stuff, bad caps, tape oxide shedding.

Don Lindsly · #73 10-15-2005, 12:57 PM

I agree with Randy's opinion of the Magnavox 952. It was unreliable and poorly made. I still have some slide controls in stock.

But I must vote the Olympic 910 color TV for the all time worst.

The circuit boards were so bad that the material disappeared without even attempting to solder. It needed so many jumpers that it looked hand wired when it left the shop. It came with a bag of parts just to make it work. Once installed, the picture quality was so bad that customers brought them in for service when they were operating up to Olympic standards. The gain was so poor that when the antenna was removed there was no snow or white noise, just a dim glow on the CRT. They never had enough brightness and forget contrast. The picture was a pale washed out blur that looked like you were viewing through an oily piece of paper. When you were finished fixing it, it looked like you hadn't started.

Who is surprised that Olympic was one of the early TV fatalities?

Don

nasadowsk · #74 10-15-2005, 01:10 PM

A cow-orker had a phillips maggie that was 'made in the US' according to the back panel. not a bad set, it toasted a horz transistor after a storm once, I fixed it, $5 for the transistor and a few lunch breaks and it's running gain for who knows how long but it's running. Looks better than the RCA CTC-187 that another cow-orker brought in to me.

Anyone know what the common problems are on the 187? It's totally dead and they'd like it to not be. Sounded like it was acting up in the micro area - classic Thompson bad soldering I guess? Where do i start looking? Power supply? Micro? Circuit City?

Telecolor 3007 · #75 10-15-2005, 01:34 PM

I love V.C.R.'s!.