Charles Packer:
The power supply rebuild kits do not necessarily "fix" all power supply
issues but they do cover some of the most frequent failure modes and for the
newbie tech that does not have a lot of electronics troubleshooting
knowledge, repair experience and component testing know-how and test
equipment, it may offer a good chance for you to repair your power
supply.... but as you pointed out you will be replacing parts that may not
need to be replaced.
--
Best Regards,
Daniel Sofie
Electronics Supply & Repair
--------------------------


"Charles Packer" wrote in message
om...
Is this repair project worthwhile, given the circumstances?

Sony VCR, model SLV690HF, died suddenly. It worked fine up until
I pushed the power switch and eject button on the front panel almost
simultaneously (I don't use any VCR much; it's my wife's
preoccupation). Now it's absolutely dead. I suspect the power
supply, perhaps a semiconductor therein, given the symptoms.

The fuse is okay, and I see that there's one 'o them newfangled
switching power supplies. My electronics hobbyist years ended
before they became prevalent, so I don't know a thing about them.

There's a lot in this newsgroup about related issues. One posting
alerted me to one other circumstance that might be relevant: It
mentioned that the power supply runs hot. In the last year, it's
been powered on more than off because I rearranged the connections
such that it has to be on whenever TV is being watched.

The notion of a power supply rebuild kit looks attractive, and I found
my way to the Web site of Studio Sound Electronics. For less than $20 for
the kit and two or three hours work, it would seem worth it to do
the repair. The VCR worked fine for eight years, and cost $270 new.

Assuming that it is the power supply, I guess I need to know two
probabilities to decide if it's worth it to order the kit and get
to work:
1. That the failed component is a semiconductor (to reduce
the number of parts I'd have to remove and replace).
2. That the rebuild kit will include a replacement for it.