TV Repair Help
1984 was a great year. First, the Macintosh made its debut. A lesser-known (but still important) product was also manufactured in 1984... my television. It is a Zenith System 3: one of the first popular televisions to come with built-in cable television support and a digital remote control.
This TV has served me very well for quite some time now. After 21 years, it still has crisp, accurate colors and plenty of brightness. But in the last couple weeks, I've heard really weird electrical-ish noises coming from within the TV, so I figured I'd open her up and see what's wrong. This was back when appliances were made to be user-serviceable, so it was really easy to get the back off.
Really not that bad-looking inside, apart from 21 years worth of dust. I turned it on to see where the noise was coming from (being careful not to touch anything dangerous), and this component immediately fell under my suspicion...
What you're seeing is a metal cylindrical entity about the size of a D battery, with a whitish-gray semi-cuboid plastic enclosure under it (the far side of it is curved, not rectangular). They are mounted to a vertical circuit board behind and to the left of the picture tube (looking at the TV as you normally would), and on the other side a metal plate extending up from the bottom of the chassis. There are several wires (some pretty thick) coming off of these devices.
The red coil thing and that white thing under it are definitely the root of the problem. It emits these very strange (but not loud) crackling/chirping/hissing noises, that seem to modulate when something comes within close proximity (a foot or two). Move your hand or a screwdriver towards it, and it makes new sounds that change as you move your hand slightly... almost like playing some strange instrument. Also, emanating from it is the telltale smell of ozone. Even weirder, it appears to be giving off massive amounts of static electricity. Anything that comes within its realm of influence (about a foot) becomes statically charged. Enough to hurt lots if you're the victim of a spark.
Soo, what exactly is wrong? This is my first attempt at TV repair, but I'd really like to solve this problem. Since the television still works, there is hope for it still. Any insight?
This TV has served me very well for quite some time now. After 21 years, it still has crisp, accurate colors and plenty of brightness. But in the last couple weeks, I've heard really weird electrical-ish noises coming from within the TV, so I figured I'd open her up and see what's wrong. This was back when appliances were made to be user-serviceable, so it was really easy to get the back off.
Really not that bad-looking inside, apart from 21 years worth of dust. I turned it on to see where the noise was coming from (being careful not to touch anything dangerous), and this component immediately fell under my suspicion...
What you're seeing is a metal cylindrical entity about the size of a D battery, with a whitish-gray semi-cuboid plastic enclosure under it (the far side of it is curved, not rectangular). They are mounted to a vertical circuit board behind and to the left of the picture tube (looking at the TV as you normally would), and on the other side a metal plate extending up from the bottom of the chassis. There are several wires (some pretty thick) coming off of these devices.
The red coil thing and that white thing under it are definitely the root of the problem. It emits these very strange (but not loud) crackling/chirping/hissing noises, that seem to modulate when something comes within close proximity (a foot or two). Move your hand or a screwdriver towards it, and it makes new sounds that change as you move your hand slightly... almost like playing some strange instrument. Also, emanating from it is the telltale smell of ozone. Even weirder, it appears to be giving off massive amounts of static electricity. Anything that comes within its realm of influence (about a foot) becomes statically charged. Enough to hurt lots if you're the victim of a spark.
Soo, what exactly is wrong? This is my first attempt at TV repair, but I'd really like to solve this problem. Since the television still works, there is hope for it still. Any insight?
posted by Chris at 10:59 AM
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