# Should this TV be saved? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 9, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-tv-be-saved/492545 "2009-04-09T18:29:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MizQuirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@MizQuirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizQuirk)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-tv-be-saved/492545/1 "2009-04-09T18:29:57Z")
If you were a fairly aged female on a fixed income with no analytical inclinations of an electronic kind and all of a sudden your six-year-old (or so) 24" Sanyo TV would not power on, what would you do – spend $30 to find out what’s wrong with it and get an estimate, or give up on it and give the TV away? ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-tv-be-saved/492545/2 "2009-04-09T19:48:11Z")
Do you have to spend money to research the problem? Have you tried Googling an answer, or calling a TV repair shop to see if this is a common problem with your model? Would it be possible to see if a local community college trade class would be willing to fix it for free? Do you have something you could offer in trade to have someone fix it? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-tv-be-saved/492545/3 "2009-04-09T19:51:41Z")
In my experience the cost to repair it will far exceed it’s value. You’re better off to get rid of it. If you’re straped for cash and can’t afford a brand new set I’m sure you could find an old used set on Craigslist or at a pawn shop for dirt cheap. (I sold my perfectly running 32" Sony Trinitron for $50). [Here’s a nice 32" Sony for $85 in Dallas](http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ele/1113458655.html) ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-tv-be-saved/492545/4 "2009-04-09T19:57:38Z")
I’d scrap it. If you can’t afford a new one, I’ve seen lots of TVs donated to Goodwill because the owners upgraded. Probably thought the “old” TV wouldn’t work with the upcoming DTV conversion. As long as you have cable, these should work just fine. StG ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-tv-be-saved/492545/5 "2009-04-09T20:20:23Z")
Well. I’d unplug it, let it sit for a day, plug it back in, hit the power button _on_ the TV, see if it powered up. Then scrap it. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-tv-be-saved/492545/6 "2009-04-09T20:49:51Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > see if it powered up. Then scrap it. Regardless of the outcome? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-tv-be-saved/492545/7 "2009-04-09T21:08:52Z")
It’s $30 to look at it because most people bail out when they hear the cost of the repair. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a $150 repair because a component was bad. That’s what I saw in the late 80’s when customers asked us to send out a television for repair. After letting it sit unplugged for a day and trying it again, I’d say toss it if it don’t start. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-tv-be-saved/492545/8 "2009-04-09T21:51:04Z")
Oh, check your fuses before you junk it! StG ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-tv-be-saved/492545/9 "2009-04-09T22:40:45Z")
But I’m right about leaving it depowered for a day to let the tube discharge, right, Harmonious? What is that behavior, anyhow? I just call it ‘capacitor weirdness’. ---
**Author:** ![MizQuirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@MizQuirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizQuirk)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-tv-be-saved/492545/10 "2009-04-11T13:24:06Z")
Many thanks to all, for saving me hassle and $$$. I’m going to replace this one with a smaller one I wanted in there anyway. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-tv-be-saved/492545/11 "2009-04-11T16:10:52Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > What is that behavior, anyhow? I just call it ‘capacitor weirdness’. The tube will hold it’s charge for months even while unplugged. The electrolytic capacitors in the power supply, which are more likely to be the problem if the TV is not turning on, will discharge in one to three days. The reason they lose their charge is they are connected to solid-state components which are never 100% ‘off’ the way a switch is when off. They still have leakage current which will discharge the capacitors. FWIW, the old practice of discharging electrolytics with a screwdriver isn’t safe as the arc could jump to the screwdriver or the person holding it before it reaches the terminal. A high voltage meter should be used to discharge them and then a screwdriver or power resistor can be used to dissipate the remaining charge. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-tv-be-saved/492545/12 "2009-04-11T16:18:10Z")
Just let it be known that you need a TV, I bet someone you know has one to give away. We have been given 3, 19 inch TVs in the last two years and my son just bought a high resolution TV when his other one still worked. There are 4 people in our family and we have 6 TV’s. It’s ridiculous.