PhattyMo wrote:

Hey guys,

We've got an RCA big screen projection TV,it's probably ~13 years
old,I think.
Anyways,the picture is kind of dark and blurry,and I was wondering if
there was anything -simple- that I could do to help it out?
I've never worked on a PJ TV before,so I'm not entirely sure how to go
about things.
I'm thinking I'll pop the back off and clean the dust off of the screen
and optics,as a start.That should help,considering it don't think it's
ever been cleaned out in there!

I'm not sure how this beast is focused,I vaguely recall some kind of
On-screen menu that had some focus/convergence stuff in it..I'll have to
play around with the remote and see if I can find the menu again,Cause I
don't really want to mess with the RGB 'cans',other than to wipe some
dust off of them.(atleast until I know what I'm doing.)

Any other simple tips/tricks?


Thanks! Pat.

Cleaning the optics is a good start. Then - if you know how -
check/adjust the focus of each tube, use a monochrome signal and balance
the gain of each CRT to get a perfect black and white image, and adjust
all the user controls for the best convergence you can get.
With a set that old the tubes may have worn beyond the point where you
can get an acceptable image.
And of course if something changed suddenly like a drastic loss of one
color or a large change in convergence, then you are likely to have a
failed component and no amount of adjustment will help.
Also if there are blotches in the picture or very bad focus after
cleaning the optics you may have dirt or fungus growing in the CRT
coolant. Changing CRT coolant is a BIG job because the CRTs must be
removed lenses removed from the everything must be cleaned and dried and
depending on the model it may need new gasket material or O-Rings.