Shrinking TV electronics

[news13]

Our venture into flatscreen LED TVs recently turned out rather
interesting when we need to invoked the three year on-site warranty
following a large pop.

Techo with the contract, diagnosed it as power supply and order a new one
in. Over a week later he turns up on Saturday to repair it.

"First task was extract the replacement board from his brief case and I'm
thinking "WTF/s, why did you bring out a replacement I/O board when you
said it was the power supply.

Copious screws later, it becomes obvious, that is the power supply and
everything board. no larger than a paper back in area and it did
everything.

 

[Don McKenzie]

On 1/04/2015 3:26 PM, Sylvia Else wrote:

On 1/04/2015 2:44 PM, news13 wrote:
Our venture into flatscreen LED TVs recently turned out rather
interesting when we need to invoked the three year on-site warranty
following a large pop.

Techo with the contract, diagnosed it as power supply and order a new one
in. Over a week later he turns up on Saturday to repair it.

"First task was extract the replacement board from his brief case and I'm
thinking "WTF/s, why did you bring out a replacement I/O board when you
said it was the power supply.

Copious screws later, it becomes obvious, that is the power supply and
everything board. no larger than a paper back in area and it did
everything.


Scarely worth diagnosing then. Replace that board. If it still doesn't work, replace the screen. If still no joy,
replace the entire TV.

Sylvia.

bit different to the 50s and 60s, when we went out with a box of valves, replaced them, and if it didn't bring life to
the unit, then the chassis and possibly the whole unit came back to the workshop.

The days of the Astor 17" sets.

Cheers Don...





--
Don McKenzie

http://www.dontronics-shop.com

All Olimex products now 60% to 95% off normal Olimex Prices.
http://www.dontronics-shop.com/olimex-ltd.html
Many other items discounted up to 95% off.
Also discounts on FTDI modules, Sparkfun, CCS, SimmStick, etc.

 

[Sylvia Else]

On 1/04/2015 2:44 PM, news13 wrote:

Our venture into flatscreen LED TVs recently turned out rather
interesting when we need to invoked the three year on-site warranty
following a large pop.

Techo with the contract, diagnosed it as power supply and order a new one
in. Over a week later he turns up on Saturday to repair it.

"First task was extract the replacement board from his brief case and I'm
thinking "WTF/s, why did you bring out a replacement I/O board when you
said it was the power supply.

Copious screws later, it becomes obvious, that is the power supply and
everything board. no larger than a paper back in area and it did
everything.

Scarely worth diagnosing then. Replace that board. If it still doesn't
work, replace the screen. If still no joy, replace the entire TV.

Sylvia.

 

[news13]

On Wed, 01 Apr 2015 15:26:15 +1100, Sylvia Else wrote:

Scarely worth diagnosing then. Replace that board. If it still doesn't
work, replace the screen. If still no joy, replace the entire TV.

You wouldn't reach third step. The Screen was fixed into font surround
and you just remove the back to access the only board.

I suspect a lot are like that, but it will take some time for joe/mary
public to accept the only repair is a replacement board at $X cost as he
was still going through the "bring it in for quoting routine" to someone
else on the mobile.

 

[news13]

On Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:28:53 +1100, Don McKenzie wrote:

bit different to the 50s and 60s, when we went out with a box of valves,
replaced them, and if it didn't bring life to the unit, then the chassis
and possibly the whole unit came back to the workshop.

The days of the Astor 17" sets.

This guy estimated that he had a few thousand $$$ of old electronic parts
that were now useless.

 

[news13]

On Wed, 01 Apr 2015 20:58:24 +1000, keithr wrote:

In the 70s I used to help look after the computers at the ABS, one of
them had 7000 pcbs, now mainframes only have 3 or 4 boards per CPU.

I've seen a few with multiple board CPUs, similar for ram, but 7.000.
How many cabinets?

 

[keithr]

On 1/04/2015 3:28 PM, Don McKenzie wrote:

On 1/04/2015 3:26 PM, Sylvia Else wrote:
On 1/04/2015 2:44 PM, news13 wrote:
Our venture into flatscreen LED TVs recently turned out rather
interesting when we need to invoked the three year on-site warranty
following a large pop.

Techo with the contract, diagnosed it as power supply and order a new
one
in. Over a week later he turns up on Saturday to repair it.

"First task was extract the replacement board from his brief case and
I'm
thinking "WTF/s, why did you bring out a replacement I/O board when you
said it was the power supply.

Copious screws later, it becomes obvious, that is the power supply and
everything board. no larger than a paper back in area and it did
everything.


Scarely worth diagnosing then. Replace that board. If it still doesn't
work, replace the screen. If still no joy,
replace the entire TV.

Sylvia.

bit different to the 50s and 60s, when we went out with a box of valves,
replaced them, and if it didn't bring life to the unit, then the chassis
and possibly the whole unit came back to the workshop.

The days of the Astor 17" sets.

Cheers Don...

In the 70s I used to help look after the computers at the ABS, one of
them had 7000 pcbs, now mainframes only have 3 or 4 boards per CPU.

 

[Don McKenzie]

On 1/04/2015 11:24 PM, news13 wrote:

On Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:28:53 +1100, Don McKenzie wrote:


bit different to the 50s and 60s, when we went out with a box of valves,
replaced them, and if it didn't bring life to the unit, then the chassis
and possibly the whole unit came back to the workshop.

The days of the Astor 17" sets.

This guy estimated that he had a few thousand $$$ of old electronic parts
that were now useless.

Things are changing at this rate. I have a heap of Olimex Microcontrollers boards (yes thousands of dollars again), that
I have big discounts on, as the microcontroller world is changing that fast. Soon I will be giving them away.

With Chinese ebay clones and free postage, it is a game I can no longer be competitive in.

Cheers Don...



--
Don McKenzie

http://www.dontronics-shop.com

All Olimex products now 60% to 95% off normal Olimex Prices.
http://www.dontronics-shop.com/olimex-ltd.html
Many other items discounted up to 95% off.
Also discounts on FTDI modules, Sparkfun, CCS, SimmStick, etc.

 

[Don McKenzie]

On 1/04/2015 11:23 PM, news13 wrote:

On Wed, 01 Apr 2015 15:26:15 +1100, Sylvia Else wrote:

Scarely worth diagnosing then. Replace that board. If it still doesn't
work, replace the screen. If still no joy, replace the entire TV.

You wouldn't reach third step. The Screen was fixed into font surround
and you just remove the back to access the only board.

I suspect a lot are like that, but it will take some time for joe/mary
public to accept the only repair is a replacement board at $X cost as he
was still going through the "bring it in for quoting routine" to someone
else on the mobile.

When you can buy a 42" set for $300, and it passes the out of warranty period, who would really spend $150 or more on a
repair?
Game over.

Don...



--
Don McKenzie

http://www.dontronics-shop.com

All Olimex products now 60% to 95% off normal Olimex Prices.
http://www.dontronics-shop.com/olimex-ltd.html
Many other items discounted up to 95% off.
Also discounts on FTDI modules, Sparkfun, CCS, SimmStick, etc.

 

[Clocky]

On 2/04/2015 4:14 AM, Don McKenzie wrote:

On 1/04/2015 11:23 PM, news13 wrote:
On Wed, 01 Apr 2015 15:26:15 +1100, Sylvia Else wrote:

Scarely worth diagnosing then. Replace that board. If it still doesn't
work, replace the screen. If still no joy, replace the entire TV.

You wouldn't reach third step. The Screen was fixed into font surround
and you just remove the back to access the only board.

I suspect a lot are like that, but it will take some time for joe/mary
public to accept the only repair is a replacement board at $X cost as he
was still going through the "bring it in for quoting routine" to someone
else on the mobile.

When you can buy a 42" set for $300, and it passes the out of warranty
period, who would really spend $150 or more on a repair?
Game over.

Don...

All this cheapness in everything comes at a terrible price.

 

[news13]

On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 07:14:58 +1100, Don McKenzie wrote:

When you can buy a 42" set for $300, and it passes the out of warranty
period, who would really spend $150 or more on a repair?
Game over.

Yep, Changhong $348 on Chinese New Year special at Bing Lee with 3year
on-site warranty.

It was a no brainer to replace the 40" glass that requires a pair of
islanders to move whilst we reach agreement on which brand name to buy.

Although, if it is "the best of the Chinese" as claimed by the repair
guy,, that might be a while.

 

[keithr]

On 1/04/2015 10:26 PM, news13 wrote:

On Wed, 01 Apr 2015 20:58:24 +1000, keithr wrote:


In the 70s I used to help look after the computers at the ABS, one of
them had 7000 pcbs, now mainframes only have 3 or 4 boards per CPU.

I've seen a few with multiple board CPUs, similar for ram, but 7.000.
How many cabinets?

I don't remember how many cabinets,but it would have been roughly 5
metres long and 2 metres high. The RAM was 2 x 32Kword 48bit core stacks
(we didn't use bytes then a character was 6 bits). If you ever saw "6
million dollar man" on TV, you'd have seen the console, it looked like
something out of a 1950s scifi movie.

A picture of it

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4081/4885807192_5b8f723aa7.jpg

 

[Sylvia Else]

On 2/04/2015 10:38 AM, Clocky wrote:

On 2/04/2015 4:14 AM, Don McKenzie wrote:
On 1/04/2015 11:23 PM, news13 wrote:
On Wed, 01 Apr 2015 15:26:15 +1100, Sylvia Else wrote:

Scarely worth diagnosing then. Replace that board. If it still doesn't
work, replace the screen. If still no joy, replace the entire TV.

You wouldn't reach third step. The Screen was fixed into font surround
and you just remove the back to access the only board.

I suspect a lot are like that, but it will take some time for joe/mary
public to accept the only repair is a replacement board at $X cost as he
was still going through the "bring it in for quoting routine" to someone
else on the mobile.

When you can buy a 42" set for $300, and it passes the out of warranty
period, who would really spend $150 or more on a repair?
Game over.

Don...





All this cheapness in everything comes at a terrible price.

Not really. Boards can be repaired, but how many hours of diagnostic
work do you get for the cost of just replacing it?

Sylvia.

 

[Clocky]

On 2/04/2015 3:32 PM, Sylvia Else wrote:

On 2/04/2015 10:38 AM, Clocky wrote:
On 2/04/2015 4:14 AM, Don McKenzie wrote:
On 1/04/2015 11:23 PM, news13 wrote:
On Wed, 01 Apr 2015 15:26:15 +1100, Sylvia Else wrote:

Scarely worth diagnosing then. Replace that board. If it still doesn't
work, replace the screen. If still no joy, replace the entire TV.

You wouldn't reach third step. The Screen was fixed into font surround
and you just remove the back to access the only board.

I suspect a lot are like that, but it will take some time for joe/mary
public to accept the only repair is a replacement board at $X cost
as he
was still going through the "bring it in for quoting routine" to
someone
else on the mobile.

When you can buy a 42" set for $300, and it passes the out of warranty
period, who would really spend $150 or more on a repair?
Game over.

Don...





All this cheapness in everything comes at a terrible price.



Not really. Boards can be repaired, but how many hours of diagnostic
work do you get for the cost of just replacing it?

Sylvia.

I'm talking about the throwaway society we have created.

People aren't getting anything repaired when a new TV is $300 it just
becomes more electronic waste.

 

[F Murtz]

news13 wrote:

On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 07:14:58 +1100, Don McKenzie wrote:


When you can buy a 42" set for $300, and it passes the out of warranty
period, who would really spend $150 or more on a repair?
Game over.

Yep, Changhong $348 on Chinese New Year special at Bing Lee with 3year
on-site warranty.

It was a no brainer to replace the 40" glass that requires a pair of
islanders to move whilst we reach agreement on which brand name to buy.

Although, if it is "the best of the Chinese" as claimed by the repair
guy,, that might be a while.

Aldi just had a 55"/4k ultra hd smart tv for $800.00

 

[Clocky]

On 2/04/2015 11:57 AM, news13 wrote:

On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 07:14:58 +1100, Don McKenzie wrote:


When you can buy a 42" set for $300, and it passes the out of warranty
period, who would really spend $150 or more on a repair?
Game over.

Yep, Changhong $348 on Chinese New Year special at Bing Lee with 3year
on-site warranty.

It was a no brainer to replace the 40" glass that requires a pair of
islanders to move whilst we reach agreement on which brand name to buy.

Although, if it is "the best of the Chinese" as claimed by the repair
guy,, that might be a while.

He left off "...at that price".

 

[~misfit~]

Once upon a time on usenet Clocky wrote:

On 2/04/2015 4:14 AM, Don McKenzie wrote:
On 1/04/2015 11:23 PM, news13 wrote:
On Wed, 01 Apr 2015 15:26:15 +1100, Sylvia Else wrote:

Scarely worth diagnosing then. Replace that board. If it still
doesn't work, replace the screen. If still no joy, replace the
entire TV.

You wouldn't reach third step. The Screen was fixed into font
surround and you just remove the back to access the only board.

I suspect a lot are like that, but it will take some time for
joe/mary public to accept the only repair is a replacement board at
$X cost as he was still going through the "bring it in for quoting
routine" to someone else on the mobile.

When you can buy a 42" set for $300, and it passes the out of
warranty period, who would really spend $150 or more on a repair?
Game over.

Don...

All this cheapness in everything comes at a terrible price.

I agree - yet few seem to resalise.

At least we can export 'eWaste' to China and India for recycling. :-/
Instead of remaking new things out of the same elements I'd rather have
something that lasted longer for each iteration. It's far less energy
intense.
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long, way when religious belief has a
cozy little classification in the DSM."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)

 

[Clocky]

On 3/04/2015 7:16 AM, ~misfit~ wrote:

Once upon a time on usenet Clocky wrote:
On 2/04/2015 4:14 AM, Don McKenzie wrote:
On 1/04/2015 11:23 PM, news13 wrote:
On Wed, 01 Apr 2015 15:26:15 +1100, Sylvia Else wrote:

Scarely worth diagnosing then. Replace that board. If it still
doesn't work, replace the screen. If still no joy, replace the
entire TV.

You wouldn't reach third step. The Screen was fixed into font
surround and you just remove the back to access the only board.

I suspect a lot are like that, but it will take some time for
joe/mary public to accept the only repair is a replacement board at
$X cost as he was still going through the "bring it in for quoting
routine" to someone else on the mobile.

When you can buy a 42" set for $300, and it passes the out of
warranty period, who would really spend $150 or more on a repair?
Game over.

Don...

All this cheapness in everything comes at a terrible price.

I agree - yet few seem to resalise.

At least we can export 'eWaste' to China and India for recycling. :-/
Instead of remaking new things out of the same elements I'd rather have
something that lasted longer for each iteration. It's far less energy
intense.

Indeed.

 

[Jeßus]

On Fri, 3 Apr 2015 12:16:54 +1300, "~misfit~"
<shaun.at.pukekohe@gmail.com> wrote:

Once upon a time on usenet Clocky wrote:
On 2/04/2015 4:14 AM, Don McKenzie wrote:
On 1/04/2015 11:23 PM, news13 wrote:
On Wed, 01 Apr 2015 15:26:15 +1100, Sylvia Else wrote:

Scarely worth diagnosing then. Replace that board. If it still
doesn't work, replace the screen. If still no joy, replace the
entire TV.

You wouldn't reach third step. The Screen was fixed into font
surround and you just remove the back to access the only board.

I suspect a lot are like that, but it will take some time for
joe/mary public to accept the only repair is a replacement board at
$X cost as he was still going through the "bring it in for quoting
routine" to someone else on the mobile.

When you can buy a 42" set for $300, and it passes the out of
warranty period, who would really spend $150 or more on a repair?
Game over.

Don...

All this cheapness in everything comes at a terrible price.

I agree - yet few seem to resalise.

Apparently so. How much electronic junk do we generate compared to
even just 20 years ago? When I was a kid, most people had the same TV
for years, even more than a decade.

Fridge, TV, stereo/radio, toaster, stove (maybe)... those things were
pretty much the only electrical devices in the average house...

At least we can export 'eWaste' to China and India for recycling. :-/
Instead of remaking new things out of the same elements I'd rather have
something that lasted longer for each iteration. It's far less energy
intense.

Agreed. Most of my hifi gear is professionally restored old vintage
stuff which was very well built - much better than you will find today
unless you spend big money.

 

[news13]

On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 21:41:18 +1000, F Murtz wrote:

Aldi just had a 55"/4k ultra hd smart tv for $800.00

For which we don't have a use.
What was the warranty.