The TV is SONY KP43T75 projection TV, bought in 11/2000. It worked very
nicely for the past few years. The average use is about 8 ~ 10 hours a
day.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Symptoms:

1. Since a few month ago, the TV started to show ghost image.
2. Yesterday, the TV suddenly had blurry images. All images including
menu prompt text on the screen were blurry.
3. I turned it off and then turned it on. The image is till blurry.
4. After 10 minutes, I turned it on. I heard a click sound and the TV
went completely dead.

----------------------------------------------------------

I am only *guessing* that the problem is due to extended use. Some
parts just weared out, e.g. the picture tube.
Can any expert on this group post some ideas? Thanks a lot!

G.

"gsale2k" wrote in message
oups.com...
The TV is SONY KP43T75 projection TV, bought in 11/2000. It worked very
nicely for the past few years. The average use is about 8 ~ 10 hours a
day.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Symptoms:

1. Since a few month ago, the TV started to show ghost image.
2. Yesterday, the TV suddenly had blurry images. All images including
menu prompt text on the screen were blurry.
3. I turned it off and then turned it on. The image is till blurry.
4. After 10 minutes, I turned it on. I heard a click sound and the TV
went completely dead.

----------------------------------------------------------

I am only *guessing* that the problem is due to extended use. Some
parts just weared out, e.g. the picture tube.
Can any expert on this group post some ideas? Thanks a lot!

G.


The picture tubes (there's 3 of them) are probably just fine, if the image
was blurry the focus divider block may have failed, the click was probably
something arcing and shorting the horizontal output transistor. That's why
it's important to get a malfunction looked at immediately rather than
continuing to use it.

Is it possible to fix by myself?

It's good to hear that the picture tubes are still fine. I just checked
the goodguys.com site. It costs $200/tube.

I also called local SONY authorized repairers. It costs $360 flat rate
+ parts. Ouch!

Thanks,

Bill

"gsale2k" wrote in message
oups.com...
Is it possible to fix by myself?

It's good to hear that the picture tubes are still fine. I just checked
the goodguys.com site. It costs $200/tube.

I also called local SONY authorized repairers. It costs $360 flat rate
+ parts. Ouch!



Whether it's possible to fix yourself depends on your level of knowledge,
selection of tools, experience, and the depth of the fault. The tubes are
*probably* ok, it's never a guarrantee, but if the picture was good before
it failed then chances are they're fine, they normally wear out gradually
getting dimmer and fuzzier. If you're not sure where to start then you
should probably call around to local shops as it's easy to turn a small
problem into a much bigger assortment of problems while throwing money at
the thing bit by bit until you've spent more than it would have cost to have
a pro fix it.

I opened up the TV and saw that the components are mostly just consists
of:
- two motherboards
- 3 picture tubes

I don't have any tools or service type of manuals. So I couldn't do
anything besides looking at the internal components.

I calculated what it could cost to fix this TV, or any other projection
TVs:
- labor: $314 + tax
- 3 replacement tubes: $191 + tax (each)
- total: about $1000.

No wonder I saw many people gave away their non-working projection TVs.
It just costs the same as purchasing a new TV. This doesn't sound
right.

Anyone with similar experience to share?

Thanks!

James Sweet wrote:
"gsale2k" wrote in message
oups.com...
Is it possible to fix by myself?

It's good to hear that the picture tubes are still fine. I just
checked
the goodguys.com site. It costs $200/tube.

I also called local SONY authorized repairers. It costs $360 flat
rate
+ parts. Ouch!



Whether it's possible to fix yourself depends on your level of
knowledge,
selection of tools, experience, and the depth of the fault. The tubes
are
*probably* ok, it's never a guarrantee, but if the picture was good
before
it failed then chances are they're fine, they normally wear out
gradually
getting dimmer and fuzzier. If you're not sure where to start then
you
should probably call around to local shops as it's easy to turn a
small
problem into a much bigger assortment of problems while throwing
money at
the thing bit by bit until you've spent more than it would have cost
to have
a pro fix it.

Suggest having it professionally checked out. Being only 4+ years old it
would be worth at least paying for a technician to actually check it out.
"gsale2k" wrote in message
oups.com...
I opened up the TV and saw that the components are mostly just consists
of:
- two motherboards
- 3 picture tubes

I don't have any tools or service type of manuals. So I couldn't do
anything besides looking at the internal components.

I calculated what it could cost to fix this TV, or any other projection
TVs:
- labor: $314 + tax
- 3 replacement tubes: $191 + tax (each)
- total: about $1000.

No wonder I saw many people gave away their non-working projection TVs.
It just costs the same as purchasing a new TV. This doesn't sound
right.

Anyone with similar experience to share?

Thanks!

James Sweet wrote:
"gsale2k" wrote in message
oups.com...
Is it possible to fix by myself?

It's good to hear that the picture tubes are still fine. I just
checked
the goodguys.com site. It costs $200/tube.

I also called local SONY authorized repairers. It costs $360 flat
rate
+ parts. Ouch!



Whether it's possible to fix yourself depends on your level of
knowledge,
selection of tools, experience, and the depth of the fault. The tubes
are
*probably* ok, it's never a guarrantee, but if the picture was good
before
it failed then chances are they're fine, they normally wear out
gradually
getting dimmer and fuzzier. If you're not sure where to start then
you
should probably call around to local shops as it's easy to turn a
small
problem into a much bigger assortment of problems while throwing
money at
the thing bit by bit until you've spent more than it would have cost
to have
a pro fix it.

It is unlikely that your set needs tubes. Typical repairs on these sets
average about $250, but be sure that you call someone who works on them and
has access to the service literature.

Leonard

"Art" wrote in message
...
Suggest having it professionally checked out. Being only 4+ years old it
would be worth at least paying for a technician to actually check it out.
"gsale2k" wrote in message
oups.com...
I opened up the TV and saw that the components are mostly just consists
of:
- two motherboards
- 3 picture tubes

I don't have any tools or service type of manuals. So I couldn't do
anything besides looking at the internal components.

I calculated what it could cost to fix this TV, or any other projection
TVs:
- labor: $314 + tax
- 3 replacement tubes: $191 + tax (each)
- total: about $1000.

No wonder I saw many people gave away their non-working projection TVs.
It just costs the same as purchasing a new TV. This doesn't sound
right.

Anyone with similar experience to share?

Thanks!

James Sweet wrote:
"gsale2k" wrote in message
oups.com...
Is it possible to fix by myself?

It's good to hear that the picture tubes are still fine. I just
checked
the goodguys.com site. It costs $200/tube.

I also called local SONY authorized repairers. It costs $360 flat
rate
+ parts. Ouch!



Whether it's possible to fix yourself depends on your level of
knowledge,
selection of tools, experience, and the depth of the fault. The tubes
are
*probably* ok, it's never a guarrantee, but if the picture was good
before
it failed then chances are they're fine, they normally wear out
gradually
getting dimmer and fuzzier. If you're not sure where to start then
you
should probably call around to local shops as it's easy to turn a
small
problem into a much bigger assortment of problems while throwing
money at
the thing bit by bit until you've spent more than it would have cost
to have
a pro fix it.

What is the expected life hours of a picture tube?

I used the TV for 4 years, which is about 4 x 365 x 8 ~= 12,000 hours
of usage. I know other DLP type of tube/lamp only lasts for about 4,000
hours.

"gsale2k" wrote in message
oups.com...
What is the expected life hours of a picture tube?

I used the TV for 4 years, which is about 4 x 365 x 8 ~= 12,000 hours
of usage. I know other DLP type of tube/lamp only lasts for about 4,000
hours.


Depends how hard you drive them, they can last 50k hours, or you can burn
them up in 4k hours, lifespan of a CRT decreases exponentially as beam
current rises. Set the contrast and brightness to something reasonable and
you should get around 15k out of a set of good tubes before they're pretty
tired.