Hi!

Really though, a lot (majority perhaps?) of viewers are simply not
interested in dumping money into repairing old quality sets when they know
that new flat screen will not only have the HD tuner built-in but also
offers double the resolution of their cherished antique -- so they can
watch
their favorite movies at that-much-closer-to-film quality.

Film quality? Is that what I'm seeing when I go to the movie theater and can
see the odd speck or "blip" in the picture being shown? (Or is that poor
projector operation/dirty film?)

If these things are present on a VHS tape, I haven't noticed them. I have
seen them on some DVDs, so maybe they're unavoidable in any movie... (?)

But, with that said...I've got a couple of older TVs that I probably would
have repaired if they conked out, just because they have been good sets, and
I think they'd be hard to replace with anything made today. One is a
1970s-era Sony that plays beautifully, has one of the best TV pictures I've
ever seen (it is a Trinitron-type tube) and hasn't ever been touched. Its
only problem is failure of the adhesive on the speaker grille and picture
controls. Both were easily reglued.

The second TV is a 1983 Sony--looks a lot like the 70s set but with
"electronic" tuning. This is also a great TV and it hasn't had the adhesive
problem--yet.

The third and final set is a Zenith 13" table TV. While not on a par with
the Sony sets, the picture is very bright and clear. It's a kitchen TV, and
has held up better than any replacement I've tried. (Most have died of
broken buttons.) I've only had to clean it once to keep it running. Oddly
enough, I found it face down on the curb one day in 2001 or so. It's still
going nicely. I suppose it was replaced with some cheap set that probably
isn't around today.

If one of these broke down, I'd seriously consider having it fixed.

Now for my comments about the somewhat sad and sorry state of electronics
repair shops. If anything, I want these shops to stay in business and work
out for their owners. But I've been snubbed a few too many times when I took
something in that I wanted to have repaired. I know and understand that not
everything can be repaired, but I perceived an attitude of "we don't feel
like it" with one shop and another said they weren't equipped to work on the
item in question. The latter I can understand--the former is the kind of
thing that annoys me, and I wonder how many shops act this way.

The item in question is a IBM PS/2 power supply that won't come on. I can
see that the capacitors charge up, as a light plugged into the same outlet
will dim momentarily. I also know that the TL494 controller is being told to
shut down. (Thanks to Sam G. for taking time to look at it. He was very
helpful.) While that supply no longer exists, I have another that is dead in
the same way. But I cannot find anyone (well, there was one offer from this
group, but I never took the poster up on it because of lack of time, and I'm
not sure he's still interested in looking at it) who will even *try* (and
I'd pay to know what got it, if that was all I could know) to tell me why it
died and if it could be fixed.

(So if anyone out there is running a repair shop--preferably in the US--and
you'd be willing to look, I'd pay a fair price for your time and effort...!)

Just my (rambling and drawn out) $0.02...

William