Okay, I know what happened to my TV. It got zapped in the electrical storms this weekend.
But what happened to it? There appears to be a large “crease” down the middle of the picture, like a photocopy of an open book. Is this permanent? Do I now need to go shopping for a new TV (crap, crap, crap!)?
As for my DVD player, it won’t power up. Kaput?
p.s. All the above items were connected to a surge strip, so I guess we now know how useful those things are.
Sounds like your TV is fucked. The DVD may just have a blown fuse - but I’m not sure how you can check for this. Was the surge-protector turned on ? I’m pretty sure I heard somewhere (prolly the voices in my head) that they do not work unless they are switched on…
Hope this helps…
I have no idea about the TV.
For the DVD player. Have you tried unplugging it for a few minutes and then plugging it back in? I had a VCR that wouldn’t turn on after a power surge once and that fixed it.
Surge suppressors are not lightning arrestors. No suppressor, however well-made, will protect against a direct strike or a sufficiently large induced surge. These units are designed to protect against normal line surges, caused by heavy inductive loads being switched off (e.g. industrial motors), which are typically in the neighborhood of 6000 V with energies around 1-2 kJ. Stong lightning-induced surges can easily exceed this by an order of magnitude or more, and a direct strike is many orders of magnitude greater. In a lightning storm, it is advisable to unplug expensive equipment, else you risk costing yourself a lot of money.
I’m not sure that a regular run-of-the-mill surge protector is effective against a lightning-type event, no matter what the manufacturer says. Sometimes, however, they do offer something like a $5,000 guarantee (or more or less depending on how expensive, er, what the model of surge protector is “rated” for), so if you’ve got your original receipt etc., you could try that. I suppose they get by offering these warranties because most people don’t bother to keep the receipt, or otherwise fail to meet the obligations set forth in the warranty. On preview I see that Q.E.D. made the point about surge protectors not being lightning arrestors.
Anyway, I would guess the fuse is busted on your DVD player, if not the fuse then some electronic component(s) (but you probably knew that). If it’s busted anyway, personally I would take it apart and look around to see if I could tell what it was, and try to fix it. Some devices with fuses let you access the fuse from the back or bottom of the unit without taking it apart. I suppose you could take it to an electronic repairman. . .
I’ve seen lots of failed tubes before (mostly computer monitors), but never anything like you describe with your TV. The picture is formed by an electron beam which when guided at the screen causes the phosphors in each pixel to momentarily glow. The monitor uses magnets to steer the electron beam across and up/down the screen. Typically, I think, there are four electromagnets–right, left, top, bottom. The beam, with no electromagnetic assistance, would produce I bright pinpoint in the center of the screen. The magnets “pull” it left, right, up, and down to draw the whole screen (your TV, unless HD, is interlaced, drawing every other line in each refresh).
It sounds to me as if one of your “steering” magnets (not sure what they’re officially called) is misbehaving, likely the bottom one. It would seem to be “pulling” the beam toward the bottom the closer it gets to the center. . .? Depending on the value of the TV, maybe a repair guy can fix it, or it might cost just as much as to buy a new TV. Either way, the TV is NOT something simple like a fuse, etc. Also, I would never ever ever open up a CRT just to poke around, as you can get seriously electrocuted if you touch the wrong thing, presumably even if it’s unplugged and everything. Allegedly, there are monster capacitors in the things.
Again, depending on the value of the TV, homeowner’s insurance?
I’m in an apartment, so no homeowner’s insurance. I don’t have renter’s insurance because I’m a dumbass. Regardless, the TV is about 8 years old, and has been acting up a bit. I moved my tiny little 11" TV from my bedroom into the living room, and there’s a noticeable picture-quality difference, so a new TV isn’t an expense I’ll be reluctant to pull the trigger on.
I’ll check for a DVD fuse when I get home. Where would I be able to get a replacement for something like that?
Regarding the “crease” on the TV (for those of you trying to figure out what the problem is for their own amusement): when I switch channels, the picture will be fuzzy, and then “blink” into focus - almost like what a close object looks like when you focus on a distant object, and then focus on the close object.
Thanks for the replies, all.
The fuses typically found in switching power supplies (which are increasingly used in consumer electronics these days) are of the subminiature pigtail type. These are difficult to find replacements for. Most of the time, in a surge event, it’s not even the fuse that blows, it’s the switching transistors. The response time of fuses is typically far too large to react to a line surge, especially one caused by lightning.
The TV could use a good degaussing. The TV might degauss itself a little after each “cold” power on. So try this: Turn it on. Wait a couple minutes, turn it off, wait a couple hours, turn it on, etc. If it is getting better but not good enough, a TV repair shop can do it with a big coil for not much money (if you take it in).
As for the DVD, the only other idea besides a fuse that you could try is just leaving it unplugged for a couple days. BTW, if you try to check the fuse in the DVD, please unplug it first. Pretty please?
PS I regard “surge supressors” just to be extension cords with a switch and little more. That can’t handle my frequent power drops, or much else.