panasonic colour tv power problem help

[len gardener]

hope i'm in the right place?

we have a panasonic tc-29v50a colour tv, and there is a problem with
the power switch section, the standby light won't come on and
operating the switch doesn't work. when we turn the power on at the
wall we hear a noise in the set like it is going to turn on but no go.


can anyone give us some idea what this sort of repiar may cost or
entail?

our service centre up here wants $66 just to look at it and if we then
decide it is too expensive for us we lose the $66.

would it be too much to expect a competent technician to have some
idea what it might be or cost without such high up front charges?

tia

len
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

 

[Phil Allison]

"len gardener"

hope i'm in the right place?

** Welcome to hell.

we have a panasonic tc-29v50a colour tv, and there is a problem with
the power switch section, the standby light won't come on and
operating the switch doesn't work. when we turn the power on at the
wall we hear a noise in the set like it is going to turn on but no go.

can anyone give us some idea what this sort of repiar may cost or
entail?

** Anyone who says they can based on this info alone is a liar.

our service centre up here wants $66 just to look at it and if we then
decide it is too expensive for us we lose the $66.

** Boo hoo.

would it be too much to expect a competent technician to have some
idea what it might be or cost without such high up front charges?

** $66 is not an "up front" charge - it is *very modest* fee for
examination, diagnosis and quoting. It has to be collected first since folk
dump unwanted sets on techs all the time.

I suggest you NEVER go near any lawyer, doctor, accountant or even a vet -
they all charge WAY more than TV techs and offer no guarantee of outcomes.




.......... Phil

 

[valiumboy]

Bloody customers why do they always think it is an upfront charge.It is for
the dismantling, diagnosis and quoting of the repair.What, do they want us
to do it for nothing if they decide not to go ahead with the repair.
It gives me the shits when they winge about this and when they drop it off
and say "just look at it and tell me whats wrong".Yep no worries i will put
on my crossing over with john edwards glasses and the cause of the fault
will magically appear.They have no concept that it takes time to find the
cause and then the cost of parts.
Most of the time it is not one fault but multiple.So repairing a fault in
one section will make another fault in a different section appear.


"Phil Allison" <philallison@tpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:3bjo70F6jj1hmU1@individual.net...

"len gardener"
hope i'm in the right place?


** Welcome to hell.


we have a panasonic tc-29v50a colour tv, and there is a problem with
the power switch section, the standby light won't come on and
operating the switch doesn't work. when we turn the power on at the
wall we hear a noise in the set like it is going to turn on but no go.

can anyone give us some idea what this sort of repiar may cost or
entail?


** Anyone who says they can based on this info alone is a liar.


our service centre up here wants $66 just to look at it and if we then
decide it is too expensive for us we lose the $66.


** Boo hoo.


would it be too much to expect a competent technician to have some
idea what it might be or cost without such high up front charges?


** $66 is not an "up front" charge - it is *very modest* fee for
examination, diagnosis and quoting. It has to be collected first since
folk
dump unwanted sets on techs all the time.

I suggest you NEVER go near any lawyer, doctor, accountant or even a
et -
they all charge WAY more than TV techs and offer no guarantee of outcomes.




......... Phil

 

[KLR]

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 12:58:20 +1000, len gardener
<gardenlenSPAM@hotmail.com> wrote:

hope i'm in the right place?

we have a panasonic tc-29v50a colour tv, and there is a problem with
the power switch section, the standby light won't come on and
operating the switch doesn't work. when we turn the power on at the
wall we hear a noise in the set like it is going to turn on but no go.

Not enough info to tell much about the fault.

can anyone give us some idea what this sort of repiar may cost or
entail?

It could be anything - from a simple broken switch or dry joint from

about $60 repair fee, to a major failure of power suppy, custom IC's,
EHT transformer etc costing $200+

our service centre up here wants $66 just to look at it and if we then
decide it is too expensive for us we lose the $66.

It really isn't much for what is involved. $66 (60+ 6 gst) is really

less than what should be charged by such a shop for one hours work,
and it may take more time than that to come up with any sort of
accurate estimate as to the cost involved here.

In many cases - to diagnose such fault, you virtually have to pretty
much fix it !


If you are REALLY worried about this $66 - then go to woolies or such
discount store and buy a 34cm portable set with warranty for about
$100. They often are there at this price - even with an IR remote
control usually.

would it be too much to expect a competent technician to have some
idea what it might be or cost without such high up front charges?

tia

len

Read the other 2 posts too - they are spot on.............

Also go out and buy a couple of issues of Silicon Chip magazine - and
read "serviceman" section and see just how difficult, time and money
consuming many "seemingly simple" repairs actually turn out to be.
You would wonder how the hell he makes a living and puts food on the
table every week with some of the stuff there that he cops.


Im bloody glad I never decided to pursue a career in consumer TV
servicing

 

Hi Len,

I have no idea what you do for a living but I'm certain (unless you
are already a tvtech) that you don't spend your day behind a counter
offering to work for nothing telling all and sundry the nature of the
faults in their appliances!!!!!

I'm happy to offer free advice to you in a forum of this nature as it
is considered an interest or hobby forum.

If you bring your tv to my shop you must understand that the doorway
you use costs over $1000 per week to keep open. This means I have to
make every hour count. The upfront diagnosis fee does two very
important things for me at the counter.

1. It lets me know that you are serious and genuine about having your
set repaired.

2. If you haven't placed a value on your set or aren't prepared to pay
a diagnosis fee after having been giving a guestimate (based on your
description of the faults) then you get to take the set away without
charge and without wasting my time. This then allows me to focus on
repairing genuine repair jobs. The racks are a bit less populated but
every job on them is a paying job.

I find it amusing in a sad sort of way that employee's wont do
15minutes of overtime without getting paid for it but they all want
their local repair guy (tech, mechanic, plumber, whoever) to spend
over an hour for nothing.

For a guestimate I'd expect anything from $125 to about the $250 mark
depending on the full nature of the problems. If it needed any more
than $250 spent on it I'd pull the pin on the job and advise you to
get a new set.

I don't recall ever putting a switch in one of these models and I
expect yours would also be ok. The noise you hear when you turn the
set on at the wall is most likely the degausing circuit working which
suggests to me that the mains switch is ok - impossible to know
anything certain without examination of course.

What was the picture like before the set stopped? Was it in focus?
Were all the colours ok? I have written off a few sets for fautly
tubes.

These sets have been around for quite a while and most of the common
problems are known in the industry. You may have luck finding a
hobbiest or amatuer radio guy willing to have a go for a few stubbies.
Have fun.
Sam


On Fri, 08 Apr 2005 21:52:26 +1000, KLR <kenreed@yahoo.com> wrote:

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 12:58:20 +1000, len gardener
gardenlenSPAM@hotmail.com> wrote:

hope i'm in the right place?

we have a panasonic tc-29v50a colour tv, and there is a problem with
the power switch section, the standby light won't come on and
operating the switch doesn't work. when we turn the power on at the
wall we hear a noise in the set like it is going to turn on but no go.

Not enough info to tell much about the fault.

can anyone give us some idea what this sort of repiar may cost or
entail?

It could be anything - from a simple broken switch or dry joint from
about $60 repair fee, to a major failure of power suppy, custom IC's,
EHT transformer etc costing $200+

our service centre up here wants $66 just to look at it and if we then
decide it is too expensive for us we lose the $66.

It really isn't much for what is involved. $66 (60+ 6 gst) is really
less than what should be charged by such a shop for one hours work,
and it may take more time than that to come up with any sort of
accurate estimate as to the cost involved here.

In many cases - to diagnose such fault, you virtually have to pretty
much fix it !


If you are REALLY worried about this $66 - then go to woolies or such
discount store and buy a 34cm portable set with warranty for about
$100. They often are there at this price - even with an IR remote
control usually.

would it be too much to expect a competent technician to have some
idea what it might be or cost without such high up front charges?

tia

len

Read the other 2 posts too - they are spot on.............

Also go out and buy a couple of issues of Silicon Chip magazine - and
read "serviceman" section and see just how difficult, time and money
consuming many "seemingly simple" repairs actually turn out to be.
You would wonder how the hell he makes a living and puts food on the
table every week with some of the stuff there that he cops.


Im bloody glad I never decided to pursue a career in consumer TV
servicing

 

[Phil Allison]

<kaselectremovethespamblock@bigpond.com

Hi Len,

I have no idea what you do for a living......

Len told us:

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/


There is even a bio and a pic of Len.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/author.htm




.............. Phil

 

Thanks Phil. I had deleted the other posts without reading them.

interesting bio though.

A former business owner/mechanic who doesn't place a value on time?

A Supervisor in the communication industry - perhaps one of his own
techs could look at it unless their time also has to be justified and
paid?

Anyway, hard to blame when you look from his side - who wants to pay
anything to hear bad news.

Cheers,
Sam

On Sat, 9 Apr 2005 10:57:31 +1000, "Phil Allison"
<philallison@tpg.com.au> wrote:

kaselectremovethespamblock@bigpond.com
Hi Len,

I have no idea what you do for a living......


Len told us:

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/


There is even a bio and a pic of Len.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/author.htm




............. Phil

 

[Phil Allison]

<kaselectremovethespamblock@bigpond.com>

interesting bio though.

A former business owner/mechanic who doesn't place a value on time?

** Hang on - Len was lawn mower mechanic in a rural area of QLD.

A Supervisor in the communication industry

** I read that as working part time in a call centre.

Anyway, hard to blame when you look from his side - who wants to pay
anything to hear bad news.

** Then NEVER go near a doctor, lawyer, accountant , vet ......





................ Phil

 

[Bill Bailley]

"len gardener" <gardenlenSPAM@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:5289519pdqegjsa9r5md48u9fnb2nlj1ik@4ax.com...

hope i'm in the right place?

we have a panasonic tc-29v50a colour tv, and there is a problem with
the power switch section, the standby light won't come on and
operating the switch doesn't work. when we turn the power on at the
wall we hear a noise in the set like it is going to turn on but no go.


can anyone give us some idea what this sort of repiar may cost or
entail?

our service centre up here wants $66 just to look at it and if we then
decide it is too expensive for us we lose the $66.

would it be too much to expect a competent technician to have some
idea what it might be or cost without such high up front charges?

tia

len

You may be very lucky and find a business that will give an accurate quote
and not charge for it. You also require that the business tell you whether
your equipment is in your best financial interest to repair. It would have
to be a business that specialises in the product, does a high volume, has
highly skilled and motivated staff at all levels, stocks parts in depth and
is fully committed to doing the best possible job for the customer at a
sensible, yet commercial, price.
In addition you require a business that is completely honest at every level
and has significant technical contact, through warranty repairs, with the
manufacturer of that product.
How to find such a business? You might start off by asking the manufacturers
service people. They should know their dealers, not just as service centres,
but as living breathing individuals. If there is one that stands head and
shoulders above the rest, they are often keen to send work in that
direction.

I should say that, as the price of replacement electronic items has fallen,
the price of spare parts has risen together with labour costs. It is now
entirely possible that a business run on such lines may not be financially
viable in this increasingly throw-away society. You can only ask.

Luck.

 

[quietguy]

Remembering that as the actual fault is unknown it is a repairer that wants to
stay in business will have to make sure that the quote is high enough to cover
a bad scenerio - if it turns out to be an easy fix then the customer loses out.

David

Bill Bailley wrote:

You may be very lucky and find a business that will give an accurate quote
and not charge for it.

 

[Bill Bailley]

"quietguy" <david1133@REMOVE-TO-REPLYoptusnet.com.au> wrote in message
news:4259D05B.434ABE7D@REMOVE-TO-REPLYoptusnet.com.au...

Remembering that as the actual fault is unknown it is a repairer that
wants to
stay in business will have to make sure that the quote is high enough to
cover
a bad scenerio - if it turns out to be an easy fix then the customer loses
out.

David

Because of the time involved in accurate free quoting, it is better to put

your faith in guesstimation tempered by experience. This can be less of a
gamble than it seems if you have been seeing lots of the same equipment
during the warranty period.

I had supposed that the honest repairer would have reduced the cost if the
quote turned out to be higher than required. I always did, but I am thinking
that I may have been in a small number of like minded individuals. Nothing
gets a customers attention more than paying LESS than they were quoted.

If the quote turned out to be lower that was required, that was my loss.
Didn't lose on many that way simply because we had done so many during the
warranty period, and knew pretty much all the traps you could fall into.
Some skill, some luck, and lots of volume!

I always declined to quote or repair butchered equipment.

 

[quietguy]

Bill, I always considered myself as an honest serviceman, and made sure
customers knew the difference between a quote and an estimate.

A quote is an agreement to fix the set( or whatever) for x$ - if my quote was
too low, then my tough luck. If too high then that is a win for me, that time.

An estimate is just just that - no committment to a fixed sum, just your best
honest opinion of what the cost is likely to be, and usually an agreement to
let the customer know before they are committed if the end price is found to be
considerably higher.

Of course you are right re the guesstimations - mostly we get pretty close
based on experience with that particular model with that (apparent) fault.

David

Bill Bailley wrote:

I had supposed that the honest repairer would have reduced the cost if the
quote turned out to be higher than required. I always did, but I am thinking
that I may have been in a small number of like minded individuals. Nothing
gets a customers attention more than paying LESS than they were quoted.

If the quote turned out to be lower that was required, that was my loss.
Didn't lose on many that way simply because we had done so many during the
warranty period, and knew pretty much all the traps you could fall into.
Some skill, some luck, and lots of volume!

I always declined to quote or repair butchered equipment.

 

[Bill Bailley]

"quietguy" <david1133@REMOVE-TO-REPLYoptusnet.com.au> wrote in message
news:425CC526.665AC571@REMOVE-TO-REPLYoptusnet.com.au...

Bill, I always considered myself as an honest serviceman, and made sure
customers knew the difference between a quote and an estimate.

A quote is an agreement to fix the set( or whatever) for x$ - if my quote
was
too low, then my tough luck. If too high then that is a win for me, that
time.

An estimate is just just that - no committment to a fixed sum, just your
best
honest opinion of what the cost is likely to be, and usually an agreement
to
let the customer know before they are committed if the end price is found
to be
considerably higher.

Of course you are right re the guesstimations - mostly we get pretty close
based on experience with that particular model with that (apparent) fault.

David

We are just using a different song sheet to sing almost the same song.

I much preferred to pass the cost reduction of any over-quotes back to the
customer. Because we surveyed every customer, we were able to see a very
significant return from some of those customers in word of mouth referrals.
In short, it was really good for business and I always slept a little better
:&lt)

Regards,
Bill.