80s Philco-branded Philips 13" - Very dark screen

[YamahaFreak]

I have rescued a 13-inch Philips (Magnavox) CRT TV set, probably built in the mid-90s (build date is obscured by wear on the label) from an abandoned motel. I kept it mostly because of the curiosity of the set being branded Philco, despite that brand having ceased television manufacture decades prior. After thoroughly cleaning the TV and checking for any obvious signs of trouble, I plugged it in and powered it on. All seems well, but the picture is extremely dark, to the point of being almost totally black. I tried adjusting the flyback G2 control, and although this did produce a picture, it was very washed out, as though something before the flyback is keeping the picture dark. I also tried adjusting the sub brite control on the board, to no avail...I am out of ideas. I returned the flyback to its previous setting, to avoid any undue wear.

[Findm-Keepm]

Model number? Sams doesn't yield without that or a chassis number.

[YamahaFreak]

Originally Posted by Findm-Keepm

Model number? Sams doesn't yield without that or a chassis number.

Sorry about that, I should have thought to mark that down! The model number is P1321R C403. Chassis number 13Y401-00AA. Label says it is a Philips set. The more and more I stare at what's left of the manufacturing year, it looks like it could be 1993.

[Electronic M]

Philco existed as a elcheapo badge into the DTV transition...Those magnavox DTV converter boxes were also sold in white plastic with Philco brand on them.

[YamahaFreak]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Philco existed as a elcheapo badge into the DTV transition...Those magnavox DTV converter boxes were also sold in white plastic with Philco brand on them.

Yeah, I think Philips might still have the rights to use the name. I have seen at least one 'Philco' DVD player...

[zeno]

Post the CRT voltages & its easy to nail down the bad stage.
With its history its probably a dead CRT.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

[YamahaFreak]

Originally Posted by zeno

Post the CRT voltages & its easy to nail down the bad stage.
With its history its probably a dead CRT.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

The CRT is very much alive, the onscreen menus are bright and sharp. It's just the picture itself that is almost black.

[JohnCT]

Originally Posted by YamahaFreak

The CRT is very much alive, the onscreen menus are bright and sharp. It's just the picture itself that is almost black.

Could be a bad eeprom. They weren't nearly as much trouble as the Thomson RCA/GEs, but we used to stock them. Unfortunately, I tossed all my Philips parts many years ago.

I may have the SM for the Y series. I'll take a look when I get to work.

John

[KentTeffeteller]

My late Grandmother in Athens had a knob tuned Philco set from that era. Was a reasonably basic model that screen size or a bit bigger. Had a nice picture. Ad slogan from Knoxville, "Philco, What A Picture, What a Price". Also, they used "Philco, Your Better Buy".

[radiotvnut]

A service manual (rather it be a Sam's Photofact or factory manual) will be a big help. It could be something as simple as a dried out electrolytic capacitor in the video chain.

As far as the Philco name, Ford bought them in, I believe, 1961. Then, Ford sold Philco to GTE (who already had Sylvania) in 1974. At that point, Philco and Sylvania TV's were basically the same inside; but, the Philco-branded sets were the "loss leader." In '81, NAP (who already had Magnavox) bought the Sylvania and Philco brands from GTE. I believe NAP still owns the rights to the Philco name; but, they have licensed the Philco, Magnavox, and Sylvania brands to Funai and other outfits.

[old_tv_nut]

I think the details that do show are too sharp to be chrominance. So, there is something wrong with the luminance level (brightness/black level/DC level, whichever you want to call it).

[YamahaFreak]

Adjusting the color control has no noticeable effect on brightness. I pored over the entire board and could not locate a service switch anywhere, which actually surprised me, given I usually do find one. All other controls work as they should, just...a really dark picture. Menu is fine, as is blue screen brightness while auto channel searching.

EDIT: It's doing something else I hadn't noticed before. Almost like clockwork every 7-8 seconds, the image will get slightly fuzzy (like someone tuning away from the center of the channel on a knob tuner) and then 'snap' back into focus. Weird. I thought maybe it was some outside interference but nothing I can think of is running nearby.

[zeno]

Not sure if its this chassis or an older one. They were had lots of
bad micro IC's. They came with a sheild. The micro was right
under the CRT & the board was cut out for a shield. Seems they
left them out to save $$ & it bit them in the ass.
When they go almost anything can happen including strange charicters
Japanese & other symbols.
You can try different settings for the AFT searching. Norm, CATV, HRC.
ICC SPSL etc.

73 zeno
LFOD !

[JohnCT]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

I think the details that do show are too sharp to be chrominance.

That's true, but the chroma seems to be about 90 percent of the available brightness. The color seems normal but there is indeed a little video on the screen.

John

[YamahaFreak]

Not sure if this helps at all, but here is a scan of the circuit diagram that was affixed to the inside of the cabinet.