Zenith TV - Red Picture

[NowhereMan 1966]

Our current TV, a 1982 Zenith 25" console, model number SY2585P2 made in December of 1982 seems to have a glitch. For a few brief seconds to a minute, the screen gets a reddish tint to it and although I still see the picture I also see faint red lines. We turned it off and on once, it went away but there are times it does that for a few seconds. Any ideas what could be causing this? I love this set, it has a special place in my heart, been watching it since we got it in February 1983.

I have attached a pic of it, you'll see one of my cats, "Whitey," as she watches a wreck in a NASCAR race, she loves NASCAR. On the right side of the pic, you'll see her mother.

NowhereMan 1966

[Eric H]

It could be as simple as a bad solder joint or as serious as a bad picture tube.

You could check the solder connections on the board that plugs onto the back of the tube (someone correct me if this model doesn't use one?)

If your handy with a soldering iron you could just go ahead and touch up the connections on the board (set off and unplugged) , pay particular attention to the circular row of pins that go to the tube.

If the board looks OK you can try (with the set on) tapping very gently on the neck of the picture tube with a plastic screwdriver handle. Use a mirror and look for streaking or flashing on the screen while you do this. If this happens you probably have a heater to cathode short in the tube.

For a set that new you can probably still get a rebuilt CRT from Video Display Corp or Hawkeye.

Eric

[Chad Hauris]

On a Zenith set of this age that I have, there is a integrated circuit-like module that says "Caution..HOT" on it that is used in the video output stage...it seems like there was a problem with this module that was causing the screen to go bright red.

[kc8adu]

that device is a resistor network.
it runs hot enough that the solder joints fail after a few years.
as for crt shorts anything is possible but the 25vet/vfc p22 didnt have the problems the a63aax/adg had with h-k shorts.

[Chad Hauris]

I remember adapting a heat sink for use on the resistor network and this seemed to help the problem although not completely eliminate it.

[NowhereMan 1966]

OK, here is an update on my red picture problem. Tonight it has started doing it again and I took pictures of it with my digital camera which I will upload here. I took one of Eric's suggestions by taking the back off and lightly tapping the back of the picture tube's neck with the plastic end of a screwdriver. Mom told me she saw no flashes or streaking although there were red lines in the picture originally but there were no sudden flashes or changes. Hopefully this means the tube is OK. I think it could be a heating problem as some of "yuns" (Pittsburgh word for the plural form of you) suggested. I'll have to take a close look at the PC board that is on the back of the picture tube's neck but I did jiggle a wire or two but nothing's changed. I plan on cleaning all the dust out on the circuits, maybe that will help. Again if there are any more ideas or suggestions, they are welcome.

BTW, Mom turned it off for 3 minutes and turned it on, no problem although it did the red screen once for a few seconds but it went back to normal, leading me to think it is a heating problem.

[jstout66]

Hey NowhereMan, That set is a System 3 isn't it? Get the module numbers for the color module and the PC board that snaps on the tube. I may have them, and if so they're yours for the postage if you want them.

[NowhereMan 1966]

Well, my Zenith still has the occasional red screen problem so I'm looking around here and other places for System 3 parts. The set was made in 1982, it is a 25 inch console and here are the specs I took down from the listing inside the TV:

Zenith

SY2585P2

175-2030 tuner
9-190 module
9-186-01 module high voltage
9-181-02 module
9-181 universal replacement
204-860-0211 tube

Thanx for any help in advance.

Chuck

DE KA3WRW

[JCFitz]

On that model the resistor network is on the 9-181-02 main module(the big module sitting on the botom)I've saved them by removing from the board and carefully resoldering the pins where they connect up to the ceramic module.I saved the resistor network on my Advanced System 3 set's 9-214 module when it was turning blue.Where it is soldered on the board probably needs soldering anyway.If you find a heater-cathode short you don't have to buy a new CRT yet as long as your emission is good.They sell flyback operated brightener/isolation transformers.I've also made my own heater winding by wrapping a few turns of wire around the flyback core.The heater of the CRT must be isolated from ground if you have a heater -cathode short.Nearly all the later solid state tvs use grounded heater windings and when you get the short it grounds the cathode of the gun that has the short.

[kc8adu]

forgot to add this but the bias pots get flaky on these too.put up a mirror and tweak the red bias to see if the pot is dirty.deoxit is your friend!

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by JCFitz

On that model the resistor network is on the 9-181-02 main module(the big module sitting on the botom)I've saved them by removing from the board and carefully resoldering the pins where they connect up to the ceramic module.I saved the resistor network on my Advanced System 3 set's 9-214 module when it was turning blue.Where it is soldered on the board probably needs soldering anyway.If you find a heater-cathode short you don't have to buy a new CRT yet as long as your emission is good.They sell flyback operated brightener/isolation transformers.I've also made my own heater winding by wrapping a few turns of wire around the flyback core.The heater of the CRT must be isolated from ground if you have a heater -cathode short.Nearly all the later solid state tvs use grounded heater windings and when you get the short it grounds the cathode of the gun that has the short.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind and if it continues, I'll have a look at the resistor network. I've mainly done radios much, much more so often than TV's so if it is more than that, I might have it fixed profssionally or at least get another board in case if I mess that one up. I wonder if there is a SAM's photofact for the TV?

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by kc8adu

forgot to add this but the bias pots get flaky on these too.put up a mirror and tweak the red bias to see if the pot is dirty.deoxit is your friend!

Thanx, I was wondering if it could be a flaky pot myself. I'm giving her a rest for a few days, might not do much, but it does it every so often and then for months, it is OK. I might blow some of the dust out FWIW. Bad thing, my 1998 Zenith 19" room TV is the one in place right now so I have my 1966 Sony B&W 9 incher in my room. What's funny is playing Playstation games in black and white. At least it is in the family, a 1999 Playstation hooked to a 1966 Sony. A long time ago, my grandmother promised her 1962 RCA B&W to me when she passed on but I never got it. Shame, at least it was a 17 incher, at least the video games would be easier to see on that thing.

Chuck

DE KA3WRW

[RetroHacker]

Hehe - for a while, I had my Playstation connected to a 12" amber computer monitor. It worked fine, but it was interesting playing video games like that. I actually managed to beat Tony Hawk's Pro Skater that way. Then, later on, when I was in a tiny apartment for a short time, I had my Playstation 2 connected to a little green computer monitor. The longer persistance phosphors were a little weird, but it was still playable for the most part. Except in the game Jak and Dexter when you were told to collect the green glowing things - but not the purple ones. Well, they're all green...

Yeah, and also - Dance Dance Revolution(which I suck at, btw) - there's nothing that prevents it from being played on a black and white console TV - you don't _need_ color, but your friends will still complain about it, and call you crazy...

-Ian

How to you get to see the picture?

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by NowhereMan 1966

Our current TV, a 1982 Zenith 25" console, model number SY2585P2 made in December of 1982 seems to have a glitch. For a few brief seconds to a minute, the screen gets a reddish tint to it and although I still see the picture I also see faint red lines. We turned it off and on once, it went away but there are times it does that for a few seconds. Any ideas what could be causing this? I love this set, it has a special place in my heart, been watching it since we got it in February 1983.

I have attached a pic of it, you'll see one of my cats, "Whitey," as she watches a wreck in a NASCAR race, she loves NASCAR. On the right side of the pic, you'll see her mother.

NowhereMan 1966

I'm not surprised that Zenith has been running 23 years, with no problems until now. Zenith's televisions (the ones made by the original Zenith Radio Corporation) were built to last; not so the "Zenith" branded LGs one sees these days. I once had a Zenith b&w 12" solid-state portable that was still going strong in 2000, 22 years after I bought it--good picture and all. The only problem I ever had with that set was the detented UHF channel selector; some time in the '80s it broke and froze the UHF tuner on one channel. I tried to fix it with Super Glue, but that just made it worse. I'd still have that Zenith portable today, except for the fact that I moved to a small apartment six years ago. I already have two color sets here, one of which is a 1995 Zenith Sentry 2 that works great after almost eleven years. Never had even one repair done on it in all that time, as opposed to two repairs on the RCA for the same problem (antenna connector snapped off the tuner PC board, twice). The picture is as good now as it was when the set was new; in fact, I think it's better than my RCA CTC185 in my living room (I had the Zenith hooked up to my cable just to see if it still worked, and was amazed at the picture quality--I guess my set was one that had a good CRT in it, not one of those junk Zenith CRTs that would short after two years, taking much of the rest of the set with it). I'll probably put the Zenith in the living room when the RCA finally dies, but as well as the RCA has been working (it actually has a very good picture on cable in its own right and is used quite a bit every day and night), I'm thinking it will be a long time before I retire that set. I may well be using it or the Zenith with a HD cable box when TV goes 100 percent digital in three years. Who needs an expensive plasma or LCD TV, which I cannot afford right now anyway? They are nice, I guess, but I'll just have to wait until the price of a FP set the size of my CRT TVs drops well below $500. HD cable boxes will work just as well with analog sets as with digital monitors; the only drawback, of course, is you won't see the picture in HD unless you use a digital monitor.

BTW, I was looking for the attachment to your post with the pictures of your cats, but I can't find it. I'd like to see the one of your one cat watching that NASCAR race--I bet that's cute as all get out! I have a white cat myself (my second one; I had to put the first one to sleep in 2002 after seven years), but he isn't much of a sports fan. He likes to lay in my lap or beside me in my chair while I'm watching TV, but I don't think he actually watches the programs. He just likes being close to me, which suits me to a T. Having this cat laying in my lap and purring up a storm is wonderful and feels really good, especially on a cold winter night.

73,