Went to power up my big Sony XBR this afternoon, as I have without event for the four or so years I've owned it, and it wouldn't come up. I saw three distinct Standby LED patterns: Early on, a few times, four flashes; later, equal parts five flashes and six flashes. Possibly saw seven flashes once or twice. No high voltage or sound. When I got this set, the first thing I did was open it and clean it thoroughly. Nothing looked bad, aged, or worn out. I am REALLY hoping I can fix this. I love love LOVE this television...:worried:

EDIT: If the set is left alone for several minutes, when I press the power button, the speakers pop once and I get seven flashes.

If memory serves me, you will find two MCZ3001d IC's on the power supply board. These usually give the trouble you described. If there is only one the trouble is in the zero crossing switch circuit. Due to the shear weight of these sets I don't repair them anymore (back is bad enough now). The new IC's are MCZ3001DB. It is supposed to be an improved version. Buy three at least as the sets are picky about them. They don't blow up but if the set doesn't like one of the new ones it won't power up, just blink.
Use IC sockets when you replace them. The sockets make finding IC's the set likes easier to change.
Some customers with those and the Mitsu 40's love em 'cause they are theftproof!
Even the back of these sets are heavy!

I hear you on the weight! If someone wants to steal this set, they had better bring a forklift! :D That said, I am not looking forward to moving it.

The set can't seem to make up its mind at first, but consecutively, after two or more tries, it's always coming up six flashes.

A big problem with that set was caused by customers setting up their stereo speakers on the sides. Of course the speakers had unshielded magnets and it would wreck the purity. More than one I went to check had the shadow mask damaged by the magnets. One customer had a small child use one of those old "Monster Magnets" on the face. It pulled the shadow mask into the phospher.
Didn't Sony make even a bigger set? I seem to remember a 42 inch. Hope that is just in my memory tho.......

From day one, I have had problems with color impurity in the corners of the picture. The only speakers within ten feet of my set are its own internal speakers. This baffles me, but never really bothered me much. I suspect subpar shielding on the internal speakers...but the discoloration isn't anywhere near where the drivers' magnets are. Maybe the picture tube is so gargantuan that its own geometry is fooling with the color somehow! To my knowledge, the KV-40XBR800 was the largest consumer television Sony ever made.

After waiting about an hour, I turned the set on and it came up okay. The code that was flashing before I turned it on this time was seven blinks. I am now afraid to turn it off again! Is it possible that fluctuations or variances in the AC line during today's storms could have affected my TV?

What Zenith26kc20 said is 100% correct. The ICs are going intermittent, it might work for a while but replacing them should fix it for good (and do use sockets as he suggested to).

I helped my friend calibrate a few Sony 34-inch widescreen TVs recently. I was surprised how much the purity and convergence were off, but it was possible to dial them in and improve the picture a lot.

I think I can perform this repair myself...so long as the ICs in question aren't SMT, and can still be purchased! Where might I find them and their associated sockets? The hardest part (which I will likely procrastinate on) will be moving the set away from the wall. :D

That discoloration at the corners of the CRT really intrigues me. I simply cannot come up with a logical explanation as to why it's there. I am also not the only one to have noticed it; other owners of this set have reported it.

I think I can perform this repair myself...so long as the ICs in question aren't SMT, and can still be purchased! Where might I find them and their associated sockets? The hardest part (which I will likely procrastinate on) will be moving the set away from the wall. :D

That discoloration at the corners of the CRT really intrigues me. I simply cannot come up with a logical explanation as to why it's there. I am also not the only one to have noticed it; other owners of this set have reported it.
I never did it on a 40" but did a lot of 30" & 34". The board is printed
on both sides so you may pull up some top trace. Just hard wire it on
the bottom if it happens. Also on those removing some caps gives you the room you need. As said PUT IN A SOCKET ! I had a 30" & it needed an IC every year & I was using OEM Sony parts. Finally junked the set, got sick of
getting help to dig it out from the entertainment center. It was
hard to let go but thats life.

On the purity issue you can improve it with little magnets on the bell
of the CRT. Strip some out of a junker. They usually are taped down,
on plastic strips or V shaped. Do it after the sets run an hour
to heat up the shadow mask & not moved. Use a pure green
raster. Slide them back & forth & turn them as needed then tape down.

73 Zeno:smoke:

I wanted one of those beasts, but I never could find any supplier who actually SOLD them..And apparently, Sony played games w/availability of them. I guess because they we SO big & expensive. They reportedly made a 43" TV-studio monitor version that was never really offered to the general public...I THINK you could buy a small HOUSE for what that gotdang thing cost, too...

I never knew CRT sets that big existed until I saw this thread. Later on I thought, "wait, maybe it's a widescreen CRT". Googled it, nope, regular 4:3 screen. I can't imagine how much that would weigh, I found it difficult to move a 27" CRT set from one room to another.

I wanted one of those beasts, but I never could find any supplier who actually SOLD them..And apparently, Sony played games w/availability of them. I guess because they we SO big & expensive. They reportedly made a 43" TV-studio monitor version that was never really offered to the general public...I THINK you could buy a small HOUSE for what that gotdang thing cost, too...
At the time to buy XBR's direct you had to get 2 of each. One
for the floor & a backup & keep that stock level. Same with some other
parts of the line. The other thing they did was forecast the sales. If
they thought they needed 2000 sets for the month they would make
say 1900. This kept prices & demand up & inventory low.
When they had inventory on a set being dropped they sold them cheap.
IIRC the 30" & 34" closed out at $400 + $600. Needless to say
we grabbed some.

73 Zeno:smoke:

I never knew CRT sets that big existed until I saw this thread. Later on I thought, "wait, maybe it's a widescreen CRT". Googled it, nope, regular 4:3 screen. I can't imagine how much that would weigh, I found it difficult to move a 27" CRT set from one room to another.

According to the manual, my set weighs 304 pounds...and it is a royal bitch to move, even a short distance. Hence why I don't want to move it...the set has been finicky as far as working, but with patience, it will come on with the right amount of wait time between tries. (+/- ~1 hour)

At the time to buy XBR's direct you had to get 2 of each. One
for the floor & a backup & keep that stock level. Same with some other
parts of the line. The other thing they did was forecast the sales. If
they thought they needed 2000 sets for the month they would make
say 1900. This kept prices & demand up & inventory low.
When they had inventory on a set being dropped they sold them cheap.
IIRC the 30" & 34" closed out at $400 + $600. Needless to say
we grabbed some.

73 Zeno:smoke:

Yeah, & another trick they did was to "Discontinue/Re-introduce" it CONSTANTLY...Or make it available this month, & not next month... Dealers apparently were NOT allowed to backorder them..After awhile, I just said Th' Hell With It...

I never knew CRT sets that big existed until I saw this thread. Later on I thought, "wait, maybe it's a widescreen CRT". Googled it, nope, regular 4:3 screen. I can't imagine how much that would weigh, I found it difficult to move a 27" CRT set from one room to another.

I remember my dad struggling to carry a 27" RCA CTC203(or some such) table set up three stories of stairs at the apartment we were temporarily staying at while looking for a house....

A few years later I lifted that set my self and laughed at that memory of him grunting and struggling with a set that I could easily throw across the yard or carry three blocks without complaint...

According to the manual, my set weighs 304 pounds...and it is a royal bitch to move, even a short distance. Hence why I don't want to move it...the set has been finicky as far as working, but with patience, it will come on with the right amount of wait time between tries. (+/- ~1 hour)

Oh man, and I though the clapped-out XL-100 console I had very briefly was heavy. A similar model on cameradepartment.tv was described as weighing 129 pounds.

When I was in my early double-digits my back couldn't take the strain of merely lifting a 19" set from its stand. Something went out of whack, and I was walking with a limp for a few days. I fared better than H.B. Halicki though, who walked with a limp for the rest of his days after the filming of a climactic scene in the original Gone in 60 Seconds.

I hoisted a Rohde & Schwarz EK-07-German tube Boatanchor radio back about 10 yrs ago, when I was 45, 46..The EK-07 weighed a svelte 152 lbs.. And Unca Sandy saw Stars, Moons, Planets, Lightnins 'n' Shee-It when he hoisted it..I thought the R-3XXs were bad at a mere 80-85 LBS..As that movie put it, totin' Boatanchors & Ginormous TVs...Ain't NO Country for Old Men..(grin)

Solder wick is a must on the boards. I had the 34 incher I finally gave to a friend of mine and it has been thru two sets of IC's. Easy once socketed!
Even the back is heavy! The set does have an incredible picture. That one had the super fine pitch tube.
I'll stay with my CRT projectors (Sony D-50HTU and a Dwin HD-700).
Not too bad to move and will do 720P.
The ones with the single IC were nightmares to repair.
A 43 inch!!!! How much did that thing weigh?
Was it used in medevil press torture?

Update: Set has not yet been worked on. Now, I must wait at least 24 hours after the last power off in order to get the HV to engage. This is, ironically, virtually identical to the current state of another flat Trinitron, KV-32HS20, currently in my garage. I will soon buy the necessary MCZ3001DB chips and sockets, as well as a solder sucker and/or wick, but I will be very loath to actually move the TV and disassemble it. Do you think I am doing any damage to the set by continuing to use it in its current state?

i fixed a 34" sony the other day it had 6 or 7 blinks. be sure you get original mcz3001db the first set we bought came from encompass parts i ordered them and paid extra for oem. well hell fire flew out of one of them. and they sent me more Chinese knockoffs. i havent paid for them and i will not. i got the good ones from audio lab of georgia never got a bad part from them. steve

btw we are done with encompass parts

How can I tell which ICs are genuine, and which are Chinese? Fire and sparks are definitely NOT something I want to see inside my set!!

I think the king of the CRT beasts is the Sony HDM 3830 an HDVS monitor from the 90's 1080i 480p capable, 38" widescreen super fin pitch Trinitron. 405 lbs 8 oz.

just look up audio labs website and phone number. when you caal tell them you want oem mcz3001db. ive had no problems with their parts. steve

According to the manual, my set weighs 304 pounds...and it is a royal bitch to move, even a short distance. Hence why I don't want to move it...the set has been finicky as far as working, but with patience, it will come on with the right amount of wait time between tries. (+/- ~1 hour)

304 lbs is lightweight... My 30" Sony KV-3000R weighs 510 lbs!

Charles

Talk! Or we put a SONY on top of you!!!
Maybe TWO!

I hope my chips are ok . I got them from ebay for 16.99 I ordered the MCZ3001DB CHIPS .

I gave up on ebay ICs. I got two pairs of defective STK packs (audio amplifier ICs) from two different vendors. I get so sick of bootleg parts!

About a year ago my XBR34 did the same quit. The board in question is the AZ board on mine with only one chip. Somehow I found a refurb board on the web and try as I can looking thru old emails I cannot find the seller. If you can find the proper Sony # for the board you may have a chance. About $170. The refurb board was full of Sharpie marker markings as if someone tested at various points and Sharpied it to OK.

I left mine in place in the den on top of an Orthophonic Hi-Fi I use as a stand. Cool looking on top of 1959. I tilted it to a corner wall and balanced it up there to pull the back. Not too bad. Then setting it down I undid 24 connectors and swapped the board. Not hard to do...no two are the same. The surgery was about 3 hours and all is well. After moving it around above the iron in the Orthophonic, the purity was off. My trusty degaussing coil took care of that. And I have the original to re-use after I swap the IC someday.

Hands down it is the best HD set made and I have been doing color broadcasting for a long time. Nothing better than Super Fine Pitch color phosphors.

I hope my chips are ok . I got them from ebay for 16.99 I ordered the MCZ3001DB CHIPS .

ebay for mcz chips is a no no.

I bought some Sony MCZ3001D OEM Chips from a seller that had customers that used his chips and are working fine . I read his feedback it was very good all said they worked .

My set is still working intermittently, must now wait a couple days before powering it on. I think trying prematurely resets the 'timer', as well. I simply cannot move the set myself, so the repair has been delayed until I can get it away from the wall. :P

On page 54 of this link, you can see the massive Sony console with a 43 inch Trinitron CRT. They also made a bare bone 43 inch monitor.

http://books.google.com/books?id=HhmuNz3HZ_4C&pg=RA1-PT12&lpg=RA1-PT12&dq=sony+chromatron&source=bl&ots=ccvFy9Itqj&sig=OcyZKeR9e5CsIzn7FlzH1bG4ukY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fx-OUpewJ4HLqgHVtYGIBA&ved=0CCgQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=sony%20chromatron&f=false

I have a Sony KD 34XBR960 flat screen with 16x9 aspect ratio. The red LED flashes 12 times before set powers up.

On page 13 of this link you see the Sony 43 inch monitor.

http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/ar/8ido18000005fm23-att/1989-E.pdf

Better have a very small soldering iron or you will short the connections. Most chips are fakes or just don't work. Try to find a preferably new D board or power board. Worked on mine for a year before i bought a slightly used refurbished board. Has played every day since last February. Now if i could only get rid of all the geometry distortion.

Part Number A-1300-319-A.

I do agree that it's going to be a bitch and a half to unsolder the chips and resolder the sockets...but on the other hand, buying a used board with used chips seems like more of a crapshoot, and much more costly than replacing the chips!

Someone in my neighborhood curbed another 40XBR800. The CRT neck was broken off. :tears: So, I picked it clean, and now have spares for virtually everything in my set, save the CRT, including the power supply board. My question now becomes whether there is any way to test the MCZ chips on this board in circuit, before I go pulling my set apart to perform a board swap! Nothing on this board looks bad, but for all I know this TV could have had the same problem mine currently does. Go figure. :P

just look up audio labs website and phone number. when you caal tell them you want oem mcz3001db. ive had no problems with their parts. steve

Is the Audio Labs you refer to in Des Moines, Iowa?

Is the Audio Labs you refer to in Des Moines, Iowa?

No their in georgia

Is the Audio Labs you refer to in Des Moines, Iowa?

No their in georgia

Audio lab of georgia

No their in georgia

Audio lab of georgia

Thank you!