HI all,

The patient is an RCA Model #P52955, SN #103452031, Chassis
#PTK195W1B, Manuf. JAN 2001.

History: TV has been working fine and just went out of warranty three
months ago. When the display problem appeared I disconnected the
cable input to verify it was the TV's problem.

Every screen from the UNUSABLE SIGNAL (no input) to all menu screens
have the same display problems. The display appears but has a bowtie
(hourglass?) shape where it is taller at the left/right ends and
narrower in the middle. There are three distinct images, all
identical but in different colors and offset (shifted? Ghosted?) from
each other. The image colors are red, green & blue.

My dilema is one repair shop said they have to bring it into the shop
to fix (this is a big TV) and will charge pickup/delivery fees; there
is no other way, the work can only be done at the repair shop.
Another shop I contacted says it will "take the guts out of the TV"
and take those to the shop. The quoted price ranges are as far apart
as the work description. I feel like I'm comparing apples and
oranges.

I'm hoping someone can answer these questions for me.

Can anyone tell me what's wrong with the TV? (so I can judge what I'm
being told)

Can this be fixed by in home service visit or must it go to a repair
shop?

Is there any possibility of fixing this myself? (I'm a DIY audio buff
and have VOM, oscilliscope, and soldering iron).

Thanks, -Karl Haldeman