Entertainment Center: TVs, Stereos, VCRs and DVDs - RCA 13"combination TV-RADIO

My 13"combination tv/radio is a problem.It is about 5 years old.It is remote controlled and will not come on using remote or the off/on switch. I must first unplug the unit then plug back in then it "usually" will work.A bench charge would probably cost more than the set is worth.Can anyone help? Thanks

Good Afternoon Sally Four Eights:

My first thought is the remote control. Might need to change batteries for a start.

Second thought is that there is an adverse light source around the unit (such as fluorescent or such) that is confusing and locking the remote receiver in the set. Try moving it to another location and see if this helps.


Smokey ;)

Is it a TX825/826 chassis? If so, then I beleve it is
suffering from the infamous TP15 problem.

Okay, Gary! That sounds impressive. Want take a minute and tell us all about the infamous TP15 problem. TP to me is a Test Point.

Smokey ;)

TP is what the RCA engineers designated as Transistors.
TP15 is a trasistor in the power supply that has the habit
if over heating (you will probably see the circuit board baked around this transistor. If resoldering is doesn't work, you replace it with a generic NPN (I used a 2N3904),
contrary to what the servce literature may say.

Fancy that! I was an RCA Engineer at Astro Space Center for ten years and we always called them "Q" and "TP" was a test point. Of course, that was when RCA was a company and we worked with the Sarnoff Labs. Never get to old to learn, I guess.

Thanks for the input. That could indeed be the problem this person is encountering.

Smokey ;)

Originally posted by Smokey
Good Afternoon Sally Four Eights:

My first thought is the remote control. Might need to change batteries for a start.

Second thought is that there is an adverse light source around the unit (such as fluorescent or such) that is confusing and locking the remote receiver in the set. Try moving it to another location and see if this helps.


Smo

key ;)
Hi Smokey,
I tried both of these suggestions,neither work.
Thanks anyway

Good Evening, Sally-4-eights:

My counterparts seem to elude to a circuit failure in your television set which seems to be a common failure to that particular brand. See the above posts.

Sorry we couldn't some up with a cheap fix to the problem but that is the nature of the industry.

Smokey ;)

MY THANKS TO GARY AND SMOKEY---HOW NICE OF YOU TO REPLY
SALLY 8888

Come back and visit doityourself.com anytime, Sally. We are friendly folks and do our best to make your fondest dreams come true. Unfortuantly, fixing your TV was not one of our finest moments.

Smokey ;)