Entertainment Center: TVs, Stereos, VCRs and DVDs - Sony Trinitron 20

Hi,

I have a really old Sony Trinitron TV (think its 20"). About 3 years ago, the colors started getting messed up. The picture is still very crisp, but the colors look like a bad job done by a little kid on a coloring book! It looks much like a halo or green and red (most prominent at the edges of the screen).

Some one once suggesed that it I should get a "decalsor" (sp). Dunno what that is or where I can find it. Please help with any suggestions that you might have.

Cheers.

Good evening, dadipsite:

Perhaps your friends weren't too far off base when they suggested you get a "degausser". Picture tubes are sensitive to magnetic fields and they magnetize easily. All of the sets have an "automatic degaussing" system in them to eliminate minor or residual magnetism. It could be that this circuit has failed in your set.

You sound like a guy that has a few tools kicking around in his basement or garage. Do you have a pistol soldering iron? You know, something like a Weller Soldering Gun? If you do, try this:
1) turn on the set and let it warm up
2) plug in the soldering gun and place it close to the area where the kids did their coloring on the screen.
3) Turn on the soldering gun, and move it in clockwise circles around the affected area. You may note all sorts of strange colors appearing where the iron is placed.
4) When the tip heats up, move the gun about 3-4 feet away from the picture tube and turn it off.

If this helps, do it again as many times as it takes to clear up the problem. BUT, NEVER TURN THE GUN OFF WHILE IT IS NEXT TO THE PICTURE TUBE. That will make things worse and you'll be sending Smokey hate mail.

If you clear it up and if the automatic degausser is on the fritz, nothing will happen until you move the set again. It is interesting to note that moving a set will cause problems because you are crossing the lines in the Earth's magnetic field.

Have a good day and let us know how this turns out.

Smokey ;)

If you know of someone with a soldering gun you can use it like a "Degaussing Ring". Place the gun about 3 inches from the front of the set. Pull the trigger on the gun and at the same time rotate the gun in an ever larger circle (slowly) while backing away from the set. About 4 feet from the set quickly turn your back to the set while releasing the trigger on the gun. If the magnetism is bad you may have to do this twice. But before the second time turn the set off and on a few times. You may also have an internal degaussing ring that has failed on the set. Not worth repair...

Great minds run in the same circles. Smokey says amen!

Thank you guys for your input.

Here is another question - I don't have a soldering gun and was wondering what I should buy. I don't think I will have a use for it in the future. So are there places where I can rent it? If I HAVE to buy it, what kind should I get... Does RadioShack have something? Also, if I am going to buy a tool to fix this problem, is there a 'degausser' that I can buy? Or am I being silly!

Please advice.

Good Afternoon, dadipsite:

Have you thought about just borrowing one from the neighbor?

If you have no use for the item then it is a frivolous expense to buy a soldering gun.

And, yes, you can buy a regular TV Picture Tube Degaussing Ring but they cost upwards of $50 these days. Again, if you have no use for it, don't spend the dollars. And, it is a little tough to find one on the shelf anymore. I haven't seen one for sale in years.

A degaussing ring is just a long coil of wire with a switch and a plug. The theory is that plugging the coil into a house outlet provides a collapsing and rising magnetic field around the wire. AC at the plug turns itself off and on 120 times a second (to fast for you to notice it). Putting this ever changing magnetic field in an area that has been magnetized causes the magnetized area to break up. Hence, why we use the soldering guns. The windings in the soldering guns are just long coils of wire and do the same thing

Another thing (as foolish as it sounds), your kids didn't hang a refrigerator magnet on the side of the TV, did they?
I've seen this one before and it made a mess out of the picture.

Smokey ;)

Hi guys,

I tried using the soldering iron but to no avail :-(. I also purchased a few maganets and when I place them near the front of the screen, I can see a lot of the color come back to the picture on the screen. But this doesn't last. When I take the maganets away, it goes back to being distorted. I even tried opening up the back of the TV and using the maganets from behind the TV tube.

Any idea what else I could try to fix it? The colors have improved slightly (dunno if thats coz of the maganets). Is it worth while taking to a repair shop? Or is it a lost cause? How much can I expect to pay to get this fixed if I take it to a repair shop?

Thanks once again for your help!

Good Afternoon, dadipsite:

It's worth the fix. It appears that you have the reverse situation that we discussed. Instead of a failed degaussing circuit, it sounds like it is alive and well. The only problem is that it isn't turning off.

It's an inexpensive fix and will get rid of the color problem.

Smokey ;)