Hey all. I have a 27" Panasonic TV that's either 9 or 10 years old. The
model # is CT-27S2S. I'm not a technician and am not experienced in
repairing electronics. I've seen this newsgroup many times and I
thought I'd post my problem. This TV has been a good one for many years
but recently has developed a problem. When you turn the TV on, it will
play fine for 8-10 minutes, but then the picture will go completely
black and will have muddy sound when you put your ear down to the
speakers. It will stay black for anywhere from 3-6 minutes and then it
will make a tick sound then it will come back on and the sound will be
normal again. It does this back and forth for roughly the same amount
of time. Everytime the picture goes dead, it will show an image of a
dim line going vertical from top to bottom.

What could I expect to pay for someone to repair it in general? I'm
going to be calling places shortly, but I wanted to get some kind of
idea of what may be wrong with it and what I could expect to pay for
repair? Would it be worth getting it repaired? I know I'm asking many
general questions, but I would like to get some kind of idea of what
the cost maybe and if it would be worth repairing.

Please either reply here or to if you can provide
any help. It would be really appreciated.

Take care,

Tom

What could I expect to pay for someone to repair it in general? I'm
going to be calling places shortly, but I wanted to get some kind of
idea of what may be wrong with it and what I could expect to pay for
repair? Would it be worth getting it repaired? I know I'm asking many
general questions, but I would like to get some kind of idea of what
the cost maybe and if it would be worth repairing.


Given current gasoline prices, can you take it into a servicer?
In home service right now is carrying a pretty good premium due to the
high costs of keeping a tech on the road. Add around $40-50 typical to
get the technician to your door.

If you take the set in for repair. Typical estimate charge is ~$30 for
that size, most ordinary repairs will run under $90 total (including
any estimate charge). Some places, to help keep your repair charges
down, will ask for a typical pre-approval that will cover probably 90%
of most normal repairs parts and labor. It simply saves both time and
money by not having to put the tv back together if they do not get a
hold of you right away when they have the detailed diagnosis and it
saves phone time.

Given that it is 9 years old, you will have to decide how much to
invest in the repair. The general rule of thumb is on a decent quality
set like Panasonic, to go up to 1/3rd the cost of replacement if it is
8 years or less. If the picture still looks good, sharp, good and
proper color, I might still consider putting between 1/4 and 1/3
replacement cost into the repair before buying a new one even though it
is 9 years old. Were it 15+ years old, it would be a different story.

Thank you for giving me an idea on the repair costs. I appreciate it!
Does anyone happen to know what may be wrong? If you missed the
problem, please read the original message. I just want to have an idea
so that I don't get took by the repairman. :-)

Thanks,
Tom

wrote:
What could I expect to pay for someone to repair it in general? I'm
going to be calling places shortly, but I wanted to get some kind of
idea of what may be wrong with it and what I could expect to pay for
repair? Would it be worth getting it repaired? I know I'm asking many
general questions, but I would like to get some kind of idea of what
the cost maybe and if it would be worth repairing.


Given current gasoline prices, can you take it into a servicer?
In home service right now is carrying a pretty good premium due to the
high costs of keeping a tech on the road. Add around $40-50 typical to
get the technician to your door.

If you take the set in for repair. Typical estimate charge is ~$30 for
that size, most ordinary repairs will run under $90 total (including
any estimate charge). Some places, to help keep your repair charges
down, will ask for a typical pre-approval that will cover probably 90%
of most normal repairs parts and labor. It simply saves both time and
money by not having to put the tv back together if they do not get a
hold of you right away when they have the detailed diagnosis and it
saves phone time.

Given that it is 9 years old, you will have to decide how much to
invest in the repair. The general rule of thumb is on a decent quality
set like Panasonic, to go up to 1/3rd the cost of replacement if it is
8 years or less. If the picture still looks good, sharp, good and
proper color, I might still consider putting between 1/4 and 1/3
replacement cost into the repair before buying a new one even though it
is 9 years old. Were it 15+ years old, it would be a different story.

Those damn dishonest and crooked repairmen.... they would rip you off
if they weren't so busy giving free repair advice on this newsgroup.
electricitym
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wrote:
I just want to have an idea
so that I don't get took by the repairman. :-)