While we are on a rant...
 

I've noticed here in the forum, we've had a lot of threads that start with a problem and few particulars - missing information.

The lack of information when dealing with a problem makes me take pause - does the person asking for help lack the information, or are they assuming we'll all become instantly apprised of their particulars through some magical "A-Ha" moment?

Please, if you need something, ask, but do so in a manner that gives the rest of us some meat - a model/chassis number, a part number, or even the Sams to start with. I gladly chime in when I can help, but all too often my initial response is What is the model number? What is the part number? - information perhaps close at hand, but omitted in the post. If you don't have any additional info, please state that also. I have resources, but help me help you!

</RANT>

Cheers,

My TV don't work, why? :D

Does this have something to do with my leaving out my Trinitron's model number?

Not that I know of but he is making a valid point, it's important to give some information to get results.

I get quite a few inquires through my site where people just say they have a 1950 Philco, or a 1949 RCA TV, what is it worth, well how should I know with no more than that to go on.

Not really - I've had this rant for some time. Doug Harmon pointed it out back in 2007/8, and I expounded on it for the new folks. Perhaps we might need to reintroduce ourselves occasionally, to point out the valuable resources we each bring to the table.

I ran through some of my older posts, and noticed a trend - digging information out of folks. Your post was akin to the problem, just not the trigger. My uncle owned an auto repair place, and he had just as many problems - my 67 Ford stalls out all the time when I give it gas, what is the problem? After playing 20 questions, he'd find out it was a '67 Ford Diesel Tractor, something he didn't work on, but wasted 10 minutes to find out. Details.......
Cheers,

Anyway, I figured I had already specified the year of the set, and assumed there couldn't have been any huge chassis changes in one year, plus I got sidetracked with zeno's post when writing my first response. Normally I do specify model/chassis numbers if the tags haven't been ripped off.

Phone rings, "I have a 25" RCA TV that won't turn on, how much is it going to cost to have it fixed." Me: "I don't have a clue without troubleshooting the set. A dead set can be caused by anything from a blown fuse to major parts failure."

And of course they've been in there tinkering with a screwdriver and a Tinfoil Fuse beforehand making it worse. :thumbsdn:

I've been in the auto parts business for 25 years. Welcome to every third phone call I take.

My fantasy call goes something like this:

Customer: Hi, I saw your website online, and I need a part to fix my son's car. I'm not sure what the part is called....and I'm not sure what kind of car he has.....

Me: No problem, let me connect you with the dial tone.

:D

Remind me of this guy who replaced a BPC TV fuse with a bolt, but he did it for an experiment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djxNgS6mw2I

A: "Must be the picture tube."

The only part most people know the name of, so that must be the problem.

Customer: there's no picture on my tv. Whats wrong?
Me: It's broken.
Customer: What should I do?
Me: Take it to a repair shop.
Customer: Can you fix it?
Me: Yes.
Customer: How much will it cost?
Me: At least $100
Customer: I thought you might fix it for the experience.
Me: Experience I have Money I need. No Money, call someone else.

Honest to God this is a real conversation. Customer was a family member. Surprise, Surprise. He didn't have a good reputation for paying so there was no way I was going to fix his tv.

So, does this mean you can't fix my car OR tv? :D

I've had a few people jump fuses and then act surprised when I confronted them with it. The problem is that they don't want to admit that they blew up their TV.

When I was a young teenager, an older man who seemed nice called me up to give me some stuff. What he gave me consisted of an old RCA tube manual and a sack of loose tubes, most of which turned out to be duds. I thanked him and offered him some money; but, he wouldn't take it.

About a year or so later, he called to ask if I'd fix his 19" Magnavox TV and he wanted to know if I could drop by his house after school to pick it up; which, I agreed to do.

The TV was a basic mid '80's 19" knob tuned Magnavox color TV that used the 19C3 chassis. Actually, the cabinet style looked just like an older GTE-Sylvania from the '70's-early '80's; but, we all know that NAP bought Sylvania. So, no real surprise that the cabinet design was carried over with a different chassis installed.

Anyway, the problem with this set was that big yellow HV cap in the horizontal output circuit that was so common to arc and burn. I replaced the cap, tested the TV, figured up the bill, and called him to tell him the TV was ready. I was looking forward to making him happy because the $35 I was going to charge him was likely $80-$100 less than what a real shop would have charged for the repair and delivery. When I told him what he owed me, he blew a gasket. "What! $35, I didn't know you had gone commercial. You know, I gave you all that stuff and now you are going to charge me $35 to fix my TV! I figured you'd do it for the cost of the part and the experience." By this time, I was PO'ed. Here I was thinking I was doing the guy a favor and then he bitched to hell and back about the price. He told me that he wasn't going to pay the $35 and tried to get me down to a lower price. When I wouldn't do it, he demanded that I unfix the set and he'd come pick it up. I agreed and told him that he would owe me a $10 check-out fee. Of course, he raised hell about that. I finally told him that if he didn't want to pay the $10 check-out fee; then, he could give me the set and we'd be even. He said, "I'm not giving you my TV because all you'll do is fix it and make a bunch of money off of it." After about a month, he finally came and picked up the TV, paid me the $10, and left after I told him to never call me about anything again and if he thought my price was too high; then, he should take his set to a repair shop and see what they charge.

That incident really taught me a lesson about how some people operate and I feel like the set got thrown in the dumpster. Back then, I could have gotten at least $75 for that set had he left it with me; but, I would have been happy with the $35 repair charge. However, I only got $10 out of the deal and the whole thing actually cost me more labor time because I had to take the set back apart and remove the new part that I had installed. Had I really wanted to be a jerk, I would have introduced some other fault into the TV that no one else would have likely caught and had he wanted it fixed, he would have had to bring it back to me. Then again, after all that, I didn't want to see him or his damn TV again.

If that old phart is still alive today, I wonder how he feels about having to replace his high-tech giant picture frame every five years or so. Seriously, I should get one of those broken ones that sometimes pop up free around here, gut it, make an ant farm and post it on Kijiji for a grand. The few bucks spent doing that would be worth it. Oh, and I would be sure to specify "pick-up only" and "first come, first served".