Someone gave me a 19" TTX monitor the other day, it was about 5 years old
and appeared to need only minor adjustment. I thought I had an easy repair
job and a source of a little quick cash. But I should have known by now that
when something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Hard up for
workspace, I set it on the floor, face down, and removed the back cover.
Since there was no metal frame for support, I tipped the unit on it's side
and braced the neck of the CRT off the floor. The workspace was clean and I
didn't expect any problems.... so you can imagine my surprise when I plugged
it in, and smoke and sparks flew everywhere. I rushed it to the bench,
pulled the mainboard out, and immediately saw two burn marks on the bottom,
about an inch apart, near the front of the board. It looked like something
metallic had shorted it out, but there were no screwdrivers, or any objects
of any kind, in the area. It wasn't until after a futile repair effort, and
I was just putting the unit back together to take to my junk pile, that I
noticed a piece of loose metal strap laying underneath the row of panel
buttons. Sure enough, it was burned in two places. The metal was identical
to that on the CRT discharge strap - it appeared to have been excess that
was cut off at the factory. How it avoided creating a short for 5 years, or
how it ever got left there in the first place, is beyond me. I'm certain it
came from the factory for two reasons; (1) the monitor was never previously
serviced or even opened, and (2) the vents on the case were not wide enough
for this object to fit through.
This is the most bizarre thing I think I've ever encountered in
electronics repair - not to mention a huge frustration, as this monitor
could have fetched some badly-needed money. I don't blame myself though,
because there was no way I could have seen the piece of metal without having
pulled the board out first; and needless to say, you don't expect to see
excess pieces of discharge strap laying around in an unserviced monitor.
I'm basically just sharing this story for your own education - or
amusement. The next time you get a TTX on your bench, you may want to have a
look inside before plugging it in.
I'm also hoping someone out there has a good board for a TTX-8997 - the
CPU and signal areas of mine are destroyed.
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