On Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:26:20 -0500, wrote:
My brother has a nice 27" tube TV (flat screen) that
has gone bad. The unit is only abt 6 years old.

They were watching it Sat night and the picture shrank
down to one thin horizontal line that stretches across
the screen. In other words. it has no vertical scanning
I think.

He said I could have this TV if I wanted it but I live
in a rural area and no where to take it to have it
fixed!

So.... questions:

1. What is the part that has failed in this set given
its symptoms?
Back up a little. Google for "sci.electronics.repair faq" and read everything
you can.
Also search for some other clever search strings like "tv repair symptoms"

What you have is a problem with the vertical deflection. You already knew
that. It can be a problem anywhere starting to where the signal is
generated (on some chip), amplified, and wired to the yoke around the neck
of the CRT. Usually the problem is the driver transister (vertical output).
Or a bad solder joint. Or wiring. Or the yoke. In my experience, at least
half of all faulty electronics are due to something physical: a bad solder
joint, short in a multilayer circuit board, connector, cable, switch, etc.


2. Is it worth fixing it?
Probably not. If your time is worth minimum wage then it isn't worth fixing
yourself either unless you already have the requried electronics skills and
can handle troubleshooting complex electronics. If it is going to take you
two hundred hours to diagnose and repair, then you might consider your time
better spent elsewhere.

A TV repairman, if you can actually find one, probably won't bother looking
at it. Nowadays, anything under $400 to replace simply isn't worth being
repaired. Consider that you're going to have to buy a digital tv adapter in
february. Add that to the cost of the repair ($150-250) and you're well on
your way to replacing it.

If yes, where can I get the part and could I install it myself?
What part? You have to diagnose it down to the component, connection, or
circuit board first. You'll probably need an osciloscope to trace the signal.

Most tv repairman nowadays only diagnose down to the board level. They have
a stock of replacement boards so they can try swapping them out fairly risk
free. If you try that, you'll be lucky if you fix it for less than twice
the cost of a new TV.

Unless you live in your TV, this really isn't a home repair question. Try
sci.electronics.repair. But, please, read the the FAQ and get a clue first.
They're not going to teach you how to solder or procure basic
troubleshooting skills that are already detailed in the FAQ. They will,
however, be able to tell you if the particular tv model has a history of
problems.