I was asked to go and fix a Sony TV in someone’s garage. Well, I have been asked to do weirder things than that before but I gently pointed out that it would be easier (and hence cheaper) if he brought it in.

My client apologised but said it just wouldn’t fit in his van and he couldn’t lift it by himself. How large could this set be? It turned out to be 154cm (61-inch) rear projection TV measuring 1336 x 1519 x 647mm (W x H x D) – no mere portable!

The set was, in fact, a 1997 Sony KP-E61SN11 (SCC-K64C-A RG-1 chassis). Its problem was that it took hours for a picture to come on. But why was it in the garage? Simple – it wouldn’t fit into his tiny flat!

The other major drama was that he lived near the sea. Why is that a drama? Well, this set generates 34kV and supplies it to three picture tubes at up to 3mA. And that often means insulation problems.

Anyway, reluctantly, off I went to this guy’s small garage at the back of his unit. However, in order to gain the necessary access, we had to first pull the TV out of the garage so that I could work on it in the carpark. This was, at best, quite unsatisfactory.

Items Covered This Month Sony KP-E61SN11 (SCC-K64C-A RG-1 chassis) rear projection TV set Sony KV-HX32M31 TV set (AX-1 chassis) Sony KV-HR32M31 TV set (AX-1 chassis) Grundig Lenaro 92 TV set (MFW92-6110/9 DVD CUC1937 chassis)

I switched the set on, hoping that the voltage drop on his incredibly long extension cord wouldn’t have any effect! The set tried hard to come on but in the end just the red LED was left flashing. Unfortunately, this set was too old to have meaningful error codes that could actually be read.

Initially, I tried disconnecting the EHT to the HV block splitter but it made no difference. There was no point persisting in the carpark – I removed the power supply and called it quits.

Back at the workshop, I examined the power board and discovered that pin 3 (-135V) of socket CN6010 was corroded and pitted. I cleaned this up, soldered a few suspect dry joints and replaced C6030 (0.039mF 1kV) which is on pin 3 of T6005. I also replaced R6009 and R6010 (270kW) – both start-up resistors – as they were corroded.

Next, I connected a 100W globe across the +135V rail and shorted +7V STBY (pin 1) to Power Control (pin 3) of connector CN6008. I then connected 240V AC directly to CN6007 and the power supply came on quickly and cleanly, to give the correct voltage outputs.

Convinced that I had fixed the power supply, I returned to the set. However, it wasn’t going to be that easy. This time, the set made a better effort to start up and with the HV unit disconnected, was able to give a healthy spark for a moment or two. But then it would close down and the LED would flash.

This time, I decided to take the horizontal deflection panel (E) with me, plus the convergence board (D), the latter also carrying the vertical output IC. Back at the workshop, I carefully examined each board, cleaning and soldering dry joints as well as replacing any component that looked even slightly suspicious.

That done, I replaced the vertical output IC (IC1501, STV9379) and resoldered the convergence output ICs. I also thoroughly checked the protection circuits on the E board and checked the flyback transformer for shorted turns.

Having done all that, I was optimistic that everything would now be OK. However, I also took a new HV unit with me on this my third attempt to fix the set in-situ.

I cannot tell you how difficult it is to service a large TV in the middle of a carpark, out in the open. Unfortunately, despite being sure that these three boards were now OK and having installed the new HV unit, I still hadn’t made any real progress. I did manage to check the main voltages but was then forced to abandon the whole exercise when another unit owner wanted to park her car.