A Life Beset with Problems Donald Bullock There's nothing quite like a birthday to get you down. Not noticed that a nearby resistor, R906, had also failed. Time when you're regarded, by the more polite people anyway, to look at the circuit diagram. This showed that R906 is as mature. Even aged-in-the-wood. There was a time when 680 and is part of the feedback network connected to the the approaching prospect sparked weeks of blissful, patient base of the self-oscillating chopper transistor. With great anticipation. Each day hung still. It was fun looking presence of mind I checked the associated 2.211F forward to the joyous day. But all this is no more. electrolytic capacitor C911. Sure enough it punished the Nowadays if you're in my boat you simply wake up one meter. So out it went and a nice new one was fitted. I day to find that Father Time has jabbed you yet again with checked around for anything else amiss but everything, his trident thing. It makes you think. You know you're including the nearby ceramic module that does the older, so you feel older. Your salad days have long since regulating bit, seemed to be o.k. passed. You've enjoyed a spell on the flat: now dottage Time to switch on. The set cut the air with an anguished looms ahead over the next fence — if you can clear it! gasp and a little puff of blue smoke curled along the bench. And if you're a self-employed TV engineer, as kindly As soon as the yellow lights cleared from my vision I folks have described me over the years, extra confirma- noticed a black hole in the module, where there'd tions of the ageing process are liable to occur almost previously been a printed transistor. CP901 said the service hourly. sheet, so I ordered one from Wizard. When it arrived I noticed that the printed transistor had been modified in favour of something more bulky, Mr Prattle's Hitachi soldered on. Good thing too I thought. I fitted the module, I now know that I should have slipped out the back way switched on and the transistor blew. asunder. when I saw Mr. Prattle struggling from his car under the At this I decided that it was time to try logical thought, weight of a large, square-screened monster I didn't as instilled in me at Gloucester technical college some forty recognise. He kicked open the door, plonked the set years ago. I checked the chopper transistor Q901, a big, down, belched and stifled a yawn. I yawned too, but more silent rogue strapped to the chassis by the module. It had successfully. expired. Spurred on, I checked the line output transistor. "Went off like a gun" he announced. "I 'spect a valve's This was also in an unhappy condition. At last I'd got to gone. Or a condenser!" the bottom of the problem. The strain was beginning to "I poised my pen over the pad. "Let's have your phone tell, so I lurched out of the workshop towards the house. number" I said. "I'll look at it and phone you later." With Perhaps there'd be a cup of tea. that he went. I ran straight into Mr. Prattle. "Got 'im done, 'ave The set turned out t6 be an Hitachi CPT2178 — the G6P yuh?" he cried. "Nothing much wrong, was there?" chassis. I gradually realised that the panel suspended in space to the right of the tube housed the power supply and quickly discovered that the mains fuse had blown. So I Faces accused the nearby mains bridge rectifier of its downfall. I was never much good at remembering faces. But it cried honour bright and sure enough was o.k. Then I Nowadays I'm even worse. This explains why newly made 206 TELEVISION JANUARY 1991 friendships sometimes have a short life when someone who picture that remained on despite the punishment I had meets me a while later receives the old fish-eye in response given the tube's neck. Another successful repair! I'm to their greeting of familiarity. It happened again this getting pretty good I thought. afternoon. Mr. Beamer poked his head around the workshop door and winked. "Did you manage it, Mr. Bullock?" Where are the Knobs? "Er . . . manage what?" But I'm out of my depth with the modern sets and videos "The little matter we discussed yesterday. Remember?" that have been coming in lately — the ones without knobs, I modulated my troubled brow and pressed my knuckle accompanied by aeroplane cockpit type consoles. And under my nose. Was this the chap who'd pestered me to because I'm becoming increasingly cantankerous and advertise on the football fixtures poster, or was it the impatient with "progress" I get nasty. specialist I'd met and discussed an old trouble? "Er . . ." One of these sets came in the other day. I put it on the was about all I could manage. bench and raised my hand towards the top right-hand part Beamer's features faltered. Then, his grin hovering on of the screen, extending my index finger in search of the the brink of recovery, he squared up to me and spoke with usual well-disguised, flush on/off button. There wasn't one. emphasis — as though I was not only deaf but slow on the Then I picked and pressed at the horizontal strips uptake. underneath in search of the vital control, all to no avail. "You know. My folks lived next door to yours during Some comedians amongst the design boys hide the the war. My sister had one brown eye and one blue! control under the front underside of the cabinet to make Married that podgy Yank GI and found that his Ohio viewing more fun, so I ran my fingers along here. No luck. ranch was a bedsitter over a condemned pork butcher's It was then that I noticed an enormous collection of shop in the Bronx. Remember?" buttons in a nasty plastic slot behind the set. I surveyed it I snapped into life and beamed. "Of course! With you with increasing incomprehension. Who on earth would now. Let's see — which of these is yours?" I turned to the know what the huge variety of symbols meant? I smacked shelf of repaired videos and surveyed them as though I it back and yanked the set off the bench. knew which was his. "You said you wouldn't use that word again!" It was "It was the telly, Mr. Bullock. That one on the floor Greeneyes poised in the doorway with a mug of tea. "It's there, with all the videos on top, I think. Wasn't much, was no good your getting angry. That won't get the set it?" mended, will it? I'm off to my Spanish lessons for an hour. Is it any good asking you to turn on the microwave grill at four and set the dish washer? Then there's that letter to fax Timers and Search Tuners and the new central heating timer to programme." I looked at her blankly . . . Then there's the problem of not being able to set up VCR timers or TV set search tuners. I usually put the job on one side until after school and get my ten-year old lad to do it. Takes him about fifteen seconds usually. The other day he came home late with a capful of apples, having torn his jacket in the process. Boasted he'd got them from the vicar's garden. As I was about to remonstrate the phone rang. It was Mr. Quick. Said he'd be round in ten minutes to collect his Pye TV set into which I'd soldered a memory battery. I'd no choice but to give up any idea of chastisement and enlist the boy's help in order to get the Pye tuned and set up. So much for parental dignity.

A 1500 Chassis Three months ago I virtually gave a second-hand HMV 2809 — one of the 1500 chassis models — to Mr. and Mrs. Trew. They're a parsimonious couple who say they've no interest in colour. However that might be here it was back again. "The picture's gone unsteady" said Mr. Trew. "My wife's afraid it'll cost us money. Only we're pensioners, see." With that they went off. I plugged the set in and reached for a 47k0 resistor — R44 in the sync separator's screen grid circuit used to be a stock fault with these sets. But it wasn't that. The picture was largely absent, flashing on now and then. I tapped the tube's neck and the picture danced on and off in sympathy. How was I going to get out of this one? Then I spotted the light blue plastic spigot cover that peeps through the tube base and recalled how these become dry and brittle with age. As a result the built-in wire ring spark-gap arrangement earths some of the pins. Quick as a flash I hooked it off, replaced the tube base and switched on. Up came a surprisingly good and stable

TELEVISION JANUARY 1991 207 other cyphers. I put in a tape and the machine worked beautifully. This did wonders for Ernie's ego but little for What a Life mine. But Ernie's wife knows where to find him. The phone rang and after a brief exchange he scuttled off. Donald Bullock

One of the good things about our old house is that it's Solavox NVCR5000 roomy enough to have a bar. And a friendly place it The next job had me flummoxed again. It was a Solavox becomes as the evening wears on. The other night I was NCVR5000 VCR that was devoid of life apart from a few getting comfortable when the phone trilled. Out rang the bits of incomplete gibberish in the display area. Working crisp, authoritative tones of one of my retired military on the basis that I had a brain while the recorder only customers. It was unmistakably Major Hagger. thought it had one I settled down to crack the fault. A long "Hello Donald, old boy. Moving house don'tcha know. time was spent, then I retired to the house worn out and To one of those retirement homes where they wetnurse a defeated. chap whilst fleecing him! Wife's idea but there you are. Greeneyes was having a fair old time playing one of her Got a pair of youngsters moving in here. Teachers. Think Spanish language cassettes on my audio system. Wearing they're intellectual and want the aerials taken down. some strange gear too. Just then the phone rang. It was my Frightened of lightning or the programmes? Anyway, see Solavox customer wondering how I was getting on with his to it will you?" video. At that there was a click. So next morning I asked Mario "I'm not" I said. "We've taken an acute dislike to each the contractor to attend to the aerial job. He doesn't speak other. Where did you buy it?" much English, nor does his brother. But they're as nimble "Comet" he replied. as cats and make do with a minimum of ladders. Then I put "I'll see if they can help" I said. the first set on the bench. So I phoned the Bristol branch and was put through to their helpful technician Peter Ambrose. He was not only familiar with the fault but came up with the solution. "Add The Waltham TV600 a 4.7k12 resistor between the positive of the 5.5V back-up It was a Waltham TV600 colour portable. The sound `battery' C821 and the base of transistor Q809 next to it" was o.k. and there was a rustle of e.h.t., but no raster. I he said. "It'll never come back with that fault. It's a Nikkai seemed to recollect having had this problem before with a chassis. There's an Alba model that uses it, and a Questor Waltham. So I flicked through my card index, where I one as well I think." keep a record of any noteworthy faults, and pulled out one I did the modification and sure enough the machine labelled Waltham TV600. "No brightness, sound o.k." it burst into life. Curiously, the next job on the bench turned said. Wow! With quickening pulse I read on. "Turn up Al out to be the Alba version. It was as dead as could be — not voltage (lower line output transformer potentiometer) to even a segment of display. But the same modification fixed reveal field collapse." I did and it did. "Check R122, 3.3n, it. white ceramic case" it continued, "at back left near line output transformer for being open-circuit." Again spot on. In no time the set was off the bench. Those Military Men That evening I was safely settled in the bar when the phone rang. It was Major Hagger. Hopping mad too. An Akai VS240 "What do you mean by having my practically new aerials The next job was an Akai VS240 VCR with remote hacked down by some foreigners? When I asked they said control. Its symptoms were no results with a display that you'd sent them. You'll answer for this. If you know what's showed only the letter L. I took the covers off and checked best you'll get my aerials replaced forthwith — then send me for obvious things but got nowhere. An hour spent an apology." carrying out checks in the power supply produced no Greeneyes had heard every word and wanted to know further progress. I didn't have the manual and was toying what was going on. "Probably asked me to do it without with the idea of sending off for one when Ernie called in. referring to his wife" I said. "You know how it is. Then He's chief cook and bottle-washer at a nearby guest-house wants to pass on the blame." and drops. in when he has a bit of spare time. Always takes "Do you really think so?" she said. an interest in what's going on. "Of course I do. It's obvious. He'll probably call to He took a look and commented "same as ours. See apologise in due course." you've 'locked him up'. We do that. Stops people using it The phone went again. Greeneyes took the call — it was without our say-so." Captain Hodder. When she'd put the receiver down she "I haven't locked it up" I said. "It's faulty and I have to called over "wants to know what happened to the aerial fix it. Only I don't know how." riggers. Said he called you the other night and he's still "Pick up that remote control" said Ernie. "Point it at the waiting. He's off to the old folks home in the morning. recorder and press it six or eight times." Why can't you take proper notes when you get these calls? I did as I was told and the L disappeared in favour of Especially when you've been in this bar for a while." "No" I pronounced. "Nobody at all in there. Not a soul." The old man shuffled off and I put the radio on the bench. It was an R404, dating from many years back, and was dead. The batteries were down a little but were still good enough for the set to oscillate all right. Then I remembered that the four-legged AF117 transistors had an earthed screen within them and that this would sometimes short to the base. I snipped the first i.f. amplifier transistor's earthed lead-out wire and switched on. The radio sprang to life.

Crackling Sound The next call was from Mrs. Bustier, who lives up the street. Her TV sound was crackling. I slipped along to find What a Life her having a row with her husband, who had just returned from the local and had managed to knock her clothes­ horse over, sending the freshly ironed washing all over the place. Donald Bullock I joined the mound of shoes amidst the miles of cable behind her Philips G 11, plugged the iron in and took the One thing we're not short of around here is unusual back off. Sure enough the BD131 audio output transistors people. Pleasant enough, most of them, though there can were footloose. I resoldered them and switched on. Up be awkward moments. came the sound minus the crackle, and Mrs. Bustier grinned. An easy one that. Mr Fussie's Fisher "This video's never been right since you did it" said Mr. Fussie as he placed his Fisher FVHP905K on the bench. A Curious Display "You say you fitted a new idler thing in it six months ago, A colour portable awaited me when I got back. It was an but it's still faulty. If you put a tape in and press the play ITTset fitted with the CVCSOl chassis. When I switched it button the motor thing whirrs then stops and the video on and plugged in the aerial four horiontal strips of picture, switches off." separated by blank strips, appeared on the screen, each "Then why didn't you bring it back before?" I asked. with a conical squiggle in its centre. I looked around the "Because it happens only occasionally. The rest of the line output stage for a likely looking open-circuit time it's o.k." electrolytic, but my eye was drawn to the mains bridge He left it with me and I moved it to the end of the bench, rectifier's reservoir capacitor C658 (200JLF, 385V). It might where I tried it now and again whilst working on other be causing some of the trouble at least I felt, so best to jobs. Eventually it did as he said. So I fitted a new idler. check it first. When a test capacitor was connected across it It's the one that looks like an elliptical halo with a black there was a perfect picture. Another easy one. But my joy wheel orbiting at one end. Then I switched on, inserted a soon turned to sadness as Mr. Fussie came into view with cassette and pressed play. It failed at the first try. As the his Fisher FVHP905K. idler spring seemed to be slack I fitted another. This time "Worse than ever" he declared, "worse than ever." the machine worked perfectly. It continued to do so on soak test over the next few days. So I pronounced it fit and in due course Mr. Fussie called forit. Battle with the Fisher "I hope it's all right now" he said as he took it away. Just He departed and I tried the machine. The take-up spool then the phone rang. It was the elderly Miss Briske. kept stopping and starting and the machine then switched off. Since the fault was now more definite I felt that the A Dead Roberts' idler I'd fitted, not being a manufacturer's spare, might "Mr Bullock? My Roberts radio's gone dead dear. I've have been outside the tolerance limit. So I ordered some sent my father along with it. You won't get much sense out Fisher idlers and springs and put the job to one side. of him so you'll have to phone me about it. He looks all When they came I fitted a new idler and a new spring. right but there's nothing upstairs dear." The recorder now worked all right. Feeling optimistic, I Lumme I thought. Miss Briske must be a hundred. What put it back on the soak test bench. A while later it started must her father look like? Then he appeared. He was old to play up again. all right, and stocky, but fresh-faced with sparkling eyes Operating it repeatedly with a servicing cassette inserted and a bushy white waxed moustache. I noticed that when play was pressed the pinch wheel didn't "Hello Mr. Pillock" he said, holding the radio aloft. always press the tape firmly against the capstan. In fact it "Won't go. Think there's anyone in there?" was sometimes possible to pull the tape through by hand "I wouldn't think so." quite easily. I couldn't see any signs of wear then, whilst "Best have a look eh?" he said, pointing to the car aerial studying the mechanism, I noticed a tiny cross-headed socket. adjusting screw near but below .the pinch wheel. To adjust "No need for that. I hardly ever find anyone in radios it I had to take out the tape deck. After doing this I found like these." that turning the screw moved the pinch wheel towards the "Better have a quick look through here" he insisted, capstan. Progress! When I'd adjusted it the grip was firm holding the radio up with the aerial socket close to my eye. and consistent and I reassembled the machine, with a sigh I decided to humour him and peered into the aerial socket of relief. carefully. On soak test it behaved perfectly every time for days. 514 TELEVISION MAY 1991 But since it had given me so much stick I was wary. Sure I put the set on the bench and unscrewed the back. Now enough it eventually failed to start when play was pressed, this set has a Saba chassis, with modules galore. It was though the motors whirred. dead. I homed in on the horiontal deflection module (no. I turned the machine upside down and studied the 11) and checked the supply voltage at pin 3 - this is the mechanics as I pressed play and stop time after time. It supply to the line driver stage. It was well down. I worked perfectly for days, then did it again. This time I removed the module and checked the heavyweight diodes thought I noticed that the loading belt slipped ever so on it. D687, an SKE4F1/10, was short-circuit. When I slightly at the very end of its cycle. I wanted to be sure, so I replaced it the set sprang to life.. But with its own aerial the put a white spot of typewriter correction fluid on it. This picture was noisy. proved the point beyond doubt, a new belt curing the "Set's working" I said to Abe, "but the picture's snowy." trouble. Why hadn't I thought of this first? "Thank 'ee sir" Abe replied, "it'll be all right with my aerial plugged in." He went outside and filled the little buckets with soil, Abe's Sets pushed in the canes and slung a length of ancient black- Then Abe called. He's a yokel who lives in a riverside covered copper aerial wire between them on the first pair woodman's hut together with two ageing Ferguson of porcelain-egg insulators I'd seen for thirty years. Then monochrome portables, a car battery and a screwdriver. he came in and approached the set with a gnarled wander Small and emaciated, he foresakes shaves and haircuts and plug on the end of yards of feed-in aerial wire. looks like a hopelessy overdressed scarecrow. The idea of "What's all this, Abe?" I asked. the two sets is that if one fails he can resort to the other "A gentlemun gave me the set for diggin' his garden, one. While watching the working set he gently pulls the then said I could have his old aerial if I took it down. This other one to pieces, then tries to put it back together. If is how I puts it." this doesn't get it going he wraps it in a blanket, ties it up "Abe, that aerial wire is as old as me. It was made for with binder twine and walks it the five or six miles to me. early wireless sets before they ever invented television He's polite and pays his way. Perhaps that's why I play receivers. Throw it away." along with him and try to unravel the various faults he But Abe had reached the set. He unplugged the loop introduces in his sets. aerial and connected his contraption. It transformed the This time along with the set in a blanket he had a couple picture to perfection. of old canes, an old-fashioned seaside bucket, and a spade I put the back on and reached for a pen as Abe in a second, plastic bucket. And one of his overcoat dismantled and packed his aerial kit. Then he came back pockets was bulging. He unpacked the set and my first in, pulling at his overcoat to get at his jacket pockets. surprise was to find that it wasn't one of his Fergusons. It "For mending your set" I said, "£15 less £5 for was an old Bush BM6004 colour portable. educational entertainment. £10 to pay." "Worked at first" he said, "then 'e stopped altogether "Thank you Mr. Bullock. See you again, you'm kind." an' I opened 'un up." "Right on both points, Abe" I replied. power supply and line output sections, hoping to see a dry- joint or two. As every joint looked perfect I plugged the What a Life! set in again, connected the meter across the mains bridge rectifier's reservoir capacitor and discovered that the cause of the trouble was in the power supply. I then tried to Donald Bullock locate it by using freezer and the workshop hairdryer. As this didn't do me any good I started to trace through the voltages, starting with the a.c. input. Now and again the set Comes on then dies said the report with Mrs Laird's sprang to life, giving me moments to reflect upon the Fidelity CTV140 colour portable. And so it did. At switch possibility of a different job ... Then suddenly it died again. on there was sound, accompanied by the rustle of e.h.t., I'd got as far as R134, a 1.2kQ, 5W resistor that's part of then the set expired. I figured that either the h.t. was the snubber circuit. There was lots of voltage at one end decaying or a short was dragging it down. So I reached for but nothing at the other. Waggling it not only produced the my new Cirkit TM175 meter — and found that I'd left it intermittent fault but allowed me to lift it clean out of the switched on over the weekend. A little word looked up at panel, leaving the joints underneath looking good and me from the display: "Bat". solid. Expensive things these PP9s, as I've come to learn in the Cleaning off the resistor and resoldering it cleared the short time I've had the meter. I've had to buy several of intermittent power failure fault. I then looked into the lack them. They used to be ten pence — ten old pennies, four of EW correction and discovered that the little correction pence in today's joke money. Now they are a couple of panel by the line output transformer was bathed in a pool quid. I'd had enough, so I set to work and knocked up a of tacky brown liquid. A clean up put that right. little 9V power pack. The meter is now mains driven. I soon found that the trouble with the Fidelity CTV was that the h.t. faded away, which is not unusual in these little The Philips Saga sets. So I disconnected the set from the mains supply, The next set, a Philips 210E1250/05B (CP90 chassis), dived in and checked the bits and pieces that I suspected in would provide only a snowy raster. It's owner, Mr the power supply. An hour later I was no further forward. Dropins, explained that it had been all right before his It was then that Greeneyes breezed in. fortnight's holiday. This news filled me with pleasure. I "I bought an Elvis Presley CD record at the village hall smiled in anticipation of a fast buck and told him it would sale" she announced. "Can't wait to hear it, but every time be ready in a couple of hours' time. I put it in the Sony player and press the drawer in it comes I found the orange battery or, since it's a condenser, I'd back out. It's been doing this for quite a while." better call it a capacitor! It was at the front of the set. I then "Perhaps the machine's got it's pride!" I said."It's been embarked on the problem of extracting the chassis board used to proper singers like Bing and Ella." from its inscrutable plastic grip-runners. I couldn't find the "What's wrong with the player though" she persisted. bits to lift or depress, push or pull or squeeze and, try as I "Can't imagine" I said, "at first it did it only occasionally might, it wouldn't budge. As time went by my brain kept but now it refuses to accept a disc at all — not even if I hold telling me to remain scientific and rational but my instinct the drawer shut." was to yank it out by force. Eventually the panel was freed. "Shall I take it to Snoddies then?" I changed the battery and switched on. This time the set I made a mental note to swot up on the machine as I was dead. What had I done? Why hadn't I been gentler, switched the Fidelity set on again. It surged into power and how was I going to get out of the mess I'd got myself then died. Greeneyes gave it a look. "That set needs a new into in the time I'd allowed? switch" she said before leaving. I reached for my giant magnifier and scanned the panel I left it plugged in and checked a few voltages in the at length for wicked breaks or disturbed joints, but found power supply. Only there weren't any. Then I moved over none. There was plenty of h.t., so I checked the line output to the switch. There was a.c. at the input, nothing at the transistor and several other items in this area. No good. output. Why hadn't I tried the switch first? Prejudice of Perhaps Philips Service could help? course. I phoned through and a wonderfully relaxed and detached expert advised me to change diode D6665 (1N4148) and resistor R3665 (4.70) then, if still no luck, to McTurdey's TX100 replace the CNX63 optocoupler. I had no CNX63 but the Just as I'd finished it a builder's labourer bowled into the other items tested o.k. with both my meter and component drive with a set in a wheelbarrow. tester. As the set remained as dead a doornail I wrote out "Me name's McTurdey and it's driving me mad" he said. an order for an optocoupler and wondered how I was going "In the first place there's a big bite outa each side of the to tell the customer that the live set he'd brought in was picture, and even the bit I got left keeps cutin' out for an now dead. hour. Then it's o.k. for the evenin', only I'm not, it gets me all wound up." The set was a Ferguson one fitted with the TX100 Handsets Galore chassis, 1100 version. As I put it on the bench McTurdey Then Mr. Dropins showed up, reached into his pocket scooped up his wheelbarrow and waltzed off in a cloud of and pulled out a remote control unit which he thrust into dust. my hand. "Forgot to leave this with the set" he said, "see Sure enough there was no EW correction then, after a you later." He smiled and left. few minutes, the set reverted to standby with the channel I stood at the bench reflecting on how slowly the sets indicator displaying only a dash. When the back was taken come off it these days compared to twenty-five years ago. off the set started to work again and stayed on. So I refitted Then I noticed the Magic Mirror IR detection card that the back and got a repeat performance. After several had recently arrived. I stood it against the mirror at the minutes of this I took the chassis out and scanned the back of the bench, picked up the remote control unit and

878 TELEVISION OCTOBER 1991 fired it at the Magic Mirror. The set burst into life and because it's smaller and handier. frightened me no end. Recovering, I hurriedly plugged in After he'd gone I read through the instruction book, the aerial and, since the set had no proper channel selector hoping to find something under the heading "how to knobs, danced my fingers around the dreaded search-tune restore colour after giving the chassis a mauling"... No buttons. Up came a perfect picture with sound. My relief hints of course, so I returned to the house for tea and was enormous. Then I noticed that something else was sympathy. Anyway, there was tea. wrong. There was no colour — on any channel. Back in the workshop I picked up the set's proper The set had no colour control, nor much else, and no remote control unit, pointed it at the black-and-white matter how I pummelled the remote control unit I couldn't picture and pressed colour control. Up came the colour. get a trace of colour. So it was into the chroma circuitry. Mr. Dropins was soon back on the scene. I tuned his set Checks here did no good. Time passed, and I was feeling in, fitted the back, accepted his cheque and waved him and weary. Then Mr. Dropins turned up again. his set towards his car. "I don't know what's the matter with me" he said. "I "I'm glad it didn't give you any trouble Mr. Bullock" he meant to leave this instruction booklet with you — oh, and said. Then he was gone. I returned to my stool drained. you might as well have the right remote control unit. The How can all these things happen to just one person? And one I brought in was for my father's old set. We use it why does it have to be me? colour, and in fact the picture was now of excellent quality. However the time I'd spent on the set was out of all What a Life! proportion to any charge I could make. I replaced the back and put the set on soak test (ha ha!). An hour later there was field collapse. After withdrawing the chassis and switching the set on again the Donald Bullock raster was back. I searched for a dry-joint around the new field output chip. The joints looked satisfactory, but I did some resoldering here and there. All now seemed to be "My wife accidentally upset a little fairy last night Mr. well, so I returned the set to the soak test bench and got on Bollard" said the hesitant young man at the door. "Can with the next job. you have a look at it?" I followed him out to his car. As he stopped I touched his elbow. "Look, it might just be me" I said, "I feel a bit Dead Ferguson FV31R odd today. Every day come to that. I don't quite..." This was a Ferguson FV31R VCR that was dead — its mains fuse had come to a violent end. The cause was failure of the BA159 start-up supply rectifier DP11. When A Saisho CT141X I replaced it the machine sprang to life. It's a flimsy model He took a Saisho CT141X colour portable from the boot with panels that have those nasty little resistors tacked all and handed it to me. "It went in there" he said, pointing to over the print side. A never-soldered one was dancing a slot near the tube neck. about loose inside the case. A free bonus, I supposed. The I eyed him closely. "The fairy went in there because screws that secure the top panel to its frame are minute, your wife upset him, or maybe her?" I asked. "And you almost watch screwdriver jobs. So are the top cover fixing want me to coax her out. Is that it?" screws. An unattractive recorder to work on, though the "I'm talking about washing-up liquid" he said. "My wife results are excellent: after recording and playing back bits upset some into the set. We'd like you to see what you can of live television I had, on one occasion, to press the pause do." button to check that I was in fact watching a recording and "I don't feel too optimistic" I said "but I'll have a go. I not a live transmission. hope it's kind to my hands." Laughing at my little joke, I took the set back to the workshop. The liquid must have gone in some while before since A Call from Greeneyes the chassis looked quite dry and some of the jumpers were As I finished the FV31R Greeneyes gave me a call on corroded. The STR50103 power chip was soapy, so I took the intercom. it out, cleaned it and compared its resistance readings with "First, can I give your old brown suit to the jumble? a new one. Shedding a tear I fitted the new one. Before Secondly I've just phoned Davey Ruggles about some little doing so I cleaned this part of the panel and got to work glass tables. Thirdly he's got a TV that needs repair. He's with the hairdryer. Then I checked the bridge rectifier coming round." diodes and found that one of them was short-circuit. In "No, o.k. and blast" I replied. went a new BY127. The 5.652, SW surge limiter next door I gave the Saisho another glance. Field collapse, so I had laid down its life in sympathy, so this was also opened it up and started off once more. When the little replaced. service switch was wiggled sideways the field scan was restored. I pirated a similar switch from another set, fitted it, and got a solid raster. I was growing tired of the Saisho, The Switch On the fairy and the hesitant young man. In fact I was getting Feeling uncertain if not actually afraid, I crouched back hungry and had a slight headache. The screwdriver boxed and switched the set on. It came to life but there was no up the set with minimal help from me and I put it back on field scan. The obvious thing to do was to replace the soak test. UPC1378H field output chip IC402. This restored the raster but there was a sizzling from the tube base panel, followed by a whisp of smoke. It was damp. I discarded the Davey Ruggles' TX10 tube's socket, cleaned up the panel, fitted another socket Then Davey Ruggles' van pulled into the drive, its tyres and tried again. This time there was a picture of sorts, but down to the canvas. He pulled a Ferguson set from with no sync and flaring, distorted colour. The huge 48- amongst the mats on board and we put it on the bench. I legged UPC1420CA chip IC401 contains the colour opened it up to see the TX10 chassis, with the focus control decoder and the sync and timebase generator stages. After cracking up as they do. There was a set under the bench cleaning this area of the panel I fitted a replacement. This just like Davey's. I'd had to tell its owner that the tube had restored the sync but did nothing for the colour. gone, so he'd left the body with me for spares. In no time So it was now a question of checking through the chroma I'd fitted its focus control in Davey's set. Having set up the circuit. My Mastercare manual is a rather poor picture I took the set back to the van. Couldn't really photocopied affair with no waveforms. Nevertheless I charge for that. found that the waveform at pin 5 of IC401 looked As Davey left I saw that the Saisho's raster had once decidedly dodgy. This pin feeds the 2SA733 chroma delay more collapsed. No amount of violence towards the line driver transistor Q602. A check showed that the latter cabinet would get it back up, so I told the set what I had a collector-base leak, but the colour was still far from thought of it and took it apart again. When I switched the right when it had been replaced. Further time-consuming set on the raster was all right. Twenty minutes later it checks revealed corrosion across C609's leadout wires. It's collapsed. It took me quite a time to establish that the set a 2.2µF, 50V electrolytic that decouples pin 4 of the chip. did this consistently when boxed up but behaved perfectly Cleaning the board and fitting a new capacitor restored the when it was out of its cabinet. I put it aside as Mrs. Ruff

TELEVISION NOVEMBER 1991 31 came in with her Akai VS112EK VCR. I turned to the dreaded Saisho and took a more careful "Sometimes it just wouldn't start up, Mr. Billhook" she look at the circuit. The field drive comes from the large said. "At other times it worked perfectly for weeks. Then UPC1420CA chip I'd replaced at the start of the saga. Pins old Pukey had a go and now it won't work at all." 21-24 are associated with the vertical deflection. So I "Who's old Pukey?" I asked. resoldered these four legs, boxed the set up and put it on "The lodger of course" she said. "If he's messed it up test again. he's out." As I put the machine on the bench I heard something rattling inside. When I took the bottom off I found that the End of the Saisho Saga drive mechanism had been got at. The securing plate, with It was still working merrily next day when the young its microswitch, had been taken off and among the bits man returned, this time with his wife. I showed them the adrift were two large white channelled cogs, a pair of picture, which was excellent, and told them that the charge smaller ones, a couple of shaped metal pieces and a couple would be £45. of plastic mouldings. I also found a few circlips and a pair "Lotta money" she said. "We won't bother. Crubbs of coiled springs about an inch long. Foodstore has new colour sets for ninety five quid. Put it as I studied the manual and followed the well-illustrated it was". And off they went. procedure for reassembling it all. At the end I'd the two I limped back to the house and found that Greeneyes springs left over and the mechanism jammed as the was on the phone. She turned to me as I went in. machine began to initiate. After puzzling for an hour over "There's someone on the phone who's upset a cup of where the two springs should go I telephoned Akai. I was coffee into their portable TV" she said. "Smoke came out told that they should be curled around inside the channels of the back before it went bang. They don't want to spend in the underside of the two smaller gear-loading cogs. much on it. Want to know if you'll see whether it's worth Having done this I set up the timing and found that the doing." machine worked well — sometimes. At other times it seized I pulled a face and patted the air in front of me. "I'm not half way through loading. I was back with the original quite myself at the moment. When I've simmered down I'll fault. tell you why I want to become a traffic warden." Akai knew about this when I contacted them again. The Greeneyes mentioned Davey. "What did you charge fault arises as the machines age. The large plastic cogs get him?" she asked. tired and misshapen and then sometimes prevent "Nothing" I said, "he's an old friend and needs all he's operation. They are surprisingly cheap from Akai. Fitting got for some new tyres on his van. It's his living." Then I replacements completed the job. noticed that we were sitting around a large new mat. On When Mrs. Ruff returned I told her that the time her top of the original. machine had taken to be put right would have to be "From Davey" said Greeneyes. reflected in the charge, which would be enough to buy "But you didn't need a mat" I said, "you wanted a several bottles of Spanish whisky. At this her eyes couple of glass tables." narrowed. She paid up and, clutching the machine, made "I saw his tyres too — oh, and I gave him that old brown for the door. "Start packing Pukey" she muttered. suit you didn't want." come on at the appointed time. Because of this' intermittency, I felt that the cause of the trouble was What a Life! possibly a poor contact somewhere. Careful inspection revealed no obvious dry-joints, so I cleaned the plugs and Donald Bullock sockets at both ends of their harnesses and, for good measure, went over the joints on the timer chip under the clock. Then I put it all together again and set it to come on repeatedly every ten-fifteen minutes throughout the day. I get a lot of sets from countryfolk. Last week a As it worked every time I pronounced it fit. smallholder, Mr. Nutt, phoned from Woodbury. His Greeneyes then brought the tea along and asked, problem gave me the chance to exercise the wealth of sweetly, for Snoddie's phone number. psychological insight I've gained from my years in the TV "Come on" I said, "Let's have the funny". servicing trade. "Nothing much" she said, "but the video in the bar has "My neighbour has a supersonic alarm system, Mr. been dead for over a week and I'd like it repaired." Bullock. He's using it to detect, in conjunction with my television set, my every thought and movement. I want the Post Office to vet this system, but first of all they want you A JVC HRD180 to check and clear my set and aerials". I got it and put it on the bench. When powered it lit up I asked him to bring his set along to start with and half all right but was otherwise dead. It's a Ferguson 3V30. The an hour later he arrived with a Sanyo 121280 monochrome obvious thing to do was to busy myself in the power pack. portable. The fuses were all intact and I couldn't find anything "I've got a thick, tall evergreen hedge all around my wrong. But it refused to work. Eventually I put it to one acreage, yet my neighbour knows everything I do. His side and picked up a JVC HRD180. Its "operate" light dogs bark at me when I go down my garden each evening didn't come on yet it worked. But pressing the buttons to water it, and there are other things. I can tell when they brought on the wrong functions — pressing eject for are doing it. The set here picks up their signals, moans example got the spools rotating. The trouble was caused by softly then groans, and a spectre comes up on the screen." the notorious STK5481 chip in the power supply. I noticed After he'd departed I switched the set on. An hour later that it was new, devoid of heatsink paste and clear of the it began to grate and hum intermittently. Operating the chassis on one side. Whilst fitting a new one, with heatsink tuner had an effect on the trouble, reminding me of a compound, I noticed that one of the securing threads had similar symptom with Thorn mechanical tuners when their been stripped because of overtightening. So I fitted a earthing plates "floated" because of a build-up of green suitable nut to both screws and tightened the chip to gunge between them and the tuner's body. So I carefully chassis. That cured the trouble. cleaned the ones in the Sanyo tuner and tried the set again. When the customer came to collect it he said "let's hope It made no difference. Bridging the r.f. and i.f. decoupling it's third time lucky. Snoddies have done it twice for the electrolytics got me nowhere, so I tried adding suitable same trouble." electrolytics in the power supply and then the line output "I don't think it will go again for a while" I told him. stage. Half an hour later I was no further forward, so I "Done our recorder?" asked Greeneyes. boxed the set up and kept an eye on it whilst tackling the "Not yet. It's tricky. I've had to put it on one side for a next job. bit." She went over and looked into, the mechanism as though she was as clever as I. After switching it on and off she said Intermittent Timer "shouldn't that little cassette light flash on when you switch This was a Ferguson 3V35 with intermittent timer on the video? It doesn't, you know." trouble. It could be set up all right, but sometimes failed to "I wondered how long you'd take to spot that" I said as

TELEVISION DECEMBER 1991 113 brightly as I could. A new lamp cured it of course. I think chips had been rather messily changed — the joints were my brain cells are thinning out. heavily fluxed. I looked at the circuit and found that the I put Mr Nutt's portable back on the bench and correct chips had been fitted, so I decided to change them wondered how I was going to exorcise its ghost. Whilst I all again, using those from the scrap board. This made no was listening to the set's moans, the ghost rose up on the difference. Since most of the board is obscured by screen and gave me an agonised groan. As I studied the daughter boards and the machine has no removable set, the phenomenon occurred again. It was caused by a baseplate, checking voltages while the machine is in rapid and wide stretching of the frame, so that a central operation is difficult. I took the panel out again and strip of the picture was momentarily stretched vertically to examined it carefully. I could find no print breaks but fill the screen. It was obvious that raw a.c. was briefly decided to clean off the tacky flux still present. After ten modulating the display. Recalling a similar effect minutes with the surgical spirit I refitted the panel. experienced with the old Decca Gypsy and a particular The results with all functions were now stable and quite KB/111 portable, I gently warmed the bridge rectifier good — except that the playback picture looked a little diodes. This proved that they were responsible. So I bleached. It seemed that the flux which had been used, replaced D701 and D702 (two three-legged devices each perhaps plumbers' flux, had been conductive. with a back-to-back pair of diodes), using four BY127s. I then noticed that transistor 7002 had been changed and The result was a complete remedy and I was able to tell was without its heatsink clip. It was also very hot and was a Mr. Nutt that I'd cured his neighbour's tricks. BD138 instead of a BD678. When the correct type had "I'm very grateful, Mr. Bullock" he said when he came been fitted the last of the faults had been cleared. As I put to collect it. "But my troubles aren't over. He's now got a the recorder together I reckoned that I'd earned the rest of big dish near the top of his house, pointed straight at my the day off, so I retired to my chalet to write. place. It's a sound detector, like they used during the war." As I began Mrs. Forthright rang. "Did you manage to mend the video Mr. Bullock?" "I did Mrs. Forthright." The Crazy FV21R "Well I never" she said. "Snoddies had it for months As he departed, Victor Smallpiece eased this thin face then gave it back to me." round the door. "My video's gone crazy" he said. "Then step in with it. This is where it belongs" I replied. It was a Ferguson FV21R, the annoying one with the Amstrad PCW9512 Printer tiny Phillips securing screws and the top panel that hangs In the September issue I mentioned my problem with an about awkwardly instead of hinging back. All the buttons Amstrad PCW9512 printer and asked whether anyone produced each other's functions. could suggest a remedy. A number of offers came in, and "Well Mr. Smallpiece" I said, "we've great experience I've now got it working again. If you recall, the original of this fault and can approach it in one of two ways. We trouble was that a first attempt at printing a letter resulted can either relabel all the buttons or we can fit a new in apparently normal behaviour of the printer except that STK5481 chip — if I haven't run out of them." nothing appeared on the paper. Asking it again produced "Which would be quickest and cheapest?" he asked. faint printing, much of it gibberish. A third try improved "That was a joke" I screamed. matters and the fourth try gave me a perfect letter. Mr. Smallpiece left after a new STK5481 had been Eventually however the fault worsened, until the printer fitted. At the same time Mrs. Forthright strode in with a would work only after a blast of hot air from a hairdryer. Philips VR6463 VCR. Finally not even this helped, so I decided to have a go. I removed the mechanism and examined it closely. As I couldn't see anything obviously wrong I felt that a general And a Mental VR6463 clean and lubrication might help. I brushed it and gave it a "What's up with it?" I asked. "Not jammed with a spray of Servisol, then I put it back together carefully and cassette in?" found that it didn't work at all now. It wouldn't even "No, it's gone mental. You'll see." accept a sheet of paper. That was when I asked for help. When I tried the machine I found that it was unstable in Amstrad do have a technical department that offers the E-E, record and playback modes. I'd a different scrap advice to those in the trade. I was advised to fit a new print machine with a similar r.f. panel, so I found it and swapped hammer which CPC supplied by return for less than £2. I over the r.f. panel. The instability was much improved, but fitted it, but since the printer no longer worked I couldn't the screen gradually became heavily patterned. Then the try it. Back to Amstrad Technical. sound began to break up. Various causes were suggested and tried, but the printer Thinking of the troubles caused by the power supply steadfastly declined to work. I borrowed one like it and chip in the last repair, I wondered whether swapping over swapped over the single printed panel. No difference. the power panel would help. After making this swap I had Then I swapped over the mechanism and transferred the perfect E-E results on all channels. Delighted at my fault. At least I now knew that the mechanism was the diagnostic skill I inserted a cassette and selected play. The cause of the trouble, but my efforts at tracking down the sound was perfect, but instead of a picture I had the test cause of the fault came to nothing. Back to Amstrad signal and couldn't move it. Technical again. I tried to think logically. It was obvious that the original I told them that the cause of the trouble was in the panel was faulty as the swapped one seemed to have cured mechanism and asked them what they thought. "Try the all the faults — though I couldn't be sure about the playback sensor" I was told, "it's a little bead-like device beside the picture since I didn't have one. And where was the print hammer." I found it, and tiny it was. I looked at it permanent test signal coming from? through my magnifier. It seemed to have a cataract, so I I put the original panel back. This cleared the test gave it a wash with surgical spirit and a rub with a cotton pattern on playback but the other faults rang the changes bud. On reassembly it worked a treat. as before. I took the panel out and studied it. All three Moral: never squirt a printer mechanism in the eyeball!

114 TELEVISION DECEMBER 1991 The machine groaned and whirred, but the tape didn't move. The drive belt underneath had flown off its pulley What a Life! wheel. After cleaning and refitting it I got a repeat performance. So I took out the cassette manually and tried another one. This time the machine worked perfectly. Donald Bullock When I examined the cassette I saw that it had jammed solid because one of the tape pillars had broken. When the owner called I told him that the cassette had caused the The lady brought this 20in. set along and explained that it trouble and would do so again if he tried to play it. was her husband's. "'E said to let you do it" she added. The label said it was a Goodmans CVT2T, which was a Fault Indexes new one on me. When I switched it on there was a rustle of e.h.t. but the set was otherwise dead. After a brief bout of I've had on one side recently for the purpose of meditation I increased the first anode supply, using the reviewing them some of the advertised TV Fault Indexes, potentiometer on the line output transformer. This and have referred to them from time to time to see how produced brightness on the screen, but nothing I did got helpful they are. The answer is very. Recently I had a me any further. Nor could I find any reference to Solavox NVCR5000 with a strange fault. It was dead, with Goodmans Television anywhere amongst my papers and only the standby beacon lit. When I looked it up I found a data. So I rang my valued friend Peter Ambrose at Comet. reference to a similar fault in this model, only this time the He's a technical wizard who sounds like twenty five but is, symptom was a muddled clock display. The Indexes he assures me, as ancient as I am. referred me to page 288 of the February 1991 issue of. Television. I looked this up and found that a modification involving a 4.7kf/ resistor would bring about a cure. Then I A Nikkai Chassis noticed that the article was one of mine. Good thing I write "It's actually a Nikkai chassis" he said. "On the left- these things down! The modification had already been hand side, close to the on-off switch, you'll see a small done, but the resistor was far smaller than any that I use, transformer designated EM104. Its windings are bound and it was open-circuit. Then I recalled the correspon- with yellow ticky-tacky tape. The secondary winding feeds dence that followed my article. The general consensus was a rectifier diode, D102, which should have 11V at its that replacing the "battery" capacitor was a better cathode to feed the front panel control circuitry. But you'll solution. I did this and found that it worked. It will be find that this voltage is missing because the fuse in the interesting to see whether this provides a lasting cure. transformer's primary section is open-circuit." "Well, thanks" I said, "now where do I get a replacement?" Sony KV2060 "You'll have a job" he replied, "they're like gold dust." The next job was Mr Moggie's Sony KV206OUB TV set. I checked for 11V at the cathode of the diode and, as he "The picture went into a line" he piped, "it can't be the predicted, it was absent. So I took out the transformer and tube because the sound's all right." As the field had checked across its primary connections. There was an collapsed I homed in on the UPC1378H field output chip open-circuit, again as predicted. When I telephoned IC551 and checked its voltages. The supply voltage was Nikkai I was told that they had no stock, so I gingerly correct and the others weren't too far out. There was also a picked away the yellow ticky-tacky and found the open- healthy input from the timebase generator chip IC501, via circuit thermal fuse. After replacing it with one from my R515. So I phoned J.J. Components for a replacement junk box I switched on again. Up came an excellent UPC1378H. When it arrived next morning I fitted it. Up picture. I wish I knew as much about these things as Peter came the field, but there was no field hold. None of the — and that I sounded as bright. I dunno what fuel he runs pretty preset potentiometers were labelled hold, and I on but wish I could get some. Next day I had a similar set, feared that there was't such a thing. But the circuit told me this time wearing a Solavox jacket. The symptoms were that there was. It's grouped with the brightness, contrast the same and, armed with my new knowledge, I had the and colour controls under the front plinth of the tube transformer out and repaired in no time. Thanks, Peter. surround. Adjusting it produced solid locking, in fact an excellent picture. Super set, but flimsy cabinet. JVC HRD520 Feeling buoyant for once I picked up a JVC HRD520EK Ferguson TX90 Chassis VCR. "Severe tracking troubles" said the ticket. Its own The next set was another case of field collapse, but there recordings played perfectly, but those made on other were oddities this time. It was a Ferguson TX90 — the 20in. machines and from video libraries were unwatchable, with version. After ensuring that the field output transistors the tracking control having no effect. I worked through the weren't footloose I checked them. As they were o.k., tracking circuitry but couldn't find anything wrong then, without further ado I removed the line output transformer reluctantly and carefully, I gently adjusted the tape guides. to gain access to R268, the 221/ fusible resistor cunningly The right-hand one turned easily by hand: setting it up with concealed within the line output stage screening box. It's in a first-class tape then sealing it brought perfect results. the 100V feed to the field output transistors, and was open- Why hadn't I tried that first?! circuit. A replacement brought back the field scan, but there was a dark horizontal line across the centre of the picture, as though the tube's screen had been burnt by Amstrad VCR4600 being left in the field collapse condition. But I wasn't sure An Amstrad VCR4600 had been brought in with a about this. So I applied my degaussing wand to the tube's cassette jammed inside. When I tried it the idler seemed to neck and moved the picture about on the screen. The line be slipping. So I took it out, fitted another and tried again. moved with it. After some searching I found that R203

190 TELEVISION JANUARY 1992 (1011) was open-circuit. A replacement cured this odd much are you going to charge me for that dab of spirit?" fault. "Tuppence will cover it, Major — but for knowing where to dab it, £9.98. A tenner to you." He paid up and carried the set towards the door, Stuck on Channel 1 muttering about why we're here... Major Crust came in reeking of hair oil, with his hair smoothed flat and his moustache tweezed to a pair of Hitachi CPT1476 points. He brought with him a 22in. Hitachi CPT206 and complained that it was stuck on channel 1. I then picked up a 14in. Hitachi CPT1476 and wondered "I'll spend up to forty quid on it" he announced in his whether I had any STR4211 power chips left. But this one military voice. "If it's any more I'm off to Ripoffs for one had a field fault — cramping at the top. In such cases I of their reconditioned ones." suspect passive causes, like dry-joints or dried out I'd no room on the bench but made some and then electrolytics. One way of stressing the field circuit in this plugged in his set. His diagnosis was correct. model is to press the plastic handle of my dusting brush "Two things bother me, Bullock. First, why has this between the power chip heatsink and the UPC1378H field blasted thing packed up, and the other is why are we here? output chip IC601. When I did this normal field linearity On this Earth I mean..." was restored. Out came my magnifying glass and I saw that "Just a minute Major" I said, before throwing a fat old a couple of the chip's pins were working loose. Resoldering catalogue on the floor. I stood on it and tried the touch- them put matters right. tune buttons again. The situation was no better, and I saw the Major's eyes narrowing. So I returned the catalogue to Philips KT3 Chassis the shelf and took down the bottle of surgical spirit. This made his eyes narrower still. I gave the buttons a brisk The final set that day was brought in by Warder Phil. It wash, dried them then tried again. They all now worked was a Philips 16CT3015 — the KT3 chassis — and was dead. perfectly. As I was taking the back off Phil started to tell me about "Good God" spluttered the Major, "you've got a magic his job looking after "the bad, the mad and the sad". touch." Whilst he was on about them I noticed that one of the main "It's nothing" I said modestly. "But you were asking fuses had blown. So I checked the diodes in the bridge why your set had packed up, and why we're here. I've the rectifier circuit. One of them, D6295, was leaky. So I answers for you. Your set packed up because you changed replaced it, fitted another fuse and switched on. The fuse channels while your hands were soaked in hair oil, I'm here went again, but not before I'd spotted a glow through the to put it right for you and you're here to pay up and take it white plastic skin of the posistor in the degaussing circuit, away." R6292. When I opened it I found that it was a pot of black "But you didn't even take the back off" he said, "how grit. Fitting another, plus a new fuse, cured the trouble. "Still on it" I said. "It's proving a bit tricky." "Can't you mend it?" he growled. "Trust you won't What a Life! charge any more than you said. I'll be back in an hour." So I put the B and 0 out of my mind and went back to the Donald Bullock Sharp video. Feeling stumped, I fitted another reel motor just in case. But it was still no better. Let's see, new motor, new idler, everything degreased — why wasn't it working? Some days I'd do better if I pulled on my old clothes and Then I noticed that the idlers I'd bought were unbranded. slunk off to fish for tench. Anyone who's done as much of Could there be something wrong with them? After all, I'd it as I have knows instinctively when they'll be biting. You tried everything else. I grubbed about in my waste bin and can smell it in the air. recovered the original idler. Using the workshop vice as a The feeling came over me the other morning, but when gauge, I compared the new ones with the original one. The the postman arrived with a packet of Sharp idlers I decided new ones were undersized — and I had only this batch. instead to have a go at Mr Twopp's VC9100. Then Then I remembered the idler tyres I'd recently bought something about the postman struck me. Wasn't he old from J. J. Components, looked out a suitable one and Ribby Ellis, the company debt collector I'd worked with fitted it to the body of the original idler. When it was fitted years ago at the multiple TV firm where I spent my salad it worked a treat. Still in shock, I finished the job just as says? I asked him and he immediately became the bouncy Mr. Twopp called back. joker I'd then known, with a thousand ways of "Took you long enough" he said. "Been doing this job repossessing sets from bad payers. We swapped yarns for long?" half an hour before be chortled his way from the drive, I thought about Mr. Wheeze's lost B and 0. What with leaving me with fond memories and Mr. Twopp's VCR. the teletext and all, it must have cost him plenty. He'd expect it to be replaced if I'd lost it. Then he telephoned. I was desperate. Perhaps he had the make wrong, or Mr Twopp's Sharp VC9100 Greeneyes had got his name wrong? I groped for a way of I pulled it on to the bench. The ticket said no play, fast asking a few tactful questions. forward or rewind. It was right, though I could hear the "Er . . . are you certain it was a B and 0 set?" reel motor singing. Now I like these quick money makers, "I certainly am" he rasped. so I unpacked the idlers and got to work. The approved "It's Mr. Wheeze now, isn't it?" way of replacing them is something I don't know. What I The earpiece produced a strangulated cry. "Are you do is to fold the bottom board open, drop out the motor, trying to be funny? I want that set and I'm on my way to change the idler then do battle, wishing I had three hands see you." or multi-jointed arms, until I've got it all together again. Whilst I was so engaged the phone rang. Greeneyes answered it in the house, then brought me the message. Salora J Chassis "Mr. Wheeze phoned about his B and 0 teletext set. Oh dear. I hoped he wasn't as big as his voice. Half an Said you'd had it a month and wants you to phone him. hour passed, and no Mr. Wheeze appeared. So I went Sounded nasty." back to an Hitachi CPT2060 (Salora J chassis) with a "Later" I said, turning back to the Sharp. What worried horizontally frilled picture and a whining note from the me as I worked was that I could remember neither Mr. speaker. I'd no circuit and wondered whether there was a Wheeze nor his B and 0. Then I finished fitting the idler decoupling fault in the supply to the line oscillator or and tried the machine with a cassette. It was just the same. driver. There was a 1,000µF, 35V electrolytic near the I concluded that there had to be grease on the spool Ipsalo transformer. When I took it out and checked it I platforms or the motor drive. So I cleaned them, also the discovered that it had zero capacitance and a resistance of new idler. For good luck I changed the idler spring. When 0-811. Also it had been hiding a burnt out fusible resistor. I tried the machine again it worked, but in a faltering way. When these two items had been replaced there was an I tried a stronger spring, then cut it short. Results were excellent picture and no whining note. Something had eventually much better but not right, and I knew that my gone well at last. And although over an hour had now gone doctoring of the spring wasn't acceptable. In desperation I by, there was no Mr. Wheeze. Perhaps he'd confused me went through the palaver of fitting another idler. It was no with another dealer? It's happened before. better, and I then spent a long time looking for obscure reasons for the trouble. A glance at my watch brought Mr. Wheeze's B and 0 back to mind, and I reluctantly left the Ted Bright's Nikkai Portable bench to look for it before he phoned again. I couldn't see Then my neighbour Ted Bright brought in a Nikkai it anywhere. Just as panic was beginning to set in Mr. colour portable. It was an MG002R and was dead. As he Twopp called about his Sharp VCR. waited I opened it and found a chassis I'd never seen

264 TELEVISION FEBRUARY 1992 before. I tried it again with my ear close to the chassis. beamed. "Fit a new 'un please" he said. It didn't take long. There was no degaussing clunk, in fact no life at all. I saw "Twelve pounds to you" I said, passing the set back to that there was a small power/degaussing panel beneath the him. He handed me a fiver and a tenner. "Keep the mains switch, and noticed that R801 on this panel was change" he said, "that's saved me a lot." baked and cracked. It's a 1.5fl, 5W resistor and when taken out for test was open-circuit. A replacement was soon fitted and the set was then switched on again. Up Matsui 1440A came an excellent picture. A Matsui 1440A had been waiting a while. It was dead. I reached for a 5.642, 5W wirewound resistor, an STR50103A power chip and a BY127 rectifier. Then I Tamira's Panasonic NV370 removed the back and replaced R501, IC501 and D508. I As Ted left, Tamira from Honolulu swayed in with her checked fuse F501 which was all right — sometimes it blows Panasonic NV370 VCR. " 'E keeps flashing at me" she as well. This repair is becoming routine. said. The clock did the flashing but the on (VTR) LED wasn't lit, nor was there any channel display. The only other sign of life was a to-and-fro movement of the idler. A Mr Wheeze Revealed quick check showed that the 12V supply was missing — By now over two hours had passed and there was no sign because R1101, a fusible resistor on the power panel, was of Mr. Wheeze. Suddenly I thought of Ribby Ellis. Tricks open-circuit. A replacement provided a cure and made were his stock-in-trade. I recalled that one of his wheezes Tamira think I'm very clever. A bonus, that. when repossessing a set was to press a pin through the aerial downlead before be knocked on the door for the arrears. It always worked. A Dead Fidelity CTV14O So I phoned Ribby and said "what's all this about your B The Scratchers arrived shortly after with a dead Fidelity and 0 Mr Wheeze?" There were peals of delighted CTV140. He looked glum while she beamed. laughter. "Good, wasn't it?" he wheezed, "what a scream. "We think the tube's gone Mr. Bookie" she chortled. "I Do you remember the night I got you to push a pin think we'll have to have a new set." through that downlead at Swamp Meadow whilst I banged "Not so fast, Mavis" her spouse said, "new sets cost at the door for the arrears, and you got the mains to earth money." 'cos their isolation condensers had failed? What a laugh I slipped the back off and saw that the negative tags of that was. Then to cap it . . ." I put the phone down. We the mains switch sat in little carbonised holes. Shorting could send him the deaf-aid man, the maternity wear them together brought the set to life with an excellent woman and the wig people. But I'd rather not bother. I'm picture. Mrs. Scratcher's face fell, but her husband not up to it now. emitter short-circuit reading. It's difficult to get the transistor out, so I consulted the circuit diagram to see What a Life! whether there was a reason for this reading. There is. The Donald Bullock emitter is earthed and the base goes to earth via the secondary winding on the driver transformer. Furthermore there's an efficiency diode connected across the transistor. The other day I answered a knock on the workshop door So for a certain check it had to come out. This proved that to find Greeneyes entertaining a cove who looked like the it was all right. So was the diode. Other checks were made, Pied Piper in a scarecrow outfit. I took an instant dislike to but no shorts could be found. him — perhaps because he was carrying a Fidelity CTV14S I decided to adopt a different approach and went back to colour portable. the supply source. This took me to the battery input "This is Mr. Flighty" she said. "He wants you to look at socket. Was it I wondered open-circuiting the input to the his set." regulator? Shorting across tags 31-2 would prove the point, "Thought you'd be a younger man" he said, surveying and when I did this the set sprang to life. A replacement me. I gave him a look and he minced off. socket put matters right. As I put it all together again I glanced at myself in the bench mirror. I looked ever so young. What was getting The Dead Fidelity into people? With his set on the bench and the back removed I saw that the 2A mains fuse had died violently. A check on the BU508A chopper transistor TR13 showed that it was dead Uncontrollable Brightness short. So I replaced both items and tried again. The new Suddenly the picture on Flighty's Fidelity clicked off, fuse immediately departed this life. Further checks were leaving a brilliant screen. I checked the voltages around the clearly needed. It didn't take long to find that one of the TDA1365 colour decoder chip. They were way out. Since , bridge rectifier diodes, D19, had reverse leakage. When the chip had clearly failed, I wondered whether there was a this had been replaced and another fuse had been fitted the particular reason for this, such as arcing in the line output set came to life. I put it on soak test. stage. The transformer was corroded where the core projects from the windings. As I had a known good transformer I fitted it. Then, to make it easier, I slipped A Monochrome Portable out the signals panel, replaced the TDA1365, refitted the A smart chariot then pulled into the drive. Its owner had panel and switched on. Would all now be well? No it long legs and long blond hair — also a Ferguson 3845 wouldn't! In addition to uncontrollable brightness I now monochrome portable (1690 chassis). had no sound. After further tests I was no further forward "Is your son, the television engineer, in? I want this set and put the set to one side. mended." "Just leave it with me" I said. "I'll see that it's done. Stuck in Standby Name and address please." On investigation the set was dead with only 2.4V at the The next set awaiting attention was a Panasonic TC2205 2A fuse in the feed to the series regulator transistor. Full of (U2 chassis) that was stuck in standby. I looked through prejudice, I peered nastily at the T6006V line output the Television faults indexes and found a reference to the transistor VT17. An in situ measurement gave a base- problem on page 745 of the August 1988 issue. Check 334 TELEVISION MARCH 1992 rectifier diodes D852-3 it said. The latter diode, a BY298, CPT1476 colour portable. "I've got a bit of trouble with it was very leaky. It provides the 25V supply. I fitted a — keeps going off. It's done it again. Gumboils and replacement and got a purr of life, but there was no Snoddies have had a go during the last six months. Reckon brightness. The BU208A line output transistor Q551 was it's now your turn!" short-circuit. A new one restored the set to full health. When he'd departed I soon found that the STR4211 power chip, which had been replaced before, had failed. So had the BU508A line output transistor Q703. Replacing Severe Patterning these two items restored normal operation. The set Then the workshop door opened and a tubby little performed perfectly on soak test before Mr. Reever called woman came in with a 20in. Triumph CTV8402 colour set. and took it off. "This set's faulty, I claim" she said, lifting her chin and shutting her eyes as she spoke. Back to the Fidelity When she'd gone I switched the set on and plugged in an aerial. Up came a picture that was covered with severe Flushed with success, I decided to tackle Mr. Flighty's herringbone patterning. The sound was perfect. I spent Fidelity again. Uncontrollable brightness and now no some time checking through the r.f. and i.f. sections to no sound as well. If only I could go back to the start, when at avail, then recalled a similar fault I'd had with a Toshiba least I had the sound. set. Looking through my home-made card index (I no Looking around the chassis for clues, I noticed that there longer rely on my memory) I found that the set had been a was something odd about plug A and its socket on the Toshiba C2020, which is identical to the Triumph receiver. signals board. While the female half, moulded on to a ten- I'd cleared the fault by replacing the 120µF electrolytic core ribbon cable, was clearly a ten-pin one the male half, C807 in the power supply. Sure enough this worked again. part of the signals panel, had eleven pins. This meant that Why hadn't I remembered it in the first place? they could be connected together in either of two It wasn't long before Mrs. Tubby returned. She walked positions, and in one of these positions all ten connections up to me, lifted her chin, shut her eyes and spoke. "It would be wrongly made. I'd pressed them together so that wasn't much, I claim" she said while fumbling for her from my viewpoint they fitted snugly and properly. What purse. "This repair is guaranteed, I claim" she said as she would happen if I parted them and reconnected them one left. pin along? When I did this a perfect picture, with sound, came up. As I boxed the set up I thought about the possibility of A Toshiba V83B ending up with a severely damaged set because of this. I I glanced at Mr. Flighty's Fidelity and quickly turned my remembered that I had a similar scrap set in the next room attention to something else — a Toshiba V83B VCR. The and fished it out so that I could see if the plugs and sockets ticket said it did what it liked. I inserted a tape and pressed were the same. They were both ten-pin types. I wonder the play button. Instead of a picture there was a screenful whether anyone else has come across this production of thick, horizontal lines. Then I pressed the record button quirk? and got a screenful of mush and noise. Were there several faults or just one? I decided to start by replacing the Logik VR960A TDA6360 processor chip IC501. Fortunately this did the trick. A Logik VR960A VCR was soon dealt with. It was dead except that the display lit up. I checked the voltages at the STK5332 power supply chip and found that they were all Dead Ferguson TX100 haywire. A new chip restored normal operation. Heaving a sigh of relief, I glanced again at Flighty's Fidelity and quickly picked up a Ferguson 22G3 (TX100 Return of Mr. Reever chassis). It was dead, and when I checked through the TDA4600-2 chopper power supply circuit I found that the I was just thinking of calling it a day when the door charging resistor R115, connected to pin 4 of the chip, had opened and a disgruntled looking Mr. Reever bowled in risen in value from 270kfl to 1.2M11. But a replacement with his Hitachi CPT1476. "You put a faulty part in this failed to bring the set back to life. I next checked that the set" he announced. "It lasted only an hour." third pair of contacts on the mains on/off switch were I waved him out, put the set on the bench and plugged it providing the start-up pulse. They were. So I moved to the in. Up came a perfect picture. Half an hour later it failed, isolated part of the circuit and checked the 119V and 20V and no amount of heating and freezing would bring the lines. Both were o.k. When I checked at the collector of fault under control. I eventually resorted to minute the BC372 line driver transistor TR8 I found that the examination of the panel through my giant magnifying voltage was missing. The supply comes from the 15V glass, while probing about. None of the solder joints regulator IC9. The voltages were o.k. here, but there was looked dry, but one or two were sitting in little circles of no voltage at either side of the feed resistor R143. brittle looking flux. While scraping at one of these with a Examination of the print between IC9 and R143 revealed watchmaker's screwdriver it lifted away from the panel, an open-circuit. When this was repaired however there was though it remained perfectly soldered to the component still no voltage at the collector of TR8. I took it out and leadout wire. The connection was to the cathode of. D950. fitted a TIP110, which I prefer in this position. The set then Closer examination showed that there was a film of grey came to life. For good measure I resoldered the joints dust between the panel and the solder blob. I cleaned off around the line driver transformer T2. and resoldered the joint, then similarly treated a few other nearby joints just in case. After a soak test I pronounced the set fit. Mr. Reever's Colour Portable "I hope it's all right this time" Mr. Reever said when he It was then that Mr. Reever brought in his Hitachi returned, looking at me straight in the eyes. TELEVISION MARCH 1992 335 and the two BU208A transistors in the line output stage and the power supply were all right. Bearing in mind the What a Life! last set, I decided to go round the diodes with a component tester. No luck this time however. Then, while examining the print side of the board, I saw that some of the joints Donald Bullock looked less than healthy. So I went round those on the line linearity coil and the line driver transformer. This brought Steve Beeching and his charming wife popped in the other results, though of an intermittent nature. I then found that day. They came in a station wagon that made our Ford the two large copper heatsinks that bridge parts of the look a bit utility. "Some car!- I said. "It's the wife's" Steve copper print were dry-jointed. Resoldering these cured the replied. Seeing that Greeneyes was paying careful trouble. attention I changed the subject. We had a pleasant hour's chat in the bar, much of it spent in mutual sympathy over the lives we lead. Then Philips CTX-E Chassis Steve told us about the items of electronic wizardry that he As I was refitting the back a bearded fellow pulled into and his son service as a matter of course. Things that I've the drive. There was a Philips 20CT2026/05 colour set heard about though scarcely seen, let alone tackled. Steve (CTX-E chassis) on the back seat of his car. has a decided advantage over lesser mortals like me — an "I've brought this set all the way from Lancashire" he extremely fine brain. He also has an enthusiasm that's said. "Well over a hundred miles. It belongs to my mother good to see, dedication to his work and a fine sense of who's down here on a visit. Thought I'd bring it along as humour. He needs all these in dealing with things like well as it's intermittent and you did my own set recently." camcorders. I'm reasonably certain that I never want to I plugged it in, took the back off and gazed at the print have to open one of them up! under the line output transformer. What I expected to see Thanks for calling in, Steve. We had a good hour or two. was there — dry-joints. Attention to these and, a few Call again sometime — I forgot to tell you how big I am on minutes later, all was well. G1ls! "Marvellous" he said, "too good to be true!" "S'nothing" I said, blowing on my nails. Mrs Whelp's Panasonic NV370 During Steve's visit Mrs. Whelp called with a Panasonic Egbert's Alba VCR6000X NV370. Next day I put it on the bench. When I switched Just then Egbert Crust bowled into the drive, as though on there was no channel number display and no LED was he was pedalling an invisible bicycle up a steep hill against alight but the clock flashed merrily and the idler quivered a a headwind. He was carrying an Alba VCR6000X video bit before losing interest. I decided to take a look at the recorder. power supply and soon found an open-circuit fusible "Don, for heaven's sake fix this recorder by tonight" he resistor — R1101. Not a bad start I thought: maybe I'm gasped, "otherwise Marina will pack me in." about to get a run of easy little moneyspinners. After he'd bolted I plugged his machine in. It was haywire, like Egbert. On opening it up I found that the Saisho CT142RX loading belt was badly distended. While fitting a new one I saw why. The mechanism had jammed and the belt was The next job was a Saisho CT142RX colour portable. I fighting it. I removed all the belts and judiciously applied seem to get a lot of Saisho/Matsui sets. This one was dead some WD40 to the mechanism. Then I cleaned the pulleys though the channel 1 LED was alight. The mains fuse F501 carefully and refitted the belts. This restored perfect (2.5AT) and the 5.611, 5W surge limiter resistor R501 were operation. both open-circuit while the STR50103 chopper chip IC501 had expired. I replaced these three items then checked the line output transistor, which was o.k. So I switched on. No Decca 140 Series Chassis difference! My next caller brought in a 16in. Decca set, Model There was plenty of h.t. at the mains bridge rectifier's DP1473 (140 series chassis). "The picture's unstable and output, but no 103V output from the chopper chip. A goes off after a minute" she said. I removed the back and further check showed that there was no start-up voltage at switched the set on. Up came an unstable picture with pin 2. A check on the two feed resistors R502/3 indicated clattering sound, and after a minute the set went dead. As I that they were o.k., but how did I know whether they were turned it on to its side it came on again, and I found that I up to passing current? I've been had before with that one. could make the fault come and go by tapping the chassis. So I fitted replacements. Still no start-up voltage. My So I switched off and busied myself resoldering some dry- earlier hopes about a run of moneyspinners were fast looking joints in the power supply. Suddenly something evaporating. Could the two transistors 0107/8 in the power dropped out and rolled on to the floor. It was a large, switching circuit be faulty? In went two new ones, again to heavy ferrite bead. I then found a small loop of wire that no effect. Perhaps the line output transformer, which is had obviously been threaded through it and soldered to the also linked to this point, was damping things? The chassis. After putting this right (the circuit designation was connection is made via the RH1 diode D508 which turned L803) I tried the set again. out to be dead short. Why hadn't I tried that first? This time there was no picture and sound disturbance at all, but the set went off after a minute as before. Tapping A Luxor SX9 around plug and socket MC01 brought the set to life briefly, but resoldering it didn't help. I then found that The next patient was a 26in. Luxor set, Model 18067349 flexing the centre front of the panel controlled the fault. (SX9 chassis) which was also dead. It's not a set I know, Out came the magnifier and I saw that one of the pins of and I didn't have a circuit diagram. There was h.t. about, the TDA4600-2 chopper control chip had never been

428 TELEVISION APRIL 1992 soldered. Attending to this provided a complete cure.

Mrs Rabble's Toshiba VCR Then Mrs. Rabble brought a Toshiba V309 video recorder along in a pushchair. With her was her precocious little daughter, who immediately went around the room twiddling the controls of every set she saw. "Do you think you could, er, ask the little girl to stand by the door with you" I asked. "She might get hurt, and we wouldn't want that would we?" "Oh don't worry about that" snorted Mrs. Rabble. "The point is that you mended this video for us a few months ago and it's never been right since. We haven't had time to bring it back before. My husband says you didn't do it properly. His workmate said you don't know anything about videos. Said we should have took it to Snoddies." I looked at her and her protege and nodded sympathetically. "They do seem to have all the answers" I replied." "I'll wait while you do it" she said, adjusting her stance to permanent stay. I opened the machine and looked inside. A powder compact and a partly nibbled Mars bar were caught up in the mechanism. I took them out and handed the bar to the child and the compact to Mrs. Rabble. "One each" I said. Then I tried the machine, replaced its cover and handed it back. "I haven't the time to do you a bill now" I said, scribbling a few details on my pad. "It'll be only nominal, fifteen pounds or so. I'll drop it in the post to you." Mrs. Rabble breathed in sharply, smiled weakly and stalked out.

The HRD230 and the Curate's GEC TV Just as I pulled a JVC HRD230 VCR on to the bench the door opened and the Reverend Goode beamed in. "I know you don't do house calls" he said, "but if you find yourself in my parish sometime do pop in and look at the curate's massive TV set. The tuning buttons don't work." Off he went and I concentrated on the JVC video. It was all right in the fast forward and rewind modes, but play was fickle. I turned it upside down, removed the base then took out, cleaned and retightened the screw that earths the mechanism control board print. This didn't help. I noticed an evil-looking STK5481 power supply chip and changed it at once, but again there was no difference. So I fitted an idler. Play seemed to be better, but the take-up spool faltered now and again. Then I saw that the tape was also faltering at the pinch wheel. Cleaning it made no difference, and I noticed that the capstan was stopping. So I took out the motor and treated it with WD40. The machine worked well for over an hour on soak test and I was about to pronounce it fit when it stopped again. There was nothing for it but fit a new motor, and they're not cheap. The replacement restored the machine to normal operation. A couple of hours later I had to take Greeneyes into town. I decided to drop in on the curate on the way back. The set was a huge GEC model. I switched it on and, as its lazy tube warmed up, I instinctively took out my handkerchief and gave the buttons a brisk rub. By then the picture had come up and the tuning was perfect. "Oh" said the curate, "your very presence has made it work. How clever! Thank you, thank you." He opened the door and I walked out. "God be with you" he cooed. As I walked back to the car I thought there really must be a better way.

TELEVISION APRIL 1992 switching on again, thus achieving some degree of continuous operation. After a few cycles of this I felt the What a Life! line output transformer. It was hot. Fortunately I had one in stock. Fitting it restored normal operation. I put both sets near the door in anticipation of Miss Catchem's return Donald Bullock visit. Then the phone rang.

"Now that we've got a nice new carpet, what about Smoke mending our television?" complained Greeneyes the other day. "Not only is it the oldest set in the city, it's been "D'you sell reconditioned sets?" a raucous voice asked. intermittent for over six months." "My old mum's set billowed smoke and frightened her to It's a Philips G11 and the trouble of course is dry-joints death. It's finished I think." on the line panel. The screen keeps going dark and the "I'd best take a look" I replied, "sometimes there's picture twists into an hour-glass shape: now and again you smoke without fire." get line collapse. I really must find time to mend it before The set was brought in shortly afterwards. 1 took the she calls in Snoddies. back off and peered inside. It was one of the earlier Matsuis, a 1460. The trouble centred around choke L403 in Walter's Philips GR1-AX the line output stage. What had started off as dry-joints had progressed to carbonised holes in the PCB. I took out One customer of mine, Walter Wingnut, is a wizened the choke, cleaned off and tinned the contacts, cut away little chap with protruding ears. He called in the other day the carbonised parts of the panel and cleaned away the with his Philips colour portable. It's a 14GR1221/05B, soot. Then I made good the printed wiring with sturdy which uses the GR1-AX chassis. Walter had bought it for a jumpers and refitted the choke. The result was a perfectly song from someone who'd won it, and he wasn't too sure good picture. about the guarantee situation. The trouble was that it "You're magic" the raucous one said when she came to displayed a bright red screen from switch on. It was the collect it. "Have an extra fiver on me." first GR1-AX I'd encountered and I didn't have a manual. I did however notice that it had a TDA3565 colour decoder The Gil Sorted Out chip. So I ordered a manual and a TDA3565 from Manchester. The spares arrived that afternoon — delivered Just then Greeneyes looked in. "That set of ours has by the firm's director. "I just happened to be passing" he really given up the ghost this time. Do I lift the phone or said. Then Wingnut phoned to find out how I was doing. are you going to mend it?" "The spare part has just arrived" 1 said, "it'll be ready So I carted it back to the workshop and spent ages shortly." mopping up the dried out solder on the line panel, scraping and retinning the wirewound resistor leads and generally A Brace of Bush 2020Ts resoldering it back into good shape. This cured the intermittencies and I thought that for good measure I'd set Just then a customer I'm always glad to see called in. it up nicely. I soon noticed that a half inch strip of the Old Miss Catchem. She's portly, tweed-clad, full of life and raster pulled to the left and was slowly travelling as bright-eyed as a sparrow. Travels around in an old downwards, kinking the picture as it went. I spent ages shooting-brake packed with guns, fishing rods, gaffs and checking through the power supply panel, even to the waders. As down-to-earth a lady as they come. She hauled extent of removing the diodes, including the zeners, for out a couple of Bush 2020T television sets and plonked testing, but couldn't find anything wrong. them on the bench. "Dead as doornails, both of 'em" she After a while I recalled that I'd had this fault before. said, "Try to fix them fast" she added as she departed. Time to refer to the card index I keep on obscure faults. I took the back off the first one and saw that the fuses Sure enough there was a reference to it. The cause was were all right. So I busied myself around the power supply, listed as the 27V zener diode D4021 in the active which is of the TDA4601 type. The 4.7,11, 5W surge limiter smoothing circuit. But I'd tested the power supply diodes, resistor R816 looked groggy and when checked produced a including this one. reading of about 500kc1. So I fitted a replacement and I decided to investigate. After removing D4021 I fitted a switched on. Still dead. My next check was on the BU508A replacement. This cured the fault. Then I compared the chopper transistor Q801 which was short-circuit. Fitting a meter readings with the original diode and the new one. new one again made no difference. It was time to look out Identical. Scope traces using the component tester were the circuit and do a little thinking. The high-value, low- then compared. The new zener diode produced a perfect wattage resistor connected to pin 4 of the chip is of course right angle while the faulty one produced a right angle with notorious in IDA4600-type power supplies. In this circuit a very slightly upturned tail at one end. its value should be 2701c12. I made a bee-line for it and found that it had increased in value to almost a megohm. A TDA3562A Chips replacement brought the set back to life and after refitting the back I settled down to the other one. While I was reflecting on the vagaries of our trade Alan This one had a heavy short — at switch-on the relay Humphries of Fast Fix phoned. He's the compiler of the clicked for five or six seconds. I went straight to the line card index system of collated Television magazine faults output stage and checked the output transistor and just and their remedies. about every semiconductor device I could find, using the "Just had a game with a Matsui 1580 colour portable". he component tester built into my Hameg scope. But I failed said. "Vision was intermittent at switch on. Changing the to find anything amiss here. Eventually I resorted to the TDA3562A colour decoder chip made no difference ruse of running the set until the relay stopped clicking, then except that when there was a picture it now had a green repeatedly switching off, waiting a second or two and cast. I spent many frustrating hours before I discovered

TELEVISION MAY 1992 491 that the cause of the fault was indeed to do with the the tube the voltage drop was also transferred, which TDA3562A chip. The one I'd taken out bore the legend pointed to a short inside the tube. I switched off and TFK (Telefunken) whilst the replacement I'd used was of checked the resistance between pin 7 (red cathode) and pin Philips manufacture. There's a difference, and this set 6 (the grid). It was only a few ohms. The tube was useless — wouldn't work properly until I'd fitted a Telefunken or was it? replacement." I recalled a little dodge we used to get up to with "I'll pass the tip on in Television" I said. "Do get it into monochrome tubes. As there was nothing to lose I took off future editions of your Index: could save hours of soul- the tube base, wired pin 6 of the tube to the negative side destroying searching for some poor soul like me." of the set's h.t. reservoir capacitor C2606 (output from the I refer to Alan's excellent Index almost daily, as I do the mains bridge rectifier) and pin 7 to a spare meter probe. ECS book Index compiled and produced by Mike Lyons. Then I switched the set on and dabbed the probe on to the And dealer Dave of Criccieth TV, Gwynedd, North Wales positive side of C2606. Just once. There was an odd noise has sent me an advance copy of a five-year Television index in the tube's neck. I dismantled my wiring, reconnected the he's compiling. tube base and switched on. Up came one of the nicest, and The nature of my business means that I have to try to most welcome, pictures I'd seen. service just about every make of VCR and TV set under I phoned Wingnut and told him what had happened. both the Eastern and Western suns (except for Philips "It's all right now" I said, "come and get it." VCRs). It's obviously not possible to have a thorough knowledge of them all, nor to have every manual. These Nannies Rank 2718 indexes not only save me time but often enable me to repair sets that would otherwise prove too daunting. I'm There was one further call that afternoon. Nannie Finch working on an article that describes their usefulness in my squeezed through the door carrying a Murphy MC6301 workshop of late. colour set — the Rank Z718C chassis. "Wherever did you find that, Nannie?" I asked, A Tube Dodge "thought I'd long since seen the last of them." "It's the sound" she said, "quiet, distorted and peaky. A Time to return to Walter's GR1-AX. I fitted the loose wire I 'spex." replacement TDA3565 chip and switched on. The screen I took the back off and gave the audio output stage a tap came up as red as ever. So I worked on from the TDA3565 or two. This brought me to the BD166 transistor 3VT15, towards the tube. The red output transistor's collector which is actually a constant-current source in this rather voltage was of course low — about 12V instead of 115V. unusual circuit. I resoldered its legs and up came the When I swapped over the red and green output drives to sound. Time to bid Nannie goodbye and shut shop. and fitted a new tyre. This provided a complete cure. I replaced the cover which, as with so many machines, is What a Life! secured by four screws: it saves time to remember that they are pairs of different lengths — the short ones secure the sides Donald Bullock while the long ones go in the back.

The Surgeon's ITT CT2600 Carl Pople of Willow Vale called in the other day. His days As Russ was digging into his pocket a smart car with an in the trade started at about the same time as mine, only even smarter driver pulled up. It was Miss Dream, a local instead of repairing sets he was a Mazda rep handling valves surgeon's daughter. and tubes. Valves gave way to transistors and, subsequently, "I've brought dad's television set along for repair " she TV sets became so cheap that the replacement tube market breathed, "only it's so large. Can anyone give me a hand?" was no longer viable for either Mullard or Mazda. We talked Russ's day was made. of the astonishing changes that have occurred in the trade When he got the monster on to the bench it turned out to since those early days, and a couple of hours slipped by in no be a 26in. ITT set, Model CT2600 — CVC1210 chassis. Apart time. Then it was back to the present and as Carl went on his from a ticking noise the set was dead to the world. A quick way I turned to a Turkish manufactured Hikona colour check showed that there was 330V across the mains bridge portable, Model 1437. The ticket simply said "dead". rectifier's reservoir capacitor C658, so I frowned at the line output stage. The BU208A line output transistor T501 on its heatsink to the left of the transformer was short-circuit while The Hikona Colour Portable the BD135 EW modulator driver transistor T562 was wide Well we're expected to mend everything that's thrown at open. R503 (10052) in the scan-correction network had suf- us, so I got stuck in. The set has a stylish, well laid out chas- fered from the effects of heat, but this is often the case. I sis and, unbelievably, there was an equally pleasing service replaced these three items and switched on, hoping to hear sheet. An isolated power supply is used: it was failing in its the rustle of e.h.t. But none came. So I applied a finger to the task of delivering a regulated 110V h.t. supply. encapsulated line output transformer. It was hot. A new one There was plenty of voltage at the mains bridge rectifier's from Hoopwell completed the repair. output. It reached the collector of the chopper transistor Q901 via the transformer, but the circuit wasn't oscillating. Checks showed that the two transistors Q90213 in the control circuit A Solavox ITT were starved of voltage while Q901's base was floating. All The very next set to arrive on the bench was fitted with this was because the 561d1 , 3W wirewound resistor R908, the same chassis, only this time it bore a Solavox badge which should have supplied 16V, was open-circuit. A (Model 22109). The line output transformer was the problem replacement brought excellent results, the well-produced cir- with this one as well. Meanwhile a Manager's Service Spe- cuit sheet and tidy layout having made this set a joy to work cial brochure from CPC offered an HRS version of the trans- on. former at half price. I faxed an order and it arrived the next day. Fitting it put the set to rights. Mrs Tuff's Logik VR950 (Samsung V1611) As I boxed up the Hikona set Mrs. Tuff, all two hundred- An Unpleasant Experience weight of her, came in with a Logik VR950 VCR. She's a I was getting on swimmingly the other day when, at about welder in a foundry and has a chin like Desperate Dan. 1 p.m., Mr. Snide phoned from New Close. He said that he'd "It's wonky" she bellowed. only just moved into the area and that his large colour set was "Er, what exactly is the matter with..." producing poor pictures on two of the channels. In addition "Told yer, it's wonky." he had a monochrome portable with a dim picture. He didn't So I wrote "wonky" on the ticket and, as she left, I put the know where I was to be found, so could I call along now? machine on the bench. It played back all right, so I tried making I took his address and telephone number and told him that a recording. After a minute the E-to-E picture started to pattern we'd be along. In fact I rarely do house calls these days, but and pull and the sound became grouchy. Then everything my son Paul sometimes gives me a hand with them. He said buzzed off. Wishing that it had idler trouble instead, I got to he'd go right away. work and soon graduated from the tuner to the power pack "We don't know whether his main set or the aerial is at where I set out to check the voltage on the 33V zener diode fault" I said. "He's new to the area. I suggest you use the ZD3. Not only did it have a substantial leak, it was running monochrome portable to test the aerial. If it's o.k., we'll attend warm. I fitted a replacement, checked its voltage and current to the set. If not I'll give him the telephone number of a good conditions and soak tested the machine for a while. As it rigger. In any case, I've agreed to look at the portable." behaved properly I phoned Mrs. Tuff to ask her to come and Paul came back an age later to say that the address wasn't collect it. right. After I'd phoned and got the correct address Paul set out again. After a good while he came back with the portable A Sharp VCA and reported that the other problem was due to the aerial. The portable was a Pye T173 (Philips TS7 chassis). It Meanwhile Russ Breeze strode in with his Sharp must be at least twenty years old now, though it's a stylish VCA131HM VCR. It had tape transport trouble — play, set. I'd serviced one or two of these sets before and was sure rewind and fast forward were all unreliable. I've had drive I had the circuit, but finding it took quite a while. The obvi- belt and idler trouble with this model and decided to check ous thing to do was to check the tube's first anode voltage. It the belt first. Sure enough it was slack. After cleaning off the should be around 200V but was much less. Further checks pulley wheel I fitted a replacement. This improved the per- showed that one of the resistors in the supply network had formance, but play was still sluggish. So I took out the idler risen substantially in value. Fitting a replacement cured the

574 TELEVISION JUNE 1992 trouble, so I replaced the chassis and set up the picture. It was service calls, and I'm going to pay you £10 for the portable — now nearly tea-time. I decided to phone the customer. that's all it's worth." "First your big set. We've found that the trouble is due to I tried to put my case but he would have none of it. I an aerial fault. I've looked out the number of a local rigger offered to unrepair his set and cancel the bill but he wouldn't and I'm jotting it down to send back with your portable. hear of that. I finally offered to accept £15, but he flatly We've done that too. I can get it back now and if you're refused to pay. Then I remembered his aerial and the rigger happy we'll charge a total of £25 for our calls, diagnosing the I'd recommended. "The rigger will expect payment if you trouble with the big set and repairing the portable." call him to your house." "Fine" he said. "He won't get it: where I come from we don't pay for When Paul arrived at his house the customer took the house calls." portable, refused to pay and phoned me. So I phoned the rigger and warned him. Paul finally came "What's all this business about £25?" he demanded. back with £10 and we split it. What a distasteful time we'd "It's what we agreed" I replied. spent at the hands of a form of life I'd not come across for a "You were talking to my son" he said. "I don't pay for long, long time. ordered any bits I suspected. In that way she'd have the use of the set until I was ready, hopefully, to have it back and What a Life! cure the fault quickly. Her husband, a rather sheepish fellow, came, shook my Donald Bullock hand and offered to pay for my trouble so far. I told him that I wouldn't charge until the job was finished. Off he went with the set, smiling away, leaving me to reflect on why such A bit of sun is always cheering. So I got up early the other shrews always seem to marry such decent chaps. day and raced Greeneyes to the bathroom. "Lets have my Then Greeneyes went to Spain for three weeks, with our Healthybran and fruit" I cried, "and my sugar-free coffee. Let eldest offspring, leaving me to look after the three youngest me get to the workshop. I want to get on and work." ones. I assured her that I could cope. In no time at all we were all down with flu and I was too ill to work. By the time I'd recovered the house was full of TVs and videos brought The JVC HRD23O in for repair. I hardly knew which way to turn. With breakfast over I strode to the workshop and put the first My first caller was Mrs. Libber. The set now changed job on the bench. It was a JVC VCR — an HRD230. Rewind channels perfectly she said. It must have been a bit of dust on and fast forward were o.k. but it wouldn't record or play. The the controls, so I needn't attend to that. But I'd obviously tape laced then unlaced and that was that. The head drum was done something to the set because there was now sometimes still. a noise on the sound, accompanied by a faint chirp from After checking the power circuits I decided to replace the within. STK5481 just to be sure. As I'd feared, this made no differ- "I can't take it anywhere else" she said, perhaps sensing ence. So I carried out some voltage checks around IC601, the that I was a little less than fond of her, "because since you 64-leg M50965-628 chip in the mechacon circuit. As some of caused it you'll know at once how to put it right." Her hus- the voltages were wrong I replaced the chip then switched the band brought the set, all apologetically, into the workshop machine on and tried it with a cassette. The drum now and when he'd gone I put it on test. Within a couple of hours revolved and the tape loaded satisfactorily, but the take-up Mrs. Libber was on. "Have you got it right? I miss my televi- spool kept faltering to a stop and the tape spewed into the sion set." mechanism. Progress, but there was still something wrong. The set behaved itself for hours, then I heard a slight Checks in the associated circuitry showed that the volt- "ccrr-ing" noise that seemed to come from the line output ages around the M54644BL chip IC604 were haywire. Fitting transformer. I placed a blanket over the set and it was soon a new one restored the machine to full working order. chirping enough for me to be able to investigate. The noise Well, I'd had to work for results that time, but I'd won. definitely came from within the line output transformer, and Perhaps, for a change, I was going to have a good day. now the brightness was affected as well. I had an identical Fisher set awaiting a line output trans- former. It arrived as I was working on the Sanyo set. The part Mrs Libber's Sanyo CBP2145 numbers matched, so I fitted the new transformer, all £30 My next caller put an end to this hope. I wish Mrs. Libber worth of it, in Mrs. Libber' s set. As a cross-check I installed had gone to Snoddies. They can take strident, mouthy women the chirping transformer in the Fisher set. After a while the in their stride. She asked for a house call, which wasn't on, Fisher began to chirp, and a few hours later the transformer even though her set had only a "slight fault". So she sent her suddenly warmed up and died. Meanwhile Mrs. Libber's set husband along with it. The set turned out to be a 22in. Sanyo was behaving perfectly with the new transformer. Then sud- CBP2145, which is fitted with the E2 chassis. Later that denly she was back, with her husband. evening she phoned to ask whether it had been dyne. It "I'm not happy with the time you've taken on our set" she hadn't. said. "You're still running your little advert, so you can't Next day I put the set on the bench. There are two chan- blame pressure of work. I know that you've been ill, but we nel selector buttons, for up and down, at the front. The trou- can't help that. I came to you because I wanted service. ble was that they didn't work until the set had been on for We've been to the Weights and Measures about you." about five minutes. After a spell with the freezer and I glanced at Mr. Libber. "Are you better, Mr. Bullock?" hairdryer I decided to take out the front panel to apply a little he began, smiling nervously. She glanced at him and his contact cleaner and resolder the joints, which is faster to say smile went. than do. Operation of the set seemed to be better after doing The set seemed to be working all right with the new trans- this but it was still not good enough. So I set about obtaining former, but I wanted to be sure. I ignored Mrs. Libber and a manual and meanwhile had a word with Sanyo. I was addressed her husband. "If you telephone tomorrow I may advised to change C398, a 100µF 16V electrolytic across one have good news about your set." Off she strode, with her of the 5V lines. It made no difference, so I decided to wait for husband in tow. the manual. The set continued to work well after being boxed up. So Then the phone rang again and Mrs. Libber said she was next day I asked him to collect it. While waiting for him I getting impatient. She'd bought the set, at enormous expense, pondered on what to do about charging. I'd spent a lot of so that they could watch television. They couldn't because I time on the set and fitted an expensive line output trans- had it. Why was it taking so long to fix such a slight fault? former that I now had to re-order. If I made a charge I'd be And she hoped it wouldn't cost much. stuck with Mrs. Libber in the event of a further fault occur- I should have given the set back to her then and there, but ring. Or, come to that, if a pasSing aeroplane fluttered her pic- since I'd got involved I decided to press ahead. For the time ture or the programme went off the air. being I had to work as well as I could without the manual. I When Mr. Libber called I told him that I wasn't happy changed one or two items in the supply, including the about my dealings with his wife and didn't want to see or L78M05-RA 5V regulator IC395 and D395 which supplies it. hear from her again, that fitting a new line output transformer Next day Mrs. Libber came on again and I suggested that she had cured the latest trouble and that there wouldn't be a had the set back until I'd received the manual, studied it and charge.

TELEVISION JULY 1992 653 the strand: it was almost too tiny to see. Once it had been removed the machine burst into life. I was never more What a Life! relieved to get a job off the bench. Shortly after, Quiet Norman called in again. This time he was tackling a pickled egg. Donald Bullock "Glad they were both quick and easy" he said. "Easy means cheap, and there are other calls on my money." "You'll have to uncurl a few browns, Norman. Pay up. Quiet Norman Glutton hauled himself in the other day with a They'll do me more good than they will you." JVC video (an HRD230E) and an Amstrad TVR3 TV-VCR combination. "The recorder's from Clarence, governor of The Horsefly" The Sony KV1442 he said. "Do you know that he charges nearly a pound for his The next set was a 14in. Sony colour portable, Model home-made pasties?" Out came a pastie and a pocket knife KV1442, with excellent sound but no brightness. I'd had one and the demolition began. in with the same symptoms a few months back and sure "And who's the Amstrad from, Norman?" I asked. enough this one was suffering from the same trouble — the "Ah, that's mine" he said. "The colour goes, but not for 800V first anode supply was missing. The rectifier for this hours and hours. Expensive these pasties, but good." supply is D852. It takes its feed from the collector of the line output transistor via a 1U1, 1W resistor (R852). As in the Initial Checks previous set it seemed that the diode had tracked along its length on the underside, close to the panel. The result was I plugged the Amstrad in and threw a blanket over it that R852 had blown open. It's wise to fit the replacement before getting on with the recorder, which was dead. After diode well clear of the panel. After carrying out the repair I perusing the manual and checking around I eventually found was rewarded with a really excellent picture. that the M50965-628 microcomputer control chip was at fault. Meanwhile all that remained of the pastie was a few crumbs. Fitting a replacement chip restored the HRD230E to Walter's Ferguson TX90 normal operation and, glancing at the price of it, I thought of Then nervous Walter called in with his 20in. Ferguson set the pies that Clarence would have to sell to pay for the repair. (TX90 chassis). After the usual trying interview he departed. Quiet Norman would help him there. I plugged the set into the mains and switched it on. Every- thing seemed to be all right but after a few minutes the set The Amstrad TVR3 started to whine loudly and the picture frilled. Turning up the brightness made matters worse. I checked the h.t. and found The Amstrad was temperamental, but after some hours the that it was at 115V instead of 120V. In addition the set-h.t. colour faded away. So I took it from under its blanket and potentiometer RV224 would only reduce the voltage, and it opened it up. When I switched it on again the colour was all would do this by only about 2V. The voltages around the right. The obvious thing to do was to reach for the hairdryer BD839 transistor TR107 in the regulator circuit were hay- and direct the heat on the area of the 48-pin UPC1420CA wire, but the transistor tested o.k. I then found that its driver colour processor chip IC10. After a while the colour faded TR108 (BC338C) was open-circuit. A replacement failed to away, so I gave it a blast of freezer. The colour returned at restore normal conditions and after making a few more tests I once. The chances were that the chip was the cause of the found that R267 (121a 1W) had gone very high in value. A trouble, but to make certain I masked off everything else with new one enabled the circuit to be set up correctly, clearing a thick duster and tried again. This proved the point. A new the fault symptoms. chip put matters right and after cruelly twisting its legs I con- signed the old one to the bin. How did we cope with such faults before the advent of An Odd Visitor freezer? Not so badly, I suppose, because we didn't have i.c.s My next visitor was a decidedly odd, wild-looking charac- for all that long before before freezer came on to the scene. A ter. case of necessity being the mother of invention no doubt. "I'm speaking to you with the name of O'Sharp" he announced, "and I'm asking you to look at my Akai." More HRD230E Problems "Certainly" I said, wishing he'd called at Snoddies, "if you'd care to bring it in." I didn't like the look of him at all. I pulled the HRD230E on to the bench again. Its clock was "You get it out of the car" he continued, "I've got a bad alight but there were no channel numbers on nor was there back." any sign of a beacon light. I moved over to the power supply He looked to me to be in the prime of life. The people that circuit and found that there were no 5V and 12V outputs pull this one on me! Anyway I struggled in with it and picked from the STK5481 chip. Replacing this restored the voltages, up a pen. but there were still no results — and the M50965-628 micro "It's the on-off switch" he barked. "This will be the third was running hot. As its voltages were wrong I took it out and time it's failed. I want you to take it out, examine it and write made some comparison tests with a new one. It was dud all me a report on it, saying why it failed. Then I want you to right, but another replacement made no difference. So I examine the set and say what you think of the servicing so pulled the machine towards me and settled down to it. far, what damage it suffered at the hands of the last engineer Before removing the chip I examined each of its pins and how much its value has fallen as a result. I'll pay you through my giant magnifier. When I got to pins 27 and 28 I well for your trouble." thought I saw the finest imaginable silver strand between "No can do" I replied, wishing the set would run back into them. By moving the light around and examining the chip his car. "I can check the on-off switch and if necessary from different angles I was able to confirm that the pins were replace it. That would cost you £25." indeed shorted. Use of a small, fine iron enabled me to isolate "Twenty five pounds!" he screamed. "You're no better

724 TELEVISION AUGUST 1992 than the others." Then, bad back or not, he seized the set and People don't seem to collect their sets so quickly these days. flew. If I could get this one done quickly, I thought, he'd probably take it away. These country people like to get their sets back. So I popped into town and bought a chip retail. The price Mr Blunt's Panasonic frightened me, but once it was fitted I had a good picture. I The last set of the day was brought in by a real rustic. It gave Mr. Blunt a ring. was a Panasonic TC2061. The problem was sound but no "Is it better now?" he asked. brightness. I removed the back and turned up the first anode "Sure is" I replied, "now when would you like to collect preset on the line output transformer. This produced chroma it?" but no luminance. Looking around I saw a TDA3562A "Oh, anytimes like. I comes your way twice a year, some- colour decoder chip. It seemed sensible to change it, but I times three times. The year before last I came to town four didn't have any stock left. times in all. But that was when I wanted another horse. I'll be I looked around the workshop which was getting full. along, don't you worry." told me that the tube's gone" he said. "Told me he'd change it for me only his meter thing doesn't work and he's under What a Life! the doctor for his nerves." "I'd have a mental breakdown myself if I had the time" I Donald Bullock replied. Inside the set I found a Ferguson TX100 chassis. When I switched the set on the purity was awful. So I applied The workshop door flew open and a scruffy fellow entered. my degaussing wand, expecting at least a temporary "Noggs" he said. I spun round, fearing the worst. improvement if the tube's shadowmask was in place. There "Er grunts but don't go" he wheezed, producing a VCR was no improvement at all and I began to feel that Bertram's and tapping its top. "How quickly can you get 'er done? neighbour might be right. Then, casting aside my prejudices Proper mind, but I can't spend much as I've a bill to pay for and adopting my usual rational approach, I replaced the the old car. Three hundred quid." posistor in the degaussing circuit. When I switched on again "Perfection and cheapness, that's what we want isn't it? the picture was perfect. I shook the old posistor close to my I'll start on it right now. Will that be soon enough?" ear: it sounded like a maraca.

The Sharp VCA105HM Vibey's Panasonic Video It turned out to be a Sharp VCA105HM, the first of its Just then Greeneyes called in at the workshop. She kind I'd seen. A clicking noise came from its main loading brought with her a strange-looking chap — he looked like a block, which is on the top of the deck to the right of the human toby jug. This is "Vibey" she announced. The toby drum. Time to get a manual. A call to Dave Allen at Willow jug grinned. "He's come to prune the vine. We'll pay him in Vale to order one paid extra dividends. He knew the model grapes from the autumn crop. He's also brought you this and the fault well and told me that in addition to the main video that needs adjusting." cam disc I'd almost certainly need a new loading block worm It was a Panasonic NVL28HQ.-On test it worked mechan- gear. A new mode switch would also probably be a good ically and split the aerial signal, but that was all. It wouldn't idea. tune, record or produce a picture from a prerecorded tape. It The package from Willow Vale arrived next morning. seemed likely that the r.f. converter was in trouble. A meter When I'd dismantled the mechanism I found that the cause of check showed that the 12V supply was present at pin 4 while the trouble was as Dave had thought. The worm gear sits scope checks showed that there was a lush video input wave- upright against the cam: its teeth were damaged. Thanks form at pin 2 and audio at pin 4. But there was no composite Dave for the manual, the spares and the instant advice. The output at pin 1. So I took it out and gently opened it. The job was completed in no time. Just like that! little i.c. was much the worse for wear, having baked. So I parcelled up the converter and sent it off to MCES of Manch- ester. It came back so quickly that I stopped and did some Cars and a Panasonic TC2263 sums on my fingers to see whether it had been possible in the Later, whilst contemplating on the service I'd been able to time. On fitting the repaired converter and switching the provide for Noggs and the amount of my charge, I got to machine on I had excellent pictures. A saving factor in this wondering where this trade is taking us. I wished I'd gone difficult trade is that we are served by some excellent firms. into car repairs instead. Then a huge Mercedes glided into the MCES for one has proved to be consistently reasonable and drive. Its driver was a brisk and mature gentleman I'd never quick. seen before. He set about removing a 22in. Panasonic colour Having reassembled the machine I called Greeneyes on set from the back seat and soon got red-faced and breathless, the internal phone and asked her to return it to her friend as they do. I ran to his aid and as soon as he could speak he Vibey. "You deal with him" I said. "Forty quid. Call him out told me that the fault was no colour. of the vine and tell him I want cash, not kind." "The name's Fryer" he said. "Ring me at my fish and chip shop when it's done." The set was a Panasonic TC2263. When I got around to The Doctor's Sharp Video looking into it I found that the TDA3562A colour decoder My next caller was old Dr. Hokum, who's as Irish as they chip had been out recently and that the soldering was terrible. come. I'd first met him forty years ago when we were both Some of the pins hadn't been resoldered at all. After tidying patients in a TB sanatorium. We'd both recovered rapidly, he it up I tried the set again. As the fault was still there I because his patients wouldn't let him go, me because I'd a lot replaced the chip. This time the colour came up. of living to do (I didn't know then that I was going to waste When Mr. Fryer came back he expressed astonishment at my life in this trade). He brought along his Sharp VCD801 the fact that the set was ready so soon and the charge. "I VCR. really thought it would cost much more" he said, pulling a "I think it's got heart trouble Donald" he said, "give me little package of fish-and-chip wrapping paper from his your opinion." pocket and unfolding it. Inside this he had a wad of greasy I plugged it in, inserted a cassette and looked at my moni- old banknotes. Those he gave me were spotted with oil. tor. Nothing appeared. "Seems to need spare-part surgery" I "Don't bother with the change" he said, "I didn't expect to said. When I removed the top I saw that the idler was slip- have the set back so quickly." ping. So I took off the bottom cover, disengaged the idler He left me with two thoughts. First, there seemed to be a drive belt, turned the machine the right way up, removed the story with his set. Secondly, how could I get hold of a little two red Phillips screws — one at each side of the cassette car- chip shop? riage — and swung the carriage out. Then I undid the two screws that secure the idler, dropped in another, replaced the Bertram's JVC 2151 carriage, hooked up the belt, tried the machine out and finally boxed it up. While I was pondering over this Bertram Blowfly stag- "The price of the idler will do, doctor, for old time's gered in with a JVC Model 2151 in his arms. "My neighbour sake."

800 TELEVISION SEPTEMBER 1992 to the instructions it's a Wheatstone bridge. I put the grain in this little pillbox thing, screw it down tightly with this What a Life! thumbscrew and read the results on the dials. Only it doesn't work." "Er . . . doesn't it then?" Donald Bullock But he'd gone, leaving me baffled by his machine. Sir Charles Wheastone, who invented the famous bridge, lived round the corner. But he died in 1875, when I was a young Old Abe dropped in again the other day. He's a rustic who blade. I wished that Jeremy had brought the thing along lives in a shed close to the banks of the Severn, along with a earlier. It ran off two PP3 batteries and they'd been left in growing crop of old TV sets, a screwdriver or two and a when exhausted. As a result the battery clips had suffered. tube of Superglue. His dwelling doesn't run to a bathroom So I ordered some new ones. or a sink, and he hasn't changed his cloths in all the years I've known him. So his aroma precedes him. If there's anything he's better at than bottling it's long-distance John Berryman's Samsung CTV walking and doffing his cap to anyone who wears a tie. But John Berryman's big van then drew up. He's the cheerful he pays his way. undertaker from a nearby village. "You look well Don. Brother Terry, who lives almost a mile away, saw him How's Greeneyes?" striding past and telephoned to warn me. "Your buddy Abe "We're both fine John" I said, "and expect to last for is closing in on you" he joyously announced, "he's got one some time. You'll have to be patient." of his sets wrapped up in his horse blanket and tied with "Looks like rain out there" John said, "and this blessed binder twine. Better get the kettle on." Samsung's just died. What can you do about it?" "Can't do much about the weather" I whipped, "as for the Abe's Pye T194 set — well, you're the undertaker." Fierce wicked like. He left me with the set, a C121OR which is similar to the Abe soon put in an appearance. He greeted me and Alba CTVIO. Actually it's the Nikkai Baby 10 chassis. started to unpack his parcel. Out came yet another Very neat and tidy it is. I pressed the power button and the monochrome portable, this time a 14in. Pye T194 (Philips LED came on. Pressing the standby button produced a relay TX chassis). click but apart from this the set remained as dead as a door- "Me brother gave 'im to me. Says 'e's gone wrong once nail. too often, keeping 'im broke. Now 'e's mine and I'm going I'd no circuit diagram. Oh for the days when a dozen to give 'im to the Merry Widow. Aaarh, I likes 'er!" And he circuits would enable you to repair almost any set put on doffed his cap. "I've 'ad a quick look at 'un" he added. the bench! And we could mend most of them without As I put the set on the bench its back fell off. I plugged it having to get the circuit out. I opened the Samsung and in, switched on and found that the field scan had collapsed found that the fuses were o.k. A check showed that there to about a fifth of an inch high. "If you plugs the aerial in was 16V across the main smoothing block. This voltage was and turns that knob down" said Abe, "you sees little present at the relay's output and then passed to the cowboys roamin' about in that little bar o' light". AL2711K chip IC402, a huge three-pinned device that lives I quickly checked the field output transistors. One of in its own boxy heatsink. The second pin is connected to them had recently been replaced. It was the other one, chassis, so I hoped to find a decent h.t. voltage on the TS521 (BC338), that was virtually open-circuit. A new one remaining pin. There was 2.9V. brought back full height. Then the picture started to twist around. I switched off quickly and looked at the smoothing. The main block had been pulled out of the board and The Logic of It pressed back in. With masterful logic I decided that either the chip was I looked at Abe, did some sums, resoldered the capacitor, failing to deliver or something was dragging down its tested the set and boxed it up. As I was about to speak Abe output. I open-circuited L402, which feeds its output to the put three tenners and a fiver on the bench. other circuits. The voltage fell to zero, so I had to stop and "I knows, thirty five pounds ain't it?" he said. "That's think. From a study of the chassis it was soon apparent that what it cost me brother at Snoddies when it went like it the the chip was wide open and that the 2.9V had actually other day." come via R408 which is in parallel with the chip and L402. "Abe" I said, "what can I do with you? It ought to be To prove that the chip was the cause of the problem I fifteen pounds. I was going to make it twenty because of bridged it with a 552, 10W resistor and momentarily your bloody meddling, but you're always straight, pay up switched on. Up came a writhing raster. A new AL2711K without a word and walk eight to ten miles here and as chip did the trick. many back with your sets under you arm. Pick up two of those tenners before I start thinking about the price of Bell's whisky. I've got a thirst brewing." Ferguson TX100 Chassis Just as I was pulling a Ferguson 22G2 (TX100 chassis) A Metal Box with Dials on to the bench I heard a clopping sound outside. I looked out to see a vision of poetry in motion. It was Miss Dream Our next caller was Jeremy Chamberlain, a fanner who again. She was carrying a set that looked like the one I'd lives close by. He's pretty big in farming circles and some- just repaired. times appears on the BBC, putting forward the farmer's After the pleasantries and a promise to have it ready that view. He was carrying a metal box with dials. Said it was a evening she swept off. I put the set aside for attention later. Marconi moisture meter, Model TF933C. After the experience I'd just gained it would be a piece of "What does it do, Jeremy?" I asked. cake. "Measures the moisture of my grain" he said. "According I switched the Ferguson set on and it squealed at me. It

876 TELEVISION OCTOBER 1992 was otherwise dead. With the back off it was clear that the noise was coming from the line output stage. As I had an output transformer in stock I decided to try it. Up came the picture and the set screamed no more. I wasn't too bad an engineer after all I thought.

Miss Dream's Portable As I picked up Miss Dream's portable the storm began. Rain peppered down, lightning flashed and the mains supply started to blink. Her set was a Samsung C 1212R. I looked reassuringly at my remaining AL2711Ks, reckoning that I'd shortly be needing one. But when I opened the set up I found a totally different chassis that was quite new to me. And I didn't have the circuit for this one either. There seems to be no end to service data problems these days, especially with the variety of cheap sets around. We can hardly add the price of a manual to the bill with each new set we get. The fuses were once more all right. They always are! I looked for h.t. at the main smoothing block then traced along to the emitter of Q131, a 2SB948A transistor used as a regulator. There was 18.5V at its base but nothing at its collector, so I disconnected its load. As this didn't restore its collector voltage I checked the transistor. It was good. Its base is controlled by Q130 which was biased off with over 17V at its base. I traced this state of affairs back to the TMP47C433AN microcontroller chip IC105. Without a circuit diagram there was little I could do apart from check for a good waveform across its crystal oscillator. This was excellent.

Microcontroller Fault A quick phone call to Samsung proved helpful, as it always does. I put the phone down with the knowledge that the chip should have an input voltage of 4.5V at pin 42 and that there should be a 4.7V output at pin 8. The first voltage was present but not the latter. At this point son Steven announced that we had a replacement — one of a compli- mentary pack that Toshiba had kindly sent us yonks ago when we contacted its technical department about a problem we'd then had. When I fitted the chip the set sprang to life. But there was no brightness. Advancing the first anode voltage poten- tiometer on the line output transformer a little produced a bright screen with a large row of noughts across it! None of the front controls worked, and I then found that the set would come on from cold without pressing the standby button. I carefully checked the chip I'd taken out with the one I'd put in. The numbers were identical except for what I'd thought had been a batch number under the big one. The chip that had come out had 3842 on it while the one I'd fitted had a different number in this position. Samsung confirmed that this was the programming software number. Steven managed to get the correct one locally, and this proved the point. The set now worked perfectly, with a striking picture. It was getting towards the end of the day, and we appeared to be in for a wet and windy night. Our last caller was Miss Dream, who was delighted to find that her set had been done. She paid up and made to clip-clop out. "You're my favourite man today" she cooed. Then Jeremy Chamberlain phoned. "Any luck with the meter?" he asked. "Not yet Jeremy, probably tomorrow" I said. "But if you're wondering about your grain, I can help you there. It's wet Jeremy, very wet."

TELEVISION OCTOBER 1992 customer was not amused. Les then recalled the time when one of those screen What a Life! magnifiers, which were full of paraffin oil, fell into the fire. "Boy did they have a cheering fire for a while!" He also Donald Bullock recalled the "magic screens" that were advertised in the papers and claimed to be able to convert a monochrome set Les Piercy dropped in the other day. I wonder how many of into a colour one. Those who sent off for one received a you remember him? After being in the radio and TV busi- screen-sized sheet of plastic that was tinted blue at the top, ness in the London area he was, when I first came to know pink in the centre and green at the bottom. "Not bad with a him, a Radiospares rep. He later went into partnership with country scene" said Les, "but a full-face close-up produced Harry Reddin, running their own spares business RSP a bizarre effect. Supplies. Though he retired several years ago he retains a It seemed that there was never a dull moment in those considerable knowledge of our trade. We spent a pleasant days. hour recalling the early days. A Ferguson 3V36 Some Memories As Les left, Mr. Moggie came in with a Ferguson 3V36 We agreed that though there was never much money in VCR. "He's dead and flashing, but you can see only bits of the servicing trade there was, at one time, some status. the clock. It blew a fuse a fortnight ago. Was all right with a People, especially country folk, would often be waiting on new fuse then it went like this." their doorsteps for our call and we often came away with I removed the cover and looked at the power panel care- gifts of produce from their gardens and perhaps a few eggs. fully. Pin 1 of socket CN4 was sitting in a little circle of ash. Les recalled the time when, on an outside service visit in It had clearly been a dry-joint that had carbonised. I cleaned Sussex, he was given a bottle of home-made wine. He and resoldered it then tried out the machine, which now stowed it away carefully behind his seat and went on his worked well. What a relief! way, first to Horsham and then towards Surrey. It was there, in a leafy glade, that the wine exploded, covering himself and his vanful of sets with the sticky wine. "I though my Mr. Ng's TX100 end had come" he added. My next customer was Mr. Ng, who had with him a A frequent job in those days was to remove the implosion Ferguson Model 20A1 — a 20in. set fitted with the TX100 screen and clean it and the tube's face. They used to attract chassis. He laughed as he announced that it was "completely a film of greasy dust that fogged the picture. "It wasn't at all dead", then hurriedly departed. On investigation I found unusual," Les commented, "for the customer to complain that two of the mains bridge rectifier diodes, D6 and D8, that his picture had become liney after we'd carried out a were short-circuit while the mains fuse and the surge limiter cleaning job." resistor R106 were open-circuit. After replacing these items Les recalled a small boy who arrived at the shop daily for the set was still dead. So I disconnected the 119V and 20V a 1A fuse. Hearing that the set was a Pye VT4 he suggested outputs from the chopper circuit and connected a 60W bulb that the PZ30 h.t. rectifier probably had an intermittent across the 119V supply's smoothing capacitor C129. It heater-cathode short and offered to change it. But the visits didn't light up. This meant that the cause of the trouble was continued, until one Saturday when the Cup Final was in the chopper circuit. imminent. Les was asked to call round and change the I soon found that the TICP106D thyristor SCR1 in the valve, which he did along with the fuse. Whilst at it he start-up supply for the TDA4600-2 chopper control chip IC7 cleaned the screen and tube face. Then he accepted a cup of was open-circuit. But fitting a replacement made no differ- tea and left. ence. Nor did a new TDA4600-2 chip. Although the 330142 The bills he sent were ignored until, when finally resistor R115 connected to pin 4 of the chip seemed to be pressed, the customer paid for the valve and fuse but not the o.k. I decided to replace it, also the 0.3951 resistor R114 call. "We don't pay people to sit in our home and drink tea" connected to pin 7, but the set still failed to come to life. I he was told. eventually found that C115 (8.2nF) was short-circuit, One day Les was called to service a vacuum cleaner that removing the feedback to the chip. A replacement restored wasn't sucking the dust up efficiently. He asked the owner the e.h.t. when she last emptied the dust bag. "What dust bag?" she When Mr. Ng came back he was still laughing happily. replied, "surely all the dust goes into the mains?" Another He stopped laughing when I told him that the charge would lady said her Electrolux had failed after being cleaned. be nearly £40. "How did you do it?" Les asked. "By sucking soapy water As he left the phone rang. through it of course" was the reply. In those days most of the sets were of the t.r.f. type and we were plagued by faulty crimson EF50s. Rotary tuners A Question later came on the scene. Some had a full complement of "D'you handle backs?" coils but others were fitted with only those required in the "Beg your pardon?" I said. locality. Les was asked to change a set of coils in a huge "D'you sell backs?" Ferguson console set with castellated knobs. He had diffi- "Backs of what?" culty getting them off to release the chassis and get at the "Tellies." tuner. The tuner knob was eventually freed but to remove "No sir." the volume control knob he had to use a piece of rope and tug at it with his knee against the set. It came away suddenly of course, along with the volume control shaft, propelling A Philips KT4 Set Les backwards. The result was a considerable shambles — I continued with my work. The next set was an old-timer, and Les then found that he'd got the wrong coils. The a Philips 20CT4626/05T (these Philips numbers!). It was

50 TELEVISION NOVEMBER 1992 cracking and banging. I opened it up and found that there was a dry joint on one of the line output transformer's pins. Resoldering it cured the cracking, but there were no programmes. When I tuned them all in the picture had a green cast. So I set up the grey scale. This produced excel- lent results.

An Amstrad TVR2 Mrs. Scratcher then bowled in with her Amstrad TVR2. "It ain't much Mr. Butcher" she said, "it works a treat until you press the record button, then it ejects the cassette." I took the machine apart, which is quite a feat in itself, and studied the deck. It worked all right in the play mode. When the record button was pressed however the pinch wheel shuddered but didn't move towards the capstan, the drum didn't rotate then the cassette was ejected. I replaced IC400 (14DN244C) on the. deck panel, then IC200 (BA7751ALS), but this made no difference. I then noticed that the four-pin plug that mates with the socket on the left- hand side of the cassette carriage wasn't properly seated. A casting pimple made it sit askew. I filed this off and tried again. All was now well, but the fault occurred again when the set had been put back together. I took it all apart once more and looked again at the plug and socket. The socket pin nearest to where the pimple had been was lower than the others. I pulled it up with a pair of sharp-nosed pliers, reassembled the machine and tried again. It finally worked as it should have done. delivery of an Avo 8 Mark 3. Ivor had apparently used one on his course and said that he was familiar with it. He got to What a Life! work and a few minutes later I heard the Avo's cutout fly open. Donald Bullock "The hand raced to full deflection" he said, "that proves something." My twenty-three year old son Steven has been helping me in I soon found that he'd connected the meter between the the workshop recently to gain some experience. He also sees live side of the thermal fuse and earth. "Ivor" I said, "all a future in microwave oven servicing and got me to fork out over England there are scores of power stations working flat for the servicing course run by Jim Garrod on the Isle of out to produce millions of amperes of current. All in unison. Wight. On the final day I popped over and met Jim, who You've just connected the Avo across every one of them certainly knows his microwave onions. As a result Steve has and have proved two things. One, that the Avo isn't quite up come back thoroughly capable. He hopes to take over my to measuring their combined output, and two that you need TV business if Greeneyes and I ever manage to slope off to a bit more instruction." I could have added a third, but that warmer climes. would have meant me using the word "prat", which Steve quickly became proficient at dealing with VCRs. Greeneyes doesn't like. Most have mechanical faults of course, but the other day he We wired a trip in series with the Avo and connected the succeeded in tracing the cause of an absent 5V supply in an two across the open-circuit thermal fuse. "When we switch Hitachi VT120 to a faulty capacitor in the mechacon circuit. on, keep you hand on the switch" I said. He did so. The transformer drew only a few milliamps and quickly became Mr Rubicund's B & 0 TV warm. It had shorted turns. Odd, two in eighteen months. Mr. Rubicund is one of our nicest customers, a market gardener from the country. The other day he brought in his A Bush TV191S CTV receiver, a B and 0 3503, because it was dead. The Then Mrs. Squinter came in with her daughter Blodwyn, trouble turned out to be on the power panel where there who recognised Ivor. They'd been to school together. She were several dry-joints around the pins of the transformer. also brought along a Bush TV191S, an old hybrid When he collected his set Mr. Rubicund tossed it on to a monochrome set. I never thought I'd see one of them again. mound of fertiliser in the back of his Land Rover as though "Nothin' on the screen Mr. Blux" she said. it was a bale of hay. We winced and of course it came back As I'd nothing on the bench I looked at it straight away. almost at once. There were a few valves in the drawer, so I tried a new "I plugged 'un in and 'e banged. Sorry to be a nuisance." PY88 and PL504. Nothing doing. I next checked the line On examination we found that the power module had output valve's screen grid voltage, which was missing. Then been shaken out of its runners and had shorted to the I remembered. These sets have a thermally-fused 21(51 chassis. Two of the bridge rectifier diodes had gone short- screen grid feed resistor that's over on the other side of the circuit and we expected to find that one or both of the two chassis. It used to go open-circuit when the solder got tired. thyristors had also failed, but they were all right. In fact we Sure enough this was the cause of the absent raster. I couldn't find any other faulty components, though the meter cleaned and resoldered it, resisting the temptation to wind a indicated that a short-circuit was present. bit of fuse wire around its solder blob. This restored the Then we spotted it, on the track from the bridge at the picture but as I was boxing the set up there was a horrifying point where the short to chassis had occurred. A tiny burn scream from the drive outside. We rushed out to see had carbonised, and the soot was forming a bridge to the Blodwyn jumping about, waving her arms like a semaphore adjacent earth track. It was of roughly the same colour as machine. the dark Paxolin panel, and wasn't at all obvious. We "Ivor Smallpiece did it to me" she howled, "he connected washed it off and, to make sure, treated it with the glassfibre me to this machine". pen that Television contributor Ed Rowlands brought us on I turned to Mrs. Squinter. "Blodwyn will settle down in a a recent visit. Then we phoned Mr. Rubicund again. minute" I said. "Bring your van this time Ruby" we advised. He did, and Then I turned to Ivor. loaded the set gently, securing it to the side with a webbing "Ivor" I said, "goodbye." strap. Then he brought out a box of mixed vegetables for us and apologised once more.

A Ferguson 3V38 Mrs. Smallpiece asked whether I'd have her son in the workshop for a day. He'd taken a television course and wanted to get some practical experience. As Steven was away on his course and Mrs. Smallpiece is a decent sort I agreed. So along came Ivor. After he'd tidied the workshop I put him in front of a Ferguson 3V38 VCR that Egbert Crust had brought in. He'd bought it secondhand and had been told that its mains transformer had been replaced some eighteen months ago. Ivor soon announced that the transformer's primary winding was open-circuit. Two such failures in eighteen months? We checked the thermal fuse and found that it was open-circuit. I then suggested that Ivor might check the current being drawn. A few days previously I'd taken

130 TELEVISION DECEMBER1992 he declared. I looked behind me. "There's only one of me here at What a Life! present" I said. "A certain firm told me that the tube in this set has gone" he continued. "I want you to look at it too. There's no red at Donald Bullock all in the picture." "It might well be the tube" I said, "red guns lead a hard I wish that I could repair TV sets as easily and rapidly as I life." could thirty years ago. A dozen a day was easy in those The set turned out to be dead, though the tube's heaters days. Now some of them take me ages, and I can no longer were alight. When I advanced the setting of the first anode buy much with the money that comes in. The trouble is that control I found that there was field collapse. But why no today's sets are not only more complicated, they're also far sound? A scope check at the tube base showed that there too cheap. was no video either. As voltage checks indicated that the When broadcasting in colour started we decided to get tuner was o.k. I decided to check the fusible resistors. A into colour servicing. We swatted up on the theory, and well-hidden one, R714 (10), was open-circuit — it's tucked bought a new Commer van which we had brightly painted to in between the line output transformer and its screening can. proclaim our new service. The same week I bought myself a When this had been replaced sound and vision were new Philips G6 from our wholesaler. The cost was the same restored. But there was no red. as the van. We were very successful, and it wasn't long I swapped over the red (Q851) and green output transis- before I bought our property, The Chestnuts. Soon after that tors on the tube base panel. As this made no difference I my Rolls Royce Silver Cloud sat in the drive. brought the scope back into action. Starting at the collector But as the cost of everything else gradually rose, the of Q851 I traced back through the connections and eventu- price of TV sets fell — and fell. If things were the same ally found the red signal: there was a hairline crack in the today a new colour set would cost the same as a new van — print. When this had been bridged a good picture was several thousand pounds. They're cheaper than ever though, displayed. so we can't charge an economical price for repairing them. When Tapeworm returned he paid the bill with glee. "I'll Some day, when I feel up to it, I'll telephone the garage give 'em 'it's the tube" he said as he left, "Snoddies here I and ask them to call and collect my car for a repair estimate. come." Later, when I phone for the estimate — 'cos they won't "Oh dear" I muttered. phone me, the customer, only television repairmen do that — and they tell me it'll be hundreds of pounds I'll tell them that I'm not going to bother and could they drop it back? All Another Colour Portable at no charge of course. It'll be part of the service they offer. Son Steven helps in the workshop these days. He finds Some day.. . the customers quaint and amusing. As I said to him, so did I — for the first twenty years. Then it began to wear a bit thin. Tim's Colour Portable The other day Mrs. Midge danced in with her 14in. Decca colour portable (Tatung 120 series chassis). "It's Earlier this week Tim Tapeworm danced in with an dead Mr. Boll, er Mr. Bullock" she trilled. "We don't want Hitachi colour portable, a CPT1644. "I want two opinions" to spend anything much on it 'cos it's only the one the cat

204 TELEVISION JANUARY 1993 watches. See what it is and let us know. Then we'll decide." the low-value resistor R421. It was open-circuit. A new one I looked at Mrs. Midge carefully. She wasn't a wicked restored the raster, but there was still no sound and vision woman, nor even a bad one. Just normal. What caused the and the controls for the electronic tuning didn't work while problem was that I'm a television engineer instead of an the display was very dull indeed. ordinary trader. The vertically mounted control panel, on the right-hand When she'd gone I put the set on the bench and opened side of the main chassis, had a hairline crack across it. I it up. As the 1 AT d.c. fuse had died a violent death I made fitted jumpers carefully. There was now life on the screen for the BU426A chopper transistor. It was dead short. and the set was trying to tune but couldn't make it. Then I After replacing these two items I switched on and the fuse noticed that the LA7520 signals chip (i.f. etc.) IC101 had went to heaven. I then found that the chopper transistor been fitted back-to-front in its socket. Turning it around had accompanied it. An hour later, when I'd fitted new made everything work normally — except that there was no replacements and also changed the start-up resistors R808 colour. Crystal X501 had been got at. It was a 4.43MHz one and R810 which had both gone high in value, the set instead of 8.86MHz. I looked one out and fitted it. Back sprang to life. Mrs. Midge came back as I was boxing the came the colour. The set now worked perfectly and the set up. results were excellent. "Twenty pounds" I said in response to her raised chin. When Mrs Grewsome and Fletcher returned I showed "Hmmm. That's more than we'd thought" she said them the results, told them that the set had been got at and thoughtfully. "Did it need expensive parts? I'll have to see that the bill would be £40. Fletcher leapt up, licked my what my husband thinks " face and knocked my pen-tidy and phone off the bench. She phoned up later. "If we let you do it, will it last for a Mrs Grewsome was less enthusiastic as she peeled four few more years?" she asked. browns out of her purse. "Forty pounds to have a telly "Dunno Mrs. Midge" I said. "And whilst on the subject I mended! Used to be no more than seventeen and don't feel too good myself." sixpence."

A Bush 2114 Sales Pitch Mrs. Grewsome came through the door with a huge dog The phone then rang. Steven answered it. "Bullock's that was almost as tall as her. "Come on in, Fletcher" she Television" he said. Then he turned to me. "There's said. I looked behind her for her friend, but Fletcher was the someone asking for Mr. Bullock." dog. He was turning about wagging his tail with gusto. "Well that's you" I snapped. "You're Mr. Bullock as Down went my pen-tidy, then the telephone handset. well, aren't you?" But he got me to take the call. "Come come Fletcher, Mr. Butler doesn't want your "Is that Donald Bullock himself?" purred a soft, low antics I'm sure." I scooped up my pens and put the phone voice. back on the hook as Mrs. Grewsome placed a Bush 2114 "Sure is" I said. colour portable on the bench. "We don't know whether to "Then I've got good news for you" the purr continued. have it fixed or get one of those okeydokeys from Crudds "We're Hill Samuel and we'd like to advise you on Foodstore. They're remote control and only £99. We've had investing your money." this one for only three years. 'Ow long do the tubes last? My "I haven't got any. Perhaps you could advise me how to husband says it can't be much, probably the coil or a valve. get some?" 'E'd do it hisself, but his meter thing isn't working. She hung up. Anyway, see what it is." Later I pulled the set on to the bench. It was dead. I soon decided that a circuit was necessary, so I ordered one from A Sharp Video Bush. When it came it was for a completely different set, a Son Steven prefers repairing VCRs to TV sets and he's large table model. A phone call to Bush produced the infor- not doing too badly. I went out with Greeneyes the other mation that two of their chassis share the Model number day, leaving him to unravel a fault on a Sharp VCD801 that 2114. I could have the right one if I tried again. I did and the was on the bench. It would fail to record and erase sound right manual came, so I'd bought two. intermittently. By the time that we returned he'd cured the It soon became clear that the TDA4600 chopper control problem. I asked him what had been the cause. chip had failed. My experience with this chip led me to "As the machine laces, the erase head slides back. It's check a number of the associated components carefully. powered as soon as record is selected. The constant move- C820 (100pF) had decreased in value, as had C817 (100, ment because of successive lacing and unlacing can put a 16V) and C802 (100g, 16V). I then changed C810 (220µF, strain on the feed wires, and in this case they'd fractured 160V) on the grounds of its appearance alone. This is the within their sleeving but sometimes came together as the reservoir capacitor for the 110V h.t. supply: when it loses head moved during lacing. Hence the intermittency." value there's general instability. Next I turned my attention "So how did you find that out?" I asked. to R801 (0.6852). It measured correctly but I changed it "Studied the circuit. As the leads go open, the audio and anyway. erase heads switch off. So no new sound is recorded, nor is Time to start the set up via the variac. Up came the h.t. the original sound erased. Technically speaking the vision voltage, as sweetly as I'd hoped. But there was no sound isn't erased either, but it gets erased as the new pictures are and no raster. After switching the Hameg scope on I made recorded. I've soldered the leads directly to the small PCB for the line timebase. The KTC2229 line driver transistor on the erase head and the machine now works all right." Q401 was delivering a healthy spike to the line output tran- "Well done" exclaimed Greeneyes, "I bet your dad sistor, which was warm. I felt the line output transformer wouldn't have discov. . ." which also felt warm and healthy. But when I looked care- "Wondered how long it would take you to suss out that fully at the tube neck I saw that the heaters were out. As the little fault" I said brightly. Then, my memory not being heaters themselves were all right I followed the wiring back what it was, I reached for my pen to write it down. towards pin 5 of the line output transformer and came to "Time you retired dear" said Greeneyes.

TELEVISION JANUARY 1993 205 hard life in this chassis. Again they were all o.k. I got out the circuit diagram and started to make some What a Life! systematic checks, starting in the power supply. The h.t. voltage was low and pulsing. I switched off, discharged the reservoir capacitor and carried out some resistance checks in the h.t. circuit but couldn't find anything wrong. Then I Donald Bullock noticed that the 4.7Q, 5W surge limiter R6291 had been changed. There was a healthy voltage at one side of it but a I can remember when my only problems in this trade very low voltage at the other side. I checked again for a consisted of getting spares within a reasonable time and short-circuit, then noticed that the new resistor was marked coping with the customers. Mending the sets came easily — a 4.7142 instead of 4.752. I fitted the correct component and dozen a day was nothing. Now there are many firms falling obtained perfect results. over themselves to supply spares faster and cheaper than I was ready for Mr. Hornett when he called to collect the ever before, but the sets are a different matter. I can't mend set. I charged him £28, told him what I'd found and how them easily or quickly any more. The customers? They long it had taken me. don't change. They're still as nutty, devious and demanding "Ah, that'll be the other place we took it to" he said. as ever. And when you get the combination of a nasty set "Only they kept it for weeks. Said they couldn't get the and a difficult customer life isn't worth living. spare. So we collected it, paid the bill and brought the set to Take Mr. Devell for example. He phoned up the other you." day to ask how we charged for bench servicing. Was it by "Paid the bill?" I asked. "What for — and how much?" the hour or according to the fault? Now this is an old one, "Thirty quid" he said. "It was Snoddies." and after forty years I still don't know the answer. Who "Remarkable firm" I said, biting my lip and shaking my hasn't spent hours or even days cracking a difficult fault and head. then got a succession of sets with the same trouble? Is it right that the first customer should finance all'the rest? The first time I encountered the Fidelity ZX3000 chassis Mrs Wireworm's Akai with its awful switch-mode power supply and that manual I Just then Mrs. Wireworm came in with her Akai VCR — a spent ages, and in the process built up a pile of expensive VS25EK. It was dead and there was a burning smell. dud BU426A transistors, before I got it right. After a month "I think it's finished" she said, "but my husband said its it blew again. I can now cure these sets in half an hour — the condenser or the coil." thanks to experience gained with the sets of other paying I opened it and looked at the power pack. A fusible customers. The same applies to those Philips sets with inter- resistor, FR2, was cooking. So was the lkS2 resistor R18. As mittent faults caused by cunningly concealed dry-joints in I didn't have a circuit I turned to Akai technical for a lead. the line output stage. To my surprise the engineer advised against repairing the power pack. "Send for a replacement power panel, modi- fied" he said. Mr Devell's Set "But wouldn't it be better if we repaired this one?" I So after learning that Mr. Devell's set was a 20in. asked. Mitsubishi that died intermittently, sometimes after minutes "We don't advise it. I can tell you how to, but you might and at other times after hours, I warned him to fear the end up with further trouble in the machine" he said. worst. In spite of that he brought it along. So I ordered another. It came quickly and cured the It was a Model CT2017BM. I put it on the bench and trouble, much to Mrs. Wireworm's delight. switched on. After five minutes it went dead. I took the back off and eased the chassis out carefully. Then it sprung to life Back to the Mitsubishi again and no amount of tapping and flexing the PCB would bring the fault back. So I reassembled the set and put it on Then I noticed that the Mitsubishi set had died, so I soak test. pulled it over, took off the back and tapped about gently, first in the line output stage then in the power supply. Nothing happened, even when I assaulted the set with the Mr Hornett's KT30 hairdryer and freezer. So I switched it off and studied every Next I picked up Mr. Homett's Philips set, which was inch of the main chassis print with my giant magnifier. But I fitted with the KT30 chassis. It was said to be dead. When I found nothing suspect. switching it on I found that it was continuously tripping. Then I remembered that I'd had trouble in the past with With a glow of impending affluence I studied the line output the relay circuit on the subpanel that's attached to the left- transformer's connections. Unfortunately they all looked hand side of the cabinet. The relay switches the h.t. in when good, but I nevertheless resoldered them and tried the set energised by a small d.c. voltage that's derived from a again. It was still suffering from the hiccups. So I went for diode. The feed resistor goes intermittent. As a result the the line output transistor. That would be the cause of the relay switches off and on, interrupting the power supply. It trouble! Why hadn't I done this before? It tested all right would probably be that. however, so I refitted it. Then I got my trusty Cirkit meter I took out the panel, replaced the resistor — and the diode and went through the diodes in the line output stage, the as well for good measure. Then I reassembled the set and bigger ones first. One or two of them read uncertainly when ran it again to see whether it would fail. It did. in circuit. These I unsoldered for re-testing. But they were By now I was feeling nasty, and rounded on Greeneyes all o.k. when she clopped in with my mug of tea. I felt the mug and This job wasn't going to be quite the easy meat I'd antici- pulled a face. "Too cold" I snapped. pated, and I was running out of quick-fix ideas. Before "Nonsense" she said, "I've just made it." resorting to a study of the circuit I decided to check one or I took a sip. "Too weak — you know I hate weak tea." two of the capacitors in the line output stage — they live a She looked hard at me. "You've got another difficult set,

270 TELEVISION FEBRUARY1993 haven't you?" I screwed in my jeweller's eyeglass and scrutinised the "Yes. It comes on and goes off when it likes. I don't transformer while lifting and rocking it. Sure enough it was know why." loose. When I took it out I saw that the pins were blackened. I "I expect it's a dry-joint again. You know, where the legs cleaned off and tinned them, then resoldered the transformer of one of those transformer things go into the panel. You've back into the PCB. Time to try the set again. This time it had them go loose before." And off she clopped. worked and went on working. After giving the set a long soak I stopped and thought. She was referring to the line driver test I phoned Mr. Devell to tell him about my success. transformer here, and she was right. The one in this chassis "How much?" he asked. is tiny and, being low in mass, vibrates away at line "Thirty five quid" I replied. "I feel generous, not to say frequency when the set is running. As a result its four tiny sappy, today." legs get footloose in the panel. And since most of the supply "Thirty five quid for a drop of solder!" said Mr. Devell. voltages in a modern set are derived from the line output "I wish I had one of those meter things and a soldering iron. stage the whole works comes to a stop when the line drive is I could have done it myself in a couple of minutes." interrupted. I should have thought of that before. And I put the phone down and reflected. Not without because I didn't I felt nastier than ever. Greeneyes he couldn't. get many of these and the sight of it frightened me. The sound was all right but sure enough the screen was bright What a Life! purple, which meant that the green gun was asleep. Checks on the tube base panel suggested that the red, green and blue output transistors were all right, so I moved Donald Bullock back to the TDA3301B colour decoder chip. As the voltages here were haywire I fitted a replacement. This made no difference. A more careful examination of the tube base Quite a lot of jobs came in last weekend. So on Monday panel then showed that the green output transistor's morning, bright and early, I breezed off towards the work- collector connection was loose in its soldered joint. shop, determined to make good headway. Remaking this restored the green output but the picture was As I got there the Reverend Goode's ancient chariot uncertain. I took off the panel and carefully cleaned and swung into the drive and out he struggled. So did his young reflexed the side-contact connections to the tube. This curate, the Reverend Blande. Between them they brought in resulted in a good, stable picture. a television set and a VCR. Just as I boxed up the Zanussi the Curate's Toshiba "The Curate's picture rolls, my son" boomed the started to twist and writhe. It also groaned in sympathy. Reverend. Then he turned to Curate Blande, who handed me When I pulled off the back the picture became normal. So I the recorder. "I think it's the valve, my son" he piped, played the hairdryer on to the PCB. The fault eventually pointing at the TV set. "The vicar's video doesn't record returned, but no amount of freezing or flexing would alter it. properly." I decided to dust off the board completely before studying it Then they beamed at me, patted my shoulder and clam- for hairline cracks or dry-joints. bered into their wagon. As they left they passed old Mr. After a search I found the half-inch dry paintbrush I use Simper, who was bringing his TV set along in a pram. for this purpose. I switched the set on again and brushed "Everything's deep purple Mr. Bugner" he whined. "It away amongst the components. Perhaps I'd find a clue to can't be much, 'cos we're old age pensioners and the the cause of the trouble whilst tidying up the chassis. The wife's got housemaid's knee and gout. So we'll let you do 2SC3715 line output transistor Q404 has no heatsink in this it." model: it's free-standing, and leant forward a little as I Then the phone rang. I answered it. brushed around it. Immediately the picture twisted and "This is Reginald Rongun, Mr. Butt. I've accidentally writhed. I found that by moving the transistor to and fro I dropped my old video recorder down the stairs. Pop me a could control the set's antics. So I switched off and studied letter into the post to say it's finished, will you?" the joints under the transistor carefully. They appeared to be "Bring it in with £20, Mr. Rongun, then we'll assess the perfect. Then I tried, gently, lifting the transistor's legs one damage and give you a quote. If you say no we retain the by one out of their holes. The base and collector leads held deposit for our trouble." firm, but the emitter lead lifted out easily, leaving its solder The phone spluttered and went dead. All we had to think blob looking intact. Cleaning it off and resoldering cured the about now were the three jobs that had just come in — and trouble. the mountain that had built up last week. Steven settled As I put the back on again the reverend gentlemen down to the backlog and I pulled the Revered's VCR on to returned and gathered up their equipment. the bench. "Good work Donald" boomed the Reverend. "You'll go to heaven I'm sure." "Good work Donald" piped the curate. "You'll go to, er, The Akai DX4 heaven I'm sure." It was an Akai DX4. While it played all right the record- I looked at them earnestly. "But not yet awhile, I hope?" ings made on it were distorted and pulled for five seconds in every fifteen. It was the same in the SP and LP modes. With this type of trouble the first thing I do is to give the machine A Nikkai Portable a thorough clean, paying particular attention to the tape My next caller was Mrs. Pysener. Shifty and sallow, she path, the heads, the idler and the pinch wheel. But the fault eyed me carefully as she handed me a Nikkai colour was still present after I'd done this. I then checked the portable. It had a silver-grey cabinet with a black back, but mechanics, particularly the back tension. This didn't nowhere could I see a model number. improve matters at all, so I studied the deck with my illumi- "Rolls" she said. "And I might as well tell you that nated magnifier. I soon saw a thin trace of deposits that my Gumboils have had a go at it. Kept it for a month, said they original clean hadn't cleared on the audio/control head. My couldn't get spares, charged me a fortune then kicked me spirit cleaner wouldn't shift it, and in fact removing it was out they did. I don't want none 'o that with you. I'm an old no easy task. It was only as I finished that I saw the well- age pensioner, and my husband's got Anne Joiner." sucked acid drop stuck amongst the wiring. I gave the There was an excellent picture but, as she said, it was machine a final test, pronounced it o.k. and replaced the rolling. I opened up the set and saw that just about every casing. component in the field timebase had been unsoldered and replaced. My confidence dropped from its usual low to zero minus. I didn't have a circuit diagram and could see TV Sets no sign of a field hold control. Automatic field hold Time to look at the Curate's TV set. It was a Toshiba circuits are not amongst my favourites. I made my way 140R4B colour portable. He'd attached a note which said around the field timebase as best I could, looking for that after an hour the picture went small, distorted and anything amiss, and gradually got the feeling that I'd had a rolled, and the set growled. So I switched it on, flung a set like this before, with the same fault. I pondered, then blanket over it and put it aside. turned the front of the set towards me. It sat there on its I then put Mr. Simper's set on the bench. It was an 18in. well recessed and invisible plinth. Now what was it that I Zanussi, Model 20ZA374-16B, BS700 chassis. We don't knew but couldn't recall?

354 TELEVISION MARCH 1993 Still looking at the front of the set I crouched down so that my eyes were level with the front of the hidden plinth. The rims of three thumb-edge knobs could just be seen. Two of them adjusted the colour and brightness. When I stroked the third one the picture stopped spinning. Yes, I'd had the same palaver before with a similar set and had been fooled again. Gumboils had also been fooled. I put the set back together again and reflected on the time I'd spent on it. And I remembered the time when I had a good memory. I wish I could remember where it went.

Microwaves and Mice Since Steven's microwave course with Jim Garrod on the Isle of Wight we've been fairly busy with repairs. Last week we had two microwave ovens in, a Zanussi and a Tatung — so they were from totally different parts of the globe. When we opened them up we found in each the skeleton of a mouse. Both had met their ends by getting themselves The latest thing in hi-tech mousetraps? across the mains input. There were other similarities. In both cases there were a few tiny maggots in the debris of the had one given to him on his birthday. It's developed a skeleton and some odd-looking beetle things — blunt and fault: there's brightness but nothing else on the screen — grey-brown, as big as houseflies. and the power light doesn't come on. What can it be? He's Steven couldn't see how the mice could have got into blaming a chip that he calls Fat Agnes, but it's all Greek to either of the ovens. There simply wasn't any access. We me. I peeped into the keyboard and frightened myself to came to the conclusion that they must have got in during death. factory assembly. "When I was his age" I said to Greeneyes "I had a wind- up metal fire engine for my birthday. It was called the Elec- The Amigo A500 tronic Miracle, the electronics being two torch bulb headlights which I often broke. My father would moan Finally does anyone know anything about the Amigo about this but was at least able to mend the thing — and he A500 computer? I don't. Jamie, my eleven year old son, was a cobbler! How times have changed. quid there" I said, but he took no notice. It's difficult to get a word in when he gets going. What a Life! As Steven sat listening to Terry I quickly slipped the test tape into Mrs. Taffy's machine before declaring it to be fit. The tape squeeled to a halt and I could hear scrunching. Donald Bullock When I ejected it I found that it was well tangled up and dripping with WD40. I wish I could grow up. Chaps of my age ought to be digni- When Terry left I settled down again to Mrs. Taffy's fied and wise, which I'm not. Had I been wise I would have machine while Steven tackled Terry's. He got it right in the given this trade the elbow long ago and taken up something end, but it was hard going. He's gone out to buy a pencil, easy and profitable. But I didn't, and there's no such thing and if all goes well you'll be able to read about it in a subse- as a dignified television engineer. Sometimes, on holiday, I quent VCR Clinic. meet people who don't know what I do for a living. They treat me with respect. If gives me a wonderful lift, but it Ed's Fault Guide doesn't last. Ed Rowland called in the other day and brought us a copy of his latest Amstrad, Logik, Matsui and Saisho Fault Mrs Taffy Guide which, he tells us, is selling like hot cakes. I'm not Greeneyes thinks I'm undignified because of my silly surprised. These makes are a mystery to many, and now that behaviour. Take the other day for example. Mrs. Taffy, who Mastercare no longer runs a technical advice service there's has the highest and squeakiest voice I've ever heard, nowhere much to turn. brought in her Hitachi VT418 VCR for repair. Whilst Ed was here we had a Matsui 1480A that refused "You did it a month ago, before we went abroad, and it's to go into standby. Ed's guide referred us to R126, and never been right since, isn't it?" she squeaked. fitting a replacement cured the trouble. After she'd gone Steven and I began this talking in Another similar set we had in, this time a Saisho ridiculously squeaky voices with Welsh accents. We were CT149X, suffered from loss of sync. The guide referred us enjoying ourselves immensely, then Steven had to go to the to R507 (152), which was open-circuit. Again a replacement wholesaler. Twenty minutes later, as Greeneyes brought in restored normal operation. my tea, the phone rang. A high-pitched voice with a welsh The guide also contains a Matsui/Saisho chassis equiva- accent assailed my ear. lent table. Nice to see you Ed, and thanks for the Guide. "Mr. Bullock?" Very useful. I smiled to myself, thinking of Steven, and replied in a similar voice. An Osaki Portable "Yeh-es?" "Mr. Bullock the television man?" The next set on the bench was an Osaki 14in. colour "The very same, and very clever I am, can't they?" I portable. It looked like a Fidelity set and bore a label replied. marked CTV14 underneath. We looked out a circuit we had "Have we got a crossed line Mr. Bullock?" said the obtained from Jackson Products. It was for an unspecified voice. I suddenly realised that it was a customer. Getting out make but matched the set, which had field collapse with full of that one was tricky. I had to lower my voice and fade out beam current that couldn't be turned down by means of the the Welsh business by degrees. Then I had to face up to brightness control. So we reduced the setting of the first Greeneyes, who was shaking her head sadly. anode control on the line output transformer to avoid I decided that it was time to look at Mrs. Taffy's Hitachi etching the line into the tube's phosphors, then set about recorder. The playback and E-E pictures were marred by trying to find a voltage supply fault that could be respon- travelling hum bars. Our records showed that last time we sible for both symptoms. had cleaned the heads — and that was five months ago, not We soon found that 25V supply F, which is derived from one. the line output transformer via rectifier diode D22 The picture was in fact unwatchable. My diagnosis was (RGP15J), wasn't reaching pin 9 of the TDA3651 field a.c. ripple on the d.c. supplies and I spent a long time output chip IC2. To get there it has to pass through the looking for a faulty component. But I couldn't find anything fusible 1251 resistor R50 which was open-circuit. A amiss in the power supply. Then Mrs Taffy phoned for a replacement brought back the field scanning and restored progress report and asked whether the mains voltage in the action of the brightness control. We gave the set a thor- Belgium was similar to ours. At that I glanced at the mains ough soak test in case there had been some other reason for voltage selector carousel at the back of the machine. It was the failure of R50, but it behaved itself impeccably. So we set for 200-220V. Resetting it to 240V cured the trouble. passed it fit.

Terry's Hinari VXL8 Triumph CTV8209 Brother Terry came in next, with his Hinari VXL8 VCR. Immediately afterwards we put a Triumph CTV8209 on "Watch this" he said, slipping our test tape into it and the bench. It too had field collapse and when we opened it pressing the eject button. The cassette shot out and he we found an identical chassis to the Osaki set. So we went caught it. "Yesterday it would't eject at all" he said. "I cured straight to R50 which was once again open-circuit. A new it myself, but now it won't play." one put matters right. "How did you cure the sticky tape ejection?" I asked. "Sprayed some WD40 into it's mouth — quite a lot, actu- Enter Mr Blowfly ally." Then he turned to Steven. "I reckon you'd better take it to Snoddies, or buy another Then Mr. Blowfly buzzed in with his Nikkai NVR500RC one from Crubb's Foodstore — they'll be about twenty five VCR.

TELEVISION MAY 1993 513 "Dead — ha ha" he announced, "dead as a dodo, ha ha" and the cassette housing procedure again. Still no good. We off he went. finally added the resistor and switched on. Hey presto! — the We opened the machine, which looked like many other machine sprang to life with a full display. badge-engineered ones including the Alba 3000 and 4000 Mr. Blowfly later called to collect it. We explained what series, the Sentra VX8000, VX820 and VX500, the we'd done. "Good, ha ha!" he said. "Thanking yew, ha ha, Solavox NCVR1000 and NCVR5000 and the Daewoo Mr. Block." VCR3OBDB/50DBD/50DFD/50DFP. They often come in totally dead or with just a few random display segments alight. I referred to them in this column a few months A Philips CTX-E back, mentioning that the service manager of a multiple The last job of the day kept us working till late. It was a retailer had told me to add a 4.71d2 resistor from the posi- Philips TV set, Model 20CT2226/05T, which is fitted with tive side of C821, the 5.5V "battery", to the base of Q809 the CTX-E chassis. to get the machine working again. Some correspondence Once tuned in it would drift. We changed the 2.4V followed. One reader insisted that replacing C821 was the "battery" without much confidence, and weren't too disap- answer. Another reported that having replaced C821 it was pointed when this made no difference. A check on the sometimes necessary to wind the cassette housing down by tuning voltage with a digital multimeter showed that it was hand and then operate eject before the microcontroller chip stable. We nevertheless decided to try a new control chip would toe the line and normal operation was resumed. I've (IC7800). This made no difference, neither did a new tuner. since found that sometimes the machine won't come to life Finally we checked the stability of the 33V supply, which is even after doing this. But they always respond when the stabilised by the ZTK33 chip D6101, and found that it 4.7k51 resistor is added! varied intermittently between 33V and as low as 29V. A We checked the voltage across C821. As it read 5.5V we replacement ZTK33 chip produced a stable 32.8V supply wound the cassette housing down and operated eject. It and solidly-locked tuning. Why hadn't we checked the 33V made no difference. So we replaced C821 and went through supply first? "The swine" I cried. "I've heard about the Turks and their ways. Where can I buy a cheap revolver?" What a Life! "No, not a person" she explained. "My television set. He says 'Made in Turkey'." I crumpled back into my usual heap. The set was a Bush Model 2514T, and sure enough it was Turkish. I had no circuit but opened it up, trying to look Donald Bullock clever while she waited. A sturdy wirewound resistor (R601) close to the line output transformer had burnt away I was the eldest child in our family. Next came Terry. There completely apart from its legs, one of which sat in a little was such a difference between us that everybody called him well of charcoal. I looked at the underside of the chassis and Sunny. He's just as Sunny today, though a bit prune-faced. saw that some of the print between this resistor and the line Everybody likes Sunny, who's kindness itself. Nothing is output transformer had burnt away. too much trouble for him. He calls on every member of the "It needs surgery" I said decisively. She smiled and left family every week, just to see whether their tellys, videos, and I settled down to the set. First I cleaned away all the radios and electrical bits and pieces are o.k. When they're soot and charcoal. Then I fitted jumper leads over the not he brings them to me, to mend for nothing. Then he nags missing print and cleaned off two blackened capacitors and nags until they're done. (C600 10µF, 250V and C603 0.047µF, 250V) near R601. A phone call to Bush/Alba brought the usual cheerful response, the information that R601 is a 101a 2.5W wire- A Philips CTX-E wound resistor and the advice to check whether C603 was The other day Terry appeared and asked me to carry in a short-circuit. It was.actually o.k., but I replaced it along with set from his car. It was a 16in. Philips portable, Model R601 and switched on. This produced another firework 16CT2216/25S (CTX-E chassis). "It's aunt Gertie's" he display, another burnt out resistor and more print damage. announced. "Poor old soul, no money at all and crippled So I decided to order a new line output transformer from with arthritis, but she won't complain. Fix it for her will CPC. you? I'll take it back to her tomorrow. Got one to lend her It arrived next day. I repaired the damage, fitted it and meanwhile?" this time started the set up via a variac. The results were I pushed an old set towards him, but he motioned me exceptionally good, and I was sorry about the nasty thoughts towards his car with it. "You carry it, will you? — my knees I'd had about Turks. They can make excellent TV sets are bad today." anyway. The Philips set turned out to be dead. Ever an optimist, I resoldered the pins of the line output and driver trans- formers and, whilst at it, the chopper transformer's pins as Return of Old Abe - with a Philips 2A well. Then I switched on. The set was still dead so, hoping Old Abe called in with something wrapped up in an old that I'd get there without having to think too much or blanket tied with binder twine. As I've mentioned before consult the circuit diagram, I connected my Cirkit meter, Abe shares a hut on the banks of the Severn with two old switched to the low ohms range, across the main 4.751, 4W 12V portables, a car battery and a screwdriver. Every time surge limiter resistor R3291 that's close to plug M7. It was he's pulled a set to pieces he brings it in to me and uses the open-circuit. As I was replacing it Terry waltzed back. He other one until it's mended. Then he starts to pull the second was in time to see me switch on the set. It sprang to life and one to pieces. But he's a good customer and pays. He so did he. touched his forelock and grinned. "Mornin' sir" he said. He undid his parcel and took out a gleaming Philips colour portable. "Went into a line across More Requests the screen, then went dead. It ain't mine. Belongs to Pinky "Ah, good" he said. "I'll pop it back to her. By the way 'Ubbard, the farmer who charges me battery." Then off he Uncle Clem picked this up at a sale last week." He started to shuffled. undo a large parcel. "Some of the wires are wonky. Since I pulled the set on to the bench. It was fitted with the 2A you've got plenty here I thought of you. Pop a few bits in chassis, so the first thing I did was to check the BUT1 1 A for him will you? He's eighty you know, bent up like a chopper transistor which was dead short. I disconnected crackerjack, can hardly see and stone deaf." I was studying the 140V output and wired a 60W bulb across the the contents of his parcel. smoothing capacitor C2701, then got to work on the power "I don't repair bloody harps!" I said. "Listen, do a quick supply. As most of the problems with this power supply deal with Clem and take music lessons, 'cos nice helpful are on the primary side I made a thorough check on chaps like you sometimes come to sticky ends at the hands anything likely to be faulty. Everything seemed to be all of their nasty big brothers." But he wasn't listening. right here. Turning to the secondary side of the circuit I "Here — can you mend fruit machines?" he asked. "The found that one of the 1.t. rectifier diodes, D6711 (1N4148), one in our club moans and groans every time I see it. It's was short-circuit. terrible.. . I replaced this and the BUT11A and wound the set up via the Variac. To my delight the lamp came on. So I removed the lamp, reconnected the 140V supply and tried again, Miss Blossom expecting the set to work. It didn't. Further checks showed My next caller Melody Blossom is the perfect antidote to that the 140V supply rectifier diode D6696 read short- Terry. She's Mexican and a trainee doctor here. circuit both ways whilst in circuit, though it was all right "I'm having a little trouble. He's Turkish" she said, when removed. Why should this be? The reservoir capac- frowning slightly. "He was so sparkling, then he hissed and itor C2697 was o.k. Maybe the BU508V line output tran- went off. Now he is terrible trouble." British decency welled sistor was short-circuit. It was. Why hadn't I tried this up within me and my upper lip stiffened. before?

570 TELEVISION JUNE 1993 A new line output transistor restored the brightness, but it ings had to be the result of fireworks within its windings? was squeezed into a collapsed frame. Now for some fun. Cruel experience has taught me to keep a spare 2A line The TDA3654 field output chip is powered by a 26V supply output transformer in stock. When it was fitted a perfectly which is obtained from the line output transformer. A check stable picture was produced. on this produced a reading of OV. When its load was discon- I telephoned Abe's well-to-do family and asked them to nected the supply rose to 40V, then dropped back to zero. get word to him that the set was ready. A few days later he Goodness me! Further checks showed that the rectifier came in with his blanket, his binder twine and a small paper diode and its reservoir capacitor were o.k. Then the voltage bag of browns. came up again. I reconnected the field output chip but there 'Pinky 'Ubbard said to thank 'ee and pay, Mr. Bullock was still no frame. Perhaps a new TDA3654 would put sir" he said as he enclosed the set in the blanket and got matters right? No, and again no voltage. Then plenty — over weaving with the twine. "Er — one of my sets be under the 50V, followed by a dancing frame and a clicking from the weather, Mr. Bullock. Some of the bits inside pulled them- line output stage. selves about a bit — like they do. I must bring 'im in next I switched off and ran a finger down the case of the line week, 'cos I'll need 'im when the other one plays up output transformer. It was hot. Surely these bizarre happen- again." pulled about by Snoddies and Gumboils." Weary Willy grabbed for the meths. But Greeneyes What a Life! was there first. She snatched it and made to depart. "Wake up and get cracking Willy" she said, "they won't mend themselves you know! Donald Bullock A Ferguson TX85 Weary Willy made some room on the bench and pulled "We had a story today about Mr. and Mrs. Cobbler" said up the nearest set. It was a Ferguson 14J9 — a 14in. colour my daughter Rebecca. "They had so many shoes to mend set fitted with the TX85 chassis — and was as dead as that they went to bed weary each night. One night, after could be. He decided to check the voltage across the an awful day, they crawled into bed really worn out. Next mains bridge rectifier's reservoir capacitor C69, but his morning, to their delight, they woke up to find that all the fingers slipped. His eyeballs lit up and shot out, telling shoes had been done and their workshop had been thor- him that some 340V was present. Then he caught sight of oughly tidied up and was sunny. This happened every the TEA2018A chopper control chip IC4 and its start-up night thereafter, and they lived happily ever more." resistor network — two series-connected 821(S2 resistors, I smiled suitably and thought of Weary Willy and his R89 and R91, with a 3901d2 resistor (R60) in parallel with untidy workshop that was full of lots of nasty sets he them. He was certain that one or other of them would be couldn't mend. There was the Salora J chassis set with the the cause of the problem. But they were perfectly all right. hard to get at power supply that kept blowing up, the old A tear slipped down Willy's face. Ferguson hi-fi video with the chain-driven cassette A voice sounded in Willy's head. "See if the chopper housing that eats fingers and turns them into new faults, circuit is inhibited" it said. "Disconnect the output from and that wicked Sentra VCR that wouldn't spring to life the h.t. rectifier D12 then connect a 75W bulb between its whatever he did. cathode and chassis. If it lights up when you switch the Willy started to think about switch-mode power set on, the power supply is o.k. and you can start to think supplies and TDA4600 chips. He wondered how big a nasty things about the line output stage. boat it would need to take them all to the middle of the Weary Willy did so and the lamp didn't light. So he Atlantic and how much gunpowder would be required to disconnected the other two rectifier diodes on the send them to the bottom. Then he crawled off to his work- secondary side of the circuit, the ones that provide the shop, clambered over all the sets he couldn't mend, had a 13V and 17V supplies. The lamp still refused to glow, and drink of meths and curled up under the bench. another, larger tear slid down Willy's face. He was When he awoke there was this fog. As it cleared he saddled with yet another nasty switch-mode power supply looked around his workshop and his eyes opened wide. fault. Could this be the workshop he'd gone to sleep in? The thing to do, he decided, was to check the start- Where was the nasty J chassis, the pulled-apart Ferguson up voltage at pin 6 of the TEA2018A chip. He knew and that wicked Sentra video? Willy rubbed his eyes in that 5.8V was required here for the set to spring to life. astonishment. They were nowhere to be seen. In fact all There was no voltage and the, hunt was on. Maybe the that he could see were the shiny sides of piles and piles 330µF reservoir capacitor C71 was short-circuit? It of TVs and videos. wasn't. Willy looked long and hard at his next suspect, Then Greeneyes clopped in. Her upside-down face the TEA2018A chip itself. He fitted a replacement and smiled at his, under the bench. "Come on Weary Willy" switched on. Up came the starting voltage, which she breathed. "You've been asleep for ages. Loads of sets immediately rose to 12V as the chopper circuit broke have been brought in. I've put them all on top of the into self-oscillation. Brightness appeared on the screen, others. And they're all tricky ones that have already been and Willy also felt a bit better.

644 TELEVISION JULY 1993 The Hitachi G6P

"Next". he shouted, just as Mr. Thicke picked his way in with a Hitachi TV set in his arms. "It's dead" he said. "Do it if it's cheap, otherwise ring me." Weary Willy sighed. He really should think of a way of getting paid for his time when the customer decided against going ahead. He put the set on the bench and switched it on. It was a CPT2176 (G6P chassis) and its little beacon was out. There was h.t. across the mains bridge rectifier's 150µF reservoir capacitor C906 but nothing much else. He checked the chopper transistor (Q901) which had MN650 printed on it. He found that it was dead short, then discovered from his little book that it was a BU508A in disguise. Weary Willy sighed and wished that transistors all wore proper numbers. He fitted a BU508A and, whilst at it, decided to check the 2SD1453 line output transistor Q781. This was also dead short. After replacing it he reached for his variac, 'cos he doesn't like repeatedly blowing up transistors in hard to get at places. The set failed to spring to life and the ammeter on his variac began to creep up as he increased the voltage. He thought he detected a nasty, warm smell and felt the line output transformer. It was hot. So he disconnected all the diodes it supplies and tried the set again. The variac's ammeter began to creep up and the nasty smell returned. So he phoned Mr. Thicke and told him fifty pounds. Mr. Thicke said he wished he still had his old voltmeter so that he could have mended it himself, and that he too could earn fifty pounds an hour fiddling with wires. And his wife had arthritis, and couldn't Willy do it cheaper because he'd another set that needed repairing? Willy ordered a new transformer from SEME. It arrived next day in a sturdy yellow box marked HR Components: Willy noticed that it was made in Spain, where he wished he was. The original transformer's first anode voltage output was contained in the screened outer of the focus lead, but the replacement had a separate, green wire for this. He soon fitted the new transformer, and when he switched the set on it came to life with a good picture. This cheered him up. As he stepped back to look at it he tripped over a set on the floor and banged his shin on the edge of another one. At this very moment Mr. Thicke showed up for his Hitachi. "I'm in agony with my missus. Her says you never shoulda done it" he said.

The Microwave As Mr. Thicke departed Mr. Roughouse came in, looking as though he'd just sorted Popeye out. He was carrying a Matsui microwave minus its cover. This came behind, carried by his weedy wife Olive. "He works, but he don't heat up. Where's the valve?" He prodded about in the works with his fingers. Weary Willy gibbered and tugged at his arm. "Don't touch" he shrieked. "It can floor, even kill you." Mr. Roughouse repeated his message, stabbing his finger at the capacitor. Willy retreated, still gibbering, but Mr. Roughouse flagged him down. "He ain't on" he said, pushing his thumb on to the posi- tive terminal of the capacitor. Willy stepped to one side, closed his eyes and awaited the crash. There wasn't one. "You chaps gets too excited" Mr. Roughouse said. "Mend 'im if it's up to fifty quid. New 'uns at Crubb's Foodstore are only seventy quid, an' you gets an oven set an' a basket o' groceries." Lots of big tears slid down Weary Willy's face and he wished he was somewhere else.

TELEVISION JULY 1993 programme converters that sat on the top of the set. They too caused problems galore. Cyldon and Brayhead subse- What a Life! quently came up with a family of rotary tuners that were designed to be fitted into the sets. When converting a set for ITV reception we first had to make sure that we had the Donald Bullock right tuner. Then, armed with braces and bits, we'd cut a huge hole in the side of the customer's highly polished and Life has been easier since son Steven started to work with valued TV set, hoping against hope that our conversion me. What has distressed me a bit however is the speed with would be satisfactory. which he's picked up technical knowledge that took me All sorts of things could blight our plans. If we weren't forty years to acquire. But it does mean that I can slip off to careful, the bulky tuner wouldn't align with the hole we'd Spain whenever I like, in the knowledge that life in the made. But the most common headaches were that the Band workshop goes on — just as long as I slip back often enough III signal available, from Birmingham in our case, wouldn't to sweep the floor, wash the teacups, empty the dustbins and be enough, or that the pictures obtained would be heavily tackle the tricky ones that pop up now and again. The fax patterned. Sometimes the neighbours would experience machine has proved to be a boon to us, but one thing I could patterning. do with is a set of the last fifty or sixty copies of Television. In this area every conversion was a chancy business. As Can anyone oblige? the ITV signal was dicey and weak, service calls multiplied. "Poor ITV" was a common complaint, and we'd trot off with a pocketful of r.f. amplifier valves. The Mullard Mr Nutt's Problems PCC84 was the most common one, but there were also We have been in this business a long time now — to the UCC84s and ECC84s, and some of the more exclusive extent that we've had the valued custom of four generations brands like Murphy and Ekco used Mazda valves — the of some local families. Those whom I moan about are a 30L1 to start with, then later the higher-gain 30L15. It minority. It's just the relentless dedication with which they wasn't long before we resorted to the dodge of using the afflict us! Take Mr. Nutt for example. He's the paranoid high-slope 30L15 whenever a low-emission r.f. amplifier smallholder who is convinced that everyone is watching him valve had to be replaced. It meant adjusting the r.f. padders and eavesdropping. The other day he called in with his in the tuner, something that was supposed to be taboo, but Philips 16in. portable — it's a KT3 chassis set. the effect was little short of miraculous — until the valve's "My neighbour has aimed a dish transmitter at my place" emission settled at a lower level. he confided. "But I've got him rumbled. This old set lets me Most Mazda valves had metal skirts and fitted rigidly know whenever he listens in to us. The picture turns into a into the special holders. They seemed to present instability transmitter. I want you to build something into the set to problems however. Trying to calm an Ekco i.f. strip was a stop him." difficult business. I settled for using Hunt's paper capacitors Now I know Mr. Nutt of old. Apart from this fixation connected between the screen grids and chassis, followed by he's perfectly sane. Arguing with him about it it useless. careful realignment. I never did find an answer for use with "All right Mr. Nutt" I said, "leave it with us." the red, metal-cased Mullard EF50 valves. They seemed to For the first ten minutes the set suffered from intermittent be determined to float regardless. line collapse. I confidently resoldered the pins of the line But the picture quality with those early Ekco and Murphy output transformer but this made no difference. I then sets was remarkable for their day. Our favourite was the found, by tapping and flexing the chassis, that the cause of Ekco 327. There was a scramble for it every time one came the trouble lay somewhere in the area around the U470 sync in part exchange. Eventually we all had one. and U450 power modules. Resoldering every doubtful joint Relaying these things to Steven suggested to me why on the two panels and lightly cleaning the edge contacts he's so bright and receptive to the latest developments while again failed to cure the problem. So I finally switched off I'm less so. "Your brain is like a brand new computer the workshop lights, drew the blinds, felt my way back to loaded with miles and miles of virgin tape" I said. "Mine's the chassis and began tapping about on it. As I did so I an old valve model with the tape worn out be repeated noticed a spark. When I switched the lights back on again I erasure of redundant technical knowledge. I used to know found that it had come from one leg of the degaussing countless valve equivalents, and furthermore which pin was posistor R292. It was dry-jointed, though it looked all right. connected to which electrode in them all. I can still Resoldering it cured the trouble. remember dozens of them. All useless knowledge now, taking up space in my napper. Same with all the technical tips and ruses for scores of radio and TV brands that are Nostalgia now just memories. There's hardly any room left for all the I was going to study the circuit to see why R292 should new-fangled things you pick up so easily!" have had this effect but the phone went and Greeneyes came Later, I heard Steven talking to Greeneyes as they looked in with the tea. She was just in time to hear me being less through an ancient photo album he'd found. than enthusiastic about attending to a satellite TV system. "Dad looks bright and young in these pictures" he said. "What's the matter with you?" she asked. "When I came "Funny what happens as time passes." to work with you as your secretary colour TV was just I poked my head around the door. "That old Decca starting and you sailed into colour servicing quite cheerfully. you're stuck on — the one with no luminance. You can put It's not at all like that now." Steven wanted to know what it your scope and meter away. Just pop in another luminance was like in the early days, which always gets me going. delay line. There's one in that old Tatung chassis you When I started there was only monochrome BBC in couldn't fix. And that Bush 2020T that's still giving you Band I. Most of the sets were of the t.r.f. type, gramophone problems even though you've changed the TDA3562A. records were shellac 78s and classy homes had radiograms. Take it out and fit a Telefunken one — or do the mod. Oh, Then ITV started up in Band III, bringing signal prob- and that Saba you were waiting for help to lift it off the lems the like of which we'd never seen before, and bench: I've popped it in the van for you."

708 TELEVISION AUGUST 1993 It was cutting off too early. But why the pulsing? That seemed to indicate an electrical problem. I moved to the What a Life! power panel to check some voltages and saw that the 2A fuse F2 in the centre was open. A new one restored normal operation. The current was well within the fuse's rating, Donald Bullock even at the peaks, but I soak tested the machine to be sure that everything was o.k. Eventually Mr. Chausible called to collect it, grinning We get some strange coves here. Some of them are harder to and winking as ever. puzzle out than the TV and video faults they bring along. "Twenty-five pounds" I said. Take Mr. and Mrs Bugg for example. They tottered in the Chausible's smile faded and his winking eye stayed shut. other day with something wrapped in a towel in a baker's "Gosh, you people aren't cheap" he said. "I'd reckoned basket. about a fiver, even a tenner if expensive parts had been "Don't think I'm trying to be funny Mr. Er. . er. ." he required. But twenty-five pounds!" Then he looked up. said, "but are you any good at fixing transistors?" "Don't think I'm trying to be funny. . . " "There never was such a fellah" I replied. "Don't think I'm trying to be funny, but this is a telly A Call from Ribby Ellis transistor. My son tried superglue and blue tack but now he thinks it's a condenser, 'cos it stinks rotten. Then the cat My next caller was Ribby Ellis, who's a keen practical suddenly had a fit last night." joker. He's spent enough time in our workshop to know "Let's see it" I said, pointing impatiently at his basket. how customers carry on but said that he had a couple of He untied the towel slowly to reveal a moggie. Some- genuine questions for me. thing was beginning to build up in my chest. "Tell me Don, which is the best telly?" "Not the bloody cat" I screamed, "the transistor." Then I I tried to answer this one as I always do, pointing out that pulled myself together. "Actually Mr. Bugg I'm a bit on most sets are much of a muchness today and that it depends edge. Busy, you know." on what facilities are required. He ran out to his car and came back with a Toshiba He heard me out then came back with "how long will it 175T9B colour set. be before tellys get cheaper?" I waved them out and opened the set up. An empty super- "They're dirt cheap today, Ribby." I went into my usual glue tube was stuck to the inside of the cabinet and the line routine about the cost of a Philips G6 and a Commer 5 cwt output transformer was covered with a black, gooey mess. van back in 1968 and their respective prices now. There was a crater of ash in the middle and a couple of He then wanted to know "when tellys will work without nearby resistors and a capacitor were charred. aerials. You know, like radios do?" I'd a set with a similar chassis in the workshop, so I So I launched into my answer to that one, as I've done so borrowed its line output transformer. The charred resistors, often over the years. When I'd finished he asked "whether R440 and R441, were both 101d2 while the capacitor (C445) dust in tellys makes 'em fail sooner?" was 0.056µF. These three items are at the earthy end of the This brought us to dry dust and damp dust and folks who e.h.t. system, for current monitoring purposes. I fitted the take the backs off sets and upset them. Time was ticking borrowed transformer, replaced the three charred compo- away, but there were further questions about how long a nents and switched on. There was an excellent picture, tube really lasts, does it leave the sound when it fails and which pleased me. So I called Mr. Bugg on the phone to tell how long does a telly last? him of my success. I was beginning to feel irritable again. "Tell me, Ribby, "I'll have to send for a new transformer of course" I told how much longer are you going to throw these questions at him. "The cost will be thirty-eight quid altogether. It's a me?" super picture!" "Till you realise I'm taking the Mick, you silly" he "Ah now Mr. Er. . er. . , don't think I'm trying to be funny grinned. "Lost some of your buttons, haven't you? Name's but that's a bit steep, ennit? We're old-age pensioners you Ribby you know." know. Shall we say twenty quid? Then we'll let you do it." "I know, Ribby, but I'm afraid I'm not up to it today." It turned out to be another wasted effort. Pity. Next the Gas Man Mr Chausible's VCR Just then there was a tap at the door. It was Rupert Quelp, Then Mr. Chausible bumbled in, smiling and winking the gas man. away as though in the know. "Ha, ha, it's good to be alive "Hi Donald. I've just read your meter. Don't think I'm on such a nice day" he chortled. "The postman just gave me trying to be funny, but if I were you I'd leave home before this letter for you." It turned out to be an electricity bill for the bill comes. Have a look at my portable video, will you? over three hundred quid. It can't be much because it's o.k. most of the time. It's a He'd brought his VCR with him, a Ferguson 3V44 (JVC Fergy 3V47 and it's gone off intermittently since it was HRD140). As he sloped off I pulled it on to the bench to try new. Snoddies never managed to find out why. Nor it. When I inserted a tape the carriage descended and the Gumboils, or that spotty D'Arcy kid at number 29. So I'm capstan motor, drum and on-off beacon pulsed for twenty letting you have a go. Let me know when you've found the seconds. Then the tape was ejected and the machine cause, so that I can decide whether to have it put right. switched itself off. They're so cheap now you see. Crubbs Foodstore have them "Swine" I thought as I opened it up. It was full of tape at £99.95 and you get a hamper of goodies and a ticket in debris and dust, so I gave it a good mechanical service. The their draw for a month at Disneyland!" fault remained of course. Time for a bit of analytical "This is Disneyland" I said, "and the name's Donald thinking for a change. I decided to start at the beginning of Duck." I put the machine on the bench and tried it. The the electromechanical cycle and studied the loading motor. picture and sound were o.k. and I couldn't make it fail. So I

788 TELEVISION SEPTEMBER 1993 put it on soak test. A few hours later the vision went, Rupert was pleased when he called back. "Ah, a loose leaving a snowy raster. After giving the machine a full wire! I knew it wasn't anything much! You can't charge of service I looked around for dry-joints on the power and course because you've not really done anything, but I'll signals panels but couldn't see any. Because of the intermit- remember the good turn. I breed reptiles you know. If you tent nature of the fault I spent a considerable time before ever want to know anything about snakes or other forms of finally removing the drum and discovering that the feed low life, just ask." wires had never been soldered. When this had been attended There must have been something in my expression, to the machine worked perfectly, producing exceptionally because he backed away and smiled weakly. good pictures. "Don't think I'm trying to be funny, Don. . ." "Oscar thinks it's the tracking" Mrs. Grunge explained. Oscar What a Life! studied the floor. I escorted them to the door then put the machine on the bench. The symptom made it look as though the auto-tracking was out, but this Donald Bullock machine doesn't have it. So I busied myself around the control circuitry. Eventually I found a 11..t.F, 50V elec- trolytic capacitor, Cl, whose value Mrs. Ruff, a large no-nonsense My thanks to Eddie for that — drop had fallen to half the correct figure. A woman, barged into the workshop the in for a cup of tea sometime! replacement cured the fault and I was other day followed by her lodger Old impressed by the excellent picture Pukey. He was struggling with a Mr Smallpiece's Video and sound quality. All that remained 24in. Granada teletext set. She strode to be done was to get the chassis to the bench, clasped the underside Our next caller was the thin-faced cased up again without any casual- of her sleeve with her fingers, and Victor Smallpiece, who had brought ties. I managed this and later on Mrs. used her arm as a huge duster to clear his Amstrad VCR4600 Mk. 2 video Gunge and Oscar called back. She the end of my bench. machine with him. Sensitive and paid up and smiled at Oscar. "Put it here, Pukey" she ordered. timid, he moved his shoulders around "Say thank you to Mr. Bloater, Pukey did as he was told. inside his jacket and cleared his Oscar." He raised his chin and "I've told him time and time again throat. opened his mouth, but once again his not to play with the tuner thing while "It's dead, Mr. Bullock" he said. mother beat him to it. the set's on" she said. "Now he's "Belongs to the wife's brother — he "Such a funny boy. Mr. Buster. He gone and blown the set up, Mr. Bill- uses it for Certain Things." After that hardly says a word. Can't think hook. I wish he'd get out of my he stole away. why." house, I do. Straight." I put the machine on the bench I plugged the set in and switched and hoped that it would talk to me. on. The sound was o.k., but the But it didn't. It even refused to The Sharp VC681HM picture had a series of vertical black accept a cassette, switching itself off. A Jaguar crunched into the drive lines, about half an inch wide, super- When I opened it up I saw that the and came to a halt. Out struggled the imposed on it. I'd never seen a set threading arms stopped too soon. greasy Mr. Pearshape, in a cloud of like it before and had no circuit After a few preliminary tests I hand- cigar smoke. A demure young lady diagram. Then, as we watched, the wound the mechanism ready to start got out of the other side, carrying a lines faded — taking the luminance again, connected a meter across the Sharp VC681HM VCR. He pointed with them. loading motor and pressed the start to the open workshop door. "In Mrs. Ruff looked hard at Old button. Up came the d.c. motor there" he said. Pukey, muttered a bad word, then voltage and the loading sequence Jane obeyed and I took the pushed him out ahead of her. `,`Give started. Then it stalled, and the VC681HM from her. us a ring, Mr. Billboard" she rasped. voltage rose. The motor had stopped "Jane's video's playing up" Mr. drawing current. A replacement Pearshape growled, tossing his busi- motor fixed the machine, and when Sorting out the Granada CTV ness card on to the bench. He was a Victor phoned I told him that it was money lender. "Fix it and phone me. When I examined the chassis I working again. "Hump" he said. I'll do the paying." He turned to Jane found that the chroma panel and jerked his thumb at the Jaguar. contained a TDA3300B chip that Mrs Gunge and the 3V46 "Into the car, girl" he said. obviously processed the signal. I When they'd gone I put the looked for the luminance delay line Mrs. Gunge walked in with her recorder on the bench and tried it. I but couldn't see it — the chroma one spotty son Oscar, who was carrying a selected rewind search. The machine was obvious enough. It seemed best Ferguson 3V46 VCR. These went into fast-forward search for a to phone Granada at Bristol. I spoke machines produce excellent results, I few seconds then stopped, unlaced to Eddie Conway who was most know, but around here they seem to and switched off. The cassette helpful. Looking at the circuit be rather accident prone. remained in place. As I've had mode diagram, he advised me to scope the "Hi Oscar" I said, "what's eating switch problems with this model and luminance signal as it emerged at the Fergy?" Mrs. Gunge poked him the VC750HM I fitted a replacement. pin 35 of the chip then follow it aside and answered. It cured the trouble — a quick repair back, suitably delayed by the delay "The picture's faulty, ain't it for a change. Jane would be pleased, line DL1, via 2R5 (1kS2) and 2C5 Oscar?" Oscar made to nod and and Mr. Pearshape too as it wouldn't (10pf, 25V). So I searched again for breathed in to speak. cost much. How nice to be able to DL 1 . It was so positioned that it hid "And the sound, right Oscar?" dispense such happiness. its reference number, and looked Mrs. Gunge continued. As Oscar like a small, square-edged, capac- opened his mouth, his mother's voice itor. I scoped the signal as Eddie hit the air. Another Sharp VCR advised and found that it was "My Oscar just can't watch it Mr. My next visitor, Mrs. Tubby the present up to 2C5 but not thereafter. Butcher" she continued. forester, always puts me on edge. 2C5 was open-circuit of course, a Oscar breathed in quickly and "Ah Mr. Bull" she said. "This replacement restoring the picture. looked up at me "The tracking. . ." set's faulty." She was carrying a 864 TELEVISION OCTOBER 1993 Sharp VCR like the one I'd just her the recorder and gave her the bill. switched on the phone amplifier and repaired. "You read it, Mr. Borax — my asked her to ring the number. She "What's wrong with it?" I asked. glasses are in the car." did so and the phone at the other end "It jams and stops." I read it out then came to the was picked up. "Ring me teatime" I said. bottom line. "Thirty pounds" I said. "Balls" shouted a voice. When I tried it the machine She took a blue and a brown from Greeneyes slammed the phone down behaved much as the other one had. her purse then picked up the and spun round. "I suppose that was Oh dear, I'd used my last mode machine. When she got to the door another of your twisted jokes" she switch. To prove the point I decided she stopped. "This repair is guaran- fumed. to borrow the switch from Jane's teed" she commented. "That was Arthur Ball's firm" I machine. So I set about doing the "For ever, Mrs. Tubby" I said. said. "They'll be wondering who's swap, which took me longer than I playing about. Then our phone rang. expected. When I tried Mrs. Tubby's The Panasonic NVJ30 I picked it up, feeling a bit put out. machine it behaved exactly as before, "Bullocks" I barked. The line went so the switches had to be put back. I Later that day nice old Arthur Ball dead. Then it rang again. "Bullock's resolved never to be so silly again. dropped in with his Panasonic Television" I cooed. I'd wasted time, and this made me NVJ30 VCR. His family firm uses it "Oh, hello Donald. Arthur Ball feel nasty. as part of their shop security system. here. Did you ring us?" When I'd got Jane's machine "I think it needs one of your wash- "Yes Arthur, but things seemed to right again and Mrs. Tubby's as it and-brush-up services" he said. "If go wrong." was when she brought it in, I looked you ring when it's ready we'll pick it "That's funny. Same here. Grem- into it in greater detail and ended up up." lins on the line I suppose. We get a by taking out the master cam. Sure "I'll have it done in an hour" I lot of it with incoming calls. Just enough its rather thin walls had said. got a foul-mouthed wag when I broken down, a new one completing When he'd gone I set to. After dialled you. Anyhow, if the the repair. The cams are cheap and cleaning the heads and the tape recorder's done we'll slip down and fitting a replacement always gives guides I gave the machine a general collect it." me a feeling of satisfaction. check over. Just as I'd finished "See you shortly, Arthur" I When Mrs. Tubby called I handed testing it Greeneyes came in. I replied. me to an MC7809C 9V regulator which had voltage at its input but nothing at its output. Fitting a replacement restored both supplies. A quick repair, I thought. But I was What a wrong: the mechanism was running haywire. In a case like this, analysing the sequence of events is always a good idea. So I switched on, noticed that the clock and channel numbers lit up, then tried to insert a cassette. Life! The machine wouldn't accept it. A look at the top-deck mechanism showed that the lacing up claws were stuck an inch from the back of their grooves. So I hand turned the loading motor until the claws retracted and fed in the Donald Bullock cassette again. As it was accepted the loading motor whirred, the stop button lit up and the claws came to rest in More and more I seem to have the feeling that it's all their previous position. happened before. It came over me the other day when The mechanism was lively but out of sync. I reckoned Walter Wingnut called in with a Brittania 14in. colour that the most likely cause of the trouble would be in the portable that was dead. It had a paper label underneath, of cam system. So I turned my attention there and dismantled all places, with B14M11 printed on it. When I opened the the mechanism to gain access. Sure enough the walls had set up it looked very much like a Fidelity chassis, though it broken down. As a result the tape lacing mechanism was was not identical with any one that I knew. To my surprise not controlled. We keep a stock of the more common cams, we had an appropriate circuit diagram, for Model C14R06. and before long I had the recorder behaving properly and I soon spotted a BUT11A, a tiny but tough power tran- delivering excellent results. sistor, which had bitten the dust. So I replaced it and left the set running. Return of Walter Wingnut It was at this point that Walter Wingnut called in for his The Grundig CUC70 Brittania. I glanced at it as he arrived. It was working well I then pulled up and plugged in a Grundig C7410 22in. and after greeting him I pointed to it and gave him the good set that Snoddies had kept for a fortnight before handing it news. back as unrepairable. It's fitted with the CUC70 chassis. "It wasn't easy, Walter, but my cleverness won the day" No sound, the ticket said. Unlike Snoddies to pass up an I said cheerfully. "Twenty five quid to you!" easy buck I thought. Ought to be easy! Then, as I was "A lot of money. I hope it'll last" said Walter. "Chap I thinking about it, up came a brilliant clean raster followed bought it off said you mended it for the same trouble a by line collapse. while back." With my understanding of Snoddies growing, I disman- As he was about to hand me the browns and a blue, the tled the set and studied the chassis carefully for dry-joints set pinged and died. or other obvious clues that would save me the bother of Walter stowed his money away. "Didn't make a very looking out circuits — or thinking. All the joints were good job of it this time either" he said. "You'd better have perfect but I did notice that R528, a 1052 resistor, was a bit another try — and I'm not paying more than you said, hot and bothered. It feeds a BY268 diode, D529, which mind." turned out to be dead short. Replacing both items restored So I got no money, had to take Wingnut's abuse, and normal operation and I was impressed by the excellent had to face up to tackling the Brittania yet again. picture. The Ladies Back to the Brittania Then slender old Miss Briske came in, carrying a piece Meanwhile the Brittania had stopped working, and I of sheet music and a hot-water bottle. She was followed by found that the BUT11A had passed away at its post. Mrs. Ruff, a mouthy roughneck who calls me Mr. Billhook There's a 4.71,1F electrolytic capacitor in its base circuit, and keeps on about her lodger Old Pukey. She was carrying while its emitter is returned to the negative side of the an old toaster. I didn't feel up to either of them. I had supply via two resistors, R120 (3.3Q) and R115 (0.68Q), Wingnut's Brittania on my mind and needed some peace which are connected in parallel. When I checked them I while I worried about it. A further visitor, Miss Fussie, then found that the value of the electrolytic had fallen to arrived. She also had a hot-water bottle. I was beginning to while both resistors were high — the 0.6852 one was nearly feel nasty. 452. Miss Briske put the hot-water bottle down and smiled. I replaced these items and, before switching on, checked "It's jammed solid. Old Mrs. Talbot advised me to see you some associated ones. Up came a good picture, so I set about it. Would you have a go?" about tidying up the bench and shelves for a while before I looked at her in silence. Then her face lit up. "Do you boxing the set up. I hate boxing up then unboxing sets that sing, Mr. Bullock?" she asked. seem to last just long enough to keep me on a loser! After "Not a lot, Miss Briske" I replied. twenty minutes or so it was still behaving, so I boxed it up "I do Mr. Bullock" she smiled. She closed her eyes and and put it on soak test. began to warble. I coughed and Mrs. Rough snorted. "Look Billhook" she rasped, "I'm here to put money in your pocket — if you can The Samsung V1626 spend a minute. Old Pukey's jammed a doughnut in the Next was a Samsung VI626 VCR that was dead. I toaster. I've had a go with a fork, but no good. You're checked the power pack and found that both the 9V and 5V supposed to be the expert." supplies were missing. A study of the circuit diagram led I turned the toaster upside down and the doughnut fell

34 TELEVISION NOVEMBER 1993 out. Then, checking that no debris were left inside, I I undid the stopper with my pliers, poured some of the plugged it in and switched on. The workshop quickly filled water into my tea mug then studied it carefully. I dipped a with dense smoke. As it cleared, I pushed the toaster back finger into the mug and smelled it thoughtfully. to Mrs. Ruff. "No charge" I said wearily. "Absolutely perfect, Miss Fussie" I said. "No charge. "Pukey, start packing" she said as she left. Goodbye." "Leave the door open" I said as the first two ladies departed. Miss Fussie then stepped forward and handed me Another go at the Brittania her hot-water bottle, which was full of water. Two in one day! Time to open up the Brittania again. I studied it afresh. "I can't undo it" she said. "Would you undo it and test it I'd already checked or replaced just about everything that please?" could be the cause of the trouble. Then I noticed that the because there's often at least one power cut a day here, What a Life! without any warning. An ICC5 Ferguson Donald Bullock It seems that I can't escape from my TV reputation. Miguel called the other day and declared "I think you are Now that we're Bullock and Sons I'm able to slip out of clever television mechanic". the workshop now and again. In fact I sometimes slip as "Not me, Miguel" I replied, "I'm just here for the sun." far as Spain for a week or two where we have, amongst Anyway the upshot was that I ended up looking at his other things, a Sony audio stacking system. Of late the CD Ferguson 59P7 television receiver — it's fitted with the section, a CDPM30, had been disinclined to accept discs. ICC5 chassis. The set was dead and a quick check showed The drawer would come out all right and take the disc in, that the two 1S2 surge-limiter resistors RPO1 and RPO2 had but the disc would either come straight back out again or both burnt out. Moving over to the nearby mains bridge the machine would refuse to play it, the visual display rectifier I found that one section was short-circuit. Just in faltering and then finally sticking. case it had been a victim rather than the criminal I checked I removed the lid, was disappointed by the rather flimsy the 15011F, 385V reservoir capacitor CP03. It's as well that plastic construction, then studied the loading action. I did, because it was dead short. Because the loading belt slipped, the machine didn't I sent Miguel down into the village for one of the spares complete the cycle. As I'd no spares I ordered a new one. I didn't have, and a bit later we had the set working What to do in the meantime? With Snoddies in mind I merrily. grabbed a saucepan and boiled the belt for fifteen minutes. "I tell everyone how clever you are on television" said This did the trick and I was able to play Paris After Dark, a Miguel. "That'll bring you lots of pesetas!" new CD of old, romantic pre-war French songs: they've "You tell nobody" I said, "televisions makea me loco." been remastered to give truly amazing reproduction. This "I'm a secret" smiled Miguel. has rekindled my interest in the means employed by such experts as John R.T. Davies, the well-known ex-Temper- Tropical Tom's Bush ance Seven man and wizard of the art of cleaning up old 78s. I've dropped him a line. Everyone here likes Tropical Tom. Portly, loud and open, he's kindness itself. But he's also very short tempered. He arrived from his holiday home frantically Broadcasts Available shaking a Bush 2714 portable colour set (11AK03 I brought a Pace PRD800 satellite receiver and a lm chassis). dish over and, using a satellite finder from Panasonic, "One chance!" he bawled at it as he approached our door, installed them. The results are surprisingly good, despite "one final chance and no more. Next time down the well!" the fact that we're at the edge of the footprint. But as one When I plugged the set in it refused to go into standby. who was brought up on the BBC style of presentation I I've had this before, so I replaced thermistor TH802 in the find Sky's general standards unacceptable. As a result we start-up circuit. The set then sprang to life and I left it soak watch very little television. Two terrestrial Spanish chan- testing. An hour later there was a power cut. When power nels are available, one at u.h.f. and the other at one end of was restored the set would only groan and flicker. Band I — with horizontal polarisation, making receiving I suspected the microcontroller chip IC1004 but didn't aerial systems very cumbersome. A little time spent away have one. So I checked some of its more obvious d.c. from Britain makes a chap very appreciative of our with-it voltages and ended up at the cathodes of D804 and D805, country. the 1.t. rectifier diodes on the secondary side of the One bonus with Sky Television however is the fact that chopper transformer T802. There was barely any voltage some UK radio programmes, including the BBC's World here though there was plenty of pulsed a.c. at their Service and Radio 4, are interleaved with the Sky Gold anodes. I checked their back-to-front ratios in circuit. channel. Reception is excellent. I'd earlier spent a great They were excellent. Then I took them both out and deal of time and trouble erecting a high, outdoor long- checked them again. Still good! While they were out I wave aerial system. But my efforts weren't completely checked the higher-voltage lines which were o.k., then wasted: we now receive some very pleasant, melodious their reservoir capacitors which were also o.k. So I snatches of radio that seem to come from France. soldered the two diodes back into circuit and tried again. The set worked a treat. I could only conclude that the diodes had been dry- Uninterruptible Power Supply jointed. It seemed worth examining the rest of the chopper Since I'm an inveterate scribbler another necessity here power supply with a magnifying glass. As several joints is an uninterruptible power supply (see test report in the had a hairline running around them I resoldered the lot. January issue) for use with my wordprocessors. Necessity With luck the set won't end up down the well! up. He'll do it while you answer his little questions." And What a Life! off she went. Back to the Hitachi I took another look at the Hitachi/GEC circuit and Donald Bullock noticed that there's a bit of the power supply that's right over at the other side of the chassis, as far away from the A dead Hitachi colour portable came in the other day — it rest as could be. It's an over-voltage trip that removes the was fitted with the NP84CQ chassis. When I opened it up I 12V supply to the line driver transistor and various other found the most crowded little chassis I've seen for some parts of the set. Maybe something here was causing the while. As I didn't have a circuit diagram I started to make grunting. There's a crowbar thyristor and a 36V zener checks in the power supply and immediately found that diode (ZD903), which turned out to be short-circuit. I'd Q902, a BU806 Darlington power transistor, was short- have to order one. So I phoned JJ Components and placed circuit. I replaced it then checked the 2SD1453 line output an order for this and various other items. transistor Q703 which was also short-circuit. So I replaced They arrived next morning. After fitting the zener diode this too then switched on. The set grunted, but that was all. in the Hitachi set I started it up again. This time it came on At this point a circuit was really needed and an idea came perfectly. The faulty line output transistor must have killed to me. I took down Mike Lyon's ECS model-chassis guide ZD903 as well as causing the damage in the power supply. and found that the chassis is also used in the GEC Model Anyway the birds were now singing and the sun was C1405H, for which we do have a manual. shining. Then a cloud appeared. It was Mrs. Tubby and her The BU806 is part of a sort of pre-regulator, or initial son Walpole. regulator, circuit. It's followed by an LM317 variable voltage regulator chip, IC901, that lives at the other end of Walpole's Questions the giant heatsink. A check showed that it had also failed. I replaced it and switched on again. Once more the set Sure enough Walpole had the workshop tidy in no time. grunted, and that was all. He then made some tea and we sat down for his questions. Then I stopped and thought. I'd been silly, hadn't I? I "What's electricity, voltage and current?" he asked, with hadn't checked the replacement BU806 after replacing the his pencil poised. LM317. They'd both be useless now. I checked them and "Steady" I said, "first things first. Electricity is the they were. movement of electrons. Got that?" He looked blank. As I'd just one more BU806 and LM317 I carefully "Everything — pear-drops, elephants, copper wires — checked the resistance between the h.t. line and chassis. consists of lots of atoms which in turn consist of a nucleus The reading was respectable, so the remaining BU806 and with some little electrons bumbling around it. The atoms LM317 were fitted. Then I checked the line output tran- are each like a tiny solar system." sistor again. The new one was all right. "Can't see it" Walpole said blankly. I took down my variac arrangement — I've added a volt- "Look" I said, "imagine a long tunnel full of footballs. meter, an ammeter and a 2A mechanical cutout (from a Each one has a dozen tennis balls jostling around it. You're Thorn 3500 chassis) to the variac itself — and used this to at one end with an enormous basket of tennis balls and I'm supply power to the Hitachi portable. All went well as I at the other with an empty basket. And I just love tennis wound up the voltage. The ammeter's hand shuddered a bit balls. You lob a tennis ball into your end of the tunnel. This at switch-on, then settled back happily against its stop. I attaches itself to the nearest football which now has say wound on cautiously, darting my eyes about like a weights thirteen tennis balls surrounding it, an unlucky number. So and measures pest. Then the hand suddenly flew over to the it jettisons a tennis ball farther into the tunnel. This in turn other stop as the set grunted again and died. enters the orbit of another football which in turn kicks one out. The chain reaction carries on all along the tunnel and I wind up with a tennis ball in my basket — though not the Mrs Tubby one you tossed in. Then you lob the rest of your tennis balls It was at this point that Mrs. Tubby rolled in from the in, as fast as you can, and I get an equal number out at my Dean Forrest. She talks in riddles and a visit from her was end. Call the tennis balls electrons. You've created a flow the last thing I wanted. of electricity." "I've parked my car in the road. It's faulty" she said. "But what's current and voltage?" I looked up wearily. "I can't mend cars Mrs. Tubby" I "Current is the number of electrons — er, tennis balls — said. you're lobbing in" I said, "and voltage is the force with "The telly's faulty" she said, leaning towards me as which you're lobbing them in." though I was an idiot, "the one you mended the other day. He made some notes, then looked at me thoughtfully. It's never been right since you did it. But we thought we'd "Where do all these electrons come from?" give it a chance. It didn't settle down though. You'll have "There's an enormous reservoir of them" I replied, "and to get it out of the car." your standing on it — the earth. They are cruelly dragged I followed her out from the drive, wishing I'd been an out of it at the power station and can't wait to get back. We optician or a rich and aloof car mechanic. She walked on. send them all over the place before they get there, to wher- Her car was a hundred yards away. I pulled out the weighty ever we want work done, and make them flow through our Sony KV2217UB and started the treck back to the work- gadgets as they fight their way back home." shop. When I got there I was tottering. Walpole looked even more thoughtful. "What's resis- "I want you to do me a favour Mr. Bullock" she then tance, capacitance and inductance then?" said. "My son Walpole leaves school soon. He seems to "Walpole" I said, "I've got sets to fix, and your ma's just have some electrical questions to answer. Perhaps I could entered the drive. Bring the rest of your questions along pop him in tomorrow. This workshop could do with a clean next time."

TELEVISION JANUARY 1994 207 I humped the Sony set (YE2 chassis) on to the bench, heatsink was getting hot. In this chassis (Euro 3) D906, a hoping that I could mend it. I'd fitted a new mains switch 132V zener diode, acts as a crowbar in the event of exces- six months earlier. When I switched it on the power supply sive h.t. voltage. It was short-circuit. I fitted a replacement sang like a kettle for a few seconds then fell silent. There and started the set up with the variac. It drew current but were no voltages at its outputs. that was all: there was still an h.t. short-circuit. So I I headed for the usual culprits, R607 and R618, but they disconnected the 115V supply at pin 2 of the line output were all right. C12 also proved to be o.k. when checked on transformer. This cleared the short. I checked and cleared my capacitance bridge. So I disconnected plug F6 and the 2SD1426 line output transistor Q551, then the two connected a 100W bulb across pins 1 and 2 — the 135V rectifier diodes D552 and D553 which were also o.k. I output and chassis — then switched on again. The bulb lit up. then took out the line output transformer to check its wind- Checks showed that the other output voltages were also ings with the circuit. The primary winding (pins 1-2) was present and correct. So the cause of the fault had to be an shorted to the two secondary windings. A replacement overload on the 135V line, which supplies the line output cured the trouble. stage. I turned to the line output panel and checked the resis- Another Visit from Mr Pearshape tance between the h.t. input and chassis. It was down at 552. So I rushed to the line output transistor which was all right. Mr. Pearshape's Jaguar sang into the drive. He tumbled I traced the short to pin 1 of the line output transformer. out in a cloud of cigar smoke. A shy but well-built little The circuit shows that it's connected only to pins 10 and lady hung in the background. She might have been his 11, so I isolated these by nicking the print. But the short cleaner, but wasn't.. . remained. There was nothing for it. Out came the trans- "Set in the boot. Bad back you know" he rasped. I former, and I then found that pins 1, 10 and 11 read contin- carried it in and he propelled the young lady in with his uously with nearly every other winding. A new line output finger. transformer restored normal operation. "Blue picture wasn't it m'dear?" he croaked. She nodded at the ground. He handed me his card and added "mend it quick and ring me, right?" Then they departed. Mr Flighty's Mitsubishi CT1447BM The set was a 14in. Sony Model KVM14TU. Its picture Just as Greeneyes brought in my tea Mr. Flighty danced had scarcely any blue content and the red was smeary. In in with a Mitsubishi CT1447BM TV set. He ignored me, addition the chroma seemed to be far too intense. When I put the set down with part of it on my hand, and grinned at changed channels the blue content improved. I decided that Greeneyes, asking how she was and had she been on the actual fault was a dark picture with a varying chroma holiday yet. He went on and Greeneyes chortled. I waited. balance but I had no means of adjusting it — the remote When he'd run down I pointed to my trapped hand with my control unit hadn't been brought along. good one and he moved the set off it. A check showed that the tube's first anode voltage was "Sorry old chap" he said, "it's stuck in standby." low at 150V. I traced its source back to the line output "I know the feeling" I replied. transformer where R852 was powdered and white while He then danced out, waving at Greeneyes. Muttering D852 was sooty. When these items had been replaced I had something about ferrets I applied myself to the set. I full brightness and correct colour balance. A relatively checked the STR44115 chopper chip IC901 and found that simple cause of symptoms that had threatened to baffle me. its pins were all shorted together. So I fitted a replacement. A phone call to Pearshape brought a hoarse chuckle. "I The set again failed to start up and I noticed that the chip's like to keep her happy you know" he rasped. this trade when the local paper beckoned me. The extra What a Life! pound a week I suppose. Oh to start again! Video Problems Donald Bullock Mrs. Tubby rolled in from the Forest of Dean with some- thing in a plastic bin liner. "How much to mend this?" she Les Lawry-Johns' death was a great loss to us all. In a prac- asked, eyeing me as though I was a sneak thief. tical sense he was a technical wizard of his time. But the "What is it?" I asked. reason for his great popularity amongst readers — I suspect "Wonky" she said. that most long-term readers turned to his article first when After a delay she extracted the item from its bag. It was a the latest magazine arrived — went deeper than this. He was Philips/Pye DV286 VCR that was matted with greasy dust one of us, a fellow sufferer at the hands of Joe Public. We and had strands of tape hanging from its mouth. knew those who caused him such trouble: thinly disguised, "Help" I muttered as I waved her out. Then I called they circulate amongst us all. Like the rest of us, Les knew Steven in from the van. "Your job" I said. exactly what they were up to. Yet he continued to suffer "What's up with it?" he asked. because his tormentors — our tormentors — have no code of "Wonky" I replied. He gave me an odd look and took it honour. Like us all he constantly resolved to harden, to over to his bench. make the most of his experience so that he would come off Having unloaded that one I pulled a Ferguson 3V47 best in future. But he seldom did, and nor do we. It isn't in portable VCR on to the bench. "Picture was intermittent, now our stars. We're born losers. gone. Sound o.k." said the card. The machine was full of dust Les's troubles were ours. But he was a bit more honest, a and tape debris. So I gave it a thorough service and tried it bit more vulnerable and a great deal more decent than most of again. It was no better. I took the video heads out and found us. His writing left us all richer. I, for one, am grateful to him. that the leads hadn't taken to the solder when the machine was produced. They were held only by the resin. After resol- dering them I tried the machine again. The results were excel- Grundig Troubles lent. As I was boxing it up I looked over at Steven. He'd Kevin Bentun brought his Grundig colour set in the other finished the Philips video and was doing the bill. day — a CUC2401 type. "It's gone mental" he announced. "What was it?" I asked. "All right at first, then the sound and picture fade, leaving "A jammed Chinese cassette and a missing spring which the screen bright. After a while the picture comes back and should have held the back-tension arm by the tail. I found it flutters at me. Enough to get a chap's dander up, I can tell in the works. It's o.k. now. What shall I charge?" you." And off he minced. "Up to you" I said. "But you won't win. If you charge Hoping to resolder a few dry-joints and make some quick enough you'll be a rogue. If you make a small charge it was money I got cracking. There would, I figured, probably be a easy and you shouldn't have charged anything at all. And line output transformer derived supply playing up. An hour God help you if it goes wrong again or another of her Happy later I'd got nowhere, so I decided to stop and try to think Friend tapes jams. And don't phone her yet, because that about it. Well, it could be the line output transformer. We will mean that there couldn't have been anything much had one like it in stock, so I fitted it. This made no differ- wrong with it." ence. I next connected a voltmeter to the tuner's 12V "I wouldn't mind a cup of tea" said Steven. I got the supply. When the fault returned, the voltage swung about. message. Never mind. Who sits on pride after a forty year On opening the tuner I saw several suspect joints, but resol- battering? dering them didn't help. As the supply remained stable when it was connected to a dummy load I carried out a more detailed examination of the tuner and soon found a 220µF, Miscellaneous Faults 10V electrolytic that had dried up. A replacement cured the As I set about making the tea Steven pulled a Panasonic trouble. TX5500 (U5 chassis) on to the bench. The card said "no Then, surprise, surprise, Mr. Fussie fidgeted in with brightness". He stood there pondering. another Grundig set that was just the same. "IC601" I said. "It's never been right since you mended our wireless" he "You see what?" he asked. bickered. "I took it to Snoddies and they fitted some parts "It won't be a no brightness fault" I said. "Almost and charged me £40, but it's still the same." certainly it'll be no luminance because the TDA3562A chip "Why don't you take it back to them?" IC601 on the upright panel to the right of the main chassis "They recommended you." has failed. Don't forget the A" I added as he looked in the As the fault was identical to the pervious one I mended it i.c. drawer. "You'll get nowhere if you fit one that doesn't in no time. He returned shortly after I'd phoned him with have the A suffix." the news. So that's what he fitted, curing the trouble. "What was it?" he moaned, looking at me as though I Then he pulled a Neff 6007 microwave oven on to his was a bad drain. bench. When he operated it the counter worked but the rest "A condenser" I said. "Twenty five pounds." didn't. "How much was the part?" he asked. "What do you think's up with this?" he asked. "Tuppence" I replied. "Dunno" I said, "and when you find out, shield me from "That's sixty five pounds in all" he whined, "Snoddies the answer." said you might be expensive. Can you guarantee that A short while later he had it working. The switch at the another part won't go? Could this have damaged anything top of the door had burnt out. Whilst at it he replaced them else in the house?" all. I gave him a deranged look and he departed, leaving me As I was washing up he got busy with an Hitachi wondering why, all those years ago, my people put me in VT8300 that wouldn't accept a tape. It didn't take him long

252 TELEVISION FEBRUARY 1994 to discover that the loading motor wasn't working. "There's I opened the door and jerked my head. Off he went. I felt 6V on the pink supply lead" he said "and only 0.4V on the the need for some air and wandered out to have a word with white. I'll check around IC905 and 906." Brian who does a bit of gardening for us. He always looks "Check R081 while you're doing that" I said. It was well and smart and as usual had a cigar wedged in his open-circuit, a replacement restoring normal operation. mouth. He was clipping at some bushes. A van spluttered up and out leapt this all-in wrestler with a Ferguson 3V00 video, also dismantled. Visitors "Where's Mr. Bullock, mate?" he asked me thickly. Then Just then the door flew open and an RAF chappie from he saw Brian and shot over to him. the nearby estate breezed in. He was carrying a cardboard "Ah Mr. Bullock. This thing's got a volt gone wrong. It box that contained a dismantled television set. isn't much and won't take long. Don't wanna spend much, "Ah!" he said. "They tell me you're good with a screw- see..." driver! I got this set for nothing in Germany. When I I sauntered off and Steven appeared. Later I came in at brought it back the sound needed twiddling. So I had a go the back of the workshop and found him putting it together. and swapped some of those things with legs. Some smoke "What do you think of this trade?" I asked him. came out of there, where it's gone black. I don't mind "It's good fun" he replied. letting you do it, but I don't want to spend. . ." That's what I used to think. What's gone wrong with me? helpful and decent people you could wish to meet, and What a Life! their latest catalogue is a gem. Scrambled Signals The availability of 'alternative' Sky TV decoder cards was Donald Bullock mentioned in an article in Television recently. Such cards are widely advertised in Spain, where dish television is popular amongst the thousands of British residents. Can't think why, Bringing son Steven into the business was a rare brain- but there we are. One firm offers Sky cards at £220, with D2- wave on my part. I still can't understand how he's learnt MAC cards at £150. Another offers a 'cardless decoder'. "Save so quickly what it took me forty years to learn. The bonus hundreds of pounds" says the advert, "we have the solution and is that I no longer have to stay rooted to the workshop each you buy it only once." There are also companies that provide and every day — there's nothing like a spell away from the all the decoded channels by cable for less than the price of a bench. Another interesting thing is that Steven doesn't card. I don't know what would happen if the encoding mind making field calls. I stopped that years ago, having changed. reached the stage where my eyes would glaze over as soon Dish reception is quite good in Spain — provided a large dish as I was corralled and the usual prattle began. is used, preferably 1.2m or more, plus a very low-noise LNB. Personally I wouldn't bother, having sampled the programmes. But it's a funny old world. Fancy people paying to watch Last Straw commercial television, and paying Mice to watch BBC televi- It was the Blakeways who finally made me give it up. sion. I'd already called on Mrs. Pratt (no picture) to remake her This encoding business got me thinking. Some channels aerial lead connection yet again, slyly catching her dog's display no chroma while others do. Some seem to suffer from face with my service case in the process. It was a huge, degraded luminance bandwidth, and all mess about with the overfed dog that used to roll on the lead and pull it from line scanning. the set. Though I explained the cause of the trouble twice a I looked up the VideoCrypt circuitry in a Pace manual. It's week for years, Mrs. Pratt always reacted as though it was printed on pink paper overlaid with deep grey bars. This makes something new. it tedious to read. So I copied it which is not, of course, impos- "Oh Bonzo, you silly big softy! What's mummy going sible. Basically the video signal is converted to digital form and to do with you?" fed into a pair of line-duration memory chips. When told to do Then, as she turned for her purse, I'd catch it under its so a following latch switches the processed signal to a digital- snout and it would throw itself about and howl. to-analogue converter. Processing is controlled by the split "Dear Bonzo" she'd say, "don't take it so. I didn't mean output from a 28MHz master oscillator: the 14MHz outputs are it!" divided again to produce 7MHz and 3.5MHz clock signals. After my last visit I went on to the Blakeways, whose The smart card needs two supplies, one at 5V which is set lived in a corner amidst a maze of wires, old shoes and switch controlled and another that can be varied between 5V, goodness knows what else. 12.5V, 15V or 21V as commanded. For those who might be "Never bin right since you last did it. . . Hums now. wondering how the on-screen messages remain clear and Never watches it meself. . . wife and children. . . Which locked on the scrambled screen, well they simply pass straight is the best set anyway? Gets hot you know, never used to." across to the video output stage while the previously mentioned "My husband thinks it's the valve. . . or the condenser. processing is going on. . . Is renting a good idea? Irene next door had trouble What I fmd interesting is not the fact that a few have galore then rented. . . No more trouble. . . Special sets cracked the encoding, but why this hasn't been more widely y' know." cracked. I would have thought that almost any competent elec- "Can't be the tube, 'cos the sound's all right. . . How tronics technician, given the broadcast signal, a decoder- can you tell when the tube's gone?" Then, pointing to the receiver, its circuit diagram and an oscilloscope would pretty aerial lead, "that the tube then? We was watching, er, what quickly be able to see what's going on and what could be done was we watching Doll? ITV, I know. That one where they about it. guesses things and there's the thin Irish chap with the mouth. . . or was it Eastend Neighbours? Like that Rosebud in May chap, don't you? Did you see the one.. . Tuning Problem Reckon the colours really right? 'Ow long before we won't Like Greeneyes, some VCRs have extensive wardrobes. need no aerials? We were about to come and pay for what The Nikkai NVR100/500RC for example often appears as the you did last year when it went again. . . Ain't gotta take it Solavox NCVR1000/5000, the Sentra GX8000 and the Alba 'ave you? That all it was? 'Ow much for that little bit then? VCR3000/4000X, not to mention the Amstrad clones. One we Tell you what, we'll see 'ow it settles down. . . " had in recently wouldn't tune properly. Some channels couldn't be got at all. Others had crackling on sound and on E- E and video. In the end we found that the cause was in the Out in Spain converter box, a replacement providing a cure. My Amstrad PCW8512 wordprocessor failed during a recent visit to Spain. Field Collapse. I had a service manual, which had come surprisingly cheaply from The Trews' Bush Willow Vale, and it didn't take me long to establish that Mr. and Mrs. Trew called in the other day with a Bush the LA1385 field timebase chip was the cause of the colour portable, Model 2114. She placed her hand in the small trouble. But where to get one? I telephoned JJ Components of his back and he spoke. and received a couple within a few days. Jay and his wife "We think it wants adjusting, Mr. Butcher." Lata run this excellent little firm. They are two of the most "Don't like that word" I replied, "but tell me more."

408 TELEVISION APRIL 1994 "When we turned it on last night it squealed and hissed, then smoked and burnt and went off. Would you need to keep it a while, Mr. Bullrush?" "I sure will, if not longer." As they left Steven came in. I handed him the set. "It squealed and hissed, smoked and burnt and went off' I said, "and it's all yours."

Clarence's Video As Steven settled to do it Mrs. Runner called in with her son Clarence. He was carrying a Samsung SI1260 VCR. "Tell Mr. Bullock what's wrong, Clarence" she said. Clarence opened his mouth but his mother spoke. "It takes the tape in all right doesn't it, Clarence?" As Clarence breathed in to speak his mother continued. "And it whirrs, doesn't it, Clarence — and what else is it?" Clarence shifted his stance and opened his mouth, but it was no good. "Oh, and he can't get his tape out, can you, Clarence?" Then she smiled. "It's an educational tape, Mr. Bullock. He thinks the world of it. Likes to study, he does. Spends his life in his room with that recorder thing, you know." When they'd gone I tried the machine. There was no E-E picture but the sound was there. When I tried to eject the tape the machine switched off. I decided to make a few checks in the power supply and found that the 5V line was low. This brought me to a couple of diodes, D109 and D110, that were leaky. After replacing them I tried the machine again. It worked perfectly. Then, wondering what Clarence was studying so intensely, I inserted his tape and pressed play. Then I pressed stop as quickly as I could and took the tape out. Wherever had Clarence got it from? And hadn't there been more legs than arms? I boxed the machine up, put the tape on top of it and placed the lot to one side. Just then Steven called over.

The 2114's Problem "Got the Bush done!" he exclaimed. He had, too. The picture and sound were excellent. "Found that C806, a 1,000pF, 16V 1.t. reservoir capacitor, was down to 300pF. It had also blown its top. R811, the 152 surge limiter in the h.t. supply, was open-circuit. C409 (220pF, 25V) which smooths the supply to the line driver stage was down at about 80pF and C818 (lpF, 50V) in the regulation network was faulty. It's a TDA4601 type power supply. I'm getting to know these sets quite well. Reckon that the Trews went on using theirs, even though they know that it had problems, until it blew up." "One that came in the other day was squealing, would tune only to BBC-1 and had vertical tearing. C818 had gone low in value again. As a result the h.t. was low and spiky."

Return Calls Next day the Trews trudged back, him in front. "Have you adjusted the set, Mr. Buzzard?" he piped. "You could say that, Mr. Twap" I beamed. "And if you've got your cheque book we can do the same to your bank balance." Then Mrs. Runner came in with Clarence for the Samsung video and his tape. "Thank Mr. Bullock for doing it so quickly, Clarence" she said. Clarence took a gulp of air. "He don't say much, Mr. Bullock. Heaven knows why. But he can get back to his studying now. He's brighter than he seems, you know. Knows what it's all about." "Can't deny that, Mrs. Runner" I said.

TELEVISION APRIL 1994 adapted for remote control operation, and prayed that I wouldn't have to take out the mass of ironwork and What a e. circuitry behind the front cabinet controls. Norman works at the local pub, mainly because he gets all the unsold pies and pasties and something to wash them down with. I've Donald Bullock never seen him without a pie. "You seem to be coming here a lot recently Norman" I said, "you must have a television set and a VCR in every When I started in this trade there were no transistors. room!" There were wireless sets, electric gramophones with pick- The Bush set displayed three obvious symptoms. What ups that weighed a ton, and radiograms — a wireless set there was of the raster was green, it had collapsed into a and a gramophone in one huge box. There were a few tele- bright horizontal line, and there was no digital display. vision sets as well of course. They were full of valves, had Were there three separate faults, or one that caused all tiny screens and also weighed a ton. And they received just these symptoms? Surely there had to be a single fault. I one programme, BBC, 'cos that's all there was. made for the 12V line, which is derived from the line I had no idea at that time what I was letting myself in output stage and is stabilised by an LM7812 regulator, for. These thoughts came to me the other day when I heard IC701. It feeds the field generator and the signals circuitry, Steven happily accepting a CD player for repair. It's some- the LM7812 being mounted on a large heatsink at the rear, times hard to appreciate how the trade has managed to right-hand side of the chassis, close to the edge. It had cope with the dozens of complex developments and the originally been dry-jointed, probably because of stress due ever-increasing multiplicity of domestic electronics equip- to its position. But the solder had melted and shorted the ment. 12V line to chassis. As a result the 20, 2W fusible resistor R422 had given up. The resultant voltage loss was the cause of the various symptoms. The Hitachi DA58 As Norman doesn't have much income, I felt kindly The CD player, an Hitachi DA58, would read a disc towards him when he returned. "Here it is Norman" I said, only once in about ten attempts. I was trying to read a B & "good as new — but no better I'm afraid. Fifteen quid to 0 circuit diagram and claimed to have a headache (that you!" would figure!) and to be too busy to even think about it. "Oh good" he mumbled through a piece of pork pie. So Steven took down the manual and went about it with no "I'll charge old Woody thirty quid. He'd reckoned on apparent concern. He found some dry-joints around a having to pay about forty." clutch of transistors — Q007, Q008, Q011 and Q012. When he'd resoldered these the player worked correctly. A Ferguson 14M2 Meanwhile Steven was working on a Ferguson 14M2 An Amstrad STV20 (TX89 chassis) whose display symbols flashed and He next applied himself to an Amstrad STV20, which is constantly changed. Most of the time the display was a 20in. TV set with a built-in satellite receiver and nonsense, but when it did make sense and settled on a decoder. The job card said 'intermittent blue screen'. local channel a good picture came up. Then the set would In this model the satellite receiver/decoder is vertically switch itself to standby. Steven stood their poleaxed. mounted at the right-hand side (viewed from the back), "What's up with this one then?" with the cable connections and the card insert slot at the "God knows" I replied, "but remember — adopt a logical back. The main panel and power circuitry are on separate approach." Then I slunk out to make the tea. panels on the floor of the cabinet, in plastic slots. Steven A big murder enquiry was going on in our area at the soon found that the tube's voltages varied when the signal time. Umpteen bodies had been found and more were panel was pressed and lifted. The power and signals panels being sought. I stayed in the house awhile to see all about have to be pulled out together, then separated for service it on the box, which I normally never watch. Then I took attention. In this particular set the PCB slots were very Steven's cold tea out to the workshop. He'd got the set rough, so much-so that the print at the extreme edges of the working and was also watching the murder enquiry. panels had worn shiny through ordinary cabinet move- "What was it?" I asked, pointing to the Ferguson. ment. "Someone seems to have done in a lot of women" he It's quite a new model. Working without a circuit answered. diagram, Steven concentrated on the circuit connector that "No — the fault on the Ferguson" I said. links the signals panel to the tube's base panel. He found "Oh, that. A carbonised on-off switch. I've wired one in that a 170V voltage at pin 2 disappeared when the fault temporarily and have ordered the right one from HRS." was present. Steven could find no hairline cracks but "Yeah" I said, "I suppose it had to be that." noticed that the rear, right-hand corner of the panel "No. It could have been caused by IC13 and IC14: as showed signs of running hot. Resoldering the components they're data linked, you have to replace them both. in this area — C75, C86, R85 and D15 — cured the intermit- Another possibility could have been e.h.t. arcing, particu- tency. larly under the e.h.t. cap." "Didn't like that Amstrad" he said as he boxed it up. "You've been on to Ferguson!" I exclaimed. "You can do1he next one." "Wouldn't speak to me" he said. "Then where did you get all that?" "Worked it all out and tried the most likely thing first. An Old Bush You did say to be logical!" While he was lifting the set down, quiet Norman I'm still puzzled about how much he's picked up in Glutton glided in with an old Bush TV set — one fitted with such a short time. The bits I know took me a lifetime to the T22A chassis. I saw that it was one which had been absorb.

510 TELEVISION MAY 1994 could make money like these people instead of watching telly all day." What a Life! While Mrs. Simper was attending to the payment he picked the set up, gave us a wink and made a disgusting sign behind her back. Donald Bullock The Philips K35 Chassis I woke up early one morning. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and it felt good to be alive. Then I remembered Half an hour later I noticed that Steven was grunting and that I was in TV/VCR repair, and that Walter Windpipe had rubbing his eyes as he worked on a set. "What's up?" I called the night before, at half past ten, with a Samsung asked. VCR. "Partial field collapse with this K35 set of Rupert's" he "Sorry to call so late Mr. Bodger" he slurred. "I've had said, "but the BD437/BD438 field output pair TS530/TS532 this in the car a couple of days and remembered it only when test perfectly after being removed." I left the, er, club. It's the wife's Sing-Song. Can't be much — "Nevertheless, try a new pair" I said. He did, and up came it was all right before it seized up." the picture. "Aren't I clever?" I added. Then we stopped for our tea break. I made the tea — it's one job I can do well without Walter's Sing-Song having to use my tired brain. As we were finishing, two odd When I got to the workshop I opened Walter's Sing-Song, fellows came along in quick succession. One had tiny eyes an SI1260 that was quite new. Its carriage had jammed and a permanent leer, the other looked like the hunchback of because the brittle plastic cog assembly had been stripped by Notre Dame. the coarse-toothed metal slider that meshes with it. The two never did mesh well in this series of models. A look in the manual gave the part number as 65203-605-310, but it Strange Fellows proved to be no longer available. The recommended replace- I'm Terence Stoate" leered the first, "of Stoate, Weasel ment is part number 65203-605-330, which costs 63p. and Fleecem, solicitors. I've a 20in. Ultra Model V2001 in Samsung have a £3 minimum order charge so, in view of the the car. TX90 chassis, you know. I've made a note of the potential business out there, we ordered six. The spares came serial number. Can you get it out? — I have back trouble. It quickly and we had the machine right in no time. I have to just groans." say that Sing-Song certainly try harder and their service That I understood. As I struggled in with the set Steven people have always been good to us. was accepting a Panasonic NVL20 VCR from the other man. I've referred on previous occasions to a pair of trouble- "Call back this afternoon, Mr. Huckmore" he smiled. some diodes in this machine, D109 and D110, both type "Er — how come the new confidence?" I asked. 054001. They go leaky or short-circuit. As a result the "It's dead, no functions or display" he replied. "I think voltage on the 5V line falls, the consequences being loss of it'll be the 1pF, 400V electrolytic in the switch-mode power the E-E vision (the sound remains) and no drum or capstan supply down to about 0.005pF." He was right. drive. If they are only slightly leaky the symptom is intermit- I went to the house for some Asprins, then put Mr. tent cassette ejection. Specimens like Windpipe then force Stoate's sat on the bench and opened it up. The chassis was the carriage. So while we were at it we replaced these diodes immaculate. He'd been into it and removed every speck of with some tougher ones. dust. Some of the larger components had a red felt-pen spot on them. When I plugged the set in nothing happened apart from a groan from the speaker. I decided to make a few cold A Ferguson A51F checks, but there was nothing obviously amiss. Steven boxed My first caller that day was Mrs. Simper. She swept in up the NVL20 then came over as I plugged the set in again. followed by a scruffy lad with a TV set in his arms. While he was peering at the chassis the line output trans- "Put it down there" she ordered him. As he put it on the former suddenly exploded, covering him with a sticky resin. bench he knocked down our drawer of assorted screws. "You "What was it?" he asked when his ears had stopped oaf' she said. He stood there blinking and I started to pick up ringing, "and how do I get all this off?" the screws. "It's the first time I've had a line output transformer "Smokes" she said, "all the bloody time". I looked at the explode" I said. "Phone HRS for another — ask for a TX90 fellow. "Not him" she continued, "the set. He's a telly white spot." addict, not a smoker. Can't be much wrong with the set. When it arrived Steven got busy fitting it while I looked Snoddies said it was a condenser and quoted a quid." out the manual and linked the set to the mains supply via the I straightened up. "Perhaps you should take it there then?" variac. We connected a d.c. voltmeter across the h.t. line and I suggested. turned the set-h.t. control to minimum. Then we wound up "They can't do 'em." the set slowly, standing well back — me behind Steven. As So I ended up with the set, which is fitted with the IKC2 the voltage rose the set pulsed two or three times and up chassis. This frightens me to death. When I plugged the set came a raster. After plugging in an aerial we had a picture. It in it made three spirited attempts to start then smoke began wasn't bad, except for the verticals on the right-hand side — to belch from beneath the line output transformer, close to they were wobbling and rippling. We tried to adjust the h.t. the core. Like the ICC5 and ICC7, this chassis seems get voltage, which was low, but the control had no effect. So we through line output transformers — and they're not cheap. switched off quickly and checked around in the power We paid up, got one, fitted it and to our relief the set supply/line output stage circuit. Sure enough the BD839 worked. boost voltage regulator transistor TR107 was short-circuit. When Mrs. Simper returned with her lad to collect the set All was well when we fitted a replacement. We took care to we told her that the charge was £40. She looked at us with set the h.t. correctly, boxed up the set and put it on soak test. contempt and said to him "pick it up, you dummy — wish you Later we pronounced it fit.

560 TELEVISION JUNE 1994 Mr. Huckmore subsequently called to collect his NVL20. TV set fitted with the CUC60 chassis. Apparently there was "Funny-looking chap that was here last time I came in" he occasional field collapse and "the line gets brighter and said. brighter". "So many are, Mr. Huckmore" I said. "Shall I have a go at it or will you?" asked Steven. As he departed Mr. Stoate came in. "You have a go" I said. "Odd cove that one" he commented. The chassis has subpanels mounted on the main PCB. "We seem to attract all the oddballs" I said, smiling Steven pulled out the field timebase panel and checked thinly. D2758, a pretty little SKE2F diode. It was open-circuit. He fitted a new one, checked the panel for dry-joints and resol- dered C2758 (100pF, 35V). "That'll put it right" he said. It A Grundig CUC60 did. There was only one job left to be done that day, a Grundig He was just lucky. coils for years, then suddenly I had to do just that on two consecutive jobs!

Some Easier Ones Donald Bullock Earlier Steven had taken in a Sony KVM14U with no raster. When I I don't like these modern telephones — trouble. But they don't seem to fail removed the back I expected to find the sort without wires to anchor them. any more. Or do they? In a flash I another open-circuit resistor in the Steven does though. He's got one that decided upon a course of action. I first anode supply, with the rectifier he carries around the workshop. When loped over to our TV graveyard and diode cracked and cooked. But no, the he's finished talking to it he puts it saw a set with a dud tube and an iden- first anode supply was o.k. Pity! Then, down wherever he happens to be and tical set of scan coils. When these brushing the dust from the neck of the goes out. My troubles start when it were fitted to the set on the bench a tube, I noticed that the heaters were rings and I can't find it. perfect picture came up. Well! We live out. As usual the supply comes from Yesterday he left it on our COPS and learn. the line output transformer. Although monitor. When it rang I lunged at it it's a pulsed voltage, our meter indi- and it fell under the table. That was cated that it was present. But it wasn't where I crawled to answer it. Another Portable reaching the tube's base. The feed is "I'm Doctor Who" said a voice. It was then that Mr. Bacaroni called via plug CND82, which is beside the "Good God!" I exclaimed. in, carrying a 14in. Saisho portable — a transformer. There was a hairline "My personal has gone all velly CT142RX. He thrust it into my face crack in one of the tracks. I hand silly colours and shrunk" he and began to sing like Pavarotti. wired both connections, switched on, continued. "It's also making a silly "My Emerson from Roma, he and up came the picture. noise." lasted till old age. This Japanese Meanwhile Steven was working on "But why tell me?" I asked. bunkum, no age at all, he go up there." a Ferguson 3767 (TX10 chassis). "Because I want it put right. By the He was pointing to the sky. There was e.h.t. and the tube's heaters way, I have it in the car." "They do, they do" I said. "Leave it were alight, but there was no bright- "Where are you then?" with us. Don't ring — we'll ring you." ness. He'd measured the first anode "In your front drive." Off he pounced. voltage and found that it was about I didn't have the manual but the set 800V. "Check the cathode voltages" I seemed to be similar to the Matsui suggested. These were too high. We The Philips KT3 1480A for which I did have one. So I looked at the green LED on the c.r.t. As I clambered from beneath the used this to go after the fault. When base panel — it provides a stable bias table he came in. A photo with "Dr. the set was switched on it made a voltage for the RGB output stages. Hoo" and the name of a local hospital thin, tinny sound and there was no There was no light. A replacement was attached to his shirt. The portable raster. After checking that the h.t. sorted that one out. turned out to be a Philips 37KT3060 was correct I investigated the The complaint with an Hitachi (KT3 chassis). When I plugged it in 2SD1426 line output transistor Q402 VT9500 VCR we had in was that and switched on there was distorted and found that it was short-circuit rewind was o.k. but there was no fast- sound and the field scanning had base-to-emitter. When this had been forward operation. Steven applied his collapsed to a non-linear six-inch band replaced there was the welcome attention to it. The idler seemed to be across the centre of the screen. Then crackle of e.h.t. Another job done, I catching on the chassis and as it's Dr. Hoo's suit started to bleat. He took thought. But I was wrong. made of thin plastic we assumed that it his smart-phone from his pocket, The picture that came up was only was warped. So a Konig replacement cooed into it then took his leave. a third of the correct width. I was fitted. To Steven's astonishment Did the set have one fault or three? switched off and felt the line output this made no difference. It took him a I opened it up and waggled the transformer. It was warm, but not hot. while to see that this was because the degaussing plug in its socket. One of So was the replacement transistor. I tiny tensioning ball bearing was the wires popped out. It had never spent an age going through the line missing. We then realised that it was been crimped. I soldered it properly, scan circuit. Apart from one or two also missing from the original idler. A curing fault number one. What about slightly low capacitors, which I new idler from Hitachi had the ball the distorted sound? When I tried an replaced to no avail, everything bearing intact and fitting it corrected audio module from a scrap set the seemed to be all right. There was a the trouble. improvement was immediate. So that substantial fault somewhere, but once Our final case that morning was a was the answer to fault number two. again I had run out of ideas. Then I dead Bush 2114 portable. The things The field fault wasn't so easy to deal noticed the smell of something to go for in this situation are the ther- with. cooking and saw a thin wisp of mistor (TH801) and resistor (R817, Half an hour later I was totally smoke climbing from the scan coils. I 5.61d2) in the start-up circuit — feeding baffled. Every voltage and waveform switched off and felt them. They were pin 9 of the TDA4601 chopper control in the field timebase seemed to be hot all right. Surely not another dud chip IC801. We replaced them both correct, and I'd replaced the deflection yoke? and had the set working merrily. BD223/BD234 pair of field output I returned to our graveyard and Another item that gives trouble in the transistors and umpteen other compo- found an identical set of coils. Fitting power supply is R808 (270kS2) which nents. Time for some logical thinking. them restored perfect results. It's is connected to pin 4 of the chip — in What hadn't I tried? fortunate that the same make and type the collector current simulation I sat and reflected. There was a of yoke is used in so many sets. I network. It goes high in value, killing time when scan coils often gave hadn't had to replace, the deflection the chopper transistor.

TELEVISION JULY 1994 633 word with my old friend Peter Ambrose, who always knows the answers with Comet stuff. "There are a couple of 1001d2, 0.5W resistors from the collector of the BU508 line output transistor TR5" Donald Bullock he said. "On our sheet they are R406 and R418. They go high." He was right. One was open-circuit There has been a lot of comment in technical back-up from every manu- and the other was very poorly indeed. these pages recently on the increasing facturer and distributor in our trade. Fitting replacements cured the tendency of TV and video manufac- Yet each week another one seems trouble, and I then studied the turers to stop providing technical help to stop providing it. There was a time, ZX3000 circuit to see how it to those of us who land up with the job not long ago, when Mitsubishi could compared. of repairing their products. It's be relied upon to provide the fullest It was similar in this section. The certainly a problem that's getting help whenever we were struggling. two resistors are shown as R98 and worse. And, when all things are We would be sent sections of circuits R99, their job being to feed line considered, the policy strikes me as by fax, and could enter into helpful pulses to the timebase generator chip being a short-sighted one. Some might technical discussions. Once a couple which in turn supplies sandcastle say a ruinous one. of chips were popped into the post to pulses to the colour decoder chip. When we were dealers, every set help us get a local Special school's Thanks again Peter! we sold was British. Some manufac- recorder right. turers — Bush, Murphy and Ekco The other day we called for help amongst them — were proud of their again. The technical boys, some of the A Dead Mitsubishi products and would appoint, after a nicest people around, had to refuse There's no nonsense with Mrs. great deal of vetting, an official dealer help because we're not an official Sensibull. She strode in with a in every large locality. These dealers dealer. "It's all a matter of money" we Mitsubishi CT2144TX and plonked it were provided with sales leads and the were told. "It costs money to employ down on the counter. "Here's your fullest back-up service imaginable. In someone to sit here dispensing help." chance to make a few bob out of me. return, the dealers were expected to It does, of course. But isn't Dead as mutton it is. Not even the observe Price Maintenance, i.e. not to economising on this a short-sighted beacon light. I'll pop in tonight to see undercut their competitors, and to policy? Here's what the outcome was. how you're getting on with it." attend to the needs of their Agency After a few more attempts to help the The set is fitted with the Euro 4 customers promptly and cheerfully, customers, a young couple, we had to chassis, which has one or two unusual whether there was a profit in an indi- reassemble their set and tell them that features. There are for example two vidual job or not. This meant that we had tried, but failed, to repair it. chopper circuits, one to provide the customers invested in their sets rather Their faces fell, then they looked supplies for the control circuitry so than merely buying them — in the thoughtful. that the standby system works. If this confident knowledge that a first-class "That's the last Mitsubishi we'll circuit is faulty, removing the micro- back-up service would be provided. It buy" the man said. controller chip's 5V supply, nothing ensured, amongst other things, that happens. Sure enough there was no piffling little faults with a high Mr Loon's Colour Set 5V output from IC951, which receives nuisance value to the user but no profit its input from the standby chopper to the dealer were attended to quickly Mr. Loon called in the other day circuit. The relevant rectifier D956 — things like obtaining and fitting a with a 20in. Goodman's colour set — and its surge limiter resistor R957 had new control knob. Model XRT20. He complained that failed. Replacing them cured the Agents were kept posted with there was uncontrollable brightness trouble — but only for five minutes, servicing notes and details of modifi- with flyback lines. When I opened the after which the set died again. cations. They were required to imple- set up it looked like the Fidelity Once more there was no 5V ment the latter where thought ZX3000 chassis — only it wasn't. supply. This time we found that the necessary, for the common good of the There were obvious differences, and 2SC4004 standby chopper transistor manufacturer, the dealer and the the component numbers were not the Q951 was short-circuit base-to- customer who, after all, paid for it all same. collector. We fitted a replacement and thus kept the manufacturer and After making a few telephone calls and, whilst at it, renewed its two dealer in business. In my salad days I we found a source for the manual and 330k11 base bias resistors R973 and worked for such Agency dealers. I still were quoted £24.50 plus VAT for it. R952. But the set was still dead. remember the air of quality and self- So we decided not to bother. Using the Further checks showed that there was esteem that permeated their shops and ZX3000 circuit as a rough guide, we no supply to Q951. In our set this service departments. made a start by checking the voltages came via a 27052 resistor which is not What a difference today! The around the TDA3562A colour decoder shown on the circuit diagram we had. Agency system is no more — despite chip. They were much the same as It was open-circuit. A replacement what one or two of the more expensive those shown in the circuit diagram. produced a beacon display and the and toffee-nosed distributors might For want of any better idea we then welcome rustle of e.h.t. when we claim — and the wide diversity of replaced the chip. This made no differ- switched on again. There was a really highly-complex products that come ence. excellent picture when we connected our way from everywhere constitutes a We subsequently learnt that the set the set to an aerial. servicing nightmare. Never has there was one that had been produced for Incidentally John Coombes wrote been a greater need for the fullest Comet. So I lifted the phone and had a about the chassis back in the July 740 TELEVISION AUGUST 1994 1991 issue of Television. We found red fringe around everything. Then it advanced the setting of the first anode the article a great help in sorting this all went twisted and drifted away, (screen) potentiometer to compensate. set out. taking the sound with it. This improved the picture quite a lot, "That it?" I asked. He nodded and and as we were boxing the set up Mr. opened his mouth. Bloat returned. Mr Bloat's Sony "Ffuh wohh hohh" he said. So we "Sorry about earlier" he wheezed. Mr. Bloat puffed in carrying his smiled, waved him out and opened his "Carrying that set nearly done for me. Sony KVM14TU, with the screen set up. Managed to do it?" away from his chest. He placed it on In this model the i.f. circuitry is "Sure thing Mr. Bloat" I said. Then the counter gingerly then opened his contained in a can. Tapping it with a I asked him over to the bench to see mouth to speak. But no words came screwdriver affected the symptoms. So the picture while Steven went on out, only a strangled noise. He sat we took the can out, opened it, sucked hoisting his new aerial flylead over the down on the chair that's usually full of the solder from every joint with solder counter: its purpose is to enable us to junk. After a few minutes he tried braid then remade all the joints. When show customers the picture at the again. we refitted the can and tried again the counter instead of dragging them "Hohh wohh ffuh" he said. We picture and sound were stable. through the obstacle course to the nodded understandingly and wrote The green cast was caused by loss bench. `Sony TV' on the job card. Then we of blue and red gun emission in the Mr. Bloat was delighted and paid plugged the set in, using a flylead that c.r.t., the red fringe by a sadly up. I decided to avoid another show by Steven had begun to wire above the poisoned red cathode. We set up the carrying the set out for him. "Follow counter. A picture came up, but it had grey scale as well as we could, which me, Mr. Bloat" I said as I strode out a green tinge. And there was a thick reduced the overall brightness, so we and popped the set into his car. standby was touched. We didn't have the circuit but opened it up and turned Wh a the chassis on its side to examine the print around the line timebase. I soon found transformer T401 so dry-jointed that I was able to lift it off the panel. Donald Bullock Cleaning the pins and resoldering the transformer into the panel restored normal results, though the tube was a The bell went early one morning, as I machine on the counter in front of him. bit low. was taking a shower. It kept on His reaction was fast. "I suppose "How much do I owe you?" Phil ringing. I half dried myself, scampered you want another fifteen quid, just to asked when he called back. into some things and ran to the front tell me to clear off?" "What do you get for doing the door. There I met Mr. Sickener for the "Eh?" I said. running about?" I asked. first time. "That's what Snoddies just did." "Well, nowt" he grinned. "It's my Sharp microwave" he said. "No charge" I said. He grabbed the "And that's our charge too." "I know what's wrong with it, and it machine and fled. isn't much. I've opened it of course. There's a D-shaped plastic thing under A Radio-cassette Player the turntable and it's cracked. How Mr Runty's Sony Then Mrs. Suet rolled in and long would it take you to get the spares The next caller was Mr. Runty. He's plonked a Pye 9014 radio-cassette and do it?" tiny, and apparently to compensate for player on the bench. She opened her "A couple of days" I said. this he indulges in circumlocution. mouth and a noise like a saw on a sheet On hearing this he clasped his hand "Ah, Mr. Bullock, my — ah — Sony of tin emerged. to his bald pate and spun round on his televisor has I fear developed a "Can you mend these?" she asked. heels. "How will I manage without it malady. I have it in my vehicle. It has "When we do, it's sheer luck" I for that length of time? Give me your shrugged off its mortal coil." replied. "What's up with it?" card and I'll decide. There are a few I had to struggle to get it out and "The radio is all right, but when I other dealers keen to do it." on to the bench — it was a KV2090 play my Shirley Bassey tape there's a So I had to find my keys, walk to series receiver (XE4 chassis). As he loud whining noise followed by a the workshop and open it to get a card left I checked and smelt the mains sharp tapping. What does that tell for him. I didn't like the look of him, switch, which was all right. So, you?" and hoped that it showed. I mentioned having had several of these sets in "That there's a midget in there with that Snoddies does microwaves, and before, I studied the underside of the taste" I said. We later found that the that Crubbs Foodstore doesn't but sells main panel. Sure enough there were `knocking' was a harsh crackling new ones very cheaply. At that he left. some dry-joints. There are five 10W caused by the cheap two-pin mains He was back with the machine a wirewound resistors in two batches. plug not gripping the socket properly few minutes later, and I had to go out The first batch consists of R621 and while the 'whining' was caused by an to the workshop again and unlock it to R622. They both stand upright and the up-ended resistor lead that rubbed book the oven in. centre lead of each one was dry- against the capstan. "Can we try it?" he asked, picking jointed. The same applied to the other "I've let the little fellow out, Mrs. up the plug and looking around for a batch — R637, R640 and R601. I Suet" I said when she called back. socket. removed them all in turn, cleaned and "And boy did he go. If I were you I'd "No" I said, "we aren't open yet." tinned the leads and resoldered them swap that cassette of yours for a Bing So he opened its door and began to in. The set then worked a treat. When one." dismantle the turntable assembly. "Oh, Mr. Runty returned he was delighted. by the way, there's a burning smell "Ah, Mr. Bullock, my gratitude is when you switch it on." He gazed at unbounded. How can I indicate my Amstrad PCWs my shirt, then my feet. "I. . . er, I'll be indebtedness to you?" I was telling Steven that there's going now" he said. I tapped my finger on the bill. "By something up with my Amstrad I went back to the house and looked remunerating me and perhaps adding PCW8512 monitor — the one I keep in in the mirror. My shirt was on back- an honorarium." Then I added "I got Spain. I'm not sure whether the tube wards. Then I looked at my feet — I that little lot off a sauce bottle". has become muzzy or whether the was wearing sandals: there were odd main board that provides its supply socks, one dark grey, the other maroon. Warder Phil voltages is in trouble. I could do with A little later I took a look at his a redundant one for spares — say one microwave. It was ancient. On the side, Warder Phil was our next caller. He with a useless disc drive. One that's near the back, there was a Snoddies' had brought along a Toshiba set. perhaps not worth mending. sticker. "Not worth repairing" it said. "Belongs to old Mrs. Downe" he said. Just then Mrs. Scribe came in. Cripes, if they'd passed up the chance "She's bedridden. Her stupid son She's a housewife who does some of a fast quid, there must be something looked after her until he got himself writing and was carrying her Amstrad wrong. We soon found that the put into our place for a month for PCW82512. machine had been badly pulled about, kicking up a rumpus after a night out. "I know you use Amstrads" she and that the nasty smell when it was I'd like to get his ma's set fixed said. "Can you repair mine? The switched on was because it was filthy though." second disc drive won't boot up when inside. Typical of Phil. The Toshiba set's I put a disc in. If the drive's finished When Mr. Sickener returned we beacon light came on when the on-off you can keep the machine for spares — told him the bad news and placed the switch was pressed, but went out when I'll get another." And off she went. 810 TELEVISION SEPTEMBER 1994 When I slipped a disc in nothing to talk about your funny experiences fault without success. I replaced happened. So I pressed the little disc in the trade?" C516, which made no difference, then release button and the machine didn't I nodded. suspected the TMP47C433AN micro- give it back. I opened the monitor, "Why not write a proper book controller chip IC105. One had to be took the second disc drive out and about them? You ought to, you ordered of course. When it arrived and opened it. The release mechanism was know." was fitted there was again no differ- dry. So I cleaned and lubricated it, "I've a mind to do just that" I ence. floating a spot of thin oil on a drop of replied. I stared at the chassis and thought water and using a fine screwdriver to hard. What could be pulling the apply, sparingly, a film of oil to it. voltage down? And if disconnecting A Samsung Portable After that the release mechanism Q130 and Q131 restored the voltage, worked well. While we were at it we Our next caller was Councillor why couldn't I find a nice hefty short? treated the other moving parts, Glorie. He's bulky and scruffy and And why did the set sometimes come including the worm drive. winks every time he speaks, as though to life for a minute after being The disc drive now worked, but the it's only just him and you. He brought switched on for an hour? screen remained blank. I saw that along his 10in. Samsung set, a And another question. Why was I although the drive motor was running CI212R, which you also come across a TV engineer when all around me the disc didn't revolve. There's a as the Nikkai Tara 10. The manual, other chaps were doing much better spring lever with a felt pressure pad which refers to the set as the 3ZSMC1 at less wearisome jobs? Too late to that presses on the surface of the disc. 210R, can be obtained from either remedy that I reflected. Then I When I gently lifted it to reduce the firm. Take my tip and get it from thought even harder about the pressure the disc spun and the Samsung — it'll cost you a lot less Samsung set and got an idea. Rather machine booted up. Was the pressure than from Nikkai than being pulled down by a short, too great then? I checked and it It's a complex little set. This one the low voltage could be caused by wasn't. was dead though the Councillor reck- lack of charge. I'd cleared the reser- Perhaps the drive was weak? I oned that sometimes, after it had been voir capacitor, but suppose that the unplugged and swung open the PCB switched on and left for an hour, it bridge rectifier was providing an that hides the mechanism: the thin would burst into life for a minute. He only niggardly current flow? Enough belt that couples the drive motor to had taken it to Snoddies and, to give to charge the capacitor but not the disc drive hub was perished and them their due, they had tried, having enough to keep it charged when the no longer supple. We found an iden- added a pound of solder to the print regulator circuit was connected. This tical one and fitted it. The machine and replaced a number of 2SC1685 would also explain why the set could then worked well. transistors in the power switching spring to life briefly after being left When I'd reassembled it and set it circuit with 2SC945s, which have a switched on for an hour: there could up I typed a four-word sentence. better specification. be enough charge in the various Steven glanced over as I printed it to There should have been 15V or so capacitors down stream for a quick test the printer. "This was nearly across C516, the 10,000pF reservoir burst of operation. Enough of theory mine" it read. capacitor for the bridge rectifier I decided. Time to check it out, by Mrs. Scribe was delighted that her D213, but the voltage here was very replacing the bridge rectifier. It's Amstrad had been so easily and low. Disconnecting the series regu- type RS602. When this had been cheaply repairable. "By the way" she lator transistor Q131 and its driver done the set sprang to life every said, "my hubby reads me all your Q130 promptly restored the voltage time. So there's one for the records: a tales of woe about telly servicing. Is it and I spent a long time, as Snoddies delinquent bridge rectifier. true that the local BBC was after you had, looking for a switching circuit And another satisfied customer. chassis, set it up and, after giving it a soak test, waved it out with a sigh of relief. Incidentally I have to acknowledge the help of Pete Brook and his assistant John (Mr. ITT) Baker of Hoopwell Ltd. These kind people provided me with a manual and spares, and John suffered with me in sorting out the cause of the Donald Bullock trouble. Hoopwell are nice people. They provide a good, efficient, courteous service, and their latest catalogue is a Have you noticed how some BBC correspondents raise their goldmine. Talking to their Julie is a bonus. I almost wish that voices at the ends of sentences, baying them so that they I had another tricky ITT set to deal with. But not quite. sound like questions? One of them, a Martin Sixsmith, is particularly adept at it. The trouble is that by the time you've A Mitsubishi Euro 4 sorted out such quirks what they are saying is lost on you. I wonder how they keep their jobs? I then picked up a Mitsubishi CT2532 (Euro 4 chassis), Now it's spreading to the public another monster. "It works all right for hours, then the height reduces or the picture goes dark or both" the customer had said. A Troublesome Akai/ITT Receiver I connected a voltmeter to the AN5521 field output chip's A giant Akai Model CT2870 TV set waltzed into the supply pin, tuned in a picture and checked that the reading drive the other day. It was wearing wrinkled trousers over a was 24V. The supply comes from the line output trans- pair of moon boots. Then it came into the workshop and sat former, the feed to the rectifier and its reservoir capacitor on the counter. As its trousers and boots walked sideways being via an 0.820 resistor. from it I noticed a chest and a head, also a pair of arms. After a while I noticed that the voltage was falling. Also "Mr. Drip?" their owner asked. there was some field cramping a few inches from the top of "No one here by that name" I said, sensing trouble. the screen. Then, as the voltage decreased, the cramping got "I'm Mr. Drip" he said, and again it sounded like a ques- worse. Just as the field scan collapsed, the picture darkened. tion. A glance at the meter showed that the reading was now 3V. My razor-sharp brain told me at- once that he was right. I opened the set up and checked the 0.820 resistor. It "What's up with the set then?" I asked, hoping that he didn't looked hot and bothered. A replacement cured the fault. think I was trying to be funny. It transpired that this monster telly was in fact an ITT Mr. Crout's Hitachi Compact D2 FST set in heavy disguise. There was no sound or vision, just a faint flip-flopping, cloudy line across the Mr. Crout struggled in with his arms wrapped around yet screen accompanied by a shrill whine. Strange symptoms. another monster. The TV set I mean — it was an Hitachi Before Mr. Drip loped off I got him and Steven to help me CPT2198 (G8Q chassis). get the set on to the bench. Then I settled down to try to "Yen I switch on, noddings at all" he barked. "Only a isolate the faulty stage. ferry dim screen, fitch is no gut to me". Then he smiled and What did the symptoms tell us? Clearly there was field nodded at me. collapse and failure of the sound channel The shrill whine "I will do my best" I said, and off he strode. suggested that all was not well in the power supply. Where I tried to tune the set in and adjust the brightness but to start? It seemed logical to check the power supply's output couldn't. Maybe the SAA1293 control chip was faulty. A voltages, which were all as specified. Maybe there was some replacement made no difference however. Next to it sat an loading somewhere? MDA2062 memory chip, IC1502. This type of chip is Checks showed that the supplies were missing at the field programmed to meet individual chassis requirements and, I and audio output stages. So we didn't seem to have a loading now know, is colour coded by means of a small spot label problem, in these areas anyway. Back to the power supply. the size of an aspirin. This one had a white label. So we Though its outputs were — apparently — o.k., there was that ordered a 'white-spot' MDA2062. When it came we fitted it, whine. but this didn't make any difference either. By now a couple A great deal of time was spent checking just about every- of days had passed by and Mr. Crout was getting impatient. thing before I discovered that the reservoir capacitor for the "Fi so long?" he asked. "Don't you onderstant der techni- 31V supply, C732 (1,000pF, 35V), was low in value at about calities?" 50pF. This value was apparently enough for the full voltage I avoided a direct reply and studied the circuit. The volt- to be established, but not enough to meet the current ages around the memory chip were all correct, and by now I demand. So we did have a loading problem, of a sort. Maybe was suspecting dry-joints or high-resistance plug and socket if I'd carried out scope checks some ripple would have been connections between the two interconnected main panels. apparent. But this odd situation didn't encourage clear Resoldering and checking the plugs and sockets didn't help, thinking. and I was beginning to wilt. When a replacement capacitor had been fitted the whine A phone call to Chas Hyde confirmed that this set should had gone and the collapsed field was at full brightness, have a blue-spot chip. When we fitted the one they sent us all though lacking in width. The TDA3654 field output chip still was well. I reckon that all processor and memory chips had no supply at pin 9. After a good deal of searching along should come prepacked with'a few aspirin tablets. the wandering, mapping-pen thin print I found a hairline crack. Fitting a jumper lead restored the field scan and width, but there was still no sound. The newly repaired 31V supply Enter Miss Chang was getting lost somewhere before it reached the audio Ven — I mean when — Mr. Crout came to collect his set output stage. Another hairline crack was the cause of the one of our favourite customers, the demure and shapely Miss trouble, and another jumper cured it. Chang, was trying to explain to us what was wrong with her The set now gave excellent results. So I cleaned off the Matsui portable, which is a Bush T2114 in disguise.

14 TELEVISION NOVEMBER 1994 "It is — er — it is. . . " She put her palms together and inclined her head to her hands. "Let me interfere" said Mr. Crout, clicking his heels and bowing, "I speak seven languages". Miss Chang twittered to him and crossed her chest with her hand. "Kaput!" barked Mr. Crout, and out he bowed. We found that the set tripped at switch-on and made a bee-line for the BU508D line output transistor Q402. It was short-circuit, and a 1S2 resistor in the 24V supply was open- circuit. Vie — I mean why? A check on the h.t. supply produced a reading of 145V instead of 110V. Adjusting the set-h.t. potentiometer VR801 made no difference. The power supply is the type that uses a TDA4601 chip (IC801) and was clearly running flat out. So we looked at the control circuitry, centred around pins 1, 2 and 3 of the chip. There are a couple of electrolytics here. C817 (10pF, 16V) had fallen in value to 5pF while C818 (lpF, 50V) was low at 0.3pF. We replaced them, turned VR801 to its mid-position and started the set up via a variac. The h.t. was now at exactly 110V. Pausing only to check that it was adjustable, we boxed up the set and called it a day. logically all those years ago I first tried another speaker. The results were the same. What a Life! So I moved back to the audio circuit and found that R614 was open-circuit while R601 (2.7141) had risen in value to 6ka Replacing them cured the trouble. Donald Bullock A Visit from the Milkman When I was at school I used to build crystal sets. I can still Our milkman Clarence brought his Pace SS9000 satellite recall the day I managed to tune in a programme with the receiver in the other day, the complaint being of a liney, first successful one. It was the Light Programme from the distorted picture on all channels — as though Rupert had got BBC's 1,500m Droitwich transmitter. Subsequently I started at his card. Steven soon found the cause of the trouble — that to knock up the sets and flog them. They were housed in small 2.20, 50V electrolytic in the tuner unit (C416). It sat matchboxes and I sold them for half a crown a time. When I there looking as good as gold, near a little three-quarter inch started work I was paid seven pence and a half penny an chip. hour, so I'd done quite well with the crystal sets. Apparently the chip gets hot and dries out the elec- I sometimes think of those days when I pass the trolytic. Steve fitted a more manly one on the full length of Droitwich transmitter on the way to the airport. I thought of its leads. them particularly the other day when I opened an English- A few days later Clarence popped in for it. language Spanish newspaper. "Hi Clarence" I greeted him. "The good news is that it's Lots of people receive Sky TV there. I don't know why ready. anyone should want to, but they do. The particular news- "And the bad news?" paper I was reading used to carry advertisements from firms "The milk's on you, for quite a while." that offered to supply pirate cards. They claimed they could and would update the cards each time Rupert thought of a Accidents will Happen wheeze to stop them working. Well, the last time that Rupert switched the switching the As he departed Mrs. Whiner pushed Mr. Whiner through ads stopped. As the weeks went by it was generally assumed the door. He smelt like a brewery and was carrying a little that Rupert had finally won. But in the issue of the paper I monochrome 7in. set that bore a Boots badge. It was a had before me pirate cards were again on offer. They were pretty crimson colour, like Mr. Whiner, and was dead. different however. It was claimed that these were immune "I watches it in the kitchen" she said. "It can't be much from Rupert's destructive signals. And some of the ads as it was all right until I went out and left it with him." offered to make reception possible using Rupert's expired Mr. Whiner smiled. "It was all right" he said. cards. Your move, Rupert! We had no data on the set and opened it up on spec. It I was chatting to the owner of one of the larger spares was soon apparent that the set had been dropped: there was firms recently. He's also an enthusiastic technician and told a crack across the single panel, spreading from the line me that he had the secret of building anti-destruction output transformer. Six or eight jumper leads later we had circuitry into expired cards. the set working again, but there was a nasty a.c. ripple on All this got me thinking about the immense strides since I the picture, which pulled about and lost field sync. There made and flogged those early matchbox crystal sets. Even was also no sound. The latter came up when another speaker outside the electronics industry, nearly all progress has been was tried. We found that the 'spider' of the one in the set on the back of electronics. No one can dispute that those of was detached and repaired it. We then noticed that there was us who stumbled into electronics at the beginning were in a good deal of hum. on the biggest breakthrough since civilisation began. The set relies on an external 12V power supply, the sort There's only one question: why aren't we all loaded? that plugs straight into a 13A socket. We suspected this item A month or two ago I mentioned that Steven had taken and found that Mrs. Whiner had a spare one. She brought it our moggie to the vet and come back poorer by over a in later and we tried it, but the ripple and hum were still hundred quid. He'd also had the pleasure of seeing one of present. Puzzled, we had another go at the set but got our tightest customers happily shelling out handfuls of nowhere. We finally borrowed a power pack from one of cabbage to the vet. the children's games and tried it. The ripple and hum disap- Maybe we should have been vets. Or opticians. The latter peared. reflection arises from a need for some new glasses recently. So we had two dud power packs from Mrs. Whiner. We I came back even worse off than Steven. opened them both and found that in each case the main elec- trolytic had become detached from the tiny panel. When we Distorted Sound studied the cases it was clear that the power supplies had also been dropped. On my return Cecil Stammer was waiting with a 14in. We'd originally felt a bit sorry for Mr. Whiner and hadn't Samsung colour set, Model CI338GA (P50 chassis). intended to shop him. But this was too much! So when they "Ah Mr. Buh Buh Buh Buh" he started. came back for their set we let him have it. I came to his aid. "Bullock?" "The set had been dropped, Mrs. Whiner" we said, "and "Yuh yuh yuh yes. My Sam Sam Sam" so had both the power packs. Twenty pounds, please." "Samsung" I propted. Mrs. Whiner turned to her spouse and elbowed him "The suh suh suh" around his beer barrel. "You stupid clot" she grated, "you "Sound?" I asked. pay — you did it." "Dis dis dis" And he did. As he unbuttoned his overcoat he knocked "Leave it with me and call back later" I said. the power packs on to the floor. The sound turned out to be very distorted indeed. "So 'elp me Christ" said Mrs. Whiner, fetching him Recalling the patient man who struggled to teach us to think another jab.

130 TELEVISION DECEMBER 1994 And I did. And another. And that's all I'm going to say What a Life! about that day. Steven's Approach Donald Bullock This reflective spell was brought about by son Steven who decided, two or three years ago, that he wanted to learn Life is funny — if you don't weaken. It doesn't seem so long the trade. He started to work beside me, and the speed at ago that I managed to give our local newspaper the slip and which he picked things up astonished me. He's now taken a wheedled my way into Foyles Furnishing store. In the early nearby shop, where I'm allowed in from time to time to Fifties old Tom Foyle's shop housed the biggest and best sweep up and make the tea. television business in the city. Television was new, and it There are differences about the way in which things are was big business. And since every set then produced was a done. He's polished and professional. He bobs about a lot, trouble timebomb the shop needed, and had, a fair-sized has a thousand books to hand and uses proper job cards that service department. I can't even fill in. I prefer my way of doing it. Just keeping If there was one thing that I enjoyed as much as scrib- still, jotting the customer's name, address and telephone bling it was tinkering with wires. I was happy indeed when number on a bit of paper and having a yap and laugh with Foyles took me on as a workshop lackey and vanboy. some of them. He seems to attract a different type of I can still remember my first solo service call. It was to a customer — younger, brighter, better off and more go ahead. local pub. The landlady, Mrs Brawler, was rough, loud and Ah well. wayward. And always somewhat sloshed. But no one at Foyles would tell her so — she spent a lot of money at The Rev Goode Foyles. The phone rang and I decided to answer it. "Which Mr Bullock is that?" asked a fruity voice. The Faulty Ferguson "The wrong one" I said. She had this l4in. Ferguson set, a Model 932 or 934 I "Good" the voice said. I squinted into the earpiece. "The seem to recall. There were two similar models, hers being Reverend Goode here. My daughter's new boyfriend the one with flywheel line sync. It had about twenty two borrowed her GoldStar video. It now accepts a tape partially valves but still had difficulty locking to the ITV signal, then rejects it. I'll be along in half an hour." which crawled from Sutton Coldfield to our city in Band III. And he was. The machine he brought in was a player Anyway, back to the story. One day Mrs Brawler rolled only, not a recorder. I examined the cassette carriage and into the shop in a nasty mood and asked to see the service saw that when a cassette is inserted its lower front edge manager. He was afraid to see her, and the only mug in the should depress two levers, one on each side. This releases a workshop was me. So I was sent down to the showroom, pair of spring-loaded levers, easing the tape transport mech- where Mrs Brawler was amusing herself pounding the anism into the playing position. Because of some rough ivories of some new pianos. handling the levers were bent and the cassette was barred. "I've come to help with your television problem" I Bending them back gently restored proper operation. It had announced. taken only a minute, and the Reverend had seen it all. I put "You don't look to me as if you could do much about it" the machine's top back and handed it to him. she replied. "ITV slipped all over the place last night, then it "I shall remember your kindness, my son" he said, "and collapsed to a bright line across the screen. That's not what I bear this in mind — what a man feels in his heart, he is." pays you good money for. The set's here more than it's with "Oh, er, yes" I said. me. I've a good mind not to go on having it." She eventually departed after I'd promised her that some- thing would be done. When I went back upstairs the service A Spotty Video manager handed me an ECL80 and a screwdriver, and A dapper little man then danced in. explained which of the many valves to change. I had to walk "How d'ye doo" he yelled. "Nubb's the name, Naylor there, but felt too important to mind. Nubb. And I don't mind telling you I have a problem. It's spotty. It works all right but it's spotty." The Field Call "Let's have a look at it then" I replied. He darted out to his car and returned with an Osaki Mrs Brawler's sitting room was even scruffier than her VCR33 VCR. "Oh God" I said. pub. Her TV set sat on a mountain of shoes and other things "Picture's covered in spots" he shouted. "Spots, spots, in the corner. When I'd got the back off I juggled the nothing but spots." ECL80 about and to my amazement restored the field scan. Then he departed and I opened up the Osaki. It played, Then I gripped the chassis and picked up the aerial lead by but the picture was, as he had said, a mass of spots. And the coaxial plug, learning the hard way about live chassis. I there was no rewind or fast forward. tried again and got a picture. Fortunately the ITV signal was I decided to get the tape transport right first, and exam- good that day. Mrs Brawler was delighted. ined the idler. It made contact, but the spools didn't move. "You don't look up too much" she said, "but you've got Cleaning it made no difference. So I took the bottom off the more brain than all the others there put together. That machine, de-gooed the mechanism then lubricated it. This service manager would have taken the set away and sat on it did the trick, and a video head clean cured the spotty for a month. Come on with me." picture. We went down to the bar, which was closed. She gave me a pound out of the till, then poured me a whisky. The Shed Door "I don't, er. . . drink whisky" I said. "You do when I gives it to you" she said. Just as I'd finished the Osaki the phone rang. I answered

418 TELEVISION APRIL 1995 it and heard nothing but silence. Then Dr. Beckett came on. What next? I peered about and spotted C9, a 1pF, 60V He's nearly ninety and a bit soft in the head. Since I electrolytic. Switching my brain from logic to prejudice, I repaired his old radio he seems to think I'm an odd job man. proceeded on the basis of an old principle of mine — distrust "My shed door is jammed half open" he said, "and the low-value electrolytics. To confirm my prejudice I took the drain smells." electrolytic out and checked it with my bridge. It read "Right" I said. Off he went. I lifted the phone and exactly 1 pF. I stopped and thought. Then I stopped thinking dialled. and replaced it anyway. The fault had been cured. "Sam? Your Pa's been on again. Shed door jammed, As I was boxing it up Gertrude reappeared and the drain stinks." phone rang. I lifted it but got only silence. By this time I I put the phone down and turned around to see Creepy was beginning to feel a bit frayed. Gertrude Global beside me. She seems to materialise out of "I've had enough of this" I shouted, and put the phone thin air, and it's always bad news. down. Gertrude drew back. "Can't you do it?" she asked. "My husband said it was only a condenser." Gertrude's Panasonic "No such thing as 'can't' around here" I snapped. "But "It's my video recorder" Mr Bulbous, "it's going like you're dead right, it was a condenser. It's been done and hell." She had this Panasonic NV430 in her arms. the charge is twenty pounds." When she'd departed I put the machine on the bench and "Twenty pounds for half an hour's work?" she whim- tried it. She was right. The capstan rotated at a ridiculous pered. "How much are condensers. About sixpence each, speed. And it did this with all functions. I looked out the aren't they?" manual and homed in on IC2. When I applied freezer to it "Cheaper than that" I said. "They grow on trees. But you the capstan slowed to normal. When I heated it the capstan have to know which one. It's the diagnosis that takes time, raced off again. We had a similar machine in the rack, so I and I don't live on air." borrowed the chip and fitted it in the NV430. The fault was She came up with the tenners, but I could detect that she still present. was less than convinced about it.

TELEVISION APRIL 1995 419 He'd take it away under the pretence of getting it put right. I didn't know that the set had been tampered with, nor that it would turn out to be a filthy night. What I did discover was what it felt like to take the mains to earth.

Mrs Tench's CD Player Donald Bullock Mrs Tench called in the other day with an Hitachi The other night, as I swallowed my blood-pressure pill and DA6000 CD player. She's a nursery school teacher and slyly topped up the tiny whiskey that Greeneyes had poured doesn't seem to be able to forget it. me, I got to thinking about some of the scrapes that this "Listen carefully!" she commanded. "The door opens. trade has got me into over the years. You insert a disc. Then there's a pause. After that the door opens again and the disc comes out! Isn't that remarkable?" When she'd gone we pulled the player on to the bench. Sandals It didn't take us long to find the cause of the trouble: the For example there was the time, many moons ago now, loading belt was slipping. It lives to the top right of the that I broke my resolution not to do house calls any more. I carriage assembly. After fitting a new one I asked Steven don't know why I agreed to call upon Mr Smooth. Perhaps to phone to let her know that it was ready for collection. it was because he caught me at a weak moment, or maybe it "What's her name?" he asked. I told him. was because of his soft, harmless-sounding voice. Or "It's ready Mrs Stench" he said. perhaps I saw a quick dollar in it. He said that his TV set's "Tench, Tench, TENCH!" screamed the phone. volume control operated roughly and wanted me to cure it. "Struth" said Steven, "funny woman." So I grabbed my can of Murphy line output transformer oil and showed up at his terrace house down by the park. He Squat Picture asked me inside and closed the front door. We were in a long, narrow passage. Then he looked at my shoes. I don't know who our next caller was. He brought in an "Please will you be wearing these instead" he said old 16in. Philips set, one fitted with the KT3 chassis. I sweetly, handing me a tiny pair of sandals. I looked at the pulled the pad over and asked for his name and address. sincere eyes glinting from his black-whiskered face and Although his mouth moved, I couldn't hear anything. After found myself slipping off my shoes and wishing I was some trying a couple more times I gave up and asked him to place else. return later. Then I gave Steven a pained look. "Come" he said as he started down the passage. I tried to "Another" I said. follow but the sandals were too small and kept falling off. He put the set on the bench and tried it. The picture was He stopped and waited patiently. When I'd managed to only about an inch high. So he took out the field output wedge them on we started off again. We went into a dusky transistors and tested them. room at the end of the passage. The air was sweet and the "They're o.k." he announced. odour of curry lay thickly. An old TV set and a woman in a "Nevertheless, try new ones" I replied. He did, and up barber's apron rested on a mountain of sandals. I glanced at came a full picture. them anxiously, looking for a pair of size tens, but no luck. "Often happens with those sets" I continued, "and be So I yanked the TV set upside down, squirted the volume careful when you lift the chassis up and down. The leads control then got the set upright once more. I noticed that to the tube base get caught up and if you're not careful the they were both staring at my right foot. Oh dear, my big toe stress will cause print cracks. You could loose one or more showed through a hole. of the colours — or possibly the brightness should the I slipped back into the sandals, hobbled back to the front tracks to the heaters go open-circuit." door and got out quick. I'd never felt such a prize sap before and resolved never to tell anyone about it, ever! No Channel Storage We'd a Fidelity CTV1404R awaiting attention (these sets Problem with a Door Bell sometimes come in as the Murphy M14R01). It worked all Then there was the time, one winter's day, when I right but wouldn't store the channels. Knowing the set, I delivered a repaired set to a very grand house. It was checked for 24V at pin 3 of the M491BB1 remote control snowing heavily on to an already thick carpet of snow. The decoder/tuning chip IC301. As it was low at 8V I went front door was set at the top of a high flight of steps. To straight to the 33Y stabiliser ZD1. It was warm and leaky. A one side there was a bell-pull. I balanced the set on one replacement (type MVS460-2) put that right. knee so that I had a free hand to pull at the bell then, as I I then noticed that the picture would occasionally quiver gripped the pull, I slipped and, to a crazy cascade of bells, and the sound fizz. There was a dry-joint at the 1S2 surge wound up at the bottom of the steps — with the set on top limiter resistor R112 in the 25V supply. It hides near the of me and the bell-pull in my hand, attached to yards of line output transistor's heatsink. To be on the safe side I wire. The butler, who'd opened the door, looked down fitted a replacement. with undisguised contempt. The Sharp VCA105HM The Debt Collector I'm fast becoming fed up with repairs to the latest gener- One more, the time the firm's debt collector roped me ation of VCRs. In fact I can hardly operate some of them. in to help him repossess a TV set. I was to ram a pin Steven's got a different type of mind and seems to be able to through the coxial cable just before he knocked on the take them in his stride. So I'm happy to leave them to him door to ask for the back payments. His plan was that the and concentrate on TV sets and machines with control customer would claim that the set had never been right. knobs on them.

476 TELEVISION MAY 1995 The other day he had a Sharp VCA105HM on the bench. faulty Matsui colour set. It's dead and goes bzzzzz, bzzzzz, It would accept a tape and made to operate, then ejected the bzzzzz — doesn't it Mr Flighty?" tape. Steven took off the top and tried again. This time the Flighty nodded vigorously and started making a loading mechanism jerked about in sympathy with intermit- kyocking noise and falling about. tent capstan movements. "How do you know?" I asked Greeneyes. He homed in on the mode switch, which was full of goo. "Because he's been telling me all about it" she replied. Cleaning and resetting it cured the fault. Then he pulled up I turned to Mr Flighty, who was studying my face. another machine, again a Sharp VCA105HM. With this one "My, doesn't time play tricks?" he said. a loud vibration noise came from the capstan on all func- "Never mind about that" I replied, "what about the set?" tions, including load and eject. It was a Matsui 2180TT (Saisho FST212T). We got it on "Ah" he said, looking intelligent (he takes after me in to the bench and tried it out. It produced a channel display some ways), "the capstan shaft bearing will be dry." He but nothing else — except for the buzzing. took it out, cleaned it, greased and reassembled it. The "Ah, I've had this before" cut in Steven. "It might be the machine then worked perfectly. STR58041 chopper chip IC501, but check the R2M crowbar diode D512 first. It'll probably be short-circuit. And check for dry-joints at R427 and R428 in the line A Matsui 2180TT driver stage. Another fault I've had with these sets is that Just then Greeneyes clopped in, closely followed by a the negative from the on/off switch arcs itself open-circuit, chap who looked like the Pied Piper on hard times. He was where the metal gripping pin bites it." I moved over to let wearing a cravat and smoking a Woodbine in a long holder. Steven deal with the set. He had it going in no time. I I remembered him from about three years ago. looked about the workshop and noticed that the floor "It's Mr Flighty" Greeneyes announced. "He's got this needed a sweep. So I reached for the broom.

TELEVISION MAY 1995 477 evening to Harrison Electronics, with a tence, I'm wondering what sort of bank card number. An hour into the transmission system could bring such a What next day I received a fax to tell me that thing about and how come the adverts the manual had been dispatched, at were correct? only £6.50. Good going. I'd never even dealt with Harrison before. Meanwhile I'd noticed that J.J. A Microwave Life! Components, that pleasant family firm Back at the bench I had a caller — run by Jay and Lala Poppat, was adver- literally — the other day. "Are you the tising a repair kit for the SRD510, one who does things?" she yelled. "It Donald Bullock complete with Idiot Sheet, also at packs up after three minutes." £6.50. At this sort of price I can afford "What does?" I asked. to be a big spender. So I ordered the "My microwave. It's a Foodcare Until a year or two ago things elec- kit, again by fax. Finesse, Model 500". She darted out trical and electronic cost the earth here The manual and the kit arrived two and brought it in. in Spain. They're cheaper now, often days later. Within an hour we'd When she'd gone I put it on the cheaper than in the UK. So we decided repaired the SRD510. Our thanks to bench and found that she was right. to buy a portable colour set in Alicente both firms for their better than excel- After three minutes it got so hot that for our daughter Rebecca's eleventh lent service. the thermal cut-out disabled the power birthday. Amongst the sets on display supply. When I opened it I found that there was a Polish Kneissel KN1432. It Satellite Radio Reception the fan blade assembly had fallen off not only looked nicer than the rest, but its shaft. I cleaned it off, washed it in also had by far the best picture and an Richard, the Bradford TV dealer spirit and glued it back with epoxy elaborate remote control unit. And its who has retired to these parts, uses the resin. After that it worked all right. price was around £100. same Pace receiver that we do. He Since then two more have come in We bought it, but because Rebecca popped in the other day with a tiny with the same trouble. wanted to see British satellite televi- printed panel, scarcely bigger than a sion the vision-sound spacing had to be cigarette card (does that date me?). changed from 5.5 to 6MHz. The filter "It's an f.m. transmitter" he said. "I've Glad's VCR was amongst others in a very complex built it from a kit and fitted a scart Bulky Gladys Glubb brought in her i.f. module which was screened like a socket to it. If you plug it into your Goodmans GVR3400 VCR, her tank. As changing the filter didn't Pace receiver you can hear the UK complaint being that the programmes produce the sound we decided, instead radio programmes on any radio about wouldn't tune properly. We groaned: of playing hit-or-miss, to drop a line to the house and garden. So can next we didn't have the manual, and were Poland asking for advice — and hoping door, if you tell them the spot on the unsure whether we'd be able to mend it for a manual. A few days later, at ten dial." if we got one. But we decided to take a to eight in the morning, we received a He was right. The kit, made by look, and luckily saw the cause of the fax message to tell us that a suitable Suma Designs of Baxterley, Warks, is trouble. There were hairline cracks replacement module was on its way. priced at £20. It comes with building around the fixing screw holes. After Two days later it arrived, along with a and setting-up instructions, a layout making good the connections we fitted letter from Pawel Pietrzak of their and circuit diagram. What it does is to fibre washers and reassembled the unit. technical department. take the stereo signal, convert it to He explained that the set hadn't mono and transmit it at about been produced for the PAL I system. 107MHz. This one had a range going A Sony KVM14U So they'd knocked up a filter unit on for a hundred yards. The quality is The chap who brought in this 14in. specially for us in the factory — at no astonishing. Now, when we're in colour portable said that it was dead. charge. "We've checked it on your Spain, we can listen to Radios 1, 2, 3 "Makes a thumping noise at switch on, satellite and it works well" he wrote, and 4 as easily as in England. then nothing else" he added. We "have a nice watch!" opened the set and through force of We fitted the module and it does Sideways habit checked the line output transistor. work well. The parent company is As it was all right we moved back to Daewoo. We are grateful to them and Our youngest son called out the the power supply where the RGP15J to Pawel Pietrzak. It was far more than other day that his television set was h.t. rectifier D604 was short-circuit. we expected. Service indeed. showing the TNT cartoon programme We tried another diode with the same sideways. Then Rebecca said that her's published specification: it lasted about More Good Service had been doing the same thing for thirty seconds before groaning and hours. grumbling to its demise. Then we tried Whilst on this subject I'd like to Now curious, I went and had a look a BYD33D which is still working on mention the help we received from two at the sets. The programmes were the test bench. But knowing Sony sets advertisers in Television when our chil- indeed sideways, as if the yokes had we've ordered the correct spare. dren's Fidelity/Amstrad satellite been turned through 90°. Apart from receiver/decoder died on us here in that the vision and sound were normal. Spain. It's an SRD510 that had I rubbed my eyes, went into the lounge Fred and the Ferguson 51J8 become temperamental: it would and switched on our set. It was the Fred's a funny chap. I don't know sometimes fail to come to life, though same. Then, as we watched, the adverts his other name or his address, nor does the mains rectifier's reservoir capacitor came on — the right way up. An hour anyone else I've met. He seems to charged fully. As we didn't have the later everything was back to normal. operate from a couple of towns away manual I faxed an order for one that Leaving aside the matter of compe- and certainly pulls in the customers. 582 TELEVISION JUNE 1995 His little adverts in the Western dry. Worse than that, the printed tracks joints around the line output trans- Blurter promise ever such fast repairs had been severed with a knife where former. Some resoldering in this area for no call-out charge. Just ring they joined the solder pins. We made did the set's reliability a power of 123456, ask for Fred and it all this good, switched on and got a good. happens. snowy raster with no display or func- But Fred seems to upset some of his tions. This, said Mabel, was the fault Arthur's GoldStar customers. And when they phone to that Fred had been asked to repair. complain or ask for their money back We found that R334, a fusible 4.752 Arthur's a slow fellow, who farms he can be hard to get. Mabel Mugg resistor on the TACS board, was open- locally. He came in carrying a Gold- had phoned Fred. He instantly circuit. It provides the feed to the Star CIT2175X colour receiver. appeared, took her Ferguson 51J8 µPC7805H 5V regulator chip IC242 "Sound's there but there's nothing on (TX99 chassis) set away, and speedily which in turn supplies the M494F the front" he said, looking bewildered concluded that its line output trans- tuning/analogue function memory chip at this state of affairs. former had snuffed it. Then he rapidly IC241. Replacing the fusible resistor We marked the position of the first assessed his charge — over £100. cured the trouble and made Mabel a anode preset carefully, then advanced Mabel, who earns a couple of quid an happier lady. its setting. Up came a milky blank hour from her 6 a.m. cleaning job, said raster. We suspected the TDA4502A no. Four or five phone calls later her i.f./timebase generator chip IC201, but A Stuck Hitachi set came back to her. Guess who she as we didn't have one in stock we called next! The next set on the bench was an decided to check transistors Q201 and When we switched her set on there Hitachi C14-P216 (G7P Mk II chassis) Q202 first. After all, they had fewer was just a tiny, faint dot in the middle which was stuck in standby. Steven legs. But they were all right. So we of the screen: no line or field scanning. dealt with this one and had it working phoned GoldStar's excellent technical We went straight to the little paxolin in no time. The start-up resistor R903 people who confirmed our diagnosis. panel at the top of the scan coils and (821a was open-circuit. We've had They supplied a new TDA4502A found that the line joints were a bit this before. There were also some dry- quickly and it did the trick. tion between a dealer and a fellow each, a dual-output Continental LNB engineer. The dealer was showing him and a Global magic box, plus the at the decoder he sells for £25. It consists necessary cable and accessories. of a simple 2 x 4in. glass-fibre PCB with eight switch contacts that are connected to three surface-mounted Pedro's Video i.c.s — a pair of PIC16C84s and a tiny Pedro runs a local restaurant here. Lifer 24C65/CM. It seems that the decoder The other day he came around with a gets all the programmes and works Japanese video. "I've half mended it" perfectly. he smiled, "but it only half works." It Donald Bullock "We tell the customer to bring it was then that I noticed Pedro's hands. back if it stops working" the dealer Like Popeye's. So I hastily got rid of "Now that we spend more of our time said. He jerked his thumb heaven- him and tried the machine out. It here in Spain" commented Greeneyes wards. "When the switching is accepted a tape and tried to load it, the other day, "why can't you start to changed up there the boys here crack it then died. I found a cotton bud get things right? There's that dripping again and send over the new code on sticking into a cracked-open tap for example. And why not fill in an EEPROM. This goes into the microswitch on the cassette mecha- some of your time and earn us a little machine and when the decoder is nism. As it was unlike anything I had pocket money by doing the odd popped in the new code is written into here I made a pair of spring contacts repair?" its chips." and glued them on with Araldite. To "Because", I said "to start with I'm That coastal road takes you to my surprise it worked. not a plumber, and once you get into Alicante, though not very quickly. It repairs they never finish. Look how it's runs through a very long tunnel which been all the years I worked from the is lit by a series of closely-spaced His Sister's Samsung TV house. On how many days was I able orange lights to the top at each side. Pedro subsequently recommended to sit down to dinner without the phone For a long time it's been my impres- me to his sister Carmen, who brought going or somebody tapping on the sion that as the lights flash past in the along a Samsung TV set. When I door?" car they become redder — a sort of plugged it in a cramped raster that kept "I would have thought you could frequency-shift or a visual Doppler shimmering yellow came up. Then the manage one or two. Ivor asked you to effect. But since I'm known for raster died though the sound remained. stop the tape spilling from his video noticing odd effects (and people) I I took a look at the chassis — I didn't and you put him off. He went to thought no more about it. Until the have the circuit — and noticed that Graspero's and they kept it a month other day, when some passengers in some components in the line and then charged him fifty quid. You could our car mentioned it. Since I wasn't power sections were covered with a have done it for a tenner, and with that travelling at the speed of light — I tacky goo, among them a 2SD288 tran- we could have had a good meal out." don't, these days — I am wondering sistor (Q802) and some electrolytics. Her logic was impeccable. It always whether the mains frequency strobes The transistor was cooking and proved is. So when Albert, our local plumber, with the car's speed or something. to be short-circuit. After removing the asked me to look at his video recorder There must be someone out there who gooey stuff I checked the capacitors. I agreed. It was only a greasy idler, so I can come up with an answer. C821 (100pF, 100V) and C829 did it for free. In return he fitted a new I've built a small workshop and (330pF, 25V) were very low in value, tap for us. "You see" she said. equipped myself with some tools and a while C415 (lpF, 250V) was open- Band III aerial. Incidentally there are circuit. Replacing them cured the Life In the Sun numerous huge Band I aerials here, trouble. larger than anything I ever saw in the A busy main road runs down the UK in the pre-u.h.f. days. entire Spanish Mediterranean coast. A Sony KV1612 Towns and villages are strung along it. Then a fax arrived from Steven. He Most of them manage to support a crop Satellite Solutions had a Sony KV1612 on the bench, its of dealers, who are often British. They Then I required a satellite signal. I problem being vertical striations that make a living by providing satellite tried splitting, then James and Rebecca were strongest at the left-hand side of systems, mainly to UK expatriates. wanted signals as well. So it was time the screen, fading towards the right- Because Spain is on the edge of the to consider a proper installation. The hand side. What did I think could main European satellite footprints the correct approach is to fit a dual-polari- cause this? signals are weak. So receiving systems sation LNB, run its outputs to a magic "Easy" I replied, "something's that use an 0.8dB LNB and a lm or box and feed the outputs from this to modulating each line, producing a larger dish are common. separate receiver/decoders. But it all ringing effect that falls off as the line When I first came over I bought an seemed rather costly. scan progresses. But don't ask me 80cm dish and an LNB with a noise Satellite Solutions of Northampton what!" figure of 1!2dB, because I didn't know came up with the right answers, and He came back a bit later. A 22pF, better. Reception was awful. So I I'm very grateful to their John G. Jones 250V electrolytic, C801, had been the upgraded to a 2m dish and a better, who went to the trouble of faxing and cause. It's the reservoir capacitor for 1dB LNB. These produce perfect telephoning me with advice and the line output stage derived 200V pictures, but when I see the arranging for the delivery of the equip- RGB output transistor supply. programmes I wonder why I bothered. ment to Spain. It arrived within two Pirate Sky decoders are common days. here. Whilst browsing in a satellite I wound up with some Maspro ST8 Flashes and Bangs shop recently I overheard a conversa- receiver/decoders at less than £80 By now the sky was leaden and all 658 TELEVISION JULY 1995 was still. Thunder came rumbling He was carrying his Pace PRD900 the only other item that was faulty was round the mountains, then lightning satellite receiver/decoder. "Struck" he C5 (22pF, 16V). It was leaking like a flashes came. Within minutes there announced. Whitehall secret. was a storm, and we seemed to be at its The telephone line was fixed next The spares arrived a few days later. centre. I disconnected the fax and day, and we added `cheapjack phone' Having fitted them, I gingerly wound plugged in the cheap telephone, bought to Greeneyes' shopping list. A little up the supply to the receiver via the from Rogoes market stall. later I opened up Ivor's PRD900. variac. At about 180V it chirped Suddenly there was a deafening Some print on the primary side of the happily and slipped into standby. On thunder clap, and a whisp of smoke power supply had melted and C6, a test it worked excellently. came from the telephone junction box 1,000pF, 16V electrolytic, had arced as our lights went out. across. The mains fuse was a tube of I reset the mains trip and the lights soot, and the TEA2018A chopper Apology came on again. The phone was as dead driver chip was blackened, as was the Our apologies to Jay and Lata Popat as mutton, the junction box reduced to MJE18004 chopper transistor Ql. for the spelling mistake in last month's soot. I checked the circuit thoroughly column. The editorial department When the rain eased, Ivor appeared. before writing out the spares list, but blames a fax which was none too clear. YYLbl 1.1hY

Donald Bullock

I was scribbling away in my little been fitted the machine came back to marking its original position with a blob Spanish hut the other day when I heard life and worked well. Except that the LP of paint. This produced the tell-tale hori- a sudden shout from inside the house. It picture was broken up and unwatchable zontal line. was Greeneyes. I ran over and found — the accompanying sound was perfect Visual examination showed that her looking at a fax. however. After a good deal of work I R320, a 10Q 1W resistor, had cooked. It "It's from Steven" she said. "He's contacted the boys at JVC, who were read open-circuit. I replaced it and taking you to task for being away so keen to help. But they couldn't and it's switched on and the new resistor went long. Says he's redesigned the work- still not fixed. Any ideas? the same way. So I got out the circuit shop and has some interesting sets Mrs Lee called in alone next day. diagram. The field timebase is a simple awaiting your attention." Instead of asking about her VCR she one based on a TDA1170N chip So, pausing only to buy a few £3 picked up the cup I'd just put down and (IC301), with R320 and C301 (1,000pF) bottles of Scotch for me and a gallon of studied the tea leaves. filtering its supply. C301 was obviously Jalon Valley red wine for Steven, I "I see that your life is a string of suspect but turned out to be all right. returned to a proper pint of British beer problems" she said. "As fast as you Further checks brought me to C302 and another batch of the oddballs who overcome one, along comes another." I (100pF, 35V) in the flyback boost seem to comprise the major portion of nooded sadly. "Your money line tapers network. It had fallen in value to 80pF, our clientele. to nothing, and you're the victim of a thus damaging the chip. Replacing these hard woman. I see only work and worry two items and fitting another 10Q, 1W and a feeling of failure. And there's resistor cured the trouble. Up came a Gladys's Toshiba going to be the pain of an accident. But plucky picture on a model that always Once I'd settled down, the first I can see some fun. A fool will soon seems to me to look as if it has a slightly customer to arrive was scruffy Gladys enter your life and there'll be rueful flat tube. Mugwump. She brought a Toshiba laughter." With that she departed. Before boxing the set up I checked, as 213D4B black-stripe colour set in just usual, for dry-joints. There were quite a few, and I resoldered every one of them. as I was trying to complete a tricky bit Field Collapse of soldering. I decided that she could wait a minute. Then I noticed a strong It was time for lunch. Steve decided Julian's Saisho smell. Perhaps I'd better get her out to have some of his Jalon wine and was quick. So I put the soldering iron down. quite talkative by the time Mr Creep There are certain people I can't stand. "What's your trouble?" I asked came in with his Ferguson TX90 set. Julian Jaunty is an example. He brought briskly. Mr Creep talks slowly, as his eyes in a Saisho CM16TT portable and stood "Keeps going dead. Then it thinks dart about your face. "The picture too close, grinning at me as though we it's a rainbow" she said. I waved her out cramps up and turns into a straight line" shared some secret and returned to my soldering. Only the he drawled. "Don't sound like much to "What's up?" I asked, rather coldly. smell got worse. It turned out to be the me, do it? 'T isn't the tube, I knows that. "Dead as a door nail, Donny old flux in Steven's reel of CEL 60/40 And it ain't the line transformer thing, chap" he grinned. solder. the dear 'un. I knows that too. Ent much When I tried it I heard the rustle of She'd been right about the set. I else in 'em, is there?" e.h.t. but there was no sound or bright- opened it up, reached for my giant I soon found that R198, one of the ness. Again I marked and upped the magnifier and found some dry-joints. string of four 6.2k0. resistors that setting of the first anode preset. This First at pins 2 and 3 of the line output provides bias for the field output stage, produced a blank raster, which was not transformer, then at both legs of the was open-circuit. It seemed sensible to what I expected. Rather than think too safety resistor R421. The rainbow effect replace the lot, also the field output tran- hard I flexed the PCB and was rewarded on the picture was trickier. Its cause sistors TR104 and TRIOS as a precau- with a good picture and sound. It didn't turned out to be a crumbling carbon tion. take me long to find that one end of tablet in the degaussing posistor. As time goes by I find the thin print in D408 was dry-jointed. I resoldered it, to this chassis less easy to work on. Mean- the accompaniment of that strong smell, while Steven was grinning as he reached and that was that. Looking Ahead over for the Avo, which fell on to my Later Mr and Mrs Lee brought along foot. I howled — I was wearing sandals. a JVC HRD180 VCR. She was thin and "Well" I said, "so much for the fool and A Dead Samsung baked while he looked like a Spanish the pain of the accident." When I saw Mr M'Babwa gypsy. "You enta spendin' much" he I next picked up a GoldStar CIT2168 approaching the shop with his Samsung said to her as he stretched his face to the Fastext set — the PC04A chassis. The TV I toyed with the idea of popping top video shelf. "You enta spendin' sound was all right, but there was under the counter. much." nothing on the screen. As with most sets "This set no good" he announced. The VCR turned out to be dead. I these days, the screen blanks out when "No sound, no picture, no nothin'." soon found that the STK5481 regulator the field output stage stops working. I "0.k., o.k." I said, "just leave it and was the cause. It's like a large, twenty- advanced the setting of the first anode don't worry." legged domino. Once a replacement had preset to confirm this — after carefully When I tried the set, a Model

730 TELEVISION AUGUST 1995 CI54129, I found it dead though the to the h.t. supply source where I found 22B2. It was another TX100. Apart channel indicator was alight. Seeking an that the 47pF, 160V reservoir capacitor from the ticking it did nothing. When I easy way out I examined the chassis with C121 was almost open-circuit. A new opened it up I found that the solder joint my magnifier, looking for dry-joints. I one brought the h.t. back to 119V and where the mains lead joins the chassis found some around relay RL801 and the set came to life. was dry and arcing. Resoldering it cured P802, a funny little blue resistor thing. "Well" bawled Mr Prism when he the trouble. Resoldering them restored the set to called to collect it, "didn't Arsenal take Saisho and Matsui sets continue to good health and made me think of a a drubbing?" come our way. This one was a Model glass of Guinness. 1476 14in. portable, just out of guar- antee. At switch on the standby light Familiar Fault, Unfamiliar VCR lit. It went out when the set was An Old Sport I next picked up a VCR and almost switched from standby, but the set Mr Prism is old but slim and sporty. put it down again when I saw that it was refused to come to life. I suspected the Since I have no interest in any games or a Blaupunkt. A Model RTV301, the first STR50103 chopper chip IC501, but sports except fishing, I find him a decent Blaupunkt I'd seen. But it looked cold checks suggested that it was o.k. old bore. He sprang in with a Ferguson vaguely familiar. I opened it up and saw Though working without a manual, I 2203 and told me that Newcastle had just that it was really a Panasonic NV370. soon found the cause of the trouble: the won six to five and that Sid Munks of The fault had a familiar ring about it as chip's start-up voltage was missing. Spurs had cracked his ribs. Then he well. The clock display was all right, but Pin 2 should receive a feed via two pointed to the set. at switch on the capstan motor shuffled a 330142 resistors, R502 and R503. One "It's a TX100" he said. "Have you bit then the machine shut down. I homed of them was open-circuit. In view of worked on TX100s?" in on the power pack at the rear right of the high value of these resistors, I "Like no one else" I replied. Then I the machine and spotted a couple of expect to come across the fault again in pulled it on to the bench. fusible resistors in yellow plastic over- the months ahead. It was lifeless, though the relay coats. One of them, R1101, was open- It had been a long day. After our clicked at switch on. I reached for the circuit. A replacement restored normal meal Steven and I settled down for a old cream-coloured Avo that Steven operation. drink — or two. had picked up somewhere and checked "You won't believe thish" said at the collector of the BU508A line Steven, "I'm beginning to feel a bit output transistor TRIO. The reading Final Round Up squiffshy." was only 55V. It was no better when I "It's ticking" said the sweet little "Personally I feel fine. Ish because disconnected TR10. So I moved back thing who came in with a Ferguson I'm more mature I shpect." TELEVISION AUGUST 1995 731 the green area spread slowly across to reason it always seems to be the blue the right until it covered the whole adjustment and background potentiome- Wha t screen. When I removed the back I ters that play up in this way. Replacing subjected the TDA3562A colour them with open ones, as I've done on decoder chip to the heat and freeze treat- previous occasions, cleared the trouble. ment. This confirmed that it was the cause of the trouble. It's mounted on a Life! small subpanel. Tipsey Ted The ticket attached to a Toshiba My next caller was Tipsey Ted. He 150R6B 14in. portable read "cuts out runs a village pub on the main road and Donald Bullock when warm". I plugged it in and gave it treats life as though it's one big joke. the hairdryer treatment. After a few Perhaps he's right. I can't afford enough I just can't handle the video rental busi- minutes it cut out. When I opened it up I drink to be able to find out though. ness Steven has built up, nor the saw that there was a huge crop of dry- "You're lucky today Don. I've got a customers it attracts. So when Steven joints around the line output trans- camcorder and a recorder up the creek, decided to take a few days off last week former. I resoldered them then switched and I'm letting you mend them. Only he arranged for young Doreen Dense to on again, full of confidence This time one thing. You'll have to get them from look after that side of things. matters were worse. The set was dead. my wagon. I've got a bad back." A line output transformer as badly "I spend all my life carrying stuff in A Pile of TVs dry-jointed as that one would have been and out of this workshop" I said. "I'd sending nasty, spiky r.f. pulses along the develop a bad back if I had the time." Come Monday morning I decided to paths connected to it. To the scan coils The camcorder and VCR were sitting attack the nasty jobs that always seem to for a start and, heaven forbid, probably on top of a load of coloured parasols. edge towards my end of the bench. The to the signal stages. I checked the line "What are these for, Ted?" I asked. first was a 5in. JVC colour set, Model scan coil connections and found awful "To put over the tables outside the CX6OME, whose operation was inter- dry-joints here as well. Resoldering pub. Brings the motorists in. They pinch mittent. I'm not always able to open them restored a good picture. I was a few glasses, but we make up by little TV sets. The last time I tried, every grateful as I boxed the set up. charging them a bit extra when they screw I undid made something drop off But I wilted a bit when I saw that the order their drinks. inside the cabinet until I had a sealed next set was a Sony KV21XMTU. It "Er, right" I said. The camcorder was box full of bits. I hoped for better luck was dead. This was not surprising when a Chinnon one whose viewfmder had this time. I examined the chassis and found that a detached itself from the main body I needn't have worried. It opened dry-joint on one leg of R614 (2200, because the screws had worked loose. easily. I noticed a small panel that stood 10W) in the snubber circuit had cooked As I've had this before I did it while he up on one side of the main panel. the PCB and made it conductive: the waited. Waggling it produced and cleared the 2SD1548 chopper transistor Q602 and I removed the carriage door, disman- fault. The joints were dry, and resol- the mains fuse had also snuffed it. tled the casing top and bottom then with- dering them cured the trouble. That Tidying up the chassis and replacing drew the four deck-securing screws. hadn't been too tricky. I looked towards these items brought the set back to life. After turning the camera over I removed the next job. the two screws that secure the lens It was a tired-looking Bush 2020T Ribald Reg assembly. This gave me access to the colour set. "Goes envious" said the card, viewfmder section. I fitted two new in Steven's writing. He's getting to be Then Ribald Reg minced in with his screws and painted on a couple of spots quite a wag. The picture and sound hands thrust deeply into the pockets of of Loctite. "It won't come back with that seemed normal to me when I connected his old Humphrey Bogart trenchcoat. particular fault" I added after reassem- the set to the mains supply, so I left it Reg never had a character of his own. bling the unit. running. I was just about to pick up a He settled for the Humph one after Ted's VCR was a Panasonic further job when this French fellow seeing Casablanca. He looked tense and NVDH8. When I plugged it in and breezed in with a Blaupunkt FM100- uncertain. switched on it clunked and died. I 21AX colour portable. "This set's giving me plenty of opened it up and replaced the STK5339 "Wonder if you can get it going?" he trouble" he lisped into my face. "And regulator chip then, as usual with these said. "It packed up some time back and I'm sick of the hassle." machines, I checked the low-value elec- another dealer said it was unrepairable." "0.k., o.k., just bring it in." Just then trolytics in the power supply. Several When I plugged it in and switched on Greeneyes came in with my tea. had gone low in value. After replacing there was a blank screen, apart from a Humph watched her as she clip- them the recorder worked well enough. third of the picture at the top. I didn't clopped out. "Nice dame" said his teeth, "Pop in for a drink sometime" Ted have the circuit diagram but spotted the "who's she?" said as he left. field output chip and noticed a nearby "Mrs D. Bullock, Humph" I said. "Join the mugs under the parasols, 1,000pF, 25V electrolytic. Thinking of He brought the set along later. It was eh?" I said. all the Bush field scans I'd restored by a 10in. Philips portable, Model replacing capacitors like this one, I took 10CX1120/05B. The set worked all it out and checked it on the bridge. One right when I plugged it in, but as it A Delivery microfarad. Not enough! A replacement warmed up the picture developed a faint Our postman came in with a parcel brought back an excellent picture. blue haze. Then it began to flash blue. from SEME. Another Philips Meanwhile the picture on the soak- I've had this fault before with these sets 10CX1120/05B set had come in a week testing Bush set had become green at the and went straight to the tube base panel, earlier with the usual faulty tube base extreme left-hand side. I blew hot air where there are some sealed presets I've panel problem, the picture flashing blue. through the back: as the chassis warmed, never been able to clean. For some With this set the panel was beyond 798 TELEVISION SEPTEMBER 1995 repair. Both Willow Vale and SEME Two More seconds. At the same time the whole quoted £48.36 plus VAT for a replace- It was getting on, but I decided to picture changed from very light to very ment panel, bringing the total cost of the have a go at a couple more sets. The first dark. A few minutes later it began to slip panel to £56.82. Rather a lot. Our reac- was a Bush colour receiver fitted with sideways as well, first to the left and tion was not to encourage Philips and the T24E chassis. Pretty ancient. "No then to the right. It all then gradually scrap the set, but the customer wanted colour" Steven had written. I poked came right again. the repair done. So we tossed a coin and around the line output and colour I'd never before seen all these symp- ordered the spare from SEME. When we decoder sections but couldn't see toms together on one of these sets: fitted it we obtained an excellent picture. anything obvious. So I got out the scope unstable sync, no chroma, video trouble. What with this sort of thing and the and colour bar generator. Eventually I It seemed to me that the place to look for incomprehensible manuals Philips found that R229 (3.6k.(2), in the line the cause was around the signal/sync produces nowadays I don't feel the same pulse feed to the colour decoder, had take-off stages. Or maybe there was a endearment to the company that I did at risen in value to 175k12. Should have decoupling or power supply fault. one time. Can anyone remember the remembered that stock fault. A replace- I was spared further thought by excellent grey covered manuals the ment cured the trouble. Though old, the Greeneyes who came in to see where I'd company produced years ago? (Of chassis seemed to be in almost mint got to. course! — editor. But they came from condition. And the picture was excellent, "There's more to life than gazing into service subsidiary Amalgamated Elec- as though the tube was new. the back of a telly" she said. tric Services Ltd. Who remembers that The last set was a Ferguson model "Yes. I'll just put a mention of the organisation?) Like its service and fitted with the TX10 chassis, the one fault in my next Television column. prices, they were wonderful. But times with the fold-down panel at the rear of Who knows, someone might come up change. It's not so bad for the the main one. The sound was o.k., but with the answer and save me from newcomers. They never knew the good there was no colour and after a while the further frustration. Meanwhile, let's go times. picture occasionally rolled for fifteen kill a little time." TELEVISION SEPTEMBER 1995 799 every time." He was right. The next set was an Hitachi What a Life CPT2210 (NP81CQ chassis) with field collapse. We've had that one before. Replacing the 220pF, 50V field scan Donald Bullock coupling capacitor C610 restored the raster. Another Hitachi set was next in It was my birthday. Greeneyes had his machine working in no time. I then line, this time a CPT1473 (NP82C-2 been nice to me, and had tidied the ordered the motor and a few other chassis). When I opened it up I found workshop. The morning was bright spares, by phone. I was told that the that both mains fuses were blackened and pleasantly warm. In fact life was motor was a special order and would and broken. The degaussing posistor good, and I settled down happily to take seven to ten days. When the other TH901 was also blackened. I took it sail through a perfect day. spares arrived the invoice said that the out and it rattled. A replacement, motor could no longer be supplied. along with new fuses, brought the set I then found that CPC had one in back to life. Then I resoldered and Mr Soaker's Sharp stock (part no. VSMT235). But the washed the joints where the two Then I saw old Mr Soaker heading price was £41.95 plus VAT. So back panels are connected: we've found in towards the door, carrying a video to Mr Soaker to explain the situation. the past that a build up of fluff here recorder. Could be troublesome, old His reply was, well raucous to say the can affect the grey scale. Soaker. There was a time when I least. Now I was a rogue is well as a would back away, but not this fool. He told me he'd think it over. morning. Deep down, I felt that Eventually, after telling me that Gladys's CD Player Soaker had to be good. The world was cheats never prosper, he accepted and At this point Gladys Grunter barged at peace, and so was I. we ordered the motor. in with a CD player, a Soundwave "Never been right since you last did CD3000. She always seems to be in a it" he rasped. "You need a proper chap rage about something. here. Somebody younger — and Wrong Colour "It's dead" she announced. "Power smarter." As I stood smiling at life's adversi- light thing comes on, but none of the I smiled. Really, I told myself, he ties I noticed Toby Jugg swaying as he little number things. Last time you did was as good as gold. Soaker's approached the door, with a colour my telly it wasn't right. Had to get machine was a Sharp VCH81, the all- portable under his arm. He'd taken to Snoddy's to fix it. They charged fifty singing, all-dancing digital hi-fi the bottle some years ago, and I hoped quid and took six weeks." Nicam wonder that frightened me to he wasn't in one of his funny moods. "Er, why not give them a chance death last year after he'd washed it "Mornin' Mr Bull" he said thickly. with your CD player?" I ventured. thoroughly in sheep dip. Now he was "This 'un's got an orange picture. "I did. They've got no number complaining that it jammed. Same colour as an orange." things in stock. Said you've got plenty "What have you done to it this We plugged the set in and a purple and they're cheap." time?" I asked. picture appeared. "Good old Snoddy's" I said. "Don't start giving me any old "See" said Toby, "orange. But it When Gladys had left I opened the buck" he warned, patting his pockets comes right after an hour." Then he player and looked hard at the panel. to locate his cigarettes. "I want this made his departure. I'd never come across this make bloody thing right." Then he stumped The set was quite new looking. An before and had no circuit diagram, but off. Akura CX4, one I didn't know. It was I noticed a 2,200pF, 16V electrolytic I opened the recorder and removed obvious that the green gun wasn't (C101) that was leaking a little. On a packet of Silk Cut from the carriage. doing its bit. When I investigated I test it proved to be virtually open- Then I inserted a cassette and tried the found that the 4.7k0 flashover protec- circuit. All that was required was a machine. It lobbed the cassette back at tion resistor R512 on the base panel, in new electrolytic. Come to think of it, me. I soon discovered that the gearing series with the drive to the green gun, this wasn't the first time we'd had to had slipped. As a result the was dry-jointed. It had been poorly replace a capacitor of this value for the microswitch operated at the wrong soldered at the factory, making contact same trouble — in various makes. time, activating the eject mechanism. only when hot. This took about an When Gladys returned she was When I'd reset this and refitted the hour. glowering. I handed her the player and carriage I tried again, only to find that charged her fifteen quid. there was scarcely any capstan move- "Good God!" she exploded. A Batch of TVs ment. "Fifteen quid for a couple of numbers! I settled down to examine the Time to turn to the TV sets What Snoddy's said about you was motor, which has an i.c. stage on a awaiting attention. The first was an right. You'll not see me again." tiny panel built into it. The input volt- ITT Ideal 3325. "Off tune with a buzz As she went out I noticed that the ages were right, so why wasn't the on sound" it said on the ticket. Steven blue sky had turned grey. A nasty thing working? I ran it for a while and was standing nearby. "Did a couple of breeze sprang up, and rain began to felt the housing. It was hot. A new those a few days ago" he said. tap at our windows. Then Pluto, who motor assembly was obviously "Remove the large r.f. can and check delivers our parcels, bowled in with required. A check with the SEME for dry-joints. It's best to use a magni- Mr Soaker's motor assembly from catalogue showed the price as £21.60 fying glass — some will look only CPC. complete, plus VAT. So I rang Mr slightly suspect. Then apply some I wondered whether to stop and fit Soaker, took some of his good-natured switch cleaner to the plug and socket it in the machine. But by now I'd had flack, and assured him that I'd have connections. This treatment works enough.

868 TELEVISION OCTOBER 1995 The last time I had this the cause had been capstan motor failure. So I sniffed around the one in this machine. It smelt Win1 LLIAY all right, but it was very stiff to turn. When I'd cleaned and lubricated the motor the machine still blew the fuse. I found that the M54648L-D motor driver chip IC602 was the cause Donald Bullock of the trouble. It had probably died trying to drive the tight armature.

It's over twenty years since I was last in the United States, in Connecticut to be more precise. One day I wandered from Bud's Decca my favourite bar — the one where every fourth drink was Bud Blowfly came in next. He's an inveterate hoarder free — and into Fran's Radio and TV shop on Main Street, who buys strange things for which he has no need. Then he Southington. He was a Zenith dealer — "Selling the Best, spends money on them before finally storing them away. Servicing the Rest" was his motto. I was given a great He boasts that if he keeps this up long enough his wife will welcome and wonder how Fran is fareing today. Coming divorce him. This time he'd got a Decca DV1259 with across his card in some old papers reminded me of the visit. him. Apart from the genuine friendliness and helpfulness of "Cost me twenty five quid" he said, "but the colour, the folk there, from the television point of view I remember brightness and volume controls only work sometimes." that visit for two reasons. First, the awful quality of the Because I like old Bud, I took a look at his set while he colour reception — I watched a cow in a field turn from produced clouds of St Bruno from his pipe. There were brown to purple to red all within a minute. And secondly the some dry-joints at plug/sockets MR11 and MR12 on board equally awful programmes. There seemed to be little of a 306A, to the left of the chassis. As I soldered them Bud cultural nature, and there was no way of escaping the adver- skipped about, coughing. tisements. These occurred constantly during sponsored "Where's that poncy smell coming from?" he enquired, programmes. looking under the bench and into the corners of the room.

A Bang and Olufsen 7733 A Ferguson 3V55 I could see that Mr Thesp was an oddball as soon as I Cuthbert Wirewound came in next, with a Ferguson caught sight of him trotting towards the shop carrying a B 3V55. "It just died on me" he announced. and 0 7733. When he'd loped off I opened the machine and looked "You'll be Mr Bullock" he bawled, "I know all about towards the power pack. Fuse 1 (315mA) was open-circuit. you." As we've had some awful thunder storms recently I fitted "Good God" I said, "let's talk about your set." another fuse and started the machine up, gingerly, via the "Keeps cutting out. And when it does work the colour variac. The fuse stayed intact, but no current was drawn. keeps disappearing." Then I noticed a plasticy smell, mixed with the smell of the When he'd departed I pulled his set on to the bench. The solder flux, Phyllis and the St Bruno. The mains transformer mains lead was only about a foot long, so to work on the set was cooking. I'd no choice but to replace it. Getting the back off wasn't The clock lit up when a replacement was fitted, but there easy, and when I did it fell on to my foot, half crippling me. were no functions and the machine wouldn't accept a The chroma panel nestled in the centre left of the chassis. cassette. So I took a look at the main board where I found It was full of dry-joints. I reached for the soldering iron and that C605 was short-circuit After replacing this the machine Steven's reel of romantic solder. This led to a double powered up but the E-E picture was poor. A tap on the tuner achievement: I cured the intermittent colour fault, and made PCB brought it up to full strength. One of the joints was the workshop smell like a Casablanca ladies' powder room. starved of solder. At this point Phyllis Puke came in carrying an Hitachi VT150E VCR. "Good heavens!" she sniffed, "that smell won't get into Gladys's Fergie my machine, will it?" I filled in one of Steven's job cards, My last visitor that day was Gladys Winegum. "Me little then waved her out and returned to the B and 0. Fergie has turned into a tiny line" she complained. The second fault was that the vision would disappear, "Sorry to hear that" I replied. "This might be a silly thing leaving a snowy raster. But the sound remained! At this to say, but, er, have you got it with you?" point I almost felt like searching for the manual, but decided "It's in the car" she said. not to because I can't read B and 0 circuit diagrams. Nor When I'd brought it in I found that it was a TX100 with Philips ones, come to that. Instead, I tapped about on the field collapse. As the 12V line was low I disconnected it and signal panels and found that this produced and cleared the checked the regulator, IC8. It was o.k. Then I took out the fault. There were a number of dry-joints, which I resoldered, TDA3652 field output chip, which doesn't seem to be avail- in the area. But this didn't cure the fault. I eventually found, able any longer. So I fitted a TDA3654, making sure that on the control panel, a ikil potentiometer with a wiper that pin 7 was left disconnected, and changed R96 to 3.3k0. made intermittent contact with the track. A new one put When I switched on again there was a full frame and an matters right. It was R33. Next time I'm feeling really spry excellent picture. I'll look out the circuit diagram and try to find out what it does. My Own Problem Finally to my own problem. It took me three attempts to Phyllis's Hitachi VT150E produce this article. I lost the first two about half way Then I picked up Phyllis's VCR, when smelt like Phyllis. through, by selecting the 'save and continue' option in order It was dead and kept blowing the 2.5A power fuse F851. to save what I'd written while I slipped into the house for a

50 TELEVISION NOVEMBER 1995 cup of tea. Each time when I returned the screen said "disc The machine that gave me the trouble is a PCW8512, and at format not recognised". When I selected 'retry operation' or present I don't know whether it's the discs, the disc drive or `ignore error and continue' I lost the output of the disc, a problem with the memory board. which then refused to reload. I've been wondering lately whether to upgrade to another I'm not yet sure what's gone wrong. This third attempt is word-processing system, but I'm not sure of my way around being written on another machine, a PCW9512, with a the jungle out there. In addition it took me about three years different set of discs. If any Amstrad word processor buffs to get the hang of Locoscript, though I think a great deal of are reading this and could throw any light on these happen- the trouble here was with the presentation of the original ings, I'd like to hear from them— write in via the magazine. manual. accepted a disc, read the TOC, then played the disc without skipping or jumping. In fact it behaved perfectly. I peered Vtim1 1.111tY through the window, trusting that Edgar was doing likewise. Then I noticed that the disc was vintage Sinatra. So I connected an amplifier and some speakers. There was no Donald Bullock sound. On opening the player I found an identical dry-joint on both output sockets — where they connect to the board. Resoldering them brought excellent results. It's amazing how the news has got about in this small corner of Spain that my life affliction has been in the TV/video trade. It comes up all too often in fatuous conversations in A Grundig T55-340/90A Telly bars, while people keep showing up at the door with sets I "Jumps about and flickers when cold" was Maisie's can't work and don't understand. complaint about her Grundig set, which was fitted with the I was relaxing with Greeneyes in Paco's bar the other CUC3490 chassis. I opened it up and looked around for dry- night, watching his TV set doing its best with hardly any joints — I've worked on Grundigs before. Sure enough the field sync, when this huge roughneck came and sat at our chopper transistor was dry-jointed. Once again a bit of table. We soon learnt that after losing all his money running resoldering put matters right. a bar he'd decided to take a postal careers course. "I'm now a physiotherapist" he said. "You mends tellies doncha?" Using the skills of a lifetime, I changed the subject. But it More VCRs was no good. Old Mrs Sorrel struggled in with her Pye DV291. She "Which is the best set?" he said, "and do you reckon was widowed a month after settling here and now devotes they'll ever get the colours right? I only watches the sport her life to raising funds for her favourite charity. The meself." After that I got a potted history of his set, those of DV291 is the same as the Philips VR6290, but whatever his friends and neighbours, and of all the rogue dealers from clothes it comes in the machine frightens me to death. This whom they'd suffered. Then he noticed the missing sync on one had died during a recent lightning storm. I was worried Paco's set. "Hey Paco" he bawled, "this man's a telly about being able to fix it, but fortunately the damage was mechanic." confined to the primary side of the power supply. The Fortunately Paco doesn't understand any English. I'd BUT11AF chopper transistor had suffered, and safety entered Paco's with a spring in my step. I left it thoroughly resistor SR3 had failed. When both had been replaced the choked. machine came autocratically to life. I've had mode switch trouble with several Amstrad VCRs of late. Often the machine is a VCR9500 (Goodmans VCR Troubles TX3650). The symptoms are misfunctioning. When a Harry was at the gate, sitting on an up-ended video, when cassette is inserted you may fmd that the machine selects I got back from the village the other day. "It ain't much" he rewind and the heads spin. Sometimes the only symptom is said, setting me up to work for nothing. The machine was a failure to eject the tape. I now have a routine procedure for Sony SLV270 which, when I tested it, was lifeless except dealing with this situation. for a faint whining noise. I quickly developed the same I remove the fascia and the bottom cover by taking out trouble. Then I recalled that I'd had the fault before, and the two screws near the front. Then I remove the clamp and made for the power pack. C1326 (16µF, 25V) was open- screw at the centre, rear of the deck. This leaves the deck circuit. A replacement put everything right. retained by two block connectors at the rear. After discon- As I was boxing it up a lady called in with her Samsung necting these the deck can be lifted out. The mode switch is SI7220 VCR, which is identical to the Goodmans beneath the deck, to the right at the rear. I remove and VCR2550. "I can't get a tape into it" she said, "not even examine it. If it's simply dirty, I clean and lubricate it. If with my foot." there's wear I replace it. On test the clock lit up but there was no on LED illumi- A word of warning. It's easy to damage one or both of nation and no loading motor operation. I soon found out the two sensors at either side of the PCB. Another point. why she couldn't get a tape into it: there was one jammed in Fluorescent lights in the workshop will activate the sensors there already. When I dismantled the machine and took it when the machine's cover is removed. No amount of out I found that it was shredded and broken. My experience striving will 'cure' this. To test the machine, turn the lights has always been that the motor in this model is a bit slug- out or refit the cover. gish, but this one was worse than usual. There was less than After doing a couple of these recently I picked up a Sharp a volt across it. As the windings checked out all right I made VCA63HM which was also suffering from mode switch for the STK5333 regulator chip IC101 on the power panel. trouble. It was about two years old. While it had updated It was the cause of the trouble. I don't know whether it panels, the deck was the one I'm used to, with the same comes in different qualities, but the prices quoted vary enor- troublesome mode switch and motor assembly. The symp- mously. toms were failure to eject, then lacing and unlacing when the stop button was pressed. Repairing or replacing the Edgar's CD Player switch usually takes only ten minutes, so it's not too bad. After putting this one back together I decided that it was Shortly after that Greeneyes clopped round with Hand- time for a break. So we made off for the local open market some Edgar, whom I don't like. "Edgar's got a Sony CD in the next village. Several stalls were selling a wide variety player" she announced. "We've all got our troubles" I of electronic equipment, much of it quite sophisticated. A replied nastily, "what's up with it?" stall that appeared to be devoted to Panasonic items was "Doesn't plaih" said Edgar, smiling like a dish of treacle. doing particularly good trade. Only there was something Then he disappeared up the garden path with Greeneyes. odd about the Panasonic trade mark. It was spelt Pana- It was an M35, minus the amplifier and speakers. It soanic!

TELEVISION DECEMBER 1995 117 What Donald Bullock recalls some of the troubles that beset him during the month a Life !

our or five people called upon dry-joints, especially around the you bring it in?" I asked. "Half eight me this week for help in resetting chopper and line output transformers. this morning. I left it next door, they Ftheir TV sets and VCRs Sadly, every joint was sound and my said you were quick." following a couple of power cuts. thoughts of a fast buck quickly I collected his set and put it on the They were well educated people — one evaporated. On switching back on bench. It was a CPT2508 (G7P Mk 2 a surgeon and another an ex-airline again I thought I could hear a faint chassis) and was dead. I opened it and pilot — and three of them had the crackling from the area of the tube's followed my nose, which took me to maker's handbook, yet none of them neck. I was right! A huge bluebottle the pretty blue 4.7nF, 2kV disc could operate the equipment they'd had wedged itself into the spark gap capacitor C919 in the chopper paid so much for. And since it's on the tube base board. When it was transistor's snubber circuit. It had confession time, I have to admit that I removed the set worked well. The cracked open. The BUT11A chopper was little better off. bluebottle didn't. transistor had died, so had the fuse. I suffer of course from the Fortunately the TDA4601 chopper disadvantage of having had a sensible Fred's Sharp VCR control chip was o.k., and the set and practical education by proper Fred Horsefly brought in his Sharp worked well after replacing the items people in a proper world. I can't begin VCA615HM VCR. It was pink. just mentioned. to think like today's whizz kids, and "Painted it mesself" he said proudly, tend to throw in the towel when I find "only it won't accept a cassette and A Bush 2059NTX that once simple jobs have been turned the clock is stuck at 10.59 a.m." "Thrup, dead, thrup. That's all it into complex games. When, I wonder, "What time did you paint it?" I does" said Mr Renton of the Bush will manufacturers discover that the asked. 2059NTX he'd brought in. I carried bulk of the products they now offer In fact the reason for the failure to out some checks and found that there can't be used for their intended purpose accept a cassette was the usual one was no 17V output on the secondary by those who have bought them? with this deck — the mode switch. And side of the chopper circuit. This was My problem these days is not in when we'd fitted a replacement the an easy one: the 6.8f2 surge limiter repairing the stuff that folk bring to clock started to behave. resistor had popped open, just to be me: it's in trying to discover how to awkward and make us a few bob. operate them. More than once I've Another Sharp After fitting a replacement the set ran spent valuable time trying to repair an "My boyfriend could mend this if he cool and survived some current apparently dead set only to discover, had a meter thing" pouted Fiona checks and a soak test. sometimes from my kids, that it's Fossett, who brought in a Sharp been child-proofed or that it isn't VC780HM. "The tape shoots back Screeching supposed to come to life until this, every time we put one in." Steven had written "screeches" on the that and the other has been pressed or As some of the case screws were ticket attached to a Panasonic keyed or activated. missing it seemed sensible to treat the TX2231. For once he wasn't guilty of If any designer boys are reading unit as a hostile witness. I soon found understatement. When I plugged it in this, let me offer them some advice that the cassette sensor LED and its there was a horrendous noise that I that may well make their companies holder were broken in half. In view of could have sold to Hammer Films. rich. Design a TV set that anyone can the fact that the machine had been As far as I could hear, before work, with a proper on-off switch tampered with, I tried it out before tugging at the speaker leads, the coupled to the volume control and a doing any work. To fool the sound was all right. But I fancied that set of knobs for brightness, contrast mechanism I switched on, inserted a I could smell some health-giving and colour adjustment. And, not too tape then pulled out the mains plug as ozone. So I put out the lights, drew far from them, a set of easily tuned soon as the cassette had been the blind and settled at the set. The pushbuttons for programme selection. accepted. Then, after a few seconds, I line output transformer was producing While these are being snapped up by plugged it in again and pressed the an impressive e.h.t. display that ninety per cent of the population, sit operate button. The cassette loaded crawled around the focus and first down again and design a VCR along properly and the machine worked well anode areas. As I disconnected the set similar lines. You'd make a lot of in every way. My fears had been Greeneyes came in with my tea. people happy and unfurrow a lot of groundless. After ordering a new LED "Why are you in here alone with the "My boyfriend brows, including mine. and holder, which arrived from lights off and the blind drawn" she could mend this Willow Vale next day, I was able to wanted to know. "You're well over if he had a Ethel's TX 10 complete the job. sixty you know. And what's that meter thing" "They calls it a TX10" said Ethel funny smell?" McCrapenny. "It clicks and crackles Mr Emery's Hitachi A new line output transformer from then the mute light comes on and the As I moved the VC780HM off the Willow Vale cured the trouble. The picture flickers." bench Mr Emery entered. "I've called original type is no longer available, I switched it on to confirm the for my Hitachi telly" he said. I but Willow Vale supply an alternative symptoms then checked carefully for couldn't find it anywhere. "When did that works. •

180 January 1996 TELEVISION What Donald Bullock recalls some of the troubles that a 41 e • beset him during the month . •

There had been thunder storms all day tube. I struggled to get it on to the brought in. I looked at the door and off and the workshop was cold and damp. bench. Another mistake. he went. I'd just put my feet up and poured It was a Grundig set fitted with the I plugged in the set which wasn't myself a smallish whisky when there CUC4620 chassis. This has seven red, it was dead. But I don't mind was a frantic banging at the door. I large subpanels connected to it and working on this model. It's a tidy, well went to answer it. My first mistake. It two more panels slotted into the front. planned set. I went straight for R801, was Mr Snide. With no circuit diagram, and realising the 6.20 ceramic resistor in the power "Hello Don. Got a bit of trouble that I'd be little better off if I did, I supply. It was open-circuit. When I with the old Philips telly. Can you peered through its spaghetti junction replaced it the set, to my surprise, open up the workshop?" of pretty wiring and wondered came on fully: it should have come on I nodded. My second mistake. Then whether I had any whisky left. "Be a in standby. Then I noticed that my we paddled off towards his car. As I man" urged a little voice in my mind. nice new 6.20 resistor was glowing did so he started to rub his back. "Got "Who, me?" I answered as I looked at like a hot poker. a bit of back trouble" he wheezed, the card. The thing to check was the over- "can you get it from the car?" "Was plugged in and on standby in a voltage protection diode D808, which I struggled through a car full of old thunder storm" it said. "The mains was short-circuit. So I replaced it then lumber, yanked the set out and took it supply flicked off then back on and turned to C813, a 47pF, 50V back to the bench. Then he came out the set died. Only the green 'on' LED electrolytic capacitor that's connected with his punch line. lights." to pin 2 of the STR50020 chopper "Do it if it comes to a tener or less." There was voltage across the mains regulator chip. You sometimes find For once I was too tired to straighten rectifier's reservoir capacitor, but that it has gone low in value, him out. Not that it mattered. I've there were no chopper circuit output triggering such troubles. But it was all been straightening out customers for voltages. Maybe there was a short- right this time. over forty years. They're worse than circuit across one of the outputs. I I connected the set to the mains via ever now. checked the line output stage, to no the variac and wound up the input. At As he departed Greeneyes came in avail. Then I noticed a wad of ceramic 100V the ammeter needle shot over then started her vacuum cleaner up. resistors and decided that it would be and the over-voltage diode said That was all I needed. It crackled then easier to check these than try to think. goodbye. As I was fitting a emitted a cloud of dust and a nasty They were all o.k. Oh dear. I wished I replacement Richard Renton returned. burning smell. had stayed at that local newspaper job "Oh, Mr Butcher..." he began. "Must have it" she said, yanking out all those years ago. But I didn't. Time "Hang about" I replied. the plug. I hate having to mess about to face up to the chopper circuit. I took out the STR50020 chip and with vacuum cleaners. I checked the chopper transistor, found that it was short-circuit. After The mains lead was cooking where which was o.k. Then I went on to fitting a replacement I gingerly wound it had worn, as it enters the body of check the rest of the components. the set up again. This time it came on the cleaner. I had it done it no time. Some time later I'd cleared everything in standby. When I switched on there Then back to Mr Snide's set. except the TDA4601 chopper control was a picture, but it was red. I noticed chip IC631.1 replaced it, counted the that the tube base was slightly askew. The Philips 2A, Part 1 remaining stock, then reached for the "That's the fault" he volunteered as When I opened it up there was a 2A variac and the waste bin. I pushed the base on properly. "Oh, chassis inside. I plugged it in and got a I switched on gingerly and wound you've cured it. Wasn't much, was pattern of sparklers at the front right. up the variac's output by degrees. it?" On closer examination I saw that it Suddenly four thumps shook the Incidentally Toshiba is the only was damp — and smelt of gin. Several room and a raster came up before I major manufacturer I know of that still chopper circuit components had been could dive for cover. I plugged in an gives technical help to non-dealers. the sparklers I'd seen. "Up to ten quid, aerial feed and breathed a sigh of What's more, the engineers are eh?" I mused. relief. "That wasn't too bad, was it?" cheerful, polite and eager to help. When Mr Snide called first thing coaxed a fat, cross-eyed lady on the They usually can, knowing their sets next morning I pushed the set back to screen. well. We don't sell new TVs now, but him. "Try Snoddies" I said. "They like if we did we'd be after a Toshiba to do these. I can't manage it at the Richard's Colour Portable agency. We recommend the moment." Well, it was one way of As I boxed the Grundig set up I company's sets whenever a customer dealing with the situation. noticed that Richard Renton had decides it's time to buy anew one. sidled in. He was standing at the The Mighty Grundig counter looking down. An Amstrad CTV2210 Then I looked about me and saw a "It's gone all red" he protested about Our next customer was Timothy huge white cabinet with a massive the Toshiba 143R4BR portable he'd Tapworth. He had an Amstrad

284 February 1996 TELEVISION CTV2210 in his arms. "Oh no!" I loading the h.t. line with a 100W bulb. cried. But I like Tim, so I decided to On my next try the lamp lit brightly look at his set while he waited. for a split second then the fuse blew It was dead. Fuse F502, which lives violently. I replaced the chopper — and dies — in the centre back of the transformer, but this made no chassis, was blackened. I took out the difference. At any rate I'd established 2SC3156 chopper transistor for test, that the cause of the trouble was on without much hope. But it was faulty, the primary side of the circuit. a new one restoring the set to life. The I decided to check the transistors picture was excellent. first. They were all of the right type "Wonderful" shouted Tim, pulling and good. Then I checked the diodes out his wallet. "'S nothing" I said, similarly. I turned to the capacitors, "fifteen". He dropped a couple of coins checking each one for leakage and on to his fivers. "Have a drink" he said. capacitance value. I still couldn't find He went off, leaving me happy. anything wrong. Then a dark cloud came along. It was Short of something really odd, this Mr Snide, clutching his Philips telly, left only the resistors. Most were new, the one with the 2A chassis. I was and none looked discoloured. But unhappy again. there was nothing for it but to check each one. I found the cause of the The Philips 2A, Part 2 trouble when I got to R3666. It should "Did what you said Don. Took it to have been 1.552 but was actually 15Q! Snoddies. They've got a new I studied it and realised what had engineer, a Mr Bathwater. He tried, happened. The replacement that had but couldn't fix it. They said they'd been fitted was colour coded brown, put a lot of stuff in but it still blows green, black, plus the tolerance band. the fuse at switch on. Charged me It should have been brown and green thirty five quid. When I complained plus the tolerance band. Fitting the the tall chap with the rotten teeth got correct value restored the set to perfect nasty, so I paid. Will you have a go? operation. An easy mistake to make, Forget the ten quid bit." especially as a chap becomes I felt sorry for Snide this time, and increasingly disorientated by a tricky curious about his set. So I offered to repair. For once I almost felt sorry for have a look at it. Sure enough Snoddies. I also wondered how poor Snoddies had dried out the chassis and Mr Bathwater would fare in his new replaced several components — the job. mains fuse, the line output transistor Then I thought of the time I'd spent and a number of items on the primary on Mr Snide's set, and wondered how side of the power supply, including the much to charge him in the BUT11 chopper transistor, C2664 circumstances. Then I thought of me, (1.5nF, 1kV) which often splits, and wondered how on earth I'd transistors 7685 and 7686, the CNX62 managed to become a TV repairman. optocoupler, all the diodes and a lot of resistors. Every other component had Variac Tip been unsoldered and tested, and the Incidentally when I made up my chopper transformer had been taken variac I took a tip or two from Richard out. They'd then moved to the Pollock. I've mentioned him before — secondary side of the circuit, where he's retired now and lives close by. He the tale was similar. housed his in a wooden case, and I studied the chassis, looking for included in series with it an old unintentional shorts or cracks, but Ferguson 2A mechanical cutout (as couldn't find any. The soldering was used in the 3000 series chassis). This awful and lumpy, and the print trips in the event of an overload. He covered with old flux. So I got to work also fitted amp and volt meters, so that with solder braid, tidied up the he can monitor the voltage applied and soldering and cleaned off the flux. the current consumption as the Then I studied the bench, swept the variac's setting is advanced. I wired floor and thought about coffee. But I mine up similarly. couldn't put it off any longer. The trouble with a chopper power After fitting a new 2A fuse I started supply is that it won't normally come the set up gradually via the variac. The to life until the variac's output has fuse blew almost immediately. I reached about 100V. The primary side disconnected the load from the mains of the circuit then starts up and, if bridge rectifiers, leaving the reservoir there's a short-circuit on the secondary capacitor C2659 connected. When I side, current is drawn suddenly and tried again the fuse remained intact heavily. This is where the 2A cutout and there was 300V across C2659. comes in. Often the cause of the This cleared the input circuitry. I next trouble is in the primary side of the set out to clear the line timebase by circuit however: in this case the variac disconnecting the supply to it and can be very helpful.

TELEVISION February 1996 What a Life!

Donald Bullock recalls the Luxor set that wore him down — with a little

help from his customers

s our VCR had been taken pursed his lips to produce a tiny, returned to the Luxor set. over by our two youngest thin voice. Achildren, I arranged for "It's lost... it's lost its. .." He A GoldStar CIT4785 Santa Claus to present each with an rubbed his brow. "It's lost..." Then Mr McGorickle danced in Alba VCR7200 for Christmas. "It's memory?" I bawled. with a GoldStar CIT4785 14in. When they arrived I rather liked the "Yes, yes!" he piped, "that's it, portable. He put it on the bench, look of them. So much smaller than it's lost its. . er. . " brought up his arms and started to many others, very well styled and I drew a card towards me. wave them to and fro. bristling with features that even I "Name?" I said. "It's gone all like this" he said, might be able to cope with — given "Luxor" he replied. So I wrote "all like this." time. down "Luxor" and waved him out. I waved him off and tried the set. One reason for chosing Alba was The screen displayed a milky raster that the company has been Trials and Tribulations with flyback lines. Sound was o.k. particularly helpful whenever we've For most of the time the Bush 2020 Steven came in and I thought I'd had servicing queries or needed had no proper colour, just random consult with him. circuit diagrams. With so many flashes of colour over a "There's vision trouble with this manufacturers nowadays, the monochrome picture. But as soon as GoldStar" I said, "but the sound is dealer is on his own unless he has I got near it with a meter or scope all right. Now if you think of the a substantial account with the the colour returned. The sound was signal path, the sound and vision maker. all right. I'd changed all sorts of travel together until they get to the things, including the TDA3562A end of the i.f. strip. The fact that The Good and the Bad colour decoder chip, but had got the sound is o.k. though the vision The day started off all right, with nowhere. So I decided to look at the is bad points to. . ." the Reverend Goode giving me a Luxor, in the hope that I'd be able "It's the TDA3560 chip" Steven raffle ticket. to mend it quickly. cut in. "I'd fit a TDA3561. That'll "Just one left. Number 13. I popped the back on the Bush, cure it." Somehow can't sell it. Can't think slipped it on to the soak test bench I did and it did. One up to Steve. why. We're going to make the draw and left it running. Up came a Puffed up loon, I thought, he's this afternoon." perfect colour picture... I then getting like Greeneyes. It was the Luxor set that wore me managed to tune in a picture on the down as the day went on. Mind you Luxor set, at which point a reptile the Bush 2020 had weakened me. wearing a cravat bounced in with a The Bush and the And when I was at my lowest the VCR and a portable TV set. It Pye CTX-E crowd started to come in. seemed that he had just been wound I turned once more to the Luxor The Luxor was a 18067849 — a up. set, suffered a while, then had nice easy model number. It was "Bought this from Crubb's another go at the Bush. Maybe brought in, while I was wrestling Foodstore, chum" he breezed. there was a print break somewhere with the Bush 2020, by the local "Right price too. And a year's around the TDA3562A chip. As I Isn't Daddy good to character who looks like the Pied supply of caraway seeds, and forty looked for my huge illuminated buy us a video each. Piper gone wrong. He stood puffing plastic cups. They said you're the magnifier, Steve glanced at the Shall we have a and blowing for a while, then look inside and see chap to tune them together. Said it screen. how it works . . . takes only a few seconds." "Break in the panel around the I hissed an evil word in his ear TDA3562 chip I expect" he said, and he raced off, looking daggers at "had one like it the other day." me over his shoulder. I tapped and flexed the board in Back to the Luxor. As I didn't the vicinity of the chip and found have a circuit diagram it was a that I could make the colour come matter of surmising and trying. An and go, especially when I was hour later I was no further forward, working around the key end of the so I put it aside and took the Bush chip. Then, homing in on it, I set back. found a break in one of the tracks. The colour was still there, and I Remaking the connection with a couldn't get rid of it — not with the jumper lead cured the fault. At hairdryer, the freezer, a selection of least that one had been put to rest. bad language or a bout of violence. Meanwhile Steve had pulled a I put it back on soak test and Pye 43KT2196 on to the bench.

366 March 1996 TELEVISION It's fitted with the Philips CTX-E panel. Behind it I found a PCB chassis. When he switched the set with a 1.2V back-up cell that had on the colours were all wrong. A died. A replacement cured the ploughed field was green, so was trouble. As I was boxing the set the post office van. The grass was up the piper returned. red. "I've got it done" I said. "It "Had this before" he said, "it'll turned out to be a tiny battery probably be coil 5153." But he got behind the front panel." nowhere. "Seems to be ident "Thought it would be" he trouble" he said. replied, dropping a one pound "No it's not" I said, noticing that coin on the counter. "It's the sky was purple. "Take out the happened before." degaussing posistor and rattle it." Sure enough one of the tablets in That Evening the posistor had crumbled, the odd "I can't understand why you get picture colours being the result of so nasty over these sets and the tube's severely corrupted customers" Greeneyes said that purity. evening. "Can't you really?" I retorted. Some VCRs "I've had a frustrating day with "Can't be much" said Mr nearly twenty awful sets and just Hardshaw as he popped his JVC as many prats. It's now twenty HRDX22EV VCR on the counter. past eight and I still can't be sure "Only I'm a pensioner, and the I've finished. That phone might missus has gout. Have a look and go at any minute. It did. give me a ring, then we'll see." "Sorry to ring so late, Mr This machine remains in the fully Bullfight, but you mended my laced-up position when in the stop sister's husband's set in 1965. mode: it unlaces only for eject, fast He's dead now, and she married forward and rewind. The complaint a Turk. But they've a lovely cat was that it occasionally left a loop and they now live in Wimbledon. of tape that would get caught up She's put a bit of weight on, but when the cassette was ejected. The haven't we all? Ha, ha, ha. What capstan, which should have turned I rang to ask about is this. Which at the last second to activate the really is the best set?" mechanism, didn't do so — because I said a certain word to the the mode switch didn't tell it to. It phone and put it down. Then it was dirty. Cleaning it cured the went again. It was someone in a trouble, and while we were at it we noisy pub. made sure that the screws which "I've just bought a shet offofa earth the mode switch panel were mate Mr Blooper. And I'm tight. With early models the panel gonna let you mend it. I'll be isn't properly earthed if they are with you as soon as I can get a not tight, giving rise to the came push in my car. You can give me trouble. a push to get me going again, Just then Miss Peach glided in can't you?" with her Panasonic NVL25B. "Can Another naughty word and the one of you clever gentlemen tell phone went dead. me why it has died?" she asked. Then the doorbell rang and a Steve went straight to the power shifty gent in a mac poked his pack and checked C9, a 1pF, 400V head around the door. electrolytic. It was open-circuit. "Sorry to call at the house" he Once a replacement had been fitted said, "but that set you mended the machine was back in health. last June wasn't really right As she departed, Greeneyes came when we had it back. We kept in with our tea. "What an awful hoping it would settle down, but looking girl!" she said. it's gone again. Can you look at "I know, terrible" I replied. it now? Only we wants to see the Incidentally we always fit a Chain Saw Massacre afore we capacitor rated at 105°C in this goes to bed?" position now, after some earlier I had a word in his ear and he bounces. quickly departed. The phone rang again. I The Luxor Finale snatched it up and snarled. The day was wearing on and the "Oh, er, sorry" said the voice Luxor was still there. It wasn't of the Reverend Goode. "I've much fun trying to deal with it dialled the wrong number! Sorry without the circuit. I spent more to have troubled you. It was Mr time getting nowhere, then I got Bullock I wanted, to tell him he's around to taking out the front won the raffle. I'll try again." ■

TELEVISION March 1996 What a Life! Donald Bullock on how it might have been if he repaired cars. Instead, he has devilish difficulties with CDs, electrolytics and other things

ore years ago than I care to motor engineer can charge hundreds now commonly used by entertainers recall I attended our local of pounds for his work, because cars and recording studios. Apparently Mtechnical college, where have risen in price umpteen times. they stand up better to overloading, the rudiments of this trade were My work has to be done for peanuts. and produce a 'rounder' sound. driven into my head. Although I Well, yes. But they produce a great didn't realise it at the time, I Unlearning deal of heat, consume much too emerged a socially deprived person Then there's my brain, which is so much current, and amplifiers with — in at least two respects. crammed with useless information good chokes and transformers are Had I studied something else, say that I can't seem to get current heavy. Now they are very costly. motor engineering, then got myself things into it. I sometimes wish I Some cost thousands of pounds! a job in a garage, I'd have been able could attend an untechnical college, to hold a conversation about it with to become an untelevision engineer. Contrasts anyone in the local. Might even First I could be untaught the resistor Our Spanish place sits in a large have profited from it. Let's see how colour code. Then pFs and µFs and plot, with the front gates a tidy step the conversation would have gone. the nature of electricity. from the house. Some while ago I "Had a terrible car in yesterday. I could be untaught all I know decided to fit a bell push at the Everything wrong with it. Kept about Collaro record changers, and gates, in parallel with the one at the cutting out — only when warm. Back that company's dreaded two-way front door. When I looked into this I bumper kept falling off. Petrol tape transcriptor. And the Philips' found that our electric doorbell was gauge read half full all the time. changers, for which the only designed to work directly from the And there was this squeak. Took me remedy was a suitably sized box mains supply. There was no hours to find the source. He was addressed to Croydon. And oh to be transformer, and the bell push and back with it today. Both front untaught the misery of restringing its wiring were at full mains wheels punctured — wanted 'em wireless dial drives. ("What? potential. I soon did something fixed under guarantee!" Twelve and six for a bit of string!") about that. Then someone suggested Laughter all round. Then there are all those valve a radio operated bell, the bell push "Have a drink on me, Don!" types, pin connections and being a transmitter. "No, let me get him one!" equivalents that keep running We were given one as a present. It A television engineer on the other around in my mind. was manufactured by a Middlesex hand tends to be isolated, even These thoughts started off when I firm called Busybody Products (24 distrusted. Suppose I was to have a noticed that valves and valve Windmill Road, Brentford). It's go. Might be something like this. equipment seem to be making neat, robust, digitally designed and "Had this terrible set in yesterday. something of a comeback. There are produces loud, harmonious chimes Sync waveform kept varying. Field advertisements in Television for old that can be heard even beyond the oscillator ran too fast. There were valves, and some of the prices claimed range of fifty feet. Well it line striations, but only on offered are surprising. I still recall did, but after a few months it gave monochrome. And intermittent the day we finally decided, after up the ghost, perhaps because of the Hanover bars." postponing it for ages, to throw hot Spanish sun. Shuffling and cringing all round, away our stock of hundreds of the As it was a present we had no plus dark looks. A general edging things. guarantee. So I wrote to Busybody away — and no free drinks. I gather from BBC radio that Products to ask whether they could The other deprivation? Well the valve amplifiers and equipment are help. When they received my letter they telephoned me in Spain, offering to post me a replacement I've been listening free of charge. to this bloke now I find this commendable indeed. for nearly two hours It's very unlike some of my recent experiences in our own trade. We and he hasn't needed a number of satellite mentioned a big receiver/decoders for example, and end or an exhaust sent off faxes to several firms back pipe yet - wouldn't in the UK. There were no replies. be surprised if he A Disc Problem wasn't quite the full My Sony stacking system required shilling.. attention recently. As Steven was trying to sort out a Fisher colour set that made him nasty, I decided to

414 April 1996 TELEVISION have a go at it myself. Making tea is easier than thinking. Yet Another The tuner, Model ST-V50L, uses Meanwhile the set started to We boxed up the Fisher set and, a 6V orange pilot lamp to illuminate search tune again. Once we'd got all flushed with our success, pulled a the display panel. It had gone out. the channels in turn it came right. Matsui VX1000Y VCR on to the This had happened before, a year or The picture was stable and we could bench. Drifts off tune it said on the two ago, and Sony had charged me change them with the selector. card! over £6 for a replacement. Since the We pooled our immense brain The machine worked all right for manufacturing cost could be little power and studied the panel. a few minutes, then began drifting. I more than coppers, I was thinking There's a hot spot around the 5V studied the picture on the monitor about a possible alternative solution and 12V regulators in this chassis. while it was stable (Steven had as I dismantled the cabinet. I So we connected a pair of made his exit) and noticed that a needn't have worried. The trouble voltmeters across both lines and very faint hum bar moved up the was caused by a dry-joint in the watched. The voltages fell in screen. A quick look at the power supply line. sympathy with the symptoms. Time supply revealed a 47µF, 100V There was also a problem with to replace the two regulators, but electrolytic capacitor (C504) that playing CDs. The player, Model this made no difference. Then we had a white, cheese-like crust on its CDP-M30, was skipping. But only spotted a pair of 100µF, 25V top. When I took it out and checked with some discs. And one of my electrolytics. We took one out and it I found that its value had fallen to most valued discs, a wonderfully checked it with the capacitance 250. I examined it and noticed that cleaned-up compilation of Bix meter. It measured spot on. We did there were pinch marks on both Beiderbecke 78s, wouldn't play at the same with the other one, with sides, as if the machine that had all. the same result. We put them back. popped it into the board had been The discs that were skipping I was beginning to feel nasty too. too heavy-handed. A replacement didn't skip at the same place each Some time later we'd made no cured the trouble. time. This seemed to rule out the further progress. The pictures were Steven returned as I was boxing it discs, and I couldn't see any perfect. So we tried spraying the up. obvious blemishes on them. A regulator area with freezer. Back "That took you only five minutes" closer examination of the Bix disc came the search tuning, followed by he said. "How did you manage it?" showed that there were some very the snowy raster. I ran my nails across my teeth. faint blemishes, so I cleaned it We then used our bit of card with "Cleverness" I said. ■ carefully. But it still wouldn't play. the small hole in it, so that we could I opened up the machine and gave freeze components individually — the player the once over. When I not the electrolytics, as they'd came to the laser I noticed that its checked OK with the meter. As this lens looked grey. A cotton bud had no effect, we sprayed the whole moistened with alcohol removed a area. The fault symptoms were noticeable amount of dust from it. back. When I reassembled the unit and We again gave those electrolytics tried it out I found that all the discs dark looks. For want of something played perfectly. to do, Steven took one out and A more careful examination of the checked it with the capacitance discs, with a magnifier, revealed meter. It seemed to be perfect. that they all had blemishes, some Steven left it connected across the very slight indeed. The moral is that meter. a dirty laser lens and a slightly "Can't understand it" he said, blemished disc add up to failure of wearily. "Jo wants me to get a job the unit to get the message. Don't in insurance." Then, as we watched, forget that the discs contain a great the meter reading began to fall — deal of information in addition to and continued until it was 70µF. the recorded sound. When we touched the electrolytic's leads with the iron the reading rose Electrolytic Problems to 100µF. Having dealt with the stacking We fitted a replacement. This system, I decided to help Steven stopped the search tuning. with the Fisher set — a Model When we took out the other CFB2144. It had a snowy raster electrolytic (in the 12V supply) and with no picture. checked it the results were much the "Tuner" I said. same. It measured full capacitance "It isn't" he said. at first, fell to 80µF, then returned "Tuner supply voltages" I said. to full value when its leads were "They're all correct" he said. touched with the iron. A Then, before our eyes, BBC-2 replacement cleared the snowy appeared, followed by BBC-1, raster, restoring a high-quality Channel 4, ITV then back to BBC- picture. 2. After a few more minutes the What had obviously happened snowy, blank raster returned. was that in removing them for test "The set behaves all right when we'd warmed them, restoring their it's been on for a couple of hours" full value. Thus our original he said. readings had not indicated their I shambled off towards the kettle. value when cool.

TELEVISION April 1996 415 What a life

Satellite dealers, James' first TV repair, chip resistance tables - all in a day's work for Donald Bullock

he long road that stretches through the channels the other day, I James announced that there was down the east coast of Spain is was struck by the vast number and indeed field collapse. T dotted with satellite TV great variety of non-scrambled "Is there sound?" I asked. "If there dealers. They seem to be mainly programmes of German or similar isn't, the cause of the problem could German or English owned and are sounding origin. This made me be a power supply that's used by generally unpretentious places with wonder why most British-language both the audio circuit and the field little by way of a showroom. You satellite transmissions are of timebase. The correct course of often enter to find a simple counter, a Murdoch origin, and how it is that action would be to check any 18-20V few repaired TV sets and satellite the Germans (amongst others) lines. If the sound is all right, we receivers in the middle of the floor, manage to finance and produce so have to concentrate on the field and a sign advertising sound many channels without the need for timebase." conversions at quite reasonable rates. scrambling. The sound was all right. "How do I One or two sets will be showing a Since Mr Murdoch went over to his find that field timebase?" he asked. very good picture. latest card technology, dealers here "Look at the scan coils on the neck The dealers themselves are an can only make promises when of the tube" I replied. "They consist assorted bunch, always casually approached for pirate cards. This of a pair of line drive windings and a dressed. They are usually quite means that unless people are pair of field drive windings. The line informal and are happy to sit soaking prepared to fork out something like windings work hardest, so they are up the sun that floods through their £300 for the privilege of watching wound on the inside, closest to the windows, occasionally sipping at the rather banal commercial tube. They will also have the fattest yellow brew that passes for beer in programmes, a proposition that connecting leads, which will trail off these parts. would have seemed to be a non- towards the line output transformer. I've got to know one or two of the starter to me, they have only Sky Follow the other pair. They will take British ones. They reckon to be just News — which, to give it its due, you to the field output stage. This getting by, and are happy enough could be worse — and the TNT film could be based on a pair of flat with that. For most installations they channel. I wonder how long it will be transistors on heatsinks or a flat i.c., use an 80cm or lm dish with an before Mr Murdoch sees some again on a heatsink. 0.8dB LNB. proper British competition? James reported that the pair of field output transistors, a 2SC2073 and a Senor, you Competition First Steps 2SA940, tested perfectly out of wanna buy a Smaller dishes can be seen as you I go to Spain to write in peace, but it circuit and that their 20V supply was video or maybe drive about. I assume that they are never happens that way. The word present and correct. discuss some for reception of transmissions with a has got about that we are the local Mr "Check nearby transistors" I said. football, eh?! narrow footprint. While flicking Fixits, and items keep being brought "Something has to generate a along. Fortunately son James, who is waveform to drive the output now fifteen, can step in and work transistors." SAN M VG UEL SATELUT ES with little help. He found a 2SA1013 transistor that The other day someone brought us was dead short-circuit and started to a 14in. Spanish colour set, a First get excited. After lots of searching he Line 1433GR. It had a Toshiba tube discovered a transistor with similar and a Toshiba look, but I couldn't characteristics and fitted it. He then place it — and we had no circuit switched on, expectantly. Still no diagram. James reported that it was field scanning. His face fell. I/2 dead, and that the chassis looked "We're winning" I said. "That Sound sweet and innocent. transistor needs 12V or so to make it ask 7san Valasx "Appearances can be deceptive" I work. Is this supply present?" said, glancing at Greeneyes. "Mark It wasn't. "Now check the resistors the setting of the first anode in its collector circuit. Check back potentiometer on the line output until you find the missing 12V." transformer, then advance it gingerly He did. "R256" he said, "it's colour to see if a bright line appears across coded 330 and has over 12V at one the screen. If it does, this will side, nothing at the other. But it looks indicate that the cause of the trouble all right." is field collapse." Shortly afterwards "Looks can be deceptive" I said, as

520 May 1996 TELEVISION Greeneyes brought us some tea. She was field collapse. Being familiar G8Q chassis — the one with the odd stiffened slightly and gave me a look. with the set we checked plug P570' s power supply that uses two chopper "It's open-circuit" James cried, sockets on the main panel. It provides transistors. On test the set didn't even holding the resistor across our meter. the scan coil connections and as make it to standby. There was HT at He replaced it in no time and usual was an oasis of dry-joints. Easy the output from the mains bridge switched on. It started to burn. enough and, fearful of a clout from rectifier but nothing more. The start- "Finger on the new transistor" I Senor Edgie, we priced it at a tenner. up circuit contains a thermistor, barked. It was cold. "Switch off and He was all smiles when he came to TH902, that's given us trouble on measure the resistance between your collect it. Then Senor Loper sprang previous occasions. We went straight new resistor and chassis, both ways in with another Toshiba set — slightly to it and found that it was open- round. He got two dead short-circuit different model number, but the same circuit. A replacement restored the readings. chassis. set to life. "Something on that line is shorting "Dead" said Senor Loper. it to chassis" I said, "check for it." "Yesterday the cat died. Now this. An Amstrad WP Monitor The cause of the trouble turned out These things come in threes." The Amstrad PCW8512 to be a 12V zener diode which was "Better do the set quick" I said to wordprocessor monitor we were dead short both ways. When he fitted James. presented with suffered from field a replacement and switched on the F801, the 2A mains fuse that lives collapse. Most of the field timebase field scan came up. After resetting on a little subpanel with the switch, circuitry is contained within an the first anode potentiometer there was open-circuit. So we checked the LA1385 chip, and we didn't have was a perfect picture. R2M over-voltage avalanche diode one to hand. Again out little book "Congratulations Jim" I said, D808 which was short-circuit. The came in handy. We turned to the "you've just done your first TV set 6.252 surge limiter resistor R801 appropriate page and read off the repair!" would also have failed, wouldn't it? resistance readings for a good The bin clanged again. LA1385. These are shown in the Parts Problems We looked at the STRD4420 accompanying table, measured using Obtaining spares for products that are chopper chip Q801, but this seems to our meter's 201d2 range. Spanish or made for distribution in be a pretty rugged device. So we The letter R indicates the pin to Spain can be tricky. They won't have replaced the items we'd found to be which the meter's red probe is been heard of in the UK, and it's faulty and started the set up with a connected: connect the black probe difficult to know where to start. But variac. There was a flash and the 2A to the other pins in sequence. Where some of the advertisers in Television fuse and D808 said goodbye. no reading is shown, it should be are particularly helpful. We took out the chip and checked above 20ka We found that the chip We recently needed an on-off it against the figures in our notebook, in question was full of shorts. Field switch for a Kneissel TV set and where amongst other things we keep scanning was restored after ordering some belts for VCRs that were a pin resistance table for this i.c. The and fitting a new one. unknown in the UK. We did a careful readings didn't tie up. As it was It takes only a minute or two to drawing of the switch and wrote a clearly defective we fitted a chart the readings for a good chip, note outlining our belt problem and replacement, then started up again with one of you taking the faxed these to JJ Components. via the variac. When the input measurements while the other jots Shortly after the machine had reached 100V the set sprang to life, down the readings. The resulting grunted to a halt Jay Popat phoned us bringing smiles to our miserable table will save on diagnostic time and to say that the switch would be in the faces. The picture was excellent. can avoid the dreaded business of post that day, also a handful of ordering an expensive chip you find various belts. As always with this An Hitachi CPT2578 you don't need. With VCR signal firm, it all happened. When the Our next caller brought along a dead processing chips, creating such charts package arrived here a few days later Hitachi CPT2578. It's fitted with the can be positively therapeutic! ■ we were able to complete our repairs. Jay also sent us his latest catalogue, LA1385 resistance table which is in A4 format, has a colour cover and runs to 125 pages. The Pin 2 4 7 9 10 layout is excellent, and Jay commented "I cannot tell you how 1 1.44 much midnight oil its production cost 2 R 0.38 13.3 me". 3 0.38 R 13.7 4 Some Toshibas 5 R The gate clanged the other day and 6 R Senor Edgie ran into the drive, 7 R carrying a Toshiba colour set. "I shall 8 1.33 1.37 R hit him" he cried. "I will. . . and 9 1.44 R when I do. . ." 10 R "What's up?" I asked, "hit who?" It seemed that Grasperos had Connect the meter's red probe to the pin shown as R and the black probe to the quoted him £60 deposit to look at his other pins in sequence. A blank space in the table above shows that the reading set and told him that it could take a should exceed 201d2. Measurements carried out using the meter's 20k11 range. year to obtain the spares required. He left the set with us, still foaming like Tables like this can be easily drawn up with a known good chip and will save a bull. diagnostic time with suspect chips. It was a 215R8B whose problem

TELEVISION May 1996 521 What a life!

Donald Bullock finds the solution to an Amstrad PCW8512 problem and deals with a crop of TV faults

while back I wrote about the recognised" message on the screen. slight difference in the way in troubles I was experiencing In passing he said that he believes which they were being driven. I A with the Amstrad word- the 3in. Amstrad discs are made by was glad when the JJ belts arrived a processors I use here in Spain, Matsushita, and also commented on few days later. Both machines are especially the two PCW8512s. my son Steven's "romantic" solder now working perfectly. Both started to give trouble when — the stuff that makes our workshop My thanks to Mr Pearson and to taken to Spain, after years of smell like a Casablancan ladies' Colin McCormick for their interest perfect operation in the UK. Field powder room. He says that this and advice. collapse with one of them was the sounds like a new product which is I soon tumbled to the reason for first problem, caused by a faulty starting to gain popularity with the sudden demise of the original LA1385 chip. Then both of them some manufacturers. It differs in belts. They'd led a hard life before became temperamental. They containing a synthetic flux that they went to Spain, where my would gobble up writing that had doesn't coat printed circuit boards, Amstrads live in a 12 x 10ft been saved and which I thought I as rosin flux does, but requires a wooden chalet in our garden. In had for ever. hotter iron (about 420°C) to summer the heat inside is Two Television readers came to activate it. Another advantage is unbearable from mid-morning my aid. S. Pearson of Chipping that it makes the use of ozone- onwards. My printer ribbons have Norton said that the fault was likely destroying solvents to clean off suffered similarly — the ink has to be either with the discs or drive flux residues unnecessary. We live dried out, so that even 'new' ones B. He suggested that I try to copy and learn! print faintly. My remedy has been anything of importance on one of Colin McCormick of Plymouth to erect a covered gantry above the the suspect discs then reformat it suggests that I retire the Amstrads chalet to protect it from the sun and with the PCW9512. If reformatting and change to a PC with the provide a draught between the worked, the disc was OK. This LocoScript Pro 2 wordprocessor chalet and the cover. would point to drive B as the cause program — it's similar to the one I of the trouble. He points out that use, and would therefore be easy to Disc Drive Tip the drives are belt driven, and that a change to. This is an interesting Here's a tip for anyone about to slipping belt will result in the disc possibility, but I had to get the dismantle an Amstrad PCW disc rotating at varying speeds, Amstrads right since only their drive. The drive uses a three- corrupting its format when an format can handle every disc I quarter inch long brass pin, about a attempt is made to save data. This have. millimetre in diameter, to detect the would explain the "disc format not disc's write-enabling shutter. This Belts pin is located, but not secured, in a Anyway, I opened one of the hole in the disc drive's cast deck, in PCW8512s, removed the B disc line with the disc shutter. It can drive and dismantled it to examine drop out and be lost without you the flat belt. It was stretched, and knowing that it was there. You when I removed it I found that it don't discover this until you've was permanently pear shaped and reassembled the drive, refitted it, stiff. I then looked at drive A and reassembled the machine and then found that the belt was in the same tried to use it. You find that the state. When I opened the other drive is prepared to write to your PCW8512 the story was the same. disc whether it's write-protected or I ordered the right belts from JJ not. Components, then called at the village TV shop for some flat belts The Difficult Ones to tide me over. I bought four, all Steven reckons that the difficult slightly different though similar in sets come in every time I slip off to size and width. They got the Spain. I'm not too sure. I think he machines working reliably, and I does the easy ones and saves the was able to work on. But the rest for me. He likes a quiet life, PCW8512s wouldn't handle each but doesn't get it. He's in the other's discs: obviously there was a wrong trade for that.

586 June 1996 TELEVISION The other day he presented me "Dead" he said, "but it works". I off. We found it difficult to remove with a GoldStar CT2168P that was looked at him for a second or two the panel, but managed it. Then we completely dead — there was not then waved him out. dismantled the set. even a standby glow. This is I put the set on the bench and The switch-mode power supply unusual as these sets normally get switched it on. It came out of uses a TEA2018A chip that was stuck in standby. We didn't have standby, and the channel indicators short-circuit. The 1.25A mains fuse the circuit diagram, but I dived in lit up. It also changed channels. But had blown, as had the surge limiter and checked the fuse and the 120, there was no sound or raster. When resistor R88. Two of the bridge 5W surge limiting resistor. They I took the back off I found that the rectifier diodes were short-circuit. have sometimes been the cause of tube's heaters were out and there The TIPL791A chopper transistor this symptom, but were all right. was no EHT. TR6 was also short-circuit. When So I moved to the primary side of A check on the voltages around we'd replaced these items the the chopper circuit and found that the line output transformer showed primary side of the power supply there was no drive at the base of the that they were all haywire. So I was all right, but there was an HT chopper transistor Q801P. A check removed the transformer and short on the secondary side. on the 1000, 16V coupling checked the resistance of the Disconnecting the 95V feed cleared capacitor C805P showed that it had windings. Every pin read short to the short. We headed for the line fallen in value to only a couple of every other one. A new transformer output transistor, which is also a microfarads. As it didn't look up to cured the trouble and I prepared to TIPL791A. It was short-circuit, and the job I fitted a 35V replacement, make out the bill, intending to add when this had been replaced the set which restored the set to life. a couple of quid for Grewsome's sprang to life. wisecrack. Then I looked in the We stopped for a mug of tea A Philips CTX-S mirror and added a pound. before embarking on the job of Steven took the GoldStar set off reassembling the set and its 12V and brought along a Philips Mr Gravel's General VCR appendage. I won't mind if we receiver fitted with the CTX-S Mr Gravel is usually to be found in don't see another of these sets for chassis. It was unwilling to start up, our local, nursing half a pint of four or five years. tripping three times at each of our lager. I've never seen him drink first attempts. When the set did stay any. He shoved an ancient General Groucho Marx on it seemed to be suffering from a VGX520B VCR across the counter. Bill Branston walks like Groucho migraine attack. The picture was "Not good enough" he Marx and seems to use his scripts. hopelessly scrambled, with no complained. "Ain't had the thing He strode in with a Tatung TN1616 colour except some thick bands of long. Even bought a Testoscope to portable (160 chassis). green flashing about. Then the mend it, but no good." He waved a "Tube's gone" he said, "line picture improved a little. neon tester at us. across the screen." "Electrolytics" I said. Steven The machine's Panasonic deck I pointed to the door. In fact the nodded and headed for the ones in had a tie-pin wedged in the field collapse was intermittent. I the power supply. He found that the mechanism When this had been took off the back and made for the 4.70, 63V chopper drive coupling removed the machine worked well TDA3651 field output chip 1301. capacitor C2351 and the driver mechanically, but the video was As nearly every one of its pins was transistor's 2200, 10V emitter haywire. We soon found that the dry-jointed, I reached for Steven's decoupling capacitor C2323 were RF converter's tuning screw had romantic solder and carefully both very low in value. When they been screwed and screwed, resoldered them. Then I switched had been been replaced the picture mangling the circuitry inside. on, reasonably confident that I'd was all right at low brightness/ Even MCES couldn't help with see a full picture. I didn't. There contrast control settings, but as this one, saying that it was beyond was still field collapse, and safety soon as the controls were advanced repair. Still wanting to help, though resistor R411 had popped open. a host of ragged black stripes I can't think why, we contacted Feeling a bit like Stan Laurel, I appeared on the picture. General and were told that spares replaced the chip and the resistor. Steven checked the various are no longer available, the Up came the picture, but after electrolytics around the colour machine dating from 1984. So we about five minutes it began to roll decoder chip and found that C2205 handed it back to Mr Gravel, who and I feared the worst. I needn't (4.70), which decouples the slider gave us his Testoscope. It was his have done. All that was required of the preset contrast control, was way of saying thanks Some readers was slight adjustment of the field short-circuit. The rest were all might wonder why we don't learn. hold control R303. right. He then moved to the sync So do we. circuitry where most of the An Hinari CT18 electrolytics were low in value. A Vodka and Orange Marilyn Murgatroyde came in with When these had been replaced the Glenda Glenthorn's Ferguson an Hinari CT18 portable that was set produced an exceptionally good 14M9 portable (TX86 chassis) led stuck in standby. This set uses an picture. us a dance for two reasons. First STR50103A chopper chip (IC801) because we'd not seen one before, with an SR2M protection diode Kirk Douglas though they've been around for (D813) across its 112V output. The A decided oddball arrived with a four or five years. And secondly diode was short circuit and the Grundig set which turned out to be because she'd spilt a large vodka 6 252, lOW surge limiter resistor fitted with the CUC3400 chassis. and orange into the back. The set R801 open-circuit. The HT voltage "I'm Grewsome, Mr Buckland" was dead. A panel assembly to do had obviously risen drastically, as it he said, putting it down. "God, you with 12V DC operation is set on does in these sets. When I replaced look like Kirk Douglas." the back. It has to be removed IC801, D813, R801 and switched "What's up with the set?" I asked. before the rear cover can be taken the set on it sprang to life. ■

TELEVISION June 1996 587 COMMENTARY Nommunem

What a Life!

A number of interesting TV faults came Donald Bullock's way between visits from Jeremy Hopsack, the opulent optician

smart new Range Rover drew remote control unit to switch it to insufficient room — wire had been up outside. It was driven by fully on the standby light went out used to extend their legs! AJeremy Hopsack, a local but there was no raster. We attended to the dry-joints first, optician. He works one day a week, Steven's next step was to then checked with the circuit to find when he does his eye tests and disconnect all the outputs on the out what the capacitors should have orders his stock. For the rest of the secondary side of the power supply, been. The circuit told us that the week his girl sits there taking his adding a 100W bulb as a dummy value was 10µF, 25V. They had bookings. I've never come across load across the HT reservoir been replaced with a pair of anyone who is so expensively capacitor C652. It lit brightly, 3,300g, 16V capacitors. When dressed, so relaxed and oozing such removing any suspicions about the we'd put this right we had perfect opulence. His set was a 26in. power supply circuitry. A check on field scanning. Loewe model. It would be. the BU508D line output transistor We finally looked for the cause of "Can you get it from the car old T539 then showed that, to our the intermittent sound. In order to chap?" he breathed. "Got a bad surprise, it had gone very high remove the chassis, someone had back you know. It's the darned resistance base-to-collector. A new cut the speaker wires and afterwards polo." one restored the raster, but the HT simply twisted them together. was at 160V instead of 142V. Replacement leads were fitted. The Loewe M124 When the HT preset was used to We were curious to know who As Jeremy departed for his club we reduce the HT voltage to the correct had previously 'looked' at the set, struggled to get his M124 on to the level the set squealed. C652 (47µF, and asked Wendy when she bench. It was dead. When we 250V) had dried up. So had the returned. removed the back we found that the associated HT smoothing capacitor "Snoddies" she said. "We got 1.6AT mains fuse had blown and the C653, which is also 47µF. After tired of waiting. They had it for six power supply had gone up. The fitting a couple of new electrolytics weeks. Said spares were difficult." TDA4601 chopper control chip was and setting up the HT voltage the short-circuit. This had all been set worked satisfactorily, though the A Strange Display caused by the failure of the small, tube was flat. Tricia Tripmeyer was clearly a lady blue thermistor in the start-up circuit. The next day a colourfully dressed in a hurry. The things Steven sat down to fit the huntsman called in, complete with "Helloee . . . Got this set here. have to get up replacements, then started the set up whip and bugle. It was Jeremy. He Akai I think Yes. Can you fix it? to just to fill in gingerly via our variac. It came on looked utterly miserable. Can't stop now . . ." Then she ran the time. in standby. When he used the "Look at this ridiculous get-up" off across the green. he moaned. "The things I have to The set was an Akai CT2179N- get up to, just to fill in the time." UK. When we switched it on we Tears almost welled up in our found that the newsreader's face eyes. But not quite. was severed from top to bottom. The right side was on the left-hand Snoddies Strikes Again side of the screen while the left side Wendy Whitstable brought in her was to the right. Sanyo CBP2145 (E2 Chassis). "Line oscillator speed too fast" I "Gone to a line" she announced, said. Then I noticed that every set in "and the sound crackles and cuts the shop was displaying random out." interference. We opened the Akai When we opened it up we saw up. The chassis is in two parts, the that someone else had been there power supply and line timebase first. The field scan had collapsed circuits sharing one panel. To the all right. This part of the circuit was rear of this, behind the line output full of dry-joints, and two small transformer, there's a blue, 222pF, capacitors in the power supply had 1 kV capacitor — C416. One side is each been replaced with a couple of connected to chassis. This leg had huge ones for which there was been burning in its solder joint,

646 July 1996 TELEVISION COMMENTARY ommi melting the panel support peg. As a power supply wasn't oscillating. So couldn't be better. And the result R412 (101(0, 0.5W) had gone I separated the two sections and got catalogue is free to those in the open-circuit. to work again. The value of the 1µF, trade. I also find CPC's frequent, Replacing these two items cured 50V capacitor C307 in the feedback well-produced 'flyers' with special the set. Pity we can't do anything circuit had fallen to 0.002g. I offers welcome. about its owner. replaced it with a 105° type. Then I Well done CPC! saw that C314 (470µF, 16V) had Delayed Start Up been leaking. Return of the Range Rover A Philips 21GR9752/25B (G90B As I replaced these two capacitors An angler, complete with oilskins chassis) was awaiting attention. The Mr Dripp crept back in, holding a and waders, climbed out of the ticket said "no picture for the first bank card and some blues. When I'd Range Rover that pulled up outside. five minutes". I switched it on and fmished I reassembled the unit and He walked to the back and pulled out found that there was no raster, switched on. Up came a picture with fishing rods, baskets, nets and giant though the tube's heaters were good sound. Mr. Dripp seemed to be umbrellas. Then he came into the alight. After marking its position pleased. shop. It was Jeremy Hopsack again. carefully, I advanced the setting of "There we are" I said, "that seems "Hello folks" he said. "Can you the first anode preset, expecting to to be all right, doesn't it?" bring in the telly in my car? It wants see field collapse. In fact a bright "But what about the tape in the putting right." raster with flyback lines appeared, recorder?" When we went out to get it we and the remote control unit had no "Ah" I said, pressing the eject saw that it was a Loewe. Our hearts effect on the set. So I wound the button. Out it came. I popped it back sank. first anode control back to its and pressed play. The recorder "So it's gone again" I said. original position and waited for the sprang to life, playing Dripp's tape "Not art all" he replied. "It's my five minutes to elapse. in all its glory. brother's set. He was so impressed The screen suddenly flickered a As I disconnected the unit Steven with the job you did on mine that few times, then a very good picture pulled out his pen and reached for when his failed he asked me to bring came up. In addition the remote the invoice pad. Mr Dripp started to it along." control unit now worked. I reckoned say goodbye to his blues. Phew! We put it on the bench and that the delay was probably caused noticed that it was exactly the same by a low-value reservoir/smoothing A Samsung Camcorder model. capacitor and, with the set now I picked up the Samsung VPE808 "It works when the weather's warmed up, got busy with the camcorder that Steven had taken in. warm" Jeremy said. "When it's cold freezer. The playback was grainy. So I it doesn't. Give us a ring." Then he The fault condition returned when immediately pushed it to Steven's looked himself up and down. "Look C2660 was cooled. It's a 680µF end of the bench. at this lot. I've to go off fishing, but reservoir capacitor which, with He opened it and announced that don't really want to have anything D6660, produces about 9V to feed the heads were worn. A check with to do with the slippery things." to the 5V regulator. We checked it CPC revealed that the part no. was We plugged the set in. The and found that it read 400g when SS69063-213-651, that it was workshop was warm and the set hot, almost open-circuit when cold. available only to special order, and worked, but it chirped as well. We would take seven-ten days to arrive. felt that the suspect was probably in An Amstrad TV/video It came rather sooner. While the the primary side of the chopper Neither I nor Steven felt like invoice clearly referred to the upper supply. So we switched off and tackling the Amstrad TVR3 drum assembly, a complete upper brought the freezer into play, combined TV/VCR that someone and lower assembly had been sent. spraying the electrolytics one at a had brought in for attention. In the This is, we supposed, the way it time and trying the set whilst the end I tried it. The unit was dead, comes. selected capacitor was cold. with a cassette jammed in it. While I Steven fitted it by removing the When we got to C624 (100µF), was checking around Mr Dripp, the camera's top casing then gently which couples the drive to the base unit's owner, shuffled in. lifting out the deck/PCB assembly. of the chopper transistor, we found "Ah. Gollimup then. Good. It's all The drum assembly is secured by a that the set wouldn't come on until caused by the tape. When you gets it couple of flat plastic connectors and we warmed the capacitor with a out, the set'll be all right." three screws. The trade price of the soldering iron. We took it out and I removed the recorder and started assembly is £57.14 inclusive of connected it to the capacitance . to work on the TV chassis. VAT, and I've never seen a head meter. When it was hot the reading "You won't find nothing wrong change done faster. was 80g. The reading dropped to there" said Dripp. about 511F when the capacitor was I immediately saw that C310, a CPC cold. But fitting a replacement pretty, Smarty-sized blue capacitor Mention of CPC reminds me that didn't clear the fault! (3,300pF, 1kV) had cooked and the company's new catalogue We persevered and found another split. So I snipped it out and handed arrived the other day. It's quite the electrolytic that behaved in much it to Mr Dripp. The 4AT fuse had largest spares catalogue I've come the same way, C638 (1µF). This is also blackened, and the STK7348 across for our trade. CPC is to be the reservoir capacitor for the regulator was faulty. As I worked on congratulated on several counts: on feedback voltage to the, control chip. I noticed that Mr Dripp had crept the vast range of items stocked, on It read 0.8µF when hot, open-circuit out. the prices, and on the speed and when cold. I replaced these items, reconnected efficiency of the delivery service. When this one was replaced the the recorder (this is necessary) and The catalogue's layout and set behaved perfectly. It ran well switched on. The unit chirped a few presentation are wonderfully clear. when both hot and cold, and didn't times but refused to switch on — the Its indexing, which is the key factor, chirp any more. ■

TELEVISION July 1996 647 COMMENTARY

What a Life!

TV sets contribute mainly to Donald Bullock's tribulations this month, though there was also an errant satellite receiver

irate Sky TV cards have long character. To prove the point, the electrolytic capacitor of course. I Pbeen available in Spain at a dealer pops the card into a decoder- turned my attention to the HT filter fraction of the price of the genuine receiver connected to a TV set and circuit and found that smoothing article. They seem to come from up come the encoded channels. capacitor C2621 (22µF, 250V) Germany. Originally they worked But the German code busters brought the original fault symptom well.then, as the genuine cards were don't seem, as yet, to have managed back when given a burst of freezer. upgraded, the copies became to crack the code used since the A replacement put an end to the temperamental and were latest card appeared on the scene. I trouble. Out of interest I connected periodically switched off. The boys wonder why? Could it be that the the faulty capacitor to our bridge in Germany would work frantically current system works on a and gave it another dose of freezer. to overcome the problem. It would constantly progressive vectoring It's value fell to 19µF. But that had usually take them a few days. system? been enough to cause the problem. Having done so, they would store Sky has the ability to switch an the new decoding system in an individual card off on a short-term No Picture EEPROM and send it to Spain. basis. I recently bumped into a very Mr Pyesner parked his car opposite Armed with one of these, a dealer disgruntled Englishman here. He and sidled in with a 20in. Ferguson would be able to switch pirate cards had brought his Sky card to Spain set — TX90 chassis. on again. It would all take about a on holiday and had asked his wife "It's got nothing at all. Absolutely week. to record a golf match while he was nothing" he breathed in a voice that I've seen this done. The out on the links His wife didn't sounded like Peter Lorre. "But it's delinquent card is inserted into a succeed with the recording, funny, I can hear it." scruffy mass of wires. A switch is assumed that the card was at fault He likes to stay and talk. After I'd then touched, you wait a minute or and telephoned Sky to get it put raised the job card he lit a cigarette so and out comes a reformed right. Sky spotted that she was and looked about him for telephoning from Spain, explained somewhere to perch. the situation then switched the card "I think it's the valve" he said. off. It was turned on again when Someone passing his car stopped they phoned Sky after returning to to tie a shoelace. "Someone seems the UK. to be tampering with your car" I But enough of this. Work said. That got rid of him. continues apace at the English end. Pyesner's set had sound but no raster. The tube's heaters were out, Slow Picture the voltage across them being low I pulled a set fitted with the Philips at 2V. I checked in the line output CP110 chassis on to the bench and stage and found that the 224.IF boost Fin cc switched it on. The sound was all voltage smoothing capacitor C191 SKY CARDS right, but there was no picture. The had fallen in value to only 4p.F. HERE tube's heaters were alight, there was After fitting a replacement I EHT at the tube's final anode and switched on and began to blow on enough voltage at the first anode. my nails. But a tripping sound What was going on? Then the intruded. I joined combat again and picture began to appear. Very found that R229 (391M) in the set- faintly at first, then a bit brighter by HT network had risen in value to degrees. But it never got bright 99ka A replacement restored enough. perfect operation, and I boxed the Using my formidable mental set up quickly before it changed its powers, I concluded that we were mind. up against a temperature-sensitive problem. Now which type of Satellite Trouble component is most likely to change Mrs Brawn doesn't mince words. significantly with temperature? An She dumped an Amstrad SRD610

742 August 1996 TELEVISION COMMENTARY

satellite receiver on the bench. ordered one by telephone and it "C000" he said. "Thought it "This sod's gettin' dumped if he arrived before I put the telephone would cost a fortune." Then he won't come right" she said thickly. down (well, almost). It cured the stopped and pointed a finger at me. "It's died on me." trouble, and I telephoned the good "Don't get me wrong" he said. "Er. . . right" I said, stepping new to Walter. back slightly and reaching for my "It's ready, Walter." Wobbly Picture pen. "Can I have your name?" "Oh good, how much?" As I was making the tea, Steven I don't like satellite receivers "Forty five quid" I said joyfully. attended to the next customer. I much, perhaps because I don't like "Oh god" he said and hung up. looked over. satellite TV. So I called Steven "It's my Fergie" she said. "Keeps over. A Blow Up jumping about like somebody "It'll be the usual" he said. "Both Phyllis Puke came in and jerked her mental. Couldn't be worse." 471d1 start-up resistors in the power thumb towards her car. Nice girl. Steven collected her set, which supply will have gone open-circuit "In there, Mr Bullthing" she said. was a TX10 (1550 series). When it or high in value." I walked out to her car and had been on for a few minutes the I tested them. One was open- collected the Matsui 2092T. This picture started to wobble and sway circuit and the value of the other 20in. model worries me to death, — as if a dream sequence was being one had crept up to 50ka Replace- since I can't make out the very shown. Then the set tripped and ments brought the set back to life, expensive and blotchy circuit shut down. He switched it off and but with a rolling, juddering picture. diagram. handed it over to me. "Er. . . what do you think might "Blew up last night" said Phyllis Some sort of spurious waveform be causing this?" I asked. as she lit up her cigar butt. seemed to be modulating the line "Dare say it's a dirty normal/band "Thought I was being bombed." scan. But what could it be? I switch" he said airily. "If you turn I feared the worst and opened her reckoned that something, some- the receiver over you'll see it set with trembling hands. The where in the line output stage was underneath. It should be set to posistor had blown up, sprinkling acting like a spark gap. So I normal." the chassis with blackened grit. I switched the set on, put out the It was. Touching it with a cleaned it all off and fitted a lights, pulled down the blind and trimming tool made matters worse. replacement. It's a square, black gazed intently at the line timebase I cleaned it and the trouble went device, type 140M. When I in the dark. I saw nothing helpful. away. The results were perfect. switched on again a perfect picture On with the lights etc. came up. Then I gazed at the chassis. There A Whining Philips "Thank you Mr Bill. . . Boll.. . didn't seem to be any dry-joints. As I put the Amstrad receiver down Bullthing" said Phyllis as she Hm. .. A capacitor can arc inside, Walter Wingnut minced in. He was forked out. Then she hoisted her set, especially when subjected to a carrying a 14in. Philips set that marched out and smacked it into her pulse waveform. So can a resistor, looked new to me. boot. though I would have expected "It's like my missus" he said. external signs in this case, like "Does nothin' but whine." Another Blow Up cooking. Diodes can also arc. I It was a 14PT155A/05 (Anubis A The next caller, Bud Bluffer, looked around at the larger diodes. chassis) and was dead and whining. brought in an Hitachi CPT2198 D831, which is connected I checked the HT voltage and found (G8Q chassis). between the base and emitter of the that it was struggling. So I jumped "Don't get me wrong, Mr line output transistor as a protection into the line output stage, looking Bullring" he said. "This 'un's dead. device, seemed to be a likely for a short-circuit. As the transistor You don't have to tell me. Big suspect. It's a bullet-shaped, green and the heftier diodes were OK I trouble." BY188B diode. So I connected the decided to disconnect the HT feed "How do you know?" I asked, scope, via a high-voltage, low- to the line output stage. When I drawing up a card. value capacitor, to the base of the switched on again the whining had "The fuse was blackened" he said. line output transistor and switched stopped and the HT voltage had "Don't get me wrong. I fitted on. The pretty waveform was come up. another and, whoosh, up it went perfect when the picture was Something was clearly amiss in again." normal. But a series of sharp pulses the line output stage. I switched off "Right" I said, and off he went. appeared and blew the waveform and checked various capacitors and I opened the set up. The fuse he'd about as the picture began to wave. diodes, all to no avail. The trans- fitted was rated at 4A instead of I took out the diode and checked it former maybe? 2.5A. It was a tube of soot. Trouble while using a soldering iron to I gave it the nose test and detected in the power supply I thought, and warm it. After a minute the a slight smell of resin. After got stuck in. But the only thing that readings began to dart about, as I checking and finding that there seemed to be defective was the had hoped. A new diode restored were no shorts across the secondary start-up thermistor TH902. One lead normal operation. outputs I reconnected the HT feed, was just making contact and was For the pedants, in earlier TX10 switched on again and let the set run intermittently open-circuit. When it sets a BY226 diode was fitted in for a few minutes. Then I felt the did make contact the device drew a this position. In the later PC1560 transformer. It was warm. lot of current and the fuse blew. A series the diode is renumbered "You swine" I shouted and began replacement cured the problem. D743 and is type BY588. There thumbing through the catalogues for When Bud called back he had a were also three different line output the best bargain. There weren't any! wad of tenners in his hand. "How transistors — BU208B, BU208A The only one I could find was in the many?" he asked. and BU508A, some of which have SEME catalogue, part no. LOPTX "Two" I said, stopping him in his a 47f resistor in parallel with 773 at about £25 plus VAT. I tracks. D831/743. ■

TELEVISION August 1996 743 Get a Life!

We all know what our Donald is really like - kind, patient, courteous etc.,

etc. Daughter Rebecca Bullock has hijacked his wordprocessor to fill us in

on the etcetras.

Hello! I'm Rebecca Bullock. My round the back, and crouched and started jumping about, making 1dad repairs TV sets and things smiled and waved at him through noises and saying he was a rocket. and writes about some of them. the window when we were having When she asked him to stop he He's a good dad, but when our dinner. They told him their set screamed at his mother and customers annoy him he kicks at still wasn't quite right, and could knocked the radio on to the floor our dogs and cat and walks over he sell them a plug, and tune in and the cabinet broke again. them saying "out of my way". He their new video from Crubbs Mrs Millar told Herbie he'd been also gets nasty with my mum, and Foodstore, and stop their's rolling very naughty and started to cry. But she says things to him that make because they were expecting Herbie stamped his feet and him even more annoyed. Right now visitors. He got annoyed and told screamed and wouldn't be quiet. he's very annoyed, and my mum them to go to the place I mustn't Then my dad came over from the said I should write an article telling say. bench and smiled at him and you what he's really like. I slipped Then he caused trouble with my whispered in his ear. He shut up at into his hut to write this one. mum and said she was like my once. I heard what my dad said, but gran, only worse. He asked my I don't think his soldering iron Likes mum to buy him a spade and some would have fitted and anyway it I like my dad, even when he's cheap crocodiles, but I don't know was very hot. Mrs Millar dried her annoyed, but he doesn't seem to why. eyes and said how good my dad is like people. Well, he likes some. with children, and how lucky my He likes my Aunt Lillie, but not my It takes all sorts mum is. Uncle Tom, who works at the Garth Palmer's mother is nice. Weights and Measures and says Garth takes her radios and hair- Outside calls he's important. My dad says he's dryers to pieces, then she brings My dad doesn't like calling at unemployed and a prat and ought to them here and my dad throws them people's houses, but a man who be hung. away for her and she gives him wore a round hat and a frock sat in He doesn't like Mrs Brown. She money. My dad likes Mrs Palmer the workshop and talked quietly to brought along a plug and asked dad and my mum thinks he's good at him for two hours and said his set to fit it to her video lead. Then she being funny. hadn't been right since dad had came back and said he'd blown up My brother Jamie asked dad why done it. In the end my dad agreed her video. He told her to go to a his hair is going rotten and my to go and took me along. place I mustn't say, and my mum mum said it's because he's old. But The man ran along the pavement told him to stop causing trouble. my dad said it's because my mum behind our van and was puffing nags him. He said his hair was all when he caught us up at his house. Sundays right before he met her, and that he He unlocked the door and my dad My dad likes to read the Sunday was four inches taller. The chemist went in and walked quickly round Telegraph. But when he opened it down the road thinks he's old too. the table and out again. The man this morning the telephone kept He thinks dad is my grampie. My watched us drive away. When I ringing and apologetic people dad said that the chemist is a prat asked my dad why he came out so asked my mum which set is the and can go to that certain place as fast he just said "stunk". He told best, and did my dad have a fuse, well if he likes. my mum that the set had a and was their set ready, and that Herbie Millar knocked his Snoddies sticker and that the man their husbands thought it was a mother's radio over at Easter and could go to the place I mustn't say. valve. My dad refused to speak to my dad had to send off for a new them and my mum put the phone cabinet. Mrs Millar and Herbie Holidays on the table and hissed at him to came to collect it yesterday. She When we go on holiday my dad is grow up fast. said a new radio would have been really happy and my mum likes He always does what she says, cheaper, but my dad said she asked him a lot. We don't tell anyone that because she's always right. So he for a cabinet not a new radio and he my dad mends sets because if we talked to some of them. But wished he lived on the moon. Mrs do they all tell him what sort of set meanwhile more apologetic people Millar smiled and asked him to they've got and what was on when knocked on the door and came knock up a rocket. Then her Herbie it went wrong and how the man

816 September 1996 TELEVISION they called was a crook and it was on and the set banged and smoked only a loose wire. This sort of thing and my dad said "bloody good ,60-"AtsiS REPAIR SHOP (\\ makes my dad nasty and he rows job". He said he hoped the 11 with my mum. She tells him to get bullfighter had blown up too. He that look off his face and he tells wished every set in Spain would her she should have had a husband blow up and that all the so-called who clouted her. She jabs him and engineers would go to the special says nobody would clout her and place and stay there for keeps. He his side of the family are all mental. said next time we go to Spain he's My dad likes listening to BBC going to take with him a special radio programmes. When we go to remote control to switch off all the Spain he picks them up on our sets everywhere he goes. satellite dish and transmits them around our house and garden using At home a little home-made transmitter. My Our telly isn't on much when dad is mum can hear them on her VHF at home, because the people on it radio while she's ironing on our annoy him and make him call my "I wonder if this is going to be a god day for Donald, or am I going to be rushed off my feet".. . sun roof or in the garden. mum names. He says when he was Not long ago dad mended our a boy he never saw anyone like the neighbour's radio. The neighbour people he sees every day on I've got". She took two pairs of called him over the garden wall, television — they were all in socks off her clotheshorse and gave him two bottles of wine and asylums or hung. He wants them tossed them over to him. Her said he was the best engineer there hung now. husband looked up from his paper ever was, because his set now even My dad wears sandals. He says it and said "hey, hey there." But my picks up Radio 2 "all the way from isn't because he cares about the dad kept the socks. They were good Britain". world and that those who do are ones. Last night we went to Paco's to prats. He likes a laugh though. When my dad is out my mum have a meal. The TV set there kept Once when I was with him at Mrs says she doesn't know what she'd going to a line. Paco started Blair's house he purposely told her do without him. I like my dad. looking at my dad so we left and a lie. When she made a joke about Even though he keeps telling went to Manuel's. Half way his toe poking through his sock he people to go to the place I mustn't through our dinner a bullfight came said "I know, but it's the only pair say. COMMENTARY

What a Life!

What is it about people when it comes to paying for TV/video repairs? As Donald Bullock recounts, even pleasant, sensible folk can become difficult

hen I first got a toe-hold because it wouldn't tune. Its dial- drum and its succession of pulleys. in this trade my customers drive cord had perished and But I felt victorious and went to Wwere folks I'd got to know become mangled on the pulleys and bed contented. Next morning I in the course of my daily life. One springs. Its shredded remains lay on noticed that the cursor ran used to fix my car, another was a the dusty floor of the set. backwards along the dial glass. The fishing mate and a third our His attempts to remove it had Light Programme seemed to be postman. Then there was Mrs resulted in his jamming a spring coming from Luxembourg . . . Poltroon, who kept the local shop. into the exposed aluminium vanes When I eventually won I charged All were pleasant and sensible of the tuning gang. To compensate him a pound and lost his friendship people, folks you could have a for this foolishness he'd "tightened for life. laugh with and who would do you a up" all the RF trimmers and IF "A pound for slipping a bit of favour. cores in the set. Needless to say he string around a couple of pulleys?" But I soon learnt that each had a didn't say a word about this. I he gasped. Jekyll and Hyde aspect. And what found out the hard way. When I switched them from one to the finally mentioned it to him he Loss of Signals other lay within their radio and TV scoffed and blamed the One Sunday, while we were eeling sets. Mrs Poltroon became funny manufacturers. by the Severn, my mate mentioned with me when Mullard reduced the "Fancy leaving the screws half that his TV picture had faded away. prices of its rebuilt tubes by a fiver. undone" he said. We had a pint or two on the way to Four months earlier I'd replaced Those open tuning gangs were his place, then took the set to my the Mazda tube in her set. Because terrible once they'd been disturbed. deserted workshop. It was the she was waiting to see "how it Time and time again I would think awful Philips monochrome set with settled down" before paying me, I'd cured one, only to find that it the angled metal chassis that swung she'd still not payed her bill when grated and died at a particular spot. out like a gate — the one with a pad Mullard made its move. No words And clearing that often only moved of megohm value presets which of mine could overcome her the trouble. imprisoned half-watt megohm fixed conviction that she'd been done, I had no signal generator — we resistors that used to go high in and I was grateful when she finally didn't all run to such things in value together. paid me her bill less a fiver — which those days — and while I could face After taking enough pulse voltage was a lot of money then. a misaligned IF strip, or even a bit from the line timebase valves to of RF misalignment, a combination ward of rheumatism for life, I Tuning Problem of both in the same set was replaced the video output valve and The garage man was no better. He daunting. restored the picture. brought his huge wireless set to me Any veteran of this trade will tell A couple of weeks later his wife you that broken dial drives were complained that the sound had pure hell. In fact the curse of the failed. I rolled up at the house and trade. You could spend hours, or replaced one of the dreaded PCL83 even days, trying to work them out. valves to restore it. But she wasn't One would sometimes reluctantly going to pay because, she said, I'd shell out for a manual only to find "weakened the set in doing the last Mrs Poltroon that it contained no answer to the repair". That was my fault, not turned out to problem. Philips alone could be hers. be another of relied upon to provide a detailed Next week I fished alone. my Jekyll and drawing, together with the cord Hyde Duff Tube customers. length and stringing procedure. I finally obtained a manual, but it Our postman, who'd already had didn't help. the frighteners from another dealer I wore out yards of dial drive in before he brought his set to me, my experiments, and was exhausted sucked in six gallons of air when I when I'd finally wound my two confirmed that his tube's heater yards of drive cord around the gang was open-circuit.

892 October 1996 TELEVISION COMMENTAR` moilmonisommom

"You'm no better than that other to. Now this friend of mine has . . new to me. But I hadn't heard that lot" he pronounced. It was no good. I was cut off one before. "Do I look sappy or summat? again. So I shut up. We got the set and put it on the That's what the other rogues said. A few days later Greeneyes and I bench. There was nothing wrong But I knows better. Faulty tubes saw his wife at a local shop. "Ta for with the field output chip, and puts a line across the picture. Mine making our recorder go" she said. nothing exploded. The cause of the just won't come on. It's the switch. "Pity that the rest of the trouble was trouble was a tiny strip of print that Anyone knows that." too expensive to put right." earthed pin I of the chip. It had been It wasn't long before I decided to "But we were prepared to do it for damaged by someone's care- straighten out customers who talked nothing" I said. lessness, with the result that the chip such nonsense to me. The result was "Oh no, that wouldn't have been was floating. a series of spectacular rows, and I possible" she replied, "we called never changed anything. Today Snoddies along. They charged us £2 A Monster people seem to be even worse. to come and told us the job would At this point Steven went off to do a cost £75 and wasn't worth doing." field call, having failed to persuade An Ancient VCR It was nice knowing you, Albert. me to go. Greeneyes helped me to Albert, a neighbour who works in a get a huge Sanyo CBP2558 on to nearby town, asked me to look at his Just a Blur the bench. This monster (the set, not ancient Panasonic VCR recently. It The customer who brought in a Greeneyes) is fitted with the E3 had become intermittent, then died. Saisho CT141X said that all he chassis. It should come to life at Steven put it on the bench, and could see on the screen were a few switch on. This one did, or didn't, found an open-circuit fusible patches of blurred colour. We fifty per cent of the time. Even resistor on the power panel. The switched it on and a few patches of when it did come on it died after faulty resistor wasn't immediately defocused chroma appeared. When five minutes. When the set wouldn't apparent, because it was enclosed in we took the back off we saw that th work the channel LEDs never- a woven, asbestos-type cover. A 48-pin UPC1420CA chip IC401 wa theless came on and it changed replacement brought the machine sitting in a patch of damp green channels. Otherwise it was dead. back to life, but only intermittently. mould. When I withdrew the chassis to We then found that a fuse on the We removed the chip, cleaned the check voltages the set refused to power panel was making only chassis carefully and fitted a fail. I finally phoned Sanyo, which intermittent contact, though it replacement. Up came a picture still gives excellent technical advice looked all right. We studied it more with chroma and luminance, but it to us ordinary mortals. I was told to carefully and found a dry-joint was still completely defocused. check for the standby 5V supply at where the wire joined the metal cap. Tracking on the tube base was the pin 1 of plug K3C. I'd already done When we'd replaced the fuse the cause of this final problem. After that, and it was present. The next machine stayed on, but it wouldn't fitting a replacement the set suggestion was that I check the operate and the clock was haywire. produced a good picture. standby transformer T325 for dry- We unplugged it from the mains, joints or, less likely, a high- then plugged it back in again. The Field Collapse resistance or open-circuit primary clock came right and the recorder I felt sorry for the chap who came t winding. I'd also done this. Check now worked, but only for a while. mend our grandfather clock. He wa the voltage monitoring diodes D310, Then the clock went haywire again a straightforward and careful D312, D318 and D319, also the and it was sometimes necessary to craftsman who wasn't happy until optocoupler D325, I was told. They unplug and plug back the machine he'd got it right. Before leaving he were all OK. several times before we struck offered to give me a fairly new I eventually soldered leads to happy and had both the clock and Hitachi colour set which, he said, various voltage lines, reassembled the machine's operation right. was dangerous. It had field collapse the set, and monitored them with the I suspected the main micro- and couldn't be repaired, so he'd meter outside the cabinet. What controller chip, and recalled that a now bought a new set. eventually transpired was that the colleague of ours in the town where "When it went wrong I called the 12V supply was unstable, often Albert works had an identical scrap cheap chap with the answering dropping to 8V or so and sometimes Panasonic. I phoned him and he machine. He doesn't give his as low as 2V. When the supply was offered it to us free of charge, address. He made it go and charged stable at 12V the set would spring to provided we collect it. I decided to me twenty quid, but it failed when life. When the voltage dropped, the charge Albert a tenner for the work he left and he would't ring back. set would fail until it was switched we'd done and to offer to fit the Then I took it to Crubbs Foodstore. off and on again. The cause of the microcontroller chip at no further They wanted eighty pounds and sai problem was the 12V regulator charge if he'd pick up the scrap I had to get them a manual. So I IC380, which is a Sanyo device machine. took it along to Snoddies. They marked 3122V. Its input was OK, So I popped over to make the charged only fifty quid, bit it wen but its output varied. offer, explaining that a new micro- again next day. The second time We ordered the replacement from controller chip would be costly but they kept it for four months then Chas Hyde who handle Sanyo's that we could use one from a scrap asked me to collect it. The tall chap spares. When I removed the old one machine if he would pick it up. As there said the frame chip explodes I was able to make comparison soon as I got to the bit about a new as soon as you switch on, giving resistance checks with the new one. chip being expensive, Albert cut in. them no time to check on what's This proved the diagnosis. I also "A tenner's as much as I want to wrong. He said the last time it noticed that the original mica spend on it" he said. nearly took his fingers off!" washer was cracked. The replace- I tried again. "But Albert, this I've often commented that no ment regulator, plus a new mica machine works only when it wants customer can say anything that's washer, put matters right.

TELEVISION October 1996 893 OMMENTARY ommosommimem

a Life!

Donald Bullock had a hard time with son Steven's oddball clientele while Steve was away on holiday in Greece

I've had a terrible time while son mouth. Since he's a walking the hairdryer. A single blast at C27 Steven has been away on holiday warehouse of jokes that make you (330uF, 10V), the slyest looking somewhere in Greece. Before he cringe, I decided to get rid of him electrolytic I could find, made the went he wired his soldering iron to quickly. I shook the tea off my cuffs picture much worse. A blast of the front of the bench. Since I don't and pulled a job card towards me. freezer improved it. The same walk like a German, I kept getting "Momin' sunshine" he bawled, applied with the playback picture. my foot caught in its long lead. "likes your drop of tea then." Our meter said C27 was OK, but a He's nothing like as intellectual as I He plonked the set down. replacement cured the trouble. am — follows Greeneyes I suppose — "Bunches into lines when it's hot. and seems to encourage thickheads But have no fear — Norman's 'ere." A Dead Maspro and oddballs just for the laughs. For That was followed by a peal of Then a lanky misfit sauntered in. He the last fortnight they've all insane laughter. looked like a dyspeptic question converged on me. I've had about Then he slipped the back off the mark. "Where's Steve, mate?" he enough, I can tell you. set and pointed to the line driver asked. transformer T531. "This 'un's dry- I looked behind me, then at the Drop of Solder, Please jointed" he blared. "Drop a bit of questioner. "Greece" I said. The first was Norman Kneejerk, the solder on his legs, will you?" "You any good?" he asked, happiest sap I know. He called last I did as I was told and he quickly producing a Maspro SRE250S Monday morning, when it was reassembled the set, put his satellite receiver. "Cos this 'un's raining hard. I'd just caught my foot screwdriver in his mouth and swept dead, mate." in that cable again and upset my tea out. He was just too much. I waved down my shirt when he marched in him out and opened the Maspro. It's with a Panasonic TX2 television set Liney Pictures identical to the Pace PRD800, and in his arms and a screwdriver in his After changing my shirt I returned as usual required a full rebuild on to see the postman arrive. "Duck" the primary side of the power he said. I looked around me then supply. saw that he had left the post. I reached for the usual bits and NIAGARA vITOO Electricity bill. Gas bill. Rates . . . replaced the TEA2018 chopper And they're big money nowadays. control chip Ul, the BUT1 1 A As I stood nursing my misery, a chopper transistor Q1 and the thin dark cove with bright eyes various capacitors and resistors. pranced in nursing a Panasonic After this it sprung to life. I VCR. He smiled and pointed at me. wondered what sort of kit would-be "Super forehead" he said, "but it's required to get its owner right, and being liney." I decided to ignore the decided that a ten-year spell in the jibe and drew up a job card. army might be a good start — but "Name?" I asked. tough on them. "Ramonshab Habeshamwee- Just then my journalist daughter Skwyl" he smiled. Rebecca popped in. "What's a spin I put my pen down. "Pop in doctor, dad?" she asked. "Dunno" I tomorrow" I said. said, and she fled. The machine was in NVJ45 — Super 4 head. I tried it in the E-E Sprained Wrist mode and the picture was terrible — The next caller looked like a all lines and interference. Then I sprawling birthmark. As though played a tape. The results were even he'd been bleached then worse. Was there one fault or two? unsuccessfully dyed strawberry I decided to concentrate on the E- pink. He had a couple of feathers in E fault symptom first and his ginger hair and was clutching a approached the power supply with Matsui 209T TV set.

48 Novennberl 996 TELEVISION COMMENTAR mismimeiramma

"Hwahna hwuppnah hweep He collected the deluge first. the bad news. While he was in the chwah" he said. His gutteral voice "Hrupplahnnoop. workshop Greeneyes had gone into made Jimmy Knapp sound like a Kwaaahahruppnah Twoe n his room, seen the mess on his desk falsetto. I looked at him and passed hwopper" he bellowed. "Ai cannah and tidied it up. The platten and him a job card and a pen. "I've fwalpren. Bluddahwhall keyed drawing were separated. So sprained my wrist" I said. sokenwhaitt! !" far his attempts at achieving the He picked up the pen, shut one "Sony" said Nick, skipping off. correct reassembly position have eye, pulled his mouth open and been unsuccessful. The motor spins, wrote "Herb McHaggis" and a Crackles and Flickers but fails to boot up the disc and phone number on the card. A huge old car pulled up. The stops. When he'd left I pulled the set on Reverend Goode clambered out, Does anyone have any alignment to the bench and tried it. The picture hugging a Panasonic NVL20 VCR. information? Or perhaps someone was good, apart from a bright line "Good to see you, Donald" he has a surplus replacement motor across the centre — like field boomed. "You've met Curate panel assembly or replacement disc collapse superimposed on a normal Blande before I think . . . " drive? picture. The set has a discrete- "Er, good to see you" said the component field output stage, with Curate, three octaves higher. Jammed Switch Mayhem complementary pnp and npn "Crackles and flickers like the My last tussle of the day was transistors. devil" bawled the Reverend. "Not brought in by Phyllis Puke. It was a "What causes that bright line?" the bally Curate, the set!" 20in. NEI set, Model 2051R. asked Greeneyes. "Like the . . er . . devil" said the "There can't be much wrong with "The spot that writes the picture is Curate. ". . the set." this set" she announced, "it's almost writing two lines in the same place "Always did, mind, but it's new. My husband always reckoned before carrying on." I said. intolerable now" the Reverend it to be a loose wire or the valve. "Why?" she asked. "Well, one continued. He's dead, that's the problem." transistor writes the top half of the "Intolerable now" squeaked the "I'm sorry to hear that" I said, "er, picture, then the other takes over to Curate. what happened?" write the lower half." I said. The E-E picture and sound were "Dunno" she said, looking at the "There's a bit of a problem where unstable, and touching the PCB set. "He was OK last night. When I they meet, and while it's waiting for almost anywhere made it worse. I tried him today he was just dead. instructions the spot is hanging took out the tuner subpanel, Can you get him right by about and writing away out of resoldered some very dry joints, tomorrah?" cussedness." then reassembled it. The fault was I waved her out and pulled her set I spied a 10µF, 50V bootstrap still present. Further tapping and on to the bench. If I pressed the capacitor nearby (C302). Now I flexing took me to the RF on/off button enough to close the don't like low-value, high-voltage demodulator can. There were a mains switch, but not enough to electrolytics. Their crime rate is couple of poor joints inside, but short the pulse contacts, the set high. This one added to it. Its value resoldering them made no went into standby and couldn't be had fallen, a replacement curing the difference. brought out by either manual or fault. Then I noticed a ribbon of fifteen remote control. If I pressed the conductors that connected the main switch in all the way there was a The Mouse PCB to the clock/control panel. It rustle of EHT but nothing appeared A bit later Nick and Doris came in. was connected to the main PCB oti the screen. Doris and Greeneyes went into a directly, but was connected to the I marked the position of the first huddle and Nick dived his hand into front panel via a plug and socket anode preset carefully, then turned his pocket. arrangement. Or rather half it up. A milky raster with pro- "I've brought you my mouse" he connected. The plug wasn't pressed nounced flyback lines appeared. said. "Perhaps you can do some- fully home, and its covering of dust Then I noticed that a button on the thing with it. It won't work." showed that it never had been. front panel was jammed in the on I looked at him. Didn't even know Pressing it home cured the trouble. position. It was the 'select' button, he kept mice, let alone working for colour, brightness etc., and was ones. Then he produced this James's Problem made of flimsy plastic. By jamming computer mouse. As I was boxing up the Panasonic in, it had disabled the micro- When I looked inside I saw that VCR unit son James came in, controller chip. I found a better there were three tiny, round looking a bit down in the mouth. replacement in our junk box and pressure switches. They were "The disc drive motor in my this cured the trouble. sticking. I picked up an old VCR Amiga A500 computer seized last I boxed the set up and, as I was front that used identical switches. night" he said. "So I took the putting it down, caught my foot in When the faulty ones had been computer to my'room and carefully Steven's loop of soldering iron lead. replaced the mouse was OK. removed the motor assembly. It's The hot iron flew up and I did an "That's clever of you" Nick said. mounted on a 9 x 7cm PCB, with its impromptu juggling act with it and "You know I recommend you all metal backing plate, and there's a the set as the phone rang and rang. over our club." sync magnet attached to the rim. I When I picked it up it was Steven As they were leaving Nick slid the disc platten off the motor calling from Greece. pointed to the sun blind above the shaft, placed it carefully on a keyed "I've had a terrible time" he said. shop front. "There's a big belly of drawing on the desk, and took the "It's been raining every day. I've rainwater up there" he said. He motor to the workshop to clean and never seen so much." picked up the sweeping brush and lubricate it. The motor's all right A wicked smile creased my face. pushed the blind up — just as now." "Good!" I bellowed, "good, good, McHaggis came to collect his set. "Good" I said. Then he told me good!!"

TELEVISION November1996 49 :OMMENTARY imiso

What a Life!

An answering/fax machine, VCRs, satellite receivers, TV sets and people give Donald Bullock trouble

Cteven has become indispensable machine bleeps and hoots like a "But it's all in bits" I said, "some aJto me. I can't repair half the stuff demented canary. Its makers journey!" that comes in nowadays. It's not that stumbled across a chip which stores I headed for the signal stages and I'm technically incompetent — any a fleeting travesty of the sound that spied a nasty-looking 1,000µF, 6.3V more than I ever was, that is — it's goes into it. When I record an capacitor, C817. Was it a coupler? I that I cannot operate so many of answer message, which for my £600 set the machine to record and today's household electronic items. mustn't last longer than twelve touched one side of the electrolytic As Steven can work most of them, I seconds, it goes (I think) into the with my scope probe. There was a need him to make sure that the dead chip then from the chip on to the nice, dancing waveform. At the set I'm trying to repair is dead tape. The tape dances around for a other side there was nothing. A because of a fault, not because it while, then the machine plays back capacitance check showed that the uses some quirky switch-on what I've recorded. Twice. And electrolytic's value had fallen to technique. despite my wonderfully clear 2µF. A new one restored the E-E The present obsession for remote diction, I end up sounding like pictures. control doesn't help either. Half the Jimmy Durante in his cups. time the customers don't bring the I keep this machine as far away as A Pair of PRD800s remote control units in with their I can — in Spain, where power cuts When the blob returned he was sets, and when they do I've got are frequent. Some last for only a carrying a Pace PRD800 receiver. about as much hope of working second, but that's enough for the Intact, too. them as I have of piloting a Boeing answering machine. While we're all "You won't believe this Mr plane across the Atlantic. wondering where the lights went, it Belcher" he bawled. It seems that we are stuck with all plays my message back to us. I'm "I do believe it" I replied. That these gadgets that bristle with tired of this and of the machine! Will shut him up. features people don't want. Is it someone swap me a simple fax-cum- The trouble with the PRD800 was simply because the technology is answering machine with two tapes, the usual power supply failure. I there and the designers feel they no voice chips, no all singing and soon got it going, then found that have to incorporate it, or are the dancing exhibitionism and controls while it produced unscrambled marketing people responsible? that I can see and work? There's programmes it wouldn't produce the Whatever the answer, there's only one condition: I shall never scrambled ones — nor even the nasty something wrong when a chap who want to see or hear of it again. little order to insert the card. I got fully understands the theory and the manual out, felt a migraine practice of say colour TV can't No E-E attack coming, put it away then switch one on. Why can't we have Yesterday we had three power cuts. homed in on the decoder. proper rotary on-off switches, and As my message was played for the Everything looked OK at first ordinary brightness and volume third time a grinning blob plodded glance. Then I noticed that link L20, controls? Oh to see the back of up the drive. He was carrying a which sits proud of the PCB, was flashing displays and masses of dismantled VCR. leaning over slightly. When I incomprehensible foreign symbols! "Ah, the man with all the straightened the link it seemed to be answers!" said the blob. loose. One end was dry-jointed. The Fax Machine "I don't even know the questions" Soldering it properly cured the I rue the day I spent £600 on my I replied. At that he handed me a trouble. fax-cum-answering machine. It too bottle of whiskey and I began to find looks like an aeroplane flight deck, him tolerable. Deceptive BUT 1 1A and is a pain in the neck if I want to "All I did was to move it to When Mr Blob came to collect the record telephone messages while another room" he said. I waved him PRD800 he had another one under I'm out. Although the machine is the away and decided to try the his arm. It was identical. "This 'un's biggest one I've ever seen, it uses a whiskey. The machine was an dead too" he announced. tiny tape about the size of a domino Amstrad 4600 Mk. 1, with no E-E I made for the BUT11A chopper and has control buttons like tiny pictures. Sound and playback were transistor, which read all right. So pills that live recessed under a flap. OK. did the mains fuse and the mains Whichever button you find and "Nice man" said Greeneyes, "do it bridge rectifier. I then tested some press, the tape starts to race in one cheaply. It can't be much if he only of the parts I distrust. R14 (1000) direction then the other, while the moved it to another room." and R8 (la) were open-circuit

124 December 1996 TELEVISION COMMENTAR asimmummimimi while C5 (22µF, 16V, 105°C) had contact. Resoldering it did the trick. fallen in value to 3t1F. Just to be on Harry, pleasant as ever, collected the safe side, I also replaced the it the next day. "Must trot along" he TEA2018 control chip. Then I said after paying up, "my father's plugged the machine in again, had a heart attack, our garden wall switched on and the fuse blew. has just fallen down and my boss I sat back and reflected. Why has gone mental. Just one thing after hadn't I been a traffic warden or a another, innit?" social worker? I looked at the BUT11A. Just the Flighty's ITT TV chap to blow fuses. So I checked it Then Mr Flighty pranced in with an again, very carefully. It was ITT TV set. Greeneyes likes Flighty. apparently perfect. But I decided to I don't. replace it. Then I fitted a new fuse "Ha ha, Donny old chap. You're and plugged in again. This time it looking older, my boy. What is it worked a treat. now? Seventy? How's that lovely Later I sent Steven a riddle. wife of yours? Never could see what "When is a perfectly good BUT11A she saw in you!" not a perfectly good BUT11A?" I Greeneyes appeared, smiling asked. nicely. "Ooh hello Mr Flighty" she "You've had Pace trouble" he cooed, "nice to see you again. replied. "I know. It seems to happen What's new?" only with Pace receivers. The "I'm glad you asked that" he BUT11A reads perfectly but blows began. fuses. I always replace it I interrupted. "What's up with the regardless." KB — I mean ITT, Flighty?" I asked. "Whining" he bawled, waving his examination I adopted my usual "Only got back Desoldering Braid arms. "Well it would here, wouldn't approach in such cases. I carefully from Mexico "By the way" he added "have you it? Har har har! !" And off he removed the electrolytics, starting last week" noticed how expensive desoldering skipped. I gave Greeneyes a dirty with the lowest values, and checked braid is? £22 plus VAT for 100 feet! look and she clopped off. them on the bridge. Some were low That's £66 for a 100 yards. And it's The set was one fitted with the and were replaced. When I switched only fine screening wire CVC803 chassis, and the squeal was on again I was rewarded with a good impregnated with resin flux. You coming from the power supply. The picture and perfect teletext. Just as can buy 100 yards of heavy coaxial HT voltage was very low. I've had I'd boxed the set up, Greeneyes cable for less than a third of that." this on several occasions. The cause came in with the tea. "You can always make you own" I is C757 (10µF, 350V), the "We need more customers like said. "Buy a 100-yard reel of light smoothing capacitor at the HT that" I said. "It's a treat to deal with screened wire and a half litre of output from the series chopper a normal, tidy gentleman for a resin flux. It's not much of a job to circuit. This one had fallen in value change. Makes you feel the job is strip the screening off to make your to 30. A replacement restored almost worth doing." own." normal operation. Mr Hodd's big car showed up again next day. He came in, smiling, An Akura VX150 A Gentleman? and raised his hat. Then Greeneyes Harry Hogwash is a likable chap. Our next customer looked normal came in and he raised his hat to her. It's just his silly manner. He called enough. And well dressed too. I felt A perfect gentleman. in yesterday with a VCR that didn't grateful. He came in, smiled and "Ah, I see it's ready! Very good of produce a clock display — an Akura raised his hat. Then he waved to you Mr Bullock" he said. "I hope it Model VX150 another fellow to bring the set in wasn't too much trouble." "Only got back from Mexico last from his car. I smiled, said it wasn't and week" he said. "Wife dropped dead "Pleased to meet you Mr Bullock" reached for the bill. yesterday, and my daughter's just he said. "My name is Hodd. My set He called his man in to carry the run off with an Eskimo." has been very good but has gone all set to the car then, after a few "I suppose this recorder thing's snowy. Mrs Smith recommended moments' pleasant conversation, troubling you as well" I said. you. I'd be glad if you would have a buttoned up his coat. The video looked new but was out look at it." "Watch this, Mr Bullock" he said. of guarantee. Being a budget "With pleasure" I replied. With that he walked out to his car, machine, I could work it. The VCR The set was a Grundig C7500 got into it and closed the door. The accepted a tape, then immediately (CUC731T chassis). There was no engine fired into life and the car returned it. picture or sound, just a snowy raster. purred smartly away. I opened the machine and I made for the large tuner/IF can, Greeneyes watched it disappear, removed the top PCB. This took opened it and found a burnt spot on then turned to me. "Did he pay?" longer than it takes to say, because the panel. After removing the she asked. all the plugs and sockets have to be carbon I bridged the print and up "No" I said. parted. Having won, I found that came a picture. But it was juddering, She looked me up and down and the cause of the trouble was and there was no teletext. Two extra shook her head. "So he's a normal obvious. Safety resistor R601 faults, field and text? As this seemed gentleman and you want more like (2.251) had been located in its holes unlikely, I stayed with the tuner/IF him!" but left unsoldered at one end. As a unit. "I didn't know he'd turn out to be result it was making intermittent After a thorough visual Hodd" I said, "I mean, er, odd." ■

TELEVISION December 1996 125 COMMENTARY mumenammonnt

What a Life!

Uncertain and suspicious customers, various different makes and models, Don Bullock gets them all

There we were soaking up the sun up with her VCR, which was also a "Tell Mr Boolock what was on and helping the Spanish to erode VXK306. And Greeneyes collared when it happened, Clarence." their vast surplus of plonk when me to go out shopping. Son James Clarence breathed in, then she Shy Victor Smallpiece minced in was around, so I explained what the started up again. "It was that la-di- carrying a Samsung VCR. situation was and asked him to take da chap who spouts about the stars: "I don'tt wantt to be pushy, Mr over. and with Jupiter in conjunction with Bullock, I'm shewer. Ack-chew- When-we returned, James had Mars the prospects are pretty poor alley I've broughtt you a repair." both VCRs working. aimafraid . ." She laughed at her It was a VXK306, a sleek, new- "Mrs Sweet's machine had a good imitation then left. looking machine with one of those cassette jammed in it" he said. The set had line collapse, which is centre-mounted decks. When I "That was easy to deal with. So I an unusual fault these days. I switched it on the clock display tried her power pack in the other glanced uncertainly at the line came up brightly then went out, machine, which then worked with output stage and noticed that L502, leaving no sign of life. I hoped I the correct DC outputs from the which is part of a series LCR could fix it without my capacitance chopper circuit. After refitting the network across the scan-correction meter, which blew up the other day, original power supply boards in the capacitor C518, was leaning a bit. or the oscilloscope, which Steven two machines I tried capacitor Sure enough one of its two tails had has pulled to bits. When I removed substitution — swapping over the parted company with the board — it the top I saw a fairly full chopper reservoir/smoothing electrolytics at had never been properly tinned. I power supply board enclosed in a the outputs. When I transposed C35 made it good, thanked my lucky shiny tin box, about six inches long (470g, 16V) from the faulty stars for an easy repair and switched by two and a half inches square. machine to the good one it pro- on. Without a circuit diagram all I duced the same symptoms. So I There was a whooshing noise and could do was to carry out a few fitted a rreplacement and everything R512, a 10052 safety resistor which checks. It was likely that the is now OK. is also part of the LCR network, chopper had stopped oscillating for He's learning fast. "Good work!" sent out a smoke signal that read some reason, possibly because of a I said, "I wondered how long it "goodbye". I fitted a replacement short-circuit across one of the would take you to work that one then looked around the circuit outputs. out. . ." again. C518 (0.470, 400V) had I made sure that AC was reaching As he'd reassembled both lost one of its legs and cracked the bridge rectifier circuit and that machines I left it at that. But I put open. No wonder there was no line its DC output, measured across the the faulty electrolytic aside. It'll be scan. reservoir capacitor with its negative the first to greet my capacitance After replacing C518 I dropped tag as the meter's earth connection, meter when I get it back. below bench level and wound the was healthy. It was, and there was set up using our variac. To my relief plenty of HT at the collector of the Mrs Runner's TV it sprung to life, displaying a proper chopper transistor. As the transistor When I returned to the UK my first raster. When the aerial had been itself checked out OK, it was time customer was Mrs Runner. She was plugged in there was an excellent to move the meter's negative lead followed by her son Clarence, who picture. from the live earth point to an was carrying an ITT TV set that In the fullness of time Mrs Runner isolated earthing point on the turned out to be fitted with the returned. "Ask Mr Boolock, secondary side of the circuit. CVC1175 chassis. Clarence. Go on." Fortunately the chopper power "Tell Mr Boolock, Clarence. Do Clarence shuffled his feet and supply's output voltages are marked as I say." breathed in to speak, but the voice I on the panel. I didn't expect to find Clarence opened his mouth but heard was Mrs Runner's. any. But voltages there were — those she cut in again. "Flagpole" she "Why don't you ever speak" she I measured were all exactly double shouted, "nothing but a bloody shouted, "just like your farther — 'e what they should have been! flagpole." never says a word." Then she turned Hmmm. I fingered my chin and wondered to me. At this point two things happened. what the weather was like in Las "Ready. Fifteen." I said. Our neighbour, Mrs Sweet, showed Palmas. "Bloody 'ell" she said. Then,

200 January 1997 TELEVISION COMMENTARY mmmminmmmmi. looking at Clarence, "it's all your When I eventually had the main fault. You wouldn't speak. They chassis out on the bench I switched takes more notice of a man." on. There was nothing except for a crackling noise that seemed to come Mechanisms from the mains transformer. But it Dick Flotsam padded in with a was cold. Then the unit came on Philips FCD285 stacking unit. As and the crackling stopped. usual his feet were at a quarter to Thinking that the on/off switch three. I retreated a bit. Having been might be cooking, I removed it from brought up on early Philips wireless the panel and carefully slid off its sets with their remarkably metal retaining cover. Bits and sophisticated RF circuits and springs flew everywhere. So this resultant knife-edged tuning, I've was the end of that switch. But the always had a good respect for bits I eventually found seemed to be Philips' electronics — in spite of OK. their bulky, pitch-covered I then noticed that the pins of the capacitors and a tendency to use mains transformer, which is panel pesky, high-value resistors. But mounted, had recently been having also suffered from Philips resoldered. When the solder was autochangers and, more recently, removed I discovered that one of VCRs, I run from the mechanics. the pins for the primary winding This reminds me of the time about was blackened with corrosion. It sat forty years ago when I worked for a as good as gold in its solder blob, firm that used to sell a lot of but was virtually insulated by its nameless radiograms, each of which coating. housed a nameless autochanger. The changers were troublesome and Oddballs inscrutable, so we used to pile them Mr Nutt called in with a Panasonic on a spare bench awaiting the KXF2060 fax machine. He's a Bits and springs flew everywhere. attention of Blenkinsopp, whom I picture of health countryman but is suppose you would call the convinced that everyone is out to "and I'd like it completed by 1700 company's TLO in today's jargon. get him. It must be five years since hours if humanly possible." He used to pull out a pair of pliers we managed to persuade him that "What's the matter with it?" I and bend the thin wire rods and his neighbour's satellite dish wasn't ventured. levers this way and that, and a secret listening device. "Ticking like a bally bomb" he eventually got them going. For a "Had the telephone man out to said, "reminds me of the day I took while, anyway. move the socket. Crafty fellow issue with Monty in Tripoli. One of Then, as our sales grew and our bugged it" he said, his eyes darting those dashed natives . . ." piles of faulty autochangers also around the workshop. "People can "Ah! The phone" I said, running grew, his visits became fewer and bug phones, you know. The so- off. "We'll phone you before five, fewer and we eventually realised called engineer reckoned my line major." that they had stopped. We knew that isn't bugged. Yet he bugged it "Didn't hear a phone" he said as he still called on another dealer up himself." he left. the road. So one day, knowing that "What makes you think that?" I I opened the parcel. It contained a he was due, we kept an an eye open asked. Pace PRD800 satellite receiver. On for him. A knowing smile came over his test it turned out to be dead though This was easy. Our workshop, face as he pushed the fax machine quietly ticking. The chopper above the sales area, looked down towards me. "Why else would he transistor and its control chip were over the main street. The huge plate disable my fax? It was all right OK, so I checked the capacitors that glass windows of the shop opposite when he came, but when he left it worry me most in these sets, C7 and gave us a clear reflection of our wouldn't accept my outgoing C8. They should both be 101.IF own shop front and pavement. messages. Still won't. Stops me (25V). C7 had fallen in value to Eventually we spotted Blenkinsopp calling for help unless I use the 71.1F while C8 measured 8µF. I'd a few hundred yards away on the bugged phone." expected them to give lower opposite pavement, striding towards He studied our faces then left, readings, but replaced them and us. As he drew closer he crossed looking uneasily about him. tried the set again. It was now OK. over the road to our side then, As Steven began to open the fax Then Steven came in. doubled into a crouch, ran past machine Major Hagger strode in "I've fixed the fax" he said. "Mr. close to the wall. and tapped his brass-topped stick on Nutt was right on one count at least. But back to Dick Flotsam the counter. The telephone man had disabled it. "Can you mend this for me?" he "Who the devil was that paranoid Look at this bit of telephone cable asked. cove?" he barked. "Squinted sleeving he'd carelessly dropped "I doubt it, Dickense" I said. through your door blind like a bally into the paper feed slot. It was "What's up with it?" quisling. I'd execute that type if I moving around with the roller, As it was dead I took it on and had my way. Make the country a which couldn't make contact with opened it up. This required more better place." the paper." time than it takes to say so. The Then he removed his gloves, took I walked outside and looked mechanism controls are a long way a parcel from under his arm and towards the Prince Albert. "Come from the front panel, long plastic placed it on the counter. "I've got on" I said to Steven. It seemed the bars being used to connect them. an assignment for you" he said, most sensible thing to do. ■

TELEVISION January 1997 201 'OMMENTARY mosimmireimin

What a Life!

It would be a lot simpler if TV sets didn't have owners. That would halve the problems. But we have to put up with both sorts, as Donald Bullock reports

C very time I see a chap who is " 'Course I do" he said. " 'Ere, essential to replace the two 4.7pF, &going grey the wrong way round don't you start causin' trouble." 63V electrolytics CB712 and — from the crown of his head And with that he strode out. CB726 that couple the base drives downwards — I know I'm in the to the chopper transistors. We use company of a classic worrier. There Salora J Chassis the type from Willow Vale. Make are quite a few of them about. Eddie Our next caller was Hank. He does sure that you apply heatsink com- is one — forty five, emaciated and a a bit of servicing in a nearby pound to the chopper transistors, complete stranger to self-esteem. village. and that all three solder tags on the He brought in a Samsung CI6229T "Hey, you two are smart, aren't heatsinks are well soldered to the colour TV set and stood there, you?" he called out. panel — they are used as circuit looking downwards. "Sure are" I said, "and if we get links. Then check the whole power "It's only an inch tall" he said. I any smarter we're going to give this section for dry-joints. looked at him intently. " 'Er said trade the slip." When we think we've repaired the it's no good to anybody, only an "This Hitachi CPT2060 is fitted set and it seems to be working, we inch tall." with the Salora J chassis" he said. switch it off then plug it back into "Let's take this one step at a time" "Christ" we said in unison. the mains supply. If the dash comes I replied, noting down his name and "As it wouldn't tune I took out the on we know we've succeeded and telephone number. "What's only an little tuning board with the picture that the set will spring to life at inch tall?" controls and the tuning circuit on it switch on. "The picture" he said. "It's my and soldered some very dry-joints. If we suspect the line output side sister's set. 'Er wants me out o' the That brought back the search of the Ipsalo circuit we go to the 'ouse. Says I'm crazy." tuning, and the set will tune and 0.33uF scan coupling capacitor "How many beans make five?" I store channel 10. But not the rest. CB532 first. Its left-hand pin asked. He looked up. Why's that?" becomes dry-jointed. This capacitor "Beans?" he asked. "Dunno" we said, and off he is to the right of the square control "Just leave it here" I said. loped. cutout on the main panel, four I pulled the set on to the bench We could have been more helpful inches from the top of the chassis. and sought the field output chip, if the set had been dead. In this All sorts of faults occur when one which turned out to be a TDA3654 event we make sure that the set is or more of the legs of the huge on a pretty large heatsink. It was switched off at the front button and heatsink/partition screen become very hot indeed. A replacement plug it into the mains supply. If the dry-jointed. The screen is silver restored the field scanning, but it little red dash in the display lights coloured and wraps around the still seemed hot to me. Before up, this tells us that the power bottom left-hand corner of the returning the set to Eddie I ran it for supply is OK. So we move over to chassis. This item is also used as a a couple of days and fitted an the line output side of the Ipsalo conductive link for the print on the extension to the already huge (integrated power supply and line panel. heatsink. output) circuit. if it doesn't light up When he came back to collect it we go first to the two 4.7Q, 5W Norman's Mitsubishi he pulled out a purse and began surge limiter resistors RB711 and Our next customer was Quiet poking about in it with his long RB713, then to the MJE13005/ Norman Glutton. Short and squat, fingers. They always do, these BUW41B chopper transistors he likes to eat. And eat. He brought chaps who go grey the wrong way TB700 and TB701 which often go in this Mitsubishi CT2124BM round. short-circuit. A clue that this fault is colour set. " 'Er said to get outa her house" about to occur is provided by the "He don't switch on like 'e used he announced. "Said I'm crazy, fact that the set takes an increas- to" he said. keepin' fish in the bath." ingly long time to start up. I leant forward. "So how does it "Do you keep fish in the bath?" I These sets can fail repeatedly if switch on now?" I asked. asked. the repair is not done properly. It's "Different" he said.

276 February 1997 TELEVISION COMMENTAR

I filled my lungs. "Right" I said. them both cleared the fault. So we "An' the colours be wishy-washy" phoned the lovely Cassandra to tell he added. Then he looked about and her the good news. fished his penknife from his pocket. Half an hour later a gangling, "What's the pasties like from over white-faced piece of string appeared the road?" he asked. And with that at the door. he waddled off. "I've called for Cassandra's set" By the time he came back, carving he whined. "Carry it to the car, will into a pie, we had his set on the you? I've got a bad back." bench. Sussing out the 'wishy- I did his lackeying and watched washy picture' didn't take long. His them depart. In my day a prat like kids had fully upped every control that wouldn't have aspired to even a on the remote handset. But he was Pansy Potter or Keyhole Kate. right: the set didn't switch on as these sets should. Instead of coming A Matsui Portable to life when the on-off switch was Terry Tic came in carrying a Matsui pressed it went into standby. To 1455 14in. colour portable. "Like a make it come on we had to press the bladdy bomb" he announced, "just standby button. like a bladdy bomb". Then he I dived into the power supply departed. panel, which is to the right of the Steven tried the set and found that main chassis. A 10011F, 50V it was dead: inside there was a electrolytic (C964) had leaked so Snoddy's job card. "Blew up in much that its legs had rotted away. standby" it said. C301, a small A replacement cleared the fault, and 47uF, 63V electrolytic that lives by by the time the job was ready to go the line output transformer, had Quiet Norman had finished his disintegrated — it's the reservoir fourth pie. capacitor for the supply to the field Another fault we've found to be output stage. Its innards were "Said I'm crazy, keepin' fish in the bath." quite common with this model is everywhere. And C310, an loss of tuning memory. To deal with 0.0022pF, 600V damping capacitor "And that's everything" I said. this look for IC702 and check for that sits by the line driver Then Terry returned. Steven 5V at pin 1 and —30V at pin 2. If transformer, had melted. We pulled up the 1455 for him and either voltage is missing, check replaced them and started the set up noticed that he was carrying another back to the power supply and then, using the variac. There was a rustle identical set. if necessary, replace the chip. of EHT but nothing else. "I won't go on having that set When we checked the voltage done, Mr Bullfrog" he bawled. "It Cassandra Grant across C301 it was negative to was only my son's computer It was stark and awful yesterday chassis! Further checks in this monitor. I've found another one for morning. Then Cassandra Grant supply showed that the surge limiter him at the car boot sale. Cost next glided in. The sun shone, the breeze resistor R310 (100 fusible) was to nothing. Just put 'im back dropped, blossoms burst from their open-circuit. After replacing it we together and I'll take it out of your buds, songbirds sang and the world had a 50V supply but the set was way." fell into soft focus. still dead. "I need your help, Mr Bullock" It seemed logical to check the two A Call to the Bar she purred. field output transistors, Q302 The phone rang. It was the "I know" I said, understandingly. (2SC2073) and Q303 (2SA940). Horseflies, who run our local pub. "And what would you like me to They were both short-circuit. After Their lad had managed to yank the do?" replacing them and carrying out a coaxial plug off the aerial lead. As "Repair my Grundig TV" she few more checks we dared to switch Greeneyes had come in to tidy up, breathed, in her husky voice. I need on again. There was still field Steven and I decided to go off it as soon as possible." collapse. together. The set was a TSS340, which is I left it to Steven. After spending Having fixed the lead we were fitted with the CUC3400 chassis. It about four hours on it he stood up about to depart when we saw Pervy was dead, with the 800mAT fuse and shook his head. He looked Fletcher, a right shallow, extrovert SI624 in the feed to the chopper shattered. "Can't understand it" he showman. transformer open-circuit. We said, "I've replaced or checked just "Ah, Donld" he rasped, "let me declared the BUT11A chopper about everything". Then he mused: get you a drink!" He guzzled the transistor T661 guilty without trial, "wonder if the field scan coils have last of his and ordered a round. and sure enough it was short-circuit. gone as well?" "These two look singularly dry to So we fitted a replacement, which There was a similar set under the me" he commented. blew up as soon as we switched the bench. He borrowed the scan coils Then a one-eyed fellow lurched set on again. Time to look farther in and fitted them to the 1455. Up in, looking the worst for drink. the chopper circuit. In this version came the field scan, and after some "Hm. . inebriated" observed of the chassis C667 in the snubber adjustment we had an excellent Pervy. "If he's any trouble, leave network consists of two 2.2pF, picture. him to me." 385V capacitors that are connected "You've got to give Snoddy's one We made a hurried departure. I in series. One of them had dried up thing" Steven said, "they know keep telling Horsefly he should put completely, while the other had which jobs to grab and which ones more water in the beer if he wants fallen to 0.51.1F in value. Replacing to turn down". to avoid trouble. ..

TELEVISION February 1997 277 !OMMENTARY siemismumni

What a Life!

A mixed batch of TV problems and customers of various sorts. Donald Bullock's workshop scene

hile we were in Spain last where behind the Avo. James got up said, holding up the set. "Wollitis is Wweek our neighbour, the and fled. the sound." Widow Twerpy, called us over. Her After a while I managed to coax "Good, good" I said with great Sky News channel had suddenly him back. He opened the LNB, sincerity. "Tell me what it really is, deteriorated — it was just possible to removed the rest of the debris, and what it really is." see and hear what was going on reassembled it. Then he tested it "Wollitis, Mr Block, is I wanted through the snowy screen and again. Sky News was now perfect. the sound louder. So wollidid, Mr hissing sound. We weren't all that The reception I mean, not the Block, is I opened it up and surprised, as there had been a spell programme. connected my big hi-fl speakers." of winter storms with strong gales "You stupid twi — er — oh, I see. Ha (those who only visit Spain for More LNB Trouble ha. And why not, eh?" I reached for summer holidays have no idea!). But As the boys took the LNB back to a pen. "And what name is it?" the other channels were all OK. In the Widow Twerpy I returned to the "Stoat" he said, "Mr Stoat." fact apart from Sky News her house to find Greeneyes peering at a I opened Mr Stoat's set. The reception was excellent. mass of snow on the screen of our original small 812, 2W speaker was We tried another receiver-decoder, 27in. Sanyo set, which is run from a both disconnected and ravaged. The but it made no difference. So we separate LNB feed. wires that had previously connected connected a new downlead from her "Look what's just happened to Sky it lay over the panel. LNB to the receiver-decoder. This News" she said. "It was all right a In this chassis the 10V supply that made no difference either. Time to minute ago." powers the audio output chip is take the LNB to the workshop for I looked at the picture. It was as derived from the line output trans- investigation. bad as the Widow Twerpy's had former, via R402 (4.70) which is a It's an older type, with an open- been. And the other channels were safety resistor. ended horn. As I was wondering all perfect. More spiders? R402 had departed. For reasons whether the damp had got into it, out As the LNB is a dual-output type, I that I applaud, the TBA820M audio bounced a huge jumping spider. decided to swap over the downleads. output chip has been superseded by a They are common in these parts. I What with the rain and the winds, KA2201. A new chip, a new speaker have seen one pounce from nowhere one of them might have become and a new safety resistor put the set on to a bluebottle, then grip and eat it waterlogged. But this made no right. in a trice. I was frightened to death. difference. It was going to be Mr Stoat came back the next day. But the spider cleared off. I studied another workshop job. "Wollitis, Mr Block, is I've come for the LNB carefully and decided to When I opened it I found that the set" he announced. open it. Then I saw a pair of rainwater had got in at the cable exit I hoisted it on to the counter. powerful arms protruding from points — there was a small area of "Wollitis, Mr Stoat, is twenty quid" I behind the Avo. All further work green corrosion. I cleaned this off, said, "and wollit'll be if you do it was swiftly delegated to son James. carefully valeted the unit with a just- again is forty." He connected the LNB to our warm hairdryer, then reassembled it. workshop dish, and found that the It worked perfectly after that. When Pffh etc fault was still present. Sky News was I refitted it I sealed it up like Fort As he left a large lady barged in virtually unviewable. So he shone Knox. carrying a big, clumsy looking set. the bench light into the horn, picked "He goes 'pffh', Mr Bloop, then the up a pair of tweezers, and in no time More Sound tube goes" she said, throwing her had removed a huge ball of cob- A man who looked like a ransacked arms apart. "Funny, innit. `Pffh' an' webby stuff from deep inside the ferret approached the workshop the the tube goes!" horn. other day. He was nursing an Hitachi The set was a Pioneer SV2102. I Then he reached for a screwdriver colour portable, Model C14 P216. longed for the old days, then faced and hesitated. He looked worried. "I There's a stock sound fault with up to the present. The "tube going" hope there isn't one of those jumping these sets, and I sniffed easy money was in fact intermittent field coll- spiders inside" he said. to be made. apse. And when I opened the set I "Don't worry" I replied. "It's gone. "Come in, er. . . Sir" I smiled. found that it wasn't too frightening — Jumped out and disappeared some- "Wollitis Mr Block, is this" he the cabinet contained a Ferguson/

352 March 1997 TELEVISION COMMENTARY

Thomson chassis. I soon saw that the I connected the electrolytic to a cause of the trouble was a dry-joint at bench power supply via a cut-out. I one side of CL54, a 250V, 0.56uF wound up the supply gradually: capacitor in the field scan circuit. when the output reached 8V the cut- Resoldering the joint cured the out tripped and the capacitor became problem. warm. When Davey returned we got him Davey Ruggles to join us over a cup of tea and told Our next caller was Davey Ruggles. him that the set was a write off. He A decent loser, Davey makes a went a bit quiet, but soon brightened meagre living from collecting scrap up. "Oh well, it didn't do any harm in his battered little lorry. He'd be trying" he said, "what do I owe better off on the dole, but he's not you?" the type. He and his wife have two We waved this question aside and children and live in a converted bus. topped up his tea. Steven went out. They are the most contented family I When Davey had finished his tea he know. went back to his lorry — then "I've got some decent customers, returned almost immediately. Don" he said. "One of 'em gave me "Hey" he said, "that set's on my this set. If it's worth mending I passenger seat with a sticker on it might make a bob or two. It's the saying 'Mended, no charge'. What's wife's birthday next week, and trade it all about?" ain't been so good lately." "Compliments of the house, A commotion outside.. . The set was a Matsui 2086. There Davey" I said, "give your wife and was no brightness, and when I family our regards." They were. advanced the setting of the tube's "Then replace D21" he continued. first anode preset control, after Card Trouble "It's a BY299 diode and you'll find marking it carefully (easier than Jim Sawney is a keen pike angler. that it's short-circuit." searching for references later), I He was wearing his waders when he I took out the diode and checked it. found that field collapse was the came through the door and put an Steven was right. A replacement got cause of the trouble. Then I noticed Amstrad SRD400 satellite receiver- the set working again. I looked at that R419, a safety resistor, was decoder on the bench. Steven. glowing red hot. "I've had this blasted thing in my "What does it do?" I asked, "and We didn't have the circuit fishing bag for over a week" he said. how did you know?" diagram, and I didn't feel rich "Forgot all about it. Now the wife "Dunno what it does" he replied, enough to buy one nor well enough wants to record 'The Princess and "but when the set's dead and the to face up to trying to read one the Grinning Prat' tonight. Any fuses are OK it's always that diode." obtained from the boys who, to me, chance of saving my life? The Sky Actually it's the HT rectifier. are still Mastercare. So it was a card is with it. Can I pop in tonight, matter of attempting a bit of logical on my way home from fishing, to Jim's Return diagnosis. see if it's done?" Somewhat later Jim Sawney loomed The supplies involved in I noticed that it was raining hard. up outside. He looked drowned and generating the field scan would "Are you going fishing in this?" I worn out, but he'd had a successful probably be derived from the line asked. day — there were two fifteen output transformer. R419 provided a "It'll soon blow over" he replied as pounders tied to the handlebars of clue. When I traced its wiring, I he plodded out. his bicycle. He propped the bike up came to the line output transformer When he'd gone Steven tried it carefully and came in. via rectifier diode D406 and safety out. It seemed to be all right. Then "Hi chaps" he said, "I don't think resistor R421. The associated he put the card in and a message I've ever felt so knackered. I've reservoir capacitor is C423. What came up on the monitor — "your card walked through twenty miles of river was cooking R419? is invalid". bank mud spinning for them pike. On the other side of R419 I found Steven checked that the 5V supply Any luck with the Amstrad? Dare I a 12V, 1W zener diode (ZD401) that was correct at the test point just go home?" seemed to be short-circuit. But when above the ten-pin connector CN01. It "It's ready" Steve told him, "only a the set was switched off it read OK. was. Then I saw him blow into the matter of some tarnished contacts." So I switched on again. The field slot before reinserting the card. This "Magic!" said Jim. "I can look scan jumped up for a second or two time it worked. I looked at him. forward to an evening of peace. I can then collapsed as R419 began to get "What sort of magic was that?" I do with it, I'll tell you." hot under the collar. Was it the zener asked. Just then there was a terrific crash diode or something else? There's a "It's the card contacts" he replied. outside. A passing dog had spotted a 220uF, 16V smoothing capacitor Then he dismantled the receiver and cat sniffing round Jim's bike and had (C422) in parallel with ZD401. I cleaned them. "Third this week" he leapt at it, tripping the owner. removed and tested it, but it seemed commented. We ran out to confront a general to be OK. Because I've an inborn melee. Tripped dog owner, barking prejudice about and suspicion of Fidelity ZX4000 Chassis dog, spinning bicycle wheels and a electrolytic capacitors however I I picked up a Fidelity CTV1405R cat up a lamppost. Then Jim came decided to replace it. This time the (ZX4000 chassis) which was dead, out. field scan came up and stayed up. and started to look for the circuit. "You did say you wanted a bit of All was well. "Are the fuses intact?" Steven peace, didn't you?" I asked him. Curious, if not paranoid, about this asked. "Not just yet awhile though!"

TELEVISION March 1997 353 What a Life!

Is the world full of oddballs, Don Bullock wants to know. Or is it just that they all home in on him?

I left the shop to stack up some old Aerial Leads It was there all right, but not at the sets. When I returned, Steven Then Steven came back. "I've to other side of the 1N4937 diode was grinning. pop along to Mrs Senile" he said, D806 which was leaky. As we "Had a right oddball crone in" he "to unplug her teamaker and plug didn't have a 1N4937 I fitted a said. "Name of Swampe. Wanted in her TV set instead. I have to do BYD33D. This brought the set to us to traipse through a mile of it about once a week. When she life, and I boxed it up. A soak test riverside weeds and scrubland to finishes watching TV at night she proved that all was well. refit a coaxial plug. I've had plugs the teamaker in ready for the "Old Mr Bullock" I muttered as I dealings with the couple before. morning. Then she doesn't put the set to one side, "used to be Call you back forty times and keep understand why she can't watch old Mr Bullock. . ." I went back you waiting ages for payment. TV while she drinks her tea." outside to finish stacking my sets. Then you get the equivalent of I understood the situation all too seven and six pence. So I referred well. About half a century ago I Down by the Riverside her to Snoddy's." had a similar customer. She had a Greeneyes came in to say that Decca monochrome set with there'd been a call. "If you feel up Greeneyes' Microwave separate aerial sockets for TV and to it. Actually she said she wanted Just then Greeneyes came in, VHF radio. In those days TV the old man, not Steven. At the breathing fire. "What's Snoddy's closed early. Each weekend she'd back of Deadend Lane, down by number?" she demanded. "The plug her TV aerial into the VHF the riverside. Ever such a nice old microwave's playing up again. socket to listen to late-night radio. girl. Name of Swampe, place called You took a week to fix it last time Next morning she'd find herself Bodkin's Shack. Something to do and it's never been right since. without TV and give us a call. with an aerial." What's the matter with it — and I made to reply, but her eyes you?" A Goodmans C1401R darkened. So I got together some "Hang on" I replied. "I'm clever, As Steven left, Mrs Bustler came coaxial cable, connectors and clips, yes, even brilliant, but not in. Her husband followed, carrying and set off. clairvoyant. Last time it was the a Goodmans C1401R colour As I neared the river it started to magnetron, and we had to get one. portable. rain. The road became a track, then What are the symptoms?" "Watch that step" she said over a footpath. I gathered my bits and "When I switch it on it goes `tuh, her shoulder, "we don't want pieces, got out of the van and tuh, tuh'. It doesn't produce its anything to happen to our TV." continued on foot. I could see usual droning noise, and refuses to Then she looked at me. "Where's Bodkin's Shack in the distant, stop when I try to switch it off. the usual nice young man?" she misty scrubland. Before long I'd "Yes, you'd better ring Snoddy's. asked. got to the door and knocked. And you could tell them to send "He's gone for a crate of An emaciated old girl opened it. the bill to Crubb's Foodstore. matches" I said. "He's a firebug, "You'll be old Mr Bullock, hasn't They're into electronics." you see. What seems to be the it?" she said, "Pop and I have been Anyway, we naturally took a look trouble?" expecting you." at it. It's a Sharp R8880, which has "This thing" she replied, nodding I went into the barest room I've a grill as well. After opening it up towards the set and her husband. ever seen, with an old iron we noticed the small motor under "He does nothing, just blinks at me. woodstove whose chimney flu rose the magnetron. It opens and closes 'Ere, didn't you used to be old Mr through the roof. An ancient, thin a little flap at the back, depending Bullock?" man with glinting eyes sat in a on whether the grill or oven is I agreed to take on the set, and rocking chair close by. being used. It was trying to do this they trouped off. We've had this "Connie, get Mr Bullock a chair" but failed: the flap was offering trouble before with these Good- he said. Connie did as bidden. physical resistance because it was mans. The cause is usually the "Now fetch that plug for Mr sticking on some gunge. A STR5412 chopper chip. I sensed a Bullock." A used coaxial plug was thorough clean restored normal quick buck, but it took a bit longer. brought at once. They looked an working. The first thing to do is to check odd couple, as she stood beside "Snoddy's indeed" I commented. for about 100V at pin 2 of the chip. him.

428 April 1997 TELEVISION "It came off the aerial lead by our restored the picture. bed, look you" said the old man. While the set was on soak test I "And I want you to put it back on. noticed that it emitted a discordant, Show Mr Bullock where the cable high-pitched whine when the beam is, Connie." current was high — on bright Connie pulled open a curtain, and scenes. So I made a simple we walked through a cloud of dust stethoscope with the outer of a into their dingy bedroom. An length of coax, made sure that it ancient Ferguson monochrome set was dry (I'm not stupid), jammed of the 1400 chassis type sat on a one end into my ear and moved the stool beside the huge bed. The other end around the chopper and plugless cable hung beside it. line output circuits. I refitted the plug and tried the It didn't take long to pinpoint the set. To my surprise there was a source of the whine. The graphite reasonable picture — with the usual core of the chopper transformer vision modulation buzz on the was cracked. I glued to with epoxy sound. resin and the set stopped its We went back to the old man to whining. report that the job had been done. "I'll send you seven and six next A Dead Hitachi pension day" he said. "Now Old Miss Brittle stepped into the Connie, show Mr Bullock out." workshop gingerly. She was As we went out into the rain, accompanied by a small, watery- Connie pulled the door behind her. eyed man who was carrying an She touched my arm. Hitachi TV set. He put it on the "Please understand" she said, counter and Miss Brittle waved him "he's not my husband. I'm his away. The road became a track. . . . daughter." "This set's no use to me as it is, The old man's voice came Mr Snoddy" she said. "What's the "That's all the rotten thing does" through the gap in the doorway. use of a televisor that doesn't he said. "Connie. Come here, now" he televise?" I checked the BU508A line output piped. Connie turned and fled So now, on top of everything else, transistor, which read barely leaky. inside. I'm Mr Snoddy I thought as I took When a replacement had been It took me a while to reach the the back off the set. It was fitted fitted the set sprang to life. van. Once inside it I sat and with the G8Q chassis and, apart "Bet you can't do that with your thought. Is the world full of these from the LED display lighting, was jobs" I said. "By the way, why are oddballs, or do they just home in quite dead. you so much happier in your work on me? I checked the voltage at the HT than I am in mine?" reservoir capacitor C931. The HT "Well, my customers all come The Porkpie Hat was present, but didn't get much with the same fault, Don. No When I got back I found this chap farther. One end of the HT intermittents, and none of them in sunglasses with a cravat and a smoothing coil L931 had never give me any old buck." porkpie hat. He had a cigarette in a been soldered, so there was no "What you you get for each job?" long holder, and his fingers were voltage at the smoothing capacitor I asked him. encrusted with rings. He also had a C936. "A thousand" he replied. "Yup, gold watch as large as a mantle- When I'd cleaned off the life is good! Wanna job as my piece clock, and a loud, ringing connection and resoldered it the set assistant?" voice. worked well enough. "Don't tempt me" I said. "Slimey" he said. "Nigel Slimey, and pleased to meet you." He John Berryman Well Done! pumped my arm as though I was Our next caller was the happy and The other day we had to order a the village pump and idiot. "It's ruddy undertaker John Berryman. service manual for the Grundig El about this old Fergie portable. Got He looks more like a gamekeeper. satellite receiver-decoder. When it it here. No picture, though the "Hi Don" he called as he breezed arrived we were struck by the sound's all right." in. "How are you, eh? How are you exceptionally high quality of its He removed his sunglasses and keeping?" production. It covers the Omni and screwed a monocle into his eye "Never mind the trade enquiries, E2 chassis as well as the El, and socket. Then he stood back to look John" I replied. "Busy?" also covers receivers in the Philips, at me. "Now, can you mend it? "Champion" he said. "They're JVC and Matsui ranges. Several of Eh?!" poppin' off a treat, so I can't the fifty or so A4 pages — the ones I took the set and waived him out. complain. Anyhow, come and look with circuit and layout diagrams — It was a 16in. model, fitted with the in the van. I've a corpse that might fold out to A3 size. The quality of TX9 chassis (series 1044). When I interest you." the text and drawings has to be seen switched it on there was EHT but He beckoned me out to his big to be believed. It was obtained from the screen remained blank. I soon closed van, flung open the doors Grove Farm Publications, Long discovered that the tube's first and pointed to a GEC C2200 colour Lane, Barnby in the Willows, anode voltage was missing. R233 set. "That's him" said John. Newark, Notts NG24 2SG (01636 (300k52) in the feed to the first We carried the set to the bench 626 327). anode supply potentiometer was and I plugged it in. When I Highly recommended! open-circuit. A replacement switched it on it just squealed.

TELEVISION April 1997 429 What a Life!

Mostly faulty TV sets this time. A string of successes was followed by a nasty that brought Donald Bullock back to earth

ver the years the items we Mr Mincing When we put it on the bench it have been concerned with in Then I saw Mr Mincing carrying a was dead all right. So we opened it our trade have become ever more 14in. Ferguson TX90 from his car. up and Steve went around it with complex. What's more, they are I don't like Mr Mincing. Too loud his DC meter. When he touched the sold at prices which twenty years and familiar "Don't go away" I base of the chopper transistor the ago would have been unbelievable said to Steven. "Handle old set chirped and sprang to life. The — unthinkable even ten years ago. Mincing as best you can and think 3301d2 bias resistor R902 was People no longer bring us faulty up a few ideas on the Fergie while I open-circuit — a replacement radios to repair, unless the make the tea." Then I hurriedly restored normal operation. equipment is fairly modern and departed. "Hoolp... h000lp... ah" said incorporates a twin cassette recorder. "Wherr's 'e gone?" bawled Steven, "next please!" Even then they make it clear that Mincing. "Miserable old bugger. He didn't have long to wait. Old they are unwilling to pay more than 'Fraid I'll bite 'im he is." Miss Porcelain called in with her peanuts. New ones are just so cheap! Steven took the set and found Alba portable colour set. We no longer have to turn stacking that the problem was field collapse. "Hwuh... hwuh... oh, Mr Burper, units and and hi-fi systems away. It was the usual dry-joint trouble. it made such an unpleasant smell Their owners buy new. Portable When he'd done the necessary then went `phff'. Now there's no colour TV receivers are going the resoldering he had a picture. But it picture. Hwuh... hwuh... hwuh" she same way. So are basic VCRs. was distorted, with vertical strips of said. A week or two ago a couple of shading that varied with the setting We pursed our lips and smiled teletext sets were brought in for of the brightness and contrast sweetly. When she went we pulled repair estimates. Neither had controls. her set on to the bench. I switched serious faults, and we kept our "I 'en't watching that" bawled it on and the standby light glowed, estimates low. Yet the customers Mincing. "I wants 'im right. but the set was otherwise dead. turned into Scotch mist on hearing Steven busied himself in the After opening it up I found that one them. People don't even pick the power supply, and soon found that of the pins of L401 was sitting in a sets up. These days more and more the 2211F, 50V boost reservoir large scorched hole in the PCB. are left on our hands. capacitor C189 had fallen in value The cure was to remove all traces to only 0.01µF. A replacement of carbon and resolder the coil with Steven's Expertise cured the fault. a jumper. After that the set "'E shuts down every now and "That 'ent gonna cost much, I produced a particularly good again Mr er.. er.. hnnn hnnn" said know" Mincing commented. picture. the lean little man with the "Them resistor things cost almost Panasonic video recorder. "But if I nothin'." A Satellite Receiver taps 'im here he tries to come on, "Twelve pounds twenty five" C.C. Kilby, our next caller, is an hnnn hnnn." said Steven, boxing up the set. As expressionless accountant from a It was an NVL20B, and the Mincing gulped at the air, Steve nearby town. The C.C. stands for dusky patch on its top smelt of added "five bob for the capacitor, Complete Control. Kilby won't Guinness. But he was quite right. the rest for our time and suffering. break down and smile, or even be When I opened it up the capstan himself. Dealing with him is heavy soon stopped, followed by the rest Monitors and TVs going. of the mechanism. Mrs Twog lumbered in as we were He opened his briefcase and took Steven had been watching. "I've drinking our tea. out a Pace SS9200 receiver- had a lot of experience of this one" "Car" she said. "Hoolp... hoolp... decoder which was actually dressed he said. I stepped back and he ah." up as the Nokia SAT1500. "This tapped around plug 1 on the main Steven went to her car and instrument failed in use. Hweh.. panel. The capstan immediately returned with a Supertron colour hweh.. hweh" he said drily. "I'd be sprang to life. In no time he'd monitor. obliged if you would repair it. resoldered pin 15. "Plug 1 feeds the "Dead" said Mrs Twog. "See you Settlement in cash, of course. capstan motor" he said. tomorrow. Hoolp... hoolp... ah." Hweh.. hweh.. hweh." Then he

508 May 1997 TELEVISION walked off as though freshly asked. starched. "Elmlode 456. Huh" he said. His receiver was dead and the 1A I racked my brains for the local mains fuse had gone to its Maker. code, then looked at him. We soon discovered that the "What's Elmlode, Mr Thick?" chopper transformer T2 was faulty, "What do you mean, 'what's with all four pins on the primary Elmlode' huh, Mr Pullet." side shorted together. We ordered "Never mind" I said. and fitted a replacement, and also "Any more questions, Mr replaced the BUT11A chopper Pullet?" transistor Q1 and its 111F, 16V base I waived him out and put his set drive coupling capacitor C9. That on the bench. It was a Solavox completed the job. 22R19. When I opened it up I When C.C. Kilby came to collect found that it contained an ITT his receiver he was clearly pleased, Compact 80 chassis. I shouted the and I fancied that the germ of a news to Steven, who cheered up smile touched his face. But Steven and came over. insisted that he was suppressing a The set was dead but the standby cruel attack of wind. light was on. There was no HT supply. On further investigation we The Muck Bros saw that there was a dry-joint at The Muck brothers, Hawley and one end of an 0.011.1F, 1.6kV Malc, are a pair of jolly farmers. capacitor in the line output stage They staggered in with a huge and that one of its leadout wires 59cm Goodmans set, Model 2575. had burnt away. We replaced it and "Have a look at thisun, boys. switched on, but there were still no Kuh!" said Malc. "We don't want results. So we dived for the line to spend too much, mind. If it's output transistor, which sure more than ninety quid, say, ring us enough had shrugged off its mortal first on this joker." coil. After fitting a replacement we The Muck brothers staggered in with a huge He waved a mobile phone at us switched on and a good picture 59cm Goodmans set . . . and we took the number he gave. came up. "We'em off to the market for a "You know, Steven, I reckon this few hours. Kuh." is not such a bad trade after all" I the secondary side of the power We got them to bounce the set on said. "We've fixed several sets with supply. to the bench, and as they left we no effort at all. We're so clever we It seemed clear that the outputs removed its back and switched on. can now take all these faults in our were high because something was A few thin wisps of smoke rose stride. Yep, that'll be it." I amiss on the primary side of the from the main panel. Steven studied reckoned without Mr Sly. circuit. We eventually found that them. He homed in on the spot and C818 (11.1F, 50V) had fallen in found that link 13, which carries The Bush 2114 value to 0.5g. some spikey chopper transformer Mr Sly appeared out of thin air. We replaced C808, C810 and voltages, was dry-jointed and He's an enquiry agent-cum-bailiff, C818 and switched on. This time getting burnt up about it. and is the only man I've come the set no longer whined and we It was another case of clearing across who can swivel his eyes in were able to tune in a picture. But the carbon and resoldering the opposite directions. He was there was no sound. joint. When this had been done we carrying a Bush Model 2114. C606 (1,000µF, 25V) and C607 switched on and were rewarded "If I as much as look at it it (470µF, 25V) in the audio output with a good picture. whines" he said. "Nyahh." stage had both gone very low in We rang the Muck Bros on their We nodded understandingly and value. Replacements failed to mobile phone and were answered promised to look into it. restore the sound, and further by a bellowing bull. "Tell Hawley When we switched the set on we checks revealed that the 1 SI safety and Malc that their set's done" I found that in addition to the resistor R811 in the power supply said, "at something less than whining there was no vision and had blown. A replacement went ninety." the raster covered only the lower open-circuit immediately, so we two-thirds of the screen. We replaced the TDA2006 audio Mr Thick's Solavox noticed that two electrolytics, C806 output chip IC601. Mr Thick comes from the (1,000g, 16V) and C830 (220µF, It took us some hours of bench Severnside village of Elmlode. He 25V), had blown their tops. We time to get the set working properly. came in carrying a Solavox TV set. replaced them, checked the About half an hour later, as we Steven looked at it and started to associated rectifiers and switched were about to pass the set OK, it gibber, but I stood there resolutely on. They blew their tops once banged and showered the bench and faced Mr Thick with great more. with electrolytic innards. Steven dignity. After fitting replacements we looked at the set, then at me. "It works when you plug it in Mr studied the board. C808 (1,000g, "What was that you said about us Pullet, but it's dead" he announced. 16V) and the HT reservoir being so clever and taking the sets "Huh!" capacitor C810 (220µF, 160V) both in our stride?" he asked. "You don't say" I replied, had bulging tops. All these "I don't recall saying anything of drawing up a job card and filling in electrolytics are the kind" I retorted. "It was you his name. "Phone number?" I reservoir/smoothing capacitors on who said that."

TELEVISION May 1997 509 What a Life!

A day's collection of TV (mainly) repairs and the characters who brought them along. Donald Bullock recounts his experiences

When I saw the car draw up outside Yes it was that prat who kept mat. Only I'm a pensioner, see." and its driver start to pester a passer- prancin' about, Julian something. The set was dead apart from the by I should have nipped across to the Well blow 'im. Oney the telly's our channel indicator. The mains bridge door and locked it. I know that now, oney pleasure. Well I mean you gotta rectifier was doing its stuff, and there but I didn't then. I was curious, and 'ave a telly, aint you? An you enna was HT at both sides of the chopper as we know curiosity killed the cat. goin' t' charge us anythin' much, I transformer's primary winding. But The driver was a burly, ambling 'ope. Oney we're pensioners, see." nothing much else seemed to be hap- fellow who looked as though he lived pening. As I didn't have a circuit dia- on roast beef and cheap port wine. The Bush 2002 gram I was rather at a loss. Maybe His wife hung about behind him. When he'd departed we put his set, a the line output transistor was duff? After a bit of a flurry, the passer-by Bush 2002, on the bench. We When tested it Was OK, but I decided hauled his TV set from the back seat switched it on and found that there to fit another one anyway. This didn't and struggled towards our counter was a blank screen, with no bright- help. with it. He put it down and held the ness or sound. Steven stared at me Time to look at the power supply counter for support. He was quite an and, declining to mark the position of more carefully. It's based on an old man. the first anode preset, upped the volt- STR5412 chip, which incorporates "Thanks mate" said the driver. age. This showed that the cause of the chopper chip and its associated "Oney I've got this bad back, see. On the problem was field collapse. circuitry. Pin 2, which is connected the sick I am. Pensioner akchewly." "We'll need a 12V, 1W zener to the chopper transistor's base, As the passer-by staggered out I diode" he said, "because ZD401 will receives bias via R807 and R808, drew up a job card. "Name?" I asked. be gone. Also it's 5.60, 3W feed feedback from a secondary winding "Swigger, mate" he boomed. "Me resistor R419." on the chopper transformer, and puls- set's dead an' I can't do without 'im. "You'd better check the HT volt- es from the line output stage. I decid- What was on when he failed, Nell? age first" I commented. ed to check the resistors connected to "Know that too" he replied, spin- this pin, and found that the feedback ning his meter knobs. "Up at 135V. resistor R809 (1800, 0.5W) had Should be 115V. That means C909 gone high in value. A replacement and C911, both 47pF, 50V, in the restored normal operation, with a chopper circuit. You'll find they test nice picture and sound. all right on the bridge, but replace- ments will produce the correct HT Mrs Sad's Video voltage." Mrs Sad slid in with a tiny, slim He took them out and tested them. VCR. As I was filling in a job card a They read right. He slung them in the huge teardrop plopped on to it. Then bin and fitted replacements. When another huge tear came rolling down we switched the set on and checked her face. the HT voltage it was spot-on at "Died" she croaked. "Just like 115V. Then he replaced the zener that. All right at breakfast, singing diode and resistor. Up came the field and everything, then" — another huge scanning. tear — "he just dropped dead." "Gosh, such cleverness" I said. I find this situation difficult. I bit "S'nuthin" he replied, wobbling my lip and stood still. Time passed by. his head from side to side. "Oh Mr Bullock, I'm going to miss him awfully. He was such a Another OAP lovely canary" she said. Just then Mr Whiner came in with a "I understand" I said. "Can you Solavox 142TT. "Where's Mr tell me what's wrong with your Bullock?" he asked. VCR?" "I often wonder myself' I said. "It whirrs a bit. Otherwise it's Steven appeared, grinning. dead" she said. "Can't be much" Whiner said. It was a Sony SBF3OUB Betamax "Thanks mate. Oney I've got this bad back, "Right as rain a second before 'e machine. There was no clock display, see." went. Must be a loose wire or sum- but the drum motor was rotating. A

558 June 1997 TELEVISION fault in the 12V or the 5V supply danger of taking root. As neither had been fitted in place of the origi- seemed likely. We checked them Steven nor I was anxious to hump it nal BYX55-600. It had failed of both, at pin 3 of CN103 and pin 4 of on to the bench, it was busily collect- course. When the correct type had CN101 respectively. Both were miss- ing dust in the middle of the floor. been fitted a good picture appeared. ing. We soon found that the cause of "We'll face up to it together" I We decided to give the set a soak test the trouble was a 47pF, 25V elec- said. "You put it on your side of the and, if it passed this (it did), to charge trolytic, C115. bench, and I'll help." He did. There Wallop £15. "D'you think we ought to offer to was sound but no brightness. As he take a look at her canary?" I asked reached for the meter, I slipped off to A Toshiba V209 Steven. make the tea. Angela Mainwairing popped in with As I returned Lucy Lovebody a Toshiba V209 video which was Another Bush 2002 came in. I like Lucy. dead. We've had these machines in Mr Epongo's head is a bit bigger "My naughty TV's gone grouchy before with the same symptoms, and than normal. He was extra polite. The on me, Donnie" she breathed. headed straight for the power supply. Bush 2002 TV receiver he brought in "Bring it in and we'll look at it, Sure enough the STK7753 chip was identical to the one we'd done we sure will" I replied. IC811 and C811 (100pF) were earlier, and the symptoms were the She wiggled off and fetched it faulty. Replacing these items brought same. As we booked it in he leaned from her car, wrote her telephone the VCR back to life. forward. number on the screen with lipstick, "I've got a musical jug" he said. winked and wiggled off. Squashed up Picture "Er. . . oh, right" I said and The set was a Fidelity Super 14 Rita Ruff brought in a Hitachi returned to my writing. portable, which uses the ZX2000 CPT2478 TV set (G6P chassis). "The He touched my shoulder. "It plays chassis. Its picture was all right, but picture's all squashed up" she said, Widdicombe Fair" he said. the sound was distorted. There were "and very bright at the top. Has been "Good" I replied, giving him his no circuit reference numbers printed for months. But my husband didn't half of the ticket. on the panel. I considered developing bother to bring it in. So why should I Then off he went, gently ting- a protective migraine attack, but I thought? But here it is. Better late tinging his musical jug's tune. decided to plug in another speaker than never they says, don't 'em?" Steven took the back off the set, first. It made no difference. As I The cause of the field cramping plugged it in, looked at me brazenly reconnected the original speaker was C682 (100pF, 50V) in the fly- and upped the setting of the first however I accidentally brushed my back booster circuit. A replacement anode control without marking it. hand against a tall coil next to the cured the fault, but the excessive Field collapse. "Ah" he said, "one socket. The sound came right. I brightness had etched into the phos- more 12V zener diode and one more cleaned and reset the coil, then tried phor. The tube was irreversibly dam- 561 safety resistor." again. The fault had been cured. aged. "Okay, okay" I said, going over to Meanwhile Steven was battling the cupboard, "and here's your met- with the other Fidelity set. The tube's Tuning Trouble ter and two 47pF electrolytics. I reck- heaters were aglow, and there was The day had worn on when Egbert on you're using customers with doc- EHT. This time upping the first came in. He's forty, doesn't work, tored sets to prove how smart you anode control's setting had no effect. draws his strength from his bible and are." A check at the tube's base to see his living from his parents. He He fitted the diode, the safety whether the 370V first anode supply brought in their Hitachi C2118T TV resistor and the two capacitors, blew was present showed that it was miss- set because it no longer tuned in pro- on his knuckles, and switched on. ing. Steven looked into the cause and grammes. There was an almighty bang, and found that the metal tag to which the We decided to look at it while he acid-laced capacitor flock peppered lead is soldered had corroded from waited. Then it would be time to our faces. C909 had exploded. the print. When it was cleaned off pack up. So we opened the set up, After spending a long time search- and resoldered there was a good pic- confirmed the fault, and found that ing for the reason, he noticed that the ture. there was no tuning voltage at the capacitors I'd given him were of a tuner as the bar traversed the screen. different make. It's common for the An Irate Customer The tuning voltage supply is derived negative leadout wire of an elec- Mr. Wallop didn't look too pleased from the HT line via R044 (12k52, trolytic capacitor to be identified by a as he struggled in with a Ferguson 0.5W) and R144 (101a 0.5W). black line down the side of the case. TX10 TV set. R044 was open-circuit. These capacitors had the usual black "If ever a chap asked for a back- "I had an identical set with tuning line, but set into it there was a tiny hander it's that tall, thin fellow at trouble the other day" Steven com- plus sign, indicating that the leadout Snoddy's" he bellowed. "This set lost mented, "but in that one only chan- wire was the positive connection. its brightness. They kept it for two nels 1-4 would tune — and they were He looked at me as though I was months, charged me fifty quid, and it right up at the wrong end of the scale responsible, cleaned off his face and went for just ten minutes. When I and overlapped. There was also the panel, then fitted replacement took it back he waved me out. Said I sound and vision interference. It was capacitors the right way round.When was mad expecting to get such an old the same resistor, but it had risen to the set was switched on again a per- set mended. Got an answer for every- about 35kil instead of going open- fect picture appeared. thing, he has. But I could give him an circuit. 'ammering he wouldn't laugh off." We boxed up Egbert's set and put A Brace of Fidelities When he'd gone we put the set on it on the counter for him. The phone rang. It was Mr Prism, the bench and switched it on. It was "Egbert" I said, the day endeth, wondering how his 20in. Fidelity tripping. We looked at the power and we're nackered. Give us this day CTM2000T was coming along. The supply and noticed that D702 had fifteen pounds, and take the set back truth was that it wasn't. It was in recently been replaced. But a BY228 to your parents."

TELEVISION June 1997 559 What a Life!

Stranger than ever customers, this time mainly with VCRs. Donald Bullock on his experiences at the counter and the workbench

"Tellywise, Mr. Bull, I've got prob- been fitted the 24V supply and the annoy this nice young man if you lems" gasped scruffy Burt Crust as field scanning were restored. I went carries on like that." he staggered in with a monster TV off to make the tea. "Right" said Steven, having totted set. "Hope it ain't going to cost too up the bill. "Fifteen pounds altogeth- much, 'cos I've also got problems Mrs Bagstone and Sammy er, Mrs Bagstone." moneywise." As I went out Mrs Bagstone barged The lady froze, shut one eye and "Quiet, Crust" I said, brewing up in with her awful child Sammy. glowered at him. "Next time I'll see the sweetest smile I could muster, "Ah, the old 'un's out" she said to the old man" she hissed, "you're just "or I might develop problems tern- Steven. "Good. E's got so soddin' a rotten little upstart. Plain ignorant. perwise." The set was a Grundig slow, ain't 'e? An' too much mouth Supercolour B7500 (CUC220 chas- lately." As she swung a Samsung Different Job, Different sis). "What's up with it?" I asked. SI1260 VCR on the counter Sammy Customer "Trouble picturewise" he said. playfully set about swapping the job What a contrast! Our next customer "Well, worser really. There's just a cards on the sets on the floor, then was Juliette Applebright. Poetry in line, like." He cast his eyes around. started to dismantle the remote con- motion. Quite properly, she ignored "Where's that nice young chap with trols by using them as hammers. Steven and smiled at me. all the savvy? Hell have it done in "Don't be brazen, Sammy" Mrs "Could you do something for no time." Bagstone bawled. Then, to Steven, me?" she breathed. I waved him out and he disap- "he's ever so brazen. Just like 'is I felt the need to say something peared as though riding a bike dad. Oh, his 'ead don't go round." up-to-date and snappy "Affirmative" against the wind. Steven looked first at Sammy, I said, huskily. Steven came in and I jerked my then cottoned on and looked at the She smiled and waved toward her thumb at Crust's set. "Field col- machine. car. Out crawled Pimple, her some- lapse" I said, "and the customer By the time I'd made the tea she'd what lacking boyfriend. He wafted wants you to do it." gone and Steven had the top off her in, barely able to deal with the He went over the usual joints, VCR. The display was all right, also weight of her Panasonic NVG21 then had a good tap around, but the E-E operation. But neither the drum VCR. raster wouldn't open out. I noticed a nor the capstan revolved. Time to "All crooked" he croaked, leaning mint but dusty circuit sheet tucked check the outputs from the power forwards and waving his face about into the floor of the set and pointed supply. There was no always 15V in front of mine. "All crooked — the to it. output, and it didn't take long to picture like." Steven dusted it off, opened it out establish that the 1N4001 diode As they departed, Steven took the and started to check voltages. D212 was open-circuit. When this VCR and plugged it in. The picture Eventually he traced his way to the had been replaced the always 15V was all right at first.Then it began to deflection module, which contains supply came up but the problems wave and dance about. It then the line generator and field timebase remained. The 5V supply was miss- became steadier. And so on circuits. "There's a voltage here ing because D109, another 1N4001 Steven gave the machine the usual that's hard to check" he said. "They diode, was leaky. This time the new initial head and tape transport sevice call it voltage D, but it comes 1N4001 diode got everything going. and tried again more in hope than straight from a winding on the line Steven had barely finished when expectation.He then studied its oper- output transformer, as pulses." Mrs Bagstone returned. ation. "Can"t power the field timebase "It's done, Mrs Bagstone" he "The capstan and drum speeds are with pulses" I said. smiled. "I had to replace a couple of varying" he announced as he settled But by now Steven had discov- diodes." down to the task of getting it right.A ered an SKE4G1/04 rectifier diode "Already?" she bawled. "Only new BA6430S chip (IC2001) made (D2761) on the module. One of took you ten minutes. Diodes are no difference, but when he moved those little oblong things, as big as cheap, ain't they? So you won't be the machine towards the light the half an Oxo cube. "Don't like those" charging me will you?" Then she picture became normal. He evental I said, "it's bound to be open-cir- turned to Sammy, who was stabbing ly found that the fault could be con- cuit." the set tops with our ball pen. trolled by flexing the main panel, It was. When a replacement had "Sammy, don't be brazen. You'll and after a lengthy time with the

664 July 1997 TELEVISION magifier and iron he discovered a with her son Oscar. She was carry- dry-joint in the servo section.Once ing an Akai VS427EKV VCR while :1 .1 this had been resoldered themachine he was nursing a large pile of worked normally. coloured handbills. "Give 'em a few, son" said Mrs The Major Barger. "The sooner you gets rid of I ..I 1 • I Our next caller was Major Hagget, 'em the better." , ...• who strode in with a Philips colour "Don't like to, mam" said the boy. ; set. She bundled him into the shop, I •\4; "Morning Bullock" he bristled. and as she put the recorder on the - "Now, I hope this set doesn't drive counter he dropped all his handbills. you as mad as it has me. OK for "It's jammed up" she said, tap- days, then it cuts out. Sound and all. ping the machine. "We took it to Wants a spell on the jankers if you Snoddy's first 'cos they gives free ask me. Anyhow, over to you. I photos of the Spices Girls, but after want it right, so do your best." Then looking at it they recommended he strode out. you." :?T`f Obviously one for Steven. He put Meanwhile Steven was reading it on his bench and tried it. The set one of the handbills. :gE:4 was one of those fitted with theKT3 "Snoddy's for all your repairs" he chassis — the model number was read out. "Speed and efficiency about two feet long. It worked all combined." right, and continued to do so for "What are you handing these "He's ever so brazen, just like 'is dad." several days. Then it suddenly hic- things out for?" I asked. cuped a few times, with the sound "Five quid" she said as she money. A pint of beer was a shilling cutting out and the picture momen- scooped them off the floor. "Wanna then." tarily collapsing to a large, bright few on the counter for your cus- pool in the centre of the screen. tomers?" Ecclesiastical Matters After that it recovered and worked We waved her out and put her A large scruffy car with a running normally again for ages. machine on the bench. It refused to board swung into view outside. Out Our problem was the fault's brief rewind because the right-hand bundled the portly Reverend Goode. duration. The set returned to normal spool's brakes stayed on. In the fast- His timid curate, the Reverend operation before we could do any- forward mode the idler wasn't mak- Blande, followed. He was carrying a thing. We tried removing the back ing contact with the spool. We Samsung video. and covering it with several layers cleaned everything and carried out "Bless you, gentlemen" beamed of thick blanket, but even then we lubrication as necessary, but this the reverend. "My curate has prob- didn't have time to take any diag- made no difference. So we looked at lems." nostic action. So we decided to try a the mode switch. It was very tar- "Problems" said the curate. cold repair. nished, but cleaned up like new. We nodded understandingly. We took out the power supply When we'd refitted it the machine "It's the flecking picture" said the module and set about cleaning off worked well. reverend. and remaking every soldered joint. We then sat down and assessed We spun round. Then we did the same with the time- our stress levels as a result of her "Little flecks all over the place" he base generator panel and the line unreasonable behaviour, including continued. output stage. This took us hours and the handbills. We decided we'd "Little flecks" said the curate. got us nowhere. The fault remained. need two pints of beer each to set us They left the machine andtrouped We eventually found that slight right. Taking this into account, we out. It was an SI1260, and the pic- pressure around the line output worked out her bill. ture it produced was covered with transformer would sometimes pro- interference blips. When the sharp- duce the fault. Further probing A Hairdryer ness control was adjusted, the blips brought us to the cause of the trou- Our next customer brought in a almost disappeared at one point. We ble, which was where the EHT lead modern hairdryer that appeared to gave the machine a basic service to is connected to the transformer. The be part hedgehog. It's mains lead see whether this would help. It did- insulation at the end of the lead is was open where it met the plug. n't. stripped back half an inch and After repairing that I tried it. As After further checks we decided pressed home into a socket within there was a terrible clattering noise, that the probable cause of the prob- the overwind moulding. The bare I swiftly withdrew the plug from the lem was hash on a DC supply. We part of the lead had a spark-tar mains supply. checked the feeds to the signal cir- nished end. We cleaned it off, "The noise is normal" Steven cuits, then those to the power stages, retinned it, pressed it firmly back said. "Lots of 'em make that noise all to no avail. Before long the only and tried again. The fault had been nowadays." item we'd not looked at was the front cured. I looked at him in disbelief. control panel. There are two PCBs "Good work" the major cried "Well, there''s no need for it" I said. here, connected by a ribbon-cable when he collected his set. "If there's "Forty years ago they were silent. plug-and-socket (CN704 and another war I'll do my best to get Favourite was the Morphy Richards. CN701) assembly. Careful examina- you called up first. We'd need men I liked them because each one had a tion revealed that the stranded con- of your calibre." paper capacitor in the handle. It ductor to connector ten was splayed, would go short-circuit and stop the and that a single strand was split and Mrs Barger and Oscar thing working. I fixed them for a was touching connector nine. Mrs Barger appeared at our door couple of quid a time. Not bad Tidying this up cured the fault.

TELEVISION July 1997 665 What a Life!

Don Bullock on the trade and his experiences with customers and their equipment

hen I first fell into the clutches having it done"? paying no attention to its initial posi- Wof this trade I thought that the We've tried everything over the tion, there was brightness with field servicing side was full of problems. years, including asking the customer collapse. If it's any help, the set is Little did I know what lay ahead. to pay for a manual. But after doing a similar to the Matsui 2086T." Then Then, the number of different prod- few sums on their fingers they usual- he was off. ucts you might have to deal with ly start asking questions. I soon found that there was no could be counted on one hand. There "If I spend £20 on a manual, what 12V supply because the 1W zener were radio receivers, record players if you fmd that expensive parts are diode ZD401 was short-circuit. Its and television sets. And as far as I required?" The upshot is that they feed resistor was open-circuit. The can recall they were all British, decide against forking out on spec. input to this network is obtained from which meant that spares and circuits So we generally accept equipment a line output transformer fed rectifier. were pretty close to hand. for repair in the hope that we can A check here produced a reading of There was the agency bugbear of carry out the work without embark- 45V off load, so all seemed to be course — for those of us who weren't ing on a ruinous bout of spending. well. Another easy job I thought, as I agents. Manufacturers like Ekco and Lately, while I was in Spain, two replaced the resistor and diode then Murphy would supply spares and ser- such jobs were brought to us. One switched on. The field opened out, vicing information only to their offi- was a Ferguson 3V44 VCR (similar and there was a good picture. I decid- cially appointed dealers. If we needed to the JVC HRD140). The other was ed that life was fine — passable at any anything we would be told to a Cambridge ARD200 receiver- rate. approach one of these. They could decoder. Both had obscure faults, and But after two minutes the field usually be counted upon to be less we had no information on either of began to shrink and a smell of hot than helpful, often condescending as them. The VCR belonged to a friend, plastic filled the air. I disconnected well. But the number of sets involved and we were anxious to help. Our the bits I'd fitted and checked for was not great, and there were usually usual suppliers couldn't supply man- shorts. As there weren't any, I left ways round the problem. uals — because the VCR was "too them disconnected and checked the The majority of manufacturers old" and the ARD200 "too obscure". HT voltage. The reading was high, didn't have strict agency arrange- After scanning the classified 127V instead of 114V. Then I saw ments and would sell to us all. They advertisement pages of Television I that C909, a 47pF, 25V electrolytic were also glad to give technical telephoned a small firm called that's the reservoir capacitor for the advice, and provided free service Fryems and left a message on the LT supply on the primary side of the manuals. A phone call requesting one answering machine. Within an hour a chopper circuit, had swollen and would often bring it by return, some- bright and personable chap called stretched its jacket. It had also gone times with a wad of other manuals as Colin telephoned us — in Spain — to high in value — when checked it pro- well. confirm that he could help with both duced a reading of 82pF. Today it's all a jungle. There are items. The manuals arrived here I fitted a replacement, rated at thousands of different makes of shortly afterwards — at a total cost of 50V, replaced ZD401 and its feed scores of different products. Finding £10. That's what I call service! resistor once again, and switched on. a source of spares can be impossible. Up came a picture. When I checked And even when manuals are avail- A Bush 2002 the HT voltage the reading was able, they can be prohibitively expen- "Can you manage on your own this 118V. Slight adjustment of the +B sive. morning?" Steven asked, "I'm slip- preset VR901 reduced it to 114V. Time and time again we find our- ping out to buy a house." I was back The set behaved well during a soak selves in need of technical data to in the UK. test. diagnose the cause of a fault with a "Right" I said. There was a dis- piece of equipment we've not seen mantled Bush 2002 TV set on his Miss Drudge the like of before. If it's a VCR, the side of the bench - which is nearest to The phone rang. "Will you come and manual might cost £15-£25. Do we the shop counter. help, Mr Bullock?" asked a strained, fork out in the hope that the repair, "Perhaps you'd go on with this dry old voice. "This is Miss Drudge, and our payment, will be quick and one" he said. "According to the ticket number 86. Mother's set has gone easy? If we do, what happens should it's dead, but it isn't. When I upped again." At that she put the phone the customer decide "not to go on the setting of the first anode preset, down.

740 August 1997 TELEVISION Miss Drudge has no interest in Just then a bright young fellow watching television or in anything with a thick briefcase came in. He else. She's a colourless soul who has was obviously a commercial trav-- ended up as her domineering moth- eller. I got the impression that he'd er's lackey. Her mother, now eighty, come straight front a confidence sits with a rug over tier knees, issu- course. ing quiet demands to her daughter.. He switched on a winning smile I asked Greeneyes to watch the and winked at me. "I've got some- shop as I popped along to number thing here that'll revolutionise your 86. The set is a Ferguson 22D1 business" he said triumphantly as he (TX100 chassis), Its picture seemed dropped a 13A mains socket on to to be all right to me, so I looked at the counter. Miss Drudge, then at the old woman. "How come?" I asked. She was staring straight ahead. "This socket ends all the drudgery "Tell him," she said. of housewiring" he said. "Every "Tell him what?" asked her ounce of the drudgery. Now, ask me daughter. why?!" "Tell him the picture flies around "But we don't do housewiring" I then turns into a line when the set's said. been on for an hour." His grin went and he looked at Miss Drudge turned to me. "After our floorful of TV sets. "Oh, right" an hour the picture goes round and he said, and was gone. turns into a line Mr Bullco" she said. A minute later he was back. "Please mend it for us." "Hey, [ye got a set for repair in the I took the set hack to the work- hoot. I was taking it to Snoddies, but shop and gave it a soak test under a since I'm here..." He brought it in blanket. It failed, just as they had and left it with us, said. So I replaced the TDA3652 I hoisted it on to the bench. It was field output chip 106, then gave the a Nokia Model FX6332 the on set another soak test. It failed again, with the Euro .Mono chassis. WI-J',1 just as before. switched it on there was an EHT rus- I let it cool down then tried again, tle then the set tripped and shut only this time I left a digital meter down. connected to pin 5 of the line output "1 hat. a the line output transistor'' A smell of hot plastic filled the air. transformer to measure the HT volt- said Ste 'n. Sol dismantled the set. age. After half an hour the meter dis- and •_•itecked the transistor (5T10, play started to flicker and the voltage type S200(JA). It was leaky. A treatment and pulled it on to the reading began to rise from its norrnal replacement restored normal opera- bench. It was a Network NWC1410. 119V. When the voltage reached tion. When it was switched on it worked 155V the field began to roll, As the "Are you suddenly psychic'?" I all right, but after an hour the pic- voltage rose further there was field asked Steven ture slowly faded away, leaving the collapse. "Nab" he replied, "just done one sound. I took the back off and the This time I replaced the like it." picture slowly returned. This kept TDA4600-2 chopper control chip on happening. The job turned out to 1C7. Also R114 in the chopper tran- Old Abe be a slow one. sistor's base drive circuit. This resis- Just then I saw Old Abe standing by I eventually saw what I suspect- tor had risen to over twice its correct the door. He lives alone in a river- ed. The tube's heaters were going value of 0-39a When the set was side hut. with a couple of 14in. out. In the fault condition there was given another soak test it behaved portable TV sets, a car battery and a no voltage across the tube base screwdriver. While watching one set panel pins for the heaters. But there As I walked in with the set Nl;o, he messes about with the other one was plenty of voltage at P451, Drudge opened tier purse and sia,rt:si then brings it to us to repair. We which makes the connection to the to take out some notes. Her face 11A mend it and charge him accordingly. main chassis. In this model the lost some of us doleful expression. I Then he uses that one and messes heater voltage is stabilised by a pair reconnected the set and told her that about with the other one. When he of wire-wound resistors (IQ and it was now all right. She lent over brings us a set he walks the ten miles 2c2) which are connected in series. her mother. • and carries it in a horrible old blan- Both are on the tube base panel. "Mr Bull nc..has: ;headed y011f ket. It was a warm day, and Abe was They are designated R920. set. It's all That's good, as high as his blanket. When tested they read all right. isn't it?" "Morning Mr Bullock, Sir" he Then, suspecting that they were "Leave it on .,. t othec com- said. "I've 'ad a bit of good luck, Mr dry-jointed, I took them out, manded. as Miss Drudge frantically Bullock. Someone's given me a cleaned off their leads and resol- pushed sonic I ni. nto my hand. I colour telly. Only 'e don't go for dered them to the board. This didn't smiled at her iat.1 toiik iny leave. long." make any difference. On closer Sonic people have a trying tins' "Right Abe" I said, slipping examination I discovered that there windwards. "Take your blanket back was a hairline crack in the tiny bit The Commercial Traveller and call in next week." of print that provides a link between Steven came in as I got back. "Did —rhank 'ee kind, Mr Bullock. these two resistors. A tiny jumper you buy a house?" I asked. "Yep" he Bye, bye for now, Sir." lead to bridge the break cured the said. gave the set some foam cleaning trouble.

TELEVISION August 1997 741 What a Life!

Don sees a man cry for the first time and recalls some lighter moments since his last column

was talking to John Stacey, who up at a caravan to repair a set, with my customers had bad backs. Those is about my vintage, the other a mate. They had to wait outside the who didn't had no idea how to carry I day. He has been self-employed door while its owner, a young lady, a set — with the tube's face towards down Devon way for more years got dressed. When she finally let your chest — and because I grew than he cares to recall. Like me, he them in she apologised and added tired of their antics I usually took came into the trade when the only that she often watched TV while the set from our rack and carried it TV was BBC in monochrome. He undressed. to the waiting car. had some interesting tales to tell. "I hope they can't see me at the One day a young pap called in, John recalled going out to BBC" she said, "they can't, can paid for his repaired set then started demonstrate an electric shaver to a they?" to prance around it, wondering farmer. The farmer took his time "Well, it's not something we put where to start. trying it, then said "I've a good about" his mate replied, "because "Don't worry" I said, "I'll carry mind to buy it but, tell me, will it it's a trade secret. But, yes, they it out for you — I've done it often do my toenails without any trou- can." enough." I hoisted the set, lifted it ble?" Things can go wrong for all of up against my chest and sped off On another occasion he showed us of course. I recall an occasion towards the door. As I reached it, when, towards the end of an the set's mains lead caught on the evening spent making deliveries, door handle, yanking the set from my mate Algey and I decided to my hold. It landed with quite a pop into the Magpie for a drink. crunch. There was just one set left to deliv- I've never seen a man cry before, er, a 14in. ITT portable. Its plastic and felt about an inch high. cabinet had a moulded handle. There was a fortunate end to this The house we took it to was story. The damage was confined to fronted by a lawn. This had a path the cabinet, and another of my cus- with a row of fenceposts and an tomers was a professional french- ornamental chain leading to the polisher. He made it look like new, front door. Algey, refreshed by his for just £3, all in a day. But it cost pint, found a burst of energy. He me a lot in extra work. I had to strip jumped out of the van with the set, everything out of the cabinet, ran up the path, and jabbed his including the tube, then fit it all thumb on the bellpush. As he did back again. so, he brought the set up ready to The customer, who scrutinised hand it over. It hit the nearest post the set in vain for signs of damage, of course, and when the customer made a complete recovery! opened the door he found Algey holding a neatly severed plastic Miss Drudge - 2 handle. The rest of the set was on One of our customers is a his front step. formidable old woman who lives in The man's face produced a show a chair in front of her TV set. This is I shall never forget. It displayed a permanently on, so that she can sequence of just about every con- resume her viewing whenever she ceivable expression from a smile of wakes from her doze. The other day greeting to one of sheer disbelief. we had another call from her ageing Algey's plight was also something daughter Miss Drudge. to behold. "Mother's set is playing up again, Mr Bullock" she said flatly. "Can Cash and Carry you come as quickly as possible?" In later years I discouraged house Because I felt sorry for her, I calls in favour of providing a cash called round right away. The old Algey delivers an ITT portable's handle . . . and carry service. This led to the woman, now well into her eighties, discovery that about two thirds of was sitting as usual with her shawl

800 September 1997 TELEVISION over her legs, looking at the screen. tually, as there was nothing else Mutt, who aims to be a pop singer as The set, a Ferguson 22D1 left to check, we tested the line soon as his IQ rockets to 25. He car- (TX100 chassis), had a picture. But output transistor again. It was dead ries a guitar everywhere, but has yet its geometry was awful. There was short! A replacement restored nor- to discover how to play it. He too much width, EW distortion and mal operation. humped in a huge, 26in. Loewe a band of line frilling. When either When Esse returned to collect it Contour S124 colour receiver the width control RV72 or the pin- she said that she would be bringing (C8500 chassis). cushion control RV71 was moved her Mitsubishi VCR in for service. "When I swishes 'im on, like, the the band of frilling would shift up "I'd have everything Mitsubishi if I lickol light 'd come on, then 'e'd go and down the screen — in addition to could" she trilled. "I'm going to out" he said. "Har, har, har. Auhhh." affecting the width and EW correc- buy a speedboat soon. Is there a Steven backed off. Being of stern- tion slightly. Mitsubishi one?" er stuff, I booked the set in and "Tell him I can't watch that" the "Sure to be" I said. waved him out. old woman said. "I've been thinking" Steven said "We'd better look at this set "Mr Bullock knows you can't afterwards. "I've had that fault together" I said to Steven when he watch it, Mother" the daughter sequence before with this chassis. finally poked his face around the replied. "That's why he's here." She The transistor tests OK then, after workshop door. "Help me on to the looked utterly worn out. replacing a faulty transformer, the bench with it, will you. We'll put it I had to take the set back to the transistor is found to be dead short. on your side, shall we?" workshop where son Paul, who now We'd better replace both items I handed him a screwdriver to get works with Steven, tackled it. He together next time." the back off. "I could do with a cup found that he could remove the of tea" I said, "couldn't you?" When frilling completely. But the set's line Fidelity ZX3000 Chassis he nodded I skipped off to make it. linearity then became terrible. After "Time we saw the back of this When I returned with the tea a good deal of checking he found one" said Steven, hauling a Steven was working around the the cause of the trouble. R143, the Fidelity CTM2000T (ZX3000 TDA4600 chopper control chip. "Its 6.852 safety resistor in the feed to chassis) on to the bench. No vision, supply at pin 9 is varying" he said. the line driver stage, had risen in sound or channel display was the "Find out why" I suggested, ever value to some 330Q. A new resistor complaint. helpful. Before long he took out the plus setting up produced a good pic- Some quick checks showed that relevant reservoir capacitor, C626 ture. the 12V supply was missing. We (100pF, 25), and gave it to me to When I took the set back and discovered a bad dry-joint at the test. connected it up the scowl left the old MC7812 regulator, which is "Varies as you watch the meter" I woman's face. mounted on a heatsink close to the said. Between 15-30pF. Guess it's "Tell Mr Bullock I'm very line output transformer. This was- faulty. pleased" she told her daughter. n't clear initially, because the regu- He shot me a sideways look and "Mother is very pleased, Mr lator is hidden by the infuriating fitted the replacement I handed him. Bullock" Miss Drudge said flatly. plastic cradle in which the panel sits. When he switched the set on there "Now I must pay you." was EHT but no brightness or sound. As I left I reflected on the hope- A NordMende Portable "I'll up the first anode voltage" he less life Miss Drudge led. Hazel Nutt is one of those modern said, "without bothering to mark the girls — big, tall, fit looking and out- preset's position." I saw the look of Mitsubishis going. perversity in his face. Bit like Green- Esse Phipps drew up outside in a "It's this telly" she announced. eyes, I thought. As expected, there huge Mitsubishi car. She got us to "It's got a permanent wave. Ha ha was field collapse. collect her TV set from it. This ha!" She shuffled and leant over on "No sound, no field scanning" I wasn't easy — it was a 25in. her long legs, like a demented wick- said, mainly to display my powers of Mitsubishi colour set, Model et-keeper. observation. "Must be a common CT2534 (Euro 4 chassis). The set was horrible too. An old cause." "Dratted thing won't go" she NordMende colour portable, Model He carried out some checks said in her cut-glass voice. "Too 1534 (F10 chassis). We gave the HT around the TDA1872A field time- bad, what?" circuitry the once-over and found a base chip 1561 and soon found that The set was stuck in standby. dry-joint at the negative side of the the 12V supply was missing. When After some routine checks we HT bridge rectifier's 470pF, 160V he traced the source of this he came found that the cause of the trouble reservoir capacitor CP11. to the LM7812 regulator chip 1553. was in the line output stage. The Resoldering this joint clear-ed the There was an input here but no out- 2SD1877 line output transistor fault. put. Q552 tested perfectly, which led us When Hazel returned to collect I handed him a replacement. to the transformer (T553). When the set she was dressed for hockey When he'd fitted this there was we took it out we found that pins and was carrying a stick thing. sound and field scanning. After 1, 2, 6 and 7 were all shorted "Do you play hocky much, Mr adjusting the first anode supply pre- together, linking the HT supply to Bullock?" she asked. set, which I'd hoped would give him chassis. "Never seem to get the time, trouble, there was a good picture. We ordered a new transformer unfortunately" I replied, stepping "That was an intensive bit of from SEME, at a very reasonable back a bit. "But I think Steven and work, wasn't it?" I commented. "I'd price. It arrived by return. But Paul do, er, don't you lads?" like another cup of tea. How about when we fitted it the fault was still But they had disappeared. you?" present. He looked at my empty mug, then We spent a good deal of time The Pop Hopeful at his own. "Haven't touched mine searching for a further short. Even- Our final visitor that day was Seth yet. Don't seem to have had time."

TELEVISION September 1997 801 What a Life!

Don gets them all, from the rough (very) to the well-dressed lady magistrate, not to mention the supercilious school teacher • • • All in a day's work

ome of the flying insects here A rather bolshie man had called with my service case. I was greeted in Spain are quite bizarre. him out to look at his set. For most at the door by a huge, seventeen- SOne is a huge, stocky-looking of the time it produced a perfect stone lady. dragonfly thing. It has a black- picture. But from time to time the "Go on up, Doctor" she bawled bronze, bullet-shaped body. The picture and sound would fade out in a voice like a saw on a sheet of problem is that it swoops and and remain absent for ages. Then a tin. "Don't take no notice of 'is cruises around noisily at head perfect picture would suddenly nasty mouth. Just give him a shot height. return, only to go again. After lis- of summat quieting, I would. Whilst here lately I ran into tening carefully to the complaint, Proper pain in the neck the old boy Mike and Karen, a popular couple Mike popped outside to examine is. Time he was put away with who run a friendly and efficient the aerial system, starting with the some of that Yoothnasia, if you television and video business. As dish. The customer followed him asks me." we were swapping yarns, one of out. After completing his examina- I stopped and coughed. She these bugs droned by. It reminded tion, Mike voiced his suspicions. shielded her eyes and glowered at Mike of a technical tale. "I think something lives in me. "Good God" she brayed, there" he grinned, pointing at the "what's the National 'Ealth comin' LNB. to?!" "Never mind the jokes" said the "I'm not the doctor" I faltered. customer, "I want this bloody lot "I've called to see your television." working." "Oh, 'av you indeed. An't you At that point a huge insect flew got one of your own then?" She out of the LNB horn and swooped turned to her scruffy, fat daughter. on the customer. "'Ear that Beryl? Man wants to "See what I mean" said Mike, watch our telly! Whatever next?!" when the customer had recovered. "You called me here" I said, Mike's remedy was simple. He waving my job card. "Bullock's it crumpled up a piece of plastic is." mosquito netting and shoved it into She drew herself up to her full the horn. four feet two. "Get out, you filthy- It took the customer longer to mouthed beast. How dare you! In regain his equanimity enough to front of my daughter, too. You find his wallet . . . could do with a good spell in the army. And the birch!" Back in Blighty I know when I'm beaten. So I "I wish you'd call on Mrs ducked back to the van and headed Salcombe" said Steven. "She's a for the Stannards. rough handful, I can tell you. I can't handle her type. But you, At the Magistrate's with your experience and tact.. . They live amongst the toffs on Then there's Mrs Stannard, the Paradise Hill. As I went through local magistrate. She likes you." their gate a dog as large as a horse I blew on my nails. Delightfully came licking and nudging and humble of Steven I thought — sniffing at me. I must say that I'm though it's true that I am very not particularly partial to dogs, big clever, a cut above average. So I or small. "Do give him a pat and tell him how good he is!" breezed along in the van to No. 17, The well-dressed Mrs Stannard

892 October 1997 TELEVISION glided out. "Oh, Collingbourne diode D808 was short-circuit. keeps going wrong. It's the wants to be friends!" she said as the There had obviously been an HT Ferguson, the one you call a dog pushed me over. "He likes you, surge. The STR50020 chopper chip TX100. There's no picture. Could Mr Bullock! Do give him a pat and IC801 is suspect in this event. you repair it, Mr Bullock, er . . tell him how good he is." Another suspect in these sets is without too much delay, if it's pos- I got to my feet and tried to C813, a 47pF, 50V electrolytic in sible? Only mother doesn't like smile. Then I wove towards the set the regulation feedback circuit. being without her television, Mr in her lounge. It was a 24in. After replacing these items Paul Bullock . . . She doesn't like . . ." Panasonic, Model TX24T1 (Alpha switched the set on. There was now The truth, and we knew it, is 2W chassis), with a very fuzzy pic- HT at the mains bridge rectifier's that for poor Miss Drudge living ture. So much so that all you could reservoir capacitor C810, but the with her mother was hell. Living make out were vague shadows. It set remained dead with no standby with her when the set failed was looked as if heavy frost covered the light. A check on the 5V supply at purgatory extended. So Paul and I screen. pin 42 of the microcontroller chip bowled round to look at it. I flicked over the service switch. ICA06 produced a reading of only There was just a raster. But Instead of field collapse, the image 0.22V. where was the aerial flylead and its looked like a horizontal lemon. The 5V supply is derived from coaxial plug? The old woman's fat After checking the EHT and the the front of the power circuit, cat was asleep in the shaft of sun- supply to the RGB output stages I where a feed from the bridge recti- light behind the set. I rolled it over moved to the tube base panel. The fier is taken via RA25 (6.21(52) to — ever so gently! — to reveal the red and green cathodes were both the BC337 standby switching tran- plug. As the cat raced away franti- about right at 150V, but the blue sistor QA08. This transistor was cally I restored the picture. cathode reading was zero. Further short-circuit, but a replacement did- "Thank you Mr Bullock" cack- checks revealed that the blue drive n't restore results. Further checks led the old woman as Miss Drudge peaking coil L352 was open-circuit. showed that the 5.1V zener diode arrived, all hot and bothered. Then A replacement restored perfect DA03 and the BC557 transistor she barked at Miss Drudge. results. QA05 were both short-circuit. "Where have you been? Pay Mr Mrs Stannard was pleased. Hence the low voltage at pin 42 of Bullock at once." "We've just returned from holiday, the microcontroller chip. Replacing "No need" I said as we made Mr Bullock" she laughed. "A friend these last two items finally restored our exit, "have this one on us." I of ours stayed here. When the set normal operation. Paul, looking gave Miss Drudge a secret wink as failed they called that awful relieved, sunk into a chair with his we departed. Snoddies place. Apparently the tall, tea. thin man called. Quoted £250 plus Bodmin Business VAT to repair the set!" Walter Bean I had a note from Vic Rummery a Walter Bean is another of those while back. He and his wife Sleepy Ossie teachers who talk to us as though Marjorie run a TV servicing busi- I arrived back at the workshop just we are schoolkids. He had with him ness in Bodmin, Cornwall. He'd as Sleepy Ossie Ointment rolled in a Samsung VIK346 VCR. Before enjoyed what he called Rebecca's with A Bush 1408 portable. His addressing us he undid his jacket "libellous" article (September '96) face curled into a smokey grin. button, slipped a hand into his and told us about a couple of Then he locked his eyes on mine trouser pocket and presented us recent customer experiences. and talked as though he'd had a with a good view of the underside One chap had called and asked couple. of his chin. for a suitable aerial system for the "There ain't no picture on 'im, "This machine ah hisses in ah locality. Vic advised him on what Mr Bullock. Just a snowy screen. standby and ah blinks off when ah was required and supplied the cor- Do 'im if 'e's cheap. Not if 'e's switched on" he said. rect type. A few days later the dear." "We'll have ah look at ah it" I chap's wife rang. She said they'd "What's cheap and what's dear, said. erected the aerial but it hadn't Ossie?" I asked. But he'd slunk off. The cause of the trouble was in cured the trouble, which must be The cause of the trouble turned the power supply of course. Yet an- due to something else. Could they out to be simply a dry-joint in the other case of electrolytic capacitor return the aerial and have their tuner. So I charged Ossie £9.99 for trouble. When we had replaced C38 money back? doing the job and a penny for the (1,000pF, 10V) all was well. Another card phoned late one solder. But there was nothing we could Saturday night to say that the set do for Bean. He's spent too long he'd just bought from a shop in Another Portable wielding power over those unfortu- Plymouth had failed. Could Vic As I was about to shuffle off to nate children. call and fix it? make the tea Mr Strange loped in Vic was about to go to bed. He carrying a 14in. Toshiba Model Miss Drudge - 3 was asked whether he could call 145R7B. He looked at me, smacked Just then poor Miss Drudge crept next day, a Sunday, but declined the set on the bench and simply in. Her severe and ancient mother and offered to call first thing on said "dead". treats her like a lackey. I feel sorry Monday. The offer was turned Son Paul tackled the set. He for Miss Drudge, but daren't tell down. "The people from the shop found that the 6.252 surge limiting her so. can do that." resistor R801 was open-circuit and "It's mother's set again, Mr Keep your chin up, Vic! I've the SR2M overvoltage protection Bullock. I'm ever so sorry, but it had to, for years and years.

TELEVISION October 1997 893 What a Life!

A Gloucestershire idyll - Don Bullock does a stint on the Home Front. And a happy ending to the saga of Miss Drudge

he days were shortening, the sharp edge of his set. "Oh, bugger" worse as the tuner drew level with sun was getting watery and the he gasped. the back of the runners. Starting at Tmists would come rolling up. I So I wrote "0. Bugger" on the the tuner, I began disturbing — gen- wanted to get back to Spain, but card and waved him out. tly — every component in that plane. Greeneyes had arranged that we His set was a 20in. Decca Model Before long I came to a lin. loop of should spend a fortnight at our UK DT9476, which is fitted with the black-covered jumper wire. One base in Gloucester. So I had to face 145A series chassis. It had a noisy end was connected to a point up to a stay of duty here, and the raster, with no programmes, marked J6. As I moved the wire thought of it made me nasty. I stood although the digital channel display over it fell out of its solder blob and in the shop and watched the inno- was working. We didn't have the the fault became permanent. cents passing by. manual but, as always, the people at Retinning and resoldering the link "Look" I said to Greeneyes, Tatung were very helpful — both cured the fault. "every one of them is scurrying with advice and faxing us a circuit After putting the set back togeth- home to get a fix of the national diagram of the tuning system. I er I sneaked off to lunch while drug. Off to watch their silly, flick- soon discovered that there was no Greeneyes guarded the fort. ering TV screens. They ought to tuning voltage supply at the tuner. I returned to find Greeneyes ban it." Checks in the tuning voltage DA chatting and falling about with Mr "The day they do that, we stop converter stage showed that QR10 Pelvis, who was happily forking out eating" Greeneyes said sweetly. had no base bias because RR68 and gibbering in his silly way. "And by the look of you that would (33kS2) was open-circuit. It's rated "They don't have assistants like be no bad thing." at 0.5W, so I fitted a 1W replace- you at Snoddies" he was saying, "or "You'll change your tune when ment. The results were excellent. Crubbs Foodstore — or that new they start to troop in, with their silly place on the ring road that does mouths going" I said, feeling my Elvis Pelvis them while you wait." head and wishing I'd gone easier on Our next customer minced in with a "Don't they then?" she sim- the whiskey the night before. "Free Sanyo CBP2145 (E2-B21 chassis). pered, "are they really that bad?" won't be cheap enough, immediate- He looked like a well-greased wop. "How come you can waste time ly won't be soon enough, and per- "You won't mend this set" he war- flirting with a prat like that?" I fection won't be good enough. We bled, "nobody can. It's been every- asked when he had wiggled out. ought to have chosen better lives. where. Waggling the aerial plug "He's nice" she said, "and differ- We should have been traffic war- helps." ent." dens." I paused and looked her up I decided I didn't like him. So I and down. "Specially you" I said, ignored his comments. "Name and Filth relishing my clever and cruel wit. trouble?" I asked. I spun round to see an unkept, ruddy "Elvis Pelvis" he said, smooth- specimen, unwashed, unshaved and Tom's Decca ing his well-penned hair. unclean. Before long our first pest, er cus- "And you name?" I said cleverly. "Snoddies wants thirty five tomer, struggled in with his set. It As he left, looking over his poun's just t' come" he said, "an' I was harmless old Tom Mugg. He shoulder, I yanked his set on to the en't paying it. You'll 'av t' come put the set down on the front edge bench. I soon wished I'd asked him 'n' do 'im. Name's Bottler." of the counter and wiped his brow. what the fault was, because it I stepped aside, exposing son "Hot today, innit, Mr Bullock!" seemed to be all right. But after a Paul who had just started his mug of he gasped. while the sound cut out and the pic- tea. Looking a little ill at ease, he "No, it's cold" I said, drawing ture quality became degraded, tak- took the address and agreed to call the pad towards me. "Name?" ing away the colour. in half an hour. He stopped wiping his brow and I opened up the set and found He returned from what he reck- looked at me askance. "You know pounds of fresh solder everywhere. oned was the dirtiest house he'd me, Mr Bullock" he wheezed. As he When I withdrew the chassis, I ever seen — which is something, in turned to me his kneecap caught the noticed that the symptoms became this trade — with a Baird television

48 November 1997 TELEVISION set that was covered with sticky goo customer, who was huge, followed and smelt like a tip. He assigned the him in then plopped on to a chair repair to me, and made for the soap and laughed to himself. I eyed him and water while I washed the cabi- sharply. net down with spray cleaner. Then he looked at the set and The set was fitted with the said, thickly, "Wha'sh my Line? Ferguson TX9 chassis — the original That'sh a good 'un, en't it? Wha'sh version. Its symptoms were a loud my Line?" spluttering on the sound and a "Professional soaker?" I suggest- weak, flickering and grainy picture. ed. His smile faded, so I shut up and I soon found a sooty crater at one pulled the pad towards me. end of C136 (10nF, 1.5kV) in the "Name?" I asked. ramp reset circuit in the power sup- "Popeye" he said. ' ply. Resoldering this removed the I looked at him then filled in the spluttering. I then turned to the pic- job card. "Give us a ring tomorrow, ture trouble. Mr Eye" I said. "I suspect the tuner" I said to Field collapse was the problem, Paul. and I saw that the 7.5Q fusible "It's usually the IF module in resistor R317 was open-circuit. One this chassis" he said. I looked at him end is connected to pin 6 of the line and thought of the impertinence of output transformer, the other to the the young. rectifier which produces the 24V I fitted a tuner, but it didn't help. supply for the AN5515 field output OGZ, Then Paul found an IF module in a chip IC303. The chip was the cause ,;- scrap set. We fitted this and it did of the trouble. It was dead short the trick. between pins 1 and 2. A replace- "Hat today, nnit, Mr Bullock." When Paul delivered the set Mr ment and a new resistor restored the Bottler emerged with dignity, paid picture. our bill, thanked Paul for our swift When Mr Eye returned he was newly cleansed sinner. and efficient attention and ran down sober and correct. "Sorry about yes- As John and Fred looked at each Snoddies, which made him feel terday" he said, "I was celebrating — other in amazement I settled to the good. He gave Paul a big, fat tip. the missus had just left me." set, which is fitted with the PC-04A I smiled at him. chassis. It was dead, with no stand- Brisk Customer "Never mind the grinning" he by light. The chopper power supply As I stood gazing out of the shop said, "she's back." is based on a TDA4601 chip window a smart little car drew up (IC801), which needs an 8.5V start- across the road. A thin fellow got End of Day up supply at pin 9. I thought this out, grabbed a satellite receiver- As the day slipped by, Greeneyes would be missing, but it was pre- decoder from the passenger seat and decided to run Paul into town. I sat sent. There was no voltage at pin 5 stood looking about him. Then he alone in the shop with a cup of tea, however, which is connected to pin saw the shop, and me. He raised his willing the clock to creep round to 9 via a 100142 resistor (R814P). right arm like a rifle and, looking closing time. This resistor proved to be open-cir- along it with his left eye closed, Then a car drew up outside and cuit, a replacement curing the trou- strode towards me and entered the out jumped Fred and John, two fish- ble. shop. ing mates of mine. As we were about to lock up, I "You're the one" he said. "The bream are biting at Haw saw that the skies were leaden I looked behind me. Then he put Bridge" they said, "how about a though the sun was trying to break the receiver down. couple of hours with us in the morn- through. Then I noticed an attrac- "Name's on it" he said, "ring ing?" tive, long-haired lady walking me." And off he went. "Done!" I said. Just then an ema- serenely towards the shop. She was A sticky label on the set said ciated fellow in a long, old-fash- wearing a gay summer dress and a "Dead" and "Smith". But no tele- ioned and unbuttoned raincoat came straw hat. phone number. It was an Amstrad in with a GoldStar CIT4902 14in. I felt sure I recognised her face. SRD510. When I opened it up I portable. A young man was by her side. As found the remains of C86 (100µF, "Dead" he announced. "It's me they reached the shop: she smiled 16V) all over the place. It's part of sister's. Name of Taylor." and came towards us. the 9V regulator circuit on the main I filled in the job card and waved "Miss Drudge!" I exclaimed. board. him out, but he stood there. She laughed and shook her head. When I'd cleaned up the chassis "What's the matter?" I asked "Not any more, Mr Bullock. Meet and fitted a replacement capacitor "I shouldn't have done it" he my husband Arthur. Dr Arthur the receiver worked well. said, looking at the floor and shuf- Saviour!" fling. "But, your mother . . ." I said Straight from The "Shouldn't have done what?" weakly. Horsefly John asked. The lady's face clouded. "Sadly, Our next customer came to us, At this point the cove sprang to she passed away — suddenly. Her chauffeur-driven, straight from The life and danced around the shop. doctor, Arthur, saw to everything. Horsefly. He had trouble opening "Stop this nonsense" he cried, "I'm And, well, we've our own lives the boot. So Paul went out to help off!" Then, flinging his hands now." him unload his Toshiba 14in. behind him under his mac, he strode Things aren't always as bad as portable — Model 1400TBW. The off in long springy steps, like a they seem.

TELEVISION November 1997 49 What a Life!

A fuse-blowing video recorder and mysterious phone calls are amongst the things that plagued Donald Bullock this month

This autumn Steven and Paul spent I picked it up. No one there. So I recorder. "He won't give me me about ten days enlarging the work- pulled the first job on to the bench. tape back" she moaned. shop. Steven's girlfriend Jeanne felt Then the phone rang. I picked it sufficiently encouraged to tidy up Videos up. Nobody there. some of their long-standing mud- It was an Hinari VXL8 video "Give me an hour" I said to Vi dles. I returned from Spain to wit- recorder which was dead. I opened as I waved her out. ness the result, which was so heart- it up and soon found that the 1.25A I tried to eject the tape, but the warming that I offered to open up fuse Z601 had blown. A replace- flap wouldn't open. When I disman- next day while they went tench fish- ment brought the machine back to tled the machine I found that the lit- ing in the lovely Walham water. life, and I put it on soak test to see tle lug at the flap's left side had On the following day I awoke to whether the fuse would blow again. broken off. As a result, the sweep- a soft and sunny morning and later Then the phone rang. I picked it ing pin couldn't locate and raise it. I found myself humming happily as I up but there was nobody there. tried all ways to glue it back on, unlocked the shop door and The next job was a JVC cam- without success. So I got a bit of breathed the scent of newly-worked corder, Model GRA2E. On the job Perspex and succeeded in welding it wood and Mansion polish. Then the card it said "mine" and "dead" in in place. phone rang. Steven's scrawly writing. When it This cured the flap problem but was switched on the 'on' light lit the picture was awful. All was well for half a second then died. So I once the heads had been cleaned. opened it up and made for the crop When Vi returned I handed her of half a dozen so-called circuit pro- the recorder. "It's not all gloom" I tectors that are to be found close to said. the DC input socket. CP6 was open- "Me 'usband's come back" she circuit, for no apparent reason, and replied. a new one seemed to cure the trou- "Oh . . . er . . . never mind" I ble. The circuit boards in this model said. are very thin, so I took care when Then the telephone rang. I

14Ad4' 1% -r — - removing the PCB plugs and sock- picked it up. Nobody there. • k \\Avyv v\firted. ets. As I was reassembling the unit I Ping managed to flick a screw along the As I stood there, puzzled, I heard a bench. It rolled past the telephone ping from the soak-testing Hinari and on to the floor. When I bent VCR. It was now dead. So I opened down to retrieve it the phone sud- it up again. A lengthy examination denly rang in my ear, which was failed to reveal anything obviously about an inch above it. I snatched amiss, and none of the components the handset and put it to my other seemed to be unduly warm. I ear, which wasn't throbbing — yet. pressed the plugs and sockets home Nobody there. and fancied that one was a little loose. Could that have been the Vivian cause of the trouble? I reassembled Next thing Vivian Dunby mooched the machine and put it back on soak in, looking as though she'd just test. been poleaxed. "What's up, Vi?" I asked. Spry Sydney "Well me 'usband's run off At this point Spry Sydney strutted again and me daughter's gone off to in looking, as always, as if his jack- Jamaica with a chap old enough to et was still wearing its coathanger. be me father. And me canary's died A while ago he bought a hotel and an' the cat's got the mumps. And installed an Huanya 14in. colour set now this sod's playin' up." She held in every room — twenty four of up an Amstrad VCR6000 video them in all. Those that didn't sim- Steven and Paul enlarging the workshop.

104 December 1997 TELEVISION ply walk gradually developed a loud said a voice, "or are you just the old Homing in on its pins I found 150Hz note to accompany the man?" that one of them, while looking as if sound. "Never you mind that" I said, it was perfectly soldered to the blob, Our remedy has been to replace "this is the boss." was ringed by a very fine crack. I the STR4211 chopper chip IC901 "Oh well" croaked the voice, resoldered it and once again put the and the 27V zener diode ZD907. "you'll 'ave to do. Right now I'm machine on an extended soak test. This one was the same, and I gav e needing a camcorder, so I'm asking This time it was all right. it identical treatment. you which is the best?" "How many of these do you still "Well, if it's any recommenda- Ribby Ellis have, Syd?" I asked. tion Steven's got a JVC" I said. Then Ribby Ellis, the telephone "Only five" he replied. Then a "Does Argos sell JVCs?" asked engineer, came in — grinning as thought struck him. "Eh, could you the cracked voice. "Do you happen usual. take the handles off them?" to have their latest catalogue there?" "Who's that looking over your "Sure can Syd" I said. "You "Of course I have" I replied, shoulder, Don?"the enquired. should have asked at the outset and oozing kindness. "I keep it specially I turned round and there was got a quantity discount." for enquiries like yours. If I could nobody there of course. The phone rang and I picked it trouble you to hang on for a second "Oh it's all right. It's your ears" up. Nobody there. I'll look into the camcorder section. he bawled, shaking with mirth. If they've got what you want I'll "What's your trouble?" I asked, The Shop Steward shut the shop and nip along and buy "apart from the fact that you're a Who should come in next but Len it for you. I think I can afford it, prat." Grunt. He's a local shop steward and they are only three miles down "This 'un" he said, holding up a and had with him an old Matsui the road. May I ring you back?" 14in. Philips portable, Model 1455 portable. After thumping it on As I put the phone down I 14CT2006 (CTX chassis). "Picture the bench he stood facing me with noticed that the Hinari VCR had gradually goes dark — sound's OK his right index finger poised over failed again. Fuse Z601 was once though." his left hand — as though he was more open-circuit, and I spent an I opened it up and studied the about to write down a speech. hour trying to find out why. panel area beneath the line output "Missus put 'im on. OK. Next Eventually I resorted to resoldering transformer. The transformer's pins day I puts 'im on. OK. Yesurday every joint in the power supply. were dry-jointed. So I resoldered wife's brother calls in. Puts 'im on. Then I boxed it up again and put it them, boxed the set up and gave it Dead!" back on soak test. back to him. He put his hands aside and The phone rang. I picked it up. "Ribby" I said, you've not addressed Steven. "Always was the No one there. I slammed it down inflicted any of your silly practical trouble, wife's brother. Won't join and picked up the next job. jokes on me of late. So I'M going to no union. Never would!" show my appreciation. Have this Steven opened the set and Hikona Portable one on me." switched it on. The chopper circuit It was an Hikona RM2000, which is "Gosh Don, that's good of you" was dormant. We didn't have the a 14in. colour portable made in he said. "Makes me feel guilty circuit diagram, but he drew my Turkey. The set was dead and about playing you up all day." attention to the 2SD820 chopper groaning, and it had my sympathy. I I looked at him and he pointed to transistor Q604. The transistor and noticed a 10pF, 250V electrolytic — the phone. its heatsink were quite warm. C320 — and hooked it out for test- "You?" I exclaimed. "Can you take over?" he asked. ing. You know my suspicion and He nodded. "I'm working over "I'm off to see the vicar about get- prejudice about electrolytics. I was the road" he said. ting married." right — it was open-circuit. When "Clear off' I hissed, "you ought "Struth!" I said. I'd fitted a replacement a picture of to be birched!" When he'd gone I decided to a harem scene came up. As the look for shorts on the secondary sheikh galloped in, the set died Getting Around side of the power supply. The HT again. Television certainly gets around. It's rectifier D607 read short-circuit After a further bout of diagnostic always a pleasure to hear from fel- both ways, so I replaced it. This effort I discovered that one end of low sufferers in this trade. Recently made no difference. When I the 4752, 5W wirewound resistor I received a letter from Bill checked the new diode I once more R505 was dry-jointed. I cleaned it Challoner, a lad of 84, formerly of obtained a short-circuit reading. At off and resoldered it. When I Southport but now living at 5 Erica this I retested the original diode, switched the set on again I was just Street, Geraldton, Western which was all right. Further checks in time to see the sheikh galloping Australia. revealed that one of the protection off into the sunset. Bill was originally a cinema pro- capacitors in parallel with D607 jectionist. He studied TV servicing was the culprit. The offending item The Hinari's Secret when Australian outdoor cinemas was C613 (4.7nF, 1kV). I should As I boxed up the Hikona set I became extinct, and managed to have checked D607 out of circuit if heard a ping from the fuse in the make a living from it. Now ill, he's course. A thorough approach is soak testing Hinari VXL8. This just undergone surgery. Bill reckons essential when fault finding. time I plugged in the bench light that reading in Television about the magnifier then studied and carefully slings and arrows we suffer bright- A Reply at Last tapped every inch of the chassis and ens his day. His letter certainly As I was reassembling the Matsui set the panels in the machine. I eventu- brightened mine. I know that he the phone rang again. I picked it up. ally came to the capstan drive chip would be interested to hear directly "Bullocks" I screamed. IC206. When I moved it the fuse from other readers who have tales "Ooh. I owp yoo can 'elp me" blew. to tell.

TELEVISION December 1997 105 What a Life!

Donald Bullock gets some lessons on common camcorder problems from son Steven. So this month it's a load of camcorders

"We haven't been getting any cam- And another "Must 'ave been the missus" he corders in lately" Steven said the This was as well, since Pete Porter said. other day. "Perhaps they've all bowled in at this point with a bag- been put away for the winter." ful of shopping. Sunshine's Viewcam "Good thing too" I replied. "I "Can you mend this, Mr Our next caller was Sunshine scarcely know anything about Buglock?" he asked, peering at his Honeychild. She bounced in as them, and can't generate much bag of shopping. I noticed an old though she'd just jumped from a curiosity." screwdriver poking out of his top carnival float and was carrying a jacket pocket. Sharp Viewcam, Model VLC73H. A Handycam "No. Who would try? How is a "What's up with it?" I asked. As we spoke, Cyril Sidgeworth chap supposed to mend a bag of "It's the laziest camera in town, popped in with a Sony Handycam, shopping?" man. Done do nuthin'. Nuthin' at Model CCDF330E. He pulled out a pound of all." "Liney picture" he squeaked. sausages, a box of eggs and a bag Steven tried it and found that it "Picture all liney. Sort of made of of pork chops and laid them out on wouldn't eject the tape in it. There lines, like. Liney, you might say." our counter. Steven rucked his hair was no rewind or fast forward "OK, OK" I said, waving him like Stan Laurel as I stood in indig- either. Once again his fingers flew out. As Steven plugged it in, I nant disbelief, like 011ie. Then out into action and the camcorder was asked "what's the cause of that came a Sanyo VMPS120P cam- soon opened up. He examined it then?" corder. carefully. "Dud parents I suppose" he "E's about a year old. Yest'dy "I reckoned it might have been replied. he jammed up. All by hisself. I the mode switch" he said, "but it I looked at him. "The camera" I never touched 'im, 'onest. Cross isn't. The easiest approach with said. me 'cart and wish to die." these is to remove all the casing "Oh. Loose guide poles on the He then departed, leaving his parts first. Then it's a simple matter tape arms I expect. Usually is." sausages. Steven displayed his to separate the single PCB from the He's got long, thin fingers, like expertise by rapidly opening up the bottom of the deck." Greeneyes. Not short stubby ones camcorder. The tape carriage had When he'd done this he soon like me. So he had it open in no been forced so brutally that it was found the cause of the trouble. time. Sure enough the guide poles quite unrepairable. Several membrane leads connect were loose. Each pole is secured by While I was wondering about it the chassis and the panel. Three of a tiny screw. But there was still a Steven was on the phone to Chas the retaining clamps had never been problem when he'd tightened them. Hyde and Son. clicked into place, so the conduc- For the first two minutes after "So the part number is 11923X0 tors were only loosely connected. switching on the control pulses and the price £20.40 altogether. When they had been pushed home seemed to be weak and, with a That's cheap. Will you post it properly and the clamps had been standard play recording, the tape today?" secured the camcorder came to life, speed kept switching between long It arrived next morning, as we with excellent results. play and standard play. After the knew it would from this excellent two minutes however the cam- firm. Steven had the camcorder Dickie Downsize corder worked perfectly. It contin- working perfectly almost as soon as Dickie Downsize is a preacher of ued to do so whenever we tried it the postman had left. sorts and a general walking disas- for the rest of the day. We decided When Porter returned I told him ter. Not only does he do silly to put it aside until next day. about the mangled tape carriage. things, he tries to cover up his fool-

180 January 1998 TELEVISION ishness. At such times the truth is handed it over. not in him — and he makes us sore When he'd gone we discovered displeased. that the trouble was with the car- As Sunshine Honeychild collect- riage. It was notchy when it accept- ed her camcorder Dickie appeared ed a cassette and slow to eject the with his — a Canon E230E. tape. The door of the housing is "It was all right until I used my made of very thin and flimsy metal. new head-cleaning tape" he It had warped. As the cassette declared, "now it messes up my drawer slid into place, its top )') other tapes." caught on the casing. We managed Steve inserted one of our test to get the camcorder to work satis- factorily by re-flexing the housing tapes and switched on. The motor )1 whirred but the tape remained still. door. When he ejected the tape he When we returned it to the bul- frowned. bous gentleman we warned him "What did you put on the clean- that because of the camcorder's ing tape?" he asked. design our repair might not last. "Nothing whatsoever" said We charged him a tenner and he Dickie. "Why? Did you think I slapped down two. would put Vaseline on it?" "More than delighted, boys" he Steven opened the camcorder up boomed, "next time I'll buy a and found the heads and tape path British one." thick with yellow grease. Vaseline. "You'll have a job" I said. An hour later he was still trying to remove the last of it from the cam- Denzil's Sanyo corder's inside. Eventually he suc- Denzil Dewar was our next caller. ceeded. Then he looked at our test He brought in an old Sanyo tape and sighed. VMD6P camcorder. Now Denzil When Dickie returned, Steven comes from the other side of the "Can you mend this Mr Buglock - had a word with him. Severn bridge, so his speech is "Dickence" he said, "you know mostly song. condition cleared. This enabled us that Vaseline you didn't put on "Cassette jammed into the cam- to find the cause of the trouble. The your cleaning tape?" er-ah boys" he trilled. "It's hap- back-tension arm is secured by a "Yes" said Dickie. pened before ack-tew-lee, don't fixed pin that rises from the deck "Well, don't put it in again, eh? they?" plate. During manufacture it had Because I'm going to have to "Daresay it has, Den" said been lubricated with graphite charge you twenty five pounds for Steven. "They do. The loading grease. When the camcorder was taking it out, then there's the cost gears become brittle as they get left for a time and allowed to cool of our test tape." older and the teeth wear or occa- down the grease would solidify. Dickie shuffled about a bit. sionally break off, jamming the Thus for the first two minutes, until "Don't cleaning tapes need lubri- works." it warmed up, the back tension was cating?" he asked . . . As he sallied off, Steven's fin- slack. In this condition the tape "How about having another look gers started to fly about like skated loosely over the heads, to at Cyril Sidgeworth's Handycam?" Ichabod's. He soon had the cam- the detriment of the essential con- I suggested to Steven. corder open, and quickly unlaced trol pulses. All so logical, and easy "Dashed good wheeze" he the tape and fitted new gears. We to understand, once you know replied, putting on his Greyfriars get them from Chas Hyde and Son. what's going on. accent. When Denzil returned he was We cleaned off the hardened We put it on the bench and tried delighted. grease, then applied new grease. it from cold. The old trouble had "Why, you've got it working as When Steven had reassembled the returned. Some fault finding was good as new" he said to Steven as Handycam and tried it I reached for attempted during the two minutes he dug out his wallet. "I'm ever so the phone and dialled Cyril's num- that the machine played up. Then, pleased, 'cos it's a nice little cam- ber. as it resumed correct operation, we era, won't it?" "Your Handycam's ready, Cyril" had to put it aside again. I said. "Get some cabbage and Back to Cyril's Handycam make for the shop." Trouble, Bub I turned to Steven when he'd gone. "Ha. Good" he squeaked. "Is all Our next caller was kinda bulbous. "Well" I said, "you were bemoan- the lininess gone? Are there any He wore a loud check jacket and, I ing the disappearance of all the lines on the picture? Is it liney? reckoned, a pair of jodpurs under camcorders. But we've had our What I mean is, is the lininess all his trousers. He was carrying yet share recently, and they've all gone gone." another camcorder, this time a back — except for Cyril "Gone for ever, Sidgeworth" I Sony CCDTR610E. Sidgeworth's Handycam. Wonder said. "This c-a-a-amera shun is a-a- if we can clear up that final prob- As we tidied the workshop I aggravatin' me, Bub" he lem? Let's assume for the moment reflected on young Steven's servic- announced. that the cause of the fault is ing abilities. Not bad at all, I "An American gentleman" I said mechanical. thought. He's obviously well to Steven, through the side of my We pulled it on to the bench and endowed with my genes. I reckon mouth. studied its mechanics carefully dur- that in time he might just become "Do I pay now?" he asked as he ing the two minutes before the fault as clever as his dad.

TELEVISION January 1998 181 What a Life! Reminiscences of earlier times, then back to today's dud TVs and other matters. Donald Bullock's commentary

s I sat nursing an after-dinner on his face. He communicated main- He then presented the bill. The cus- whiskey over Christmas I ly with his eyes: I never heard him tomer complained that it was far too Afound myself reflecting on speak. high. Reuben told him about the the changes that have occurred in our hours of dedicated work involved. trade over the years. Workshop Conditions There was an awful row, which There was a time when the family The workshop conditions usually ended when the customer ordered TV set took pride of place in the reflected the poverty of the job. One Reuben to unrepair the set. "I'll take nation's sitting rooms. When it went of my earliest jobs was as a bench it to Weatherby's" he shouted, on the blink there was consternation engineer at a city branch of J & M "they'll do it cheaper." all round. The relief was obvious if Stone, a well-known multiple of that Reuben unrepaired the set then we could get it going in the house. era. Most of the floorspace was some. He misaligned it, drilled tiny Dark expressions turned to smiles, taken up by a cheerful, brightly-lit holes through the capacitors, pulled and we were often given something, showroom. At the back there was a the speaker cone off-centre and, from the garden say, in addition to tiny and basic lavatory — and my amongst other things, opened the our payment. workshop, which was scarcely larg- huge IF transformers and painted When the set had to be taken off, er. It had a short, wide shelf, and a their windings with battery acid. as was often the case, it was a differ- stool whose top had long since dis- Next day the customer returned, full ent story. We would get suspicious appeared. The floor consisted of a of apologies. "I've come to pay for looks, there would be dark mutter- couple of uneven flagstones. It was your excellent work" he announced, ings about honesty and expense, and here that I learnt the cruelty of a "it was unforgivable of me. You'd urgent entreaties about how long it mains-to-earth shock. But I was told worked wonders on the set." would take. that they keep you free from Reuben sagged, then tottered out TV engineers had to learn how to rheumatism for life, and my experi- to the King's Head. The customer cope with such situations. Many who ence seems to bear this out. looked at me. "What's up with had entered the trade because of him?" he asked. technical interest found that dealing Reuben and the Philips with personal problems was part of An even earlier job was as an assis- A Goodmans 2875 the job — also backbreaking weight tant to Reuben, an enthusiastic but I could fill a book with such reminis- lifting. All this for very limited small-minded electronic wizard. This cences — if it wasn't for the likes of reward. was just after the war, when decent Fanny Trotter. She came in and col- wireless sets were rare. One day a lared Steven. Silent Sydney pre-war Philips radio was brought in "My set ain't half funny Mr Many customers would resort to for a complete overhaul. Now Snodd, er, Bullhead" she said. "Can threats, bribes and various tricks to Reuben knew and respected Philips you be a dear and get him from the get their sets back quickly. When I sets, as I came to do, and he tackled car?" was at a local GEC branch with a it as if it was some sort of vocation. Steven looked outside. It was workshop at the back there was a First he dismantled and thorough- raining, hard. character we called Silent Sydney. ly dusted it. Then he took out the "Where's the car?" he asked. He would drive up to the front gates dial glass and washed it. In went "Just across the road" she replied. with a pocketful of silver half- new valves, a new magic-eye indica- He followed her out. There was a crowns. The gateman would be tor, a new tuning gang, a new dial- parked car twenty yards up the road. tipped to let him through, after drive cord, pilot lights and many Gritting his teeth, he followed her which he would tip everyone else he smaller items. Next came realign- towards it. But she walked past, to came across until he reached the ment, RF and IF, using a signal gen- another car thirty yards farther on. workshop. My half-crown came erator. Finally the cabinet was When he came back he was when I had lifted the set from the cleaned and polished. When he'd soaked and puffing. It was the car. The resident engineer, who usu- finished, the set shone and produced biggest set Fa. ever seen. A Znn. ally cleared his bench at once, got unbelievable sound quality. Reuben Goodmans 2875. the jackpot. radiated contentment. "It's a funny sort of fault" she Sydney was a tense and expectant When the customer came to col- chortled, but we waved her out. man, but once his set came to life a lect it, Reuben proudly demonstrated I got the set on the bench. There gentle smile of relief would appear its quality on several programmes. was no green content to the on-

256 February 1998 TELEVISION screen graphics but there was green circuit either. "Check R165 (30010 in the picture, which was wishy- in the current-simulation network" washy and flared. "One for you, rapped Steven authoritatively. It was Steven" I said, "er, I'll make the virtually open-circuit. A replacement tea." completed the repair, and the results were excellent. A Vacuum Cleaner Meanwhile Steven had been As I put the kettle on Steven called working on the CRT base panel in me to see Mrs Noggs. She was the Goodmans 2875 — where the clutching a modem, upright lEA5101A RGB output chip lives. Electrolux vacuum cleaner. He found that R28 (68k0) in the "I just done me rubber plant when green channel was open-circuit. In he went 'fuzz' and cut out" she said, addition its counterparts in the red "he ain't all that old." and blue channels, R26 and R29, had I don't like vacuum cleaners, risen in value to about 75k12. especially Electroluxes with their Replacing all three restored correct clamped up motor-cum-fan units. displays. This one was no exception, though I did manage to get to the motor Return of Mr Dewey brushes. To my surprise one was When Mr Dewey returned to collect almost worn away while the other his set he brought two more with one seemed as good as new. But I him, a Sony KVM2121 (BE1 chas- was wasting my time. Enquiries sis) and an Hitachi fitted, with the proved that there are no motor spares G7P Mk 2 chassis. "These belong to for this model, just the complete my two partners" he announced. motor/fan unit. The Sony set was dead with the standby light pulsing. A check on the Mr Dewey BU506DF line output transistor Just then an ancient but brisk man Q802 showed that it was leaky. After "It was here that Ilearnt the cruelty of v mains-to- walked in. "Name's Dewey" he said, fitting a new one we discovered that earth shock." "of Dewey, Squeezam and Howe, circuit protector PS802 in the supply solicitors." He flicked at his watery to the line driver and output stages eye. "My set's old, same as me. But was open-circuit. It's rated at 0.6A. portable. He put it on the counter, don't you tell me to change it. It's A new one completed the repair. had a fight with his duffle coat, got push-buttons and knobs, and I Then Steven pulled up the Hitachi pulled out a red-spotted handkerchief can work it. And it looks like a tele- set. It was dead with the 13UT11AF and gave his nose a good blowing. vision set, not a storage bin." chopper transistor Q901 open-circuit. "Shall I ask him for an encore?" I It was a Ferguson Model 3792, This is another 1DA4600-type asked Steven. which uses the TX9 chassis, and was power supply (TDA4601 actually). "This set, now" rang out the dead. I found that the plugtop fuse The resistors in the current-simula- Modem Man. "It's never been really was open-circuit in addition to the tion circuit are R932 (120k12) and right since you last tried to do it, but 1.6AT mains fuse in the set, FS1. R931 (150k0). They were both high I thought I'd give it time to settle Then I saw that the BU508A chop- in value at some 180k0. After down. I think it must be the valve or per transistor TR62 had blown its replacing these items he started the the transformer. Perhaps you fitted front off. Steven was busy with the set up via the variac. All was well. new ones last time. You'll have it in Goodmans set, so. I went to look for Later, over a cup of tea, Steven your records, I daresay. We were the circuit diagram. Steven noticed. pointed out that Mr Dewey, an intel- watching 'Are you being served' "There are about forty TX9 cir- ligent man, refused to consider buy- when it failed. My dog likes to cuits, all different" he said, "aren't ing a new set because they are full of watch that." you lucky?" gimmicks and are unpleasant, if not "When did we last do it?" Steven The set was actually fitted with impossible, for normal folk to oper- asked, reaching for our tray of cards. the 1044 non-remote control version ate. In addition they look so black "It was just before that last of the chassis, the later version that and awful. Cassius Clay fight" he said. "I want- has a chopper power supply. I even- "I'm finding that more and more ed to watch it, the wife didn't and tually found the right circuit. people, especially the mature ones, didn't we have a row. Well, wives As R164 (270) and D104 feel the same about modem sets. are all the same, aren't they? Er, are (1N4001GP) in TR62's base circuit They don't like them and won't have you married Mr Duffer?" had both died violently I decided to them. When their existing sets need "No" said Steven, "I've just got check the windings of the chopper to be replaced they ask whether we toothache." transformer Tl. They were short-cir- can supply an older, reconditioned Once he'd departed we pulled his cuit. We've had trouble obtaining one. Since the population is rapidly set on to the bench. The entire right- these transformers in the past, so I ageing, there must be a fortune wait- hand side of the picture was rippling. fitted one from a scrap chassis. In ing for the first manufacturer sensi- This suggested an open-circuit or addition to the blown devices it ble enough to produce a basic set low-capacitance electrolytic in the seemed logical to replace the that anyone can operate" he conclud- power supply. But we found that the TDA4600 chopper control chip ed. print at the positive side of the HT IC57. Then I started the set up, gin- reservoir capacitor C666 (150pF, gerly, using the variac. Rippling Picture 160V) was cracked. Resoldering it There were no shorts, but there Just then a thin, sharp-faced charac- cured the set's trouble, but there was was no HT output from the chopper ter hustled in carrying a Matsui 1436 still the customer . .

TELEVISION February 1998 257 What a Life!

Problems as diverse as wow with a Dansette record player to an hour- glass picture with a recent JVC TV set came Donald Bullock's way this month

ust as I had sat down to write Greeneyes asked, "or shall I ask son This one sounded awful. I my Television article, John to mend the set. We can't go frowned. "Where's that wow com- JGreeneyes came in and turned on like this." ing from?" I said aloud. the TV on. I don't much like the Then the phone rang for me, and Harry's silly face lit up. "From TV being on at all, especially when while I was talking Greeneyes got the Gwamophone, of course" he I'm trying to write an extremely John to take a look at the set. He quipped. intellectual article. So I told went out for a soldering iron and a I told him to come back in a cou- Greeneyes that she was a cretin, and few minutes later had the set work- ple of hours' time then gave the we had a row about my manners ing — even with the back on. It record player a service, right down and her mother. Then the TV's didn't fail again. to oiling the motor, but the wow brightness went — it's a Sanyo I pretended not to notice that the remained. Then I noticed that the CTP6256 — and I laughed nastily. set was now working satisfactorily, blip occurred once per revolution of Greeneyes said I'd have to mend or that it had been fixed so quickly, the record. I finally lifted the it right away. So I put my writing until Greeneyes went out to fix a turntable mat and found that a little aside, took the back off the set and banquet for her cats and dogs and inspection label, not much bigger looked at the chassis. The bright- turtles. Then I casually asked John than a stamp, had been carelessly ness returned. what the trouble had been. stuck on. So there was a nick in it. "How did you manage that?" "R622" he said. "It's a two-inch Removing the label cured the trou- asked Greeneyes. tall ceramic resistor stood up on ble. "Cleverness and influence" I end. The solder joint at the top was said, refitting the back. dry." The Other Sort When I'd finished and sat down "Thought it would be" I said. Then Mr Magic came in with a again, the brightness had gone. Toshiba portable, Model 1400TBT. Greeneyes shot me a withering Harry's Dansette His real name is Cyril Pipe, and he look. Time to start all over again. I There are two types of people I spends his spare time dressing up took the back off, leant it against can't stand. Three if you count traf- and doing conjuring tricks at chil- the wall, then turned to the set fic wardens. One is the type of chap dren's parties. I can't stand con- which was now OK. Greeneyes' big who concentrates so hard on mak- jurors. ginger cat strolled over, looked at ing silly remarks that you can't hold I looked at the set. "Nice one, the screen and laughed at me. So I a proper conversation with him. A Cyril" I said, "what's wrong with touched it with my foot. Greeneyes customer of ours, Harry Quipper, is it?" saw it shoot off, and we had a row one of these. Otherwise he's a Cyril hunched his back and drew about my wickedness and her lav- decent chap. He called in the other his head down into his shoulders. ishing all her affection on cats and day with an old Dansette record "Picture like this" he said. Then he dogs and turtles instead of me. player which, he said, he'd found. pulled from his pocket a shabby When we'd finished our row and "Gosh, Harry, I didn't think pack of cards which he fanned out. agreed that she was right and I was there was one of these left in the "Pick a card, pick a card" he said. wrong, and that the red pair of country" I said, "what's up with it?" I looked pained. "Bugger the shoes in Clarks would go well with "Dead" he replied. cards" I replied, "let's think about the green frock she's going to get I noticed that the cheap mains the set." from River Island, the brightness plugtop didn't secure the outer I plugged it in and sure enough went again. This time it stayed off, cover of the mains lead, and that the there was bad field cramping at the and I started to tap around with the conductors were straggly. So I top of the picture. The set uses an pen I'd intended to use for my arti- tugged at them and they pulled out. AN5515 field output chip, and I cle. As I couldn't make it come I remade the lead and plugged it in, recalled a similar fault with a simi- back I decided to take the set to the then tried out the Dansette with our lar model. I traced the IC's supply workshop, and put the rear cover 33 r.p.m. record of classical piano from pin 7 back to the rectifier cir- back on. The brightness returned music — there's no finer type of cuit C311/D309/R317 which is fed and I made a bit of a scene. record for detecting turntable varia- from a winding on the line output "Have we got to call Snoddies?" tions. transformer. When I checked the

332 March 1998 TELEVISION value of the 7.5Q surge limiter "Remember" I said "any trans- resistor R317 I got a reading of former that vibrates at a high fre- 48Q. A replacement resistor of the quency and has to handle spikey correct value cured the fault. As I waveforms will tend to develop dry- boxed up the set I thought that Cyril joints at its connecting pins. And ought to be relieved of eleven the next time you get intermittent pounds, a tenner for the repair and a brightness with a chassis that uses a pound for his bit of conjuring. tiny line driver transformer, like the As I turned to him he said "Wait old ITT Compact, check this item a minute" and drew a £1 coin from for dry-joints. Resolder the pins, my ear. even if you can't actually see any "Put that on the counter close to poor joints. me Cyril" I said, "and add another one plus a tenner. It'll get you out Interlude of debt and your conscience good." Just then a chap with some steps poked his head through the door. Gll Problems "Window cleaner" he called. Meanwhile Paul, who spends most "Who, me?" I reacted. of each day on VCRs because he's At this point a girl who looked so good at them, pulled a Philips set like Keyhole Kate picked her way fitted with the Gil chassis on to the into the shop. "Yoo-hoo" she trilled, bench. "We've made some money "anybody home?" out of these" he commented, think- I moved towards the door. ing of all the BU208As, the "Oh. You're somebody else, smoothing blocks, the field time- aren't you?" she said. base chips and the odd tube or two "No I'm not" I replied, "I'm the we've replaced. This one was dead, same chap I've always been." and Paul soon found that the nega- "What I mean is, you're not tive side of the mains lead was con- Steven or Paul, are you?" . . . So I touched it with my foot. nected to the plugtop loosely. Steven came to the rescue. "I've had this before with these "That Ferguson of ours you sets" he said, "but why is it always mended back last summer" she said, Tends to get this fault." the negative connection that "the picture's got thin bands of The Murphys smiled at me as I becomes loose in the plugtop? The lighter picture all over it. What will began to take the back off. Steven little retaining screw loosens, it be and what will it cost?" continued with his instructions. doesn't it." "Ah, your TX90" said Steven. "The chassis uses an electronic "And how" I replied. "It's "The cause will be C189, a 22uF screwdriver chip, IC707, for picture because of the thyristor power sup- 50V electrolytic reservoir capacitor, geometry adjustment. The chip's ply, which does violence to the nice and the cost will be ten pounds, if cheap enough, and we've got one in smooth mains supply waveform. If you bring the set in." stock — from Willow Vale, part you were the little screw at the top Keyhole Kate gulped. "Electro number 87028M — but you'll need of the plug's negative lead you'd what . . ." she stammered. the manual to enter the screwdriver jigger about with the sudden current "Ten pounds" Steven said. menu and program the new chip. pulses, I'll bet." Then the window cleaner came The repair takes only a few min- When he'd seen to the plugtop in. "Clean now?" he asked, jerking utes, as you know. he found that there were intermit- his thumb at the window. I knew nothing of the sort, and tent outputs from the line output I pushed some money into his stood there trying to digest what transformer because of dry-joints at hand. he'd said. None of the chips looked the pins. Resoldering them restored "I suppose your sons are quite like a screwdriver to me, and I grew the set to life, though the width still competent by now" he commented. increasingly puzzled. Five minutes varied and tried to collapse now and "They're coming on" I replied. later I was no further forward. again."What makes the line output "Of course it will take them some Steven looked over and began to transformer's pins go dry at their time to pick up all I've learnt over lick his lips. joints to the board?" he asked. the last fifty years. I feed them the "Gosh, I'd like a cup of tea" he "More hammer" I said. "That answers, quietly." said. "The sort you make. How do transformer is vibrating at a very you do it? Is it three bags or five?" good lick, and producing heat. The A JVC MXII "I'll do it" I said, and he was on solder joints have to contend with Then Mr and Mrs Murphy came in. my stool before I'd left it. the rapid pulse waveforms at the Nice people, also the smallest cou- When I brought in the tea the set pins while the heat affects the ple we've ever seen. Steven gave had been boxed up and displayed a chemical makeup of the fluxes in them a smile. perfect picture. the joints. They eventually shake "We've got our JVC telly in the Harry Quipper came back for his loose. It's much the same with the car, Mr Blockhead" he said. "The gram just as Mr and Mrs Murphy other wound components in the line picture's like an hourglass. Last were paying Steven a few browns. output stage. In view of the picture time you did it while we waited. He had one of his irritating smiles width variations I reckon you'll find Can we wait for it again?" as he watched. As they left, he some more dry-joints in this area." Steven brought it in and put it in turned to us. He did, and after some careful front of me. "Can you look at it "Nice handful of cabbage that" resoldering all round he had a good, quickly?" he said. "It's the modern he said, "talk about being grateful steady picture. Nicam stereo set — MXII chassis. for small Murphies!"

TELEVISION March 1998 333 What a Life!

The man from the hills with his 12V VCR, a miscellany of Hitachi CTVs and other problems. Donald Bullock gets them all

ur Spanish pad is supposed to "Generator trouble" he replied. listening for the noise he noticed Obe a refuge, an escape from I set about fixing it while Cuthbert's cat arch its back. Then it our busy life over the years. It Hillbill talked. He told us about the sneezed. `Cha.' doesn't always work out like that. remote spot where he lives, in the "That's it!" cried Cuthbert, No sooner had we settled to our mountains. Someone had given him pointing to the Pace. "Take it in after-dinner drinks the other day a tiny wing of an old country farm- and get it absolutely right." than Hillbill Shagg payed us a visit. house. As there's no mains electric- A few days later we saw He's a thin, bright-eyed and crag- ity he uses a moody petrol genera- Cuthbert at Tony's store. He was gy-faced builder who grafts like a tor that delivers 12V for his light- returning an electronic mosquito- horse to earn his simple living and ing, his VCR and TV set. He has killing machine he'd bought the wears a multicolour, knitted tea- no TV reception, so the VCR is day before. cosy hat. He'd come to lay a path, important to him. "A mosquito flew into it at five and brought with him an ancient Much to my surprise I managed past seven last evening. Then flew 12V portable VCR. to repair his VCR. But he brought out and bit me." "E's blowed up, I think" he it back a few days later, this time Seeing whom it was, the shop- rasped. with his regulator. A spot of luck keeper bundled a replacement into I opened it up while he watched. that, as this time the 12V regulator his arms and led him to the door. All the fuses were blackened. had failed. It uses a pair of 39Q, "Some mosquitoes around here "How did you manage this?" I 2W wirewound resistors which had are very tough" he said, "try this asked. been reduced to coke. one." "What do you do out there when you can't watch your tapes?" I Some Hitachis asked him. When I returned to the UK I found "I smokes the 'Appy Stuff" he that Steven was having trouble with replied. an Hitachi C2118T (G7PS Mk 2 chassis). It had been in before with Cuthbert's Gadgets the same complaint — intermittent Son James, who is just seventeen field collapse. On the previous and studying for higher things, does occasion the cause had been the a few repairs here in Spain. One of LA7835 field timebase chip IC601. I smokes his more regular customers is This time the problem was worse the 'appy stuff. Cuthbert Lord, an old-fashioned when the set was hot. man who has dozens of electronic When replacement of likely gadgets. Playing with them is his components failed to cure the trou- life, so they have to be all right. He ble Steven decided on some pro- calls James often, and pays him longed voltage checks. The field well. timebase chip has two supplies, 9V His latest trouble has been with for the generator section and 25V a Pace PRD800 receiver-decoder. for the output section. The 9V sup- "Every few days it goes 'sub', then ply comes from an MC7809 regula- `13zzzz'" he complained. "Now that tor, IC703. A check at the output can't be right, can it?" from this regulator revealed the James brought the receiver in answer. As its temperature rose, the and carried out the usual power output dropped to zero. A new one supply service. After giving it a put matters right. good soak test he took it back. Steven reckons that this device A week later Cuthbert called always runs hot in these sets. He him again. "Last night it went `cha' fitted an extra large heatsink. just once. At twenty past eight. Can Paul was working on another of you come and look at it again?" these sets. It was dead, and a check James did as requested. While on the 82kQ start-up resistors

408 April 1998 TELEVISION revealed that one was open-circuit through on a pair of trotting legs. replacement cured the fault and while the other read 100ka We then saw that they belonged to restored the voltages. When they'd been replaced the Norman Nutmeg, who stood there set came on then died as the EHT panting like a steamroller. A Dead VCR rustled up. The cause was excessive "If this 'un was full of Flemings Our final customer that day was an HT. R909 (391(52) in the voltage- I'd mend 'im myself' he told us. old, grey, stooping man though he sensing circuit had risen in value to "Used to know my Flemings, I can sounded sprightly. He was carrying 43kQ. A replacement restored nor- tell you." a Toshiba V204B VCR. mal operation. "Flemings?" asked Steven. "Is Don Bullock still about?" he Then Mr Cruddock brought in "Ah, you'd be one of the newer trilled. another Hitachi set, an older fellows" said Nutmeg. "Flemings — "That's me" I said. CPT2224 (NP81CQ chassis). I put valves — after Sir Ambrose Fleming He stepped back, looked me it on the bench and powered it. who invented the thermionic diode. over and drew his breath in sharply. There was a picture, but it was too Anyone could mend a set in those "Good God" he muttered, then he bright on the left-hand side and a days, when you could pull out a straightened up. thin white line travelled up the Fleming and plug another one in. "Remember Arthur Chick- screen. I had to start somewhere, We mended our own sets then." weed?" he asked, "that's me." and decided to check the field out- The Panasonic set was dead I looked at him in amazement. put stage in the hope of clearing the though alive — its display came on "Must be thirty years, how do I white-line fault. Just as well. The but the power supply didn't do any- look?" field output device (M601) sported thing. Paul dealt with this one. It Arthur shuffled a bit, then point- a fine drop of dry-joints. Remaking didn't take him long to discover ed to the VCR. "Half dead and them removed the line but left the that the two 2SD965/R transistors ticking" he said. uneven brightness. The cause of Q801 and Q802 were both leaky. I looked at him sharply. this fault was simply the reservoir Q801 provides excess-current pro- Paul tackled this one. He went capacitor for the HT supply to the tection while Q802 provides stand- straight to the power supply where RGB output stages — C715, 4.7pF, by switching. he yanked out CP007. This 10pF, 250V. 50V electrolytic is part of the chop- When the set was given a soak No Colour per transistor's base drive circuit. test some spluttering was noted. Another customer slid in and start- When a replacement had been fitted Close examination revealed a dry- ed to stroke the counter. I looked at the VCR sprang to life. joint at one of the line output trans- him. He smiled and clasped his "Here, you can't fit one of those former's pins — the offset one that long fingers together. things to me, can you?" Arthur earths the body of the transformer. "Could you possibly repair my asked as he paid up. Then he Meanwhile Steven had yet set?" he asked. looked at me. "While you're at it, another G7PS on the bench, this I looked about him. "We could you might fit one to the old man." time a C2119T. Once again the try" I said, "if we could see it." I straightened up and took a fault was field collapse. In this case "Oh, silly me!" he gushed, "it's keen interest in the cloud formation the 9V regulator's output pin had in the car." outside the shop. never taken to its solder blob. Paul went out and brought it in. Resoldering put that right. Another Hitachi, this time a Requests CPT1474 (NP84CQ Mk 4 chassis). I've referred before to this maga- A Satellite Receiver I pulled over a job card. zine's many, many wonderful regu- Our next customer was Ethel "Name?" I asked. lar readers. When the editor kindly Smallbone. She had with her a He brought his face down to me. popped a Help Wanted request of satellite receiver-decoder. "Kenny" he said. mine into a recent issue, two came "Up he went. Then my old man "Trouble?" I asked, "er, the set, to my aid. Gerald May of said 'Right, I'm off to the pub."' I mean?" Abertysswg, Rhymney, Gwent sent "Right" I said. "No colour" he replied, "but a me a boxful of copies and asked for The front panel said Finlandia. perfect monochrome picture." only the postage. James Lynch of Underneath a notice said Granada Steven tackled this one — said Western Isles Electronic Services, M/N92LR1/A. In fact it was a Pace he'd had it before. He checked the Balivanich, Benbecula provided me PRD800 and the problem was the supply to the colour control and with others. usual power supply blow up. found that it was correct and stable James has the following issues We replaced the TEA2018A (12V). The voltage at the slider is available free to good homes: June, chopper control chip, the BUT11A smoothed and is then fed to pin 5 July, November and December chopper transistor, the 4.70 surge- of the colour decoder chip IC501, 1987; January, February and April limiter resistor R1 and the lA fuse, where it should vary between 1.6- 1988; February 1989; July 1993; then the three electrolytics C5 3-5V as the control is adjusted. In July, September and October 1994. (22pF), C7 and C8 (both 10pF). fact the voltage here was low at He needs the following issues: Note that you have to use 105°C, 0-6V. January, July, August and low-ESR capacitors in these posi- When pin 5 of IC501 was dis- September 1989; March, April, July tions. connected the voltage rose. So and August 1990. His telephone This restored the receiver to life Steven replaced the chip which number is 01870 602 035. , and Mrs Smallbone was happy to made no difference. A check on the And I need only the April 1985 hand over a couple of blues. other voltages around the chip pro- issue to complete my collection. If duced a low reading at the bright- you have one, please send it in care Flemings ness control pin 11, which is of the Television editorial office, The door opened and a Panasonic decoupled by C511 (2.2pF, 50V). Room L302, Quadrant House, The TX2 (Alpha 1 chassis) came This capacitor tested all right, but a Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS.

TELEVISION April 1998 409 What a Life!

Recollections on how we were. Customers, their problems - and their videos and TVs. Donald Bullock's world

t was a lovely Spanish day. "Stop annoying Mr Bullock, its value had fallen to about 5pF. We'd been up in the mountains Bonzo. Why are you jumping As we boxed the machine up I for a great big meal with wine, about like that, Bonzo?" Mrs Swarf smiled wanly and and had lashed out over four quid Nice whiskey this. I'll have searched about in her big coat for each on it. Now I was lolling in another. her purse. the sun by the pool with a very That chattering Mrs Blabber . "Can't give you any of my ten large whiskey. Greeneyes was in I ran from her house one day late pence pieces" she said. "I keep the pool. It was nice to be away for my next call and jumped into them to phone my husband." from TV sets and people who say the ancient Jag Mk 10. What, no We waved her purse away, and silly things. I closed my eyes and steering wheel? Nothing on the Steven took the VCR out to her slumbered. dashboard? Oh God, I'm in the old car. back seat . . . Did they see me? Recollections What'll they think? Better crouch John Berryman and the What was it that fat woman said to about, pretend to be looking for Sony TV me the other day? something . . . As she went John Berryman drove Ah, yes. "It can't be the tube In the paper .. . Buckingham up in his van — the one with the 'cos our Vera was eight when Palace ceiling falls in as Queen painted windows. John's the local Grandad died . . ." honours Weights and Measures undertaker, though he looks like a And that chap who kept turning big-wig. Should bloody well think big, ruddy farmer. up his nose. "It's either the valve so... "How you keeping, Don?" he or the condenser . . ." Oh, it's gone cold. Sun's gone bawled. "OK? No aches or pains?" Silly old fools. in. Oh, my head. "I'm perfectly OK" I said, "but How nice life was when there thanks nevertheless for your pro- was only the wireless, and they Mrs Swarf's Video fessional interest. What have you never let prats near the micro- Mrs Swarf plodded in as I was got in the van?" phones . . . Those accumulators drinking a cup of Paul's Bisto tea. "A nice old fellow and my that used to light up the valves . . . "My old video's gone again, Mr neighbour's Sony TV. Which shall The man would get a newly- Bolter" she sighed. "It's the one I bring in ?" charged one every week . . . Pity my husband gave me out of the "Better make it the Sony" I accumulators never lasted the goodness of his heart. He's a gen- said. week . .. Wonder why the newer tleman Mr Bolter. And he'll be It was a KV209OUB. When we fellows don't know about the Skin back, you know." switched the set on it was all right Effect and Litz wire? "Er . .. Right" I said. "I'll get for five minutes. After that the pic- "This is Henry Hall speaking ..." the recorder in for you Mrs ture became grainy, then disap- "The day war broke out . . ." Swarf." peared as the set began to squeal. "Mah missus isn't a woman, She had not worn well, and "That'll be the 2SD1398 line she's a place . . ." didn't seem to bother about her output transistor" Steven said. "I wouldn't say she drinks, but appearance. Her husband had left "When they get a bit long in the she came home sober last night her for someone else, but still paid tooth they tend to become leaky and the dog bit her . .." the odd bill. All very unfortunate. under load." "'Hey, is that the time? They've Steven pulled the machine over "I can vouch for that" said been open two minutes . . . What — it was a Toshiba V204B. Berryman. will Charlie Evans think?" "If it ticks at plug-in it'll be the "But why does the picture go Hmmm. Those service calls. capstan motor" I said. grainy?" I asked. "It's a heavy set, isn't it, Mr "Or the 10pF, 50V electrolytic "Dunno" Steven replied. But a Bullock? Hold on now . . . Don't CP007" he said. new DU508D cured the trouble. put it on the table in the corner. He was right of course. It was "Want us to fix the old fellow, Perhaps over there . .." CP007 in the chopper drive circuit: John?" I asked.

558 June 1998 TELEVISION A Matsui TV Daewoo colour portable. Then a Matsui 1436XA 14in. "Sorry we've had to come here portable was brought in by a an with this, Mr Buster" he said. odd cove who laughed loudly. "Costs money having sets mended, "Dead" he declared. "Oddie's don't it?" the name. It banged like the "Such is life" I smiled, wishing blazes. Made the missus jump out they'd gone to Snoddys. of her skin." He continued to "We're only pensioners" added laugh. Mrs Trew, "do you do cheap "Call us tomorrow" I said. repairs for pensioners?" When we opened the set we "We've not been too well lately found that the 4AT fuse was a either" said her husband. fragile tube of soot. So we "Sometimes my thumb aches checked the STK7348 chopper cruel, and my wife had toothache chip which was full of shorts. twice in April." He looked at the R651 (270, 3W) and R653 (1.50, set. "Dead" he said, "I wish it was 3W) were both open-circuit, and on hire purchase — we wouldn't go C655 (0.47pF, 50V electrolytic) on having it." was short-circuit. After replacing I waved them off and pulled the these items we switched the set on set on to the bench. It was dead all with some confidence. It came on right — and ticking. I checked the in standby and wouldn't do any- voltage across the mains bridge thing else. The 390k52 start-up rectifier's 120pF, 400V reservoir resistor R652 was open-circuit. capacitor C807 and found that it When Oddie came back he had was low at 180V. So I took it out, his wife with him. She seemed to discharged it and checked its value be back in her skin. His face was with a capacitance meter: 0.05pF! full of mirth, and when we gave The set worked when a replace- him the bill he laughed still more. ment had been fitted. He took the set out to the car while But we noticed that both sets his wife paid the bill. had thin, poor sound, with little "Seems to be a very happy bass. The speakers are very small. man" I commented. When the Trews came back we "He's miserable as hell, dear" handed them the set and the bill. "Don't put it on the table in the corner . . . " she said. "It's a faulty nerve makes "Ten pounds?!" he exclaimed, him laugh like that. For heaven's looking at his wife. sake don't rile him!" She bit her lip. "Will you take knife, eating slice after slice. Oddie called from the car. eight?" she asked. "Good bit of pie" he said, "I "Hurry up" he bawled, "I'm get- He eventually took out his wal- likes pies." ting fed up!" let and paid us. It was thick with loot. Victor's VCR Daewoo Portables Victor Smallpiece is a thin-faced, Greeneyes was in the shop when Norman's Sony TV timid chap who hailes from the Mr Flighty bounced in. He fancies Short, wide and casual Norman land of the leeks. He brought in a her, and she thinks he's quite a Glutton drew up with a Sony newish GoldStar GSEQ121 VCR nice man. I can't stand him. KV27VX1PH in his van. It took and piped at us in his very high "Hello dear" he beamed, two of us to get it into the work- voice. "you're looking very well!" Then shop. He pushed his finger out and "This 'un is dead, can't it? Not he looked at me. "Pensioner now, I drew a line across the air. very old either, does it?" s'pose" he said. "Picture's like that" he said. "Is it under guarantee any- He was carrying a modern Then he looked across at the food where?" I asked. Daewoo 14in. colour portable, shop opposite. "Won't be long" he "No, we won it at a fete a year Model T140 (CP330 chassis). I said. ago" he piped. reached for a card and wrote down As he waddled out we got his The VCR has a separate power his name. "Trouble?" I asked. set on to the bench. It's fitted with board and, unusually, the output "Oh no" he said, "none at all. a chassis we'd not seen before, but voltages are printed on it. Checks I'm fine." we soon found the field output revealed that the 6V supply was I pointed to the set. chip and established that its sup- low at 3.5V. We found that the "Oh, that. Dead." ply, which is derived from pin 12 KIA7806P 6V regulator IC101 Steven opened it up. This one of the line output stage, was miss- was the cause of the trouble. A also had a 4A mains fuse that had ing. We replaced the 0.470 safety replacement restored the machine blown. The cause was obvious: the resistor here, R854, then examined to life. small disc posistor in the degauss- the line output transformer for dry- As seems to be the case with ing circuit, type 180A, had gone joints. There were several, so we most centre-deck machines, this up in smoke. When he'd fitted a resoldered them all. When we one is not too well made. The more substantial replacement and a switched on an excellent picture power supply runs hot, and had new fuse all was well. came up. scorched the board black within Then Mr and Mrs Trew parked Meanwhile Norman had the year, drying out the electrolytic their shiny new car outside and returned. He stood there carving at capacitors. To prevent the job shuffled in with an identical a huge pork pie with his pocket bouncing we replaced the lot.

TELEVISION June 1998 559 What a Life! Donald Bullock makes a Very Cruel Device that produces shocks - and gets his comeuppance. Then there are sets and customers. And a puzzle about where the voices come from

oor Daddy B does his scrib- turbed some nasty mosquitoes, there isn't a picture." bling all by himself in his which Daddy B sprayed with his "Right, I'll get it" I said. pwooden shack in the garden, Cruel Mosquito Spray. They When he'd pushed off, with his away from everybody's noises and coughed and fell down dead. sign, I put his set on the bench. It distractions. Greeneyes' dogs Except one, which flew about was a CT2553STX (Euro 4Z chas- recently discovered it, and have on laughing. This made Daddy B Very sis). There was sound, and the occasion done their business there. Vicious. He spun around, spraying screen displayed some dull chunks This annoyed Daddy B very it. When it flew out of the door, of colour. Nothing else. When I much. He doesn't particularly like Daddy B went after it. increased the brightness I saw a dogs, especially pampered ones that Unfortunately he forgot about faint raster as well. do unspeakable things in his shack. his Very Cruel Wires, and tangled "Strange fault" said Paul. So he decided to adopt a Very his legs in them. They gave him "No luminance" I replied. Wicked Wheeze: he sorted out lots of Very Cruel Shocks that "You're looking at a raster plus the some odds and ends from his made him shout and jump about transmission's colour content but junkbox and built himself a Very Very Much. He hoped that no one not its monochrome content, which Cruel Device — a pulsing shock had seen him dancing or heard him provides the detail. They do it that machine. He connected this to a shouting some Very Naughty way to save bandwidth." pair sprung wires which he strung Words. When I opened the set up I saw across the shack's doorway, just Greeneyes had of course. She that there were three upright panels above floor level. said it served him right for perpe- at the rear of the chassis, secured Then he pretended to go out. trating Cruel Things on innocent by a plastic bracket. The one on the But, instead, he sat behind a bush little dogs, and that he was to tell right is the chromailuminance with a whiskey and watched. everyone in his column how Cruel panel. I waggled it and the lumi- Presently Greeneyes' dogs trotted and Wicked he really was. nance flashed on and off. up to the door and touched their But Daddy B mocked and told When I examined the panel I noses against the wires. Then they her she was getting like her mother. found that during manufacture a made lots of yelping noises and did He hobbled off to his shack to write dab of securing adhesive had been double somersaults all over the gar- about his Nastiness — and to mend put between its print side and the den. Daddy B laughed happily and and refit his Cruel Wires . . bracket. This had dried and corrod- rubbed his hands together. But ed the print beneath it. So I cleaned Greeneys said he was wicked, Sins it off and bridged the gap. When I cruel, drunk and she didn't love Some days later I was back in the switched on again a good, complete him any more. shop when this cove with bright colour picture appeared. Daddy B didn't care. He con- eyes and a shiny red face came in. nected an extra capacitor across the He was carrying a sign on a small Mrs Tubbs' VCR output of his Very Cruel Device to pole. "Be sure your sins will find Meanwhile Mrs Tubbs had brought make it even Crueller, and made you out" it read. in a Samsung VI710 VCR. It was sure it was switched on all the time. "I don't suppose I can help virtually dead, with just bits of the Though he left his shack door wide you?" I asked. digplay visible. "One for you" I open, the dogs never darkened its "It's my Mitsubishi" he said. "It said, "I'm off to make the tea." doorstep again. has faded and died — Matthew 16, When I returned Paul was The time came for Daddy B to verse 6 (or something)." replacing the STK5333 regulator write his column. He stepped over I eyed him up and down. chip IC101. "I checked the outputs the Very Cruel Wires carefully and "It's in my old pram outside" he from the power panel, at the 12-pin started to clear his desk. This dis- continued, "there's a picture but plug CN101" he said. "Instead of

622 July 1998 TELEVISION 15V at pin 1 there was only 1.3V. "Merely asked whether you'd like a At pin 4 there was 0.2V instead of cup of tea, or not yet. You really 5V. These two supplies are both will have to do something about 14 14 decoupled by 47µF electrolytics, your increasing deafness." which are OK. So I think a new Later she came in with the tea. chip will cure the problem." "Careful, it's hot" she said. He finished fitting it and "Cartful of what?" I asked, checked the voltages. This time frowing and looking about as they were right. The VCR had a though puzzled. full display and worked well. "Don't be funny" she replied. "Toast and honey?" I asked. The End Later the shiny-faced cove returned A Philips K40 with his sign. Major Haggerty, the bristling mili- "Your Mitsubishi's ready" I tary no-nonsense blimp, brought in said. "Twenty quid to you." a Philips Model 22CS5751 — the He pulled out his wallet and old K40 chassis. smiled. "Ah, safely delivered from "It needs a spell in the guard- its woes" he said, "Mark 22, verse house" he barked. "Only works in 4 (or something)." the sunshine. Otherwise whines I carried the set out to his pram instead. Had a coolie like that once, for him. As he pushed it away I in the Himalayas. Yanked his head noticed that the sign was double- of in the finish and kicked him to sided. "The End of the World is the tigers . . ." Nigh" it announced on the other He was right. About the set I side. mean. At switch on it whined loud- ly and refused to start up until we Egbert Craddock heated the power supply with our Our next customer was Egbert hairdryer. Then it was OK. So we Craddock, who always looks as cooled the power supply down and though he's riding a bike against then directed the hairdryer's heat the wind. He struggled in with a via a funnel at various components B&O 7180. in this section. The culprit turned "I switches him on, right?" he out to be C2128. A replacement put bawled. an end to the nonsense. "If you say so" I replied. We've had this fault before. Be "He clicks four times then goes careful about identifying the capac- off, right? That's no good to any- itor: there's another C2128, in the Unfortunately Daddy B forgot about his one, right?" EW modulator circuit. Very Cruel Wires. "You've cracked it man" I said, "give it here." Little Men He left the set and made off. When I was a small boy I was fas- Then there were Bix Steven took the back off and found cinated by the voices and music Beiderbecke's magic cornet sounds. the cause of the trouble immediate- that came from our wind-up HMV He had died before I was born, yet ly. This sort of thing narks me. cabinet gramophone and our huge he played for us from inside our "It's just the blue focus unit" he Ekco wireless set. I knew that gramophone. In the Thirties nobody said, "hand me a new one will Henry Hall's orchestra consisted of scoffed much at the idea of ghosts. you?" dozens of dinner-suited musicians Had Bix slipped to some secret I did and it did the job. "Too and their instruments, because I'd graveyard in the bowels of our clever by half" I muttered. seen a picture of them. How could gramophone? they get into our wireless? My confusion increased when Flighty's Visit Obviously they would have to be the wireless set when wrong and Mr Flighty came in, frowned at me, shrunk. Assuming this to be possi- had to be opened. There were no bought a flylead and winked at ble — the early Thirties was a time little men or orchestras. Only a row Greeneyes. of mechanical and electrical mira- of rosy-coloured valves, bits of "What's worse than a giraffe cles — how, I wondered, did they wire and Bakelite. with a sore throat dear?" he asked. sneak in and out? Then the spring in our gramo- "Dunno" said Greeneyes, bright- Whilst they were in there, what phone broke. Inside there was just a ening up. did they do about eating and sleep- dowdy box full of greasy metal "A centipede with corns of ing and other things. The answers cogs. Nobody could live in there, course" he blurted out. "Har, har, evaded me. especially in their nice clean clothes! har! !" Then off he minced, leaving And our gramophone. When "Where do the voices come Greeneyes laughing happily. father played an Al Bowlley record from, Dad?" I asked. She caught my eye. "Coppades, Al sang immediately. When the "Out of the air" he replied. arnohyeh, da?" she said as she tone arm was moved across the "Who put them in the air?" laughed. record he would cut in with differ- "Never mind about that" he said "Just a minute" I said, "you're ent bits of the song. How did he brusquely. "Here's tuppence not gibbering with Flighty now. know which bits to sing? Did he ha'penny. Slip over to Thomas's Let's have it in English." slip along the tone arm and look and get me a packet of She looked at me coldly. through the hole beside the needle? Woodbines."

TELEVISION July 1998 623 What a Life!

"'Elio Mr Bullneck" said a gravelly was no standby light, in fact there did some resoldering in these as well. voice. I turned round and saw an odd were no signs of life apart from a When he'd fmally finished the set cove who looked like Les Dawson in faint ticking. I switched off and produced excellent results. drag. He placed a Matsui 20T1 on the scanned the chassis, looking for dry- Incidentally whenever you get one counter. joints, but couldn't see any. So I dis- of these sets it's advisable to check "Things ain't quite what they connected the line output transistor's R522, which is in the HT preset seem, dear" he rasped. collector connection and connected a (RV501) network. It's a tiny 100k0, "Aren't they then" I said, giving 100W bulb between this point and 0.25W resistor that tends to go high him a sidelong look. chassis. When I switched on again the in value. When this happens the HT "This thing here keeps ticking" he bulb lit. So the power supply was OK rises. The power supply is quite com- went on. and the line output stage suspect. plex, using a master-slave IC control "Not a bomb, surely!" I Time to switch off and carry out cold system. The master regulation part is exclaimed. checks on the semiconductor devices contained in the 1LA2028B chip "Nah, nah. 'E's a telly all right in the stage. IC501, along with the line and field dear. But 'e's a Grundig in hysguise." As the line output transistor tested generator circuits. "Right" I said, reaching for a job OK I began to check the diodes, start- card. "Name please." ing with the larger ones — they can Davey Ruggles "Lotus" he growled. I wrote down usually be reckoned to live more dan- An ancient lorry full of junk rolled Dawson. gerous lives. When f got to the up. Davey Ruggles jumped out, ooz- When he'd departed I took the set BY133 efficiency diode D304 there ing contentment. He's a grafting to the bench, removed the back and was a dead short. We didn't have one Romany who always seems to be on found a Grundig G1000 chassis in stock, so I tried a BY127. When I the losing end of things. inside. When power was applied there switched on again the set sprang to "My luck's in this time Don, I life. think " He had with him an immacu- late colour set the like of which I'd Brother Terry never seen before. It claimed to be a Then Brother Terry came in with an Beko Model 19221 and was dead. old toaster. "Can you fix this for poor "Given to me by number 36" he old Doris Prattle?" he asked. said. "Nice people. Said there wasn't "Sony, no can do" I replied. much wrong but wouldn't take a "Oh. Well, I've brought along my penny for it. The kids would like a neighbour's Sony television too. It's telly again. Our set blew up just gone mental" he said. before Christmas." He left the Beko The set was a KVC2122U, which with us and went over to the Co-op. is fitted with the AE1C chassis. When we opened the set up we Steven put it on the bench and we found that the mains fuse, FU101, soon discovered that Terry was right. had blown. So did a replacement. After working normally for a moment When we investigated further we saw the sound blasted loudly then cut out. some very bad dry-joints in the power The picture flickered, the field supply section. Resoldering them cramped and then the picture disap- cured the trouble. The results were peared, leaving a brilliant raster. Next good too. it reappeared, expanded away and the "Poor fellow" I said. "Let's put the field scanning collapsed. Finally the set back in his cab and say it was set grunted and died. nothing." Steven took it out, along When we opened up the set we with a few tapes from his video saw that there were dry-joints in all library which he closed down a while sections of the chassis. Steven under- back. took the resoldering. He had to attend to poor joints on the vertically-mount- Mr Ng's Bush ed sub-panels as well as the main Our next caller was Mr Ng. He's one PCB. This restored operation, but who never looses. there was signal instability. So Steven "I'm owning a television set which "Things ain't quite what they seem, dear" he rasped. removed the tuner and IF cans and is very, very bad to me" he said soft-

712 August 1998 TELEVISION ly. He smiled, showing us two dozen er, don't you Clarence?" The boy poor convergence and poor picture front teeth. managed a silent gasp of air. geometry are often seen with the ones "Goodness gracious me, what is "I don't know why he won't speak we come across, and readjustment being the trouble?" I asked. up, Mr Billhook, "just like his father, doesn't help much. He got a passer-by to bring in the I'm sure." set, which was a Bush 2714 (11AK03 When they'd gone Steven opened Mitsubishi Problem chassis). It was stuck in standby. the camcorder, a Sharp VLC790H. Mr McTurdey had a problem with his Paul had a go at this one. He first There was no mechanical operation. Mitsubishi Model CT2525. "'Tis hab- checked the print side of the chassis to It's one of the best for ease of servic- solutely dead, Son. Hardly works at see if any of the fusible resistor leads ing. The deck and lens assembly are — they are long and untrimmed — were simple to remove. You then see a pair I looked at him, then at the set. shorting to the rectifier diodes. They of double-sided PCBs sandwiched After taking details I waved him out. weren't. So he checked the BU506D together and secured to the bottom of When I looked inside I found that line output transistor which was very the deck. the 2SD1887 chopper transistor leaky. "That'll be it" he said after fit- The cause of the trouble was quite Q901 was short-circuit. D909, a 3V ting a replacement. But the set was obvious once the boards had been sep- zener diode (type RD3.0FB2) that's still stuck in standby. His smile faded. arated. C951 (220µF, 6.3V) had in series with it, was open-circuit. Then he moved over to the line driver leaked badly over the PCB, corroding R910, which is in parallel with stage, where the 3.91(0, 4W feed a section of the print. Steven cleaned D909, and the 4.751 surge limiter resistor R603 was open-circuit. off the corrosion, fitted a new capaci- resistor R902 were also open-circuit. Steven suggested checking the tor and bridged the print. Then he I noticed a crop of dry-joints in BC639 driver transistor TR601 as noticed that another electrolytic, the power supply, and surmised well. "It was the cause of the trouble C3302 (10µF, 16V), was also leaking. that they could well have been the last time I had one of these sets in — Fortunately no damage had occurred basic cause of the blow-up — Mr the transistor was dead short." this time. So he did some more clean- McTurdey mentioned that there had Paul found that the same thing had ing up and fitted a replacement. On been intermittent operation for some happened with this set. Once replace- test the camcorder now worked well. months before the final failure. ments had been fitted the set worked They came to collect it shortly well enough. after. "We're ever so grateful to you Back in Spain "Oh dear oh dear" said Mr Ng for doing it so quickly Mr Billhook, It was when we returned to Spain that when he called for his set. "It is being aren't we Clarence?" she sang. Greeneyes became a car thief. We had my unlucky day. My car was having a Clarence raised his chin. "Tell Mr. a call from Maisie who lives over her puncture and the man was wanting Billhook how pleased you are, restaurant-bar in a nearby town. Her two pounds to mend it. And a very, Clarence." This time Clarence man- huge Hitachi set, Model C2846N, was very nasty traffic warden is reporting aged a tiny squeak before she cut in operating intermittently. me for parking it. Everybody is want- again. Like so many in Spain we use an ing my money, and I'm not liking it." "I dunno. He's very a very disap- old Panda car as a runabout. I scooped He showed us his teeth again. pointing boy, Mr 'Billhook. Just won't a few tools into it and Greeneyes "Well, the set won't cost you say a word. Can't understand him. drove us to Maisie's place. much" smiled Steven. "Fifteen Come on, Clarence." After a few minutes her set cut out pounds." and went to standby. Then it came on Mr Ng gasped and his teeth disap- Another Sony again, p6pped, flashed the Nicam sig- peared. "Can't you be taking ten?" he Mrs Ruff came in with her lodger, Old nal and died again. I soon found that asked. Pukey. "It's me telly, Mr Bugbear" the 12V regulator chip was dry-joint- "Fifteen" smiled Steven. she rasped. "Seems to be doing what- ed. Resoldering it cured the trouble. "Twelve?" asked Mr Ng. ever 'e likes. Go an' bring 'im in, On the way back we parked at a "Fifteen" said Steven, still smiling. you" she said, jerking her thumb at shopping parade to make a couple of "Shall we be saying fourteen?" Old Pukey. purchases. Then we jumped back into Steven smiled even more sweetly. He staggered in with a Sony the car and started it up. A drunken "Fifteen" he breathed. KVD2512U. When they'd gone we Englishman tottered from a bar and Mr Ng took out a huge, embossed pulled it on to the bench and tried it. started shouting and waving his arms. wallet and peeled three fivers from a The problems were intermittent: "Let's get going" Greeneyes said, fat wad of notes. sometimes the picture disappeared; "he's paralytic." "I am paying you very, very much, sometimes the on-screen graphics Then Greeneyes noticed that the and this is not good. I should be pay- went as well; at other times all we steering wheel was without its glove ing you only five pounds" Mr Ng con- would see were a lot of peculiar on- thing, and I noticed that the car was cluded. screen display symbols. even untidier than usual. Suddenly we When we opened it up we found both realised that it wasn't our car at Mrs Runner that the troubles could be instigated by all. It was the drunk's. It was the Mrs Runner came in with her son tapping the tuner/IF PCB (board A). It same, sun-faded colour as ours, and as Clarence, who is of slight build. often suffers from dry-joints, but this old and worn. But it was his, not ours! "Hello, Mr Billhook" she trilled, time we couldn't see any. So we con- Greeneyes drove back and we "Clarence's camera won't work, will centrated on the tuner, and found that clambered out. I forced a laugh. "Ha it Clarence?" even the gentlest of taps had a dramat- ha ha, thought it was ours, mix up, Clarence began to open his mouth. ic effect. Steven opened it and careful- sorry, that's ours there." "The cassette housing won't shut, will ly resoldered every joint. That cleared "They're shtealing my car" the it Clarence?" she piped. Clarence the problems. drunk continued to shout. raised his face ready to speak, but she Though expensive, the models that Awkward. Everyone else, apart cut in again. "It switches on all right, use the AE1 series chassis seem to from the drunk, thought it a great and he sees a picture in the viewfind- give poor results. Grainy pictures, joke.

TELEVISION August 1998 713 What a Life! Mainly difficulties with TV sets this month. Donald Bullock on servic- ing and people problems - and that wordprocessor of his

omputers leave me cold. Son of course" he continued, "it's so Steven opened the set and found James has knocked himself old. Say perhaps a fiver." a multitude of dry-joints where C up a beauty entirely out of As I cringed away James took it conductors joined the print. He units from CPC, but I haven't even to the workshop. He found that the spent a long time cleaning and mustered up enough interest to try heat had congealed the mecha- resoldering them. Then he tried the to work it. Everybody tells me to nism's grease. A clean up made it set again. It was dead. throw away the Amstrad PCW8512 work all right. So we charged him a There are two chopper circuits I use for writing. Now it seems that tenner. in this chassis. The main one pro- I might have to. "Hope it'll last a good while" vides the HT supply and three LT Because the heat in Spain dries said Mr Whiner. supplies, at 24V, 12V and 5V. The out the exposed part of the Amstrad It reminded me of Walt, with other one provides standby opera- machine's printer ribbon, I keep whom 1 worked many years ago. tion, with 7.5V and —30V outputs. producing articles full of white He was an excellent engineer who The 7.5V output feeds a 5V regula- patches. I thought I'd found a rem- had been in the trade a long time, tor, IC951. edy, but it hasn't worked out. It and the customers had long since As the HT was present, Steven happened like this. got to him. Now and again, after a moved over to the standby supply In Spain we put our refuse into a particularly bad experience, he and found that the 5V line pro- big communal bin. It's common would cry out "immediately isn't duced a hardly detectable reading. practice for people to place any- soon enough, free isn't cheap The smoothing capacitor C709 thing they think might be useful to enough and perfection isn't good (10pF, 50V) was open-circuit. someone else by the side of it. enough!" Steven fitted a replacement and That's where I found a mint He eventually threw in the towel thought everything would be OK. Commodore MPS1270 mono- and got a job repairing bicycles. "Not too tricky after all" he mut- chrome inkjet printer, in its factory tered. But when he switched the set packing, but minus the instruction Problem with a Mitsubishi on it was still dead. So it was back booklet and computer-to-printer Steven's problems with a to the main chopper circuit, where lead. James tried it on his computer Mitsubishi TV set began when Mr the 12V output was missing and pronounced it perfect. All I Bullneck pushed through the door because the 1.6A protector Z901 needed was a simple lead to con- and interrupted his conversation had gone open-circuit. He fitted a nect it to the PCW8512. That was with the vicar, replacement and switched on again. some months ago. I've tried here, "Can you pull me Mitsubishi There were still no results. there and everywhere, but haven't outa the car, oney I've a bad back, "Must be loss of line drive" managed to get one. see." Steven commented. He resoldered Now I find that when I boot up Steven stepped out and followed the connections to the line driver the PCW8512 the little red light on him to his car. It was about a hun- transformer T551 and checked the the shift-lock key sometimes comes dred yards away, on the other side line driver and output transistors, on and the machine won't respond of the busy road, and it was raining. which were both all right. But there to the keyboard at all. I have to He staggered back carrying a black was still no line drive. Scope switch off and boot up again. box about the size of a tea chest. It checks showed that everything was Dunno why. Do you? I does it with was a Mitsubishi CT2146TX (Euro OK on the primary side of the line various start-of-the-day discs. 6 chassis). driver transformer. There were no Once I'd got Bullneck out I gave pulses across the secondary wind- On the Cheap Steven a drink of water and before ing however. The windings pro- Mr Whiner brought in his ancient long he was able to stagger to the duced DC continuity readings both Hitachi VCR the other day. bench and try the set. It worked all in and out of circuit. There was no "Can you get this going for right and continued to do so for the short across the secondary winding. tonight?" he asked. "Only the, rela- rest of the day. So he phoned Mr "I reckon I might as well give this tives are visiting. Got to have the Bullneck. "Your set's all right" he one back and recommend Snoddies video working, haven't I?" said. or Crubb's Foodstore" he moaned. "It's essential" I said. "Ill-ent" Bullneck rasped. "He "Why not take the driver trans- "Not worth spending much on it goes dead every three days." former out and check it with a mag-

788 September 1998 TELEVISION nifier?" I asked. down to zero, switched the set on He found that the joints to the and adjusted VR801 carefully for PCB were clean, but the pins had a an HT reading of 110V. Everything tarnished look. So he removed the worked smoothly. The preset's slid- transformer again and cleaned the er ended up dead central along its pins with fine emery paper. When track, and the set produced an they were shiny bright he replaced excellent picture. the transformer. This time the set worked at once and proved to be Another Mitsubishi reliable. At this point a large TV set with a "That transformer read OK pair of skimpy trousered legs trot- despite its tarnished pins" Steven ted in. Steven saw that it was a commented, "I don't see why the Mitsubishi set and disappeared, waveform couldn't get through." with a squeaking sound. Being "Perhaps the silver-plated pins made of sterner stuff, I dashed out had developed a silver oxide coat- and hoisted it on to the bench. The ing from solder-flux impurities" I legs stayed where they were, and I suggested. noticed that they were part of a tiny "Wish I'd shone the pins up ear- body, with a head and arms. Then lier" Steven said. an enormously amplified voice filled the shop and half the street. Turkish Delight "No picture at all Mr Bulbous" Then Greeneyes came into the it said. Steven ran out, looking shop. She'd been to the market. incredulous. But my attention was "I've a packet of Turkish delight concentrated on the little fellow for you" she cooed. who had brought the set in. "Good" I said, rubbing my "Just a blank screen" said the hands. "Bring her in!" amplified voice. "Phone number is Greeneyes made a silly noise on the label there." and her expression turned cold. She Steven ran back into hiding and placed a Bush 2114T portable on I cringed. I waved the little chap the counter. "Belongs to Molly" out and tried the set. It was a mod- she snapped. "It's dead. Perhaps it ern one, and displayed a blank heard one of your silly jokes." raster. I wanted to check whether The set boasted its Turkish ori- there was any sound, but modern gin and was dead all right. It sets make me nasty, 'cos I can't He staggered back carrying a black box about the clicked at switch on. While work them. I called Steven out. size of a tea chest. Greeneyes watched I went straight "It's only a simple fault" I said, to the BU508D line output transis- "will you set it all up while I make that lists every model affected and tor Q402 and found that it was the tea?" tells you which parts each one short-circuit. After replacing it I When I returned he had an needs for the repair. CPC does the checked R811, the 1f2 resistor in excellent picture on the screen. chip on its own at £6.68 plus VAT. the 24V supply. As expected it was Then he switched the set off and This set will need just the chip — open-circuit. I replaced this as well, back on again. A blank screen was others need the whole kit and and felt I was doing just fine. Show present, as before, detailed picture geometry adjust- that girl who's clever. Then I "Ah" he said brightly. "The ments." switched the set on. trouble will be to do with the I sauntered off. Getting clever, It emitted a curling whisp of X24C04P EEPROM chip IC702. this boy. Not a clever as me, only I smoke, made the same noise that When it fails various problems can just don't bother. And anyway his Greeneyes had made over my be present. Often the one we've got tea isn't a patch on mine! Turkish delight joke, and looked at now, or the teletext may be miss- me just as coldly. ing, there may be no Nicam sound Sky TV I checked the set again. Both the or, with B series sets only, the I've noticed that during interviews items I'd replaced had failed. So I rotating base. Or any combination with overseas reporters in Sky TV's did what I should have done before of these faults." He was about to news broadcasts there is a notice- — I measured the HT voltage. It was walk out as he spoke, and I noticed able delay before they seem to be high at 145V instead of 110V, and that his backside looked like a able to hear and respond to the adjusting the HT preset VR801 sackful of cats heading for the anchor man's questions. made no difference. Time to switch river. The other day, during a conver- off again. "Rotating base?" I asked. sation between the newsreader and The chopper power supply is of "Yes, permanently or intermit- someone in Ireland, the delays were the standard TDA4601 control-chip tently" he continued. "SEME does longer — two or three seconds. The type. I found that two electrolytic a kit that puts matters right, at just newsreader ended the interview capacitors associated with the chip £10.33 plus VAT. The part number prematurely, blaming a "slow line". had fallen in value. C817 was only is RK216G. In addition to the EEP- Are the delays the result of 6pF instead of 10pF (16V), while ROM chip it includes two 68kS2 bandwidth problems I wondered? C818 had fallen in value from 1pF resistors and an 0.01pF capacitor. Does the transmitted picture have (50V) to 0.3pF. These are not needed in all models. to be sent piecemeal and built up at I replaced them, also the two It's worth ordering the kit, because the other end? At any rate the lip items I'd blown up, wound VR801 it comes with a technical bulletin sync remains intact.

TELEVISION September 1998 78' What a Life!

Curious faults and curious customers. Some TV sets and other items that have come Donald Bullock's way this month

I 've done away with my Very Cruel this chassis. They sometimes cause The NEI 2891FTXN Shocking Machine — it gave me IC damage, the TEA5101A RGB Mrs Whiner asked me to bring in more Vicious Shocks and dancing drive chip IT01 on the tube's base this monster set (another Nikkai lessons that I've had from a lifetime panel being particularly vulnerable. chassis) from her car. She com- in this trade. The usual symptom when this IC plained that the picture was slightly The turning point came when fails is loss of one colour. cramped and sometimes bounced. Greeneyes screamed blue murder But when I plugged the set in and from the kitchen. I scrambled from The Akura Tourer switched it on, in front of her, it my writing hut to help her, got tan- CX10/Nikkai Baby 10 exploded. This made her squeak a bit gled up in the wires yet again and Father Docherty was so pleased with and dab at her eyes. But I managed finally tottered in to find her stand- our efforts that he recommended us to raise a false laugh and said that ing on a chair gibbering at a spider. to a fellow cleric. So a few days later I'd have it right in no time. She The dogs nevertheless bring me Father O'Sullivan rolled up with an pulled herself together and left. compensations. Whenever they Akura Tourer CX10. This ten inch I was almost afraid to take the annoy me and I get stroppy set is the same as the Nikkai Baby back off but, being a stiff upper-lip Greeneyes makes me one of her 10, the Alba CTV10 and the type, I managed it. The top of the excellent bacon and vegetable pies to Samsung C1210R. TDA8380 chopper control chip sweeten me. To make sure that they "I'm told that you're a man who IC100 had blown clean away. work, I reach for my giant wineglass. likes a good romp with his dogs, This was back in England, and I've had a couple of these pies Mester Ballock" he said. "Well I Steven was hovering behind me. I recently. One was presented to me a likes dogs too. What would we do turned to him. "Feel it's time for a week or so ago after I'd struggled up without them?!" cup of tea" I said, preparing to slink our front drive with Father It was another dead set. After off, "do you?" Docherty's TV set and trod in a huge ensuring that the bridge rectifier was While in the kitchen I felt peckish dog-bowl full of water and fallen developing 16V at the DC fuse and cut myself a slice from a huge down. Father Docherty heard me F402, we bridged the relay switch polony-type thing I found in the bawl a Very Naughty Word. He RLY401 to pass the supply to the fridge. It tasted horrible and was grit- crossed himself and clicked his regulator IC402. The voltage fell to ty. I scanned the label and discov- tongue seven times before he scam- 11V, and IC402 could muster only ered that it was dog food. My accu- pered off. 9V at its output. sations of attempted murder duly The line output transistor was brought me another bacon pie. An ICC7 Chassis running hot but tested all right. Our When I returned to the workshop His set, which was dead, was a checks on the supply to the line out- I found that Steven had replaced the Ferguson Model B59F (ICC7 chas- put stage brought us to the heavy- chip. He switched the set on and it sis). I soon found that the mains fuse weight FR605 diode D410 which blew up again. had blown, so I checked for shorts, was dead short. It feeds pin 8 of the "Can't go on like this" he said, fitted a replacement and gazed LOFT. A replacement cured the "we'll have to ring NEI — they've intently at the chassis as I held my trouble. got a very helpful technical chap." breath and switched on. There was a It was the jovial Father O'Malley We were told that this does some- huge and instant EHT flashover who came to collect the set. times happen and that there's a between the tube's anode cap and its Greeneyes' dogs ran a friendly sortie power supply repair/modification kit. earthed Aquadag coating. around him. He spun around a bit It costs about £20 — and did the trick. The cause turned out to be one of then fell down. Here's what you get: the the tuning capacitors in the line out- "Oh, er — they've never done this TDA8380 chip IC100; the put stage, CL21. Its value is 11.5nF, to anyone before" I faltered, feeling TCDT1101 opto-coupler IC101; the with a voltage rating of 1.6kV. The my thigh and hip as I helped him up. SGSIF344 chopper transistor TR100; value varies with different tubes and "Makes no difference t' me" he the 5.1V zener diode D104; R109 is critical. Fit only an identical said, "personally I hate dogs. Every (13.7k0); R102 (0.220); C107 replacement. one of them. Especially those!" (10nF, 50V); C108 (33pF, 50V); We've had flashovers before with There was a bacon pie for tea. C122 (22g, 100V); also a 3.3g,

898 October 1998 TELEVISION 50V capacitor to replace C109, away a bit. which was originally 2.2g. She looked at me and grinned. While Steven was at it he "Okey-dokey matey" she said. "I checked and replaced C122 (220µF, ain't mad, mind." 35V) which had fallen in value to As I moved the set over she 200µF, also all the resistors — they prowled out. The set was a TVR141, are lightweight and look vulnerable. which is a combined TVNCR unit. Having got the power supply Steven found that it had a fault in working, Steven pulled the scope each section. over to check on the field bounce The screen would intermittently problem. This took him to the IF flash to peak white, with flyback strip, where he discovered that there lines across it. We traced the cause was sync pulse crushing. The cause to a, poorly crimped wire at connec- of the trouble was C9 (10µF, 50V). tor CP803 on the tube base panel. It For the slightly reduced height he provides an HT feed. simply adjusted the vertical ampli- Paul took over to deal with the tude potentiometer. VCR fault. When a cassette was "Mrs Whiner won't be too inserted it went in an inch then the amused" he said as he settled down deck reverted to standby. After to write out the bill. "Incidentally I switching on again the cassette trav- feel peckish after all that work. elled in another inch. If you repeat- Anything in the fridge?" edly switched the machine back on "Try a hunk of the polony" I said, the cassette would eventually disap- "it's tasty". pear inside and play normally. The cause of this curious behaviour was A Matsui 209T the mode switch, which was dirty. Just then a chap ambled in carrying a It's under the deck, and is quite easy "Father Docherty heard me say a very naughty word." 20in. Matsui set — Model 209T. He to take out and clean. plonked it down on my hand. I tried The Ann Hodder that came to my fingers: they still worked. collect it was the back-street one — I ran out, fearing the worst. But "By the way" he said, "the pic- until she'd paid and picked up the the car was perfectly all right. I ture's faulty." set. returned to find Ribby creased up "Name?" I asked, drawing over a "Good-bay and thenk you very with laughter. job card. much, gentlemen" she sang. "Aim "OK Pratty" I said, "what brings "Matsui" he replied. 'By the way, veray grateful." us the pleasure of your company this the picture's faulty." time?" I wrote "Mr Prat" on the card. A Monitor He fetched a GoldStar RQ205 "What's wrong with the picture?" I An Eco Scan 15 VGA monitor, VCR from his car. It looked new. asked. Model AL5064PD, was sent to us by "Doesn't play right" he said. "Seems "Ah, it's faulty" he said. the local solicitors Dewey, jerky and inconsistent, and switches I waved him out and pulled the Squeezem and Howe. It was made to standby when it gets warm. Then set on to the bench. The picture was by Mitac International. We were told it won't start again till it cools cramped, with foldover. The field that the display had gradually down." output stage uses a pair of transis- become darker and darker over the There's a separate power panel on tors, and I saw at once that C303 past year. This was another one for the left inside this machine. The (3.3g, 160) was bulging and ready Steven. KLA7806 6V regulator (IC101) on to burst. The circuit diagram says "Most monitors are set to work at this panel provides the 6V always 4.7µF, so I fitted a capacitor of this full contrast to produce a sharp supply, which is very critical. When value, rated at 250V. It cured the image at low brightness" he com- it falls slightly the microcontroller set's trouble. mented as he pulled it on to his chip shuts the machine down. bench. "Bright screens can cause We soldered a wire to the 6V Another Matsui headaches and migraine. This one's always supply, boxed the machine Our next caller, a tall, thin woman, four years old. I reckon the tube up and ran it with a DC voltmeter also brought in a Matsui set. She might be flat." connected between the wire and strode in as though she owned the But when he switched it on there chassis to monitor the voltage. Sure place. Although she was a bit was no blue in the display. The blue enough as the machine warmed up dowdy, she had this posh voice. bias preset on the tube base had no the voltage fell and the tape transport "Its pictyah gows braight whaite effect. A further check showed that it faltered in sympathy. After a while — with laMes across it" she pro- had no connection to chassis. R714, the machine switched to standby. A nounced as she placed the set on the a 51k1-2, 025W resistor, was open- replacement KIA7806 regulator counter. I like gentlefolk. So I pulled circuit. Simple fortunately. A cured the fault. over a job card and smiled. replacement put an end to the prob- With manuals at today's pro- "Name?" I asked. lem. hibitive prices, we don't have the She gave me a toothpaste smile. luxury of a comprehensive stock of "Hodder" she sang out. Ribby Ellis them. Our suspicion is that in this Then she gave me a sideways Ribby Ellis likes a good laugh — at model the capstan motor depends on look. " 'Odder — Ann 'Odder. the expense of others. "Who ran into the 6V always supply. Anyway we Gollit?" she said. your car?" he asked, jerking his keep a few of these regulators in I looked up sharply. "We'll try to thumb in the direction of the door. stock, as we've had them play up get it done by Friday" I said, backing "That'll cost a few quid to put right." before in these machines.

TELEVISION October 1998 899 What a Life!

Bores and other problems, mainly with tellys. Donald Bullock's monthly round up

itt reeneyes never forgets a face. I Ferguson set on the counter. low socket." V do. I can talk to someone for "Pinged three times and died, he "Of course" I said, "should have half an hour in the shop and, unless did. Just as that Bruce Foresight known." they have green hair or two heads chap comes in. I was having me We fitted a new TDA8190 sound or something, I'm unlikely to know dinner at the time. The missus gets channel chip but there was still no them next day. Some of them find sausages and mash twice a week. audio output. Its safety-type feed this disconcerting. They can't Do you like sausage and mash? resistors R3102 and R3672 were understand why the chap who Yeah, pinged three times 'e did. Or both open-circuit. Once we'd showed such interest in a set was it four? No three times, that's replaced them all was well. brought in yesterday doesn't seem right. I remember saying to the mis- The Ferguson set was a Model to know who they are when they sus 'reckon these sausages are 66M3, which is based on the ICC5 call for it the following day. fresh?' Not as 'er'd give me bad chassis. Steven disconnected pins 8 uns, mind. Yea, Bruce Foresight and 10 of the line output trans- Bores was on at the time . . ." former, connected a 100W bulb While I'm in the confessional box, "Name?" I asked, dishing my from pin 8 to chassis and switched here's something else. I find it very smile. on. The bulb pulsed three times difficult to keep up an appearance "Ferguson" he replied. then went out. of friendly interest with a bore. As "No, your name?" "Power supply's OK" he said. I'm told for the third or fourth time "Yes, Ferguson. Do you like After removing the line output how a set tailed and what was on at Bruce Foresight?" transformer he tried again. This the time, then the service history of time the HT came up and remained, their previous set is unfurled, my Marconi with no pulsing. The line output eyes glaze over and I find myself As Steven settled down to the sets a transistor proved to be OK, so we reliving the time I caught that 22- foreign looking chap came in with fitted a new transformer and tried pound pike at Waltham Pits. an old Marconi radio. I drew up a again. The HT pulsed three times Take the fellow who staggered in card. and shut down. the other day with a monster Philips "Mr Marconi?" I asked. An hour later Steven had made set, Model 24CE3588/05B (CP110 He raised an eye and looked at no progress, despite checking a chassis). me. "I haf never called my wireless dozen or so associated components. "Ha, ha" he started, "the set was `Me" he said, "vie do you call He took the new transformer out all right until we pulled the plug wirelesses 'Mr' in this country?" and tried again. As before, the HT and went on holiday. To Blackpool "Oh, er, ha, ha . . . My mistake" came up and remained. Steven sat actually. We watched the Ester I said. down and pondered. I was at a loss Poltergeist programme just before too. Could the new transformer be we went. Do you know Blackpool? Work faulty? We checked it for shorts and Yep, right as rain it was till we went Meanwhile Steven had pulled the didn't find any, but this didn't prove there. And her's was the last pro- Philips set on to the bench. "The much. gramme we watched. Funny, ennit? capacitor 'battery' has gone" he As a long shot Steven moved I remember the missus saying, as I said. For better access he pulled out over to the power supply and switched 'im off, 'pull out the plug both the speaker and the degaussing checked the BU508A chopper tran- Charlie'. And of course I did. I likes plug, then fitted the new capacitor. sistor. It tested perfectly of course. Blackpool, do you?" After doing that he was called to the But he fitted another and tried I picked up a pen. "Name?" I phone. again. This time the set sprang to asked. I sauntered over and replaced the life. He looked at the set. "Philips" he plugs. The yellow one in the yellow said. socket, the reddish-brown one in the An Akai VCR "And your name?" I asked, try- red socket. When I switched the set Meanwhile Paul was working on an ing desperately in smile. on it went bang and emitted a puff Akai VSF30 VCR. After replacing "Phillips" he replied. of smoke. But it came on — without the usual carriage gear he tried it any sound. out. The monitor's screen flickered And Another "Ah" said Steven, "the yellow blue a few times then the machine As he walked out a similar sort of plug came from the red socket, and died. chap came in and deposited a the reddish-brown one from the yel- "Now I'm in trouble" he corn-

62 November 1998 TELEVISION mented. After a further hour's Bugbear" she grinned, "he's like investigation he found that FR221, my husband, no good for nuffin." a 120Q safety resistor, was open- The set was dead and wouldn't circuit. It's in the 30V line to the go into the standby mode. When we tuner/display and control circuitry. advanced the setting of the first No reason for its failure could be anode control we got a milky raster found, and a replacement brought with flyback lines. This proved that the machine back to life. the 12V supply was missing. So we checked R422, the 3.3Q, 2W safety Mr Zwymer resistor that feeds the 12V, 1W Then Mr Zwymer brought in a zener diode D402. As it was open- Ferguson T14R portable. "Is new" circuit we fitted a replacement. he said, "unt is dead. Bot fot can I Then we checked the zener diode, do about it? Ze vife von it in a raf- which was short-circuit. This was fle. Silly voman! Vie did I marry replaced as well. such a voman?" Before switching on again we The set's fitted with the TX805 checked C909 (47µF, 25V) and chassis, and there was no HT across C910 (10µF, 50V) in the power C17 (100µF, 160V). So the Wessel supply. C909, which couples the combined chopper/line output cir- drive to the base of the chopper cuit wasn't working. Most times it's transistor, produced an odd reading. not necessary to do anything other We fitted a replacement rated at than check the three 68kQ resistors 50V, 105°C. Although C910 tested in the start-up circuit. Sure enough OK, we decided to replace it with a RP41 had failed. 105° type. When Mr Zwymer called for it When we switched on again we we presented him with a bill for had a picture. But when standby £12.50. He broke into an hysterical was selected the set remained on laugh. though the screen darkened. We've "Vie, that is chicken feed" he also had this fault before: Q907 declared, "now I lof my vife again!" (2SC2335) goes short-circuit and R920 rises in value. We fitted a new A Tatung BUT560A transistor in the Q907 A foreign looking chap came in with an old Marconi radio, Squadron-leader Pettigrew has a position and a new resistor. This moustache that's wider than his time all was well. face. "You'll have to get the old When Doris Blugg returned she scan coil area and from the tube's telly out of the car for me" he said. was still on about her husband. "He anode cap to its Aquadag coating. "You and you" he ordered, pointing wants to take some of that Niagra Looking shaken, he switched off at Paul and me. "I'm giving it one stuff' she said, "if there's one thing quickly, then disconnected the feed last chance. Seems to want to mess worse . ." to the line output transformer and me about — and nobody does that!" "Thank you Mrs Blugg" I cut in. checked the voltage across the HT We brought it in and he took his "Now we'll just get this set to your reservoir capacitor. It was very high leave. It was a Tatung TV9704 (170 car." at 193V. series chassis). We plugged it in and As you'll have gathered, the set "It's still unregulated despite switched on. As it warmed up the uses an Onwa chassis — though it's what we've done" he said, then picture started to flicker and shake. a rather more complex one than started to examine the chopper cir- Then it slipped sideways across the usual. cuit in greater detail. The two zener screen, went to black and white, With the next set, an Osume diodes ZD901 (8.2V) and ZD902 next to a blue screen, then faded to OS1464 14in. portable, we were (9.1V) and the 0.1µF capacitor in nothing. We reached for the freezer, again faced with an Onwa chassis. the drive pulse shaping network but it didn't help. It tripped three times at switch on. were all short-circuit. He replaced At the back of the chassis there's "We should be able to polish this them and, for good measure, the a 4in. PCB that stands upright. one off quickly" said Steven. 2SA1815 error detector transistor Between this and the metal chassis "We'll check the usual suspects." Q901, though it read OK. surround there's an LM317T regu- The 12V zener diode ZD401 was When he switched on again the lator (1802) that provides a 12V out- short-circuit and its feed resistor HT voltage reading was correct at put. At some time in the past it had R414 was open-circuit. After 109V and was properly adjustable. been unscrewed from the metal, replacing them we checked the But when he reconnected the feed which acts as its heatsink. As a BU508D line output transistor Q402 to the line output stage the set result it had overheated and was which was also short-circuit. tripped three times and shut down. now leaky. Once we'd fitted replacements Further checks showed that the A replacement cured the fault. we moved to the power supply and line output transformer had been When we'd boxed the set up and renewed the troublesome electrolyt- damaged by the over-voltage condi- tried it again I let it know the score. ics C909 and C910, using 105° tion — it had shorted infernally. "No more playing up" I said, "or types. The customer had accepted our it'll be curtains for you." "That'll probably be it" Steven quote for regulator repairs, but said, "these stock faults can be refused the increased quote to Some Onwas moneymakers." include the transformer. So the Doris Blugg called in with a Bush When he switched the set on work we'd done was a waste of 2059NTX. "No picture, Mr there was terrible arcing from the time.

TELEVISION November 1998 63 What a Life!

Some test card musk takes Donald Bullock on a trip back to the Fifties. Followed by some more up-to-date problems

hile listening to the radio the days started off nippy but soon that he never paid for anything in recently I heard a became hot, we suffered. full. He'd come in, choose a couple Wprogramme about a The 405-line sets we worked on at of TV sets and perhaps a pair of society for the preservation of the the time had large wooden cabinets tables, then, when told the total price, music that used to accompany the and big speakers. Most of them remind everyone within earshot that TV test cards, in the good old days produced excellent quality sound. I he was a loaded cash customer who when they were displayed for the can still hear the sprightly melody of was always given a discount. best part of the working day. Its Sylvia, one of a lengthy medley of "Come on, ten per cent off, as leading light was interviewed during strict-tempo tunes that came on each usual" he'd declare. the programme, and some of the day to accompany test card C. Does Stan would smile ruefully, shake tunes were played. They seemed to anyone else remember it? I've no his head sadly, and do the sums. go back no farther than the Sixties idea which orchestra played it, but Then Morris would pay up and walk however. I'd love to hear those arrangements out, smirking. My mind floated back to the again. Just the thought of them After seeing this performance for Fifties, when I worked in the busy nowadays conjures up some rose- about the third time, I ventured to ask TV servicing workshop of Foyles tinted memories. Stan how he could afford it. Furnishing at Gloucester. Happy "Easy" he replied, "I always put days — in spite of the off-peak Rhoda Roughneck ten per cent on first." heaters, full of firebricks that warmed One of our customers was Rhoda up all night and gave off their heat Roughneck, who ran a dockside pub. Sony Stacking System next day whether we wanted it or She had a 14in. Ferguson set. In Faults not. In the spring and autumn, when those days the BBC's Band I My oldish Sony stacking system, transmissions reached us from which lives in Spain, has given me Birmingham without difficulty. But two bits of trouble. Both cassette the ITV signal, in Band III, didn't do decks failed and jammed, and the so well: we were well into the fringe pick-up arm in its Model PSLX50 area and, even with a masthead record deck took to returning only amplifier on a high rig, poor, fading half way back towards its rest reception was common. position. To deal with this situation many The tape deck trouble was, in both manufacturers, including Ferguson, cases, caused by the tiny drive tyre produced service- and fringe-area cracking apart. We didn't have any models. The latter would incorporate replacements, but we did have one flywheel sync. Mrs Rough-neck's set tyre that was of exactly the right was one of them, and this diameter and thickness but twice the compounded the problem. In those height of the original ones. Son days flywheel sync caused us as James found an old pen of the right much trouble as it was supposed to size, slid the tyre on to it, then avoid — ask anyone who had to repair carefully cut centrally around it with a Pye V4. a craft knife to divide it into two. We would see Rhoda three or four The result matched the originals and whiskys into the morning, after her worked. While at it we replaced the set's line sync had flown off. She belts and cleaned up and lubricated would be bawling away and we both mechanisms before would creep down to watch as she reassembling them. marched around the showroom, The pick-up problem was caused twisting the music racks on the by failure of Q101, a transistor that's pianos, pummelling the keys and associated with the record-size slamming the keyboard lids up and selector. It had become leaky down. between its collector and base.

Tenpercent Morris Amstrad PCW Problems Then there was Tenpercent Morris, I referred recently to my Amstrad We would see Rhoda three or four whiskeys into the morning another pub landlord, who boasted PCW8512 word processor's habit of

82 December 1998 TELEVISION locking up when booting up. When one for Steven. It was completely open-circuit. Once the correct parts it did this the red light in the shift dead. had been fitted the set worked lock key lit up. This prompted a He checked the 2A circuit perfectly. detailed letter from Simon Pearson protectors on the power input board When he called back Victor of Chipping Norton, who suggested below the battery compartment, Smallpiece was delighted to find his that I check whether the 5V supply either of which can go open-circuit set working. "Per-son-all-ee I don't was incorrect or unstable. He also to cause the symptom, but they were bee-lee-ye Gumboils to be at all referred to my comment about the both OK. He then followed the com-pett-entt" he observed. printer's ribbons drying out quickly power input along to the underside "Victor" I said, "you've got it in in the Spanish heat. Apparently there of the main PCB, where he spotted one." used to be an aerosol for re-inking C824, a 220', 6.3V capacitor that ribbons. Its contents resembled black was sitting in a little patch of leaked Video Faults WD40. You had to raise and remove electrolyte. This was clearly the Meanwhile our video department the ribbon cassette's cover, spray the cause of the trouble. Paul was dealing with a Matsui ribbon inside, then the bit outside Steven removed the capacitor and VX755A VCR, which is similar to before winding it in, and finally set about cleaning the nearby section the Saisho VR3600Z. The fault was leave the cassette for a fortnight to of print, which supplies pin 8 of the reported as no functions, with paral- steep. He went on to suggest that syscon chip IC802 with 5.3V from lel stripes of test signal displayed in ordinary WD40 might do the trick. I regulator IC804. It had corroded the E-E mode whether the test was didn't have any WD40, but I've through at one point. After bridging on or not. sprayed a dry ribbon or two with it and fitting a replacement capacitor Paul switched the machine on and another make of oil aerosol. all was well. the standby light lit. The clock dis- Simon also referred to my Next day Mr Parker came in and play was all right, but the machine difficulties in using with the stood at the counter. wouldn't accept a tape. He decided PCW8512 the mint Commodore "It's ready" I said, placing the to check the STK5332 regulator chip MPS1270 ink-jet printer I found. It camcorder in front of him. "Fifteen IC501 and found that there was only seems that in addition to a lead I pounds." 3V instead of 5V at pin 1, thus dis- need an "interface" which, I think, is He peeled some notes from his abling the machine. A replacement a pair of back-to-back sockets that wallet, put them down, picked up the restored normal operation. We've connect the printer wires to the right camcorder and left. had the voltage fall as low as OV — in places. He also drew my attention to "Not exactly a gabbler, is he?" this condition the display lights but an article on adding such a printer in commented Steven. there are no other functions. the January 1994 issue of Television. Then he pulled up a Panasonic Some Sony TVs NV366. It produced a clear picture, Fidelity CTV920 Paul, who is most at home dealing but the top half inch was marred by a While I was back in England with VCRs, had been working on a displaced ghost several inches high- recently Miss Pinhead, the traffic Sony Model KVM2151U (BE2A er. With a freeze frame the entire warden, strode in with her Fidelity chassis). Instead of a picture it picture was clear. The cause of the CTV920 TV set. "Is that your car?" displayed just a few dim patches of problem was the head — a replace- she asked, pointing to a Bentley colour. The fact that the tube had no ment from SEMS cost £20. across the road. I gave her a pained first anode supply took him to D806 look. (GP02-17) which was short-circuit Business "Spluttering and whining" she and R812 (1k12, 1W) which was Our last caller that day was a fattish said. open-circuit. After replacing them businessman, Mr Hubblewaite. He "I didn't say a word" I protested. the set worked well. It's a common struggled out of his Jaguar with an She jerked her thumb at the set. fault with this chassis. old Matsui portable, Model 1402. "This 'un, I mean." Our next caller was Victor "'Evening chaps!" he wheezed as When she'd departed Steven put Smallpiece, a timid, thin-faced he tapped cigar ash about the place. the set on his bench and removed the Welshman with a piping accent. "This belongs to the girl friend." He back. The cause of the trouble was "My Sony tele-viss-ee-on set's in winked, then formed a series of easy to see. C171, the 3.3nF, lkV the caah, Mistah Bull-ock" he trilled. curves in the air with his podgy ceramic disc capacitor in the chopper "Ac-chew-al-ee my silly wife took it hands. circuit's snubber network had turned to Gumboils while I was in Way- The set was dead. It uses an to coke. He fitted a 2kV replacement yells last week." STR50103 chopper chip (IC650) which did the trick. I went out and brought the set in. which had died. The basic cause of It was a KVM2130U (BEI chassis) the trouble seemed to have been the A Camcorder and the line output stage was in 100µF, 400V mains bridge Then Mr Parker came in with an trouble. In this chassis the line rectifier's reservoir capacitor C658, Hitachi camcorder, Model VMC1E. output transistor Q802 must be a which had fallen in value to ltiF. "Good morning" I said. He just BU506DF. Gumboils had fitted a The R2M overvoltage protection glowered at me. So I picked up the BUT1IAF, which isn't up to the job. diode D668 and the 170, 5W surge camcorder and looked it over while It doesn't incorporate a diode either, limiter resistor R655 had also failed. he watched in silence. "What's its so they'd connected an unmarked, The set worked well enough trouble?" I asked. He just shrugged. heavy diode from the collector to once these items had been replaced. Two lots of trouble here I thought. chassis. Mr Hubblewaite was more than Then I shot him a false smile. The line output stage is protected pleased when he called to collect it, "Some time tomorrow?" I asked. by a IA Wickman fuse (PS802) with his ladyfriend. "Thank you He walked out. which blows in the event of a short- boys" he said as he departed, I can't even work camcorders let circuit. It had been replaced with a propelling her to the door with a alone mend them. This was clearly 1000, 1W resistor that had gone finger in her back.

TELEVISION December 1998 83 What a Lite! Everything from a troublesome microwave oven to an ancient radio and a bucket aerial. Donald Bullock's commentary

was musing the other day about more about that another time. "Timer?" I suggested. I couples. Married ones, friends "No, I've tried that." and those who go into business Funny Noise "Er . . . I'll go and make the together. Sometimes they are both Mr Shawster then came in with a tea." pleasant or both nasty, or both 14in. Philips portable, one fitted Steven went over and had a look pushy or both considerate. More with the CP90 chassis. Like Mr at it. He was equally baffled. often however they compensate for Shawster, it was well past its prime. "We could e-mail Jim Bryant" one another. One may be dominant "'E's been a good set" Mr he suggested, "he lets the trade e- for example and the other easygo- Block. "But lately it's been 'm m m mail him for microwave oven ing, prepared to take the back seat. m m'. That's all. 'Just mmmm advice. I bet he'll have the answer." This became very clear to us when m'. Then last night, about ten past He did too. The reply was in we began our lives in the TV trade. eight, just as I was putting the cat Steven's computer next morning. Figuring out which of a pair to con- out, he burst out like thunder. It "To diagnose this fault" he centrate on when selling a set or was 'M M M M M'. Yea! `MMM wrote, "set the convection tempera- discussing a repair can be half the M M'. Me missus nearly had a ture to 250°C and press start with- battle. yuppilectric fit. That can't be right, out entering a time. The oven will Take Mr and Mrs Hudson. He can it?" then go to 'pre-heat' to raise its had recently retired and was slight, I looked his missus over. "I temperature to 250°C. After a few mild, well-mannered and, I sup- dunno" I said, "but leave it with minutes, press and hold the convec- pose, a bit doddery. She was big, me. The set, I mean. Steven will tion button. Read off the oven's loud and blunt, as insensitive and have a look at it. He's very clever temperature at this point. It might self-centred as they come. They with these sets." be say 78°C. If it isn't, the chances were an interesting though unnerv- "That makes about six of them are that you have a faulty thermis- ing pair. in recent weeks" Steven said as tor. To get to it, remove the rear He'd brought in a little bath- they departed. "Philips advise cover. You will then see it close to room extractor fan for repair. replacing the 6MHz ceramic filter, the back of the machine, at the bot- Because I liked him, we had accep- circuit reference 1103. I did that tom right, embedded in insulation ted it — expecting the cause of the with the first one and it certainly material. It will probably be trouble to be a dicky switch. We worked. When the second one cracked through the middle." should have known better. Its came in I didn't have a filter and It was all just so! We ordered a motor had burnt out, as they very decided to try adjusting the slug of new one from Willow Vale, and it often do. So when they called in I the detector coil 5108. That worked arrived next day. Once it had been handed it back to him. too, and I've done the same with fitted the oven worked perfectly. "We'll pay you for your trouble" the others. I've not had any The part no. is 31868T — the cost he said, reaching for his wallet. bounces!" £3.75 plus VAT. "Don't be an old silly" she cut Our thanks to Jim and, while at in. "Mr Bullock wouldn't charge A Sharp Microwave it, to Television for bringing so you for a job he can't do. Just pick Paul had been working on a Sharp many of the trade's top brains the fan up. We'll take it somewhere combination microwave oven. together (don't ask me how we else to get it done. Snoddies are "Don't get it" he said. "They're managed to creep in!). better for some jobs. And don't usually easy to fix, but this one is keep holding your belly — it isn't tricky." A while later he was still at A Wireless set! going to run away." it, and looking glum. Meanwhile Steven had picked up She carried only her bulky hand- "Can't work it out" he said. an ancient Philips wireless set. "Oh bag. He was festooned with shop- "The fault is in the convection sec- look, valves!" he said. ping. While he struggled to pick up tion of the oven. When convection "What's the trouble?" I asked. the fan she made her way out. cooking, it stops after exactly three "Belongs to Syd Tubb over at "How about that?!" I said to minutes. When you restart it, the garage. It's been on all day, Steven. We were to have further there's another stop after precisely every day, for the past thirty years. dealings with the Hudsons, but three minutes. And so it continues." Now it produces bursts of thunder-

598 July 1999 TELEVISION storm noises in sympathy with the covered that it had been the non- music." polarised 4.7g, 50V capacitor that "Can you blame it, after thirty couples the line scan coils to the years?" I said. "Clean all the valve output stage. He tried to find the bases with switch cleaner. That cause of its failure before fitting a should do it. With any other make replacement, then spent some fur- I'd advise checking the yellowy ther time checking its operating waxed-paper capacitors around the conditions. Everything seemed to audio output stage. But this set will be OK, and the replacement ran be full of black-pitch encapsulated cool. It produced a perfect picture. r77-77p it ones that last for ever." After a good soak test the set was - / //, He soon had it working right. pronounced fit to travel. •. (?);q\-c' 6•-a Reminiscence Interlude The set reminded me of an experi- Greeneyes clip-clopped in looking ence I had about forty years ago, in as gorgeous as ever. a seedy backstreet. It was an identi- "Thanks a million" she said, cal set, with the same fault. I found planting a kiss on my forehead. that I was out of switch cleaner — "For what?" I asked as I reached the Radiospares stuff in a red and for my handkerchief. yellow spout tin — and asked the "For buying me that beige skirt lady of the house whether she had to match the trouser suit" she any cleaning spirit. Petrol? I sug- breathed. gested as she lit a Woodbine with "Beige skirt?" I said. "What her lighter. trouser suit?" Then her young daughter came "The one you're going to get me down from upstairs. She had var- from Marks for Steven's wedding. nished nails. Perhaps nail-varnish To go with the oatmeal shoes I'm remover would help? getting from Debenhams." "Do you have any nail-varnish "And when do we go and win remover?" I asked. A small bottle you all these treasures? I asked. He gave me a leg up . . . of clear liquid was promptly pro- "As soon as you've finished duced. I poured some into the out- your silly article. By the way, why put valve's base, then lifted it and does it take you so long to write a me a towel. "How are you keep- pushed it home a few times. When ten-minute article?" ing?" he asked. I plugged the set in and switched it "Never mind the business on it spluttered and sent up a col- Sky News enquiries. What's the trouble? umn of blue smoke. I'd been given I dropped in on Sky News the other How's trade?" nail varnish! The only thing to do night, and dropped out just as "Awful" he replied, "it's all this was to take the set back for bench quickly once I'd sampled it. The good weather." attention. newsreader occupied only a square "You'll have to sneak out with When I returned to the work- cutout in the centre of the screen. your twelve-bore" I said, "hurry shop next day I found Joe, the While he was recounting the day's them up a bit." inside engineer, livid. He'd had a tragedies, the space around him "If I did, I'd start with the cler- few difficult faults that day and had was a swirling mess of globes or gy" he laughed. then picked up the set I'd brought something. In addition, an intrusive I looked at his TV picture. It in. musical thumping accompanied his was a mass of hazy ghosts. "You won't believe this" he comments, and phantom flames "The aerial's down the garden, ranted, "but someone has glued the played over various news pictures. Don. Just follow the cable." output valve into this set with Not for me. I did. It led to the privy, where Durafix!" the cable was taped to the handle of I said not a word. John Berryman's Aerial a bucket on the roof. He gave me a John Berryman the undertaker lives leg up and I saw that the bucket The Baby Ten in the deep and leafy countryside. I contained various bits of metal — The Baby Ten portable TV has was happy to call on him — he'd some horseshoes, a few old span- probably appeared under more complained about his picture. It had ners, some coathangers and an old guises than any other set. The one been raining, and I had to pick my egg-whisk. Also a lot of water. Mr Bradshaw brought in was a way to his front door via masses of Warm water. Goodmans Compact 10. It's a 10in. tall grasses and overhanging lilac. I was astonished, and decided to mains/battery set of course. The By the time I got there I was sweet- pour the water away. John's wife trouble is that Mr Bradshaw mum- smelling but wet. He greeted me then came running from the house. bles. through the window. "Picture's good now" she called. "Mm yib yob banged an smoke "You can't get in this way, Don. "I should think so" John said, an mmmmmm. Frightmmmd us to We never use the front door. Go "the aerial was full of water. Don death" he said. back down the lane, cross over the twigged it. Clever chap, always When he'd departed, Paul brook's stepping stones, through was." opened it up and found the contents the paddock, past my hearse and up "Good 'ealth Don. It ain't many of an electrolytic capacitor plas- to the back door. Take no notice of I says that to you know. But I don't tered all over the place. It took ages Banger the bull. mind how long you keeps me wait- to clean up the mess. Paul then dis- When I reached him he threw ing. Straight I don't."

TELEVISION July 1999 599 What a Lite!

All sorts of video equipment, all sorts of customers. Donald Bullock's day-to-day servicing commentary

he work really started to pile in will have snapped off the main cam zener diode, ZD802 (6.8V). It's in Tonce Steven had gone away to lever. You'll have to fit another the base circuit of Q1801, which Cyprus on his honeymoon. Isn't one." smooths the DC supply to the that always the way? The two I'd just taken in had the power chip. A replacement restored "Tape jammed in Mr Pullet" the same fault. So to make Paul's life normal operation. shiny-faced man said as he easier I slipped out and made him a marched in with a newish Toshiba strong cup of tea. And one for Sport's the Word VCR. "Can't be much wrong, myself, too. Our next customer, Bob Chancer, because it's not very old. Just as brought in a Sony TV set, Model well too, 'cos I can't afford much." Telly/video Thing KVM1921U (BE2A chassis). He As I booked the repair in, I While he was busy with the plonked it on the counter. heard Paul groaning in the back- Toshiba VCRs I noticed that Mrs "See the match?" he asked. ground. Gabber had bumped into Mrs Sapp "What did you think of that second At almost the same time that outside the open shop door. They goal? Ref wants shooting if you ask Shiny-face left, a man wearing a were having a great chat, and it was me. But — fair play — do you kno . ." cowman's smock came in. He was Mrs Gabber I could hear. "I don't follow golf' I cut in, also carrying a Toshiba VCR. .. yes, we came home from tapping the top of the set. "What's Identical to the first one in fact. our trip up town and found him wrong with this?" "I put the tape in, Mr Tarbuck, dead. Absolutely dead! And he was "Dead as a doornail" he and started it playin'. Then it only just three years old. The house exclaimed. "But — fair play — it's clicked and went off' he said. "An' is so quiet without 'im. He was on been a good 'un. We bought him to I couldn't get the tape out to try all the time of course . . ." watch the Cassius Clay fight. The another one. Take it out for me, "What are you going to do about one that lasted ten seconds. Waste there's a good chap. I'll pop back it?" asked Mrs Sapp. of time. But — fair play — . . ." after market. Won't cost me any- "I've got him in the car. I'll get I waved him out and took a look thing, will it? Not for poppin' a that Mr Bullock to take a look at at the set. It was dead with no tape out." him." standby light. When I opened it up Paul, in the background, gave Then she came in. I found that there was 330V DC another groan. "I've brought our telly/video across the mains bridge rectifier's "That's two more" he moaned. thing for you to have a look at reservoir capacitor but no start-up "What's the matter?" I asked. dear" she said. "Dead. But it can't voltage at the STR54041 chopper be much. We don't hardly have chip IC601. We'd have found the The Toshiba Problem him on. And another thing, he's culprit, R602 (270142, 0.5W), soon- "It's these latest Toshibas" he only just over a year old. And my er had it not been hidden under the replied. "I did two of them last husband's a pensioner." chopper transformer. In fact we week. There's a main cam lever to I followed her out to the car. removed the chopper transformer do with pulling the tape out of the The set was a GoldStar TV/video on spec before we found it. cassette. It's a sort of metal rod combination, Model KY14V30. Bob called back for it straight with a ball at the end. The ball When she'd gone we put it on from a local football match. He was snaps off, and to carry out the the bench. The power supply for red about the gills and hoarse. repair you have to take the front both sections is on the TV chassis. "Never had a chance, we didn't. off, take out the cam motor and It didn't take us long to find that I tell you, no team that puts a half- cam, then the mode switch, cassette the STR6707 power chip was short- back in the goalie's place can housing and pinch wheel. These all circuit. So we fitted a replacement expect to win. Bloody madness. have to be put back again and set and tried the unit: the recorder and But — fair play — . . ." up. It's quite a business!" the TV were both in standby. When "It's ready, Bob" I said. "A The first one to come Paul's we pressed the standby switch the resistor had failed. Twenty five way had him guessing. So he'd relay shattered. pounds to you." phoned Toshiba. The technical wiz- We eventually found that the "Twenty five pounds?" he splut- ard at the other end said "the ball cause of the trouble was a leaky tered. "But them resistor things are

670 August 1999 TELEVISION only tuppence, aren't they?" I called up 'vertical amp' and He paused for a minute, then con- used the up/down buttons next to the tinued. mode button to get the correct set- "Nah — pair play — you got it done ting. You finally press the mode but- quickly. I'm happy at that, fair play . ton once to exit from the service . . mode. All the picture adjustments — And he paid up and went. grey scale, width, etc. are carried out in this way. Transport Mr Nuggins brought his set along in A Decoder Thing a wheelbarrow. It was a Matsui Mrs Rivetto is about seventy five. 21V1N, about two years old — a But she has false eyelashes, blue 21in. stereo model. He heaved it on rinsed hair and an unshakeable belief to the counter and stood there claw- that she's still eighteen. ing at his rib cage. Then he stretched "Hello sunshine" she trilled. "I've and danced around trying to scratch brought our- decoder thing in. It went the middle of his back. bang the other night and my silly old "Don't know what makes me itch hubby says it's faulty." so" he said. It turned out to be a Ferguson "Visitors?" I suggested. SRD6. The mains fuse had gone to "On my own this week. That's its maker and the BUT11AF chopper why I'm missing the set. It's dead." transistor was short-circuit. In addi- As he gyrated out, I took the back tion the 2.252 fusible resistor was off and saw that its 2.5A mains open-circuit. Once these items had switch had died a violent death. been replaced the unit worked per- There was a dead short across the fectly and produced good results. mains input. I made for the BY127 Mrs Rivetto was delighted when diodes in the bridge rectifier circuit she called back for it. "He'll be able and found that they were all short- to bury himself in his silly old telly "He's ail right. Just likes a bit of sympathy." circuit. Once replacements had been again" she sang. "Me, I like to get fitted there was still a short-circuit off out. No good sitting about getting across their output. The cause turned old, is it?" "bring it in will you?" out to be the IRFBC40 chopper tran- Paul looked at me, then MacPhail, sistor T60020. This MOSFET device Sympathy then went for the set. is rated at 6-2A. I fitted a BUZ91, We've seen Mr and Mrs Hudson "On here" MacPhail said, tapping which is rated at 8.5A, and also before. He's mild and well man- the counter. "Blasted thing's playing replaced the UC3843 chopper con- nered, while his wife is loud and games with me. I'll have none of trol chip. insensitive. He looked poorly, and that. When I switch it on it bursts As everything now checked out the Philips CP110 TV set he was car- into life. Then, before I've had time all right I switched the set on. There rying was clearly almost too much to sit down, it goes off. Three nights was an excellent picture. for him. I helped him ease it on to it's done that. I want it right, or out it the counter. goes." Electronic Screwdriver "You shouldn't have bothered Mr Once he'd departed we tried the There was a time when few TV sets Bullock" she said, "good heavens, set, an Hitachi C2114T. The EHT with the excessive height symptom whatever next?" came up, then the set switched itself would have got as far as the bench. "Aren't you too well today, Mr to standby. I tried it again. Same But that was the problem with the Hudson?" I asked. thing. Then I opened it up, expecting next set I pulled from the pile, a "He's all right. Just likes a bit of to find a dry-joint in the line output Sharp DV5161H. The reason why no sympathy" she replied. stage or something like that. But one had turned the height control He smiled faintly and looked everything looked fine. So I adopted down was that there isn't one. In fact embarrassed. Then they departed. a more professional approach and the only potentiometer on the chassis The set was 'dead', but there was studied the circuit diagram. is the set-HT one. The picture geom- plenty of life in it. Checks showed Next time I switched the set on I etry adjustments are all carried out that the mains bridge rectifier's out- had an analogue voltmeter connected via the 'electronic screwdriver' chip. put was low at only 190V. The cause across its 27V supply, which is used I obeyed the instructions, as follows. was reservoir capacitor C2656. It for the field output stage. The supply At the back of the chassis there's should have been 150g but read came up then decayed. I let the set a teletext subpanel which has two only 70µF. A replacement restored cool down, upped the first anode connection plugs marked TA and normal working. control's setting then tried again, TB. I fitted a wire link between pins When they called back for the set with one eye on the meter and the 3 and 6 of plug TB. Then I switched I carried it out to their car. He was other on the screen. I was just able to the set on and pressed the remote rebuked for his "laziness". detect field collapse before the set control unit's mode button. The word died. SERV appeared on the screen. Once Authority In this chassis a protection circuit the added link has been removed the Mr MacPhail, an ex-military man, comes into operation when there's a set is in the service mode and you strode in. He's used to authority and short across the 27V supply. I can use the remote control unit's shows it. He looked at Paul and • replaced the TA8427K field output channel up/down buttons to find the pointed to his car. chip IC601 and tried again. This time required adjustment. "In the boot my boy" he said, the set came on normally.

TELEVISION August 1999 671 What a Life! The life and death of Dylan. Various TV and VCR repairs. Treatment for a conductive PCB. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

I was thinking the other day about him to an Avo, and he soon took to said. "Her husband starts work at an old friend, Dylan. When I first conventional fault-finding methods. seven each morning, and prides noticed him he was poring over a Being quietly dogged, he became himself on his punctuality. But propped-up magazine at the other an expert at dealing with some of he'll be late tomorrow!" end of my then local, the Royal our more tricky faults. Next evening he was gleeful. "It Oak. He was thick-set and pale, The bane of his life was Doug worked, son" he said. with neglected hair. Rather rough Trickey, a small bundle of fast- "How come?" I asked. and tough looking in fact. moving energy who would leap "Before turning in I took a valve He was there when I next called, into gear and think afterwards. out of his wireless" he replied. "He and before long seemed to be a fix- "What d'you think he did today" didn't know the time." ture. He would always sit in the Dylan once said, "washed some Eventually Dylan opened a little same place, his face lost in the spiders out of the works' fusebox TV repair shop in a busy back- magazine. with a water hose. Shut us down street. His bond was his word, and Then, one night, someone for half a day!" the business thrived. We would touched my elbow. I turned and Dylan and I would have the help each other out with the odd saw this very man. He smiled occasional drink together. One transistor or capacitor, parting with slightly and said "I hear you're a night he was restless and glum. I them when we met in the Royal TV engineer. Could you advise me asked if he had a problem. Oak. about a problem set I have?" "I did something despicable One night he wasn't to be seen. He spoke quietly, with a capti- today, son. I stole Doug Trickey's His shop was closed the next day, vating Welsh accent, and I noticed insulated side-cutters." and I couldn't get him on the that the magazine in his hand was "How come?" I asked, "had he phone. I figured that he'd popped the current issue of Television. stolen something from you, done back to Wales for a day or two, as you a bad turn or something? Was he often did. But it wasn't that. The Life and Death of Dylan it to pay him back for washing out Alerted by neighbours, the local I came to know him well. He'd the fusebox?" policeman got a ladder to his bed- been brought up in a remote Welsh "Nothing like that" he said. "I room window, above the shop, and valley, where he had taught himself just wanted them." found him dead on the floor. He'd to 'pull voices from the air' by His conscience wouldn't let him suffered a massive heart attack. At making crystal sets and one- rest. Next day he returned Doug's just forty four. valvers. He'd then been conscripted side-cutters. and, after leaving the forces, had He was also inventive. His old A Strange Daewoo TV come to live in local lodgings. He Morris van was the only one I ever "This set's driving me mad" said lacked formal education, was knew that had a built-in driver's the dusky, deranged-looking chap slightly eccentric and was sparing urinal. A sort of funnel arrange- who strode in with a 20in. Daewoo with words. But he was reliable and ment with a copper pipe that passed colour set. "The sound keeps cut- straight — and came to call me 'son'. through the floor of the van. ting out." I reached for a job card. His job was as a motor fitter. "I live a long way from the pub" "And that's not all. I'm watch- One day he offered to help with a he explained when I expressed my ing ITV, right?" He tapped my fault in my car, and subsequently astonishment. chest with a finger. "ITV, got it? started doing odd jobs in our work- Dylan's landlady liked him well ITV." shop. He, would sometimes bring enough. This rankled her husband, "ITV, yes" I said. with him an old television set to who was so thick he couldn't tell "Next thing the picture's tinker with. I still recall my aston- the time. With her permission, changed to BBC1. BBC1!" ishment at his method of testing Dylan carried out the odd wireless "BBC1!" I echoed. paper capacitors — he would repair job on the kitchen table. "So I grabs the remote control squeeze them with a pair of pliers Until her husband objected. thing to get me picture right, only while watching the screen. He This pettiness upset Dylan. "I 'e don't do nuthin. Not nuthin." `checked' transistors by warming worked neatly on a thick cloth and "Nuthin" I said, looking him them with the iron. We introduced always cleared up afterwards" he straight in the eye.

742 September 1999 TELEVISION "Then the set tunes himself to "God smiles upon the blessed, one programme after another." Donald" he proclaimed. "You're so "Does it do anything else?" I good to us. Er . . . my curate will asked, reaching for my pen. carry it to the car. "Ain't that e-bloody-nough?" he "Carry it to the car" said the yelled. curate, doing just that. The set, a Model T202 (CP330 chassis), gave us as much trouble It Blew Up as it gave him. The cause of the Our next caller was as delightful a trouble was the 24C08P EPROM young lady as you could wish to memory chip IV02. Anyone who lay eyes on. "Who'll bring in my gets this fault will save himself a telly from my little car" she asked lot of time and bother by being sure as she wriggled in. to replace it with the correct. Paul disappeared outside and Daewoo type. was next seen yanking a heavy- looking TV set from the boot of her Stuck car. Mrs Moss is a big woman. She "It was all right till one of my brought in a JVC C14A1EK and silly boyfriends wanted the sound plonked it on the counter. "Stuck!" louder" she purred. "Alec, it was. she bellowed. Plugged his 150W hi-fi speakers "Right" I said, wondering what into the two little sockets at the she was on about. back. Went very loud, then blew up When she had gone Paul put the in a cloud of smoke." set on the bench and found that it "Alec did?" I asked, hopefully. certainly was stuck — in standby. "No, the set" she laughed. "Where d'you reckon the fault It was a 21in. Panasonic set, will be?" I asked. Model TX21V1, with stereo sound He pondered. "In the standby and Fastext. There are external circuit" he eventually suggested. speaker sockets at the back, with a Dylan carried out the odd wireless repair job on the I nodded. "You could well be switch that disconnects the internal kitchen table . . right" I said. speakers when external ones are The chassis has a power supply being used. Alec's experiment had based on the STR50115A chopper led to the disintegration of the that consists of the complete set. chip, with a three-transistor HT LA4270 sound output chip, which CPC supplies it as Kit 777, their switching circuit on the secondary is capable of an output of 6W. A part part number being SYA 675 side of the chopper transformer. ' replacement restored the sound. 957 4A." Paul set about checking the transis- Alec later called to collect the When he got into the power sup- tors here and found that Q903 set. He looked anything but Smart. ply he found that the problem was (2SA1370) was open-circuit all More like a dyspeptic question more serious. C207, an 8201.tF, 10V ways. A replacement restored nor- mark I thought. electrolytic, had leaked heavily. mal operation. The electrolyte had soaked well Sony VCR Problem into the PCB material, with the Save Me! Paul had meanwhile pulled a Sony result that a small patch of the The Reverend Goode's ancient video recorder on to his bench, an panel had become conductive. A saloon car came to a halt outside. SLV815B which has a very high- resistance check produced a reading He waved a video recorder at me specification. The complaint had of 500k0 over half an inch of the from the running board. been about interference on the pic- board. The effect of this was to "Save me, Donald!" he boomed. ture and was confirmed when we inhibit the action of the 3PJ4 thyris- "We're due to record a Christening played back a known-good tape. tor THY201, with loss of the 12V this afternoon, but this chap doesn't Further tests showed that the fault supply. give us any sound." was also present with E-E opera- Superficial cleaning, though car- "Doesn't give us any sound" tion. ried out thoroughly, didn't help. confirmed his curate, the Reverend "It'll be the Elnas" Paul said. Paul eventually decided to give the Blande. I eyed him suspiciously. "Some board a number of applications of They left the machine, a JVC family of goblins?" I asked. isopropyl alcohol. When the board HRD500EK, with us. When we "No. Elna capacitors. The chop- had dried out he found that, though tested it we found that it produced per power supply is full of them. I it was still conductive, the resis- sound from a prerecorded tape but suspect the ones on the secondary tance reading was now higher. So wouldn't record sound. side of the transformer. There are he repeated the process, which pro- Steven made for IC1, the thirty- thirteen of them. When they leak duced a further improvement. He pin LA7295 chip, and found that the voltage supplies become unsta- continued the treatment frequently pins 15, 21 and 23 were dry-joint- ble. Sometimes one or two of them over several days until his meter ed. Resoldering them cured the dry out completely. If they go failed to show a reading when in its fault, and we later phoned the rev- short-circuit the machine fails or 20MS2 range. erend to let him know that all was gives the dead symptom. I'll He then replaced all the capaci- now well. He expressed his delight replace them with some off the tors and switched on. The result: and called shortly afterwards. shelf, but there's a modification kit perfect operation.

TELEVISION September 1999 743 What a Life! A collection of TV sets this time, with weird and wonderful faults and owners. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

shady-looking customer came exclaimed, "two sets brought in and year ago and damaged a nerve in Ain with a 10in.Bush CTV100. there's nothing wrong with either his face. It's left him looking like He placed it on the counter and of them." that." tapped it with his finger. At that an odd-looking fellow I asked her what the problem "This set. It's very annoying. strode in. There was a sort of grin was with her set — a 14V1R When it is going it's stopping, and on his face. (Grundig CUC7301 chassis). when it is stopping it's going. My Paul smiled back. "Can I help "Dead as a doornail" she replied, wife is upset too. She is getting you?" he asked. "except for the standby light flick- very tired of it. And I am in agony "Name's Weatherspoon. Madde- ering. But if you leave it plugged in with my brother." ning it is. Brought my set in a and switched on for half an hour it "Right" Paul said, "what name is month ago. It was cutting out. You starts up." it?" fiddled about with the mains plug I seemed to remember having "Mustafa Norange" the man while I waited. Said it was a wire had this problem before. After replied. nearly off and that there was noth- removing the back I made for C667 Paul made a note and the chap ing wrong with the set." (1000, 35V), which is the reser- departed. He smiled but was beginning to voir capacitor for the UC3842A "Funny sort of name, funny sort sound rather hysterical. Paul looked chopper control chip's supply. The of fellow" Paul said when he'd left. a bit frayed. "I don't see a job card voltage across it was low at only Paul tried the set, which seemed to here" he said, "what did we charge 3V. I applied heat to it from a be all right. He tapped about, but it you?" hairdryer for a minute or two, then continued to work. So he took the "Nothing" Weatherspoon said. the set started up. The voltage back off and had a good look at the "Now I've had to bring it back. It's across the capacitor was now about chassis. As there were no obvious totally maddening. You must have right. Clearly its value was temper- dry-joints or poor connections, he put a different fault on it. Picture's ature dependent. A replacement put it together again and left it on too short." restored normal operation. test. He strode back out to his car and returned with a 21in. Toshiba set, Servicing Session More Nutters Model 2100TB. Meanwhile Paul had taken the back Then Mr Beezer staggered in with a Paul plugged it in. The picture off the Toshiba 2100TB and was 25in. Goodmans set, Model 2575 that appeared was a couple of inch- checking around in the field output (F11 chassis). He bumped it on to es short at the bottom, and there stage. It didn't take him long to the counter, just missing my hand was a liney gap at the top. "You've find that C317 (2.20) in the feed- as I whipped it away. a frame fault here" he said, "noth- back circuit was leaking. He fitted "Phew" he exclaimed, "en't as ing to do with the plugtop." a replacement and tried again. young as I was. These things be "Funny it happened after you'd There was now full field scanning heavy. And hard to keep a grip on. fiddled with it though. Gets my "Weatherspoon's set done any- Like trying to carry a giant greased goat, this sort of thing." way" he said, "we might see a grin pumpkin they be." As he strode off he almost on a grin when he comes back for "What's the trouble?" I asked. knocked over little Mrs Pugh, who it." "Well, it's like you can't hold was bringing in a Matsui colour Then the Bush CTV100 started 'em properly. They keep slipping portable. to crackle a bit. Before long it was see." going off and on. Paul removed the "The set" Paul broke in patiently. Grundig CUC7301 Chassis back and tapped around. He found "Oh, the set. Keeps going off. "So you've had old Weatherspoon that there was a gap between the And when it does, all we hear is in" she said. "Troublesome man if 3.15A DC fuse FU651 and its hold- whining " ever there was one.". er. "Wonder is that it worked at all" "Not surprised" said Paul, "must "Oh, I don't know about that" he said. After tightening the fuse- be very upsetting." He plugged the Paul replied, "he seemed a bit sharp holder he left the set on soak test. set in and it worked all right. but said it all with a grin." Shortly afterwards the As Beezer left, Paul looked from "That was no grin" said Mrs Goodmans 2575 clicked off and one set to the other. "Just fine!" he Pugh, "he tripped over his cat a started to whine. When Paul

134 January 2000 TELEVISION removed the back it came on and carrying a 21in. Philips colour set, stopped whining He tapped about a Model 21GR2550 (G90AE chas- bit but couldn't instigate the fault. sis), which he placed on the So he boxed the set up again. Just counter. He then pulled his face as he finished, it started to play into a smile and beamed intensely tricks again. This time he left it. at me. Eventually it died and stayed like "It is being faulty" he said. that, whining away. "Right, name?" I replied. Steven came in and saw it. "Had "I am being Abdul Ahmed, and I a couple of them last week" he am delightful to be here. This set is said, "both whining and intermit- being dead." tent at first, then dying altogether." I took a note of his name and he In one set the cause had been the departed. Steven looked at the set TDA4601 chopper control chip and found that someone had tried to IC14. In the other it had been the repair it with the Philips kit. This is resistors in the start-up circuit, the quite complex and includes a num- associated 1000 capacitor C102, ber of surface-mounted devices. and the chopper transistor's base Whoever had attempted the repair drive coupling capacitor C103, also had made mistakes but had gone 100g. He'd decided to replace all ahead and switched on. The these items in both sets. Paul set BUT11AF chopper transistor had about the same routine, and before exploded, and the mains fuse was a long the set was working a treat. charcoal tube. There was terrible The soak-testing Bush CTV100 soldering. then started to play up. It crackled Steven started by tidying up the and blinked, then died. soldering, then found that the 6.2V Paul looked surprised. "Thought zener diode D6617 in the chopper I'd fixed that fuseholder well drive stage was short-circuit. This enough" he commented. He opened was replaced, along with the other the set up and had another look parts in the kit. The set was then around. There's a second fuse, gingerly started up, applying the Paul looked a bit frayed . . . FU631 (1A), in the AC feed to the mains supply via our variac. A mains transformer T631. Its fuse- raster appeared when the AC input holder also had a wide gap and a was 60V, but at 100V or so the set ly worked either. The chassis uses a loose fuse. The set was OK once began to trip, with the 95V HT sup- TEA5101A RGB output chip, with this fuseholder had been tightened. ply pulsing between 30 and 40V. an external 68k52, 0.5W feedback Steven had been ordering spares. The cause was traced to R3668 resistor in each channel — R26, R28 He looked up. "Had several of (15052), a surface-mounted resistor and R29. One had gone high in those Bush sets with fuseholder in the overload protection stage that value, one had gone very high and problems" he said. "They're cheap- shuts down the chopper circuit. It one was open-circuit. Steven ly made and seem to give a lot of was badly dry-jointed. replaced them all, fitting 1W resis- trouble. I'll look about for better When Abdul returned we gently tors. He also noticed that the Nicam replacements that fit the panel. suggested to him that his set had sound was crackling. The cause We'll probably be needing them." perhaps been got at. He switched was traced to some bad dry-joints his grin on. "No, no. That is not at the connectors on the Nicam Strange being so at all" he said softly, "as board. "Joo mend tellys?" asked an unusu- soon as it was failing I was bring- al, deep voice. I turned around and ing it straight to you, gentlemen." A Tripping Ferguson saw a strange apparition. Bristly We left it at that. Paul decided to tackle one more set chin, skirt and high heels. With a before taking a break. It was a 24in. cigarette on the go. Murky Picture Ferguson Model 59P7A (ICC5 "We try" I smiled. All I got was A couple of huge chaps in gum- chassis). The card said it tripped a scowl. boots carried in a 28in. Goodmans three times at start up. On test it did "This 'un's dead" was the reply. set, Model 2875. Another F 11 chas- just that. After checking whether It was a 14in. Sharp set, Model sis. the HT was high he moved over to 37AT25H. "Name?" I ventured. "Picture's sorta dark, murky the line output transistor, which "Strange. Mr Strange — Nancie." red" said one. was short-circuit. As usual the The set's owner minced off. I "Bit like thee" the other one said cause was spikes created by dry- couldn't work out the customer, but to him. As we were raising a job joints in the line output stage, par- soon sussed out the set. It was the card, he looked at me then at his ticularly at the driver and output usual trouble — the start-up resistors friend, as though I'd reminded him transformers. R704 and R705. They are both of something. "Good beer at the Having fitted a new transistor 560k52, rated at 0.5W. Both were Rose and Crown" he said, "'ad and attended to the dry-joints Paul high in value. In fact R704 was about fourteen pints the other switched the set on. There was a almost open-circuit. lunchtime, and knew I'd 'ad 'em." bright screen with flyback lines. I looked at him sternly. The cause was RV82 (1052) on the A Philips G90 The set's picture was certainly tube base panel. It's in series with All we saw of our next customer very dark and red. Steven soon the HT feed to the RGB output was a small face in the centre of a found out why. There was no blue stages and seems to fail whenever huge, bushy black beard. He was gun output, and the green gun hard- there's a line output stage fault.

TELEVISION January 2000 135 What a Life!

Christmas time can mean more work for some of us, with increased expectations from customers. There's always a last-minute "can you help, ha ha, sorry I have to trouble you!" Dona Id Bullock's servicing commentary

I t was getting close to Christmas "Yeah, but why?" Paul contin- "Your hubby I mean, yes of and we were up to eyes in work — ued. course. Silly me. Lucky chap!" he yes, really! The door opened and an "God knows" I said. He studied jabbered on. armful of rags sallied in. It was the field output stage and removed Greeneyes glowed, and I won- Dancing Fred Entwhistle. the 2.2g, 50V feedback capacitor dered how such a bright girl could "Brought you boys a little job" C317 to test it. It had been sitting be so gullible. he cried. "Our set went wrong in a pool of dried up electrolyte and "How's Mrs Flighty?" I about a fortnight ago. Thought it produced a reading of less than enquired. time to get you to look at it for 1.1.1.F. But when he fitted a replace- That quietened him and he me." ment and switched the set on again sloped off. Paul took the set and started to the fault was still present. He stud- Flighty's set was a Model check it. ied the board again and came VXT1000 Mk. 2. It's TV section "This one'll kill you" Fred piped across C303, which has the same was dead. Steven soon had the as he danced about. "Here. Take a value/rating and had failed in the STK7348 chopper chip IC4 out and card." He fanned a handful of play- same way. It decouples the height found that it was short-circuit ing cards and pushed them towards control and read 0-3µ,F. This time between pins 3 and 7. R103 (1.50, us. Steven, looking perplexed, the replacement restored a fine, lin- 3W), R104 (27D, 3W ceramic) and thought it best to humour him and ear picture. R105 (11(52, 0.5W) had also failed. took a card. It was the ten of clubs. Replacements didn't complete "Don't let me see" Fred ordered. Flighty's Combi the repair — the set wouldn't start. "Now put it back. Anywhere. We heard our next caller, Mr Further investigation brought While I'm looking away." Flighty, chatting up a lady passer- Steven to C90 (1µF, 50V), which Steven slotted the card back and by before we got sight of him. was short-circuit. It had obviously Fred started flinging them at the "Not at all my dear. You pass been the cause of all the trouble. counter, one by one. He stopped at first. This isn't heavy — or am I the four of spades. telling you I'm strong? Ha, Ha. I Colour Drop-out "That's it, isn't it?" he asked. say, those are lovely ear-rings Mr Tell is a tiny, tidy retired dentist When Steven shook his head you're wearing. Nice colour, and from Wales. He has a perceptive Fred repeated the performance and they match your eyes." mind, a soft voice and a delightful came up with the ace of hearts. Then he pranced in, carrying an accent. He also has a 21in. Sony "Ah, of course. This one." Aiwa TV-and-video combination. set, Model KVM2150U (BE2A Steven again shook his head. On "Oh God" I let out. chassis), that has given him quite a his third attempt Fred came up with "Don't you like Aiwa telly-cum- bit of stick. the two of diamonds. videos?" he asked. "The colour drops out, Mr Bul- Steven looked up with a frown. "They're all right" I replied. lock" he said carefully. "Sometimes "Forget the cards" he said, "do "Then what are you moaning it happens when my wife just walks something useful. Make the tea." at?" he said. across the room." Fred went off to the back and "Guess!" I said as Greeneyes Surely such a small, pleasant Paul tried the set, a Toshiba Model came in wearing her £150 trouser man wouldn't have a wife that 1400RBT. About a third of the suit, the one worth thirty bottles of large, would he? I wondered how I raster was cramped at the bottom Bells. could find out. while the top was badly stretched. "I say, I say I say" jabbered Paul took a look at the set and "What could this be?" he asked. Flighty. "What luck I have. How found that the trimmer capacitor "The field time-constant is non- are you my dear? Not liverish like CT332 in the colour oscillator cir- linear" I replied with, I thought, your father here?!" cuit was pappy. It's a common commendable cleverness. I shot him a stern look. offender. Sometimes just cleaning

198 February 2000 TELEVISION it helps, but we prefer to fit a When Steven tried the set the replacement and keep a few in stock fault was present. There were on- — the Sony part no. is 1-141-418-11. screen displays but no pictures. He When he called for his set Mr switched the set off and tried again. Tell complained about a record he'd Up came a picture. But not for long. just heard on his car radio. Half an hour later it disappeared, "Dreadful it was, Mr Bul-lock. I leaving just the on-screen displays. had to switch it off. Those Beatles. It seemed likely that a supply Whining voices, the same over and was intermittent. Steven used a over again and a heavy-handed magnifier to study the circuitry on beat. Noel Coward was right, the secondary side of the chopper wasn't he, when he said 'wonderful transformer and found several dry- lads — quite without talent'." joints. He resoldered the lot and "And how" I replied. pronounced the trouble cured. A Monitor Problem An Alba 4859 Eddie Ebworth is a worrier. He's The day wore on and we were also going grey the wrong way, from his feeling worn. We were just thinking crown to his ears, as the worst wor- about sloping off to the Barley riers do. He was carrying a Philips Mow when the phone rang. computer monitor, Model "Hello Mr Bullock, ha ha ha" the 17A280BQ-02C. voice said. "Sorry to ring you so "Worries me to death it does, late, ha ha. Thought I'd just phone Paul" he said. "It's like my missus. to wish you merry Christmas." All right one minute, useless the "That's kind of you" I replied, "I next. What d'you think it is?" didn't catch the name though." "Hard for me to say, Ed" Paul "Mr Nudger of 9 Flupps Road. replied. "Haven't met your missus. But you don't know me. I'm a Did, she have an unhappy child- friend of Mrs Slye who knows the hood?" church verger. He always speaks "Not my missus. I know her well of you, though he reckons trouble all right, and am patiently you're on the other side, ha ha ha. awaiting the cure. I mean this moni- I've often seen you in the pub with "Here. Take a card . . . " tor." your lads. Nice lads, you should be "Dunno about that either, Ed. proud of them." Leave it with us for an hour or two I looked into the phone's ear- when there's a short in the chopper and we'll see." piece. It didn't help. circuit. We also checked the high- Paul put it on the bench and tried "Just one thing" the voice con- value resistors in this area, as they it. The monitor came on once or tinued. "Ha ha. Our set's just gone can be troublesome. R802 (1001M) twice but not the third time. dead. What a time to fail, eh? Ha, and R805 (3301W) were open-cir- "You're in luck" I said, "there's ha. Trouble is my wife's an invalid cuit while R826 (100142) was high one thing you can usually count on and her father's just been told he at 140k.Q. — that an intermittent fault will sel- has diabetes. We're out of cat food After replacing these items we dom show up in the workshop." and Miss Puke, our neighbour, is switched the set on. It powered up He opened the unit and probed also a bit down. Her old donkey nicely and produced an excellent around in the chopper circuit. died a fortnight ago, and you know picture. "Amongst all the bits and pieces how lonely Christmas is without "This one had less wrong with it here, I suspect R3944" he declared. the telly. I just wondered, like. I'm than the last 4859 I did" Paul com- I asked him why. only across the road, round the cor- mented. "With that one I carried "Well, it's a small resistor and its ner and up a bit. Do you think you out all the replacements we've just value is 1MS-2" he replied. could pop over? It went wrong done and it still wouldn't work. I "Prejudice!" I said. But he was when Terry Wogan came on . . ." had to change the TDA4605-02 right. The resistor was virtually Paul went round and collected chopper control chip as well." open-circuit. A replacement the set. We asked Mr Nudger to Mr Nudger popped in just as restored reliable starting. call round in half an hour's time. we'd finished. "You managed to The set turned out to be an Alba get it done!" he cried. "So good of Intermittent Loss of Model 4859. Its 2SK2750 chopper you. I've had to park across the Signals transistor Q801 was short-circuit. road. I'll take the set over and call Hank had meanwhile dropped in. We had ordered some from Alba back." He does a bit of servicing in a near- only a week or two previously and He took the set and, a couple of by village. Just enough to finance had been sent P2N60s, which aren't minutes later, stuck his head around his trips to the local pub. He was insulated like the original type. We the door. "Thank you very much carrying a Daewoo TV set, Model had already fitted one in another indeed boys. You've been very T514 (CP365 chassis). set, making sure it was insulated good. I'll spread the word. Oh, I "No hurry for this chaps" he from the heatsink, and this had didn't have time to bring any said. "It's supposed to loose the sig- been OK. So we decided to do the money with me. I'll settle up after nal now and again. Maybe I've same again. Christmas, if that's all right." been unlucky. I've seen the fault at The 0.470 safety resistor R809 He returned to his car at such a the house, but not at my place. You was also open-circuit, as expected. lick that I swear I heard. the might have better luck." It's there to provide protection Doppler effect from his footsteps.

TELEVISION February 2000 199 What a Lite!

Where on earth did this strange crowd come from? Is it some sort of clinic or a telly repair shop that Don runs? Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

he other morning I decided to go Walter Wainright came in carrying myself. I switched it on and found Tfishing before work. So I made . his TV set. that it was dead. The 2.2Q surge- myself a flask of hot soup and limiter resistor R501 was open-cir- another of hot coffee, wrapped up A Ticking Philips TV cuit and the 2SK2056 chopper tran- well and arrived at the pool just "Hope you've got over whatever sistor short-circuit. I replaced them before dawn. It was still and cold, was bothering you, Donald" he and switched on again. The unit and a mist rolled gently over the said, then tapped his set. It was a flickered to life for a second then surface of the pool. I tackled up, Philips Model 21ST1730/25B — the died. Steven noticed. fixed my bait and swung it gently. GR2.1 chassis. "You should have checked R508 But instead of hearing it plop in, "Dead" he said, "no life at all. — the 47k12, 3W resistor there by there was a scuffling noise. I No, I tell a lie. It's ticking. I tell a those two capacitors" he said. It looked towards my floats and saw lie." was open-circuit. I replaced it and that they were resting on ice. I When he'd departed I removed also the two items that had blown should have stayed in bed. the back and checked the HT volt- up again. This time nothing at all My glasses were misting up. age. It was pulsing between 30- happened when I switched on. When I took them off to wipe them 60V. So I disconnected the feed to "Did you replace the TDA4605 they fell to the ground. As I bent the line output stage, by pulling out chopper control chip?" Steven forward to retrieve them my flask the plug for the line scan coils, and asked, "it often fails with this fault." of soup fell from the basket on to connected a 100W bulb as a load When I did as I was told the unit my shin. I bawled out then heard instead. The set continued to tick. It sprang to life. the crunch of glass. was clearly a power supply fault. I was beginning to feel nasty, so I made some checks in the chop- A Monster TV I decided stop an calm down. per control circuit and found that As I was boxing up the combi unit Someone came threshing C2611 (68µF, 25V) produced a the door of the shop flew open and through the reeds. It was Walter high ESR reading. A replacement a monster TV set with legs stag- Wainright, one of our customers, cured the fault. When I checked its gered in. with his spinning rod. He recog- capacitance it was only slightly low "I'm Faggot, Ernie Faggot" it nised me and smiled. at 61µF. It was the resistance that croaked. As it settled on the "Fancy seeing you here Don. had caused the problem. counter a tiny man appeared from Lovely day, ennit? Makes you feel behind it. good to be alive. Actually I have Video/TV Combi "Can't tell you how little it is" my set in the car. Ticking. Caught Shortly afterwards William he said. "See what I mean?" any?" Cramshaw called in with a Matsui "How little what is?" I asked. I beckoned him over and said a TV/VCR combi unit. I don't like He tapped the set. "This 'un. See Very Rude Thing into his ear. He these combination models one bit. what I mean?" jumped up and strode off. "What's up with it?" I asked. I looked at the set, which That was enough. Time to get He scratched his brow. "Let me seemed very big to me, then at him. back. When I arrived at the shop see now, just a moment, let me "Joo know, 'e ain't this big" he Steven and Paul saw the fishing see . . ." said, holding his thumb and finger tackle. There didn't seem much point in slightly apart. "See what I mean?" "Catch anything?" Steven asked. carrying on with the interrogation. "Do you mean the picture is not I shook my head. "One for you, eh?" I said to Paul. very high?" I asked. "Well, I expect you enjoyed "Not me, Steven does tellys." "Course I do!" he replied, hold- yourself, anyhow" he continued. I turned to Steven. "You can do ing up his hand again. "Little as I said something that wasn't this one, can you?" I asked. this! See what I mean?" very polite. They both breathed in "No, Paul does videos" he said. As he pranced off Steven deeply and got on with their work. As I was getting nowhere I removed the set's back and went As I was making a cup of tea decided to make a start on it straight to the field output chip.

262 March 2000 TELEVISION The set was a 28in. Baird Model control section. There are three, the RR6890N. drive coupler C814 (100g, 50V) "'Struth, I've never seen dry- and two LT reservoir capacitors, joints like these" he exclaimed. He C818 (22g, 100V) and C823 spent ten minutes resoldering them (1011F, 16V). Once replacements then switched the set on. There was had been fitted the set fired up full field scan, then it collapsed. As without any problems at all. It there didn't seem to be anything joined the awaiting-collection pile. else amiss he replaced the chip, a TDA8172 (IC401). This time the Only so much field scan came up and stayed up. Our next caller was a large, bullet- headed man. He didn't seem to be Fed up with it exactly sensitive. "Grype's the Mrs Bison is a large lady. She was name" he hollered, "and I'm calling wearing a fur coat and smoking a in about 'er." He jerked his thumb pipe. Steven raised a polite smile as at his wife. "Sits in the dark for he wove about through the haze. hours every night with a silly look "I've brought my what's-ir she on her face. I mean, a man can take announced, "you know, my thingu- only so much. A man can take only majig." so much." Steven's mouth moved a bit, but Mrs Grype blinked. Steven did- words escaped him. n't know what to do. He coughed "Right fed up with it I am" she and scratched the back of his neck. continued. "All right to look at, but Paul decided to look for something a pain in the neck. It's in the car under the counter. I clattered about out there." in the scullery. When I returned Steven and Paul went out and Steven was doing his best. returned with a 28in. Philips set, "Er . . . II. . . what . . ." he mut- Model 28SL5770/05B. It was cer- tered. Then his face brightened. tainly an attractive set, with its pol- "We repair television sets here Mr ished teak-effect cabinet. Grype." Mr Featherpenny drew himself up to his full four foot eleven. "Goes into standby just when 'e "I know" said Grype. "I want wants to" she explained, "some- you to get ours to work. After all, a times six times a night. Then 'e'll man can take only so much . . ." lowed by Ernie Faggot. work all right for a month. Last The set was a 24in. Sony "Let me see now, let me see" night 'e went off when Max KVX24WS1U (BE3B chassis). It said Cramshaw, "I've called for my Bygraves came on. Course I didn't seems that Mrs Grype had been set. Let me see, where is it?" mind that." watching an extremely dark picture "I've called for mine too" said "Course not" I interrupted. for several weeks before the set Faggot, "see what I mean? I hope Paul had a go at this one. He died. We found that the causes of it's ready. Only we've got visitors tapped about the chassis endlessly the two faults were not related. tonight. See what I mean?" and finally found that he could trig- The set was dead because R600 As Paul was dealing with these ger the fault by very lightly tapping in the start-up circuit on the prim- customers Mrs Bison stumped in, around in the line output stage area ary side of the power supply had followed by Albert Featherpenny with a plastic trimming tool. failed. When this resistor was and the Grypes. Shortly afterwards he localised the replaced the set came on but its pic- "Right" said Mrs Bison as she cause of the trouble to the line driv- ture was so dark it was unwatch- tapped her pipe out on er transformer. One of its pins was able, even in a dull light. Checks on Featherpenny's set, "where's my dry-jointed. He had to use our giant the various supplies showed that bloody what's-it? You know, my magnifier lens to see this. the 12V line was very low at only thingumajig?" She turned to Albert, 3V. The cause of the trouble was a "have you seen it, my thinguma- Takes 'is time faulty MC7812 regulator, IC605. jig?" "Don't get me wrong" Albert Once a replacement had been fitted Mr Featherpenny drew himself Featherpenny said as he bowled in the set presented us with a picture up to his full four foot eleven. "I with a Toshiba colour set. "I ain't of exceptional quality. certainly haven't, and I've no wish saying 'e don't work like. All I'm to!" Then, as Mrs Bison gave him a sayin' is that 'e takes 'is time. We Collections withering look, "mind" he said, often 'as to switch him on two By now the shop floor was littered "don't get me wrong." hours before a programme. And with repaired sets and Paul was "Mr Bullring" said Grype, "if I sometimes 'he takes all of three having trouble stepping around could just have my set. It seems to hours. But don't get me wrong. He them. Fortunately Walter Wainright be a bit of a madhouse here. How allus do come on." put in an appearance. did you get all these nutters togeth- Featherpenny's set was a "'Ello, 'ello Donald old fruit" he er?" Toshiba 219T9B. Paul removed the said, "still playing the prat are we, I shone my nails on my lapel. back and checked around in the or have you settled down now? "Influence" I said. power supply section. As he could- You weren't in too good humour "My set please, Mr Bullring" n't find any poor joints or loose this morning. No — I tell a lie, I tell continued Grype, "a man can take connections he decided to replace a lie. You were downright nasty!" only so much." the electrolytics on the primary side As Walter was paying up Well, at least we'd had a busy of the main chopper circuit, in the William Cramshaw came in, fol- time and made a few pounds.

TELEVISION March 2000 263 What a Life! Ants and electric current, is there a link? No lack of repair work in Spain. In fact all too much of it, mainly from the expats. A lesson in line output stage testing. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

ne thing Spain doesn't lack is felt well enough to face up to over- "You've got it in one" I replied. Oants. I've never seen as many hauling the power supply. "But if you were a bit cleverer you colonies as we have here. The other Shortly after he left Mr Peste could stop all these repairs coming day I decided to run a mains lead out marched in with a computer monitor. in" she said. "Here's Tarzan coming on to the patio, so that I could listen to "Drunk again eh?" he guffawed, up the path now, carrying another .the radio while we were sitting beside "here, I've got something for you to recorder." the pool checking the condition of our do to relieve your boredom. Cuts out wines. Later I noticed that crowds of every half hour. Can't be much, 'cos Videos ants were running along beside the it only started doing it lately. Just as "Mr Blunkett?" piped a high, silvery mains lead, in both directions. well too, 'cos I can't spend much on voice. After a while Greeneyes switched it. I can get a new Hankypanky 80 I looked around but there was no the radio off. The ants immediately Coo Coo for next to nothing at the one else. It was Tarzan talking. dispersed and found other things to supermarket when I'm in England "I'm told you do repairs to these do. Then, when she switched it on next week — with a free overcoat things" he piped, as he handed me an again, they immediately returned to thrown in." Hitachi VCR. "It's dead. Was all their jogging along the lead. I've "Call back in August" I said, lung- right until the power cut." noticed this before when I have used ing at the wine bottle and wishing it I opened it up and noticed another a power lead in the garden. Who was whiskey. 1µF electrolytic in the power supply. knows the answer to that one? This one was rated at 250V working. Genius I checked it and found that it read Expats The next day brought heavy rain and 0.3µF. A replacement did the trick. The wine turned out to be good, and a power cut. It's not all sun, oranges I looked over at Greeneyes, who improved each time another glass and bullfights in Spain. When power hadn't noticed. So I attracted her was poured out. returned I had a look at Peste's moni- attention, pointed to the electrolytic "How good to get away from tor. It was a Philips 17A280BQ, the and held up three fingers. repair jobs" I said. She patted my like of which I'd never seen before. "Same to you" she said, "and don't hand and made me feel almost as As I sat staring into the chopper cir- look now, you've another visitor." important as her dogs. cuit, wondering where to start, I spot- She was right. This tall, thin But we're not the only expats ted a little MO resistor. Might as woman with thick glasses was carry- here. There seem to be hundreds of well follow hunches I thought. No, ing a Daewoo V200 video. She had a 'em. Our peace was soon disturbed not hunches — profound understand- bulky hearing aid in her hand. And by Dick Pushie, who sailed through ing of electronic failure mechanisms! there was a short woman with her. the gates carrying a video recorder — Anyway I tested it and it was open- "I hear you repair videos" said the just as we were about to start on the circuit. A new one put the monitor to tall, thin lady. giant prawns. rights. As I breathed in to say no she "Don't say it, don't say it" he "How did you know it was pushed her microphone box against grinned, "I know you're not here to faulty?" Greeneyes asked. my lips. do repairs. And I don't blame you. "Genius" replied. "It works only when it feels so But this 'un's different. It's for me. It Then I opened Dickence's inclined" she continued, "like my can't be much, 'cos it was all right Panasonic VCR. Dead, eh? I gazed dear departed husband." She pulled yesterday. If you could just have a into the power supply and saw C9, a out a hanky, took off her glasses and look. No hurry. I'll come back 1p.F, 400V electrolytic capacitor. I nearly fell into the pool as she tonight if you like." don't trust low-value electrolytics, dabbed at her eyes. "If you leave that thing here, especially when they live a high-volt- "I miss my husband" she said. The Dickence, you'll be lucky to see it in age life. So I hooked it out and tested short lady laughed. a fortnight" I said, "and I'll charge it. Almost open-circuit. When I fitted I breathed in to speak and got the you the earth." a replacement the machine burst into microphone treatment, so I skipped But he left it all the same. It was a life. well back and gabbled "give me a Panasonic NVL25B and it was dead. Greeneyes looked over. "More call tomorrow". So I decided to hide it away until I genius?" she asked. It was another machine I didn't

326 April 2000 TELEVISION know. Intermittent operation could be sat down. But Bert was sitting at the a difficult one. I dismantled it and next table. He does the nasty garden- gave it a look over, hoping to see ing that Greeneyes' lazy husband something obviously wrong. But I ought to do. couldn't. I did however see a 1µF, "Just the chap" he declared, before 100V working electrolytic in the I'd a chance even to order anything. power supply. So I checked it and got "My TV's as dead as a doornail and a reading of 0.5g. When I fitted a my missus is giving me hell. I'll replacement the recorder worked bring it around tomorrow." every time. I began to wonder He did too. It was a JVC whether I'd acquired some sort of C 14ET1EK — the 14in. JVC set with magic, and pondered on how rich I an Onwa chassis in it. When I looked might become. inside I immediately saw that the Just as I boxed the Daewoo up the surge-limiter resistor was open-cir- two ladies returned. cuit. As I couldn't detect any reason "I couldn't wait until tomorrow" for this I fitted a replacement and the tall, thin one said, "with nothing switched on. The new resistor imme- to watch I kept thinking of my poor diately failed. husband." I disconnected the bridge rectifier The small wdman laughed again. diodes and carefully checked them. I spoke to her as Mrs Tall walked They were all OK, and there was no off down the drive. "Forgive me ask- detectable short across their output. ing, but is there something I don't What else could cause this fault? As I understand about her husband?" was gazing at the chassis and thinking, Another laugh. "You think he's I spotted a small green disc capacitor dead" she said, "but he got enor- with a tiny burn spot. It was one of the mously fat and she threw him out." protection capacitors in the bridge rec- tifier circuit. A resistance check across Greeneyes had listed a few jobs she wanted done.. Odd jobs it produced a reading of about 35052. The next day was sunny and hot No wonder the surge-limiter resistor thing would be overheating? When the again. Greeneyes, who likes to do a kept blowing! I fitted a new capacitor set again failed I plied the board with little gardening, listed a few small and resistor then switched the set on freezer. It made no difference. jobs she wanted done. She tends to again. This time it sprang to life and I considered the situation. The HT do that. produced a good picture. was normal, but was being suddenly "You do realise that since we An hour after he'd collected it, reduced to a very low level after an arrived here I've spent every single Bert was back with his Spanish hour or so. There had to be excessive minute doing repairs?" I said. "I neighbour and her set. It was yet current flow, didn't there? This usual- came here to relax. To loaf about." another Hitachi product, Model ly means overheating, but there was- As I spoke the gates clanged and a C2146TN. n't any. It didn't add up. What was jogger ran in, wearing a silly blue and "He is good, then pff — the picture wrong? Could I be sure that the cause yellow outfit. He was carrying a VCR he flies to the clouds" she said. She of the fault was in the line output — Hitachi VTF70. looked up, and so did I. stage? Perhaps the HT was collapsing "Ha, there you are" he bawled, as When they'd departed I connected because of a fault in the supply. though he'd been looking for me for the set and tried it. It worked perfect- My first priority had to be to iso- the past week. "This little chap gave ly, with an excellent picture, for an late the fault area. So I disconnected up the ghost yesterday. During the hour or so then the brightness sud- the line output transistor's collector power cut. Most annoying. Fix it if denly died. A voltage check at the and wired in a bulb as a dummy load. it's cheap, old bean. Not worth collector of the line output transistor Then I switched the set on again. An spending much on them these days. Q702 produced a reading of about hour later the bulb went, out. That So dashed cheap new." 2V. So I disconnected its collector cleared the line output stage and indi- He passed the machine to me, and checked again. The HT was now cated the presence of a supply fault. I spun around and was 500 yards away normal. I naturally assumed that there used the meter to check back from within a few seconds. was a line output stage fault and the bulb and came to R738, a 6.852, I tried a tape in the machine. checked the transistor. It read OK, 7W resistor. There was no HT at one There was no playback. I couldn't but I fitted a replacement anyway. I end of it, plenty at the other. So this detect any mechanical failure, and then switched the set on again. It was the site of the fault! I checked feared that there was little else I worked for about an hour, as before, the resistor and its joints carefully. could do as I didn't have any servic- then cut out. Once again the HT at The resistor was OK, but the joint at ing information. But before giving up the collector of the line output tran- the output side was bad. For an hour I decided to check a few voltages. sistor was down to about 2V, the or so this had no effect. After that Those around the STK5372H power transistor read OK and the HT rose to there was enough conduction to oper- chip were obviously haywire, and the normal value when the transistor ate my digital meter but not enough what's more the IC was running hot. was disconnected. to operate the line output stage. So later that day I picked up one I checked the usual components in Resoldering the joint cured the from Pedro's in the village. When I'd the line output stage — the EW modu- trouble of course. The lesson was that fitted it the machine worked normally. lator diodes and the tuning capacitors experience leads us to make assump- — but everything was OK. Next time tions which are usually correct but Some TVs the set failed I felt the line output can be misleading. There's a right That evening we decided to go out transformer to see if it was hot. It was- way to diagnose faults, and taking for some tapas. "Thank heaven for a n't . Surely, I reasoned, if the HT was short cuts can simply result in wasted bit of peace" Greeneyes said as we suddenly being reduced to 2V some- time.

TELEVISION April 2000 327 What a Life!

It's mostly the larger TV sets that come in nowadays. We also had a CD player problem recently. And a problem with an NTSC tape. Don Bullock's servicing commentary

I was guarding the fort with Paul field collapse. When I carried out a I looked at Drain and understood. the other day. It wasn't long visual examination I saw that the Then she popped a Toshiba CD before we had a customer, Mr TDA8350Q field and EW correction player on to the counter, a Model Hersey. "Which of you is Steven output chip IC401 had a burnt look XR9219. Bullock?" he asked. about it, so I fitted a replacement "We're expert at CD player "Neither" I replied, "Steven is and switched on. There was a noise repairs, madam" I told her with a out. I'm Don, and this is Paul." like an exploding crackerjack and smile, "particularly our Mr Paul." Hersey nodded and jerked his the front of the new IC shot past my She grinned at Paul but he didn't thumb at his car. "I've brought the ear. .notice. He was giving me some set in Steve" he said to me. Then he Silly me. I should have checked fierce looks. turned to Paul. "Give him a hand more thoroughly. This chip requires "How the devil do I mend this?" with it will you, Don?" two supplies, at 45V and 16V. Both he asked when they had shuffled off. are derived from the line output "No idea" I said as I struggled to Big TVs stage. The BYW95B-20 rectifier get a 28in. Loewe 5128 on to the It was a massive Sony KV24WS1U D552 for the 16V supply was short- bench. It was dead and had a burnt widescreen model. I didn't fancy try- circuit. After fitting a new diode and smell about it. ing to yank it about on the bench and IC there were no bangs or earshots — Paul got into the CD player's decided to leave it to Paul. "I'll do but no field scanning either. The power supply section and discovered the next one that comes in" I said. 16V supply was missing because the that R901 (10E2, 05W safety type) This was a mistake. The set was 0.825, 2W safety resistor FR552 was open-circuit. Its output feeds even larger, a 29in. JVC Model was open-circuit. Once this item had several voltage regulators. To Paul's AV29SX1EK. It required the efforts been replaced there was field scan- relief a replacement restored normal of the customer and the two of us to ning and a good picture. operation. get it on to the bench. "That's two done" Paul said with Paul's Sony set worked all right a smile as I boxed up my set. At this The Dead Loewe for a few minutes, then the picture point the soak-testing Sony set's I searched around inside the Loewe began to break up intermittently standby light flickered and its pic- set but couldn't see anything that with the standby light flickering. ture broke up. Its speaker crackled was obviously wrong. So I plugged "Do you think it could be a bit of with laughter, and Paul's smile it in and switched on. Forty fire- EHT discharge?" he asked. faded. crackers exploded in my ears and "Dunno" I replied, "why not "It's done it again" he said. He Paul made for the door. open it up?" soon had the panel out for a further I switched off and surveyed the Naturally the moment he opened check, but every joint looked good. chassis. A wisp of smoke was it and drew out the chassis the trou- To be sure, he resoldered the lot. climbing from a silver chimney in ble stopped. He spent some time But the fault was still present. A tap the power supply. When I took out tapping here and there before he on the tuner made it worse, and a the panel to see what was what I managed to instigate the fault by look inside revealed dry-joints found that the silver chimney was tapping around the tuner, which is aplenty. C653 (4711F, 250V) in the 142V HT on the horizontally-mounted tuner/ After half an hour's further resol- rectifier circuit. There was leakage IF panel. A careful examination of dering he reassembled the set and from its base, and as a result arcing the panel, once it had been removed, tried again. This time it behaved from the HT line to the earthed cop- revealed several dry-joints. After itself. per side of the double-sided PCB. some careful resoldering Paul refit- I removed the capacitor, careful- ted the panel and tried again. The set A CD Player ly cleaned the spilt electrolyte and now seemed to be OK, but he put it Mr Drain padded in. He had a blank carbon from the board, then fitted a on soak test to check. expression and was followed by his replacement. After that I switched Meanwhile the JVC set was giv- wife. She looked at us and said the set on again and monitored the ing me trouble. The complaint was "he's dim and he won't work". HT voltage. It was correct and

390 May 2000 TELEVISION remained so during a soak test. Easy available as a videotape in the UK. I enough really. ordered it, then searched other sites for Stormy Weather, which I'd never The Sketch seen but had heard was just as magi- "Dah de dah doe" sang the sketch cal. After some time I found that it who danced in with a 25in. Panasonic was available from an American com- colour set. He looked at me. pany, as were many other attractive "You'll be Steven, I suppose. Dah tapes at good prices. I ordered this de dah de do." one as well. "No, I'm Don" I replied. "Steven When Stormy Weather arrived I is out shopping, and Paul is working tried to play it and soon discovered over there at the bench." that it was an NTSC recording. All I "Ah" said the sketch. "I'm Dave, got from my VCR were a few lines Paul. This is my set." He looked over and no sound. The machine is a bit at Paul. "OK Don?" he asked. "Dah long in the tooth: it hadn't been de dah de dah dah dah." replaced because I cannot work mod- Just then Greeneyes clopped in, ern electronic models with complex followed by the cat. control panels. But Stephen thought "Ah!" exclaimed the sketch, there was a Toshiba VCR that ordi- "you'll be Steve's wife. Dah de dah nary mortals like me can operate. The de doe . ." upshot was that he and Greeneyes "No" I said. "This is Greeneyes, went off to the shops to look for one my wife. Steven is still out." that would play NTSC as well as PAL "Of course" the sketch said, turn- tapes. ing to Greeneyes and jerking his Steven is a Toshiba fan. He reck- thumb at me. ons that the company's products are "So this old-timer here is Paul, extremely well engineered. The right? Dah de dah de dah . . ." spares service is excellent, and he "No, no, no" she replied, "this, er, finds that Toshiba is very helpful with old-timer is Don, my husband. Steven technical advice and help, even with is out. This is Twiddles the cat. firms like ours that don't have a You're Dave and that's Paul." Toshiba account. Of how many com- Steven came in. panys can you say that? "Who's this then? Asked the Stephen and Greeneyes discovered Paul made for the door . . . sketch. "Dah de dah de doe . . ." a Toshiba V709B that appeared to fill "Steven" I replied. the bill and was on offer at £179.99. "But I though Steven was out?" But the only one the shopkeeper had cameramen and actors to a nearby vil- said the sketch, "dah de dah de doe." was in the window. He seemed reluc- lage and produced Laurie Lee's Cider I wearily pulled the sketch's tant to disturb his display. The same with Rosie. It was to be transmitted Panasonic TV on to the bench. It was machine was on offer, this time at one evening at a time when we had to a Model TX25MD1, which is fitted £169.99, at a nearby shop which be away. So I slipped out to get a new with the Euro 2 chassis. When I tried could supply one in its box. So they VHS180 tape, put it in the machine it I found that the picture was con- bought it and returned. and set the timer carefully. We then fined to the top half of the screen, and The machine is compact, well fin- departed. It was a Fujitape. that a few red, green and blue lines ished and simple to operate. It has When we returned we found that shot across it intermittently. Perhaps four heads, one-touch recording, sim- the tape had moved only an inch or there were two faults. ple channel selection, a scart socket two then stopped. So we had no I decided to tackle the field fault for AV input/output, another for satel- recording. I tried another tape, which first. The chassis uses a TDA8175 lite purposes and separate audio out- worked, then tried the Fujitape again. field output chip, IC451. I replaced it put sockets. Other features include The machine stalled. I tried the tape and tried again. There was an excel- automatic digital tracking, Nicam in another machine which also lent picture, and I breathed a sigh of sound and Video Plus capabilities. stalled. When I picked up the tape's relief. The new chip had cured both The handset works even for me, and box a tiny slip of paper fluttered out. the field fault and the flicking lines. from the garden. The auto set-up It contained a warning, printed in red I boxed the set up and called over works a treat. capitals, to fast forward and rewind to the sketch. "Your set's ready, Paul" There are lots of features that baf- the tape before use. I hadn't noticed I said, "or is it Steve?" fle me, so I don't think about them. I this and of course hadn't done so. "Oh, good-oh Dave" he replied. "I settled for being able to operate the My efforts over the years to get a shall know where to come next time. controls necessary for simple record- copy of that programme have been Dah de dah de doe . . ." ing and playback. It's an excellent unsuccessful. Recently James found a As he danced off I turned to machine to handle, with very good dealer who was offering it on the Greeneyes. "Come on Don" I said, performance. We'll see how it internet, so I ordered it by bank card. "let's get out of here before we go behaves. It turned out to be no longer avail- mental too. Dah de dah de doe." able. A Request If any reader can find a copy for An NTSC Tape I've searched the internet for another me I would be delighted. One final While surfing the internet the other videotape I nearly had once but have word about it. ITV recently produced day with the help of my younger son been unable to get since. Let me a different version of Cider with James I discovered that one of my explain. Rosie. I have this one. It's the origi- favourite films, Cabin in the Sky, was In the Seventies the BBC sent nal BBC one I'm after.

TELEVISION May 2000 391 TV expertise and how to handle the customers. Reflections on the trade in earlier, happier times and the present decline. Don Bullock's servicing commentary

"He fades, then he cuts out right to you" she said to the dog. nothing" said Mrs Ponsonby as she settled "I gave her one while you went to the her fluffy little dog on our counter. "Sit car" I said, "she just kicked up." there Fifi" she continued, "if you're good, Mrs P smiled. "How kind you are" she Mr Bullock might find a tit-bit for you to said, then scooped up the dog. "Come on eat." you little silly" she said. As Paul slipped out to her car for the set I smiled at Fifi and Mrs P smiled at Cutting out me. Then she looked away and I gave the The cutting out proved to be a difficult dog a cuff. It flew off the counter, and time-consuming fault. There were yelping. some dry-joints, which were resoldered. "Stop being a silly, Fifi" she said as Some more were found and attended to. she sat it on the counter again, close to After that the set seemed to be working all me, "or Mr Bullock won't like you. And right, so it was boxed up. But as soon as that'll mean no snackies." the back had been fitted it cut out again. I smiled indulgently. Paul then discovered that the set could be The set was a Ferguson C49F. Paul made to trip by flexing the chassis ever so connected it up and switched it on. Sure slightly. But a search for a hairline crack, enough the picture began to fade. It didn't using our magnifier, failed to find the take him long to find some classic dry- cause of the tripping. joints at plug BV03, which connects the We eventually got to the bottom of it heater and HT supplies to the CRT base however. The TDA8218 field timebase panel. Resoldering them put an end to the and line generator chip 1E01 has a V- fading, but a minute later the line output shaped heatsink attached to its top. stage died. This was obviously a separate During manufacture it had been crushed fault. Paul and Steven conferred over the slightly. As a result, its right-hand side lifeless chassis and decided they would was almost touching some of the IC's need a bit of time. pins. When the back was refitted the "I'll call back when you ring me" Mrs board was flexed slightly, shorting the Ponsonby announced. Then, turning to heatsink to pins 1-4 of the chip. me, she continued "look after my Fifi Fortunately the IC had withstood all this, while I open the car door, there's a dear." and bending the heatsink back cured the As she went Fifi stood up and bit my trouble. hand. I clouted its ear. Fifi yelped and When Mrs P called back her dog barked at me, so I gave it another clout. looked at me and howled. Then Mrs P came back in. "Don't start that again, Fifi" she said, "Stop being so noisy, just because "there's no kinder man than Mr Bullock." nice Mr Bullock hasn't got a snacky for I smiled nicely and waited for the

454 June 2000 TELEVISION chance to give it another clout. picture or sound. It was a CD66JS6F. throughout his business. But she swept Fifi up and went to "I'm off to get some whiskey" the Rev. The same was true of Mr Murphy and depart. "We'll see that nice Mr Bullock announced, "I'll pop in on the way back. his sets. When our local Murphy agent again, won't we Fifi?" she cooed. You will get it right, won't you?" retired, the town was checked to find a "Hooee w000" howled Fifi. When we took the back off we saw suitable replacement. Our company was that the TDA8170 field output chip had one of two that were considered for the Field trouble blown its top off. Not surprisingly, R715 franchise, and in due course we received a "Sharp it is" said the chap who bounced in its supply had failed. So replacements visit from a couple of representatives. in with a set whose cabinet had been in were fitted. When we tried again the top We were closely questioned on a the wars. "It don't say so but I know, 'cos of the new chip flew past Paul's ear. It variety of trade matters. After that our I left it in front of the fire one night last taught him all about the Doppler effect. workshop and technical capabilities were year. It's a Sharp all right. Something Time for a more detailed investigation checked. We were then told that they funny at the top of the screen." in the field output stage. We found that would let us know. The picture was cramped at the top, C658 (3,300g, 35V), C705 (1,000g, In fact they chose the other dealer. I with separate red, green and blue bands. 35V) and C706 (2,200µF, 35V) were all couldn't complain. He was a good man Steven suspected the TDA8170 field leaky. Then we checked R715 again. It's who had been established for many more output chip IC501 and fitted a brand new actually a circuit protector, type N25 years than we had, and already had the replacement. The result was field (1A). Not surprisingly it was open-circuit. local Ekco dealership. He went on to sell a collapse. Puzzled, Steven fitted another We replaced these items and fitted a great many Murphy sets, made a lot of one. This brought back the field scanning, new chip. When we tried again Paul money, and deserved to. but the initial fault was still present. He ducked. He needn't have bothered. This They were good times for this trade. decided to carry out some scope tests. time everything was OK and an excellent The setmakers took a pride in their There should be 23V at the supply pin picture appeared. products, and dealers took a similar pride 2. Instead there was 15V with a lot of "Excellent, Donald" the Rev. declared in their standard of service. The public hum. Time to check back to the source, on his return, "you're for heaven, that's were offered first-class products with an where the 100µF, 35V reservoir capacitor for certain." excellent after-sales service. These who produced a reading of 30µF. A "But not just yet, eh?" I asked. wanted to buy cheaper products could do replacement restored the correct voltage "Excellent" the Rev. laughed, "that's a so. level and cleared the fault symptoms. good one Donald." Then some kind sole decided to make "It certainly looks like a Sharp set" Retail Price Maintenance illegal. The said Steven, "don't know about the model Times past whole trading system collapsed, and our number, but several use this A recent article brought back to my mind trade was never the same again. arrangement." the rather different conditions in the trade in earlier times, and the way in which Today The Mulligans leading companies then operated. Take The article that set me thinking about all Mr and Mrs Mulligan came in with a Ekco for example. When Mr E.K. Cole this was Michael Maurice's piece in the Ferguson set. Mrs M is lovely. But Paddy, decided to start producing radio sets he March issue. It was closely reasoned and her husband, is a huge, rich fiftyish gathered together some leading engineers summed up the present dire situation. market trader who wins every argument to work on his ideas. It took them some "Ours is a diminishing and dying trade" he he gets into — and there are many — time to come up with a design that Cole said: these seven words write a book. without needing to say a word. He uses considered to be worthy of the name. Michael referred to the cheapness of his raised chin and, to emphasise his When he was satisfied, he put the set into today's products. Mass production, free point, clenches his fists. production and insisted on quality checks trade and the excessive value of the pound "Set's dead" he announced as he throughout the production process. have all contributed to this, and Joe Public placed a 21in. Ferguson model on the Then he sought a limited number of top- has got used to paying less for more. bench. "And don't be telling me it isn't." class dealers, generally one in each town. Unfortunately, the less a product costs, the I looked up at the underside of his They were closely checked to assess their less Joe Public feels inclined to spend on chin. "I'm sure it is" I said. "Steven, Paul: integrity and service capabilities. If they repairs or a reconditioned set. Mr Mulligan's set is dead!" passed muster, he offered them a sole Ekco Michael is also right in saying that Joe "But the button things light up" said agency on certain conditions. Public no longer knows or cares what Mulligan. They had to stock and display his range make his set happens to be. In our trade, "Right" I said. of products, agree to demonstrate them in pride of ownership has gone. It's not the The Mulligans departed and Paul made the homes of prospective customers, and case in the motor trade. Thirty years ago some checks in the power supply. There sell them only at the recommended retail most of our customers would identify the was HT but no start-up feed. A check on price. In addition they had to promptly make of their sets as soon as they brought the TDA8138 multi-output regulator chip service all in-guarantee Ekco products, them in. No longer. showed that its 17V input was present and both those they had sold and those brought It's true but sad that our trade is in there was a 5V output, but there was no in by people who had moved to the area. decline. There are no newcomers, and 12V output. Was this output being loaded They also had to service all out-of- numbers are falling. Think of the number down or was the chip faulty? Paul decided guarantee Ekco sets, whether the repair of independent dealers there used to be in to try a new TDA8138 first. This brought was profitable or not. your area, and count how many are left. the set back to life. In return, he undertook to provide sales Customers suffer. It's no good telling the leads from national advertising, technical pleasant lady at Argos about the way your A Granada set training, excellent service sheets at no picture flutters on Channel 5 at twenty past An old banger drew up in front. The charge, and advice on any technical eight every night. Reverend Goode alighted. problems that became apparent. Where But Michael's comment that "in most "Donald, your looking bonny" he said. modifications were advisable, the trades or professions you are over the hill "I've brought you the verger's set. It's a components required were provided at 35 and positively old at 46" really twists Granada. He says it's dead. Would you promptly at no charge. Each dealer was the knife in for me. Oh dear. Slip the take a look at it for him?" duty bound to implement these Aspirins into my quivering hand When we switched it on there was no modifications. He set the highest standards somebody.

TELEVISION June 2000 455 Customers and their mannerisms. Pops and blow ups. Servicing in earlier times. The problem with car radios. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

here's something about this trade that It was an Iskra type, which is suspect in Tmakes you notice people's mannerisms. this position, so we fitted a different Take Mr Worrett for example. The other replacement. The result was a full-width day he struggled in with a 28in. NEI picture with normal brightness. Nicam teletext set. He kept opening his It wasn't long before Mr Worrett mouth wide while shutting his right eye returned. and rubbing it. "Got 'im done boys?" he asked. When "My eye's itching" he said. "The we nodded he stretched, opened his screen's blank, dark and narrow and the mouth, closed his eye and started to rub it. remote control don't work." Then he Then he reached for his wallet. heaved the set on to the counter, stretched himself, opened his mouth, shut his eye Pop, pop, pop and rubbed it. Our next caller, Mrs Autridge, has a long, "You need a shot of Joshua Juice" I scraggy neck. She's all right until she told him, "there's a chemist over the starts to speak, then she starts to lift her road." As he departed, we took his set to chin and stretch her neck as though trying the bench. to pull a few extra inches out of her collar. It was a Model E28G1TFXN, which is She had with her a 21in. Sanyo Model fitted with the E5 chassis. It seemed sensi- CBP2145 (E2-B21 chassis). ble to start by checking the voltages on the "'E goes pop, pop, pop when I switch secondary side of the MOSFET chopper im on, an' the picture's snowy" she said power supply. Most were OK, but there as she stretched her neck. "but when 'e was only 2V instead of 8V across D683's gets warm 'e's better." reservoir capacitor C692. The output from Steven took the set over to the bench this rectifier circuit feeds a 5V regulator and got into the power supply to check transistor, T681. We decided to check the C364 and C398. They are both 1000, 120 fusible surge-limiting resistor R686, 16V 105°C electrolytics and are the reser- which is in series with D683, and found voir capacitors for the 12V and 5V sup- that it had risen in value to an astonishing plies respectively. When checked, both 50052. As we couldn't see any reason for were found to be very low in value. We this, we simply replaced it then switched had only ordinary 25V types, so fitted on again. We now had a picture, and the these. While there was an improvement remote control unit worked. But the pic- the faults were still evident. Further checks ture was narrow, with a one-inch gap at failed to reveal anything amiss, so Paul each side, and was slightly too dark. went out and obtained the correct type. This suggested trouble in the line out- Fitting them did the trick. put stage, and a check on C704 (2.2nF, 1.6kV), which is part of the tuning circuit, About to blow up? revealed that it had fallen in value to 54pF. Mrs Weir always looks and sounds as if

526 July 2000 TELEVISION she's just seen a ghost. She padded in with neer's report meant it needed big money were lots of them about and, since they her husband's VCR, which was a spent on it. With this on my mind I decid- used valves and mechanical vibrators, Panasonic NVJ35. ed to do my service calls in the car, which they tended to be unreliable. In addition "I think this has been Visited" she said, was a Mk 10 Jaguar. they were not all that difficult to repair. pointing a long finger at the machine's The set at the first house had an inter- So I cordoned off a corner of the work- tape slot. She tucked her chin in and mittent fault. I decided that it would have shop, rigged up a 12V car battery and a looked up at me. to be dealt with in the workshop. The cus- simple charger, slung up a simple aerial "It's dead all right, but when you plug tomer was edgy, but offered to help me and a speaker on a hook, and settled it in there's a noise as if it's about to blow carry it out. down to make a few extra shillings. up" she continued. "What might it cost?" he asked as we They came in all right. But all too I stepped back smartly, then pulled trudged down the path. often the real trouble started a day or two myself together. "All depends" I replied. "It could for after a radio had been collected and refit- "You've brought it to the right place, example be the tube." ted in its car. The internal phone would Mrs Weir" I replied, "our Mr Paul is an Just then he caught sight of the Jaguar buzz, and I'd answer it. expert on these Panasonic machines." and froze. "Mr Chipper is here about the car Paul plugged it in. It was dead and, "Hang on" he said, "I don't think I'll radio he picked up the other day. He sure enough, started to tick. bother. Let's take it back in." says it isn't quite right. Could you pop "Wonder what's causing that?" he The next call was at an isolated farm down and have a word with him?" asked. cottage across a meadow, where an old Down I would go. Not to speak, but "Durno"! I replied, "perhaps it's about woman was with her strange son of about to listen. This sort of thing: to blow up." thirty. He was somewhat unkept, and sat "It crackles a bit when I signal left, He spent a good while checking by the fireplace in a haze of tobacco Didn't do it before." through the electronics and eventually smoke, surrounded by matches and "It's not as clear as it was." found that when he carried out some tests lighters and ashtrays and packets of "It cuts out when I go under a around the microcontroller chip IC7501 cigarettes. He lit one up their another, and bridge." the ticking speed increased. When a new had two going at once. "It used to be louder on IC was fitted the recorder came back to As I picked the set up he threw back Luxembourg." life, minus its tick. his head, bawled and threw himself flat on And so on. The upshot was usually the floor. The old woman started to whim- an unwilling walk to some remote car Cider with Rosie per and ran around me. park, or to the edge of town, where the The note I included in the May issue about "He's gone again" she cried. "You'll car was parked. Sometimes it meant a my failure to record the original BBC ver- have to help me get him to the doctor. drive to the offending railway bridge, sion of Cider with Rosie brought me a There's no telephone. We gotta hurry!" It always ended up with me crouch- welcome phone call from John Bateman, The upshot was that we half dragged ing, wedged under a dusty dashboard, to in Somerset. He had also set out to record and half carried him across the meadow, press the aerial plug in or tidy up the the programme, all those years ago. But then into the car, and sped to the doctor's battery or earth or speaker connections. there was one important difference. He house. Having done so I would find myself had succeeded, and has the recording to "Again?" said the receptionist. imprisoned there while the fanatical this day. owner fiddled and twiddled and tuned He made and sent me an excellent Not quite myself and tested, and revved up and gradually copy, and the other night Greeneyes and I By the time I reached the next house I was convinced himself that all was now well. were able to settle down and watch it. The not quite myself, and tried to change a line After two or three consecutive out- programme I had set out to record depic- output valve while the set was still work- ings in the rain, during one of which I ted Laurie Lee's childhood in an isolated ing. I received such a large dose of pulsing had to buy a tin of Vaseline and remake village nearby, fifty years earlier. By the RF that I shouted a naughty word and the owner's battery connections, I deci- time I came to play it, twenty eight years threw my tools across the room. ded I'd had enough. later, its nostalgic value had greatly As I left the house I realised that I was On the way back I bought a drawing increased. late for an important meeting back at the board. It wasn't long before our new I'm most grateful to John, not only for shop. So I ran to the car, flung open the sign went up: "No car radio repairs sending us the tape but also for bringing door, sat down and tried to pull myself accepted." back, during our conversation, so many together. Then I brought my hands up to memories of this trade in those earlier the steering wheel. Sad loss times. He too had worked for the leg- It wasn't there. Nor were there any foot My brother Terry died last week. He had endary John James in his Broadmead pedals. And there was no dashboard. In a fine sense of humour, which was often Wireless Company days. my haste I had jumped into the back seat. directed towards me. I've mentioned "I could tell many a tale of the chaos at Two or three people outside a paper him now and again in this column in the that time" I told him. shop had witnessed this and were curious. past. "Me too" he replied. "I found his set up I did the only thing I could. I adopted a He'd been all right a bit earlier, when so legendary that one day I upped and nonchalant air, fiddled with some imagi- I'd left to return to Spain. Then I got a walked out, never to return." nary papers on my lap, then fiddled a bit telephone call to come back, and arrived We swapped one or two yams and, more at my shoelaces. Then I climbed out, to find him semiconscious. later that night, while checking the quality casually, and re-entered the car via the "Donald's here. Can you see him?" of our whiskey stock, I reflected on some driver's door. I drove off sedately until I he was asked. of the mishaps that befell me over my was around the corner. Then I drove like "I can smell him" he replied. years in the trade. I remember one particu- hell. "Would you like some orange juice?" larly awful day all too well. they asked him. Car radios "Hm" he said, "two pieces of ice, a A bad dar Years ago I learnt the hard way not to get splash of juice and — he lifted his thumb There had been a bad start to the day. Our involved with the repair of car radios. At and finger well apart — that much van had gone in for a service and the engi- first it had seemed a good idea. There whiskey." A little later he slipped away.

TELEVISION July 2000 527 I stopped and looked at her. She seemed turned up next day. It looked different reasonably intact. physically from the original, but fitting it "My light's gone out" she said. cured the fault. I believed her. "It's my Ferguson video recorder" she Repent added. "I disconnected it from the mains Mr Cantor has the sharpest and shiniest red WHAT supply to clean the room and when I face I've ever seen. He came in with a plugged it in again it was dead. No clock Goodmans TV set and, while I was booking display, no nothing. What else could I do? it in, put a leaflet over the job card. Anyway four hours later the clock was "Repent" it proclaimed. back on again. Ah, I thought, it's all right I looked up at Cantor, who smiled. "It's now. I won't have to take it to that Mr never too late" he said. Blarney's place and have to pay him a lot "If you know about a filthy little dog, A LIFE of money to repair it. And what do you that's not so" I replied. Then I tapped his set, think happened next?" which was a Model 2032. "We'll try to have I shook my head and looked blank. it ready tomorrow" I said. Customers and their She brought her face close to mine. "It There were signs of burning in the line equipment, the difficulty went off again Mr Bullfmch" she said. output transformer area. I feared the worst, I fetched the machine, which turned out but the cause was the 330pF, 2kV tuning with today's barbers, and to be a Model FV71LV, from her car. Paul capacitor C444. had a look at it and found that it worked all Next day he was back to collect the set. an unusual overheating right, except for the clock. When he Before he left he smiled and leant towards power supply problem. checked its DC supply he found that it was me. low, which led him to CP41. This 10V "What shall it profit a man if he gains the Donald Bullock's servicing electrolytic smoothing capacitor had fallen whole world and looses his soul?" he asked. commentary in value from 220µF to 35µF. A Shortly afterwards Mr Murphy was back replacement restored the clock display. for his set. This time he had his wife with When she called to collect it, Mrs him. They were delighted with the picture Gabber eyed me closely. "There's a good their set displayed and paid the bill in cash — unisex hairdressers just behind Grubbs with an extra fiver for Steven. Foodstore Mr Butcher" she said. "If s never been as good" Mr Murphy When she'd gone I looked in the mirror said. Then he leant towards me. "I don't like and decided to slip out to a barber. The last to say this, sorr, but you could do with a time I visited one I paid a shilling. It wasn't haircut" a high price for a chap whose pride was at stake. A Philips FL1.6 The first one I came to was full of When he'd gone I looked in the mirror again. women and kids, in addition to a few "It's either a haircut or a cheap violin for me" 'm in the doghouse again, and trendy-looking saps in trousers. So I tried I muttered. But my thoughts were interrupted Greeneyes' spoilt little dog Flash is another — and another. They were all the by the arrival of Mr Crust. He struggled in a I living the life of Riley. I had knocked same. And some had women barbers. with a 25in. Philips set, Model up a Mark 2 version of my electric shock I went back and made some telephone 25ML8500/05B (FL1.6 chassis). machine and installed it at the doorway of enquiries. "You won't find an old- "It's a very high quality receiver" Crust my writing hut in the garden. This fashioned men's barber" I was told, "we're told us, "but it's dead." provides a rich current flow from the step all unisex hairdressers these days. Have to He was certainly right about the to anything that's making it wet. move with the times you know." Flash let me know, in his own special way, that it was quite effective. He did a Stuck in Standby few backward somersaults then shot off at Not knowing what to do I went to the 80 m.p.h., yelping his delight. Greeneyes workshop, where Steven was talking to a mistook this for a sign of his displeasure. tiny man with a strong Irish accent. He'd "You're a wicked sadist" she informed brought in his colour set. me coldly as she scooped up the mutt. "Name's Amstrad" he said, "and the set's Then, to the dog, "come on to mammy, a Murphy." Flashey Washey." Steven looked at the set. "Seems to be an After that she stopped speaking to me, Amstrad" he said. which was unfortunate as I badly needed a "Ha, then it would be me who's haircut and Greeneyes has been my barber Murphy." for years. "What's the trouble?" Steven asked. A day or two later I thought I'd call a "Dunn" the man said. "I rink I'll take an truce, mainly because it had turned hot and Aspirin when I get home." my straggly hair was annoying me. But she The set was a Model CTV3121N, about turned on her heels and went off to fondle twenty months old. It was stuck in standby. the dog. I wandered back to the workshop Steven put it on the bench and, after carrying just in time to run into Mrs Gabber. out some checks, found that there was trouble in the line output stage. Some further No Light tests showed that the line output transformer "Ah, Mr Blower" she gushed. "What's the was the cause of the fault. A replacement is matter with your hair? Now, you won't available from CPC at £20.32 plus VAT. believe this, you simply won't. You won't The part number came as a surprise: believe it." AM604200000280! We ordered one which

582 August 2000 TELEVISION needed a haircut. On my way home I popped into our butcher's shop. Return When I got back I looked for Greeneyes, who eyed me coldly. "I've behaved very badly" I declared, "treated Flashey Washey very badly. Devil must have got into me. Promise I'll never do it again. I opened the newspaper parcel and a huge bone fell out. The dog went for it and wagged its tail. Greeneyes gave me a warm smile. "Would you be good enough to cut my hair?" I asked gently. She nodded and went off to get the scissors. I kicked the dog's bone away and gave it a good clout. Power Supply Problem I've mentioned before that when we are in Spain we receive BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4 via satellite. The signals are fed to a low-power FM transmitter that enables us to hear the broadcasts anywhere in the house or garden using an ordinary VHF radio receiver. Various regulator units that I tried out for powering the transmitter were not as specification. It's a digital scan set that "Would you be good enough stable as they might have been. I finally operates at a field frequency of 100Hz. The to cut my hair?" I asked settled on a fairly rugged one from CPC, 3.15A mains fuse was open-circuit, and we order code PW00140. It's an extremely soon found that the BUT12AF chopper gently. stable unit that can deliver 1.2A at 14.4V, transistor Tr7216 was short-circuit. There She nodded and went off to which is far in excess of what's required. were several thy-joints in the line output I considered this to be just as well, as the stage, and these had no doubt contributed to get the scissors. I kicked the transmitter is in continuous use. its failure. After carefully resoldering each dog's bone away and gave it The other day I was surprised to find one and fitting a new transistor we switched a good clout. that the power pack had become very hot on and were rewarded with an excellent and was giving off a strong smell of picture. burning. Yet the transmitter was still A day or two later another of these sets working normally, with its usual current came in with the same fault. consumption. I switched the power supply When Mr Crust came to collect his set I off and placed it near an open window to tried to keep a low profile — I didn't want I was cornered. All I could do was nod. cool down. A few hours later I tried it more comments about my hair. He didn't She threw a jug of water over my hair, again, leaving it in the same position. make any, but I had the feeling that he took a curly pink comb and a pair of nail This time it ran coolly all day. So I studied it a bit. scissors out of her pocket and started to came to the conclusion that it was OK, comb and snip and pat my hair. Not at all though I couldn't account for the earlier At the Barber's what I wanted. overheating. I then returned it to its I simply had to get it trimmed and decided "What's your job dear?" she asked, "is previous position by the satellite receiver. to phone around in the next town. that your used car place at the top of the A few hours later I noticed the burning "I'm looking for an, er, mature type of road?" smell again, and found that the power supply barber. One with a little corner shop and a "No" I declared, "I'm a television was hot. I also established that it ran coolly few older men sunk into a few old- engineer." when placed elsewhere. I was forced to the fashioned chairs" I said to one likely "Our set needs a panel thing" she conclusion that the overheating had to do sounding hairdresser. continued, "have you got one that would with the power pack's position. It had run "I've been here thirty years" the barber do? It's a brownish set, about this big." coolly for ages in one position: what had said soberly, "just pop in and you'll get the She drew a big square in the air with her changed? haircut you want from me or my assistant." scissors. Then Greeneyes came in and switched on I sped off and found the shop to be as I'd "We got 'im from Jaspers, only he's a Jimmy Young. I noticed how much better hoped. He was chatting to his customers in rogue. Charged us five pounds last time it my substantial, powerful new loudspeakers the way I'd expect. "Want anything for the went wrong. My boyfriend said it was just reproduced that unusual voice. That was it: weekend, sir?" I was delighted. a loose wire. You've a lot of rogues in your my new speakers! One of them was only As my turn came I sat in the chair and trade, 'aven't you? Course we don't watch inches away from the power supply. the barber flung his cloth over me. Then he it much." I soon confirmed that the proximity of the slipped on his jacket and walked out. Two After an age of this sort of thing she speaker was the cause of the overheating. or three women came in and sat on the said it was done. I looked in her mirror. Presumably its bulkier and more powerful chairs, and a young lady in a smock came My hair seemed the same to me, only wet. magnet inhibited the alternating flux changes through a door at the back of the shop. She "Five pounds seventy five" she said. I in the core of the power pack's transformer, smiled at me. went dizzy but paid up, then ran out. encouraging its primary winding to work "Just a light trim is it, love?" she asked. The car mirror confirmed that I still harder and, in the process, overheat. ■

TELEVISION August 2000 583 Holiday time, when you can forget all about TV sets and VCRs. Only it doesn't always work out that way. Donald Bullock's troubles started even before he got aboard the plane

The Camcorder that bike?" As we were sitting in the departure lounge I smiled knowingly. "Oh yes, er, ycs of a fat fellow caught my eye. course" I said. "Excyowse me" he smiled, "but I see He stood up, looked at me and walked yoo're reedin a magazine of like. Good, off. WHAT aynit?" He sat down beside me. Greeneyes caught my eye. "Not a bad I gave him a watery smile and gazed start to your 'no TV' holiday" she around the room. commented. "That what a life column's crap though, aynit? Cor, I'd like to meet that In the Plane Donald Bullock and tellim wot a prat he In the plane we were sat next to a lumpy is." looking fellow in a jerkin thing. He too A LIFE I looked at him afresh and noticed a noticed the magazine. few things I'd missed previously. He had "I pokes about with tellies" he said, "it close-set, furtive little eyes, long straggly ent me job. I'm a cleanliness inspector. I t was time to return to Spain. Green-eyes hair and a red nose. Not a nice fellow at Come across a telly atopa noshbox the and I were looking forward to a nice rest, all. other day. Toshiba 175T9B if I remembers away from TV sets and VCRs and the like. He smiled again. "Oim not in the right. 'Ad a picture but a funny un. One "I don't want to see any television trayde. They can't 'ang that on me. Oim a minute 'e was tall, like this." He stretched there" she said, "I just want to loll about in skilled man. Troipe dresser. You need himself and put up his hands, as though I the sun and visit little Spanish restaurants skill to be a troipe dresser." had a gun. "An' the next 'e went down like and bars tucked away in sleepy fishing I smiled understandingly, cadged a this." He sort of crumbled, as if shot. villages." humbug off Greeneyes and gave it to him. I gave him the fisheye smile. "We call it "But I suppose I'll have to face up to a "Oi 'ad a Samsung camcorder brought a field linearity problem" I said. bit of work" I replied. "There'll be the in the other day" he continued, "a VP- He ignored that. "Well, I went into the latest batches of whiskey to check out, and A20. Owner complained the dew indicator local telly shop and asted the chap what it I'll have to make sure that the giant prawns kept cummin on. Well they do, don't was. Didn't want to know. After I'd called are still up to standard. But no television they? The dew sensor goes. I mean, I've a few more times 'e gave me a condenser pests or repairs. If anyone sidles up to me 'ad it several times bike." thing. Replace C317 with this un" he said. and says he's sorry to bother me but his set I gave him another watery smile. "I did, and it cured the problem. Here's the isn't quite right, and asks his missus what "Anywise I did wot I olways do with old un. Looks all right though, don't 'e?" was on when it went on the blink, there'll 'em. Fitted another loading motor He showed me a 4.7µF, 35V electrolytic be trouble." assembly." capacitor. The latest issue of Television arrived as I looked at him sharply. "A loading "Mendin' tellies is easy, ennit?" he the boys were preparing to take us to motor assembly?" I questioned. added. Birmingham airport. I picked it up to read He nodded. "Yow've got no choice but I looked at him then slipped the on the plane, then off we went. fit the complete unit. Didn't you know magazine to Greeneyes. "You have this, it

648 September 2000 TELEVISION keeps getting me into trouble" I said. prawns with garlic dishes. As we drew up I them you're back." The woman at the other side of noticed a TV service van in the car park. He danced out and returned with his Greeneyes smiled sweetly at her. "My "Ah, justa the chap" cried Jose as we set. It's a Panasonic, one fitted with the U5 husband's like yours" she said, "he's ever entered, "what do you think of this?" chassis. We connected it up and I saw that so clever." Miguel, a young trainee TV mechanic, the picture was as he said, dark and "That's the first difference" I muttered. had just loaded the bar's television set into murky. The woman rattled on. "He's got a his van. Jose had also got him to have a "You've got no luminance" I said, "no soldering iron thing and all. Mended our look at his camcorder, a Panasonic black and white content in the picture, video the other day. It's an Akai. There NVM7B..The E-E results were normal, only chroma — colour to you. There are were speckles over the picture, even on but it would play back only in black and just patches of low-definition colour." I films from up town. We weren't going to white. started to dismantle the set. go to any of them telly rogues and pay "I no good yet" Miguel told me, "I am "Where's this luminance thing gone through the nose. Oh no. Did it himself for new. Can you repair it?" He had partly then?" he asked, looking into the chassis. nothing." dismantled the camcorder. "It must be there. We ain't had the back I noticed that Greeneyes' eyes had I shook my head. "I'm no good either" off 'im. Never do." glazed over. But the lady was now in full I said, as I peered into the chroma section. I looked around the colour decoder flight. Then I noticed that there was virtually no section for signs of dry-joints, but couldn't "Well, he said it was earthing spring solder at the collector of the chroma see anything obviously wrong. The trouble or something. Took the little amplifier transistor Q8006. "Try a drop of likelihood, it seemed to me, was that the printed panel thing off the top of that big solder here" I said. TDA3562AP decoder chip was faulty. It round head thing, cleaned the spring and He did, and it cured the trouble. In no handles just about everything in this area. retensioned it with his fingers, then put it time Greeneyes and I had a dozen giant I decided to ask Syd to get himself one, back together." prawns in garlic on a plate as large as a and extracted it so that he could get an She leant forwards and half closed her dustbin lid. Our table sat crowded with identical IC from a village dealer. "Accept eyes. "And do you know, that recorder drinks. only the same make of chip with the thing came as good as new. Yes, as good "You very clever" cried young Miguel. identical number on it" I told him. "That's as new. Now a shop would have charged "It is because you are old. Jose's television important. A replacement might not cure us — I don't know what. A hundred pounds set, in the van, is another mystery. See the fault, but I haven't got much kit here I expect." this." and trying this first might save a lot of hit- When the woman had dozed off, He ran to his van and returned with the and-miss work." Greeneyes asked if I knew about that one. set. It was a Sony model fitted with the Off he went. He was soon back with an "It's a common fault with the Akai BE2 chassis, which I know fairly well. identical replacement. Once I'd fitted it VSG770 and the other models in the "ThA set too sometimes has no colour" there was a normal picture. range" I replied. Miguel said, "why I don't know." "Good" said Syd, "the missus will be The fault is fairly common with this pleased. Oh, by the way, I popped in on Paco's Bar chassis. It's often caused by a dirty Charlie South for you and brought his We arrived in the baking heat of Alicente trimmer in the colour decoder's reference video recorder along. He was thinking of airport and sloped off to Paco's bar. For oscillator stage. I dropped some switch taking it to the village, but I said 'no, once the televison set was silent. In fact it cleaner on to it, twiddled it, then reset it Charlie, let old Don do it. He ain't got was missing off its high shelf. precisely as before. nuthin to do out there and is sure to Paco, who used to be an electrician, had When Miguel tried the set the colour appreciate the chance to do something.' the chassis half out of the cabinet on one was back. "You want a job with my firm?" Many folks don't think, Don. They don't of his dining tables. After pumping my he asked, "I see my boss." know what it is to be bored." arm and giving Greeneyes a big kiss he I put my hand on his arm and shook my He ran out to his car, leaving me pointed to the chassis. head emphatically. wondering whether a series of perfect "This I no comprendo" he said. He "I tell my customers about your skill" murders might really be possible. But I beckoned me over and used his simple cried Jose. concluded that I didn't have the time, what meter to check the set's line output "Nota word to a soul" I replied. with so much stuff to repair. transistor, which he had removed, showing me that it was short-circuit. Syd The Orion D4500 "So I buy this one" he continued, Greeneyes looked at me when we got back The recorder was an Orion 04500. Its showing me the new one he had just fitted. to the villa. "Some holiday" she said. deck is used by eight or nine other brands, "But the set — he still no work." "We've hardly arrived in the country and including Saisho, Matsui, Tatung, Bush, It was a Philips set fitted with the AA5 you've been doing nothing but carry out Alba and Amstrad. Its faults were AB chassis. repairs, and all for nothing. Maybe life frightening. For a start, it was intermittent "Stop" I said, "or you'll have another would be more peaceful if we went back mechanically. When it did work, it blown transistor." Then I checked at the to England and the shop!" sometimes failed to load, or it loaded but back of the connector on the scan coils. A knock on the door interrupted us. It then wouldn't unload. Even when all these Sure enough there were some dry-joints. was Syd, the old stick who looks after our functions were right it wouldn't always "Resolder these and try again, Paco" I pool when we're away. fast forward or rewind or both. said. He did, and the set worked. "Good to see you two again" he The only common factor I could think "You very clever" beamed Paco. "I tell breezed. "I've got our set in the car. The of was the mode switch. I took it out and everybody and you will earn lots of sound's all right, but the picture's gone all cleaned it, then refitted and reset it. This money." dark and murky. 'Ah' I told my missus, cured all the troubles. "Paco" I said, "don't breathe a word to `don't you worry. Don will fix it in no "Well, that's the last job I'm doing this anybody. We came here to eat and drink time when he gets back.' Then I see you trip" I announced. But Greeneyes didn't and relax." draw up in your car. Talk about a bit of hear me. She was deep into an Agatha good luck! Still, it will help you keep your Christie book. I noticed that its title was Jose's Bar hand in, so to speak. Don't want to get Ten Little Niggers. A while later we arrived at our holiday home rusty, do you?! Oh, an' Charlie South's "I've got a wheeze" I said. "Shall we and set off for Jose's bar. Jose, who always got trouble with his video recorder and old arrange a little get together for a few of the has the latest Mercedes car, serves delicious Mrs Fluck's dish has blown down. I'll tell folks we've encountered of late?" • •

TELEVISION September 2000 649

obviously secure. How proud I was that things had turned out that way, and how sorry I was for my schoolmates — the sports- mad Will Horner, who couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time, and old Muddy HAT A LIFE Mawson whose people ran a back-street fish- and-chip shop. He was decent enough, but slightly thicker than a chimp. Where are they now, I mused? Was the TV trade such a good choice? Ah yes. Old Homer's retired to Bermuda with his young wife, having just sold his Donald Bullock's contemporaries seem to have done chain of sportswear shops to a national group. And the last time old Mawson rather better. Some aerial trouble at a caravan site, brought me his set to fix he came dressed in hunting gear. and a few video problems "I've got no interest in foxes. I'm only into this to kill time" he'd said modestly. "I've nothing else to do but spend my t had been a tiring day. Mrs Macham had Reflections money. My managing director runs all the just told me that her set had never been When she clopped off to the kitchen I fish-and-chip shops of course, and looks I right since I'd done it and she was going systematically topped up my glass to a after my investments." to have me seen to. Mr Pugh had bowled me reasonable level and settled the bottle at my out for incompetence because his aerial blew elbow. Then I sat back and reflected. No picture, see down just after I'd done his set. And old Mrs What a life this trade has given me. I'd Still, they probably haven't had the fun I've Vigner had told me that I knew nothing been handy with wires and things at school, had. I remember the Saturday morning a about television and had always been a fool. and often made the odd half-crown by bossy and rough-voiced woman who called I hadn't felt much like entertaining the knocking up crystal sets in matchboxes. I herself Mrs Craddock called me to a country Browns, but we had to as we'd already also made telephones that worked, using mansion to fix her set. It was ten or twelve invited them. We'd just seen them off and I wooden switchblocks to make the miles away but was a sunny day, so why was slumped in my chair. I asked Greeneyes microphones and earpieces. Other chaps not? Off I cruised and, when I got there, the to get me a whiskey. would have had to run errands for hours to house was very impressive indeed. I rang the "It had better be a small one" she said as equal such earnings. And whenever a group polished brass bell-pull beside the wide, dark she trickled me a thimbleful of happiness, of us went camping up the hill the others had blue front door. Out came a maid dressed in "don't forget it's high time you began your to get the fires and food organised while I a black and white uniform. article for Television. If it was me I'd have merely had to sling up and aerial and conjure "Can I speak to Mrs Craddock, please?" I them written and sent off by the first of every Dick Barton's adventures into our tent. asked. month, without fail. The trouble with you — Yup, I'd an aptitude for the intricacies of The maid faltered then went inside. amongst all the many others I could think of electronics, the essence of things to come, Eventually a tall, stern woman with blue hair — is that you've got no system. and it was already paying off. My future was appeared.

710 October 2000 TELEVISION "What is it you want?" she asked in a "Listen, Mrs Craddock" I said, "I came and refit the band. clear, plummy voice. ten or twelve miles to The Gables and found "Are you Mrs Craddock?" I asked. you on a caravan site. Instead of coming Toshiba V709B She looked horror-struck. "The away I spent some hours running about and Last spring Greeneyes and Steven went out to Craddocks are to be tenants of ours" she renovating your makeshift aerials and leads. buy a new VCR for us and came back with a declared. "They arrived here last evening And I left you with pictures. I've raised a Toshiba V709B. I said I would let you know and are in the orchard. Go through the gate bill and I want it paid. Are you going to pay how it behaved itself. It was all right until the at the bottom of the lane beside the house. it nicely, or do I take steps?" other day, when Greeneyes played a C60 tape Oh, and please remove your van from the "You ain't gettin' nuthin" she replied and said there were white flecks all over the drive." then hung up. picture. I did as she asked and found an orchard I phoned The Gables and spoke to the "I'll clean the heads" I said. full of mostly expensive caravans. Mrs blue-haired lady. "I'm about'to issue a "Shouldn't need it" said Jamie, "there's a Craddock's caravan was a rather shabby summons against two of your tenants" I built-in cleaning device." looking one at the back. She was clearly a said, "am I right is assuming that their But I cleaned them anyway, and traveller. address is The Gables?" Greeneyes settled down to watch Gone with "Come in luv" she rasped, "I can't get no Twenty minutes later the phone rang. It the Wind, which is on a four-hour tape. The picture, see." was a man who sounded like a traveller. VCR behaved perfectly. There was a skimpy aerial outside on a "Hello boss" he said, "oi've got some Next day Greeneyes tried her C60 tape pole. Its downlead was cut short. I had no money to pay you for the work you kindly again. The white flecks, were back. I gave aerial equipment with me, so I went off to done for Mrs Craddock and her daughter, the heads another clean and Greeneyes tried the next village to buy some coaxial cable. and I want to pay it quick like. That's the the C60 tape once more. There were white When I returned I set about dismantling the way we pays our bills. 'Ow do I find you?" flecks. guy wires. It was an ancient rig, and it was Half an hour later the money was in the "Have you another C60 tape?" I asked. ages before I had her set working. till. He was a genial fellow, a gentleman. She produced one and tried it. White flecks. "My daughter's got no picture either, "Try Gone with the Wind again" I said. luv" she said. "Course 'er 'usband's Beans No white flecks. skidaddled, so you'll have to tack any Mrs Crabright called into the workshop with I came to the conclusion that the problem charge on to my bill. a JVC VCR and her boy, who was about had to be to do with the tape and decided to She led me to an even shabbier caravan. five. try a C180. There were white flecks, but far Her scruffy daughter gave me a smile and a "This 'un was all right until this little fewer. wink, so I thought of England. It was again perisher pushed his spoonful of beans into it" Jamie opened the machine up. The tape aerial trouble — this time there was no she said. carriage sits in the middle of the main PCB. downlead at all. "Don't like beans" blurted the boy. I He discovered that pressing and lifting the "It must have got lost in the move like" flexed my right hand. panel affected the fault. So he assumed that her daughter said. The recorder was an HRFC100EK, and dry-joints or a print crack were likely to be Fortunately I'd bought enough cable. was dead. I decided to give it to Steven, our the cause of the trouble and spent a good The guy-wire fittings were rusty, so I had to video expert, to deal with. He opened it up while with a magnifier and his soldering borrow some oil. When I got the aerial and took out the spoon and beans, then iron trying to bring about a cure, all to no down I saw that it was fractured and that its moved over to the power supply. There were avail. connection box was missing. This meant no outputs, and a quick check on the He eventually found that pressure another visit to the dealer. When I 2SC4517A chopper transistor Q1 showed applied to the tape carriage affected the eventually finished the job I saw that Mrs that it was short-circuit. He replaced it with a fault. No pressure, lots of flecks. Moderate Craddock and her daughter were dressed for BUT11AF, but this made no difference. A pressure, fewer flecks. A lot of pressure, no going out. check on Q2, which was a 2SD2144S, flecks. Hence the different fault symptoms "Just make sure her picture's right, revealed that it was leaky. He replaced it with depending on the length, and hence the there's a dear" Mrs Craddock said. I did, a BC637 then carried out some further weight, of the tapes we'd tried. and it was. checks. R10, an 0.27Q, 1W resistor, was The tape carriage is secured to the main "Now check mine again, luv" she said. open-circuit. Once this had been replaced the panel by its connecting plugs and sockets It was OK. As I came out both women machine worked perfectly. only, and can easily be lifted up and out locked their doors. This didn't look too from the panel. Once this had been done the hopeful. Tape chewing cause of the problem was evident. The "I'll just do you a bill" I said, reaching It has been commented that people get to carriage is earthed to the panel by means of for my pen. look like their dogs, or vice versa. It seems a flexible earthing leaf which, in this case, "Good idea" said Mrs Craddock, "post that you can also get a behavioural link with was tarnished and thus made poor contact. 'im on to me, luv." Then a bus came along a VCR. Mr Postgate is a nice enough old Jamie cleaned and reflexed the leaf, which and the women rushed off to get it. boy, but he has a wet chin and he chews completely cured the fault. The telephone was ringing when I away. He brought in his VCR, another JVC Had we been average customers, I arrived at the workshop after the weekend. machine, Model GRAX55EK. reflected, we would have called the dealer It was Mrs Craddock. "How are you these days, Mr Postgate" out, which would have been one service "Don't bother sending me a bill luv" she said Steven. call to set against his profit. I wonder what rasped. "I knows you done yer best, but The old boy put his VCR on the counter. percentage of these machines have given both aerials 'ave fell down. We've 'ad to get "I'm all right, but this 'un here started this trouble, or are about to do so, and how somone else." The line went dead. chewing tapes yesterday evening" he replied. much running about this small fault could "Try as I might I can't stop it." cause? Payment Steven soon had the top off and Otherwise the machine has behaved well Over the next month or two I sent bills and immediately saw the cause of the trouble. and gives excellent results. There are reminders, but got no response until I wrote The back-tension arm had snapped in half, so however features that I still can't work, like a letter which was to the point. This there was no tape tension. the one that permits programmes to be produced a phone call. We've had this fault several times. The recorded when I'm out by previously "I've told you I ain't paying 'cos it all arm can be obtained from SEME, part no. feeding in a VideoPlus number. I can't get fell down. You shouldn't 'ave left it like YQ43377A, at a modest cost and is easy to this right, so I have to bribe one of the boys that." fit: remove the back-tension band, fit the arm to stand in for me and do it manually. ■

TELEVISION October 2000 711 Illustration Dave Bell WHAT A LIFE Some video faults. A scruffy cove came in the other found that the mechanical functions were day. He had half a dozen kids irregular. The machine produced tape deficiency with A with him and an Amstrad loops and suffered from poor ejection recorder, which he handed to Steven. and shutting down. This was caused by servicing courses. "Haven't been here for nigh on four the mode selector assembly, which was years" he commented. "We moved to dirty. Once it had been cleaned the Learning about Standford but now we're back. This machine worked normally. Mode switch customers, good and recorder works when it feels like it. By problems are common with these the way, where's the old fellah? Is he machines. bad. Donald Bullock's still alive?" Then he caught sight of me. "Hey, didn't you used to be Mr Miss Monroe's Sanyo servicing commentary Bullock?" he asked. The girl who wandered in was a Marilyn "Yes" I replied, "and didn't you used Monroe look-alike, only twice as soft to be Mr Grazer?" voiced. "That boyfriend of mine is use- When he'd left I turned to Steven. less" she purred. "All mouth. Claims he "The Grazers' umpteen kids used to give can do anything — ride rodeo horses, fly their set a beating" I said, "his missus aeroplanes, tame crocodiles and hypno- would prop them up in front of it as soon tise chimpanzees to stop them smoking. as they got up and leave them there till Says he's a trapeze artist and can mend bedtime." tellies and videos and cars. Yet when The VCR was an Amstrad UF40. "I we're out he bumps into lamp posts. He don't like these cheap machines" Steven can't get a job, and when he helped the moaned, "for a start R1018 in the power paperboy he put the wrong papers supply will be dry-jointed." through all the doors. Don't know what I He opened it up and found that R1018 see in him. Anyway, here's something was as he'd just said. There were more else he said he could do but couldn't." dry-joints all over the power supply sec- She placed a Sanyo VCR on the counter. tion. The trouble is that the cabinet has "It's dead. Can you mend it?" only a single section of air vents, at one It was a VHR776. When she'd gone, side. So there's insufficient air flow and Paul looked at it. "I'll tell you exactly the machine gets overheated. what's wrong with it" he said, "it'll be Steven resoldered the dry-joints, then the 0.8A fusible resistor PR511 in the

November 2000 TELEVISION power supply." He was dead right. course at the local technical college. The It's gone again "You're almost as smart as that teachers were good and, eventually, I And set after set wasn't really right after boyfriend" I said, "only not quite. felt competent enough to step out into it had been repaired. I would learn about Where's your Marylin look-alike?" the servicing world to make my fortune. this when the next breakdown occurred. I was wrong, even then. Those who The bill hadn't been paid of course. Dealers taught me had forgotten to take into "It wasn't really right when you did it Just then Eric came ambling towards our account the problems I'd get with cus- last time" they'd say, "but we thought door. He has a few open-market stalls tomers. My course should have included we'd give it a chance to settle down." that sell cheap, imported electronic a thorough grounding in psychology. I I learnt about loftier things too, like goods and had a couple of mini-TVs for had to learn about this the hard way, by the little-known addition to Einstein's us to fix. As he opened our door howev- face-to-face dealings with the public. theory of relativity: time shortens, in er Ackie Timberland appeared and The practical psychology course has inverse proportion to the bill, once a set touched his arm. Ackie is a likeable taken over fifty years so far, and I'm has been mended. layabout who can't half spin a yarn. still learning. "Our set's gone again" I would be Harmless, but a time waster. My first lesson came on the first day told, "you mended it only two months "A word with you" he said to Eric. of my first job. It was about repairing ago and it cost us fifteen quid." In fact Eric looked him up and down, sets in the customer's house. it had been repaired ten months ago and frowned and stepped back. 1 accompanied an old hand on a I'd charged a fiver. "I've got over fifty of them sets" series of outlying calls. About fifteen Ackie said to him. "Very same name on miles into the sticks we drew up at an Mistakes 'em. All sealed in their boxes. Got 'em enormous house, with its own drive, to But mistakes were made, and some cus- from a chap who went bust. Don't know look at a valve set. Its line output valve tomers were very understanding. I recall what to with 'em." wasn't working because the 2.2kS2 the day when Phil, who ran a repair shop Eric sensed a bargain. "What do you screen grid feed resistor was open-cir- single-handed, telephoned me to say want for them?" he asked. cuit. When we'd fitted a replacement a how distressed he was. At the time pro- "Say fifty quid the lot?" suggested picture appeared. The customer was so jection sets were new, and very expen- Ackie. "'ere let's go over to The George pleased that, after getting us a cup of sive. He'd just started to work on one and talk about it." tea, he patted us on our backs, walked when his wife had dropped off their six- "Eric — don't bother" I shouted. But it us out to his garden and presented us year old son Sydney for him to mind for was no good. He was heading towards with a huge haul of cabbages, new pota- half an hour. the pub with Ackie. toes and an assortment of other vegeta- So he decided to do something less Eric was back next afternoon with his bles. taxing instead — put up a shelf in the faulty sets. A fortnight later, after receiving the workshop. Even so he was finding work "That fellow who waylaid me yester- bill, he arrived in the shop waving it and hard because of his son's pestering. day" he said "arranged a deal. He was bawling about our incompetence and the "I just had to step into the office here supposed to deliver some tellies to me firm being a bunch of rogues. to talk to someone" he said, "the boy's this morning but didn't turn up." "Nearly two pounds for two minutes' sending me mad. He's just made me "I did try to warn you" I started off, work and a penny resistor" he yelled. drive a tack through my thumb. Into but at that moment Ackie passed by and "And another thing. Our ITV was all everything he is . . ." As he spoke a loud Eric rushed out. right before they came. Now it fades banging came from the workshop. "What about those fifty tellies you when it rains." "Stop that banging, Sydney" Phil were supposed to bring?" he asked Our aerial riggers led tough lives too. shouted. But the banging continued, and Ackie. "I waited all morning with your They had to work in pairs, as the aerials Phil had to shout again. That's how the fifty quid." were bulky. When there was a fault they conversation went. "Waited for fifty tellies, for fifty might have to drive for umpteen miles, We finished talking and I settled quid!" Ackie exclaimed. "You 'ave to be assemble their ladders, then run up and down to my own work. Before long Phil jokin'. You couldn't get fifty tellies for make good the fault. The more compe- was on the phone again. He was almost fifty quid. Nowhere. Nor five hundred. tent they were, the quicker they got hysterical. Anyway I ain't got no tellies. I'm a things done. But that would rebound on "I don't know what to do" he gamekeeper. You've got me mixed up them. exclaimed. "My wife's come and taken with someone else." "Three pounds!" a customer might Sydney, but that banging he was doing At that Eric came back in. "I dunno" exclaim. "They were here for only a . I just don't know what to do." he said, "I filled that fellow up with beer minute. That's £180 an hour, over "It can't be that bad" I said, "tell me over The George, and did he move twelve hundred quid a day! I'd like a about it." some. And a stack of crab sandwiches!" job like that. Nearly eight thousand quid "The projection set" said Phil, "and "I tried to warn you" I said. "He's a week for doing hardly anything!" that banging. It was Sydney. I'd left my waste of time." tools and a large box of nails by the set. Eric stood thinking, then grinned rue- "I don't watch it" He's hammered a load of them into the fully. "My own fault" he said. "Thought Another fact I quickly learnt was that no set's polished top. It looks like an angry I'd do all right out of it. Should have one in the family actually watched TV, porcupine. What am Ito do? I'm fin- known better." though they couldn't manage without it ished." "Perhaps I could offer you a hundred when the set failed. I was told this week Fortunately Phil was a good handy- of 'em for twenty five quid" I said. after week, year after year. man and his customer was the soul of "We'll go over to The George to discuss "I don't watch it myself' the husband reasonableness. Phil removed the nails, it. I'm a bit thirsty, and peckish." would say. "It's the wife." filled the holes, ironed on some match- "Not likely!" Eric exclaimed. "Not She would give me the same line. "I ing veneer from the new do-it-yourself twice in two days boy, not twice!" never watch it. It's my husband. He shop and then had it polished by Gilbert, likes the sport." one of my french-polisher customers. Experience If they were together they'd blame The set looked as good as new, and the More years ago than I care to recall I the children. "We never watch it. Have customer was delighted. ■ embarked on a television servicing to have it for the kids."

TELEVISION November 2000 7 Illustration Dave Bell

The insurance salesman. How we bought our first electric till. Some TV WHAT A LIFE faults, and a rather live- You're right. He was an insurance the cleverer ones, like the casual man ly youngster. Donald pest, the first of many, and he plagued me who called to sell us an electric till. Until Bullock's servicing com- for ages. The last time he called he then we'd been using a polished box with played his trump card. a drawer and a brass handle for our tak- mentary "Mr Bullock", he said gravely . . . "If ings. you passed away and I called on your "Hello boys" he smiled as he came in, y musings on the trade a couple of family, I would naturally express my con- carrying the till. "To be quite frankly, mmonths back rang a few bells: I've dolences. 'I'm awfully sorry', I would I've come to sell you something. But it'll been reminded of the days when I started say, 'I wish I could be of help, but I pay for itself within a few weeks." As he out. can't.'" looked about for a space to settle the till, My first job was with a multiple, and I He shook his head slowly and sadly, we looked at each other and smiled. "To would park the firm's lettered van out- and I felt sorry for myself, lying there be quite frankly" we echoed. He was side. This told the neighbours that I was a dead. But not for long. He was soon off obviously a prat. repairman, so when their sets failed they again. "You can call me Eddie, to be quite came and tapped at the door. Before long "Do you know, Mr Bullock, I've just frankly, boys" he said as he plugged the I was so busy I didn't have time to go to called on Harry Westcott's young widow. till in. Then, peppering his spiel with work. He had this very policy, and after the more 'quite franklies', he explained the It wasn't long before I started to work funeral I was able to say to her 'I'm advantages of the till and told us we from a couple of rooms in a central back pleased to be able to tell you that your could pay for it with four monthly pay- street, and had a lettered van of my own. husband left you very well provided ments. I can still remember how thrilled I was for."' I handed her our cheque for a hun- "Of course, I'd have to have the first when my first caller came in. He wore a dred thousand pounds. one now, if you want the till. But if you scruffy suit, needed a haircut, and padded "You couldn't slip me her address, forget to send the next, who's to chase in on splayed-out crepe-soled shoes. After could you?" I quipped, and off he went. you up, eh? There's only me on the pumping my arm, he looked at me sober- boss's payroll, so it would be my job. ly. Our first till But, to be quite frankly, I'd never find the "Mr Bullock" he said, in a quiet and He was nearly as bad as the advertising time, 'cos I make my money selling tills, husky voice, "I can see you're going to reps, who called in their droves. Those not collecting payments." do well, and you'll soon become accus- who offered, at a price, a square on their "But surely, if we have the till we've tomed to all the best. But there's one football fixture charts, those representing got to make our four monthly payments" thing you ought to think about — think obscure magazines, the Kelly's directory I said. deeply about." man, and the chap who offered us a space Eddie squared up. "Look, I get ten per I looked at him. He was a picture of on a clock he was presenting to the local cent every time I sell a till, and nothing `sincerity. post office. when I collect an outstanding cheque. "Have you ever thought what would At times these pests were so numerous Right?" happen to your family if you . . . er . . . it was difficult to get on with our work. It I nodded. passed away? It happens, I'm afraid. And took some time to learn how to handle "So next month, suppose the boss says I have a policy here . .." them. Even then we fell for one or two of to me 'Eh, Eddie, don't forget to call for

70 December 2000 TELEVISION that instalment.' What do I do?" output chip IC601 was short-circuit. and chin and scuffed along it towards "Tell us" I said. We've learnt that when this IC in this me, pulling faces. When he arrived I "'OK' I say to him, 'OK boss.' But series of sets fails it is important to fit locked my pliers on to his ear and gave it do I bother? Do I hell! No, boys, I don't. the Hitachi version, even though it's sev- a twist. Because if I call on you for a cheque I eral times the price of the other makes. He threw his head back, bawled and get nothing for myself. If, instead, I go Non-Hitachi chips have always failed fell on the floor, then contorted himself, out and sell a till I make my ten per cent. within a couple of days. So I fitted a stabbing his thumb at his ear. He kicked Now, what would you do? Be quite Hitachi chip and put the set on soak test. at his mother's legs until she fell on top frankly with me. What would you do?" A few hours later it failed again. of him. He was disarming all right. A right Some checks I should have made before As she got up, I gave her a warm comic. Couldn't speak his native tongue revealed the cause: the HT was high at smile. "He's certainly energy-packed properly, and here he was telling us we 140V instead of 115V. I then found that today, isn't he? Like a firework, eh? I could pay for a new till sometime-never. R951 (39W, 0.5W 5%) in the HT moni- think he caught his ear on the counter." He was such a prat that I felt benevolent toring network had risen in value to "Serves 'im right" she said as she sur- towards him. 51ka This had been the cause of the veyed her damaged stockings. "I'm "OK" I said, "we'll have the till, to be increased HT voltage. A new resistor going to give 'im an 'ammering we gets quite frankly." I thought we were being and another Hitachi chip restored normal 'ome." ever so clever. operation, and this time the set passed its We all smiled and nodded. He pulled out his forms and got our soak test. Her recorder was a Panasonic signatures, then raised his trilby and When Sam called for his set he stood NVL20. When Paul tried it there was no swept out. there fingering his chin. I waited for colour, just a black-and-white picture For one reason or another we were a another of his pearls, and it wasn't long that was zigzagging about and impossi- day or two late in making the third of coming. ble to watch. He checked through the our four payments. Then Eddie showed "I dunno" he said, "I used to think I electrolytic capacitors on the tuner sub- up. was indecisive, now I'm not so sure . . . " panel and discovered that C48 (33g, "Hello Eddie" I smiled, "how are the 16V) showed signs of leakage and was tills going? You can be quite frankly." Elvis low in value. It was a different Eddie this time. He I noticed that Mrs Balsam was approach- A replacement cured the fault, but opened his ledger. ing our door. She was carrying a video there was further trouble. In the E-E "I've come for the third payment, Mr recorder. Her son Elvis was with her and mode, and only in this mode, the sound Bullock" he said, "and I'd like it now, was sucking at an outsize lollipop. He was breaking up. The cause was again please." also had a stick, which he was stabbing electrolytic capacitor failure, this time "So you found time to call for the towards passers by, as though he was a C7678 (10p.F, 16V). cheque after all, Eddie" I commented. fencer. As the pair entered the shop he He ignored this and gave me a ran up to Steven and started to prance Wilfie Wogan straight look. He was no longer the prat around him, stabbing the lollipop and A strange fellow called in with a 21in. who had sold us the till. stick at him as he did so. Sony set. I didn't like the look of him. "Look, you signed a contract you "Careful with that lollipop, Elvis, or As I reached for a job card, he gave the didn't bother to read, and because you you'll get all hairs on it" Mrs Balsam name of Wilfie Wogan. failed to make the third payment by the bawled. Then, "look al 'm, Mr Bulger, "Er, no relation to, er . . . ?" I asked. due date this till is legally mine again. I 'e's just sin The Mark of Zorro on the "I've got no relations at all" he said. I can take it and sell it at twice the profit I telly an' thinks 'e's that Tire-on Power. felt relieved. made out of you. So pay up, there's a Yessy he sin that rodeo film and wuz "And what's the trouble with the good chap. I've a lot to do and no time ridin' his dad round the 'ouse as though set?" I enquired. to waste." 'e was a rodeo hoss." "The little light comes on but the set I paid him the lot to be rid of him. He At this Elvis flung his stick and lol- don't" he said. was just another of the characters who lipop at Paul, grabbed the handles of the So I wrote "stuck in standby" on the came along to educate us in the ways of open door, and swung on it while head- card. The set was a KVM2151U (BE2A business. We gradually learned. butting it and banging his heels on the chassis). I gave it to Steven to deal with. glass. The usual cause of this trouble is fail- Sam's Hitachi "Cut that out" shouted Mrs Balsam, ure of the BU508AS2 line output transis- Sam the Joker called in the other day "you'll hurt yourself else." Mrs Balsam tor Q802 and the N15 (600mA) circuit with his 21in. Hitachi set, Model laughed as he went on with renewed protector PS801. This case was no C2114T (GIPS chassis). vigour. "Thinks 'e's that Butch Cassidy exception, and the set came to life when "Rustled when I switched 'im on, he now, ridin' that big bull thing" she said, replacements had been fitted. But that did, then he went off" Sam said, "now "'e oughta bin a bloody cowboy. Loves wasn't the end of the matter. The EHT he's stuck in standby." baked beans, don't you . . ." was crackling and spitting, and the As I reached for a job card he spoke As the boy stamped harder on the height was slightly reduced. We then again. glass she blurted "half time, Elvis. 'Ere, noticed that the line output transistor's "'Eard the one about the chap who come over and 'ave a look at all the heatsink was very hot indeed. went to 's doctor, Don?" he asked. plugs and things on this stand what goes Steven quickly disconnected the tran- I shook my head, painfully. "But I'm round and round. Come on . . ." sistor and checked the HT voltage. It going to, aren't I, Sam?" Elvis ran over to the stand and spun it was very high — 185V instead of the cor- "Says to his doctor 'Doctor, I feels frantically until it crashed over. rect 135V. "Should have checked that insignificant.' The doctor looked straight "You silly little sod" bawled Mrs before" Steven commented. through 'im and shouted 'Next!'" Balsam, "that coulda fell on you. Mr This is another known fault, the cause I waved him out and wrote Sam the Butcher ain't screwed 'im to the floor usually being the STR54041 chopper Joker on the card. like he should of." chip IC601. Once a replacement had The basic fault with the set was field As Paul took the recorder from her, been fitted the HT was stable at precisely collapse, because the TA8427K field Elvis hung on the counter by his hands 135V.

TELEVISION December 2000 71 TV problems: strange customers and strange faults. Some moans, including modern audio WHAT A LIFE equipment and current and looked at the next fellow. . . . cyuk, cyuk, cyuk, harrrr . . ." BBC programming. He grinned and pointed to a van across Eventually he stopped and pulled himself the street. "I've brought our Mitsubishi together. Donald Bullock's TV for repair, so to speak" he said. "It's a "It's a Philips set" he said. "Went dead TV/video commentary big 'un, so to speak. Can you help me yesterday, so I thought I'd better get it with it?" repaired. Does that seem a good idea?" I breathed in ten pints of air and fol- "As good as any I've heard so far was first to get to the workshop the lowed him to the van. The set was a mon- today" I said. I other morning, except for three odd- ster Mitsubishi job, with 29in. tube. I As he left I wondered whether I should looking fellows who were waiting at the contemplated running away, but decided consult one of those counselling people, door. Two had television sets with them. to face up to it. as the Reverende Goode did when an They trooped in after me. As we waltzed it across the road and overhead pigeon chose him. But I decided into the shop there was a chorus of toot- to soldier on. Early birds ing motor horns while a blue-haired "By the way, I was recommended to woman hollered that we were a pair of A Philips GR1-AX come here by Snoddy's — that tall, thin louts who deserved the birch. The Pye set was a 37KV1242/05B 14in. chap it was" said the long and greasy- Having put the set down and recovered portable, which uses the Philips GR1-AX haired fellow, who was untidily dressed my breath, I drew up another job card and chassis. Steven took it on. The pre-tuned in a black leather outfit and carried a Pye glanced up at him. pictures were hazy with severe flickering portable set. "Mainwaring-Chapman" he said, "and at the top of the screen. He tried tuning "Oh dear" I muttered, as I gave him a incidentally the picture's a mass of pat- other programmes and found that the tun- quick glance up and down. "Er, unusual terns, so to speak." ing bar skipped through each channel and outfit, that." I nodded grimly and waved him out stopped just after it. "Ah, I'm a biker, see" he replied. too. Mr. Loony I wrote on the card and We'd had this problem before with the I looked about but couldn't see a tucked it into the back of the set. Then I chassis and had found that slightly retun- motorcycle. "Where's your bike then?" I turned to the other chap, who was sitting ing the AFC tank coil L5045, which is asked. on the set he'd brought in. just to the left of the TDA8305 IF/time- "Haven't got one yet, by the way" he "Before we go any further" I said, base generator chip IC7020, did the trick. replied. "Oh, and by the way, I'd like you "could you tell me your name?" Steven found that the same action cured to repair this telly." "Mr Harmsworth-Jukes" he replied, this set. I pulled up a job card. "Name, "does that seem a good idea?" please?" I asked. "It fits" I said, "what's wrong with the The Monster Mitsubishi "Carruthers-Smythe" he replied. set? Nervous breakdown?" When we switched on the monster Obviously immature I thought, noting The chap doubled up and broke into a Mitsubishi set, which was fitted with the the name down. Then I waved him out peculiar laugh. "Cyuk, cyuk, cyuk, harrrr Euro 4 chassis, it displayed severe hori-

134 January 2001 TELEVISION zontal patterning. This improved a bit as chassis. We pulled it on to a bench and don't compare with those of ten years the set warmed up. switched it on. Sure enough the picture ago, or even of five years ago. Anything It seemed to me that the cause of the it produced was covered with flashing, regarded as being even faintly intellec- trouble was radiation from the chopper horizontal lines. Mr Kostonoski began tual is pushed towards midnight or power supply, so we decided to check to jump about. "It's agony" he cried. beyond. Normally when you switch on the electrolytics on the secondary side. We told him it would probably be you are confronted with 'comedy' pro- We found three that were virtually open- OK if he called later and then concen- grammes that feature sub-standard circuit, two in the 5V supply and one in trated on the set itself. Steven suggested bores, dirty-mouthed yobbos or both. the 12V supply. The latter was C920 that we try it out with a signal fed in via Entertainment today just doesn't have (470µF, 25V), which is the reservoir a scart lead. When he plugged one in the quality of Morcambe and Wise, capacitor at the input to the 12V regula- there was a perfect picture. Tommy Cooper and the Two Ronnies. tor IC901. The two in the 5V supply "We'll have a look at the IF circuit- This is not the only trouble. The were at either side of the 5V regulator ry" he said, "the BC858C surface- BBC's airwaves are now crammed with IC903 — C922 (100pF, 25V) and C923 mounted transistors there can cause this aggravating and time-consuming gim- (100µF, 10V). We decided to upgrade sort of trouble — TH02, TH03 and micks and fake 'commercial' adverts, them to 105°C types. TH04." It didn't take him long to there presumably to lull some into Once the replacements had been fit- replace them. He then plugged the aeri- thinking that they are actually watching ted the set produced an excellent pic- al in again and switched on. A normal ITV. More often than not previously ture. picture then appeared. straight programmes, such as the news, When Mr Kostonoski returned later are accompanied by a curious and intru- A Philips AA5 that day he was all smiles. "How sively discordant pumping noise — The Philips set, which was fitted with pleased to see it I am" he declared, "I something copied from Sky News. It's the AA5 chassis, was dead and tripping. am delightful." time that adults were once again put in Paul was handling this one. He soon the charge of BBC programming. found that there was a short in the line Moans and groans A while ago Greeneyes and I spent output stage, and was relieved to find My first moan this month is about a some hours at the Spanish home of that the line output transistor had sub- fairly expensive Aiwa audio system I Edmundo Ros and his wife. They are a stantial base-to-collector leakage. A took from England to Spain so that I charming couple. When we were told replacement made no difference howev- could enjoy the high technical quality of that a programme called the Edmundo er. After some further checking, he sus- the BBC's radio programmes via satel- Ros story was to be transmitted one pected the line output transformer. We lite and play my carefully remastered evening we wanted to see it. An exami- had a new one in stock, so this was CD Bing and Bix records. The unit, nation of the evening's programme list installed. Again there was no difference, which is full of irritating and superflu- on digital television revealed no men- and we found that the original one ous gimmicks, is designated the tion of Edmundo Ros however. So we worked all right in a similar set. So it "NSX999 System with CX-N999 Centre switched about in the hope that the pro- seemed a good idea to return it to Unit and SX-N999 Speaker System". gramme list was faulty and that we'd Harmsworth-Jukes' set. My main complaint is about the built-in stumble across it. We did, though not Paul continued with his checks and reverberation circuit that distorts the until it was half over. And the reason eventually alighted upon C2450 (680nF, sound. I can't adjust it out. The best we failed to find it in time was that it 250V), which is the scan coupling/ results I have been able to manage are was entitled not the Edmundo Ros story S-correction capacitor. When he took it muzzy and lacking in HF response. but I sold my Cadillac to Diana Dors. It out he noticed that there was a hairline Son James tells me that in a recent subsequently went out more than once crack around its case. It read dead short television programme a similar modern on the BBC Knowledge channel — as when checked. Japanese product was compared and The Edmundo Ros Story of course. A replacement cleared the fault, and examined side by side with an older BBC Radio is now little better. The we noticed that the set produced a par- British sound system. The older system old Light Programme, now pushed as ticularly good picture. A number of produced consistently high-quality Radio Two, used to present each morn- similar Philips small-screen (14-20in.) sound and the programme's expert ing a programme of varied popular chassis, such as the Anubis A, use a demonstrated that, while the modern music aimed at housewives but enjoyed similar line scan circuit with a coupling system was capable of such quality, it by all, with a new and well-known pre- capacitor of similar value — the value took him a lengthy time, adjusting and senter each week. It's now a wearisome fitted depends on tube size and type. manipulating the controls, to achieve it. presentation with commentary that Once the system was switched off, the seems to go on for ever. The records Flashing lines high quality was lost — the lengthy played are excruciating. And if you "Mr Bullock, I have been on a wild adjustment procedure had to be repeat- should switch on in the afternoon, pre- duck hunt trying to find you. I am all at ed. pare to suffer the awful and continuous sixes and sevens, for I am in agony with Since the remedy for the Aiwa's self-congratulatory nasal whining of an my wife." poor results completely eluded me, I put odd Australian. I gave Mr Kostonoski my full atten- it aside and brought back into use the I feel better now. tion. His cap was almost two feet twelve-year old Sony system I'd previ- across: I decided not to take him up on ously decided to retire. Early in October The with-it Bullocks that but concentrate on his misery. I wrote to Aiwa asking for help. As yet Incidentally we now have a web site: "Now look. Together we can crack there has been no reply. www.bullock-bros.com this, I'm sure" I said, "please tell me We can also be reached by e-mail as more." BBC TV follows. "All the time flashing lines" he con- My second moan is about the deteriora- General enquires: enquiries@bullock- tinued, "any more I cannot stand and I tion of BBC television. We older fellahs bros.com am taking the cow by the horns." always knew it would happen once Steven: [email protected] He spun round, ran to his old car and commercial television was let loose in Paul: [email protected] returned with a 20in. Ferguson set, Britain, but few of us imagined how And me: [email protected] Model T51F. It's fitted with the TX91 low it would sink. Today's programmes There now! ■

TELEVISION January 2001 135 Anniversary problems. A Matsui that kept blowing up and some other TV faults. The importance of logical fault-finding. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary WHAT A LIFE "Do you think you can look after An hour later it blew up. I couldn't at Snoddies" she continued. She stretched everything today?" asked Stephen. "Paul detect any short-circuits, so I resoldered a herself as high as she could and grinned. and I want to go out and do a bit of few joints here and there, checked the "Mr Bullock knows all about electric shopping. It's Mum's birthday, as you mains filter capacitor and the plug wiring, irons" he told me, "he's the chap to fit the know." then put it back on soak test. spares I'm selling you." "Oh Lord!" I blurted out as I heard the Now what about Greeneyes' birthday? I She pulled a pink Happy Melody reminder. Then, as he spun round, I waved lifted the phone and rang Benitos, the new Economy iron from her bag and set it at the air with both hands. "Damned wasp and highly-acclaimed Italian restaurant. down on the counter, along with a length or something" I said. "Do you have a table for two tonight?" I of thin mains lead, a set of papery washers "What, in January?" he queried. asked. and a strange thermostat. "Global warming", I explained. "Yes sir. The price would be seventy "I've got the fitting destructions" she So there I was, tied up in the shop, pounds each." gushed as she handed me a bit of rice paper while Greeneyes was eyeing the calendar, I gasped and put the phone down. Then covered with squiggles. watching the clock and brewing up a bit of I rang the Restaurant Elite. It sounded a bit I turned it over and found some English trouble. She hasn't forgiven me for the fact noisy. "What's the price of your menu?" I words. "Can this machine suffers will undo that I forgot our hundredth wedding asked. for shocking death with incompetent anniversary last June or July, or whenever "Five pounds a head" I was told. electric worker" they read, "only stop his it was. "Can you do a table for two tonight?" I water steams when they do not be on and asked. squirt out. Made in China." A Matsui 21V1T A burst of hysterical laughter came I looked up at Mrs Edham in time to see On top of all this I had a Matsui TV set, from the phone. "Tonight? You must be her pulling a jumble of wires and a Model 21V1T, that kept blowing up. It's joking. With Ireland playing a local team? thousand bits of toy railway track from her fitted with the Grundig CUC7303 chassis — The place is packed." bag. how the trade has changed! — and had been "The Snoddies man said you're good at brought in because there was brushing at Electrical matters mending these too" she smiled. "How the left-hand side of the screen. This had Then, as the Matsui blew up again, I spied proud you must feel, being so highly told me that there was a pulsing EHT Mrs Edham bounding towards the shop recommended. And by a competitor too." discharge which coincided with the start of with her enormous daughter in tow. Hazel smiled at me with a mouthful of the efficiency-diode controlled part of the "Hello Mr Brewer" she shrilled as she brown and leaning tombstones. It took me line scan. An easy one. The set's EHT lead came through the door. "You seem to be ten minutes to get them and their rubbish is detachable and is held in the LOPT very highly thought of around here. I wish out of the door. socket by a plastic grip nut. It was loose, my Hazel could find a chap like you." and tightening was all that was required. I Hazel grinned sheepishly. "Yes, you've Back to the Matsui then put the set on soak test. been recommended by that tall, thin chap I returned to the Matsui set. This time I

1 98 February 2001 TELEVISION saw that one tag of the mains switch was want?" I said. this chassis. I fitted a replacement and blackened. I'd found the cause of the "Only this set repaired" he replied, tried again. A perfectly-proportioned trouble at last! I cleaned and resoldered the "there's a picture all right, but it's got picture appeared — for two minutes, then it switch, boxed the set up again then put it bowed sides and too much width." went. back on test. "Rather like you" I muttered. What hadn't I done? I had failed to I looked about. Things seemed to be The man stopped. "Pardon, Mr check the HT voltage. I did so and found quiet, so I took the phone off the hook and Bullock?" he blinked. that it was normal. Time for a bit of popped across the road for a big box of "Oh, er — they sometimes do, er, ha ha" cunning. I switched the set off, with the Black Magic chocolates for Greeneyes. I replied. meter still connected, then switched it on "None left, Don" I was told, "had a run again. The HT voltage rose to an on 'em over Christmas. All we've got left is The Matsui sussed out at last excessive value, then settled down to the this little box of candied peel. Bit shop- Once he'd departed I scowled at the correct level. soiled I'm afraid." lifeless Matsui set. Was I being set up? I checked the chopper circuit and saw Where had it come from? Who was the that C906 (47µF, 50V) and C909 (2•2µF, A Ferguson T14R customer? I looked at the job card, where 50V) were both leaking. The former I ran back to the shop. As I put the phone it said 'name'. S. Miles. Ah! I knew it! S. couples the drive to the chopper back on the hook the Matsui failed again. Miles, Smiles, the laugh on me of course. transistor, while the latter is a smoothing Then Mr Sturton strode in with a 14in. Some rotter had bugged the set, put a joke capacitor for feedback to the TEA2261 Ferguson set. He banged it on the counter name on it and brought it in to get me slave regulator chip. Replacements cured and turned to me. going. He knew I'd be on my own here. the HT aberration and, when I'd fitted "One more chance. That's all I'm giving They're probably filming me from one of another TEA2013A chip, there was a this set. I'll get it mended this one time. If it those big Candid Camera vans with the perfect picture. fails again, out it goes. In the nearest skip." hole in the side. I scanned the street "Er, right" I said. "What's up — er, outside for big vans with holes in the side, Birthday saved what's the matter with it?" but didn't see any. But it was Greeneyes' birthday! I rang the "The matter with it?! Why, it doesn't go I'd seen sets sabotaged before. I Post Office. Perhaps it could supply a big of course. D'you think I'd bring it here if it remember Walter, an engineer at box of chocolates, any make. did?" Hoggetts. He'd spent days tracing the "Sorry, we've had a run on them." "Er, right" I said cause of an intermittent fault on a set, The day was wearing on and I wasn't Before settling down to it I had another only to have his reasonable quote turned doing very well. I decided to phone my look at the Matsui set and saw a neat dry- down by the customer. "I'll take it to friend Fred and ask him to get me a box joint on the main smoothing block. Why Crubbs" he had said. of chocolates. hadn't I noticed it before? I resoldered it, That made Walter very angry. So he "No can do, Don. I'm stuck here with boxed the set up and put it on soak test carefully peeled back the coverings of the the kids while the Missus is out again. mains transformer and choke and painted shopping." Then I took a look at Sturton's set, the windings with battery acid. But things Well, I mused, I must get something which is fitted with the TX805 chassis. It then went wrong. The customer changed settled. I'll have to grin and pay up at was stuck in standby. Some checks in the his mind and accepted Walter's quote. Benitos. So I phoned back. power supply section showed that instead Although Walter tried to undo his "I'd like a table for two tonight, of 15V there was OV across CP20. The sabotage, the set blew up and bounced please." associated 0.6851 surge-limiter resistor back on him time and time again . . . "Sorry sir, we're now fully booked." RP68 was open-circuit. I checked for a But hang on, I thought. I'm a rational I slumped in the chair. What a terrible short but couldn't detect one, so I fitted a chap. A logical thinker A TV engineer, day! I reckoned that after phoning Mr new resistor and tried again. The resistor no less. Of course the Matsui hadn't been Rowland about his Mitsubishi set I'd have blew. Further checks showed that the 12V sabotaged. It had a perfectly normal fault. to slip off to face Greeneyes for messing regulator transistor TP14 (BC337), which All intermittent faults turn out to be up yet another anniversary. I phoned the is fed from the 15V supply, was leaky simple once they've been rumbled. A number Mr Rowland had given me. collector-to-emitter. A replacement bugged set? Never! "Rowland Court Hotel and Restaurant, restored normal operation, with a good I opened up the Matsui once again. John Rowland speaking" a voice said, picture. Now, which circuits give the most trouble against a background of melodious music. Well, perhaps things will now go all in TV sets? Those subject to the highest I told him his set was ready. right I thought. There came a bang. The voltages and current flows of course. "Wonderful" he said, "and more than Matsui set had blown again. That did it. I Particularly where high frequencies are I'd hoped for. I could see that you were flared up like a savage and paced the floor. involved. That means the chopper and on your own and under pressure when I "Someone's got it in for me" I told the line output stages. Let's start again — called." walls. "That's what it is. A fault has been logically. At the chopper circuit. "I still am" I said, "after forgetting our put in that set, or it's being blown up by One minute later I found that C669 had wedding anniversary I've now forgotten remote control, or something . .." I went to no solder at one end. When I pulled the my wife's birthday chocolates and I've the window and scanned the street for lead out I saw a tiny burn mark. I cleaned yet to book a table for two for this some furtive fellow with a mysterious box it off and resoldered it. Then I switched evening. You don't happen to have one?" connected to an aerial. the set on and checked the HT voltage. "I have just what you want, sir, a All was well. I boxed the set up and put it delightful one in the bay but not too close A podgy chap in tweeds back on soak test. It didn't fail again. to our four-piece orchestra, and I can I couldn't see anyone except a podgy chap arrange for candle lighting if that would in tweeds and plus fours. He was trudging a The Mitsubishi CT25B3STX suit." 25in. Mitsubishi set towards the shop. A Now for the 25in. Mitsubishi set, which "It would" I said, "I'll book it." minute later he struggled in and placed it on was fitted with the Euro 12 chassis. I "And by the way we have a chocolate the counter. plugged it in and switched it on. Sure stall here. Only the best makes, but only "Hello Mr Bullock" he sang, "I'm John enough there was EW bowing and large boxes I'm afraid." Rowland." excessive width. EW correction is "Mr Rowland, you've saved my life" I I glowered at him. "What do you handled by a TEA2031A chip, IC551, in replied. •

TELEVISION February 2001 199 "Are you Mr Bullock hisself?" asked the enough there was a dry joint at one end. rather dishevelled lady who had just slid Once it had been resoldered the set through the door. worked faultlessly. R719 is part of the I nodded wearily. protection system — it's in the network that "Well, Mr Brown, I've got a problem." monitors conditions in the line output She fished a Mitsubishi HSB12 VCR stage. from one of the plastic bags she was WHAT carrying. "He goes like this" she said as Visitors she stretched and gyrated sideways, this Mrs Merryweather then came in with her way and that. sickening cat and its battery-operated I reached for a job card and wrote mouse. "Mitsubishi recorder, picture pulling". "Ah Steven" she cried, "how lucky to "By the way, I'm Mrs Hindle. My find you. My Tibbles is so unhappy today. husband, Mr Hindle, is a surgeon." A LIFE His little mouse won't play. I can't stand I looked at her for a moment, before seeing him so lost. `Tibbles' I said 'we'll go she departed, then wrote that down too. and see that nice Steven, that's what we'll When Paul came in I handed him the Lots of TV sets - and do. He'll soon have it right for us'." recorder and the card. As Steven applied himself to the mouse "Oh, this belong to Danny Hindle, the their odd owners. Is the I struggled with the giant Hitachi set, to wild scruff who lops trees. His wife is as stock fault back with get it out of the way. Then Greeneyes nutty as a fruitcake. brought in our tea, and Mr Flighty came us? Keep the e-mails in. He grinned at her. Sandstorm and buzzing "My, you look ravishing today." He As he settled to the VCR, a dry little up! Donald Bullock's looked over at me, bent double and • woman came in with a 14in. Sharp colour snorting with the effort required to move set and a wiry little lad. It was a Model servicing commentary the Hitachi set. "Good God, he's 37AM-23H (5BSA chassis). deteriorated. Can't he walk no better than "Hello, dear. This set ain't half that? You ought to get him looked at." misbehaving isself. Picture looks like a kept dropping out. After a while he As Greeneyes smiled sweetly I sandstorm and the sound buzzes like a discovered that C2X2 (100, 50V) in the straightened up and surveyed him coldly. hornet." tuner module was leaking electrolyte all "I've got a little problem with this "Hornet, buzzing?" I said "maybe it's over the board. Its value had fallen to Goodmans 2580" he said, "no sound." caught up in the sandstorm." 30. A clean up and a new electrolytic I made out a job card, waved him out As I laughed at my brilliant joke she capacitor cured the fault. and turned to Greeneyes. doubled up and hooted twice, like an "One of those flashy types" I impatient train. "Ooo that's clever. I must Farmer Willersey commented. remember that one. Caught up in a hornet. As Paul was reassembling the VCR Steven, now free of Mrs Merryweather, Good!" Farmer Willersey staggered in, carrying a her cat and its mouse, opened the 2580. The boy looked up. "'Er's bin on the 28in. Hitachi colour set. "This set's "Another common one" he said "it'll be rough again" he said, "an if 'er don't stop, driving me to drink" he announced. the surface-mounted BC848B transistor in our dad'll give her another bashin'." "What with 'im, an' mad cow disease and the sound mute stage, TS90." A The woman stopped laughing and lent my old sow, it's no wonder I settle in the replacement restored the sound. over to her boy. "You just shut your cider barn and pull meself a few." "Charge him forty pounds" I said. mouth, or I'll yank your 'ead off' she "What's up with the old sow?" I "That would be criminal" said grated, "and 'ere's something to be going asked." Greeneyes. on with." She rammed her thumb into his He straightened himself up and looked "But sweet" I replied. ribs, then turned to me a smiled. at me sternly. "You're talking about my "We've had a lot of these recurring "Funny, isn't he? And so sweet. I'll wife" he replied. faults recently" Steven said. "When the pop in tomorrow for the telly." So I changed tack and asked him about Japs first flooded the market, stock faults the set's troubles. seemed to be a thing of the past. We Repairs "I turns 'im on and sits down to see the reckoned we'd have to work harder than When she'd gone Steven plugged her set vets or the funny-fellow cooks, right?" ever for our money. Now stock faults in. The picture was grainy and the sound "Don't you watch anything else?" I seem to be common again. Maybe it's was buzzing madly. And it wouldn't go asked. because the sets are coming from all over into the tuning mode via the menu. "There ain't nuthin' else, is there?" he the place." "Another one" he said, "that makes scowled, "it's always the vets or the about four this past month. It'll be the funny-fellow cooks on everywhere all the Walter Wingnut EPROM chip IC1002. I'll put the set in time, innit?" Old Walter Wingnut tottered in with a the service mode." I nodded glumly "Pretty well" I replied. Sony KV21M3U colour set (BE4 chassis). He held down the volume up, volume "So there I am, sat down, and what "Haven't seen you for a long time down and channel up buttons as he 'appens? Off he went. So I goes over an' Walter" I breezed as I studied his switched on, then tried to program it. smacks 'im one. On 'e comes. Sometimes protruding ears. "What's new?" Some of the functions failed to respond. 'e lasts two minutes, maybe three, never "I've taken to liking Horlicks" he said, The AGC was haywire too. A new more. So I pastes him again, but he don't "and, oh yes, the missus has run off with EPROM cured the trouble, and I left him last no longer. After a while I gets tired of the milkman " setting up the height and picture it and goes to bed. I didn't part with near "GoodGod" I replied, "had you any positioning. six hunerd quid for a life like that" he said. idea that might happen?" Meanwhile Paul was attending to the When he'd gone Steven took the back "None at all" he said, "I used to 'ave Mitsubishi VCR. The playback picture off the set, which was a 46TN series nothin' but cocoa every night." was distorted and continued to pull about model, and went straight for R719. It's "Your missus and the milkman" I in the E-E mode. In addition the colour half hidden by the chassis cradle. Sure persisted, "wasn't there any warning?"

262 March 2001 TELEVISION "Oh, an, I yeard 'is pony 'an trap "Hello, dear. This set ain't his chops. This sent him yelping and clopping down the lane to the house." cavorting around the shop. I looked at him. He was grinning half misbehaving isself. "Heinz, Heinz. Stop it you silly boy" contentedly. "Walter" I said, "what's up Picture looks like a she cried. "Mr Bullock won't hurt you. with the Sony?" He's our friend." Then, smiling "Picture went so dark I 'ad to put the sandstorm and the sound apologetically, she turned to me. "He can light off to see it. Then he went into a line buzzes like a hornet." be as silly as silly at times Mr Bullock. acrost an' that was that." Anyone would think he's been hurt. Now I decided to take on Walter's set. One stop it Heinz, stop it." fault or two I wondered? The sets that use this chassis tend to develop beam-limiter Her face hardened. She dropped the E-mail trouble. So I checked for shorts in this dog and stood bolt upright. "I come from My January column brought a fine crop area and discovered that C823 (00241F, Bavaria" she said, "not Germany." of e-mail messages. Most supported my 250V) was leaky — the reading was 5052,. "Oh, right" I said. grumble about the BBC's falling standard A replacement restored the brightness and She picked up the dog and it nipped of programmes in recent years. Tony revealed field collapse. I headed for the my hand again. Blakemore reckons that they regard our field output chip IC501, but since Paul "No more, Heinz. Mr Bullock vill get collective IQ as about 50 and fashion had just used the last one I decided to be a mad." their programmes and presentations bit more scientific and reached for the Could be right I thought. accordingly. Gerald Adams thanks God meter. Checks showed that its supply was Steven tackled the set. The picture was for the on-off switch. Bob Meade from missing. The cause was traced to the pulled across to the right, and he noticed Suffolk speaks of the "sad state of our fusible surge-limiter resistor in the 24V that the line output transformer was quite programmes today", and Steve supply, R814 (04752, 0.25W). It does warm. A replacement made no difference Pendlebury agrees. David Else warms to suffer in this set, and Sony has introduced and ran just as warm, so he carried out the re-showing of the Two Ronnies an improved type, part no. 1-249-443-11. some checks in the line driver stage. recordings. Far better, he comments, than We did have some of these in stock: There was nothing wrong here either, and the "rubbish and foul language" we suffer fitting one completed the repair. the TDA8362A multifunction chip these days. IC150, which incorporates the timebase My own view is that the BBC simply A Bavarian generators, appeared to be OK. The line reflects our society today. It's been Mrs Weiner came in nursing a shaggy drive signal appears at pin 37 and is dumbed-down and there are no standards. little dog. As she approached me it nipped passed to the driver stage via the surface- There are far too many empty-headed, my hand. mounted BC858B transistor CT169, shallow people about nowadays: the "That voss naughty, Heinz" she said to which was leaky collector-to-emitter. A BBC has its full share. Lord Reith must the mutt. "You mustn't bite Mr Bullock. replacement cured the trouble. be spinning in his grave. He don't like it." Mrs Weiner called to collect her set My thanks to all who have sent e- "You're dead right" I muttered under next day. "I've had a talk with Heinz" she mails. I'll reply to each one as soon as my breath." confided, "he's promised never to nip you my sons have shown me how to switch "My set is in ze car. It's faulty, but I again Mr Bullock." on the new computer! If you are thinking gut vun from my own country" she said. "Oh, I don't really mind" I smiled, of sending me one (an e-mail, not a son), Paul brought it in. It was a Grundig rocking my shoulders. do tell me where you hail from and give P37-070 (CUC7301 chassis). But as she turned round to fish in her me some background news. I've become "So you bought it in Germany?" I bag Heinz nipped me again, under the quite nosy lately. Greeneyes reckons it's smiled. chin. So I gave him an upper-cut, under part of the process of growing ancient.

TELEVISION March 2001 263 The other moming Steven and Paul went Only there wasn't a green, or a track. I to the wholesalers, so I was to open up. Just a wide concrete road and several blocks When I reached the shop I found this dapper of flats set in a car park of old bangers and chap sitting on, the step stretching about. A plenty of litter. No scrubland, no Dutch practical-looking lady sat on a set by the barn, no linnets or swallows. No cottages window. The dapper chap sprang up when WHAT with their wood smoke, no cows or fowls. he saw me: Another bit of my world gone for ever. "Ah, Mr Butcher" he gasped, "me Another bit of my comfort. name's Ringstead, Ron Ringstead. Me set's Then I looked at the job card. Mrs in the ear. Grundig. Can't depend on it. Marris, Top Flat, Councillor Dawes House. Comes on quick sometimes, takes ages I walked around the first building and found others. Never came on at all last night. a few smears of paint that had once been `Well, I mean, this ain't on Madge' — numbers. As a cutting breeze fast chilled me Madge is the wife, see —' I said. 'First thing A LIFE I pushed a button and got a series of termorrer, Madge, I'm getting this set to echoing noises and clicks, then a voice: that Mr Bunter'." "Whuh whuh hthp nuh". I pressed another Once he'd gone the lady brought her set TV faults, outside calls and got a screaming child. A third brought in and bounced it on to the counter. "I'm and which were the me a pack of yelping bloodhounds. Genie" a deep male voice said. I turned As I walked to the next block to try around to look, but there was no one else strangest households again an old girl in curlers came along. about. "Genie Gunwright" the lady said in "Wotja want, duck?" she asked. that same voice. "This Daewoo of ours visited? Donald "I'm looking for Mrs Marris. Wants her keeps playing up. All right sometimes, Bullock's servicing TV done" I said. useless others. Like my ol' man, "Tha's me" she replied. "You'm too late. 'smatterafact. Har, liar. Front controls work commentary I acted yesterday and you never come. So I when they like. As to teletext, well! Turns got Snoddys instead." to rubbish words, pops off, sometimes 'e What a happy release. But I was frozen. can't get it at all." time. After all it's nearly new. Only five A pack of dogs howled their goodbyes as I I reached for a job card. years old. My neighbour's never had any reached the van. So much for Chestnut "Phone me when 'e's ready, dear" she trouble with her set, and she's had it for ten Paddock. said, "I works at the foundry. Chief welder years." there." "My husband says it's the condenser. He E-mails says the part you put in last time has made it Most of the many readers who have Repairs go." contacted me from England and the rest of Ringstead's Grundig was a Model ST55- "Now, for next time, which is the best the world since I gave my e-mail address 725 (CUC7350 chassis). When I plugged it make of set?" have referred to my critical comments on in it came on straight away. So I tried it "Stop nuzzling Mr Bullock, Rebel. Oh! the BBC's current programming. They all again a bit later. This time it didn't come to He likes you dear . . ." agree! life. Last time I'd had this trouble the cause These thoughts came to me when Steven One thing which strikes me about e- had been the UC3842N/AN chopper control arrived and asked me nicely whether I could mails is that, unless the writer mentions it, chip IC60030, so I fitted a replacement. manage a call that had come in the day there is no indication where they are from. Silly move really. It made no difference. before but he hadn't managed to fit in. "It's This seems to leave them somehow in Best to check voltages first. There was a in Chestnut Paddock" he added. limbo. Frank Martin, of Somewhere, miserable 1.4V at the chip's supply pin 7. Chestnut Paddock! That was different. I comments on the many unusual characters The reservoir capacitor for this supply, like Chestnut Paddock, a peaceful oasis of I've encountered over the years. He asks C60031 (100µF, 35V) was weeping and rural beauty on the edge of the town. Like which of them I would consider the most leaking. A replacement sorted out the another world! memorable half dozen? It's hard, very hard, starting problem. I recalled my last trip there a couple of to select the best — or is it the worst? I hope Now for Gertie's Daewoo set, which was years ago, to fix farmer Lobb's old Ekco the following two will do for now. a Model T512 (CP330 chassis). It's not a valve wireless. Just rounding that bend and chassis with which I'm familiar, but we had stopping the van there had been therapeutic. Mr Mbabwa a circuit diagram. I had a look at it for clues. The patch of gorse-dotted scrubland with its In my early days I worked for a medium- Could the cause of the trouble be the greenfinches and linnets, the old Dutch barn sized company as an outside engineer. My 27MHz clock crystal XT01, which is and its swooping and chattering swallows, first call one day was to Mr Mbabwa's connected to pins 3 and 4 of the text chip the old cowdrink with its bulirushes and newish Regentone radiogram. The IT01? It was worth a try. So I fitted a moorhens. Those few grazing cows, and the complaint was that it had never played replacement. After that the set worked old cockerel supervising his harem of records loudly enough, and was now silent. normally. roaming fowls. On the far side, beside the When I arrived I knocked at the door tall hawthorns with their big, round several times. After an age, during which An outside call magpies' nests, that huddle of tumbling various muted sounds came from within As regular readers will know, I don't like cottages, with blue wood smoke curling the house, an upstairs window flew open calling on customers one bit. I must have above against the red sky. The people, old and a man in an open-shirt looked down at called on a hundred thousand or more by countryfolk — couldn't find better. me. now. They trot out the same nonsense today Yes, it would be nice to slip from the "What you want, man?" he asked. as they did forty five years ago. Don't think concrete and go to Chestnut Paddock again. "I've called about the radiogram" I I can take it any more. I smiled happily, took the job card and left. replied. , "Can't see how you missed me yesterday As I speeded along in the van life became He bounded down to the door and, and the day before. I only popped out for a good. I broke into song. looking a bit sheepish, waved me up to a paper, and to the Co-Op to buy Bonzo his At last the bend in the road came into small room that was big enough for only a tin of donkey. I love animals." view. Now to enter paradise. I swung the double bed and the huge radiogram. "I 'ope it won't cost anything much this van round it to the track beside the green. "Dere it is. No sound at all" he declared.

326 April 2001 TELEVISION I had to scramble across the bed to The noise was incredible. Five came in with his briefcase. reach the radiogram, while taking care not "Come and play snakes and ladders to awake the young lady in it, who seemed or six white poodles were with us Daddy" yelled the children. He to be fast asleep. The volume control yelping, and three young crouched down with them and began to toss the dice. After a while a squabble rotated loosely and endlessly. I looked at children bickered. the man's large hands. broke out. It took the two of us an age to get the "You went up a snake Daddy. You radiogram into the van. But we managed it, children's toys and boxed games. can't do that. Only down. Up ladders, and I returned to the service department The noise was incredible. Five or six down snakes." which was above the shop. white poodles were yelping, and three "Of course you can go up snakes" he A couple of hours later the man came young children bickered. Mrs Prowster screamed, "I can anyway." into the workshop with one of the walked up and down waving her arms He went on going up snakes and down salesmen. about. She was engaged in a row via a ladders and won that game and all the "I want de lady's rings" he said. huge portable telephone — the first I'd seen others, until the children lost their tempers. As we watched, he opened the — with what turned out to be a dating "You're just a cheat, like Mummy says. radiogram's lid and dived his hands into its agency. Clear off and leave us to play" one of them huge record compartment. What he "The man was hideous" she said. "You can't go up snakes and you brought out made me blush — I was still a complained, "shock of thick black hair, know it" callow youth. staring eyes, teeth like fangs and a Charlie- Daddy jumped up off his haunches and "Now she can get up" he said. thing on his back. What d'you think I am? waved his arms about. He screamed about The trouble with the radiogram was What d'you mean by it? Where the devil his innocence in a voice so fast and shrill I that, on the assumption that the more the did you find him, eh? Eh?" couldn't believe I was listening to a grown volume control was rotated the louder the When she'd finished she led me through up. sound would be, Mr Mbabwa had to an even more untidy room where the "Stop annoying me" he shouted. "You wrenched it free of its connecting wires. faulty set resided. It was a huge Philips G6 asked me to play, and now I'm winning model. I just wanted to run. you get nasty. Just stop it." The Prowsters "Er, they can be a bit troublesome at The game changed to a frantic shouting Another call that stands out was to the times" I ventured. match. The children screamed and stamped Prowsters. They lived in a large house with a She spun round. "Look, I pay what you and their father outdid them. They were out Bentley in the drive. A mob of barking dogs ask. Right? No quibbling" she said. "But I of control. started up as I rang the bell. Mrs Prowster, expect good service. You come when I "Shut up" shouted Mrs Prowster. dressed and made up like a Forties film star, call, and if it isn't right you come again "It's them" Mr Prowster said, pointing invited me in and took me to the most untidy when I call. Fast. OK?" to the children. room I'd ever seen. I wished that she hadn't called but, "It isn't, it's him" they screamed back. Thickly carpeted and musty, it was an since I was there, I decided to have a go I got out. Later I learned that the family Aladdin's cave of valuables, mostly new, at the set. I lowered the chassis and the was loaded because the father was a senior which lay around everywhere. There was single-stranded leads that snaked partner in a large and eminent firm of an electric organ and a huge projection TV everywhere from the power supply accountants. set. They were cluttered with several began to break off, which was normal What a life it's been! outrageous hats, a fox fur, jewellery of all with a G6. As I was engrossed in the sorts, and the latest Pentax camera. The business of trying to find out where Keep up the e-mails expensive armchairs and sofa were piled they'd originally been soldered to a Finally, do keep up those cheery e-mails. high with clothes, fishing rods, books, slim, dark and immaculately-groomed The address is boxes of expensive chocolates and man, dressed in a charcoal-grey suit, [email protected]

TELEVISION April 2001 327 e ran into Mike Wort the other day. The Colonel WOriginally from the Isle of Wight, Then there was The Colonel, who was a he now lives here in Spain and earns a horse expert. He arrived in a huge, living from the satellite dishes that sprout newish Land Rover that was loaded with up everywhere hereabouts. Said he'd been bales of straw. His Hitachi colour set was a reader of this column for years, so I on top of them. He was dressed in tweeds asked him in for a glass of wine. It wasn't HA and brogues, his speech was slow and long, being the sort of person he is, before quiet, and he oozed quality of a he asked to check our TV picture. Then he restrained kind. A horse clopped by as he asked for a short ladder, so that he could brought his set in. It seemed to send him adjust the dish. into a quiet ecstasy. As I went to get it I realised I was a bit "I love horses" he said. "They're my stiff. It's the cheap but all too palatable LIFE business and my pleasure. I keep a horse Spanish wine that does it. He noticed and farm. How fortunate I am to make a ran out. "I'll carry it for you" he said, "I living from something I love." daresay it's a bit heavy." I filled in a job card. Colonel Sir What was Ito say? Couldn't very well A tale of ordinary folk? Aubrey French, The Cotswold Corals, tell him I was OK, it was only the wine. Trepington. Trepington! A lovely He'd think me a wine-o. And I didn't onald Bullock on some Cotswold villiage, miles from anywhere want to pass a comment on getting older. and trapped in a fertile valley. Sometimes it's best to say nothing. of the characters he has "We keep about a hundred horses" he Another recent visitor was Philip said. "Breed 'em, train 'em, look after Dowding, who has a TV business in encountered during his their health. Got our own vet of course. Malmesbury, Wiltshire. He has a rich Supply several Arab sheikhs . . ." He store of anecdotes about the unusual time in the TV servicing went on to say that he was writing an customers he's come across. One of them rade. All life is here' authoritative book on horses and was the well-healed widow of an army everything to do with them. officer. Her husband's former batman "Don't like to boast, but the book's lives in an annex attached to her house. been commissioned by the country's top He helps with the cleaning and cooking, publisher. Couldn't really spare the time, and generally looks after her. When she but then I couldn't refuse the £250,000 wants something she summons him by advance — just for doing what I'm ringing a hand-bell! happiest at . . ." carpenters right now. If you know anyone Colonel French's set was a Model You called, ma'am? suitable, let me know. Only the best C2514T. The symptoms were lack of When Phil last called it was because her though. I pay top rates for first-class work height, and it kept shutting down. I ancient dual-standard GEC set had broken and dedication." decided to check the HT voltage first. It down. Seeing its age and condition — and He chose a set and told us his address. should have been 150V but was high at hers — he suggested that it might be time "Woodman's Cottage, end of Black Lane. 190V. As a result the line output stage to invest in a new set. I negotiated eight-ten months free stay derived 27V supply, which powers the "Why should I?" she asked. with the town clerk, while the new place TA8427K field output chip IC601, had "Well, for one thing it would have goes up. Amazing how they lick your been driven up to 35V. So IC601 was remote control" Phil said. "So you wouldn't boots when they know there's money being severely overrun. have to get up to change channels." about. Mind you it's a bit small and The cause of the trouble was in the "I don't now. Burrows sees to all that." ramshackle, but it'll do temporarily. Can't circuit that monitors the HT voltage for Just imagine it. Tinkle tinkle. "You really complain, can I?" regulation purposes. R951 (821a 0.5W), called, ma'am?" Our van man delivered the set. When which is in series with the HT preset, on "BBC 2 Burrows, if you please." he returned he mentioned that the place the chassis side, had risen in value to "Certainly madam." Click! was a bit of a dump to say the least. He 115k0. A replacement restored normal Phil didn't make his sale! hadn't been able to find anywhere to put operation and, to be on the safe side, I the set, and had had to leave it on the replaced he TA8427K chip as well. Mr Bounty floor. Colonel French collected his set a day This reminded me of a customer who'd "Where's his deposit?" I asked. or two later, took the bill and promised to once called in, a Mr Bounty. He was a "Said he'd bring it along later today." drop his cheque in the post. "A pleasure, scruffy fellow but seemed reasonable He didn't. Nor did he call the next day. Colonel." enough. He'd come with his wife, and was After a while I phoned old Mr Manderson, It didn't arrive, and after three months asking about a rental set. While we were who ran our local Trade Protection and a few reminders I telephoned his talking he sent his wife out to their car to Society. house. get us a couple of new-laid goose eggs. A "Oooh! Ha, ha! So he's had you too His wife answered. I tactfully kindly man, I thought. has he? Ha, ha. He doesn't have a bean suggested that the bill might have slipped "By the way I've just bought nearly you know. Nutty as they come, and a her husband's mind as he was engrossed half of Cranham Woods" he said. "I rogue with it. Lives in an imaginary in writing his book. intend to build a woodland mansion world. You never phone us till it's too "How much is it?" she asked. there." late, do you? You just don't learn. Hoo, "Twenty pounds" I replied. My jaw sagged. Cranham Woods hoo." She promised to bring the money in indeed! It's a vast area where even a small "We'll take the rental set back" I said. the morning, and did. She was a house costs a fortune. "You'll be lucky. He usually sells any colourless and sad soul, with a pale, "It'll be heaven for the kiddies" he rental goods within ten minutes of getting worried face and baggy eyes. She arrived continued, "I'm looking for builders and 'em." on an ancient scooter, and paid with

390 May 2001 TELEVISION some well used notes and silver coins. Suddenly she heard a faint "I knew the area well" she said, "all I felt sorry for her as she counted out the pit-workings, the mineshafts, the money. She looked all in, as pale, ill ticking and, as the line everything. So it wasn't surprising that and shaky as her husband was bonny, moved on, she stopped, when Mr Churchill came to our village solid and fit. As she turned to go she next morning he sought me out." stumbled. parted a bush and found "This bomb will be ticking gently, "Is something wrong, Lady French?" herself falling down a deep Mrs Webster" he said, "and I want you I asked. to organise a group to find it. I have to She blinked and shook her head. well. She landed on a pile tell you that it's a dangerous job. The "There's no Lady. French" she said. bomb could go off at any time. But there "Please don't take any more work from of soft hay and there, could be a medal or two in it." him. He's an unemployable nobody. beside her, was the "I don't care about the danger or the Name's Roy Small. Done no end of time medals, I'll do it" she replied. for fraud. He's inside right now. We've landmine, ticking away. So, Mrs Webster told us, she lined up got nothing but debts. I've had to two hundred people, side by side, and borrow this bit of money. He spends advanced them slowly across the valley, everything he gets on his silly with their ears to the ground. Suddenly countryman's clothes, and spends his end of the day however she would enjoy she heard a faint ticking and, as the line time wandering around looking at a specially-prepared meal in the hotel's moved on, she stopped, parted a bush horses. We live with my people. dining room then adjourn to the bar, and found herself falling down a deep Otherwise I'd starve." where she would gently punish the gin well. She landed on a pile of soft hay "But the book" I said, "that huge bottle. Mrs Webster, originally from and there, beside her, was the landmine, advance." Wales, had a store of wartime ticking away. "All fantasy" she replied flatly. reminiscences. They became more "I called out, and everyone came "And the Land Rover?" entertaining as the gin flowed. back and helped me out" she continued, "It belongs to my sister's husband. One evening, while I was fixing their "and of course they made the bomb My husband nags and nags until he gets Philips projection set, she invited me to safe." to borrow it. When it runs out of petrol join her at the bar. "I'll tell you about "Was it a deep well?" I asked her he abandons it and cadges a lift back. the bomb" she said, in her melodic "Forty eight feet, eight inches" she We often have to collect it from miles Welsh dialect." replied. away." By the time I got there the gin was I looked at her. "How do you know it flowing well. The bomb — it was thought was forty eight feet, eight inches?" I The bomb to be a landmine — had dropped asked. Then there was Mrs Webster, the somewhere in the Rhondda valley. But "I counted the courses of bricks as I manager of a prestige hotel which she nobody knew quite where, which is how fell" she replied. "Four to the foot." ran to her own strict standards. At the she'd become involved. Then she reached for her gin again. ■

TELEVISION May 2001 391 uben's little lorry chugged up to the it's only a few feet." Rfront of the shop. He's a cheerful He was all right, and so was his set. Romany lad with a nice family. His scrap There was a bit of damage to one of our business just about keeps them going, but sets, but nothing we couldn't put right. they seem to be happy enough. This time He went to get his glasses. "Must he had his cross-eyed neighbour with him, apologise" he said when he returned, "just HA tell me what I owe you for the damage." whom I'd not met before. "This is Wilf' Ruben said as they "Not at all" I replied, "could have approached me. He was carrying a happened to anyone. But we've got an old portable TV set. shed out the back we want demolished His neighbour grinned at me and put some time. If we give you a call, will you out his hand. "Hello Wilf' he said, "by the slip off your glasses and carry an old set way that's my name too." LIFE into it for us"? "No, I'm not Wilf " I replied, "you're Wilf." Reflections He shut one of his eyes and looked at Some recent customers. I sometimes wonder whether I'm past my me. "I know I'm Wilf" he said, "always sell-by date, though I know that's was. Pretty sure about that. But Ruben Reflections on the trade nonsense! When I came into the trade here said you're Wilf too." then and now. An there was only BBC television. No ITV. "Perhaps it's my fault, Wilf' said No tape recorders either. Gramophone Ruben, smiling at me. "This is Don." update on the antics records, as we called them, were made of "Oh, er, hello Don" I said, "that's my problem. Don Bullock's shellac and were easily broken. I'd yet to name as well." see a transistor. Apart from monochrome "Then why do you call yourself Wilf?" servicing commentary television sets, all we were required to he asked. tackle were valve radios. Oh, and toasters "We'll get back to that in a moment" I and electric irons. replied, patting him on the shoulder. Then But what days they were! Television I looked at Ruben. "That set of yours" I fitted replacements and switched on again engineers were a rarity and were held in continued, pointing to his TV set, "trouble the set sprang to life. great esteem by the public, whose valve I presume?" It was a yellow Orion Rock called in for it later, as Greeneyes sets ran warm and often failed. TV700YTX. came in with our tea. Before long I was being sent out on "Yes" he said, "shuts down when it "Lovely scenery around here . . ." he service calls. The idea was to complete feels like it and leaves a lot of strange crooned in his deep voice, looking around. repairs in the house wherever possible. A symbols on the screen." "Handsome fellow" she said when he'd pocketful of valves and a can of carbon "Oh dear" I replied, "can you pop back departed. tetrachloride to wash out the valve bases tomorrow?" "Dunno" I said, "take away the healthy worked wonders, as did a handful of five- "Will do" Ruben said, then departed looks, the studied Bing voice and those and ten-watt wirewound resistors. with his friend, who had his ear. eerie blue eyes and what have you got?" I'd spend a typical day out around the "Funny chap, Rub. What's his real "You" she said as she went off. Forest of Dean, calling on remote name?" cottages. It was common to find the Later Steven had a go at the Orion. I It would happen customer waiting for me at the gate, eager don't know how he traced the cause of the The evenings are getting lighter, so Steven to greet me. They were always happy to fault, but he soon had it right. There was a decided to stay on and paint the shop's pay for the repair, and there was no lack dry-joint at the 78M08CT 8V regulator display shelf. He had to move our of offers of cups of tea, cake and garden IC7016. reconditioned sets off, so he put them on produce to take away with me. the floor, to one side of the door. One fellow engineer was given a bottle A Sharp portable "Don't want anyone falling over them" of homemade red wine. It exploded Our next caller brought in a nice little he commented, "some of those who bring suddenly as he bounced along a bumpy 14in. Sharp portable, Model 37AM12H repairs in can't see much over the top of country lane. He though his end had (5BSA chassis). He was a handsome the set they're carrying." come. When he calmed down and fellow, sun-tanned and well built, with Early next morning a stocky little chap surveyed the condition he was in, to say blue eyes and a shock of tussled black drew up in his car. He made for the shop, nothing of the inside of the van and the hair. with a large set in his hands. When he sets he was transporting, he almost wished He put the set down and patted it. "I'm reached the door he tried to open it with he had. Rock Farley" he said in a voice that his shoulder, but didn't have much I eventually opened up on my own. resembled Bing Crosby's, "this set of success. As was turning himself around to Work was plentiful, and my customers mine just lay down and died last night. have a try with the other shoulder I darted became loyal friends. When one of them Even the LED thing went out." across and pulled the door open for him. wanted a new set I would get it from the When he'd departed Steven again took He didn't see me, which was wholesaler and sell it to him at its list over. He soon found that the main unfortunate. The horsepower he'd price. smoothing block still held a healthy developed sent him through the door and We were not allowed to sell some charge. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, "that over to the left, where Steven had put the ranges. Their manufacturers, mindful of means it couldn't go anywhere. There overhauled and polished TV sets. He the good name they had established and must be an open-circuit some place." ended up sitting amongst them, gazing at the reputation of their sets, were fussy "Suspect any pair of resistors over his own set which he'd managed to set about whom they allowed to handle them. 82k52" I said cleverly. down neatly, well clear of the rest. They would interview a few top dealers in He checked the 560kO, 0•5W start-up "My fault" he said. "My glasses fell a given town and, after examining their resistors R704 and R705 and found that off while I was lifting the set out of the showrooms and workshops, choose they were both open-circuit. When he'd car. Thought I'd be OK without them, as perhaps just one to be the Appointed

454 June 2001 TELEVISION Dealer for quite a sizeable town. manage on a wage of £9? There's For his part the dealer had to agree to I've referred before something cock-eyed somewhere. offer the manufacturer's full range of Life is totally different today. products, at their precise list prices. He to the strange Setmaking has become barely profitable had to be able to demonstrate and install — in fact manufacturers seem to run up sets correctly and, of paramount behaviour of the ant losses most years, supporting themselves importance, provide a first-class after- by other activities in the electronics sales service to customers and to any colonies in the bit of manufacturing and software industries; owner of the company's products who the retail trade has become cut-throat, moved to the area. All this regardless of Spain where we have with little satisfaction for anyone; and the the profit made from particular sales. The customer gets throw-away products. But dealer had to be as attentive about our retirement home. that's the way of the modern world. replacing a broken control knob as a tube or a line output transformer. Antics In return the manufacturer provided could rely on a first-class product with I've referred before to the strange the dealer with live sales leads from its full technical back-up. Amongst the best- behaviour of the ant colonies in the bit of national advertising and first-class spares known manufacturers that ran the Spain where we have our retirement and service back-up. Its technical staff Appointed Dealer policy were Ekco, home. If I lay a live power cable along kept the dealer abreast of any faults or Murphy and Bush. the drive it's not long before we see problems as they became apparent, and Other manufacturers had a foot in armies of ants running along it in both provided remedies and any components both camps: they had Appointed Dealers directions. When I switch off the mains required. and a second brand that was distributed supply they disperse. Here's an example of what might be via wholesalers. Thus Philips also I came across a further development involved. I recall a few cases of supplied Stella sets, Pye supplied Invicta of this behaviour recently. Greeneyes had patterning in a particular area when a models and HMV ran the parallel asked me to clean the yellow glass in one local hospital began using some new Marconiphone range. of our lanterns, by the barbecue. While I equipment. The manufacturer We often took old sets in part- was about it I decided to remove and investigated the complaint. Its exchange, carefully overhauled the best clean off the bulb, which screws into a technicians carried out tests and devised of them, and offered these for sale again. bulky and roomy porcelain holder. a modification. Dealers were provided New sets at the time I'm talking about When I removed the bulb I saw that with modification kits and instructions on cost about £65. We priced our the holder appeared to be full of what how to go about the job. They were paid reconditioned ones at about £35. Not looked like tiny, shiny red-brown to do the work. bad, those days, when a wage of £9 a crystals. I poured them out and realised The results of this system were that week was considered to be good. That's that they were the corpses of thousands the manufacturer could count on his what we paid ourselves. of ants. After cleaning the lamp I carefully designed sets providing good, Consider the price of today's switched it on to make sure that all was trouble-free value for those he set out to reconditioned sets. It's easy to buy a well. Almost at once a fresh colony of serve; the dealer was able to offer an good monochrome one for far fewer ants came racing up the cable and into excellent, dignified and profitable sales pounds than we used to charge all those the holder. and service business; and the customer years ago, yet how many people have to I can't think why they do it. ■

TELEVISION June 2001 455 si was back home in long now. I hope, anyway!" Gloucestershire and it was a "Yoo-hoo!" called a loud, gushing A beautiful summer's day, I decided voice from the front door. to take a few hours off. I settled in the hut "Grr whuff whuff' barked a dog. in the garden to write my monthly article. "Oh my God!" I whined, and rushed Then I heard Greeneyes calling. She had a back out as our new and bulky neighbour lovely tilt in her voice and was calling me sailed in. "Donny darling", so I knew that I was in I sat in the hut and started to write my for the bite. But, being a chap of immense piece for Television. courage, I went into the house. "As I was back home in Gloucestershire and it was a beautiful Mrs Waterfield summer's day, I decided to take a few The first thing I saw was a dog as big as a LIFE hours off. I settled in the hut in the pony. I saw it because it floored me with garden to write my monthly article . . ." a single bound. As I got up, I saw On and on I wrote, for over an hour, like something else. A huge, tweedy woman , A new neighbour causes Mickey Spillane up against a deadline. with a big toothy grin. problems with her Then I heard Greeneyes calling me again. "This is Mrs Waterfield" Greeneyes "Donny darling, can you pop up for a said, "she's staying next door while unprofitable work and minute?" having an extension built on to her house inability to grasp the I jumped up, kicked my chair across at Longfield, and has just popped in to the hut and went to the house. As I say hello. She has three lovely dogs, all situation. Reminiscences opened the door the cat walked out. I like Bonzo here, so I know we are going tried to kick it but it shot off. to get on really well." from the Broadmead days. Not without our new neighbour "Sure to" I replied, "how do you do, Donald Bullock's servicing noticing. She stiffened, dropped her Mrs Waterfall?" orange cake, then stared at me intently. "Oh, and Mrs Waterfield brought her commentary "Oh, hello Mrs Waterpump" I said, video recorder along" Greeneyes "gosh I nearly tripped over our lovely cat." continued, "it needs tuning in to our local "Thank you so, ah, much Mr Bullock transmitter." She wants it in time to see that daft for tuning the recorder" she replied, "and "Oh, er, right" I said "what make did Robinson programme you watch. It's on in for absolutely refusing to charge me. I've you say it was, Mrs Waterhouse?" half an hour and the recorder's got a nasty been talking to your wife. It must be She looked at me intently. "I didn't," fault on it. And she's scoffed all those awful for you, twiddling your thumbs and she replied, "but it's an Hitachi. My orange cakes. I didn't see one of 'em." not knowing what to do now that your hubby could do it of course — he's very "I'm going out in a minute" she said, lads do all the work. But don't worry, clever — but I thought that since we're all "so I'll get some more, specially for you. I've another little job for you. Our little going to be friends I might as well let you But do get that recorder tuned, won't Alba bedroom set. There's nothing on it. do it. It won't take you long, will it? I you? I told her you were ever so clever, I expect it just wants tuning in, like the simply must record the Weakest Link and I love her dog." recorder." programme in an hour's time. I do so She clopped off out and I rang Steven "Mrs Millstream" I began, "I'm just a admire that funny little Robinson woman, at the shop. bit tied up at the moment. Thing is, I've don't you?" "Ah, I know that fault" he said, "I've got this article to do." "Couldn't do without her, Mrs had it twice recently with the VTF540. "Indeed! Aren't you lucky?!" she Millwater" I said, "even better than that Both times it was CQ602. It's a 2.2µ,F, gurgled, "it'll all help to ease the whining chap who insists his name is 50V electrolytic capacitor inside the boredom, I'm sure. For the church Steve. Oh, and thank you for giving me tuner. I'll be passing in a couple of magazine, is it? I should get on with it as something to do. I was rather kicking my minutes and will bring one along." soon as you've finished my little set." heels." He did, and by the time Greeneyes I grabbed the set, ran off to my hut, Once she'd drunk three cups of tea clopped back home with a new box of smacked it down and started tapping and polished off the orange cakes I'd. orange cakes the machine was fixed and again at my keyboard. But the Alba set hoped to have with mine, she departed — working. kept nagging at me. It was a CTV842, a along with her animal. The sooner I tuned "We'd better charge her a few quid, model I know well, so I decided to have a her recorder, I figured, the sooner I could neighbour or not" I said to Greeneyes. go to get it off my mind. Then, I get back to what I wanted to do. So I "My Epson printer is out of ink, and the reckoned, I could write in peace. pulled it over to our set and plugged it in. price is an unbelievable twenty five quid for what amounts to a five bob bottle. And The Alba problem A tuning problem I didn't want to do repairs today. I wanted I took it to the workshop, plugged it in It was a Model VTF540. All I could get to write my column and prepare my book, and found that it was dead. There were from it was a blue screen. I set about Hovels and Haydust, for the printers. I outputs from the power supply, but there tuning it, and all seemed to go well. It need a bit of time to myself. I've been was no line timebase operation. I touched went through the motions of tuning and trying to finish the book for twenty years. my little hand scope's probe on the storing the channels as it found them, but Now I don't know whether I'm coming or output transistor's base connection. No when I'd finished I still couldn't select a going. I don't feel right at all." drive. I suspected a problem with the channel or produce a picture. All I got Just then the phone rang. I picked it driver transformer, as its leadout wires was the same effect — a blue screen. up. "Don Waterbed speaking" I said, "er. sometimes oxidise. This is caused by the I called Greeneyes, who came . . Don." action of the glue beneath it on the board. clopping into the room. "Is it all done?" "Hello Donald" a friendly voice cut in, So I whipped it out, cleaned and remade she asked. "this is John. We'd like your column as the connections, then resoldered it back "No it isn't" I replied, "but I do just soon as possible. Can you e-mail it in. When I tried the set again a good want to thank you for encouraging that Mrs through to T?" picture came up. Just as Greeneyes Backwater to pester me with her recorder. "Almost done" I replied, "won't be appeared.

518 July 2001 TELEVISION "I've managed to do Mrs Millfield's Greeneyes looked at me and shook her Denby Vaughan, called at the shop and set" I said. "Now, I know that she has a head. "She's letting me have Bonzo here insisted on being dealt with by the nice cuddly dog, and I know that you like tomorrow while she's out for the day. manager. He explained that he had just nice cuddly dogs — and nasty dogs, come How can we charge a woman like that?" bought the big house at the corner of to that — but we must charge her I slumped into an armchair. "Don't Imperial Terrace, and asked for an aerial something towards the ink I need." let's quarrel over it" I said — I can be to be installed. Then he chose a large "It's difficult" she replied, "she's such magnanimous at times. "Let's have a cup Philips TV set, and asked for it to be a nice neighbour." of tea and an orange cake or two, then I'll demonstrated once the aerial had been I went back to the hut and continued go finish my article and get my book fitted. with my writing. After a while, when I'd ready for the printers." This was all'done. Mr Vaughan got most of the article done, I returned to "Oh dear" said Greeneyes, "we don't seemed to be impressed with the pictures, the house. In time to see my neighbour seem to have any orange cakes left." and it was arranged that he would call in about to leave, with the Alba set in her "None left?" I echoed. at the shop the following Saturday arms. When she saw me she stopped. She shook her head. morning to settle for the aerial and, almost "Mrs Waterspout again, I suppose?" certainly, agree to have the set as well. A few more jobs "She seems to like them." That Saturday the sales staff had a "Ah, Mr Bullock" she trilled, "thank you I got up, lurched back to the hut and busy time. When Mr Vaughan hadn't ever so much for tuning in this little set. settled down to finish this article. shown up by late afternoon, the manager I'm glad it wasn't much. I was just asked me to go round to the house to saying, you'll be getting a toaster and an At Broadmead's check that all was well. iron to do when I tell my friend Beatrice Many of you have asked for more trade "I'm sure it will be" he said, "because how clever and quick you are. She's taken reminiscences. One that occurs to me he's clearly a gentleman of good them to every shop in town, and some of goes back to the time when I was an breeding. But we must check." the dealers have been quite rude to her. outside engineer at a branch in the When I arrived at the house a note Especially that tall, thin chap at Snoddy's. Broadmead chain. It was common pinned to the door referred callers to a Asked her if she took him for a mug, and practice for us to deliver a set and leave it nearby address. I popped round there. The even suggested that she had no father. If on demonstration for a few days. The door was opened by a lady who looked you ask me, I think we're lucky to have policy worked. The viewer invariably got past me at my customised van. gentlemen like you to bring our work to." used to the set and bought it. "I take it you've come for Mr "Mrs Drinkwater, I've not repaired an One day a well-dressed chap, Mr Vaughan?" she said. iron or a toaster for years" I cried, "not "Yes" I replied, "how did you know?" for years." "Because most of the TV and "Well fancy that" she burst out, "and The first thing I saw was appliance shops in town are after him. now, because you've been so kind, you'll Anyway, he's gone. Said he was be getting one of each! Beatrice will be a dog as big as a pony. I preparing to open a high street shop, and pleased. She hasn't got much money, you saw it because it floored rented the whole house for two weeks. I see." now know that he had TV sets, tape As she departed she turned to me with a single bound. recorders, washing machines and fridges As got up, 1 saw delivered throughout every day. He took Greeneyes. "What a nice man your ► husband is, my dear" she said, "come on something else. A huge, them all away in a big van every night. Bonzo, let's go." Then he disappeared, without paying me "Did you charge her?" I asked after tweedy woman with a any rent. He seemed such a well-bred she'd left. big toothy grin. gentleman too." ■

TELEVISION July 2001 519 The secret of an unrepairable set that landed on Paul's bench is eventually revealed. Meanwhile I had all the easy ones. Servicing commentary WHAT A LIFE by Donald Bullock English Electric sets with the EY51 EHT tripping." I could tell that the chap who was rectifier at the bottom of a pit of wax well "Is the LED flashing as well?" Paul I approaching our shop wasn't quite the down under the tube. I turned my asked. ticket. He was wearing a white apron and thoughts to happier things. I nodded eagerly. was pushing a supermarket trolley that I had opened the shop that morning "Dunno" he said, "unless the feed to was covered with a shawl. When he came because Paul had been to a get together the regulator is missing. If it is, replace in he bowed and gave me a grin. the previous evening and Steven had to the safety resistor. It's R867, 0.3352." "Please do you lepair television sets?" go to the dentist. I looked at him, but he had returned to he asked, "I'm the take-away. It's in my When Paul arrived, a bit jaded, he the clouds with the Matsui. So I checked tlolley." eyed the Matsui set. It was a 1408R. the resistor, which was open-circuit. I I gave him a big smile. "Noted for it" I "What's up with this one?" he asked. replaced it and carried out a resistance replied, "we lepair any make — or tly to." "It's been lobbed of its ploglammes" I check between the supply and chassis. He went outside and brought the trol- replied, "Mister Chan is vely distressed." Everything was OK. Before switching on ley in. The set it contained was a little He gave me a funny look and plugged I spoke to Paul again. Matsui model. "We've been lobbed of the set in. "Er, any idea why the resistor failed?" our ploglammes" he said. "I'm Mistelee." I settled to the Seg. It was tlipping, He shrugged. "Dunno" he replied, I couldn't figure out exactly what he sorry tripping, and the standby LED was "they seem to go for no reason." meant, so I nodded understandingly, flashing. Grinning cleverly, I homed in So I switched the set on. Up came a wrote Charlie Chan on a job card, and put on the line output transistor and tested it. good picture. the set on Paul's bench. It was still warm. It read perfectly. Grinning a little less "Can't make head nor tail of this set" Then I turned to the set I'd been about to cleverly, I checked the HT voltage. It was Paul continued. "None of it makes any look at. also correct. So I suspected a load on the sense. Refuses to work, but I can't find line output transformer, and started by any fault." An 11AK19E3 chassis disconnecting the tube's anode cap. No "Try the, er rectifier" I volunteered. It was a Seg, model Zurich, and the chas- luck. I looked at the chassis, then out of He eyed me coldly and returned to his sis said 11AK19E3. Oh for the days when the window. It was a lovely morning, misery. they were all Ekco, or Bush, or Philips, or with such a pleasant light. I wished even Pye, Cossor, or English Electric I myself at Baker's Pool, after a few tench. A Samsung thought. Then I recalled those tiny high- Then back to reality. Just then Victor Smallpiece called in with value Philips resistors that used to lie half "Have we got a circuit for this Seg a big Samsung colour set. He's a thin- hidden and wide open, the Perspex Ekco thing?" I asked Paul. faced fellow, a bit timid, from the Land line output transformer shrouds that used He started to laugh. So 'I thought of the Leek. to conduct themselves to oblivion, the awhile then tried another angle. "Good morning, Mr Bullock, don't Cossor sets that required a contortionist "Any idea why it's dead?" I said. "I they?" he smiled to change the tuner valves, and the mean, do they have any stock faults? It's I'm not too fond of him, so I just gave

646 September 2001 TELEVISION him a friendly grin. "thought so." and was very warm. So I fitted a replace- "We don't watch the telly much" he "But not before you blew up a line ment, returned the first anode potentiome- continued, "but when they go we can't output transistor and power resistor" said ter to its original position, and switched seem to get on without them, haven't Paul. on. An excellent picture appeared, just as they?" I looked at him. "Look, I can't help it Steven came in. I looked at his set, which was a 21in. if you can't mend that Matsui" I said. Samsung Model CI5322. It's fitted with "I've always been able to manage 'em. The Matsui's problem the P68SC chassis. "What's up with it?" I Get the old grey matter working instead Paul looked over at Steven. "Dad's had asked. of thinking of bloody Joady and his bull- nothing but easy ones today" he said, He grimaced and shook his head vio- dozer. Why, when I was your age . . ." "while I've been lumbered with this lently. "When I tried to get a picture it I turned back to the Samsung set and Matsui set. Hey, do you know Joady, my screamed it's head off. Terrible. Even the probed around in the power supply to see mate? He earns over four hundred and wife's dog got out. And Effie Philips why the HT was so high. I eventually dis- fifty quid a week just for sitting about on started to hammer on the wall." covered that C852, a 470µF, 16V elec- a bulldozer thing. Bought his bird a gold "Who's Effie Philips?" I asked, trying trolytic, was low in value at 200µF. It's ring last week, with a diamond as big as to show interest. in the error-voltage sensing circuit. It an egg. No worries at all." "Our next door neighbour, Mr Boater. seemed reasonable to assume that this Steven fingered his face. "Trouble Awful woman, doesn't she? D'you know, was the cause of the trouble. So I fitted a with a Matsui?" he asked. Mr Bullrush, she's had seven husbands, replacement, a new 2SD1651 line output "Sure have" said Paul. "It won't work and . . . " transistor and power resistor. Then I held and I've spent all morning looking for a "OK Vic" I cut in, I'll give you a my breath and switched on. Instead of the fault. Everything I check turns out to be ring." screaming noise an excellent picture perfect. But it still won't work!" As he left, I got the set on to the bench came up, and when I measured the HT Steven looked at the set, tried it, then and switched it on. It squealed all right, voltage it was spot on at 125V. sniffed at it. but I couldn't see why Effie should have "The customer's Chinese" he declared. kicked up so much fuss. Still I didn't Scales "How did you know that?" I asked. know Effie. Just then John Berryman, the most unlike- "The set smells like a takeaway. I "I can't mend this set" announced ly undertaker I've ever come across, plod- know him. Name's Lee, not Chan." Paul. "My mate Joady earns three hun- ded in. He's tall, bulky, red-faced and I nodded. dred and fifty quid a week driving a little bluff. In fact he'd pass for a fruit farmer bulldozer thing. And he can only count around here. And he doesn't mince his PIN code installation up to seven." words. "I reckon he forgot his PIN code again" I conjured up a mental picture of "How be yuh, Don?" he bawled. said Steven, "fed it in wrongly a few Joady, standing bolt upright and strum- "Never mind the trade enquiries, John" times and disabled the set. Like he did ming the floor with his knuckles. Then I I replied. "How is trade, anyway?" last summer when you and Paul were in got back to the Samsung set and dived at "Pretty good, Don, an' just as well too. Spain. Gave me the runaround, I can tell the 2SD1651 line output transistor. It was If they don't keep on dyin' we can't go you. Had to reset it with another number short-circuit. on livin'. Here, mend these will you?" in the end." "Found the trouble with my set" I said, At that he put a set of bathroom scales "How does it work?" Paul asked. as I fitted a replacement. Then I switched on the counter. Bathroom scales! When "You have to switch the set off for at on. Nothing happened. I measured the he'd breezed off I looked at them. The least an hour and a half, then switch it on. resistance between the transistor's collec- platform was solid. I removed a baby's You are then allowed three attempts to tor and chassis. It seemed to be all right, teething ring that was jammed beneath it, enter the correct code. If you make a mis- so I checked the HT feed. It was missing. then jumped on to test them out. I saw take each time, you have to switch off Why hadn't I done this first? I soon my weight and whistled. Good God! again, wait and try again. I think we'd found that the 10Q, 7W feed resistor was better install a new number — an easy one open-circuit. I replaced it, checked care- The major that even he won't forget. Say 1 2 3 4." fully for any other damage, then switched A pair of scruffy men came in with a "How?" I enquired. on. The set gave a clunk, issued a wisp of 28in. JVC set, Model AV28VM1EK. "Enter the wrong code three times. smoke and started to bawl at me. They were followed by Major Hagger. The set will be disabled. Switch it on and "This set's driving me mad" Paul said. "Morning Mr Bullock" he rasped, "on press the volume down button on the set "You ought to see Joady's car. One of the bench is it?" while pressing 7 on the remote control those Silver Sphinxes. Cost him twenty I nodded. unit. Hold both buttons down for a few thousand quid, but what's that to him? "Put it there you chaps, and wait by seconds until OK appears on the screen. His house is like a mansion. Earns nearly the car" he barked." The men made their The set will then function and you can four hundred quid a week, and no worries exit. install a new code." "Sound but no picture, don't you "What a life!" I said. "It's like every- Blow Joady I thought. What about this know" he said. "Do whatever's necessary thing else electronic. Full of time-wasting Samsung? I checked the new 2SD1651 and give us a ring, there's a good fellow." and confusing gimmicks, not because transistor, which was short-circuit. And And off he strode. anyone wants them but because the tech- the new HT feed resistor had gone to I switched the set on. Paul heard the nology is there and manufacturers are heaven. Why? I checked for other shorts rustle of EHT and looked over. scared stiff not to use it. When I came in the line output stage, but couldn't find "If you turn up the first anode control into this trade fifty years ago I knew it any. Then I looked for dry-joints around you'll find you've got field collapse" he would be difficult. Now, because of man- the line output transformer. Everything said. "That's another easy one you've made complications, it's becoming seemed to be OK. At last I slipped my got." impossible." brain into gear, fitted a 100W bulb as a I took the back off, marked the first "My mate Joady doesn't have these dummy load in place of the line output anode potentiometer's setting, and wound problems" said Paul. "He gets nearly five transistor, and measured the HT voltage. it up. A very reduced red raster appeared. hundred quid a week just for lolling about It was 165V instead of 125V. When I homed in on the field output chip in a little bulldozer thing. Makes you "Ha, the Samsung's HT is high" I said, IC401 I found that it looked a bit baked think!" ■

TELEVISION September 2001 647 WHAT A LIFE The joys of tench fishing. An early start then a mixed bag of TV faults - and a camcorder problem. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

Isuppose I brought it on myself. There's no Norman's Fergie Only a line fishing like tench fishing, and I've sung its As they left Quiet Norman returned, I decided to tackle Mr Ng's little set next. praises so often to Paul and Steven that they paring at a pie with his pen-knife. Field collapse, eh? When I tried the set the are now hooked on it. That's why I "Ain't bad pies" he announced. "The fault was nothing of the sort. It was line sometimes have to open and look after the Fergie belongs to my new girlfriend. Dopey collapse. So I followed the line scan coil shop on my own. At times it can be a bit and loaded, 'er is. I likes 'em that way." wires from the yoke and came to the much for one person. "What's wrong with it?" I asked him, coupling capacitor CHO1 (4-70). It was a "Nuthin', 'er's all right" he replied. bit of a gooey mess, and proved to be open- Arrival I leaned forward. "The set, Norman, the circuit when I removed and tested it. Three people were waiting outside when I set." I cleaned around the area and fitted a arrived the other morning. I knew them all. "Aw. Silly picture." replacement. This did the trick, restoring the There was Quiet Norman Glutton, who was I wrote 'silly picture' on a job card as he line scan action. sitting on a huge Ferguson TV set eating a departed, still busy with his pie. Then the phone rang. I answered it. pasty. The others were a regular oriental The set was a Ferguson D68N, which "Is that the television shop?" an anxious customer, Mr Bakwa Ng, and the means the ICC9 chassis. When I got it on voice asked. "Here, the top of your roof's domineering Mrs Runner with her son the bench and switched it on I found that the ablaze. I've just driven past in my car." Clarence. If they hadn't all seen me drawing sides of the picture were bowed. I've had I dropped the phone, ran out and looked up I think I'd have fled past and hammered EW trouble before with these sets, and it up a the roof. No sign of any fire. I ran back on the door of the Red Lion to ask for a large didn't take me long to home in on the in and picked up the phone. Frenzied brandy. BD675 EW diode modulator driver laughter. "Hi Don" said Quiet Norman as I got out transistor TL40. It was warm — and short- "Who's that?" I yelled, but the line was of the car. "Take the old girl's set in, will circuit. dead. you? While I pop along to Crubbs Foodstore Starting the day with an easy repair is The last time I'd had some silly phone to see what they've got to eat. I'm famished." always cheering. I fitted a replacement calls it had been Ribby Ellis, the self-styled The telephone rang as we entered the transistor and switched on again. But what's practical joker. Was he back in town I shop. "Joo do calls the same day" a voice this? Still a silly picture! wondered? said. I applied a fingertip to the new "We do our best" I replied, "where are transistor, which was warm. It was also The dead Bush you?" short-circuit. What had blown it? My gaze Ah well, time to have a go at Mrs Runner's "Baker's Way" the voice continued. settled on CL42 (4.7g, 160V), which set. It was a Bush 2169, and was indeed "Sorry" I said, "where's that?" generates the collector supply for TL40. dead. I took the back off and checked for DC "First left at New Zealand, just past When I removed and tested it I found it was voltages. Nothing. So I moved back to the Australia" said the voice. There was frenzied dead short. Once a new capacitor and chopper circuit. No voltage anywhere, not laughter, then he hung up. transistor had been installed there was a even AC. I looked at the phone, then hung up too. sensible picture. I then saw that the mains fuse had died a "Good morning, Donald, I am being glad violent death. The P3NA990 chopper to see you" said Mr Ng with a smile. No zoom transistor Qi could well have been the cause, "There's a loose wire in my set. It's giving As I struggled to get the Fergie TV off the and a check showed that it was dead short. me only a line." bench, ready for collection, the lovely Did it just die or was there a cause? I peered He presented me with a Goodmans Cassandra Grant came in with her Panasonic about in the area and saw some pappy high- Compact 110, and I wrote 'field collapse' on camcorder and W.D., her dim boyfriend. value resistors. I don't trust high-value the card as he departed. I looked at Mrs "It won't zoom, Mr Bullock" she purred. resistors, so I unsoldered and checked the Runner. "It was all right until W.D. used it, wasn't it, ones here. Sure enough, two had gone high "Tell Mr Bullock about our telly, dear?" in value. R5 had risen from 6801(52 to 8301S2 Clarence" she ordered. "Huh?" said W.D. while R4, which should have been 270M, Clarence looked up and made to speak. "What did you do to it?" I asked, turning was virtually open-circuit. "It's gone wonky, ain't it Clarence?" she to W.D. I replaced the P3NA990 and the two cut in. "Tell Mr Bullock what was on 'im "Nuthin', I dunno, just nuthin'." resistors, gritted my teeth and switched the when 'e went". The camcorder was a Panasonic NVG2. set on. To my relief an excellent picture Clarence opened his mouth but wasn't Its lens had zoomed in but was reluctant to appeared. quick enough. zoom out. As Cassandra and her boyfriend Once I'd boxed the set up and got it on to "It was that fat woman, that Whimpey had ambled off, I began dismantling the the floor I peered out of the window. It was a Opera, wasn't it, Clarence? Now tell Mr camcorder to get to its lens assembly. The gentle, sunny day, just right for tench fishing. Bullock." zoom motor has an attached reduction I looked at my watch. Time the boys were Clarence made another attempt. gearbox, to give a slow and smooth zoom back. Why should I be slaving here while "Cat's got 'is tongue I think" she action. This had seized up, and I couldn't they were lolling about the banks? Then their continued, "it's our Bush, Mr Bullock. Dead. free it. SEME supply the motor and gearbox car drew up and in they came. Now Clarence, shut up and get the set outa as a single unit, part no. VEM0408. I "Had a nice time?" asked Steven. the car for Mr Bullock." ordered one and put the camcorder aside. "Not one bit" I replied, "and I think I'm

732 October 2001 TELEVISION going mental. I've had over thirty idiots in "The Reverend Goode" he carrying an ancient Roberts portable. and four crazy telephone calls. How many Steven gave him a smile. tench did you get?" , said. "Very upset. Seems his "This wireless o'mine's stopped "Didn't get one bite" came the reply. curate tried to phone us to see working" he croaked. "I reckon there's someone in there." A huge Sony if they'd left their remote "Shouldn't think so" Steven said, "but Just then Mr Macquater came in. He doesn't control unit. Got a wrong I'll take a look for you." see straight. He looked at Paul with one eye number and suffered terrible It was the battery of course. Once a and Steve with the other. replacement had been fitted the set sprang "Hello Don" he said, "it's a big 'un, I'm abuse. He fainted. Whoever to life. telling you." would have done such a thing? "Wonderful" said old Stan, "only I "Never mind" I replied, "let's take a look thought there was someone in there." at it." Steven and Paul went out to his car and It was tripping. Paul took the back off Confusion returned with a huge 29in. Sony set, Model and started to look around inside. A check Steven slipped next door for some KV29F1. It's fitted with the BE3D chassis. on the 2SD1880 line output transistor Q401 cigarettes. Then the telephone rang. I "Picture's all right at first" said revealed that it was short-circuit. So was the answered it, expecting more jokery. Macquater, "then goes like this." He pulled BY228 diode D403 in the EW modulator "Nyahhy wah, nyn wouh trol" said the himself into an arc. circuit. After replacing them, Paul switched earpiece. Just what I'd been waiting for. Steven took the set on. "It'll probably be the set on again. A picture came up, but I'd give him a piece of my mind. dry-joints" he commented, looking around there was severe EW distortion. "Just get off the phone and stay off it" I the line output section. He found some He decided that D403' s demise could said calmly. "A Godless oaf whose idea is around the 2SC4793 EW modulator driver well have damaged the 2SB546 EW driver to mess busy people about needs his mind transistor Q801. Once they had been transistor Q403, and was right. He also seeing to. To hell with you, and that's resoldered the set was OK. checked the associated 6.8µF, 50V bipolar final." Then I slammed the phone down electrolytic C302, which was also short- and sauntered out the back to put the kettle Church Hall set circuit. But replacements failed to cure the on. An enormous old car bounced to a stop fault. "I sure told him" I said to Paul. outside. The rotund Reverend Goode eased Q403, a pnp transistor, had no voltage at The phone rang again as Steven returned himself out at one side while his curate, its emitter. What else was there around with his cigarettes. He answered it. Deacon Blande, alighted from the other. here? A series resistor, R406 (4.752, 0.5W "Why, hello Reverend. What? Good They came in. fusible). But where was it? After some gracious, how terrible. Yes, I agree, too "Ah Donald" sang the Reverend, "I trust searching it was discovered in a hideaway awful. Yes, it is here. It was left on the you are well. Now then, I have this massive position, behind a heatsink close to C302. It counter. See you later, Reverend." television set in the boot. It's from the was open-circuit, presumably the result of As he hung up he had a puzzled Church Hall. Been frightening the old folks Q403' s failure. Replacement of this item expression. "The Reverend Goode" he it has. Ticking, or something, they say." completed the repair. The set then produced said. "Very upset. Seems his curate tried to We all went outside to get the TV, which a picture with normal scanning — and phone us to see if they'd left their remote was a 29in. Daewoo GB2898ST (CP775 excellent quality. control unit. Got a wrong number and chassis). The reverend gentlemen then went suffered terrible abuse. He fainted. on their way as we struggled to get the set in A Roberts Radio Whoever would have done such a thing? and on to the bench. Our next visitor was old Stan, who was And I wonder what he said." ■

TELEVISION October 2001 733 WHAT A LIFE Some TV and VCR faults, a moan about the state of TV programs and presentation, and a spoilt radio-cassette recorder design. Donald Bullocles servicing commentary

hen I arrived at the workshop expect much trouble. When Paul After a while Steven joined in, but the one morning Steven had a advanced the setting of the first anode nasty intermittent fault persisted. I Wmassive 32in. Fidelity set on control a raster appeared, with no vision. wondered whether it was a sync fault, but the bench. The complaints were field Steven looked over. "Had one like that the line synchronisation seemed to be collapse and EW-correction trouble. He' last week" he said, "it was the M52038SP stable enough. Then I noticed a sideways had a look at the EW circuit and found the jungle chip IL01. But we don't have one twitch and, at the same time, slight video TDA8145 chip faulty, with its 3.352 left." degradation. So the brief fault involved (safety type) feed resistor R711 open- "Might as well make a few checks the field and line sync and video quality. circuit. Some checks in the field output before we order one" Paul said. He "There's intermittent IF instability" I section revealed that C620 (0.47µF, decided to carry out some meter checks said. 250V) was short-circuit. Replacements on the CRT base panel and soon found Steven tapped the IF cans until he restored correct scanning, but he needed that the 12V base bias for the RGB output found the one that produced the fault help returning the heavy set and asked me transistors was missing. The cause was condition. It wasn't earthed securely. to give him a hand. easy enough to find. RT40 (68k0, 0.5W) Once that had been put right the fault had "It belongs to a nice old couple. I know was open-circuit. A replacement restored gone. their son Glen" Steven said, "he's been the picture. abroad these last six months." More picture trouble We took the set back and installed it. Capacitor trouble At the time I had a Toshiba VCR on the Then the old, rather frail, couple settled "Ugh, oh dear, phew!" Mr Milton bench, Model V219B. This was another back to watch it. Steven noticed a struggled in with a 25in. GoldStar set. He case of an intermittently poor picture. I photograph of Glen on the sideboard. "Oh was carrying it the wrong way of course — discovered that the symptom could be look" he said to me, "there's Glen." screen forwards. controlled to some extent by pressing the "What?" cried the old couple as they "It's my neighbour's set" he explained deck down here and there. In fact the deck stumbled up out of their chairs and looked when he'd got his breath back, "just sits on a copper earthing plate, which is at out of the windows, first one then the helping out." It was a CF25C22F (PC33J the back of the machine behind the drum: other. "Can't see him. Where is he?" chassis) and was another blank screen it wasn't making reliable contact. Steven had to explain and calm them case. Cleaning and flexing the plate cleared down. Steven took the back off and upped the the trouble, but it's something to bear in setting of the first anode control. "Notice I mind. Next time I get a problem of this A Goodmans 1410 didn't mark it before altering the setting" sort I'll install a thick, flexible bonding When we got back Mrs Daymoore was he said. strip. waiting with her son Billy. "Hello Mr "Why not?" I asked. Bullet" she said, "tell Mr Bullet about it, "Cleverness" he replied, brushing his A moan Billy." nails on his lapel. Just why are we inflicted with such "'E's all wonky" the boy said without I nodded understandingly. I also terrible television? I've been a bit paying much attention. noticed that there was field collapse, and restricted recently by damage to an ankle, I decided to try to get him to be a bit that C405 (0.22µF, 400V) in the line scan and have found myself spending more more explicit and interested. "How circuit had exploded. time than I usually do stuck in front of wonky?" I asked, "slightly wonky, very "It'll be C405" I said. the TV set. Since the last figures were wonky, wonky in what way?" Steven spun round. "How did you announced, programme makers have "Wonky as hell" he replied. know that?" he asked. been expressing concern about the "Billy!" Mrs Daymoore cried, "be "Genius" I replied. decline in the number of viewers. But I quiet now and put the set on Mr Bullet's A replacement capacitor restored find it hard to believe that they are counter." normal operation. seriously worried. If they were, surely Billy lifted a Goodmans 1410 from the they would do something about it? And I floor and placed it on the counter. Bouncing and rolling don't mean just about the poor "Now explain what the trouble is to Mr Meanwhile Paul was battling with an programmes, but the awful presentation Bullet" she continued. Hitachi C2119T (GIPS chassis). It as well. Billy looked at me defiantly. "Blank seemed to have a good picture, and the The programmes mostly seem to screen an' lots o' sound" he hissed. sound was all right. But occasionally the assume that viewers have no or very little "That's better" Mrs Daymoore said, picture would begin to bounce and roll. intelligence. The characters have a "Mr Bullet will wonder wherever you was "I've replaced the field timebase chip limited vocabulary, and engage in a lot of brung up." and a few other field timebase swearing. Now I don't mind the odd I said goodbye to them as Paul took the components" he said. "once or twice I well-chosen expletive where the context back off the set. Fortunately it uses the thought I'd cured the fault, but it's still the calls for it, or maybe to emphasise a Ferguson TX805 chassis, so we didn't same." point. In fact I was brought up in the

10 November 2001 TELEVISION literary company of Deadwood Dick and properly-presented programmes with talking from inside a waterfall. So I called Eskimo Nell. Even today, when the fish conventional people using meaningful a halt, went back to the shop and changed are slow-biting or I'm endlessly waiting language. It can be done. The Forsyth the machine. for Greeneyes to emerge from a clothes Saga went on for months: while it was On my return I had to start all over shop, recalled passages from their saga running there were empty streets and again. But the replacement was no together set me off laughing — often to the near-empty pubs. different. I took out my pad and prepared alarm of those passing by. But surely to take notes. contemporary conversations don't consist An unfortunate purchase At this the old boy became testy. Told mainly of swearing? Then there's the While I'm in a complaining mood, let me me that he was worth being recorded, that endless, mind-numbing triviality of it all. tell you about an unfortunate purchase I it had all made him extra thirsty, that he There seems to be a view amongst the made recently. I had been working on a wanted a pint and was fed up with me and broadcasters that shoddy material can be factual book called The Legend of my tricks. He then threw me out. made interesting by the use of 'lively' Clapham and, while out taking notes, I I took the radio-cassette recorder to the presentation. In fact it makes matters came across an old boy who had lived workshop and gave it another try. Its worse. Even the BBC News headlines are through it all. He asked me into his home recordings had a louder noise level than made hard to understand by the and I soon found that though he was a the audio content. When a prerecorded accompanying noise, urgently and font of knowledge his enthusiasm kept tape or a piece of unrecorded tape was discordantly pumping away. running away with him. My pen simply played however the noise level was There are good programmes. BBC couldn't keep up. So I stopped him and acceptable. Knowledge for example is very good popped out to buy a small recorder. On investigation I found that the indeed, but even these aren't safe from I couldn't find one locally and had to machine has a little block of permanent the audio whiz-kids. And excellent period settle for a radio-cassette recorder. It magnet that serves as the erase head. plays can be marred and made hard to wasn't that small but was an attractive When I used a small rubber band to hold tolerate by the jangling and pumping piece of equipment and the the magnet clear of the tape the noises that often accompany, and LW/MW/VHF radio side worked well. It recordings were excellent. sometimes drown, the dialogue. had a built-in microphone. I also bought a I then gave the rest of the radio- Why this conviction that the only way couple of branded tapes. Then I went cassette recorder a once-over. It was to hold interest is to inflict a constant back to the old boy really well made, and would have been attack on the senses? I know a better way. He seemed a bit peeved. "It's getting excellent value had the makers spent a Here's how. on and I have to get down to my local few extra pence and fitted a conventional Get rid of the synthetic-sound and afore long" he said. erase head. Paring down costs is essential coloured-lights equipment, all the I nodded understandingly, set to produce competitive products, but in zooming and hovering and wandering everything up, made a test recording then this case the result was that an otherwise cameras, all the cascading split-second played it back. The results were successful model had been made useless. takes and all the yobbos. Substitute good, disastrous. He sounded as if he was I took it back. ■ WHAT A LIFE It was going to be one of those days • • • Some of our nuttier customers came along with their sets, including the little mono portable whose owner says it provides surveillance • any moons ago, forty-five years to askew to show him the best of my teeth. holding his hands three inches apart, one Mbe exact, I used to work with a It seemed a bit early to me for fisticuffs. above the other. manic-depressive fellow. He'd been all "I don't suppose it is" I replied, right before he came into the servicing Under observation increasing the friendliness of my smile. trade mind, but that's another story. His As he departed Peter Nuttence came in. "But why are we blessed with your name had better be Syd. He's a nice enough countryman from presence on this fine day?" Some mornings Syd would get out of Woodbury, but worries about his He put the set on the counter. It was a bed on the wrong side and stomp into neighbours. When I first encountered him Sharp Model DV5131H (S3B chassis). "I work with his face all screwed up and a a few years ago he was convinced that want you to mend my set, Mr Bullock. huge bank of black, swirling storm-cloud they had him under surveillance. He'd It's got such a narrow picture you see." over his head. Within minutes something grown a huge, wide wall of thick "Leave it with us" I said, "we'll soon would go wrong for him. Perhaps a evergreen around his smallholding to have it sorted out." thrush would sing a few notes through the ward off their influence. Our next caller was Ernie Twopp, a window, or a customer would smile at "Haven't heard from you lately, Peter" timid, thin-faced Welshman who always him. "Oh it's going to be another of those I said. looks as if he's just been crossed in love. days, I can see it" he'd declare. "Oh, ah I "They've been leaving me alone a bit, He had a Sanyo colour set with him, can just see it . . ." Don" he replied, "but now they're back at Model CTP3131 (80P-B14 chassis). I And he was always right. it. They've erected a giant dish to know it well. Well, I had one of those days monitor my movements. It points straight He looked at me, stood back, then yesterday. I was on my own in the shop at my place. When they think I'm out spoke. again. Paul was out having fun at the they come poking about in my hedge. But "Twopp" he said, "Twopp." dentist's, and Steven had gone to see the what they don't know is that this old "Suppose it must be" I replied, then accountant for a few laughs. I ought to Sanyo telly of mine picks 'em up, as reflected for a moment. This is getting have known that the enemy would strike, always. Worth its weight in gold. It's too much, I thought. It would be nice to but I hadn't anticipated a battalion. seen them again all right, and I've be a traffic warden. Lots of scope to get reported them." really nasty and wind people up — and Early corners "Er, what can I do for you Peter?" I make them pay for it! Wonder how much It began at about a minute past nine. asked. I'd get a week? That's when I saw Hubert Tubbel "Well the Interference People are But Mr Twopp was on again. "Now fighting with his car door from the inside involved. They want to be sure that the tell me, please, Mr Bullock, would it be before he tumbled out and bowled set's all right, and not sort of making up possible to mend this set?" he asked. "I towards the shop. He barged through the their images. So perhaps you could mean, Gumboils can't. They kept it for door and glowered at me. satisfy yourself that it's all right then sign four months, then said it wasn't "Great Big Goodmans!" he declared. this form I've been given. Then they'll worthwhile. Tried to sell me a sixty-five I turned around. No one there, so I get to work — probably cart the villains inch Chinybunk with two Christmas faced him again. in." hampers and a tea set thrown in as a deal. "Great Big Goodmans. Yes or no. Just He put the little Sanyo set, a Model Finally recommended you when I got a say it, yes or no?" 12T280, down and left. bit testy." "Great Big Goodmans?" I countered, "Outrageous of them" I said, "but "Great Big Goodmans? ." The untidy and the timid what's wrong with it?" He wedged his knuckles on his ample As he left I saw this thin, gangling fellow "Dead" he replied. hips and scowled. "Why do I have to say across the road, carrying what looked like everything twice? All I'm asking is, joo a Sharp TV set. Then I realised it was Mr Tea mend Goodmans tellies?" Maggie, another character I'd not seen I smiled and waved him out. Then "Oh, er, yes. We try." for a long time. He came in and I noticed Greeneyes came in with two mugs of tea. "That's all I wonnid to know" he said that his hair was as long and tangled as "One wound have been enough" I as he went back to his car. He came back ever. He had a silly grin on his face. said. with a huge 25in. Goodmans set. "Hello there Mr Bullock" he piped, "Don't be funny — one of them's "Absolute snowstorm" he said thickly, "put on a bit of weight I see." His voice mine" she said. "Now, they've got this sweeping his unruly hair back. "Absolute sounded like a catfight in the early hours. lovely two-piece suit at Marks. Lime snowstorm. No other word for it!" I looked him over. Untidy wretch, I green. Only a hundred and fifty. It'll go I looked past him, through the thought. Dirty teeth and sleepy stuff in really well with those nice pink shoes at window, but it was sunny outside. He his eyes. Horrible. I gave him a friendly Olivers. Oh, and that white frilly top I saw me and leaned forward. grin. saw in Debenhams . . ." "On the set, I mean" he said quietly. "It's no bigger than this, Mr Bullock, As she spoke the door opened and a I smiled politely, pulling my mouth even after half an hour" he grated, quiet, elderly man came in. Surely it must

74 December 2001 TELEVISION MEN be Eli Roberts, who lives in the cottage supply and soon found that C712 (100µF, something" he said, "ah, yes, the 3901d1 by Walker's Pool? I hadn't seen him for 35V), the reservoir capacitor for the 24V start-up resistor R302." Once this had years. I looked at Greeneyes, who supply, was low in value. A replacement been replaced the set worked well. nodded. She'd recognised him too. cured the fault. But Mr Nuttence's Sanyo was playing The Goodmans set, Model 256NS, was up, if only intermittently. The An Hitachi VCR fitted with the Philips L6.2 chassis. Its loudspeaker produced choking noises, He placed an Hitachi video recorder on display consisted of snow and a strange and the picture gave way to shimmering the counter, Model VT530E. "After it's line striation down the middle. There was and shadowy grey shapes. There was also been on for half an hour the picture starts no remote-control operation, and no front- a faint hum on the sound. to freeze every few seconds" he button operation either. Paul checked the "There you are" I said, "spies, just like explained. voltages around the microcontroller chip, the man said." "All right" I replied, pulling over a job then moved to the power supply where Paul found that turning the rotary card. "How are you keeping Eli? You the 5V output was low at only 2V. The tuning knob very slightly affected the look well." cause turned out to be the BC337/25 distortion. This happens with a set that He stared at me. "E what" he echoed, transistor TR7505, which was leaky uses the old type of mechanical tuner — I'm no Eli anybody. Name's Charlie. emitter-to-base. A new transistor restored when the tuner's earthing springs become Hudson. From Worcester Street." the supply and a good display. green and gooey. He opened the set, found "Oh, er, sorry" I said. "Strange, you "Anything else?" he asked. the electrolytic capacitors we'd replaced in look just like Eli Roberts, an old fellow the power supply a few years ago, and set we know." The Sanyos about checking them. C705 (2,2000, "I'm old either, Mr Bullock." Then he "Yeah" I said. "There's a Sanyo mono 25V) and C617 (6.8µF non-polarised) smiled. "Do you know" he croaked, "this portable, Model 12T280, that picks up the were both low in value. Once replacements is the third time this week I've been pair of spies that are pestering one of our had been fitted the hum had gone, but the mistaken for, somebody else. The last valued clients, old Mr Nuttence of choking and strange shapes remained. fellow was really rude and persistent Woodbury. They've tuned on to him with Paul eventually tried heating the, mains about it. 'No, I'm not Fred Weaver' I told a big dish, and he doesn't like it." bridge rectifiers. A three-legged back-to- him, 'I'm Charlie Hudson.' Then he'd He looked at me for a minute, then back pair had originally been fitted: we looked at me and said `You're bloody not plugged the set in. had replaced them with four BY127s, one Charlie Hudson, I know you. You're Fred "Seems to work all right" he said. "No of which had become leaky. Paul changed Weaver!'" spies or anything. Only that strange the lot, after which there was no further "Only one answer" I said, "leave the Weakest Link woman. Where do they get trouble. district." them? I'd prefer the spies." "I think we've chased the spies away" "I'm beginning to think it might be a Then he picked up Mr Twopp's dead we told Nuttence when he called to pick good idea" he replied. set, the Sanyo CTP3131. The BUT11A up the set. He went out slowly and headed chopper transistor Q304 often fails. It was for his car, eyeing everything about him A busy workshop short-circuit, and had taken with it R313 suspiciously. A sad case. As he left Paul and Steven came in. Paul (2.7L1) — the two are connected in series. decided to have a look at the VCR. It He replaced these items, then switched Postscript: We've since had three or four worked perfectly at first, so he left it on. The set started up, made a choking of those Hitachi VCRs with the same running while he popped down to the Red sound and died. "Must have forgotten fault. ■ Lion to see why their JVC AV21F1EK TV had no display. He was away for some time. When he came back the VCR Valve Radio and Audio Repair Handbook was playing up exactly as Charlie Hudson had said it would. The picture froze for a This book is not only an essential read for How to pay second every few seconds. every professional working with antique (Valve Radio and Audio Repair Handbook) paperbac "What was the trouble at the Red radio and gramophone equipment, but also Lion?" I asked. dealers, collectors and valve technology J I enclose a cheque/bank draft for £ "A pint of bitter" he said. enthusiasts the world over. The emphasis is (payable to Cumulus Business Media) "No, the JVC set" I persisted. firmly on the practicalities of repairing and "Oh. The same old fault I've had with restoring, so technical content is kept to a Please charge my credit/charge card ever so many like it. No display, no minimum, and always explained in a way Mastercard t American Express J Visa teletext. Cause was dry-joints at the that can be followed by readers with no Diners Club L7805ABV 5V regulator IC522." background in electronics. Those who have Paul returned to the VCR. When he a good grounding in electronics, but wish to Expiry Date: opened it up the fault symptom cleared. Credit Card No: learn more about the practical aspects, will So the cause was heat-dependent. He put benefit from the emphasis given to hands- a blanket over the VCR and it resumed its Signature of tricks. Then, by accident, he found that on repair work, covering mechanical as well Cardholder the capstan motor was running hot. As he as electrical aspects of servicing. Repair observed the motor he noticed that it was techniques are also illustrated throughout. stopping in sympathy with the picture This book is an expanded and updated Cardholder's statement address: (please use freezing. A new motor cleared the version of Chas Miller's classic Practical capitals) trouble. Handbook of Valve Radio Repair. Full Meanwhile Steven had been looking at coverage of valve amplifiers will add to its Name the Sharp DV5131H colour receiver with appeal to all audio enthusiasts who the narrow picture. When the set was appreciate the sound quality of valve Address switched on the picture was only about an equipment.

inch high: it gradually increased to about OK Prim £22.50 firm £25.00 BOW £27.00 three inches. After checking around in the field output stage he went to the power Post to Jackie Lowe, Cumulus Business Media, Anne Boleyn House, 9.13 Ewell Road, Cheam, Post Code Tel: Surrey, SM3 8132

TELEVISION December 2001 75 WHAT A LIFE

Some audio equipment, VCR deck and monitor problems. A wet TV set. Failure o the keyless chuck in Bosch electric drills. Don Bullock's servicing commentary

I t was as black as night, well almost, He placed a GoldStar PW9041 video handing him the loot the monitor died. Is when we opened the shop the other recorder on the counter and started to it something you can deal with?" morning. The sky was dark, and the sing. We decided to go together. The bar breeze was giving way to a gale. "My eyes are dim I cannot see, I have was crowded. Paul who, like his broth- Our first customer was Warder Phil. not brought my specks with me . . ." ers, is about six inches taller than me He's a quiet fellow who seems to spend a I waited patiently for him to stop. peered about for Len. A girl in an apron, lot of his time giving practical advice to "Did you get it, Donny boy?" he on our side of the bar, looked his way those incarcerated in the local goal — the asked. "Dim, see. The display is dim." and called over. bad, the mad and the sad as he puts it. I wrote 'Mr Prat, dim' on the job card "Is your's a pint?" she said. "Seems we're in for a wet and windy and bade him good day. "Of course" Paul replied, "and one for day" he said. He'd brought with him As he departed there was a flash of my Dad here." some Technics audio equipment — an lightning, a clap of thunder and a down- The girl stopped and looked at him. SLDH501 mini system and an pour. He was getting soaked. Serve him "I'm not talking you" she said, "I'm talk- SLPG480A CD player. "This one's right. ing to my husband, right behind you." mine" he said, pointing to the mini sys- We looked round and saw a big, tem. Plays CDs perfectly for a while then Workshop expertise bearded fellow, about six feet square. stops. Nothing we do makes any differ- Meanwhile Paul had been taking a look Fortunately he looked peaceful. ence." at the Technics audio equipment. The Then we managed to catch Len's eye, "Sounds like Don" came the com- SLHD501 mini system played for about and looked at the monitor. It was a ment, in a silvery voice, from the back five minutes then died. He decided to Mitsubishi Diamond and was dead all room. Greeneyes feeling clever again. carry out some checks on the various right. We decided to take it back to the I thought for a second about a suitable supplies and found that the output from workshop, where Paul carried out some reply, then heard the chink of tea cups. I the 7.8V regulator transistor Q405 was checks in the power supply. He discov- decided against it. "What about the CD slightly low. The cause turned out to be ered that the zener diode D904 was player Phil?" I asked. R443, which with a zener diode provides short-circuit. It was also dry-jointed. He "Only plays the first track" he said. the base bias. It had risen in value from replaced it and switched on. Fortunately "Belongs to one of the inmates. Unlucky 6.8Q to 17Q. There was no more trouble the monitor sprang to life. Paul decided chap. Shouldn't really be inside. Name's once a replacement had been fitted. It's a to take it back to the Red Lion. Walter Doolan if you want to put some- safety component rated at 0.25W. thing on the job sheet." The SLPG480A CD player also had a The Major and the wet set As Phil left Greeneyes came in with a power supply fault. C11 (2,200g, 16V), As he departed Major Hagger drew up tray of tea and some chocolate biscuits. the reservoir capacitor for the +10V sup- outside in his Jaguar. A second later he "Good" I exclaimed, "I like those bis- ply, had gone low in value. A replace- was at the counter, holding a Sony cuits." ment restored normal operation. KV21FV1U combi unit as if it was a "Not for you" she said, "they're for I took a look at Flighty's GoldStar giant stink bomb. Paul. You know you're on a diet." VCR, whose display was indeed dim. It "A present to my darling daughter "Am I?" I queried. seemed to me that I'd had this fault from her specimen of a boyfriend, "Well, just look at you." before. Hadn't the cause been a capacitor Captain Pimm-Browne" he barked. I picked up my mug and suffered in the power supply? I checked with the "Started off full of life then fizzled out. alone. notes we keep on our workshop PC. Yes, Course they do, these Military College there it was: C25 (100nF, 10y). A fellows. Paps. No substance. He bought Mr Flighty replacement restored the display's bright- the set from that tall thin chap at "Har, har, slacking again" broke in a ness. Snoddies, but he's no match for their loud and too-confident voice, "not anoth- antics. In my day I would pray for shifty er tea break. Don't know how you toler- The Red Lion rogues like that to show up before me, ate it, my dear." The phone rang. It was Len, the landlord so that I could straighten them out. But I looked up. It was Mr Flighty show- of the Red Lion. "Is that Steven?" he enough of Pimm-Browne and his prob- ing off in front of Greeneyes. She was asked. lems. This set. Worked all right, then grinning as though she found him funny. "No, this is Paul. Steven is at home, started stoppin'. Not good enough. Fix it Silly girl. finishing his new conservatory roof. Can then ring'me. Right?" At that he was "What brought you here?" I enquired. I help?" gone. "Me legs!" he bellowed, "har, har. "Hope so" Len replied, "old Boney As he left Steven squelched in. He Never a dull moment. Hear that?" he said Twait has brought a computer in and has was carrying a soaking wet TV set. to Greeneyes, who smiled happily. pretty well sold it to me. But as I was "Spent all morning sealing my new

150 January 2002 TELEVISION roof" he said, "then this cloudburst Paul suggested. "They're always giving guarantee fault" he said, "the chuck is flooded through it and soaked the televi- trouble in these machines. Sony uprated it slightly marked. They'd claim misuse. I sion set. It wasn't switched on of to 2A a while back. That's what I usually daren't send it." course." fit." "How much is a new keyless chuck?" "Get it on to the bench and I'll save "Ah, yes, that's what I was thinking" I asked. its life" I said. "Meanwhile there's a job Steven said as he moved to the circuit "Sixteen pounds" he replied, "and for you to do. The Major's Sony combi protector, which was open-circuit. A we'd have to get one." unit." replacement restored normal operation. I put the useless Bosch in the shed and "What's up with it?" he asked. "Tamara will be pleased" he said. returned to using the Black and Decker I drew myself up as best I could. "Don't forget the Credits" Paul added. one. After all it's a perfectly good drill. "Keeps stoppin'. Not good enough. Fix I'd only retired it because I wanted the it. Ring him. Right?" I said. Problem with an electric drill keyless chuck the Bosch boasted. Steven's Hitachi set, a Model Is anyone out there the proud owner of a After a week or two I so missed the C2546TN, was thoroughly wet. Bosch PSB500RE electric drill with key- keyless chuck that, although it went Greeneyes got me a roll of kitchen paper less chuck? If so, the best of luck! I against the grain, I went back and paid up which I used to remove all the moisture I bought one a while ago because I was fed for a new one. Once again the drill was a could see, paying special attention to the up with losing the chuck key of my old joy to use. Greeneyes also liked using it, line output and chopper transformers and Black and Decker, and snagging my fin- in the garden, to drill little holes for to all cans and components that could gers on an ill-fitting one I always seemed hooking up her shrub branches on the harbour moisture. Then I propped up the to find instead. walls. But the new chuck jammed open chassis in the cabinet and placed the The Bosch, with its keyless chuck, on her too. bench hairdryer underneath it, switched was wonderful to use — though I did This time I sent it back to Bosch with on at the lowest heat setting. I slipped wonder why the chuck, the business end an explanatory letter. It was away for a the set under the bench for a long, warm of a power tool, was skirted with a soft month, but eventually came back at no snooze. black plastic skin. Then, after the first charge. I was delighted — until I opened week or two, the chuck jammed open as the package. The keyless chuck had been Deck problems I was replacing a drill. I tried tightening replaced with a conventional one. And, Steven had got the Major's Sony it but couldn't. So sprayed its inside for good measure, there was no key. KV21FV1U combi unit up on his bench. with WD42 and tried again. As it Not that I wanted one. The Bosch is Sure enough the tape mechanism was remained jammed I took it back to the back in the shed, and I'm using the Black intermittent. But after an hour's checking dealer. and Decker again. I wonder what the he was no further forward. "Bosch wouldn't regard this as an in- problem is with the keyless chucks? ■ Then the delightful Tamara Lee swayed in, carrying a Sony video recorder — an SLVE280. "Oh Mistel Book review Booyock, this machine, it's so unkind to me. Filst, he do what I want, then he stop. It makes me so upset." Digital Television by K.F. Ibrahim, published by Pearson Education I assured her that we would be able to Limited, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex CM20 2JE at £19.99. fix it, and she left. As I stood looking at Paperback (card covers), 197 pages. her recorder Steven shot across and snatched it. He pushed the Major's dis- It is surprising how much information Mr Ibrahim has managed to pack into mantled combi unit along to Paul's part this modest-sized book. It means, amongst other things, that you don't have to of the bench and started to work on wade through masses of largely irrelevant information to get to what, as a prac- Tamara's recorder. tising technician, you need to know. Too many textbooks get bogged down in "I know these well enough" he said, arcane theory before they get to practical matters — in this case the signals and "you get a fair bit of trouble in the power waveforms, coding/decoding processes and so on. It also means that Mr supply. Let's see now." Ibrahim has been precise and to the point in his treatment of the many matters Meanwhile Paul had returned. "Huh, covered in the book. that's great!" he exclaimed, looking at his While digital TV has been with us for some time there has, to date, been little bench. "Someone's pulled a Sony combi need for most service engineers to get involved. This has been because of the unit apart and dumped all the bits on my `free' digiboxes and the way in the broadcasters have been involved right up, bench. I'm scared to death of them even almost, to the TV screen. But this situation is likely to change. As things devel- when they are intact and untouched." op, digital TV equipment will leave the in-guarantee period and require atten- "They're quite easy really" Steven tion from general service practitioners. You will then need to be clued up about said, "I've only put it aside because this the various systems in use, satellite and terrestrial, and how they function. This job is more urgent." is the ideal book to use, both as an introduction and a handy reference. Paul settled to the combi. After a few The book covers pretty well all aspects of digital TV technology as this stands minutes he started to box it up. Seeing at present. It takes you through the basics, without making life too hard. For this, Steven spun round. example the account of the discrete cosine transform, which is basic to MPEG "What was it then?" he asked. signal compression, is the clearest I've come across. Once the basics have been "The take-up spool's optocoupler, dealt with there are practical descriptions of receiver systems, with plenty of PH452" Paul replied. "Thought it would diagrams, waveforms and some circuits. This is followed by sections on inter- be. How are you doing with the Sony active TV techniques, power supplies and receiver system testing. The book is video?" well organised, well illustrated and has a very helpful index. I'd have no hesita- "Well, I've found the voltage I want, tion about recommending it. J.A.R. but it disappears before it gets to where I want it. I wish I had a circuit diagram." "Try the IA circuit protector PR512"

TELEVISION January 2002 151 WHAT A LIFE A capstan motor repair then the story of Donnie, a contrast between two trades. Don Bullock's servicing commentary

couple of months ago I mentioned a roundabouts. This made him late for his to the Main Agent. Aproblem that you can get with certain service calls, and one day one of his "We shall want two hundred pounds to Hitachi VCRs, e.g. Model VT530E. The customers stamped his foot and called him a replace some more parts" said the Main symptom was picture freezing every few nasty name. So he took his car to an expert at Agent. "But we can't guarantee this will cure seconds when the machine has been on for the local garage. the trouble, because it's so intermittent." half an hour or so, the cause being the capstan "It probably needs a good service" the At this Donnie lost his presence of mind. motor. Ron Mitchell in Aberdeenshire expert said. And Donnie believed him. He There was a very pretty car for sale on the recently contacted me about the fault — he could tell by his face that he was very clever. Main Agent's forecourt. He traded in his trades as Newtonhill Electronics. Paul and "Call when you've a hundred and ten nasty car and quite a lot of money for the new Steve have replaced several of these motors. pounds to pay for the service" the expert said. one. Now Donnie didn't have anything like "How nice to have a car that works" he A capstan motor repair that much money. So he worked and worked thought as he drove to his workshop to try to According to Ron the trouble is that grit gets at his repairs until he did. Then he called on make up some of the money he'd spent. past the shaft seal and causes friction. The the clever expert, paid him all his money and motor then draws excessive current via its collected his car. The Roughneck's TV drive chip, which runs hot. Being servo- But two days later the car did exactly the As he started, Mr Roughneck came in. He controlled, the motor's speed remains same thing at the same roundabout. So he was a huge bear of a man with a heavy gold constant — apart from the brief stopping— took it back to the expert, who just about neck chain and an even heavier gold until the chip's heat-induced demise. Ron managed enough interest to talk about it. wristwatch. He carried a 26in. Ferguson used to replace the complete motor but has "Can't be the plugs" said the expert, "'cos TX100 set as though it was an empty box. now adopted the following procedure. we replaced 'em last time. Must be the spark "I'm mentally challenged" he bawled, "so Dismantle the motor, remove the bearing, leads or the distributor cap. Call for it when I works on an off-shore oil rig. Two weeks and clean it with WD40 before polishing it you've earned another thirty pounds." on and two weeks off. They pay me thirty with Duraglit. Apply a light coating of oil to Donnie worked and worked some more, eight thousand a year." Then he pointed to the bearing, then reassemble the motor. Ron paid the expert another thirty pounds, and the TV set. "This set kips losing its colour. says he has carried out many of these repairs collected his car. There's lots of electronics wizards on our with no bounces, even after more than a year. Two days later it did exactly the same rig. They reckons it's the tube." He adds "I'm glad it works so well, as many thing again at the same roundabout, and "I doubt that" said Donnie, "more like a people balk at paying any more than £30 for Donnie took it back to the expert. decoder problem, I'd say." parts and labour for a VCR repair these "Hm . . . " said the expert, "the ignition "The wizards on board would know days". sometimes gives trouble with these cars. So better" said Mr Roughneck, "them's My thanks to Ron, for his e-mail and our does the coil. We'd better change the lot. Call whizkids with university degrees." And off subsequent conversation. It recalled to my for it when you've another hundred and he prowled. mind the following story of a chap I used to twenty pounds." When Donnie switched the set on he know. Donnie worked and worked, and found that the picture was noisy and watery, eventually had enough to pay the expert but it improved as time went on. Donnie and the nasty car another hundred and twenty pounds. He He took out the chassis, looked at it, and Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin. collected his car once more and departed. saw lots of dry-joints in the chopper and line Once upon a time there was a bright little But the trouble still hadn't been cured. output stages. He decided to resolder every schoolboy called Donnie, who was very Two days later the car did the same thing at single one. Then he looked for the cause of interested in resistors and condensers and the same roundabout. the watery picture, and found that some of crystals and bits of wire. He spent all his time This time the expert serviced the the electrolytics in the power supply had trying to make clever things, and one day carburettor, cleaned out the fuel pump and fallen in value. So he fitted replacements. succeeded in making a crystal set that really flushed out the fuel tank and pipes. "Come But he had to run the set for two full days worked. and collect it when you've another sixty before the colour dropped out, for just one "What a wise and clever boy!" said all the pounds" he said. second. He used a magnifying glass to find grown-ups who knew him. "He'll go a long Donnie worked and worked until he was some tiny dry-joints at the pins of the colour way and make a lot of money." able to pay the sixty pounds. Then he jumped decoder chip and some of its peripheral In the fullness of time Donnie grew up, into his car to drive away. But instead of components. Then he noticed that the joints and so many people sought him out to do moving it cut out again. around the field output chip looked dry and their electronic repairs that he could give up "Hm . . . " said the expert, "perhaps a dusky, so he resoldered them as well. his 'proper' job. It wasn't long before he valve is cracked or seating badly. Leave it He boxed the set up and tested it for two thought it would be nice to change his bicycle with me." days before he phoned Mr Roughneck. for a car, so that he could give a faster Well Donnie couldn't do much else. So he "It wasn't too much of a problem" he service. So he bought himself an old car, and left the car there and walked home. Later on said, "just some dry-joints in the colour cleaned and polished it every day. he phoned the expert, who said he was circuitry. For good measure I've resoldered But the car turned nasty on him. It took to stumped, wanted another thirty pounds for some dry-joints in the power stages as well, cutting out as he was negotiating very busy his time, and advised Donnie to take his car and replaced some electrolytic capacitors to

216 February 2002 TELEVISION cure the watery picture when you first you needs a good hiding. Either you fix it stormed off, "now look, this time I wants 'im switched on." properly, he said, or he'll give you what for right, or else. I bin very patient with you, but "Watery picture?" bawled Mr and ' ave his money back. And this time you when I gets mad I gets mad." Roughneck. "I never noticed no watery come and fetch it." Donnie found that the line output picture. Any'ow, 'ow much is it?" So Donnie did, and after hours of work transformer had failed. He phoned Mr "Twenty one pounds" said Donnie, with perfect waveforms the colour dropped Roughneck to tell him, and explained that as feeling apprehensive. out long enough for him to see that when the this was in no way connected with the colour Later on Mr Roughneck came to collect fault was present the sandcastle pulses were fault it would be chargeable. the set. "So there wasn't much wrong, eh?" distorted. Replacing the sync and timebase "But the set ain't bin right since you first he growled, "what did you do, swap one of generator chip, which produces the sandcastle done 'im" Mr Roughneck bawled, "how can the boards?" pulses, made no difference. He eventually the transformer have failed? You completely "No" said Donnie, "there's only one traced the cause of the trouble to the SAW overhauled the set yourself only a couple of main board in this set." filter — a fault he'd never encountered before weeks ago. Nobody's touched 'im since. "No wonder it was easy to mend" said or since. Explain that!" Mr Roughneck, "there's dozens of boards in When Mrs Roughneck called she just told Donnie finally exploded. "I'm a TV the equipment on our rig. That's why our Donnie to carry the set to her car, which engineer, not a clairvoyant" he shouted back. boys get the mega-bucks, see. They golla be she'd parked even farther away than Mr "And if you're too thick to understand what really clever. Really clever! In a different Roughneck. There was again no mention of I'm talking about, take your set to the flaming class to the likes of you." payment. whizkids. Or throw it into the sea. Or find As he left, Donnie wished and wished another mug, because I've had enough. Just that instead of being a TV engineer he'd Four months later take it away." been a traffic warden, a pop song shouter or Four months went by and Donnie had almost a counsellor of sappy prats. forgotten about the Roughnecks and their A vacuum cleaner query troublesome set. Then the phone rang and it Finally, a query from Greeneyes. She's Follow up was Mr Roughneck. delighted with her new Dyson DC03 upright One evening, about a week later, Mr "This telly's now even worse" he ranted, vacuum cleaner. It cleans the carpets very Roughneck phoned again. "This telly's still "no colour, no picture, no sound. Just a well indeed, but doesn't seem to be very going to black and white" he shouted, "you squeaking noise from the back. Your name's good at picking things up off our tiled floor. sure you did anything to it?" muck on our rig. You don't know nothin' Things like dead flies and the tiny berries that "Bring it in tomorrow, Mr Roughneck" about tellys. They said to tell you it's the track into the house from the garden path. said Donnie, "we open at nine." valve or the transformer. I'd do it myself if I The machine converts to cylinder-type action, But Mr Roughneck brought it along at 'ad one of those meter things. But I ain't, and but this is a bit of a business. Who knows seven. Donnie was still in his pyjamas, I'm on my way in with 'im." their Dysons? Should it, as an upright shaving. He duly barged in and dropped the set on cleaner, pick up things like flies in its stride? "Give us a hand to get it outta the car" the counter. "You must 'av left something Or is it so sweet and gentle as to be above bawled Mr Roughneck, "I can't hang about. unplugged or disconnected" he said as he such chores? ■ On my way to the football match, and I wants to beat the rush-hour traffic." Donnie, half shaved and lathery-faced, Valve Radio and Audio Repair Handbook went out to Mr Roughneck's car. It was parked half way up the road. As soon as This book is not only an essential read for How to pay Donnie had the set in his arms Mr Rougneck every professional working with antique (Valve Radio and Audio Repair Handbook) paperboc sped off, leaving Donnie to carry it back radio and gramophone equipment, but also himself. dealers, collectors and valve technology ❑ I enclose a cheque/bank draft for £ He soak tested the set for two days, after enthusiasts the world over. The emphasis is (payable to Cumulus Business Media) which the colour dropped out — for half a firmly on the practicalities of repairing and restoring, so technical content is kept to a second. Donnie spent hours and hours with a Please charge my credit/charge card meter,a scope, a can of freezer and a minimum, and always explained in a way CI Mastercard 3 American Express U Visa ❑ hairdryer, monitoring waveforms and that can be followed by readers with no Diners Club applying freezer and heat to the chroma background in electronics. Those who have circuitry to make the colour drop out again. a good grounding in electronics, but wish to Credit Card No: Expiry Date: But it wouldn't. It remained in glorious learn more about the practical aspects, will colour throughout. benefit from the emphasis given to hands- He decided to fit a new decoder chip, a on repair work, covering mechanical as well Signature of new crystal and various other components. as electrical aspects of servicing. Repair Cardholder Then he soak tested the set for a full week techniques are also illustrated throughout. before phoning Mr Roughneck to tell him it This book is an expanded and updated Cardholder's statement address: (please use was OK. version of Chas Miller's classic Practical "Have you done the job properly this capitals) time?" Mr Roughneck growled when he Handbook of Valve Radio Repair. Full called. "I'm getting tired of this you know." coverage of valve amplifiers will add to its Name He carried the set off to his car without even appeal to all audio enthusiasts who appreciate the sound quality of valve asking whether there was anything more to Address pay. equipment. A week passed, then the phone rang again. WI Ma £22.50 Eweee £25.00 ROW £27.00 "This is Mrs Roughneck, and I een't very Post to Jackie Lowe, Cumulus Business Media, 'appy. The telly's still going to black and Anne Boleyn House, 9-13 Ewell Road, Cheam, white. I phoned my husband on the rig last Post Code Tel: Surrey, SM3 8BZ night and he's hopping mad with you. Said

TELEVISION February 2002 217 with a coughing attack. "Er, can I help Another giant Panasonic you?" I continued. "Yoo-hoo" came a cry from the gate, "I'm WHAT A LIFE "You are being Dan Butcher who is Bert Springer. Are you Mr Bullfight?" mending television sets?" he asked in a soft "Could be" I replied, "what's your voice. "This set, he is speaking and showing trouble?" me little writings on the screen but nothing "Set's in the car there. Green picture with else." sloping lines across. Yesterday the picture A new neighbour moves I looked at him carefully. Clearly another kept going to a white line and disappearing. in. Gunter turns out to foreigner, but from which country? "Ver — Today the set suddenly smelt of burning er — where you from?" I asked. then died. My neighbour says it's the be a very clever TV "I am being from number seventy six, condenser, but the gas man says it's the down the street" he replied, smiling. valve. When my insurance man called he engineer, but has I figured that it would be quicker to reckoned it was the transformer. My difficulties with the mend his set than get too involved, so I Daphne's young man blames the tube. He's asked him to bring it in. very clever, you know. Going to build his locals. He manages to It was a TX25MD3, which is a Euro-2 own house and make himself a watch and a chassis set. Sure enough there was sound but car. Said he'd mend the set if he had one of sort out some of Donald no picture. There was an on-screen display those oscloscope things." Bullock's problems however, which ruled out field collapse with It took three of us to get the 29in. the usual blanked-out screen. Then I noticed monster in. The set turned out to be a Model however that the sound was a bit scratchy, so I started TX29AD1DP — another one with the Euro-2 to check the signals circuitry. As I did so chassis. As I took the back off Gullet came there was a tap on the door. It was Gullet. back, looking pained. omen are like that. Especially Seeing the set and observing the "Again I haf trobbel. I explain my WGreeneyes. They notice things then symptoms he beamed knowingly. "Ha, so cleverness unt fit a giant dish at nomber tell you about them, in detail. Often things you haf a dry-joint on L4707 in the IF strip" ninety vun for a huge Portugoose man zat you don't want to know about. It happened he boomed, "but zer, I talk too much, yes? stinks of garlic, zen I tune der set to every to me the other day, while we were in Spain. You would know this fault." programme in ze sky. Ven I finish he say 'I "Some new people have moved into the "Er, yes, actually" I replied. "Now let me am vanting channel sesent fees as well'. empty house across the way" she told me. think, ver is, er, L4707?" `Channel sesent fees?' I ask, `fot is channel "They seem to be German. He's fitting a As I started to peer about he tapped sesent fees?' Channel sesent fees, you must huge dish. Heard him telling his neighbour L4707, at the far side of the chassis, with his know!' he says. Zees foreigners are difficult that before he moved here he had the biggest finger. There was a dry-joint there all right, to unterstand, no?" television shop in Hamburg." "Doesn't mean anything to me" I said. "Filthy swine" I said. "So vot could I do? Noddings, zat is fot I A bit later our gate swung open and our "Yah, yah" he cried, could do. So he don't pay me also." new neighbour walked up the drive, stiffly. Then he looked at the Panasonic set on Unlike me, he's a slim and uptogether cove. bount;mg up and 'k y, "I the bench. "Ah, zis set I know, like you. Gets His rimless glasses make him look told hm- I vox trobbel mit der resistors on der tube base." intelligent. That didn't appeal to me either. "Too true" I said, darting my eyes at the He greeted me with a smile, clicked his unt shefq-Aici "rtelrib up unt tube base. R3388 (3.3kQ, 0•5W) in the feed heels and wagged his finger at me. "Ah, you to the green gun had burnt away, leaving meri. my 1 01 ten, unt do are in. I haf found you out" he said in a rich, only its legs, and so had R3386 (560Q, deep voice. t at vunce 0.25W) which feeds Q3384 in the green "I am and you have?" I said, looking output stage. about me and pinching myself to make sure "I daresay zer are dry joints on der field I was not out. and resoldering it cured the fault output chip too." "I am Gunter Gullet, a ferry gud immediately. "Oh sure to be" I said, "they're common telefission mechanic unt aerial man from der When I finished the resoldering I noticed enough with this one, aren't they?" Fazzerland" he boomed. "I lof my verk. It's that he had sat down and was looking a bit He set off down the path, and as soon as I in my blod. Although I haf moved here I thoughtful. heard the gate click I examined the field vant to carry on, starting mit aerial verk. I "Do you know Mrs Creaser at nomber output chip. It was heavily dry-jointed. Once vant to do lots of jobs and vill make plenty sixty six?" he asked, "der voman mit der I'd resoldered it and attended to the tube of money, yes, but vot drives me is lof of giant Rottviler dog zat slobbers all over your base resistors the set worked perfectly. my verk. I sink you are like me, yes?" clothes?" "No, I am noddings like you" I said. "I "Der cross-eyed vun mit der big mouth?" A Sharp ES set don't vant to mend anyzing. I haf mended I asked. Some time later another customer arrived. hondrets and sousands of zings in ze past. "Yah, yah" he cried, bouncing up and Strange little fellow. "Sharp" he said. Now I vant a life zat is quiet and no prats. down. "I told her I voz very clever unt she "Not very" I replied, "used to be when I Unt anodder sing. People here don't like said 'climb up unt ment my aerial zen, unt was younger." paying for aerial verk. Der zun counts more do it at vunce'. So I vent home and collected "Sharp telly, in the car" he continued. zan televisions here." by ladders unt climbed up. It voz hard unt "Picture went short and shut down." He chuckled merrily at me and made to hot verk, but I mended her aerial mit a lot of I collected the set, put it on the bench and go. "I vill keep in toch" he said. care. Zen, ven her picture vas gut, I charged suggested he called back next day. It was a her. Only the price of a schnapps. 'You 66ES03H. I didn't know it and didn't have a A huge Panasonic charge too much' she says, 'you voz on ze circuit diagram. So I started to look around As he left a tall, thin wretch struggled up the roof only vun minute. Sat is fifty sounsand a on the main board. As I was doing this path with a huge 25in. Panasonic TV set. He day.' I say to her 'madam, ye don't haf to Gunter turned up again. He had a plaster on was gasping and pink-faced with the effort. quarrel, I vill unrepair it for you.' Go away' his chin. First Gullet, now this one I mused. she says, 'or I vill set my Rottviler on you'." "Vy you keep coming to see me?" I "Fot you vant?" I growled. Realising that I nodded understandingly, and off he asked. I had overstepped the mark, I tried to hide it went. He opened his eyes wide, pulled himself

March 2002 TELEVISION 319 up and clicked his heels. "It's ze only place side of der board" he said, "unt ze 1.5A trobbel unt problems. I am bitterly I don't get trobbel" he said, "I am ferry gut circuit protector zat feeds it. But you vill disappointed. Zere seems to be a conspiracy television man, but no one here appreciates know zat." against me." me. Now I hav more agony." "Naturally!" I said. "Funny how we both "I understand the feeling exactly, but tell "Vy?" I asked, "er, why?" think the same. I expect you're going now, me more" I said, purposely drawing his "Der fat voman at der big house on der to tell your wife that the LNB is a little attention to the Sharp set. hill. 'Ah, Gunter, I have noddings on my damp." "Ziz man says 'hat' a look at zis set I haf set' she say. `Ah', I say, 'it vill be der LNB, When he'd gone I replaced Q701 and the just bought for nearly noddings at Solara' s I zink.' But I do not hay vun with me, so I circuit protector. Up came a perfect picture. food store. Do you know how to tune it to go home to borrow ours from our dish to try every station zer is?' I tell him 'of course I zere. My vife vas vatching Esther The next Sharp do. I am very clever'. And I unpack der set Poltergeist unt Terry Vogan and she scream "Hellaye there, are you Mr Blooper and tune in every station zer is and some and shout very much indeed." hisself?" called a voice. I looked towards zere isn't. Ze pictures are vunderful. Ven I I nodded understandingly. the gate and saw an enormous man coming finish he say 'now go avay unt I vill see "But I am borrowing der LNB for only a up the path. He was about twice the size of how it settles down'." vile" I tell my vife. "Zat is yen she threw Cyril Smith. I began to wonder whether I "People are treating you terribly" I said, the vase at me. Ven I take it to ze big house was getting all the nutters today or only my nudging the Sharp even closer and stabbing — ze LNB, not ze vase, ze voman is share, but he interrupted me. my finger at it. "Er, ha, ha, slow to come swimming in der pool. 'Oh' she say, 'so zat "Sharp" he said. on, you know" I added. is der LNB. Let me see zis LNB', and ven I "We've done that one" I replied, "now He looked down at it. "It vill be der hand it to her she drops it in zee pool'. I'm sure you have a problem. Tell me about usual, I daresay" he said, "ze sousand Then he noticed the Sharp set on the it." microfarad, 10V reservoir electrolytic bench. "It's me telly. Sharp C66CSD8H. Takes C714. On ze secondary side of ze power "Ah, vun of zese!" he cried. "Ze picture several minutes to come on. It's in the car supply. Don't you zink?" collapsed, zen it shut down, yes?" outside. "Sure to be" I replied, dragging over my I looked at him steadily. "You're reading I collected it and put it on the bench. box of electrolytics. "Absolutely sure to be, my mind" I said. Then I plugged it in, switched it on, looked Gunt . . ." "Fell, you know vat zis vill be, same as at my watch and waited. After about ten He narrowed his eyes and looked at me. me" he said. I smiled and nodded and minutes it struggled to life. As I took the "Fot you call me?" he asked. turned my ear his way while I craned back off I willed Gunter Gullet to appear. "Gunt, short for Gunter, naturally." forward. Sure enough he was soon back again. He relaxed and smiled. "Of course, yah, "Of course, it vill be der surface-mount "Zer is no justice in zis vorld" he Gunt, zat is me! Zat is kind of you to say to IRFR9120 transistor Q701, on der copper complained. "Every way I turn I am hafing me." ■ WHAT A LIFE

"Oh, that's wonderful, can't it?" she whether 'un bella'n when I brought 'un A mixed batch of faults said. in. "Much beller, er better" I replied. and an even more mixed A giant Fidelity Eddie dug into his pocket and produced batch of odd customers. The next caller was Eddie Slowcombe, a wad of notes. "How many you want?" who keeps a riverside farm. He always he asked. Don Bullock's servicing calls on his way to market and collects the A few minutes later he was shouting at set, if it's done, on his way back home. I the set as he took it back to his wagon. commentary saw him manhandle a set from amongst the hay bales and muzzled sows in the A Goodmans/Philips back of his wagon. He was shouting at it I hadn't seen the Reverend Goode for a "Do you mind looking after my few bags as he struggled in through the door. while. Then he turned up in his ancient and things, Mr Bullock, while I pop into "Come on there. Over a bit. Now motor car, open-topped with running the Doctor's?" asked this scruffy little through tha' door. That's it. Didn't want boards. fellow who had poked his head round the to, didja?" "Hello Donald. What a glorious day. door. "I mean, you can't really cart all He deposited the huge 32in. Fidelity set, The heavens are smiling upon us" he your junk into the doctor's place, can Model CTV3228, on the counter. "I wants boomed. "Marshall the Bullock boys. I've you?" 'un beller than he be" he said. got old Mrs Dadd's set in the car. She I gave him a watery grin, popped his "What's the trouble?" I asked. needs it badly. Very sad. Her husband was bags under the counter, and off he went. "Ain't good enough, I wants 'un beller" called last week. Awful shock. Good man. A few days later I noticed that they were he replied. Leaves a gap, you know." still there. So I peered inside and found I nodded. I wasn't going to learn more We got the set in and the reverend that they were full of rubbish. A few by persisting. departed. It turned out to be a Goodmans chipped mugs, a bunch of dusty dried 256NS, a 25in. model fitted with the 1111118/111,- A' flowers, a celluloid collar, a broken cap Philips L6.2 chassis. The fault was the gun, a ball of dirty string — that sort of "Donald" he said soberly, same as with the Fidelity one I'd just done thing. As I was lugging them off to the — EW bowing. I concentrated on the line rubbish bin Steven breezed in. Late, but looking at me eye-to-eye, "you're output section and started checking full of bounce. a good man. You've shown components there. It wasn't long before I "We get some odd folk in here, don't found that C2913 (390nF, 250V) was we?" I commented. kindness to a stricken soul." short-circuit. A replacement cured the "Oh, I don't know" he replied. "They're "Ah yes" I found myself saying, trouble. all normal enough in their own way. "do have this little repair on me, I reassembled the set and gave the Perhaps you're a bit too sensitive." reverend a quick call. He was soon back. "Could be, I suppose" I said as he of course." "Donald" he said soberly, looking at me popped off again. No sooner had he left eye-to-eye, "you're a good man. You've than Mrs Taff drove up in front and shown kindness to a stricken soul." nipped in. As he drove off I tried the set. The fault "Ah yes" I found myself saying, "do "Mornin' Mr Bully" she trilled, "it's my was field collapse. We've had it before have this little repair on me, of course." telly why I'm 'ere. In the car and on the with this model, and there's a fault "God be with you" the reverend said blink, see. You'll mend it for me, hasn't pattern. So I replaced the usual quietly, as he reached for the gear stick. it?" components: the TDA8145 EW/field Then he chugged off in a cloud of blue I looked at her. Her smile was as honest generator chip IC600, the 3.352 safety smoke. as an August cornfield. And she held the resistor R711 in its supply and C720 door open as I struggled back in with her (0.470, 250V). Audio trouble set. Then I congratulated myself. Another As the cloud cleared I saw Oscar Gunge "Mind your knuckles on the door, Mr job successfully done I thought, life can and his mother heading for the shop. Boiler: skinned knuckles hurt, haven't be quite good at times. But when I Oscar was carrying a Sony hi-fi system. they?" she commented, then left. switched the set on there was severe EW "Tell Mr Bolshie the trouble" Mrs bowing. Gunge said loudly when they came in. No red I checked the width and EW adjustment Oscar raised his head and breathed in, The set was a Sharp C66CSD8H. When I potentiometers, which were OK. A further but his mother was too quick. "We can't switched it on I saw that there was no red series of tests got me nowhere and wasted hardly hear the sound, Mr Bolshie" she output at all. The tube's base panel is a quite a bit of time. I was feeling rather said, "tell him the rest, Oscar." horrible two-sided one, with tracks on weary when I got to L679 in the EW Oscar raised his chin and tried again, but both sides, but I noticed that the RGB driver stage. At last! It had several shorted his mother beat him to it. "And what output transistors Q870, Q871 and Q872 turns, baked together. A new coil sound we do get comes and goes" she were so dry-jointed I could almost lift completed the repair. continued. "Don't just stand there like a them off the board. Some resoldering "It's OK now" I said when Eddie dummy" she said to Oscar, "Mr Bolshie cured the trouble, and when Mrs Taff returned, "I've replaced . . ." needs to know it all." called back she was delighted. I think so, "Don't wanna know what you'd to do, Oscar made another attempt, but was anyway. an' no paper either. Just wanna know too slow.

383 April 2002 TELEVISION "It's the same whallever the volume arrangements maybe?" There was a strangled gasp, then "how control's set at, Mr Bolshie" she "Nah. Look here. I've got this new much, how much. Remember it's me continued, "can't make it out." Then she girlfriend, see. Ruby. Quite something." who's paying, it's gotta be me, like I turned to Oscar. "Er, what's this got to do with us?" I said." "Joo know, you get more mealy- asked. "Just a hundred and fifty to you" I mouthed with every day that passes. Just "Well, her mother's telly grunted a bit replied, "and that's cheap. Come and like your father. He can't say boo to a the other night and I said it was the audio get it before the boys work out the right goose. What counts today is mouth. And coil and I was good with tellys. Said I'd price with the new catalogues." you ain't got none. What'll happen when take her set home and fix it for her. He looked half-slaughtered when he your old ma is gone?" Trying to impress her mum, like. Anyway arrived. "A hunred and fifty pounds" he When they'd departed Paul put the unit I took it back and now it won't tune it." croaked, "every cent I'd saved to take on his bench. It was an HCD-RX70. He "And you want us to fix it double quick Ruby to see Terry Wogan." suspected the STK4152 chip IC801, I suppose?" I asked. "Well, I still don't know how we fitted a replacement, and tried the unit "Yea, but the cost's down to me, managed to get it right so cheaply" I out. The new IC had done the trick. because the fault happened after I took remarked. "Here, I'll demonstrate it for the set away. And I can't afford much." you." Then I switched it on. Ribby Ellis "You'll have to leave it with us" I said. He looked at the set and stabbed it to The phone rang and a voice at the other The set was a 20in. Daewoo GB20A5T. a few other channels. It worked end seemed excited. "There's smoke I passed it to Steven to look at. When he perfectly, and he started to count out pouring from the top of your roof — oh — tested it he found that the set carried out from a wad of money. and some flames. I can see it all from search tuning but didn't recognise the When he'd finished we pushed the across the street." stations. He swapped the tuner, just to notes back to him. "This time you've I threw down the telephone and rushed eliminate it Then, after checking enjoyed one of our hilarious jokes" said out. But when I looked up at the roof hopefully for silly faults like dry-joints, Steven. "Twenty quid will cover the there was nothing to be seen. Then I he decided to replace the 56-pin repair, since it's for you." noticed a grinning fellow sliding out of TDA8374A chip. That cleared the fault He looked puzzled but soon the phone box opposite. It was Ribby and, after I'd reassembled the set for him, recovered. "How can I thank you all?" Ellis. He had a TV set with him. I called Ribby. he said. "Har, har. Had you that time Don. You "Set's done Ribby" I told him, "but bad I pointed to a building just down the gotta keep on your toes when old news about the cost. We've had to road. "The Red Lion should have just Ribby's about" he said. replace the two pi active filters, the opened" I said. "Thanks Ribby" I replied, "what can phase-check loop and fit a new control "Be my guests" Ribby replied. we do for you? Make some emigration subpanel." "Another time. Cheers for now" I said.M1 WHAT A LIFE A mixed bag of faulty A big Philips TV We'll have to fit a replacement and Our next caller was Mr Weedler. We've program it. VCRs and TV sets. The suffered from him for years. Won't lift a He fitted a new chip then briefly shorted current state of TV finger if he can get some mug to wait on pins S23 and S24 together. From the him, and doesn't like paying for service menu that appeared on the screen broadcasting - rubbish anything. he selected A, Options Alignment, then B, "Here Don" he simpered, "help me with and adjusted Option 2 to 103, using the TV. Donald Bullock's this telly, will you? It's a big 'un, see, a remote-control unit's plus and minus servicing commentary 28in. Philips, and my back's bad. I'm buttons. Finally he pressed Menu to revert parked just outside." to the original screen, then D to store. He was parked outside all right. About Now that the receiver was set up it eighty yards up the road, on the other worked normally. With the similar Model side, and the traffic was building up 25ML8300, fitted with the FL1.7 chassis, nicely. When we got to the car he you follow the same routine but set teven has been spending a few days supervised as I struggled to get the set out Option 2 to 39. walking on Exmoor with his wife and from the back seat. Then he trotted off "Very clever, Paul" I said, "I'd better go Sdog, so Paul and I have been guarding back to the shop while I followed as best and make the tea." the fort. Paul is far more patient than me, I could. When I arrived he was sitting When Mr Weedler came back for his set even with the silliest customers. When I down. Paul helped me get the set on to he didn't like the size of his bill. Nor the arrived the other day he was talking to Mr the counter. long and lonely walk to his car with the Shiner, who had brought in his Mitsubishi "I 'spect he was heavy, eh?" said set. HSB82 VCR. Weedler. "I'll leave it to you." The set was a Model 28ML8800, which The Goodmans 1405R A troublesome VCR When I returned with the tea Paul was "I know 'e's old, Paul, but I'm sorta tuning a Goodmans 1405R TV set. He attached to 'm like" Mr Shiner said, "you Just then we heard a slight crack and carried out a search and locked to a understands now, don't you?" the picture quivered. Paul prodded station, producing a good picture, but "Sure do" Paul replied, "and you're about on the tube's base panel, then after a few seconds the tuning drifted off. going to tell me he's not well, aren't the line output transformer, but Paul decided to replace the 33V tuning you?" supply stabiliser IC104, which can be the "Yes, 'e's poorly" Mr Shiner continued, everything there seemed to be all cause of this symptom. But the fault "produces awful pictures and keeps right. Then we heard the crack persisted. He went on to check various drifting off tune." again, and saw a spark jump from other components in the tuning voltage "Leave him with me" Paul said. one of the legs of the line driver circuitry. After spending an hour he'd When Mr Shiner had departed he set transformer to the board. found nothing amiss. about testing the machine. "Tuning drifts "Can't understand it" he said then, a all right" he commented, "and there's a minute or so later, added "I seem to recall sort of red shadow to the left of images." is fitted with the FL1.6 chassis. When I reading somewhere about this. The "To the left?" I queried. "You don't plugged it in a good picture appeared. setting of the tuneable AFC tank coil mean to the right, do you? After all the But the on-screen display and teletext connected to pin 47 of the TA8690AN scanning beams move from left to right, were too dark, and the standby LED was jungle chip IC201 is supposed to be very so most picture disturbances are to the flashing. I noticed that Paul was studying critical." right of the object." the screen too. When he checked the coil he found that "Definitely to the left" Paul replied, "but "Ah, you're good at these, aren't you?" the core was waxed in, though it looked I'd better attend to the drifting first." I said. He looked surprised. "So I'll hand as if someone had disturbed the wax Several electrolytics were leaking their it over to you then." slightly. He went through the routine of electrolyte — C210 (47nF, 16V), C232 Just then we heard a slight crack and the retuning the set while rocking the core to (10g, 16V), C203 and C208 (both picture quivered. Paul prodded about on and fro very slightly. After a while he 470g, 10y). Replacements cured the the tube's base panel, then the line output found a position where the tuning drifting, but the red shadow was still transformer, but everything there seemed remained stable. A lengthy soak test present. Paul hunted around for more to be all right. Then we heard the crack confirmed that the set was now faulty electrolytics and found five, C221, again, and saw a spark jump from one of satisfactory. C6001, C6E5, C116 and C3D1, all the legs of the line driver transformer to 470p1, 10V. Once they'd been replaced the board. It was dry-jointed. Paul Mrs Phillips' VCR the red shadow had gone. But that wasn't resoldered it, switched on again and Then Mrs Phillips arrived with a Sanyo the end of the story. There was also slight studied the screen carefully before he VCR, Model VHR789E. She's a decent field bouncing. Paul tapped around the spoke. type who runs, and lives over, a little tuner and IF cans and found that this "I reckon the EEPROM chip's been general store. Amongst other things the affected the bouncing. Close examination damaged and corrupted by that sparking. store features a rack of delicate china revealed that they were dry-jointed to the It's a 24C04B1, IC7137, and has to be ornaments. board. Once they had been resoldered the programmed for this particular model. "Can you mend this for me, boys" she results were excellent. The arcing must have changed its data. asked, "it's gone dead. And when you've

447 May 2002 TELEVISION done that could you nip back and take a chassis. Apparently it worked well Never before has so much rubbish gone look at my telly? I can't manage the two enough for about a quarter of an hour, out on so many television channels. together." then the colour would drop out. She There's barely enough decent TV I opened up the VCR and carried out reckoned that as the evening wore on after programming to justify a single channel. some checks in the power supply. There that the picture changed to a sepia tone. Take comedy, if you can find any. There was HT from the mains bridge rectifier We connected it up, threw a blanket over have been lots of fine programmes in the but no chopper circuit start-up voltage. it, and watched. It did exactly as she said. past, such as Steptoe and Son, Are you My eyes settled on a pair of 560k52 Paul made for the AN5601K colour Being Served?, Hancock's Half Hour, resistors, R5002/3. Both proved to be decoder/timebase generator chip IC301. Fawlty Towers, The Two Ronnies and open-circuit. The machine worked As we didn't have one in stock, he Dad's Army. There's nothing to compare normally once replacements had been checked a few suspicious-looking with them today. What comedians do we fitted. peripheral components. This didn't bring have to replace the likes of Les Dawson, When I'd reassembled the VCR Paul to light anything obviously wrong. The Max Wall and Bernard Manning? And offered to take it back to Mrs Phillips and next step was to carry out some voltage where are there programmes in the same have a look at her TV set. He had the set checks. class as the Forsythe Saga, Upstairs with him when he returned, and was Pin 12, which is connected to the Downstairs and All Creatures Great and grinning. chroma signal processing section of the Small? Gone, that's where. It seems that "What's the joke?" I asked. chip, should be at about 5V. The feed to we shall never see their like again, except "No joke" he replied, "only when I got this pin comes from the line output stage as occasional repeats. to Mrs Phillips she was having trouble derived 12V line via a 2.2MQ resistor, The trouble doesn't stop with today's with one of her customers. One of ours R337. Paul obtained a voltage reading of terrible so-called 'stars'. There are also the too, Mr Weedler. She has a prominent just 1.4V at pin 12. When he checked the gabbling and insulting programme notice on her rack of china ornaments. It value of R337 he found that it had risen to presentations. And the BBC has reads 'You touch, you break, you pay'." about 4MQ. A replacement cured the succumbed to copying the advertisements "Well?" I asked. trouble, and Mrs Phillips was delighted. in the commercial channels, punctuating "Well, old Weedler had touched all the spaces between its programmes with right. And broken one. He didn't want to Today's rubbish TV ever more childish 'advertisements' of its pay. Boy, did she straighten him out." In a recent questionnaire fifty per cent of own. viewers said that TV programmes have A final thought. Where do the TV . . . and her TV set worsened of late. I'll say they have. What broadcasters find their armies of brash, Mrs Phillips' TV set was a JVC surprises me is that so many of us continue shrill young female announcers? On C14ET1EK, the one fitted with an Onwa to allow TV sets to take up houseroom. second thoughts, don't tell me. ■ Various TV faults, a spot of bother with a cam- corder and a note on domestic appliances. Donald Bullock's servicing WHAT A LIFE! commentary [email protected]

"Can't stand it any longer, Mr Bellows" said Field scanning was normal once the parts "Not many plastic bags do, Al" I pointed the chap with the dewdrop noise who'd just in the kit had been fitted, but the picture dis- out. come into the shop. "It's up all the time. played severe NS bowing. These sets have a "Nah, nah, it's me girlfriend's camcorder Driving me crazy it is." Then he paused. small correction board that's mounted verti- thing" he replied. "Told 'er I was going to "Must be awful" I said, "er, ah is there cally at the right of the main PCB. It's com- mend it meself' he confided, breaking into a something you think we can do to help?" mon for the small electrolytic capacitors on strange laugh. "I should 'ope so" he continued. "You this board to leak. In this case C4014 was As he left I took the camcorder and passed comes 'ighly recommended to me. Wife's faulty, and had damaged the 2SA950 tran- it to Steven. It was an Hitachi VME330E. brother has .a set like it. When he came to sistor Q4009. Once these two components Steven tested it and found that it stopped you with the same trouble you 'ad it fixed in had been replaced the geometry was perfect. intermittently in play and record. When he no time." opened it he discovered that the take-up I then noticed the 20in. Ferguson set he'd Another dead set spool was faltering. As a result the sensor put on the counter before starting off on his Our next caller was Paddy Afron. He must would shut the camera down. moan. "What's up with the set?" I asked. weigh twenty stone: his roomy old clothes When he investigated further he found that "Sound won't turn down, like I said" he look like part of a building site, and he has a there was mechanical trouble in the take-up replied. "Up all the time. It's not so funny, voice like a concrete mixer. He was carrying spool itself. The spool incorporates a clutch you know, when the likes of Esther a 21in. Matsui set as though it was made of to allow a certain amount of slipping in the Ramsden comes on." paper. play and record modes, to avoid forcing the I filled in a card and told him we'd get in "Hello boys" he started off, "I've been in a tape through the pinch roller. Because the touch. Steven took the job on. It was a T49F fine pub, the Five Bells. Good beer. Must felt pad in the clutch was worn, the slippage (TX91 chassis) and, sure enough, the audio have knocked back fifteen pints at lunch was excessive. A replacement cured the gain was at maximum and couldn't be time." Then he steadied himself. problem. adjusted. "Fancy him telling his lovely girlfriend — "Think we've had this one before" Steven "E's dead as a dodo, my what she sees in him is beyond me — that he said. "It was TV02 then. A little surface- was going to mend it himself' I said to mounted transistor in the sound strip. It's a Hitachi telly. I hope you can Steven, "we'll charge him forty quid." BC858, mounted on the print side of the get 'im right, otherwise A little later Albert's girlfriend Marina panel. I fitted a BC858C which is probably came along. "Did Albert bring that cam- a bit more rugged." we'll 'ave to 'ave a funeral! corder of mine along?" she asked, "said he It didn't take him long to do the same with Ha ha!" was going to mend it himself. Silly boy. the present set, again curing the trouble. Don't s'pose you've been able to find out what was wrong with it?" A dead Mitsubishi "This set's dead" he continued, placing it It was waiting on the shelf. Steven and Meanwhile Mr Mellows had come in. He on the counter. "But don't let's discuss it, Paul made a lurch for it but got tangled up. was laughing, as if he had just heard a crack- 'cause I've an awful thirst coming on. Just So I picked it up and presented it to her. ing good joke. give me a call at the Five Bells. OK?" "Mended it myself' I said. "It was as sprightly as anybody's, Mr His set was a 2107NS Mark 2. I decided to "That's kind of you" she replied, "how Bumkin" he gurgled, "then it died. Just died. take a look at it and found that there was much are you going to charge for being so Me telly, I mean. It's in the car." some 300V across the mains bridge rectifi- clever?" Paul and Steven went out to collect it. er's reservoir capacitor but little else. So I "Er, twenty pounds" I said. When they brought it in we noticed that it concentrated on the chopper circuit and was a 29in. Mitsubishi set, Model found an open-circuit 1MQ resistor. It was An oldie CT29B2STX. Paul pulled it over and presumably part of the start-up system, and Wally Wingnut brought along a rather old switched it on. The sound came up, fol- a replacement got the set working again. Hitachi TV set. That's not his real name. I lowed by the rustle of EHT. I tried phoning him to give him the good call him that because he has ears like This suggested field collapse, which is news, but the noise was too great for me to wingnuts. common with these sets. When Paul turned make myself clear. So we put the set aside "'E's dead as a dodo, my Hitachi telly. I the tube's first anode voltage up a horizon- to wait for a personal visit from Paddy. hope you can get 'im right, otherwise we'll tal line appeared. It didn't take him long to 'ave to 'ave a funeral! Ha ha!" establish that the field output chip IC451 An Hitachi camcorder It was an Hitachi CPT2476 (G6P chassis). had failed. The problem is that it's a We then saw a scruffy young man mincing Steven pulled it over, connected it up and TDA8178S: the S indicates a Mitsubishi along the pavement as though he was riding switched it on. "Might be dead, but I can special, which is no longer available. an invisible bike. It was Albert Crust, who hear a quiet singing sound coming from the There's a kit, specially for this model, part was carrying a plastic bag. He came in and innards" he said, "maybe it's gone to heav- no. H27P014010. It includes a different held the bag aloft. en. Let's take a look." chip, type STV9379, and a few other bits "This 'un don't take pictures of nobody" The singing sound came from the series and pieces. Fortunately we had one in stock. he announced. chopper circuit, and a check on the HT volt-

June 2002 TELEVISION 511 age showed that it was very low at only too bright of course. The potentiometer was devise a little scraper on a long stick to about 20V. Steven disconnected the feed to at fault, which meant a new line output move away the bits I've pushed up against the line output transformer, but this made transformer. the wall. And another thing. The long and no difference. Then he began to check the Paul ordered one and subsequently fitted gentle revolving brush at the front of the diodes in the chopper circuit. The ES 1A it. The brightness level was then stable. He cleaner tends to be rather easily disabled by efficiency diode D902 proved to be the phoned Mr Moorside. the long, fine strands of hair that Rebecca cause of the trouble, with a high forward This time Mr Moorside brought his girl- sheds about the place, while its bearings resistance. A replacement got the set work- friend in with him when he called. "It's often seem to be dry and jammed. Over to ing again. costing me over forty pounds my dear" he you, Alan. told her, "but never mind. What would you While on the subject of domestic appli- Mr Moorside do without me, eh?" ances, the two-year old Morphy Richards I don't know what Mr Moorside's business jug-kettle that we keep in Spain recently is, but he seems to have been successful. Domestic appliances blew a hole through the casing under the He's put on more weight than is good for I've been trying my hand lately at a bit of element. The Spanish don't drink tea of him, and his cigars can't help his health vacuum cleaning, because Greeneyes course, and buying a kettle of any sort isn't either. He drew up in his new S-type claims to have twisted her ankle, and have easy there. So we asked a friend to buy and Jaguar. Its back seat was occupied by an been using her fairly new Dyson DC103. bring over for us on her next visit any jug- oldish TV set and Mrs Downe, his girl- The DC103 certainly emits very clean air. kettle that took her eye. friend. Much better than the cleaner we had before She went to Argos and chose one I'd never "Bring the set in, boys" he ordered as he — that one used to fill the air with some- heard of, a two-litre Cookworks Model came in, reaching for his card. "Fix it and thing resembling snuff, which made me K8396. It's much like the rest, perhaps a lit- give me a ring, if you would" he said, then wheeze. tle more rugged than some, and I notice that departed. But, having used the Dyson quite a lot now it has a metal plate between its element and It was a Samsung W124W6VN. A picture and marvelling at the dust it takes out of a the plastic base. But what surprised us was appeared when Paul switched it on. After a carpet that already looks clean to me, I still the price, an astonishingly low £8.95 few minutes the picture faded to darkness, feel it could be improved. Perhaps it's too Now I'm as much as anyone against the then became brighter again. This variation gentle. It is a bit unwilling to pick up things tendency of our trade's products to become continued. Paul checked the voltages on the from our marble floor, and tends to push ever cheaper, with minimal profit unless CRT's base panel and found that the first tiny bits of debris — like the little berries and you sell on a mass scale, but I have to hand anode supply was varying wildly. The first leaves that fall from Greeneyes' forest of it to this British company for making avail- anode potentiometer is part of the line out- houseplants — along rather than sucking able a first-class product that sells at so put transformer. When he turned it to max- them up. The remedy is to lift the cleaner up much less than the competition. I wonder imum there was a stable picture, but it was and place it over them, but I've had to how they do it? WHAT A LIFE asked McGoggle to call back later. excellent. It wasn't long before the A radio problem, then a It took me an hour to dismantle the set Hopplestones were back. load of faulty 'TVs. and clean everything up. What staggered "Did you have to make a charge, Mr me was that the radio had worked as well Bullock?" he said to Steven. There's plenty of work as it did with battery operation. I was Steven gave them the bill and they feeling rather nasty when old Mr and Mrs studied it. for those of us who Hopplestone bumbled in. "Could you knock a few quid off, Mr managed to survived the Bullock?" she asked. We're pensioners, see Steven amended the bill a bit then storm. Donald Bullock's "Well, what do you want?" I asked. carried the set to their car. servicing commentary "A few more pounds on our pensions" When he returned he was gibbering. he said. "Did you see their brand new Jag?" he "We'm old age pensioners, see" she said. asked, "do you know they're nearly thirty "And now our telly's gone dead" he thousand?" hen the postman called the other continued, "it's a crying shame." Wmorning he brought a friendly letter I attempted a grin and said "oh, I dunno. An Alba portable from an absent friend, a bulky Jiffybag Where is it anyway?" A bright know-it-all came in with an Alba that contained a hard-to-get spare part for He pointed to a gleaming new Jaguar a 14in. portable. "I want this mended only if my wordprocessor, and a couple of hundred yards up the street. it's going to be cheap" he said, "I see new cheques for stuff I'd written twenty years I went to get it and found a widescreen ones everywhere I go, and they are getting ago and recently sent off on spec. So I Ferguson set, Model W7023U (ICC17 cheaper by the day. I want you to find out was a happy soul when I arrived at the chassis). By the time I had tottered back what's wrong, then I'll tell you yes or no." workshop. Not for long. to the shop I was knackered. "No can do" said Steven. "Pay us £8 and "Wh, what's up with it?" I struggled to we'll mend it if the cost is no more than Walham trouble say. £25. If it's going to be more and you say no we keep the £8." A large, scruffy fellow with a bulky radio ,411 was waiting. "McGoggle" he said, "I'm The set was left with us. It was fitted having trouble with this radio. Walham "On the counter with it" she with an Onwa chassis and was stuck in trouble. Not enough to start with, then ordered. Then, facing me, "it's standby. Some quick checks showed that none at all". there was HT at the collector of the "Er, Walham trouble" I said. "Not sure dead Mr Billhook. If you asks me, 2SD1554 line output transistor but no line about that. Could you explain?" 'e done it. Polishes it too hard drive. The supply to the line driver stage was missing because R417 (2k52, 5W) was He gave me a withering look. "Walham when he does the 'ouse." trouble is walham trouble" he replied. open-circuit. A replacement put that right, "Oh, ah, yes, of course" I said, fingering and we ended up with a happy customer. my chin. Must be getting past it I thought. "Just stands there flashing" Hopplestone Perhaps the boys will know. I got the job said. A dead Bush, Part 1 pad out. "What name did you say?" "Gracious me" I managed, "you'd best Mrs Graveny is not the gentlest of "Walham trouble" he said, then departed. leave it with us." creatures, particularly with her husband The radio set was a B VC M1188. It had Shortly afterwards Steven came in. Tom. She barged in with Tom following a big label saying "Made in the EC", "Nice morning" he breezed. behind her. He was carrying a giant Bush which I suppose means almost anywhere. "No it's not!" I exclaimed, "and anyway 28in. set. When I plugged the set in it worked all you might care to take a look at this "On the counter with it" she ordered. right. I listened to Radio 4 until John Peel Ferguson set. It's stuck in standby and Then, facing me, "it's dead Mr Billhook. came on, then switched to Radio 2. This flashing. Five flashes, a pause then two If you asks me, 'e done it. Polishes it too gave me Terry Wogan, so I hurriedly flashes." hard when he does the 'ouse." switched back to Peel. "Line or field trouble or both" he She patted her pocket and found she'd The set worked all day and the next day pronounced. no cigarettes. "Over the road, Tom, at the too. When McGoggle came back I pointed I looked at him. Too smart I thought, as double, and get me some fags" she this out. He looked at the set, ran his eye he took the back off. He soon discovered commanded. along its mains lead to the wall socket, that the line output transformer had Once they'd gone Paul took a look at the and shook his head. shorted turns. set, which was a Model 2863NTXA. He "There's no electric where I come from" "Getting to be a common fault" he found a stack of trouble in the power he said, "so I don't plug the wireless into it. commented, "we've got a spare one here. supply. The chopper FET was short- All I do is to turn this knob marked It comes with a modification kit. You have circuit, all four mains bridge rectifier Walham." to change two coils, some capacitors and diodes had failed, also the chopper control I looked. The word wasn't walham, it surface-mounted resistors. Their values chip IC802. The latter was a TDA4605-3. was volume. When I disconnected the depend on chassis version — to suit the Some sets fitted with this chassis use mains plug Peel's voice croaked into tube." different chips in the 4605 series, and Wogan's for about fifteen seconds then When he'd finished the repair he there may be an A or an N after the mercifully died away. I then noticed that switched the set on. "Now to see whether number. The replacement chip has to be the set had a well-hidden battery the tube has suffered" he said, "they of identical type to the original, or the set compartment. I opened it and found four sometimes do with these sets." won't start up. Paul decided to get stuck U2 batteries covered in green slime. So I It was OK. In fact the picture was in replacing these items.

TELEVISION July 2002 575 Another Bush in a newly husky voice. Another dead set It seemed to be our day for Bush sets. The "It's my Crown portable" she sang, It was certainly proving to be a busy day. next customer brought in a 25in. "seems to work only when it wants to. I Yet another dead set was brought in, this 2571NTX. This one produced a bright do hope you can repair it for me." time a Goodmans W288NS. This is a green picture with flyback lines. "No trouble at all" I replied, "I'll give 28in. widescreen model and was yet Steven began to remove the back. you a ring when it's ready." another case of a leaky line output "Could you pass me a TDA6108JF chip?" As she left Greeneyes clopped in. transistor, this time type S2055N. It had he asked. "What awful cheap scent" she failed because of a dry-joint at one side "But you haven't got the back off yet" I commented. "Horrible little madam, of the line output stage tuning capacitor protested. wasn't she?" C134 (11nF, 1.6kV). Once we'd He turned out to be right of course. After "Certainly was, dear" I replied. resoldered the joint and fitted a he'd fitted the replacement chip the set The Crown portable was a Model replacement transistor the set produced a worked perfectly. "It's become a common CRP14. When we tried it we found that very high-quality picture. fault with these sets" he commented, it worked all right from cold but cut out "IC901 on the tube's base panel. I ordered when warm. A little work with the The dead Bush Part 3 half a dozen the other day." freezer proved that the cause of the Paul was still struggling with Mrs trouble was the 2SC1573A line output Graveny's 28in. Bush set. It remained The dead Bush Part 2 transistor. It worked and measured dead though the power supply was now Meanwhile Paul had found more trouble correctly when cold, but developed a working. The BU2508AF line output in the 28in. Bush set's power supply. The severe base-to-collector leak when it transistor Q605 turned out to be leaky. optocoupler was short-circuit, and two was gently heated. Once it had been replaced the set resistors were open-circuit, R825 I replaced it ever so carefully, then showed some signs of life but was (2.2%2) and R817 (2.252,, 5W ceramic). dialled the number Miss Dream had left. pulsing. After more searching Paul Once these had been replaced there was "Donnie here" I breathed when the found the cause. HT, but the set was still dead. phone was lifted. The set uses a scan-coil plug and socket, "Whatnie?" a deep masculine voice with the socket's pins on the main A Crown portable blared. chassis. They were corroded where arcing The door opened and a gorgeous young "Ah, er, this is the TV repair shop" I had occurred because of a loose fit. lady entered. The air became full of continued. Cleaning and retensioning the contacts blossoms, an unseen orchestra played, "Oh, our set. Good. I'll come down cured the trouble. It had taken a lot of and the light took on a golden glow. and collect it." time, but the set finally produced a good "What, er, can I do for you?" I croaked He arrived in an Aston Martin. picture. ■ WHAT A LIFE!

during the holidays. Just suit my Oscar I take you to suggest that" I said. The chip, thought — he's so keen on 'lectronicals. IC7354, is an MC44603P. I soon found But that tall, thin chap there chose a lah- that most of its pins were at 4V. A di-dah type instead. 'Course Oscar can be replacement brought the machine back to a bit of a prat, but so could his father." life. "Yes I'm sure" I said, then turned to Oscar pursed his lips and blinked a few Oscar. times. As I was reassembling the "We could do with a hand over the next machine Mrs Bishop arrived. day or two" I told him. "Could you make yourself useful here? Make the tea and A TV/VCR combi look after the shop when I have to go "Ah, Mr Bolter" she said "problem is out?" with my combi. It's in the car." Oscar's face lit up. He raised his arm Oscar fetched it and I saw that it was a and breathed in to reply. Proline TV/VCR unit, Model TVC140. I Donald requires some "Of course he could" Mrs Grunge cut don't like mending these either, but what in. "Now speak up, Oscar! He's a very could I do? I plugged the unit in and up help while minding the bright boy, Mr Bullock. So intelligent — came a bright screen laced with flyback and sharp as a razor! He's got his own lines. Then the unit suddenly died. business on his own. soldering thing and a screwdriver that "It's never done that before!" Mrs Enter Oscar, who turns lights up, and made our wireless talk in Bishop exclaimed. French the other day." I smiled at her and said "we'll give you out to be adept at fault- So, once Mrs Grunge had picked up the a ring when it's ready." finding. Donald Bullock's repair Steven had done for her, Oscar When she had departed I turned to stayed behind to help out. Oscar. "Talking twaddle, she was" I said, servicing commentary "the unit obviously shut down because of A Pye Video the over-bright screen. The problem's came back from Spain last week to Our first caller after that was a delightful excessive beam current. If we switch the find that Paul was off for a few days, young lady who brought in a Pye video, unit off for a few minutes then switch it I having managed to buckle his knee Model DV105. "The 'lectric just went on again the same thing will happen." when he fell over his beloved cat. Steven off" she said "after that it was dead". We did, but it didn't. announced that he would have to be Sure enough when I tried the machine it "Might she have been right, Mr away for most of the day attending to was dead. I don't like mending Pye Bullock?" Oscar asked. various accountancy and tax matters. "So recorders, but I had to delve in. "Look I nodded grimly, opened the unit up and it looks as if you'll have to run the lot on Oscar" I said, "dead after a power cut. saw a burnt-out 27Q resistor on the main your own" he said, "do you think you're This won't take a minute. You can bet chassis. It was R996, which is in the 200V up to it?" your life that C2361, the 47pF, 50V elec- supply. Bearing in mind the original symp- "Can't wait" I replied, pulling a manic trolytic in the start-up circuit has failed. toms of excessive beam current, I turned to smile on to my stony face. "Mind you it They always do. I'll check it just to make the CRT's base panel. This incorporates a wouldn't be so bad if we had a trainee sure." TDA6107 RGB output chip that's pow- lad or something. Just someone to mind "Isn't it more likely to be the chopper- ered by the 200V line. I reckoned that if it the shop so that I can pop out to make control chip, Mr Bullock?" Oscar asked. had gone short-circuit this would explain the odd call." "Oh no, no, Oscar" I replied, "it's the trouble. When I replaced it, along with always this fellah." the resistor, and switched on again there Enter Oscar So I checked it, and it was perfectly all was a good picture. Just then Mrs Grunge popped in, fol- right. lowed by her son Oscar. He managed to "Oh, ah, well" I said, "we'll have to Tics trip over a vacuum cleaner that the previ- check some of the associated compo- Our next customer was a tall chap who ous customer had left on the floor by the nents." danced in. He didn't say anything for a counter. Twenty minutes later the young lady moment but I noticed that he had a tic. "Stop prancing about, Oscar" Mrs had long since departed and I was still "Some form of trouble?" I asked, to Grunge ordered, "you really are a block- checking. encourage him. head. No wonder Snoddies didn't give "Wouldn't it be an idea to check the "Ah, I've got a tic" he replied. you that job." voltages around the chopper-control "Sorry about that I said. How can we "Job?" I asked. chip?" Oscar asked. help?" "Yes, they wanted someone to help out "I was wondering how long it would "It's on the TV" he continued.

632 TELEVISION August 2002 Strewth I thought. I know they're scrap- Model 255NS, which is fitted with the a full white cricketing outfit, including ing the bottom of the barrel nowadays, Daewoo CP775 chassis. The symptoms kneepads, heavy gloves and a cap with a but what next? "Which channel?" I were sound but no raster. "It was smok- huge peak. He was swinging a cricket asked. ing last night Mr Bullock," Chris said. bat. "Just knocked a six!" he announced, "All channels" he replied. "Telly's in "Bad for its health" I replied, "har, har." then leapt around the wide hall, swinging the car. Can the lad help me with it?" He looked perplexed, so I opened up the his bat about at a torrent of imaginary They struggled in with a monster 28in. set and saw that C416 (680pF, 2kV) was cricket balls. Black Diamond set, which turned out to cracked and burnt. It's connected to the "Can't beat it" he said, "wonderful be fitted with the 11AK19B chassis. I collector of the line output transistor game." Then he motioned me to follow plugged it in and switched it on. Instead Q401, forming part of an AC tap to pro- him farther into the house. I entered a of a picture all it did was to produce a vide feedback pulses for the line timebase reception room and saw the set in the rhythmic ticking noise. generator in the TDA8375A jungle chip corner. Sure enough there was field "That's all I get, a tick" he said. 1501 and other circuits. Tracing along this cramping. When I'd taken his details he departed. path I discovered that R409 (4.7k52) and When I removed the back and directed I called Oscar over. R503 (101d2) were both open-circuit. But a flow of hot air at C504 (100nF, 50V) "Will it be a spark arcing across some- after replacing these items I was no fur- the cramping became much worse. where?" he asked. ther forward. "Hey, you're making it much worse, not "No, no, Oscar" I smiled, "that ticking "Is the line drive present?" Oscar asked. better!" Pike exclaimed. tells us that there's a short-circuit in the It wasn't, but it took some time to dis- "All part of the diagnosis" I explained, set." cover why. The surface-mounted resistor then went ahead and replaced C504 I took the back off and looked at the RC527 (1052) in the same pulse feedback which, as I expected, had become chassis. A tiny spark jumped about at one path was open-circuit. A replacement extremely heat-sensitive. It's a special side of a wire link in the line output restored normal operation. type, 10Z4. The replacement fixed the stage. I looked at Oscar, who smiled trouble without any need for adjustments. politely. A cricket enthusiast- C504 is probably not where you might "Just testing you, Oscar" I said. The The phone rang and I asked Oscar to expect to find a capacitor that affects the link was dry-jointed. Resoldering it answer it. He took the name and address field scanning — until you realise that in stopped the arcing, but the set remained of the caller and showed me the card. this chassis the 33V tuning supply also dead. So I checked the BU2508AF line "Graham Pike" it said. The address was feeds the field ramp generator network output transistor Q605, which was short- a large house on the outskirts of town. associated with the TDA8362A IF/colour circuit base-to-collector. Once a replace- "Says he's a cricket enthusiast and must decoder/timebase generator chip IC401. ment had been fitted a picture appeared, be able to see the matches" Oscar report- Cricket-mad Pike was more than but it kept going red. This could be insti- ed. "The set's an NEI NE5155NT pleased, and gave me extra on top of the gated by disturbing the RGB lead (11AK10 chassis). Apparently the players service charge. between the main chassis and the CRT's are normal-looking to start with, but base panel. When I looked more carefully become squat and deformed as the match Can anyone help? I saw that there was no solder whatsoever goes on . . ." Before I close this month, here's a plea on the blue and green pins at the chassis "I expect it's those silly coloured outfits for help. Bobby Doorwanand, a regular end. Properly resoldering these connec- they wear these days" I said, "and the reader who lives in Mauritius, says he tions cured the trouble. birdcages they wedge over their heads can't get manuals there for love nor and the thick white lipstick they plaster money. It's not all that better here Bob! Smoking set on their faces. It screws them up." Transmissions in Mauritius use the As I finished I thought I saw someone Anyway I felt like a break, and reckoned Secam colour system, and he wants to clutching a huge 25in. TV set while rid- I might know the cause of the trouble. So, convert a Sony Model KVX2562U to this ing a bicycle towards our door. But it grabbing a capacitor from the drawer, I standard. If anyone can help in any way, wasn't that. It was Chris Butterhome, left Oscar to answer the phone, drove to they can reach him at who walks like that, bringing us a TV for the Pike residence and rang the bell. [email protected] attention. There was a loud thump, then the door "My thanks" he writes, "and regards to The set turned out to be a Goodmans was opened, revealing a tall gentleman in everyone." WHAT A LIFE!

A meddler, a Sony TV repair, camcorder and CD trouble and a Philishaver tip, Don. Bullock's servicing commentary

aul was on duty when our Most of Mr Meddler's bill will be at the Twelve Bells on Wednesday first caller of the day came in. for all the extra work he caused. nights. I've had some cards printed pIt was Mr Meddler, a friendly He doesn't seem to mind and, since — look." little fellow with itchy fingers and a he pays, I don't either." He handed a card to Steven. It said pocketful of money that he likes to When Mr Meddler returned he "Timothy Breeze, carpenter and spend on his hobby, which is was beaming and happily reached sticker up". Steven nodded and pulling things to bits. He had a for his wallet. "Is it done, Mr handed it back. shopping trolley with him, and Bullock?" he asked. "What was it started to natter away as he then? One of the parts? Which one Camcorder trouble struggled to open it. was it? The rubber drum thing, or A couple of weeks later he was "Hello Mr Bullock. Now, I've maybe the pulley?" back, this time with an Hitachi something in here. Where is it? It's Paul gave him a brief Model VME5688E camcorder catching. Why won't it come out? explanation, and off he went. which had a cassette jammed Ah, here it is now. This is it, Mr inside. Steven had gone out to have Bullock. It was all right, but it don't A massive Sony a look at the vicar's TV set, so Paul work now. Dunno why, really We had a 29in. Sony set in later had a go at it. don't." that day, Model KVE2922U He tried to eject the cassette but, He had extracted a half- (AE1C chassis). Its owner although we could hear the motor, dismantled JVC video recorder. As struggled in with it. "I'm Tim the carriage didn't move. He set he fished about for more bits he Breeze" he told us, "the sets seem about stripping the unit down and continued his commentary. to get bigger and heavier as I get found that the loading motor, which "Ah, there's the rubber drum older. This one is stuck in standby, is mounted vertically, just to the thing, Mr Bullock. Came off. and so am I." left of the video heads, had popped Dunno why. And this pulley thing. Steven was in at the time and out of its flimsy plastic holder. Funny, innit, the way these bits decided to take it on. It was dead, "I can only do what I've done come off like." not stuck in standby. The before with these units" Paul said. Paul stood impassively and stony- 2SD1548LB chopper transistor He reinserted the motor and used a faced until all the bits had been put Q602 had a base-emitter leak and plastic cable tie to strap it in place. on the counter. He then sent Mr the 4A mains fuse was blown. Timothy Breeze had more news to Meddler on his way and started on After checking for any obvious impart when he called to collect it. the reassembly job. shorts, Steven fitted replacements "You know that the BBC was "I wouldn't do it for anyone else" and switched on. The fuse blew inviting viewers to write and send he said, "But he's such a polite and immediately, and the new in plays, don't you?" he said. vulnerable chap, and he doesn't transistor died. On further We didn't. mind paying." investigation Steven found that "Well, they wuz" Breeze Paul soon had the machine there was a dry-joint at the continued, "so I wrote one and sent working again. The cause of the TEA2260 chopper control chip it in. Got a nice letter back from trouble had been the usual one with IC601 and that the 47g, 50V them saying 'nice try'." He then this series of machines. There's a base-drive coupling capacitor C611 reached into his inside pocket and brass retaining boss on a shaft under was leaky. He decided to replace pulled out a visiting card. "Just 'ad the lacing guides. It's not supposed the chip as well as the capacitor these done" he said, handing it to to move, but can slip down. The and the other items. After that the Paul. "Timothy Breeze" it said, mechanism then seizes. set was OK. "carpenter and sticker up, and BBC "Some engineers insert a bit of "I expect you're wondering what playright." Rizla paper between the shaft and I doos for a livin"' Breeze said the boss to make a tighter fit" Paul when he returned. "I'm a carpenter Interlude commented, " but I use Araldite. by trade, and sticks up the skittles Just then Greeneyes came in with

696 Septembeer 2002 TELEVISION our tea. "I'm not having tea myself "Scope?" I replied, "not here I provided. Then I saw a big today" she told me, "just lemon haven't. I even hide the Philishave advertisement in a juice. So I'll stay slim enough for screwdrivers in this house. But I national newspaper, announcing a that pale peach costume. can probably manage a cotton-bud new Philishaver whose head "What pale peach costume?" I stick. Would you need a drop of assembly, it was said, could be asked. alcohol as well?" washed out under the tap. "The one you're going to buy me "Just a small glass of wine would "But why only the latest at Marks and Spencer" she replied. be nice" he said. "I don't use any Philishave head assembly?" I asked "Here, hold this glass while I spirit on the cotton buds. It can myself, "surely all Philishave head squeeze some lemon juice into it." cause blooming when used on some assemblies are basically alike?" I got a dose of it in my eye. laser lenses, and there's the added So, after shaving, I thoroughly risk of loosening certain cements." washed the head under the pressure Faulty equipment He cleaned the laser then played a of water from the cold tap, allowed In a previous article I mentioned the CD, gently tapping the top of the it to dry thoroughly, then refitted it very cheap Cookworks K8396 cabinet with his fingernails to to the shaver. Next time it gave me electric kettle that I obtained from encourage the machine to skip, a perfect shave, as good as a new Argos for only £8.95. We have while carefully adjusting the beam- head assembly. I've been doing this found it very useful, but it's focus potentiometer. Within a for a couple of months now. It developed a couple of annoying minute or so the unit played the CD certainly works for me! ■ traits. First, the water-level float perfectly in spite of the tapping, and tends to stick near the bottom of the Paul pronounced it OK. visible water column, giving the "But not for ever" he added. "It'll impression that the kettle needs to need doing again in a few months' be filled when it doesn't. Secondly time. They always do, these Aiwas. its on/off switch tends to stick in the He then tried the Woolworths off position, so that if you want a machine, using the same technique. cup of tea you have to rattle it up This one also played up as he and down until the light in its little tapped it, but he was again able to window comes on. Small things, I get it going reliably by adjusting the suppose, that might happen with laser-beam focusing potentiometer. any kettle. "How did you know what the I've also mentioned the compact trouble was?" I asked. and tidy little Aiwa digital audio "By looking at the display as I put system, a quite expensive Model the CD in" he replied. "If the TOC NSX999, that I bought a year or so reading is uncertain or absent, ago. The first thing I noticed about focusing is usually the trouble." this was that it was so packed with Greeneyes was looking at him in unnecessary, gimmicky sound- admiration. Then she looked at me, effect features that getting it to pointedly. "Didn't you know about provide even acceptable sound, that?" she asked. particularly a decent top response, "Of course I did" I replied, "in was virtually impossible. Letters to fact I think it was I who originally Aiwa about it were ignored. told Paul how to do it . . " Anyway, I decided to relegate it to Greeneyes' kitchen and pinched her Philishavers Woolworths £25 audio-cum-CD But here's something I did discover player, which provides much recently, all by myself, though cleaner sound quality. rather late in life. I've used Philishavers for years, and regard CD trouble them as the single exception to my But Greeneyes soon complained conviction that while Philips is tops that in addition to the Aiwa's thick for electronics the company's sound (ideal for Wogan) it mechanical products tend to be misbehaved when she played CDs. inept and flimsy. Perhaps this is There was intermittent playing, because of the miseries I suffered skipping, long gaps between tracks during my salad days trying to and premature closing down. The service Philips autochangers, which CD performance with the were so full of bits of tin and thin- Woolworths unit was much better, wire rods. Anyway, I'd come to the but occasionally dicey. conclusion that the gradual Now Paul specialises in VCR and deterioration with continued use of audio rather than TV repairs, so I a Philishaver was caused by head asked him to look at both players wear. So, when my latest one got to during his next visit to us. He providing me with a less than popped a CD into the Aiwa perfect shave, I decided to lash out machine first and tried it. "The on a new set of heads. usual TOC trouble" he announced, Sure enough they did the trick. "almost every job I get with this Shaving became a pleasure again. trouble is an Aiwa. Got a cotton bud But only for a week or two, despite and a scope?" my rigorous cleaning with the brush

TELEVISION September 2002 697

WHAT A LIFE!

A voice from the past, but things have changed. Various TV faults and a dud CD player. Don Bullock's servicing commentary

I t was a welcome surprise when Australia." I looked at him. Yep, I thought, I Digger Pates phoned the other "Never mind the television set. that's old Digger! Anybody's day to report TV trouble. "Harvey We do a nice line in tranquilisers" I money on that! Pates?" I asked, "not Digger Pates, quipped. "But bring the Hitachi in." I gripped his hand warmly. "Hello my old oppo of the Hampton Ford Then Mr Halwin made it through Digger old chap" I exclaimed. days? Blimey! Remember that the door, flew flying over a set "Wonderful to see you after all `certain thing' we slipped into which had just been placed on the these years!" I yanked up his young Miss Prude's handbag just floor and landed his Fidelity set on trouser leg and tapped his angle. before her first date with the the counter. "Did you see that "Remember that disgusting trick Curate? Boy, we were something lunatic out there with that mobile we played on old Chalky then!" trip wire?" he exclaimed. "Told me Hargreaves with Dobson's hungry I'd not seen Digger since our first to look where I was going! Cheek ferret? Boy did that ferret find his school get-together over fifty years of the man." way about! Should have been ago. Just the same as ever! Always I looked at his set. "What's the classified as a dangerous weapon, a decent, easygoing chap. The sort I trouble?" I asked. that ferret!" As I laughed away I might have been had the devil not "Well, he's real thick, isn't he?" noticed him giving me a strange meddled with my genes. Sony Halwin replied. "Got his mouth look. sound trouble. Should be easy! Said hanging open all the time." "I'm Cyril Bamforth" he said. he would pop his set in later that "No, the set" I said. "And I'm a registered councellor. day or tomorrow. Couldn't wait to "Ah, the set. Just shuts down after Never had anything to do with a see him. a while. Riles me, I can tell you . . ." ferret in my life. Don't like the look At that Paul came in. So I took a of 'em. Just want my set mended." Confusion all round quick note of Halwin's details and "Er, oh, of course!" I spluttered. Mr Halwin interrupted my golden told him we'd give his a call when "Sorry about that. Councellor, eh? thoughts as he headed for the door the set was ready. You study oddballs? Ha, ha! Er, carrying a huge Fidelity TV set. what's wrong with the Sony?" Pity he tripped over Mr Millford's Diagnosis "Sound" he replied. "Sound poodle on its fifteen foot extendible Paul helped me carry it over to the trouble. First the left channel cuts lead. The fuss delayed his entrance. bench, It was a 32in. set, Model out, then the right channel sound Still, it gave me a chance to answer CTV3288. As it got warm the goes. Sometimes all the sound the phone. picture clicked off. The sound goes, leaving none at all." "Listen, Snoddy, I'm coming to remained "So you'd say it was sound put a clout on you!" it bawled. "Ah, the line output stage" I said. trouble" I continued, still put out by I drew myself up. "How dare "But you haven't got the back off my gaffe. you!" I bristled, "it's not the yet!" Paul exclaimed, "I suppose "Yes" he said, studying me thought of the clout that gets me, you're just clever". deeply. "Yes, definitely." Then he but your confusion. I've been "Well yes" I replied, "but it's hastily departed. mistaken for an aged and knackered logical. Since the sound remains Kirk Douglas on occasion, but balk and I know that the audio section is Repairs at being mistaken for Snoddy!" powered by a secondary winding "This Fidelity" Paul said, "there "Oh, sorry Mrs Bullock" said the on the chopper transformer, that was HT but no line drive. I found voice. "Forgot where I was!" seems likely to me." the fault heat sensitive. Cause I looked into the phone's Paul took the job on, because a turned out to be the 2SC1573A earpiece. pleasant chap had come in and transistor Q580. A new one's "Fact is, Snoddy's have had my wanted to see me. He had a Sony cleared the fault." Hitachi set for ages, and this set with him, and I heard him "Oh, er right!" I said, "how about weekend we've got visitors from mention the sound. having a look at this Sony set? It's

760 October 2002 TELEVISION got intermittent sound problems." shook my chest. I looked about. No replied. "You're a non-stop It turned out to be a Model one else there. So I backed away a headache. Ladies need a chap who KVDX2112U (AE1 chassis). bit and hovered my pen over the is brainy, successful and full of Sound was OK when we switched job card. "What name is it?" I charm. A chap like me, not a it on. "Another iron and freezer asked. walking disaster like you." job" Paul said, seeking the audio The amplifier bellowed out again. "Thanks for those kindly words" output section. He soon found that "Biggs" the tiny chap said. "This he said, "but the problem's to do the fault was to do with the audio Sanyo set. No picture or sound. with her audio thing, not me. Said I output chip, IC251. By careful use How long?" could mend it, but I can't get it of heat and freezer he managed to I noticed an empty teacup rattling going." remove one channel at a time, or in its saucer. Honestly! "Try this I felt sorry for him. "Where is it?" both of them together. A new time tomorrow" I said. I asked. LA4280 chip restored reliable And off he went. The set was a He brightened up, went out to his sound. Sanyo C28EH27NB (EB3A car and returned with a Sharp chassis). It's not one with which we DXR555 CD payer. "It probably Intermittent operation are familiar. isn't much" he said, "shall I get a Then the chap with the Hitachi set Steven decided to have a go. cup of tea going?" that had been to Snoddy's came in. "Needless to say, we don't have a "How do you know that?" I The back was off, and I saw a panel circuit diagram" he commented. asked, "what's wrong with it?" tumbling about inside. He fished in "Times have changed" I said. "Dunno" he replied. his pockets for the back screws, "There was a time when we had There was a disc in it. I plugged it and produced these as well. easily understandable, in and tried it, but nothing "Have I had trouble" he said, "set comprehensive manuals for pretty happened. I soon found that the all in bits, and that tall, thin Snoddy well all the sets that came in. block drive motor wasn't working. chap tried to charge me 25 quid! Armed with an Ekco or Philips I tried to help it, gently, and it Said they'd found the cause of the manual, set repair was responded. So I put the tiniest trace trouble but wanted 95 quid to put it straightforward. Now Ekco is no of thin oil on its shaft, then stopped right. I roughed him up a bit, I can more, and I can scarcely read a to have a mug of tea with Ribby. tell you." Philips manual!" He makes a good cup. "Of course" I replied "Can't imagine such an easy life" When we'd finished we tried the understandingly, looking at the Steven said, turning to the set. player again. It worked merrily. mess and hoping I could end up When he applied power there was "There you are, Ribby" I said. without getting a clout. "What no sound, but there was a faint "One trace of oil, half a penny. name is it?" raster. Knowing where to put it, twenty "Basham" he replied. I eyed him He started to check around the four pounds, ninety nine pence and soberly and wrote it down. chopper circuit. "That's odd he half a penny. Total £25, to you." When I'd settled the loose panel said" after a while, "every voltage "That's exactly the price I charge back in place I tried the set. It was a is right, yet we've got these two for my tea-making skills" he said. Model C2548TN (A6 chassis) and problems. What can it be?" "You're a pal, Don. Quits, eh?" was stuck in standby, though the He tidied a few bits and pieces off standby light reacted. I his bench, blew his nose, turned off Set's outside disconnected the set and checked some faint sound from a soak- As Ribby left a strip of rough- one or two things, then plugged it testing set, and resettled himself on looking misery, about a hundred in and tried it again. It worked. his stool. Thus prepared, it wasn't years old, came in. He wasn't very After a few more trials I found that long before he found that the signal gracious. this was its fault: sometimes it stages weren't working. He "Set's outside" he barked, "too came on, sometimes it didn't. compared the voltages around the heavy for me. Anyway it's your I decided to check the HT microcontroller chip with those job, not mine. Got somebody to regulation feedback, and found that shown on a circuit we did have for bring it in?" R950 in the voltage sensing a similar model. The supply from I went out and collected the set, network read 75k0 instead of somewhere was missing. then looked for a job card. "What 68kQ. That was enough to trigger Checks at the tiny standby name is it?" I asked. the protection circuit sometimes. A transformer T381 showed that there "You ought to know that" he replacement cured the trouble and, was voltage at one end of the replied. "Spoke to your boss about it with Mr Basham firmly in my primary winding but not the other. earlier. Name's Pates. Now, I'm in a mind, I put the set together It was open-circuit, and there was hurry for the set. Wife's on my back properly and managed to work out of course no output from the about it. Can you look at it now?" a reasonable bill for him. associated rectifier, which feeds a I looked at him. "Mr Pates?" I simple 5V series regulator circuit. said, "Harvey Pates?" Missing signals We e-mailed an order for a "How did you know that?" he A tiny fellow with a huge set came replacement transformer, which barked. "You some sort of smartie? in. Often happens. He was panting arrived next day. When it had been Before you answer, just watch your when he put the set down on the fitted the set sprang to life. lip. I know your boss, see. Dopey counter. Couldn't have been more little chap. Likes things right, but than five feet tall. A CD player never could manage it. Any "What's the trouble?" I asked, Our next visitor was Ribby Ellis, messing me about and I'll make after giving him a bit of time to the practical joker. For once he was things hot for you." recover. serious. "My bird's packed me up, "Right sir" I said, "Sorry sir, I'm "That bloody set" a fifty watt bass Don" he told me. sure. Now what was the trouble voice bellowed, so loud that it "Don't blame her, Ribby" I with it . . .?" ■

TELEVISION October 2002 761

WHAT A LIFE!

The days of C.O. Stanley. Problem with a tiny mains bridge rectifier. The effect of Old Grandad. And an important book notice! Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

any moons ago, when I was the manager came in I already had to leave by the front or the back door. assistant to the radio and two customers lined up waiting. As "Don't worry, Mr Bullock" he said, M television head at a regional they told him, all smiles, that their showing restraint though he was still GEC base, my boss used to refer to cars were in the street outside, more panting. "I've thought about it and dealers as being "the dirty end of the gleefully arrived. They stabbed their don't blame you for destroying the trade". This was in comparison with thumbs in the direction of their cars, amplifier and losing the customer. our own nice "clean end" of the which now stretched along the rain- Pye really shouldn't have used 5A trade. The phrase came to my mind soaked street. mains-type fittings for both the mains the other day as I was glancing at the The telephone was red hot with and the speaker connections. They obituaries in my paper. I wonder how service calls about sets and aerial sometimes do these silly things. many noticed the reported death of blowdowns. There was by now a Anyway, they'll have to stand the C.O. Stanley, and how many shoal of increasingly angry and loss." remember him? impatient customers in the shop. I smiled faintly with relief and He was the man who took control Every engineer was on the run, and turned away. of the original, ailing Pye company in fitting car radios was anyway a As I did so he touched my shoulder. the late Twenties, then devised a specialist job in those days, with their "Oh and, Mr Bullock, I like your series of publicity stunts to bring the separate vibrator power packs and initiative" he said, "but do try not to name to everyone's attention. I interference-suppression problems. blow up any more amplifiers, or put remember one gimmick, many years The manager flew into a tizzy, ran to any more Pye posters in the shop later, that almost drove the manager the window to tear down the poster window, particularly on a Saturday of a busy and central radio and and fell into the radios on display, morning. There's a good chap." television shop crazy. I'd better admit breaking some. that I worked there at the time, I felt guilty and insecure. A while For the bazaar having started that week. The later, when a customer came in and So much for my C.O. Stanley meticulous manager ran the shop like asked for a demonstration of a Pye memories. I was jerked out of them clockwork, and it was a bit of my hi-fi valve amplifier, I saw the by the arrival of the Reverend Goode, own initiative that unwittingly threw opportunity to redeem myself. who drew up in front in his ancient the shop into chaos the day after I unpacked the amplifier, unwound banger. we'd received a large consignment of the long lead from the separate "Ah, Donald" he cried, "just as I particularly good-value Pye car speaker, and connected its plug to a help those with spiritual troubles, so I radios. similar socket at the back of the come to you boys with my practical amplifier. I plugged the mains lead ones!" Things to avoid into another similar socket, and "Of the two of us you've got the It was a stormy Saturday morning in connected the other end to the mains better job, Reverend" I replied. the early days of television, when supply. When I switched on there was He leant back and laughed loudly every TV shop was inundated with an immediate, ear-shattering bang, for two minutes. service calls (how TV engineers were like a bomb blast, and an acrid plume "I know, I know . .." he exclaimed. revered in those days, but that's of blue smoke billowed from the "Now, we've been given a fine giant another story . . .). One of my jobs speaker. An even bigger cloud of of a television set for our was to open and action the post and, black smoke arose from the amplifier. forthcoming Church Bazaar. A 28in on that wet and blustery morning, we I glanced at the manager through Schneider one you know. Trouble is, received a big, screaming window the resultant confusion, and saw his it blows the Church Hall fusebox and poster from Pye. So I cleverly stuck it hands come together as though in makes it smoke when we plug it in. in the centre of the shop window. prayer. Then he ran out. When he Har, har — are you going to tell me `Your New Pye Car Radio fitted in returned, an hour later, I approached the Devil is in there, Donald? Har, One Hour!' it blared, and by the time him to see whether he preferred me har. You say the funniest things."

56 November 2002 TELEVISION In fact I'd said nothing of the sort, details and he departed. GL2 OLY. It's available from the but I let that pass. I was thinking The set was a Mitsubishi Model firm at £8.95 plus £1.05 post and about the set. Blowing fuses? Every CT2534TX (Euro 4 chassis). Paul packing. A bargain! time? had a go at it. There was sound but The book is about the Gloucester "The donor tried to get it repaired no picture. He advanced the setting parish where I was born, rather a long at, er, Snoddies I believe" the of the first anode control on the line while ago now, and a good bit of it Reverend continued, "but he says it output transformer and saw that there describes my early boyhood spent proved to be too much for them. The was field collapse. It didn't take long with some of the local characters, tall thin chap there kept the set for to find that the AN5521 field output most of whom are unbelievable by two months, charged him twenty five chip's 24V supply was missing. After today's standards. It pulls together a pounds and sold him another set." checking the relevant rectifier diode, number of articles that have been "Yep, that sounds exactly like D401, which was all right, he found published over the years in various Snoddies" I said. But the Reverend that the 0.8252 surge-limiter resistor magazines and papers, together with hadn't finished. R563 was open-circuit. A their illustrations and some early "And he says he could have bought replacement restored the picture, photographs. I've produced it as a his new set at Crubbs Foodstore for which was excellent once the first complete work in response to many fifty pounds less — and received a anode control had been returned to its requests from those who have read free clay pipe, three-hundred pounds' original position. the odd article. For more details worth of free gifts and two cycling about the book, check the publisher's trips around the world." The American website at We struggled in with the set, which We saw Wilkins that night in the Red www.wheatleypress.com was a Model STV2802T. Steven Lion. But he was so busy studying checked the plugtop, then opened the the floor he didn't notice us. He was set up. drinking a whiskey type drink. When "Just look at that" he said, "the he finished it he put his glass on the mains fuses in the plugtop and the set counter and caught the barman's eye. are festooned with cooking foil. The barman poured him a neat Funny, I wanted to check the mains measure from a bottle of American bridge rectifiers but don't see any." `Old Grandad'. This happened a Paul, who was looking over his couple of times. Then he noticed us. shoulder, pointed to a tiny little "Hi boys" he said brightly. "I sure button-shaped thing with its side like this brew. Yup, nothing like it." blown out. "Is that it?" he asked. He was now talking with an "Never!" Steven declared. But he American accent! removed it and looked it over. It was After a couple more Old Grandads a tiny bridge rectifier, type he came and sat at our table. B250C11500M, and was dead-short "Yeah, ah come from Texas, where however it was tested. ev'rything's big, man" he told us, "I'll replace it with a sturdier type "bin over here just a couple of with a much shorter number" he said. months. Got a ranch back home. When he'd done so, and replaced the Ah'm a singing cowboy, bit like old fuses, the set provided excellent Bing." results. At that he threw his head back, strummed at the front of his jacket An ailing Mitsubishi Euro 4 and made a few Jimmy Durante-type Just then Greeneyes came in with the croaks. tea. "Is that your thing, the one out of After a few more Old Grandads he your thingumajig, over there on the began to tell us, in the most Southern what's it?" she mumbled. of Southern accents, about his thirty "Now what's that all about?" I Cadillacs, the films he'd made as a asked. Crosby double, and his simultaneous "Did you have too much whiskey affairs with Gina Lollobrigida, last night?" she asked in an icy and Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner. precise voice. As he downed more Old Grandads "Of course I did" I replied. he became louder and more "I think you're suffering from a preposterous. We decided it was time thick head" she continued, then to depart and slipped out, wondering pointed to the door. "You've got a what he'd be like when he called in customer" she said, gliding out. next day for his set. A tiny, thin little chap entered. He When he arrived he was the same looked at the floor as he spoke. His shy, shuffling fellow who had brought voice was thin and quiet. the set in. He studied the floor intently "Willie Wilkins" he breathed in a as he paid up, then crept out as Paul Midlands twang. "Come from B'rum. carried his set to the car. Set outside in the car. Wife put it in. Too heavy for me. Bad back. Always Book notice! getting colds. Nearly died last My book entitled The Legend that Christmas. D'you hear voices?" was Clapham has just been published "What?" I bawled as Paul strode out by The Wheatley Press, Dept WAL, to collect the set. I took Wilkins' 132 Cheltenham Road, Gloucester

TELEVISION November 2002 57 WHAT A LIFE!

Some TV troubles. Saga of an electric kettle with an inaccessible element. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

ome things can give you quite open-circuit. Once a replacement Steven said in a voice similar to Mr a turn. I suffered from one had been fitted the set was OK. Moss's. Syesterday. While I was in the The set was an Hitachi Model shop I glanced through the glass Mr Moss and his Hitachi C2556TN. We heard the rustle of door and saw approaching us what Meanwhile Arthur Moss had drawn EHT when it was switched on, but it looked like a little television set up outside in his old but spacious decayed at once and the set then surrounded by a sackful of cats. As car. It took him an age to get out and reverted to standby, leaving a it loomed closer I saw that it was come in. He's not exactly youthful. pronounced afterglow on the screen. Mrs Magrow, in her best clothes. But once he'd made it he gave us a A check on the HT showed that it She was carrying a Minato TV set cheery wave and a smile. was too high at 190V, so the over- and had her unruly pair of small "Nice to see you again" he said in voltage circuit had done its duty and twins spinning around her. They his quiet voice, "though I wish I come into operation. Some checks in were sucking at toffee-apples, and didn't have to. It's my television you the regulator circuit showed that by this time I could hear her voice. see. Gone wrong again. I have it in R950 had risen in value from 68k5-2 "Kip still you pair" she bawled, the boot." to 851(Q. Another resistor "else you'll 'ave me on the ground." As Paul went out to get it I pulled replacement job then. Once this By this time they were entering the over a job card and wrote his name repair had been done the set came to shop. There was a set awaiting on it. "What's your number, Mr life with the usual high-quality collection on the floor and, as one of Moss?" I asked him. picture we've come to expect with the boys danced up on to it, the other He looked at me, puzzled. "I this model. one started kicking at the counter. haven't got a number, Mr Bullock" Then Paul walked over and they he replied, "only a name." A troublesome Philips both started jabbing at his pullover "Er, your telephone number I G90AE with their toffee-apples. meant" I said. Buck Starr, our next customer that "Stop doing that" Mrs Magrow "Ah, yes, Much-Cackling 298" he morning, is a burly fellow. He strode bawled, "you'll get hairs all over yer continued. up to the counter then, with his feet toffee-apples." She put the set on the I wasn't sure of the dialling prefix apart, tapped a finger of one hand counter and looked at me. "You so, with my pen poised, I asked against the palm of his other hand as don't get no younger" she said. "what's Much-Cackling?" he spoke. I adopted my fish-eye look of He'd been doing up his coat, but "Set failed last night. 'Right', I severe hurt. "What's the matter with stopped and looked at me. "How do said to the missus, 'it's over to Mr the set then?" I asked. you mean 'what's Much-Cackling" Bullock's with that 'un in the "You tell me" she replied, "you're he queried, "do you mean where is morning'. And here I am, like I said. the one who's Mr Smarty." it?" Gollim in the car." Then he paused, I scrawled 'rabble' on the card and "No, what do I dial before 298?" I as if wondering what to say next. suggested that she call or phone said. "Shall we bring it in then?" Paul back later. "Oh, 861" he replied. asked. "Ah, spot on" I exclaimed, writing Buck nodded and they collected it No start-up it down. from the back seat. It was a Philips When Paul had sponged his pullover This stopped him again. "I'm not set, Model 21GR2550/05B, which is he had a look at the set. Model sure, what do you mean by 'spot fitted with the G90AE chassis. ST1411 it said. Paul switched the set on'?" he asked. "We was watching BBC News 24 on and found that it was dead. He "Sorry, Mr Moss" I replied, "all I when he died away" Buck soon had it apart and started to take meant was thank you." continued, tapping his palm. "It was some readings. As there was plenty When he'd departed I looked over probably all their endless adverts. of voltage across the mains bridge at Steven, who was checking the set. Them noisy, flickering messes they rectifier's reservoir capacitor the "I really must be careful what I say keep putting on about their start-up resistor seemed a likely when he comes back" I said, "he's programmes. It's anything to be like culprit. It turned out to be R502 always been the same: takes ITV now, ennit?" (100kQ). There was HT at one end, everything literally. "True enough" I said. "I never nothing at the other. In fact it was "What do you mean 'literally'?" thought I'd see the BBC sink so low.

120 December 2002 TELEVISION I wish Lord Reith would come back produced in the line output stage, via and clear the whizz-kids out, then a 5V regulator. A scope check on the find some grown-up staff with 8.3V supply revealed the presence of standards. And do away with all the a king-sized ripple, which was electronic noise equipment and the caused by loss of capacitance in the oafs who use it." reservoir capacitor C2843. This 16V "And BBC radio ain't no better" capacitor had fallen in value from continued Buck, tapping away. 220ttF to 150µF. As a result of the "Where they get their crazy noises ripple, IC7800 was locked up. A new from I can't imagine." capacitor put matters right. This is all true enough. In September, to make its Ten O'clock A sad event News more 'populist' and I have a sad event to report. Some of competitive with ITV's news, the you will recall the cheap (£8.95) BBC replaced its excellent and sober Cookworks electric kettle which veteran newsreaders Michael Buerk Greeneyes and I decided to give a and Peter Sissons with the allegedly whirl. Well, after a brief series of more photogenic Huw Edwards and minor illnesses it departed this life Fiona Bruce. And in answer to that last week, when its element went ITV kicked out its ITV News Editor short-circuit to earth. Nigel Dacre, who had done an "The Clockwork kettle has failed" excellent job for eighteen years, for Greeneyes had announced. "failing to maintain the populist After a few skilful questions to find standards" of their bulletins. In other out what she was on about, I brought words, for improving the quality. He Plan A into action and applied my was replaced by David Mannion razor-sharp mind to the problem. To because he has "proved populist start with I tried first-aid. The news instincts". Then ITV started to element seemed much like a standard move its news about, just to be jug-kettle one, so I decided to thoroughly unhelpful. And there you replace it. The trouble was, I could have it: the BBC and ITV vying find no way of getting to it. with each other for ratings instead of Then I saw that there were two quality. little embossed circles, set an inch or I feel better now! so apart, just beneath the switch. Buck's set was stuck in standby. Were they the heads of plugs, or Paul checked the line output bungs? If so, they would be hiding a transistor and was not surprised to pair of cunning screws, or so I find it short-circuit. As he couldn't thought. I tried to ease them out find anything else wrong he fitted a gently, using a watchmaker's replacement and then switched the screwdriver. But I couldn't get the set on again. The new transistor died blade between them and the body of at once. After disconnecting the set the kettle. After a while the little from the mains supply Paul felt the man hammering inside my chest line output transformer's induced a burst of anger and made overwinding, which was very warm. me push at them. They slid down An HR7503 transformer was half an inch into their holes but installed, along with another would move no farther, in or out. transistor. Then Paul tried the set Accepting Greeneyes' unasked for again. This time it came on, but was comment that the appearance of the stuck on channel 6, with all functions kettle had been spoilt, and ignoring locked up and F7 displayed on the her claim that she would now have screen. to have an expensive stainless-steel "Right" said Paul, "where's the 5V replacement, I decided to explore line? Wish I could read Philips' afresh. I got the idea of trying to circuits." pick out the little orange pilot light "So do I" I replied. "There was a lens to see if there was anything time when they were among the best beneath it. I managed this, and in the trade. Everything from Philips found two little Phillips screws. was easy to mend if you had the When these had been removed I relevant Philips manual. I'm could swing out the upper part of the thinking of the ones with grey soft- kettle's handle. But it was hinged at card covers. They even contained the bottom with a metal strap, and I line drawings of the chassis to show could see no way round that. After a how the components were wired while I came to the conclusion that together." the element would have to stay By now Paul had found the 5V line where it was. he was looking for, the one that So we had to have a little funeral. supplies the microcontroller chip After that I was led out, by the ear, to (IC7800) on the teletext panel. It is buy Greeneyes an expensive derived from an 8.3V supply that's Kenwood stainless-steel kettle.

TELEVISION December 2002 121

WHAT A LIFE!

Greet your customers with a smile! That was the recommendation in a magazine article, but the results were odd when Don tried it out. Some recently tackled TV faults, and the effect of airborne radar on the course of World War 11. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

he other day I read in one of better luck next time I thought. grin. I gave the dog a wallop, and Greeneyes' magazines that Sure to be. it's a miracle I didn't clout her as T when you meet people it pays well." to greet them with a smile. "Try it!" Another try Then he looked at my grinning chortled the writer, one Alice I decided to tidy the shelves at the face. "You might think it funny, but Mincer. "It always works! Smile back of the shop, and had just about it bloody well wasn't" he contin- when you greet the very next per- transferred their contents on to the ued, "perhaps you would give me a son you see, and watch them smile counter when a large and round ring." He prepared to depart. back as they treat you like an old man, whose face I knew well, came "Goodbye, er, Mr Millpool" I and trusted friend. Life is easier puffing in with his arms around a spluttered. when people take a shine to you!" 25in. Sanyo colour set. Never one to doubt the word of a "Hello Mr Waterfield" I cried, Thermal fault lady, I decided to try it. Which is smiling broadly and stretching out I decided that Alice Mincer, the ace why I greeted old Mr and Mrs my hand in greeting. writer in Greeneyes' silly maga- Lampwick so warmly when they He saw my hand, darted his eyes zine, was a prat. I also decided to meandered into the shop next day. about for somewhere to put his set, come off my experimental grinning She was clutching him, and he was saw that the counter was crowded at people, before I collected a clout clutching an ancient electric iron. and struggled to put it down on the myself. I connected Mr "Hello my dears!" I beamed. floor. As he did so I heard the seat Waterworks' set — a Model 25BN2 "You aren't going to ask me to of his trousers tear. I admired the — and switched it on. Later that day repair that old iron, are you? Looks speed with which he straightened it cut out, just as Steven returned. as though it came out of the ark!" up and turned to face me. He took it on and started to check To emphasise my new-found "The name's Bywaters, Mr around in the power supply section. pleasantness I gushed with laughter. Billhook, not Waterfield" he said using a can of freezer and a Mr Lampwick stopped and eyed me rather coldly. hairdryer. After a few minutes he soberly, wiped a couple of dew- "What's the matter with it?" I found he could control the fault. drops from his nose, and turned to asked, increasing my grin in the The culprit was transistor Q611, his wife. hope of getting a better response. which had become thermally sensi- "This is the chap who used to be "Nothing" he replied, "I'm happy tive. A replacement cured the fault. Mr Bullock, ain't it, Agnes?" he with Bywaters, that's if you don't confirmed by a subsequent soak asked her quietly. mind." test. "I don't think it can be, Edgar" I decided to behave as though I she replied. "It might be his father knew he was joking. "Ha, ha, very Line output transistor or something. Mr Bullock was so good, very good . . ." I beamed, "I failure polite and sensible." meant the set of course, but that As Steven was putting the back on Then, leaving the iron on the was really funny, all the same." the Sanyo set the phone rang. Paul counter, they shuffled off out. He gave me a straight look, and I answered it. I went to the back of the shop, put grinned all the more. "That was Mrs Wallace" he said. the kettle on, and studied my face "Stops suddenly, just when it "Lives at the top of the old folk's in the old mirror there. "Hello my likes" he said, "and always just as home. Decent type. Her Bush dears" I cried out at it. As it looked the programme gets interesting. I WS6672 TV has been a bit trouble- back at me, unsmilingly, I turned could have thrown it through the some during the past six months or and walked away, just as the window last night. Made me mad it so. I've been there twice and Lampwicks had done. Oh well, did. And all the missus did was replaced the BU508SAF line output

184 January 2003 TELEVISION transistor, which was short-circuit distinguished test pilot. The radar Gloucester was in grave danger, each time. Now the set's tripping unit was fitted in his Blenheim and something had to be done again. Anyone else might be fighter plane and his air-gunner, about it. making a bit of a fuss, but she's Jimmy Rawnsley, was swiftly At that point the luckless George, still as nice as ever. Who's going to trained to operate it. On the night of of the fats counter, came out with a go this time?" November 19, 1940, the secret long billhook. He was tackled about So it was that, armed with a invention enabled Cunningham to the matter of the Co-Op making circuit diagram, some replacement shoot down no fewer than three Gloucester's whereabouts known to line output transistors and a few German planes. the enemy, treated to a lecture on more bits and pieces, I called on His success continued and "Cats'- patriotism and the dire penalties in her and tapped at the door. eyes Cunningham", as he quickly force for aiding the enemy, and all "Come on in doctor" she said. became known, achieved national but accused of being a quisling. I went in and explained that I recognition and was applauded for All this was too much for the wasn't the doctor. A people doctor his exceptional abilities. Meanwhile simple George, who maintained that anyway. Not smart enough for the Ministry of Defence, anxious to he had no idea what we were on that. Then I checked her set and avoid any inkling by the Germans about and said he had only come found that, sure enough, the line of the radar development, ascribed out to pull the shop blind down. But output transistor had failed again. his success to a hearty but fictional when he went back into the shop he Why? consumption of raw carrots which, immediately told his colleagues I looked around the line output it insisted, contained a substance about the incident. stage carefully for dry-joints, but that improved dramatically one's It wasn't long before the they all seemed to be sound. I ability to see in the dark. management got someone round nevertheless resoldered several just This notion was given a further with a ladder, a red face and a pot to be sure. Then I fitted a new line boost when Lord Woolton, the of black paint. He did a good if output transistor and gingerly newly-appointed wartime Minister belated job. After more than sixty switched the set on. The new line of Food, was faced with the task of years, his handiwork can still be output transistor immediately sailed persuading British housewives to seen there today. off heavenwards. So I studied the use home-grown vegetables, Group Captain John `Cats'-eyes' line output section of the chassis including carrots. He happily joined Cunningham lived a long and intensely, and eventually noticed in exploiting the story. interesting life. He died last that the 560nF, 250V capacitor in Whether it fooled the Germans I summer. the scan coupling circuit had a never knew, but it certainly fooled broken seal around one of its lead- the British all right. To counteract That book! out wires. When I removed it I the blackout, we children were The above story has been borrowed found that I could, by flexing it encouraged to eat raw carrots, even from my recently published book slightly, make it read open-circuit to take them to school for lunch. The Legend that was Clapham. I on my meter. I replaced it and fitted The result was a huge increase in had no idea when it was first another line output transistor. After the demand for carrots and, when brought out that it would sell so that the set came on and stayed on. Mrs Hamer bought in tubs of really well, nor did I imagine the "How much my dear?" Mrs large and tasty ones, her shop phenomenal response it would get Wallace asked, reaching for her became our local carrot centre. We when I first mentioned it in this bag. bought them at a halfpenny each, column. Each of the many "Nothing at all" I replied, "sorry devoured them greedily and, we newspaper and magazine reviews you've been put to so much trouble. convinced ourselves, could shoot has been favourable, and our local I think the set should be OK now." eagle-eyed. BBC radio station inflicted me on To support this claim we would its listeners for a whole one-hour The advent of airborne cite the sign that was painted high programme. radar on the local Co-Op store. At the The Clapham in the title is not the When I was a boy Doris Hamer's time a German invasion was feared better-known Clapham in London fish and chip shop in Gloucester's nationally. To confuse any of course. It's the back-street Clapham district was the only one I parachuted invaders about their locality in the middle of Gloucester knew that offered savoury patties whereabouts, all place-names on where I was born, over a with the chips. Later she broadened signs and fascias had to be painted newsagent's shop, in the early her range to include raw carrots. out. But the Co-Op missed the Thirties. The book describes a level Unusual, you might think. Well, it Clapham one. The word Gloucester of poverty and an assortment of happened like this. remained there. characters and happenings that are, During the early days of World No one noticed it until, a few days by today's standards, barely War II there was a sudden, into our carrot-eating spell, we lads credible. Some of the incidents are noticeable increase in the number of happened to look up and spot it. tragic, others uproariously funny. German planes shot down over the We jabbered about it to the first Some reviews and a lot more can south of England. We didn't know adult who chanced to come by, the seen at the website this at the time, but it was because excitable and voluble Mrs Wilde. www.wheatleypress.com of a new and highly secret Fired by fear that the very heart of The book can be ordered from development known as airborne Clapham might become the centre there or from the Wheatley Press, radar. of German activity, she hastily and 132 Cheltenham Road, Gloucester The man entrusted with the trial of noisily gathered an action group of GL2 OLY at £8.95 plus postage. the prototype was Group Captain patriots in front of it. We didn't take The telephone number for the John Cunningham, a dedicated and long to reach a conclusion. Wheatley Press is 01452 529 806.

TELEVISION January 2003 185 WHAT A LIFE!

A power-supply problem with the Tatung D chassis. Difficulties with today's larger sets. The television trade in the days of single-channel receivers. Donald Bullock's servicing comme

r Turnbull looked sour as he snubber network had been slyly switched on there was sound and Mtrudged through the door arcing for some time at a hidden the comforting rustle of EHT as the carrying his 20in. Decca D2OTDE6 dry-joint, which had melted. This tube became live, but no screen (Tatung D series chassis). "Slow to time the replacement restored brightness. This appeared when the come on and squealing all the time" correct operation. We thought the setting of the tube's first anode he complained. "Used to be picture was particularly good. A supply preset was turned up, wonderful, but no more. D' you DC-coupled cascode circuit is a revealing field collapse. think you could have a look at it for nice design for RGB output stages. The cause of the trouble was in the me?" line output stage however. The field I took his details and he departed. Big sets timebase is of the switch-mode Steven decided to take the set on. "If sets go on increasing in size type, and depends on pulses from He plugged it in, switched it on and, we'll need a bigger workshop" Paul the line output stage to provide sure enough, it gave an imitation of complained as he struggled in with pulse-width modulation. These an angry pig. There was no raster a 28in. Bush Model 2872NTX — were missing because of a fault in for ten minutes. "and I'll have to take a body- the line scan circuit. R613 (2.2k52, "Let's have a good look at the building course." 2W) had developed enough heat to chassis" Steven said, "it's always an I looked at him, then at the set, melt and crack the casing of C613 idea when you don't feel like eyed myself in the mirror and (680nF, 250V), which had gone switching your brain on." pushed at my front teeth with my open-circuit. A replacement resistor Always the optimist, he started off finger. and capacitor restored normal by giving the chassis a thorough "There's this 28in. Bush set" Paul operation. There was then just the check for dry-joints. After a couple continued, "that 66cm Sharp set little matter of finding somewhere of minutes he tired of this and over there, the Bush widescreen set to put it. decided that he would work things we took in yesterday, and now out for himself this time. But he Steven's unloading a 28in. As we were continued with some basic tests — widescreen Panasonic set." In a recent column I made a passing on the electrolytic capacitors and The Bush 2872NTX (11AK19E3 reference to that bygone age when high-value resistors in the power chassis), now on Paul's bench, was television engineers were supply. dead. We'd had the problem before universally respected and held in Once he got going with the with these sets. C833 (220pF, high esteem. A number of readers capacitance bridge it didn't take 600V), which is connected across have asked for some more him long to find that CE802 the chopper FET Q802, had gone recollections of that happier age — (220ttF, 16V) was at about half the short-circuit. As a result one of the for those in the TV trade at any rate. correct value. It's the reservoir 1N4007 mains bridge rectifiers, this So we'll take a trip through time to capacitor for the TDA4605 chopper time D801, had gone short-circuit the early post-war period, when control chip's LT supply (pin 6). He and the surge-limiter resistor R817 there was only one TV channel — fitted a replacement and, with high (2.2Q, 5W) had gone open-circuit. run by the BBC of course. expectations, switched the set on. It Once replacements had been fitted To own a TV set in those days immediately began to squeal again. the set sprang to life, leaving Paul was regarded as quite something. He next found that CE806 (2.2tiF, with two problems: that of finding Because of this the huge Band I 50V) was low at lttF. This is the some floor space for it (Steven had aerials that adorned the chimneys of smoothing capacitor in the just filled its previous space with the few who could afford a set were regulation feedback loop. But the Panasonic set) and getting it off tremendous status symbols — to the replacing it made no difference the bench safely. extent that it was not unknown for a either. Then Steven noticed that one He decided to tackle the Sharp set family to have an aerial but no TV of the leadout wires of C809 (1.5nF, next. This was a Model 66ES03H set! 1.5kV) in the chopper FET's (CA10 chassis). When it was The early sets were mainly large

248 February 2003 TELEVISION and heavy, many of them being begin his first demonstration. He'd wonderful picture — come in and housed in console cabinets. These be lucky to get home before see!" Ducking under the aerial, they were prized pieces of furniture. But bedtime. trooped in to see an exceptionally however large the cabinet, the CRT The prospective buyer's locality bright, clean and steady picture. screen was small, rounded and had to be considered first. If it had a Out came the wine, the Player's bulbous, not at all like the square- good signal, the dealer would lug cigarettes and the cheese and cornered, flat screens we are sets of two or three different makes biscuits, and the day ended in a familiar with today. In fact many of to his van, drive them to the delightfully convivial manner. the tubes were actually round-faced, customer, then lug them all out and The aerial, straddling the door, a white-painted rubber mask being demonstrate each one. If he got a was in a highly unsatisfactory used to produce a "squared-off' good picture on one of them he position. But there was no picture. The 9in. round tube was would leave it on trial for two or alternative to leaving it there. The widely used, with a deflection angle three days before returning to install mill owner happily took to using his of about 65°. Later 17in. square- and set up the others. This could go back door to come and go by, and screen tubes with a 90° deflection on and on, first one set then another smartly planted a honeysuckle vine angle were only slightly larger. And being given a trial. to cover the huge and leaning array. as there was no Rimband with the Another complication was that a It remained in place for years. Even early tubes, a safety screen had to large proportion of the country's today when I pass the house, which be fitted in front. Increase in viewers lived outside the main now sports just a tiny UHF aerial, I scanning angle from 65° to 70° then transmitter service areas, many in glance down at its honeysuckle- 90° and subsequently 110° called the so-called 'fringe' areas. As the covered front porch and slip into for very considerable increases in number of transmitters grew, a lot my memories of that signal saga. scanning power. The early circuit of customers might be outside the It wasn't long before ITV came, designs and components could service area of any of them but provided by a mysterious something never have managed it. within the fringe area of two or called Band III. This was to bring There was a phenomenal number more transmitters. This could mean us a whole new box of problems, of brands in the early post-war protracted delivery and and most of us were scared to death period, all of them British. Most are demonstration of different-region by the prospect. just distant memories today — when sets, plus aerial turning or changing. did you last see an Ambassador, Profit margins on TV sets were The Legend that was Beethoven, Cossor, Ekco, English large by today's standards, but they Clapham Electric, Ferranti, GEC, Invicta, had to be earned. Some readers have assumed that the Kolster-Brandes, McCarthy, Clapham in the title of my book, see Masteradio, Peto Scott, Pilot, Aerial rigging heading above, refers to the London Raymond, Regentone, RGD, Ultra The aerial riggers led hard lives too. Clapham or the famous railway or Vidor TV? None of the sets had Not only did the signal strength junction of that name. It doesn't. It tuners as such: instead, those that vary from parish to parish, even in a refers to the Gloucester parish of were superhets rather than the good-signal area, it might also vary Clapham, the poverty-stricken troublesome TRF types were at a particular house, from one community where I first saw the pretuned to receive a single chimney to another. Curiously, the light of day, and is largely about the channel, each batch (for different richer customers often lived in the astonishingly varied and larger- transmitters) being fitted with most difficult signal areas. One of than-life characters who lived there different aerial, RF and oscillator my customers, a leading and well- in the Thirties. They survived from coils. They thus responded to one off stamp dealer, ruefully put this day to day by exploiting what they channel only, the local BBC one in down to poetic justice! had in them — their skills, street Band I. London came first of I recall selling a large and wisdom, willingness to try a hand at course, followed by Birmingham expensive prestige TV set to a rich anything and, in some cases, their (Sutton Coldfield) and, in time, mill owner, subject of course to charm, roguery or cunning. most of the country. being able to get a good picture at Folk featured in the book include his mansion, which was perched in the canny Miss Fanny Thesp, Old A dealer's life the folds of a valley in the rolling Harry of the dewdrop nose, Mr Bint The life of a TV dealer was hard in Cotswold countryside. the cross-eyed barber, the 'bad those days. A new television set and But the signal proved to be terrible woman' Sambo Lane, the singing an aerial array was a very expensive and, after spending several days burglar Lucky-bag Williams, purchase for the customer. Most erecting and dismantling various Archie Workman the work-shy bent were bought on three-year hire- aerial arrays on its many chimney- on lifelong toil, and many more. All purchase agreements. So customers stacks, the riggers conceded defeat. highly individual characters who were fussy and particular. They brought the final array down together, and unwittingly, formed a Because of reception and leant it across the man's front treasure chest of pathos and rich uncertainties, many customers door while reaching for the knocker humour. would demand a home to report their failure. But before Fortunately for me the book has demonstration of several sets as of they could touch it the owner turned out to be very successful. right. And as transmissions didn't rushed out in a state of great For further details, including start till 7 p.m., the dealer would excitement. reviews, you can go to the website have an hour or more to kill after "Brilliant!" he cried, "you've at closing the shop before he could cracked it at last. I've got a www.wheatleypress.com

TELEVISION February 2003 249

WHAT A LIFE!

A field call in the countryside involved some navigational difficulties. Problems with a jammed VCR and some more widescreen TV sets. Donald Bullock's ser- vicing commentary

t was a lovely day, balmy and The journey lane, and we heard some angry still. The sun smiled down from Before long the houses thinned out shouting . . . I its blue sky, the chaffinches were and became the occasional country singing of their love of life, the cottage. I was soon singing of shady The repair grasshoppers chirped and passers- nooks and babbling brooks and When we arrived at Paradise by beamed contentedly as they went winding lanes. Just like a youthful Cottage I found that Mrs about their business. Bing Crosby (I thought). Between Goodhew's set was a giant Sharp "Lovely day" observed Steven. lines I whistled the music too. A Model 56FW-53H, with 56cm "Why don't you and mum go for a pretty good parody of Bix screen. nice drive in the countryside? She'd Beiderbecke's accompanying horn "I'll make a pot of tea and fetch love that. You could meander along (I reckoned). some slices of my apple cake" the the riverbank towards Meadowgold. Then we saw a whitewashed, good lady said as she bustled off Perhaps have a nice meal at the creeper-clad cottage ahead, and the towards the kitchen. Kingfisher Arms. They do a lovely road forked to each side of it. The set was dead, as Steven had mixed grill on Wednesdays. "Left or right dear? Boo de boo mentioned, with its BUH515 line I eyed him carefully. boo" I sang at Greeneyes. "Which output transistor short-circuit. The "Two points" I said, "I don't know way do I go, boo lah de dum boo?" soldering in the line output stage the road to Meadowgold, and today "Straight on" she replied. wasn't all that good — one of the isn't Wednesday, it's Thursday!" I looked at her, saw that the joints to R613 in the line scan "Oh, ah" he replied, "but it's even cottage was fast approaching, and circuit had been arcing. R623 (1Q, better on Thursdays. They do steak looked in the rear mirror. There 2W) in the HT feed had also and chips. Really nice. And mum were two cars close behind. I forgot suffered. I replaced them both, then knows the way — she went there about Bing and Bix. "Which road moved to the power supply where with me last week." do I take?" I bawled urgently. the BZW04-145 avalanche diode "So why did you go there last "I told you, straight on" she D753 and the optocoupler IC705 week?" I asked. replied, "why do I have to say had to be replaced. They are "I'd a call to Paradise Cottage, by everything twice?" mounted on the copper side of the the weir" Steven replied, "to look at The cottage was in front of us, and board. Then I remade some poor old Mrs Goodhew's Sharp telly. I hurriedly braked. The car behind joints. Had to come back to order some stopped in time, but the one behind When I'd finished I switched on spares. I see they've just arrived in it didn't. There was a nasty and was grateful to find that the set the post." crunching noise. sprang to life. It produced an "And now you want me to go The chap in the back car sprang excellent picture. there and fix her set!" I said, my out and started shouting at the As Greeneyes finished her second razor-sharp mind catching on driver behind us, who waved his slice of apple cake I noticed that my instantly. arms at us and started to bang his tea had gone cold. After thanking "Got it in one" he commented, forehead with his palm. Mrs Goodhew for her hospitality "but there's the nice drive, the meal "Go left" said Greeneyes. we set off back home. — and I've put the spares and toolkit I smacked the car into gear and "Let's go back on the Ashlehurst in your car for you . . ." shot off, expertly negotiating a Road" said Greeneyes, "it's even "You're so kind" I remarked. series of bends. more rural and so straightforward An hour later, when Greeneyes "Turn right" Greeneyes said. that even someone of your age and had put her face on and poured I did, into a leafy lane with a duck mental state can't go wrong." herself into her lime-green trouser pond and a village pump nestling I smiled happily at her suit, we sped off into the beside an ancient church. consideration. All went well until countryside. Meanwhile two cars sped past the we rounded a bend and came to

312 March 2003 TELEVISION another pretty cottage complete VCR trouble tends to fail prematurely. The kit with fork roads. I looked in the rear "Joo know, this machine'll be the contains two transistors, the one mirror and saw a lorry load of straw death of me" he complained, "it you fit depending on the tube type. bales fast gaining on me. will, you know. Mark my words." In this case the correct type was "Which fork road?" I cried "Is there someone in there with a 2SD1577LB. You also have to urgently. gun?" I asked. replace the resistor, R507, in the "Straight on, like before" she said "It's not funny" he retorted. "This feed to the line driver stage. Again, as I squealed the car into the left is the second time it's gone wrong, this depends on tube type, either fork. and it isn't that old. The first time 100Q or 270Q (1W, 5%). "No, not left. Straight on I said. was the winter before last." There were no problems once Straight on! !" "Terrible" I replied, "what's up these items had been replaced. The Then a lecture began. "I said with it this time?" kit costs just £5.00 plus VAT. It's straight on and you turned left. Now "How should I know?" he said, worth buying from Panasonic. The I'm having to say everything three "it's you whose supposed to know 2SD1577LB is hard to obtain times!" about these things." elsewhere and can cost as much as I leant forward. "What are the £9.00 plus VAT. More trouble symptoms then" I asked quietly. As we arrived back at the workshop His face became a picture of we ran into Mrs Bronson and her misery. "It's jammed, with my best posse of kids. She was carrying a tape in it. Now that can't be right, smallish TV set. The eldest can it? In all fairness, that shouldn't offspring eyed me coldly. happen." "That man's got a red face mam" I said we would investigate and, he said, "is that 'cos he drinks too when he'd departed, set about much whiskey, like Grampy?" extracting the tape from the "Shullup" Mrs Bronson bawled, as machine. It was well jammed in all her other son ran across and kicked right, but I managed to get it out the battery stand over. Then she undamaged. After that I cleaned the placed the set on the counter. It was mechanism, fitted a new idler and a Samsung CI5079 (SCT11D roller, then reset the timing chassis). But it ran intermittently while on "Ain't got no sound, duck" she soak test. I had to fit a replacement said, "I spex it's the loudspeaker clutch to get it right. thing, or the knob that turns it up." When Mr Kenton came back for it I took her details, then the family and saw the bill he started to departed. Paul decided to have a go complain again. at the set. "Three separate things wrong? "Speaker's OK" he said, "I'd This is the end, it really is. I can't better check the audio output chip." take any more of this. I'm gonna In this model it's a TDA7056A have to get some stronger pills from (IC601). Instead of the expected the doctor." 12V supply at pin 2 there was only 1V. The feed is via two 0.47Q, 2W Widescreen TVs resistors, R812 and R813. When Paul had pulled a widescreen Bush they were checked one of them was Model WS6674 on to his bench. found to be almost open-circuit. A The complaint was 'dead'. Before replacement restored the 12V he took the back off he looked out a supply, but there was still no sound. I MQ, 1W resistor. As there was no obvious cause Paul "You psychic?" I asked. replaced the IC. This made no "No, just had a number of these difference either. sets in" he replied, "when they are Scope checks around the separate dead it's usually because RPO5 in sound SAW filter (SF101) and IF the power supply has failed. A half- chip (ICK01, type TDA4445B) watt resistor is fitted but doesn't suggested that everything was OK seem up to it, so I fit a 1W type." here. What else was there? There's He was quite right about the cause a muting arrangement that involves of the failure. The replacement two transistors, Q903 (KSC815Y) resistor restored normal operation, and Q907 (KSR1012). The later and an outstanding picture. was short-circuit base-to-emitter. A Meanwhile Mr Hubbard had replacement restored the sound. So struggled in with his 28in. there had been two causes of the no- widescreen Panasonic set, Model sound problem. W28R4DP (Euro-4 chassis). "Has "Good job you're so clever" the repair kit you ordered come in?" Steven said. he asked. "Sure am" Paul replied. "Yup!" said Steven, "we'll give The banter came to a quick end you a call when it's done." when Mr Kenton arrived. He was The problem is that the original carrying a Panasonic NVHD90 type of line output transistor fitted, VCR. a BU2508AXLB in position Q551,

TELEVISION March 2003 312

WHAT A LIFE!

A medley of faults - TV, video, audio and a digibox. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

unny chap, Charlie Rowe. He's always been a one for the drink. confirmed the diagnosis, but there I- always been the same. Doesn't Now he's started to hear voices. was also insufficient width. just show up with his television set They were jabbering at him early "Oh, another of those sets with the or VCR for repair as others would. this morning, when he got to my same fault" said Paul, glancing at Instead, he pops his head round the place with the set in his arms. Told the screen. door an hour or so beforehand to him to climb the spire of the village "This one's for you then" I warn us. In fact he's just done so. church to bring down the concluded, and stepped aside. He'll be back before long. weathercock, because it looked so Paul removed the back then Charlie lives in a village beside shabby." switched the set on. He put his the river Severn. Another of his "Good lord" I said, "did you get finger on the TDA8350Q field quirks is the flow of small stories he him to the doctor?" output chip IC301. "Getting hot comes out with. They all seem "Couldn't" he continued, "he ran under the collar" he commented. amusing and just about credible — straight out, went up the spire and "What about the lack of width until he embellishes them with extra brought down the weathercock." then?" I asked. bits that make them too fantastic. I leant forward, eyeing him "Same thing" Paul continued, "the And he's offended when you suspiciously. "Tell me" I said, "was chip handles EW drive as well. So question them. it crowing?" there's lack of width." But he's not as bad as his uncle, Charlie ignored the question. "I'll get you a replacement from old Harry Gumm. Harry is nutty as "Did he, er, do anything else the stores cupboard" I said. a fruit cake, always was. So was his odd?" I persisted. "A new chip and the rest" Paul sister 01 wyn. Nutty family. She was Charlie straightened up and said. "We need a SEME RK312 the one who spun the vicar a sob looked at me severely. "Wasn't that repair kit. What would we do story and touched him for a hundred enough?" he asked. without SEME! Samsung doesn't quid, which she put down on a "Oh yes, indeed" I said, "but, er, offer a kit. Rolls Royce when a gypsy fortune- how old is he?" The kit consists of about half a teller told her she was set to win a "Seventy four!" said Charlie, dozen components that provide a fortune on the pools. She didn't patting the set he'd just brought in. well thought-out modification for even do the pools. "And he was carrying the set too. It this troublesome bit of circuitry. Still, there's one thing I've learnt went up and down the spire with Once it had been fitted the set in this trade over the last half him." produced an excellent picture — in century — that it takes all sorts. But I That finished it for me. "Tell me" addition to the voices. remain uncertain about one thing. I said, "what's the trouble. With the "They don't seem to give any Do all the nutters head straight for set of course." further trouble once the me, or is the world so crammed full "OK for the voices, but no modification has been carried out" of them that I get only my fair picture" Charlie replied. Paul said. share? Do other readers get their I made a quick note on the card share of oddballs? I'd like to know! and told him to come back later. Charlie returns "Total loony" I said to Steven. Charlie looked in again later, Charlie and the Samsung "What, me?" Steven replied. rubbing his hands and grinning Anyway Charlie returned shortly I screwed up my eyes and happily. "There's a bit more news afterwards, this time with a gesticulated. "Course not. I mean about Uncle Harry and the Samsung television set. He looked a that Charlie. He leaves you weathercock" he announced. bit hot and bothered. So I asked him dumbfounded." "Oh ah" I said, "don't tell me that what the trouble was. We put the set on the bench. he ran up a rainbow and hung it "Glad you asked me, Don" he Model C15944, fitted with the there." replied. "I've had a dreadful time SCT12B chassis. I suspected field "That would be ridiculous" since I last saw you. It's my Uncle collapse and advanced the setting of Charlie said coldly, "no, he simply Harry, who owns this set. He's the first anode preset. This repainted it on the spot.

376 April 2003 TELEVISION "He, er, happened to have the machines in lately, all with the school, doing grease-monkey jobs paint with him I suppose?" same problem" he commented, in the backs of remote and oily "Yes indeed" Charlie said "they seem to come in waves. It's garages. If I had my way . . . brightly, "and a brush of course. the electrolytics in the power supply But no one was paying any He'd bought a tin of gold paint only that cause the trouble. They go low attention. Paul went off with the day before to paint his bike." in value. These three." Greeneyes and shortly after they "Oh of course Charles" I added, He pointed to CP19 (2241F, 63V), returned with the box. "it all fits, doesn't it?" CP11 (220pF, 25V) and CP26 When Paul connected it up it sat Nutters (10, 50V). The machine sprang to there tripping happily. He carried Going back to the Norah's video life once he'd fitted replacements. out a careful inspection for question I asked Our next caller was the deep-voiced conductor breaks and dry-joints but earlier, about nutty Norah Pike, who was carrying a The Sharp CD player couldn't find anything amiss. So he customers, I'd dearly Ferguson VCR. She's fond of dogs Sally's Sharp CD player was a settled to carrying out cold checks like to hear about the and has half a dozen of them. Her Model DXR555. It had seized up. on the electrolytics in the power experiences of others favourite, Little Leslie, was with This too proved to be a recurrent supply, followed by the diodes. in the trade in this her. As it ran to the counter and fault. Steven had come across it Eventually he came to D811, which respect. Emailed raised its leg Norah commented on before, always with the same cause. was leaky, with a low front-to-back comments would be its qualities. "It'll be the optical block drive ratio. It's type UF5404 and seems very welcome. "He's so affectionate" she said, motor" he said. "They seem to be to lead a hard life. Be that as it may They'll reach me at "that's 'cos I've had him seen to. made to very close tolerances a replacement restored normal donald@bullock- They're always affectionate when which, I suppose, is a good thing. operation, and Greeneyes was able bros.com they've been seen to." High-precision engineering and all to see the rolling credits for the I looked on in horror and tried to that. But the shaft so easily programme she'd missed. ■ think of something to say. I was becomes stiff. My remedy is to saved by the arrival of young Sally clean the shaft thoroughly then Simpson, who was carrying a Sharp apply some WD40. That seems to CD player. Sally reminds me of a free the motor, and I've had no bank of pure white angora wool set bouncers. in a valley of summer cornfields and honey, but I'd better not get DVD department carried away about that. Steven's has also become "What a friendly little dog!" she knowledgeable about DVD players. sang. So he tackled the one Edgar had "Yes" said Norah, "it's 'cos I've brought in, a Toshiba Model had him seen to. They're always SD110. The symptoms were no friendly after that." display and no sound, though "Oh, er, " said Sally, her voice picture playback was OK. This tapering away. She was lost for turned out to be another stock fault. words, as I'd been. A quick check showed that the So I cut in. "Norah" I asked, —31V supply was low, down by "what's up with the video then?" It about 6V. There was barely any was a Ferguson FV77HV. voltage on the associated —9V line. She smiled and cleared her throat. "The fault led me a dance when I "Oh yes, the video" she said, "it's first encountered it" he said, "but dead dear." I've had about a dozen of these "Bet I know the answer to that one machines with the same problem too" muttered Paul as he reached now and the cause has always been for a job card. the same, C298 (100µF, 16V) on I stepped aside again, just as the main panel. It doesn't go open Norah made for the door and Edgar or low as you might expect. It goes Sprigg bounced in, clutching a short-circuit." Toshiba DVD player. It all happened to Edgar before he got as Digibox trouble far as the counter. Greeneyes provided the last job that "Oh my Little Leslie likes you" afternoon. She clopped in and grated Norah as the dog trotted over announced that our Panasonic and raised his leg. "They're always digibox had failed. affectionate when they've been seen "I turned it on in good time to see to. My friend Ernie Hubbard has a the cookery programme But it went massive Alsatian that . . ." off straight away and started ticking Edgar's mind was more on his like a bomb" she said. DVD player than dogs and Norah's "Good thing too" I said, "the less reminiscences. He started to nod you see of those cavorting cookery and shake his head, then looked buffoons the better it'll be for you. down and saw the state of his They ought to be rounded up and trouser leg and shoe. Norah bunched together, maybe departed hurriedly. somewhere on the moon. They are Paul had begun to tackle the VCR their inedible concoctions. They and had already opened it up. "I've should have started out properly had several of these dead Ferguson when they were kicked out of

TELEVISION April 2003 377

WHAT A LIFE!

Some emails prompt Donald Bullock's reflections this month. On oddballs, radio and TV receivers in the early days, projection TV sets and the present lamentable state of broadcasting

hortly after last month's issue tells me he knew them both well. his two home-made TV sets came out I received an email Jimmy Rawnsley had worked with following constructional details from David Blount replying David's father as an electrical published in the magazine. Its S display was provided by a surplus to the question I had asked — do I engineer at the Hendon Power get all the oddballs, or only my fair Company. During the war, when radar tube with a green screen. This share? David is in no doubt. "Rest the Elses' family home had been was so successful that he assured" he says, "we all get our flattened by German bombs, they subsequently built another one. share!" moved into Jimmy's former flat. They have been kept in regular use His experience convinces him that "Rawnsley and Cunningham often up to the present time, with they come in well-spaced waves. If stayed there with us when they modification and updating from this is so, are my waves more came to London" he writes, "and at time to time as necessary. The last closely spaced than those of an early age I knew about the radar such modification was the addition others?! Compressed into shorter connection." of a Sony teletext panel to one of wavelengths, so to speak. He went David's father was a radio them. "They both remain in use", on to mention two recent examples. enthusiast in the earliest days, and David adds, "one having clocked up The first nutter had bought a had a licence to experiment with 18,300 hours of operation, and have multimeter from the local DIY receiving aerials — presumably a proved to be remarkably trouble- store. He didn't know how it mandatory requirement at that free". worked, and had no use for it. He'd stage. David himself obviously David mentions a letter he sent me bought it simply because it seemed caught the bug, and went on to in February 2001 supporting my cheap at £4.99. In due course he become an exceptionally keen and complaint, in an article at that time. turned up at the shop and "asked me productive TV amateur. about the decline in the standards of how to mend television sets with "I can recall my father's old plug- our radio and TV programmes and it" in coils, chokes, condensers (not their presentation. In his latest The other one showed up with an capacitors then!) and valves" he communication he notes that the old Sony reel-to-reel audio recorder. writes. "I used them to learn about situation has become worse. "For Since it used tape, he reasoned, and wireless. We had been among the me Radio 2 is a no-listening zone VCRs use tape, "could I convert it few who had a TV set before the after ten — I listen to Classical FM to work as a video recorder? I'm not war. It was a combined multi-band instead" he concludes. sure how many ways there are to radio and television receiver which say 'no', but I think I had to use we used after the war as well, when Projection TV them all!" TV transmissions restarted in 1948. David's reference to the old rear- We could see the Alexandra Palace projection TV sets brought back the Early days transmission aerials from the roof of misery and hopelessness they I've had a number of welcome the flats. When my family caused me all those years ago. The emails recently (if you want to get eventually replaced the set with a idea was to get round the size in touch, the address is then modern Philips rear-projection limitation with the direct-view [email protected]). David model there were problems with too CRTs of the period. Instead, the Else refers to my mention, in the much signal. source of the display was a 2.5in. January issue, of the development During the Fifties, he continues, tube, the Mullard MW6-2, which of airborne radar in the UK in 1940. many shops were selling Was operated at the incredibly high I had mentioned two servicemen government surplus electronics (for those days) EHT of 25kV. It colleagues, John Cunningham and components and equipment. Several produced a very bright picture that Jimmy Rawnsley, who had been of them advertised in this magazine, was magnified (in size, not given the task of airborne testing which was then known as Practical brightness) and passed via mirrors with the original prototype. David Television. David built the first of and a correcting lens to provide the

442 May 2003 TELEVISION display on a translucent glass weren't soldered together. Many of pulsing, pounding noises and screen. To my eyes the pictures them, particularly the condensers, flashing, zooming vision sequences always looked a sorry mess. had two screw-holes and would be developed by the commercial The sets were heavy and secured at the bottom of the box by broadcasters. And this doesn't end cumbersome, and the brilliant means of small woodscrews. until the latter have ended their picture produced by the valve-sized Connections between the racket. CRT could make your eyes useless components consisted of lengths of As to the programme material, the for an hour or so should you carefully cut and angled heavy problems are repetition and similar fleetingly glance at it. Because of copper wire. This was often square, material being broadcast on most the high EHT the early sets could not round. Most of the components channels at the same time. also be lethal. If the optical system had tall, carefully turned and Suppose, like some of us, you don't was disturbed, even slightly, it was knurled brass nuts that securely want to watch football. Switch very difficult to realign it to get a clamped the wire to the embedded channels and what do you get from correctly positioned and focused brass bolts. The condensers were of the 'competition'? More football in picture. There could be problems dull black Vulcanite, each about the all likelihood, with similar noises even if the optics hadn't been size and shape of a domino. Their and the frenetic 'commentary' disturbed. In the very earliest sets undersides, which consisted of hard telling you what you can perfectly there was no CRT protection, so yellow-brown resin, were stamped well see is happening. failure of either the field or the line with the value. No one bothered The trouble is that the timebase would instantly burn a line about miniaturisation then — it was a broadcasters all seem to be on the phosphor screen, destroying sensible world! petrified at the thought of losing the tube. A separate unit with a Does any reader recall these their share of the 'ratings figures'. blocking oscillator and a line-type products of a bygone age? How So they cut their standards, filling output stage that fed a voltage many have actually seen a cat's the hours with pap that they hope tripler (three EY51 valves) was whisker or know exactly what it won't offend anyone. There are used to generate the EHT. consists of? I'd like to hear from supposed to be supervisory Protection was incorporated in later you — via this modern email system! authorities to ensure that we get sets. Diodes were used to rectify the variety and some decent outputs from the field and line The programmes programming. They seem to be output stages, providing a bias for I agree wholeheartedly with ineffectual. the CRT and, sometimes, the video David's comments on the ever- It's all such a pity. Broadcasting output pentode. increasing decline in radio and doesn't have to consist of endless The sets weren't cheap. In fact television programme standards. trash. they were absurdly expensive. They Even when a programme is worth were also very troublesome, and the listening to, or watching, the insane Back to earth pictures they produced were presentation often makes you reach Back to the subject of oddballs. As terrible. I never knew anyone who for the switch. I was reading these emails last would mess with them for choice. There was a time when the BBC, Sunday afternoon there was a at least, trained announcers to speak frantic knocking on the front door. Early radio sets well and clearly. With a few notable When I opened it I was confronted David's reference to the old plug-in, exceptions, this no longer applies. with a huge, scruffy fellow who basketwork coils and the other Many are now just gabbling looked as if he lived in the woods components that were available for machines, with hard voices and on nothing but rough cider. He those who built their own sets in the brazen attitudes. And those who do started his spiel with the usual early days of radio took me back to pass muster on these counts have to words used by Sunday afternoon my boyhood. When I was a boy I compete with pumping, pulsating knockers-up. made a variety of crystal sets and synthetic noises and drumming "Sorry to bother you on a Sunday amassed an assortment of these sounds that drown them out. This afternoon, like, only our telly went coils, of different sizes and nonsense was started by the pop just as we was settling down to inductances, most of them tuned to commercial broadcasters, with the our dinner." receive a particular group of aim of capturing the attention of I looked at him hard. "I don't transmissions. They were fitted viewers so that they would stay often do calls, and never on Sunday with a two-pin plug that was tuned in. It was then copied by the afternoons" I said. But he went on inserted in a socket at the front-end BBC. The din even accompanies, as though I'd said nothing. of the crystal and valve sets we used and half-obliterates, the opening "The missus tried callin' at Mr to make. TV news headlines! Snoddy's 'ouse up Toff's Hill, 'cos Money was tight when I was This is not the full extent of the we allus calls Mr Snoddy. But 'e young. I used to scour the tables of rot. When in Spain I sometimes musta been on the larrup last night junk outside the local second-hand switch to Sky News because I find 'cos 'e was a bit funny like. When shops in my area in search of old much of its reporting crisper than 'er asked 'm to come and mend the hand-built wireless sets, some of the that of the BBC News 24 channel. telly quick, 'e called her some crystal type, which I would find in When I can no longer stand the terrible names. Yeah!" various states of disrepair. They offensive and frequent adverts, I "Anyway I 'spex it's a valve, or were often in heavy, hand-made and switch back to the BBC. But what the transformer. Give:us a valve hand-polished cabinets. These were do I find? Similar horrible adverts — now and I'll get the missus to try often a bit bigger than a shoe box, for the BBC's forthcoming 'im first. If that don't do, you can with a lift-up lid supported by a programmes, for the programme 'av 'im back an' I'll take a long brass hinge. by-products available, or for transformer to try. Don't mind The receivers didn't have a anything else the Corporation can 'aving a go like, 'cos you'd charge chassis, and the components think of, all with the accompanying for a Sunday call, wouldn't you?"

TELEVISION May 2003 443 WHAT A LIFE!

A further welcome batch of emails brings all manner of subjects to the fore, including customer problems and humour, cat's-whisker and other early radio receivers, camerawork and filmmaking, and the decline in broadcasting standards. Also possible problems with use of the Astra 2D satellite. Donald Bullock's monthly commentary

uring the past month I've received what am I paying you my maintenance device. Its base was about the size of a D another batch of emails from payments for?" she bawled. domino. Above this at one end stood a readers of the magazine. All very Dave had something to say about the tiny 'cup' of crystal atop a one-inch welcome — keep it up! My email BBC's adverts too. More on this later. support. It faced a similar-sized support address is included at the end of this at the other end. This held the 'cat's article. A PlayStation whisker', which in practice was about Charles Coultas tells me that he's an five turns of light copper wire formed Water electronics engineer but not in our by winding it round say a thin One email came from my old friend trade. "In my spare time I fiddle with matchstick then gently stretching it to a and fellow contributor Steve Beeching. customers' PlayStations, fitting short, spring-like shape. Its 'business As regular readers will know, Steve's naughty mod chips and the like." end' was bent to protrude from the expertise is wide-ranging. His easy-to- Naughty mod chips? I've obviously centre of the winding and snipped to read articles often cover technical led a very sheltered life! form a point that was gently spring- matters of some complexity. But he "I fitted one for a chap" he continued loaded to touch and remained in manages to put it over in a painless "and away he tripped, a happy chappy. contact with the crystal. way. These days he specialises in Six months later he was back." I made my own detectors, paying camcorder repairs. He's great "It won't read DVDs any more, any sixpence for the chunk of crystal company, with a warm sense of ideas why?" he asked. which, as Ray says, was often galena. humour and a very sharp wit. He It worked when Charles fitted a new The crystal set was a simple affair, mentioned the following story about optical unit, but was a bit touchy. A consisting of a coil of varnished or someone who phoned to ask him for an week later his client was back again. cotton-covered wire (I used 28 SWG estimate for putting his full-sized "I was cleaning the inside of the copper wire), an 0.005pF variable camcorder right. PlayStation with the compressed air capacitor (the `tuner'), the crystal "What's the trouble with it?" asked line at work when I accidentally detector, a headphone-type earpiece (I Steve. dropped a screw in it" he said. "There made my own) and a couple of fixed- "Water ingress" said the voice at the was a flash and a loud bang and now it value capacitors. Crystal sets were other end of the line. won't even switch on." strictly TRF of course, so a coil of "How much water?" countered Steve. It transpired that the screw had different inductance was required for "I can't be sure until tomorrow" said dropped into the power supply, across each programme frequency you wanted the caller. "That's when the diver is the legs of the chopper MOSFET. to receive. Deciding which due to recover it from the boating Fortunately a new fuse and MOSFET programmes I wanted, and working out lake." put matters right. the coil winding details, was a lot of "I haven't seen him for a while now" the fun in building a crystal set. The Maintenance Charles concluded. well-off could buy ready-tuned, Dave Hookings, a dealer, told me about factory-made 'basketwork' coils of a woman who is a member of his TV Cat's-whisker receivers course. I eventually managed to pick up maintenance scheme. She complained Another regular contributor, Ray a few here and there. that she couldn't stand the chocolate Porter, recalls reading The Beginner's To receive a programme you had to advertisements in the middle of her Guide to Radio by F.J. Camm, who touch the whisker point on to a 'lucky' favourite programme, Coronation started this magazine off after founding spot on the crystal. Sometimes several Street, and asked him to modify her set Practical Wireless in the early Thirties. different spots had to be tried before to remove them. Ray well remembers the cat's-whisker anything was heard and, as Ray When he told her he couldn't do this radio detector, which was an early form mentions, once you did there was a she became very angry indeed. "So of semiconductor junction-rectifier compulsion to try a different spot again

506 June 2003 TELEVISION in the hope of getting better and conversations proceed. carbon copies of each other. louder reception. Everyone knows that modern As Dave says: "It's so frustrating Crystal sets didn't require a filmmaking is, technically to see these whiz-kids breeze in, battery. They used the voltage speaking, in most cases sheer muck everything up then move on induced by the transmission. rubbish in comparison with the to their next lucrative job, leaving Despite this primitive arrangement, black-and-white filming of the their debris behind them. sound quality could be excellent. A Forties and even the Thirties. In good aerial and an earth connection this connection I recall that a short Astra 2D were required. One of the first while back a modern film studio Dave also refers to the BBC's plan, things we did, as kids, when we desperately wanted to recreate which he reckons is half-baked, to camped out on our local hill in some of the Busby Berkeley give Sky the elbow and move to summer was to climb the highest effects, in particular of filming Astra 2D. "Do they," he asks, tree to suspend an aerial wire from symmetrically-grouped dancers "expect us to invest in a cardless it, so that we could listen to the from above and making them satellite receiver that won't get ITV programmes picked up by my appear as ever-changing flower or Channels 4 and 5? Or has some home-made crystal sets. patterns. They failed! Couldn't do secret arrangement been made to Ray also remembers those sets it!! Yet the studios of those days carry these channels as well? We which, instead of a mains dropper, did it routinely, using the limited ought to know — it's due to happen used a length of resistance wire that equipment of the then young film any time now. Once Sky has been was built into a fat and bulky mains industry. dispensed with, the average viewer lead. This lowered the supply And I recently learnt why so is going to be faced with more sufficiently to light up the series- many present-day TV dramas are expense and trouble to get what he connected valve heaters. The so hard and irritating to follow. It's already has at present! And how problems that mains-lead not because of an assumption that narrow is that beam? We are on the `droppers' caused were many — present-day viewers are all coarse 60/45 divide here in West Wales. particularly when a tidy-minded set riff-raff with no standards. No, it's Do we have to prepare for when owner shortened the mains lead or because the standard fade-out and our customers start complaining replaced it with ordinary twin wire. fade-in techniques between scenes that their BBC programmes are I can still recall a lady who have largely been abandoned: the breaking up? And what are we then brought her set in after her husband new whiz kids consider them to be expected to do?" had changed the lead. She old-fashioned and cumbersome. That's an interesting question. I explained that it was their bedroom read the other day that ITV, which set, which they used to lull them off Between programmes already uses the low-powered Astra to sleep at night. "But it was This brings me back to Dave 2D satellite, suffers from dead hopeless last night" she Hooking's email. He writes as spots in some parts of the UK. complained, "I had to turn it off follows. "Between programmes straight away. We just couldn't get the BBC is now more aggravating Advice to the BBC to sleep. Not only was it too loud, than the commercial people, with How sad that the BBC, which was but it lit up the room like daylight!" its succession of adverts for its created with such high ideals by His handwork cost them another own programmes and products. I the late lamented Lord Reith, has mains lead plus a complete set of wonder what percentage of so- fallen to such an extent that it now valves. called programme time this takes looks up to, and tries to emulate, up, and how much cheaper the the commercial services. In my Camerawork Corporation's programming bill is earliest days in the trade we used to In commenting on my moans and as a result?" refer to those, jocularly, as groans about the BBC's falling This seems to me to be a valid "Gutter". standards, Ray mentions the too- point. I think that the ITV 24-hour My advice to the BBC, which I clever camerawork we nowadays News programmes are excellent, know won't be heeded, is to sack have to tolerate in plays and crisper than those of the BBC, but every single one of its whiz kids, dramas. He refers to cameras going as with all commercial TV they are every one of its gabbling disc- round in circles while debased by the intrusive, tasteless jockey oddballs, and every one of photographing an ongoing ads. I sometimes select ITV News, those shrill-voiced women who conversation between two people only to switch to the BBC when seem to have overrun the place. say sat at a table. "This makes the the ads crash in (do you remember Once that has been done the ever-changing background that there used to be a break, so Corporation could revert to the continuously sweep past" he that we could dash to the kitchen limited number of high-quality complains, "and distracts me from or wherever?). And what do I get programmes for which it was so the conversation. Is this nonsense when I switch to the BBC? More well known that the very term BBC all in the name of art?" adverts! was respected throughout the I don't think so, Ray. I think it's world. another case of precocious Channel trouble youngsters trying to impress us by I have a dislike of much of the Where to contact me using technology simply because sports coverage, which I used to be Those of you who want to email me it's there. Let's hope they don't able to avoid by switching channels can do so at learn to fly. If they do, instead of whenever the sporty oddballs came [email protected] flying off and leaving us in peace on with their breathless spiel. But We also have a website at they'll hover around and we'll be what do we now encounter? A www.bullock-bros.com expected to study the tops of the different set of sporty oddballs! Look forward to hearing from actors' heads as their The channels now seem to be just you! ■

TELEVISION June 2003 507

WHAT A LIFE!

Readers have continued their email communications. There are reminiscences about servicing back in the Fifties and Sixties, the dreaded Collaro Conquest record-changer comes up, and Steve Beeching contributes a note on a misleading fault with certain Panasonic camcorders. Donald Bullock's monthly commentary

've had more emails from readers pass- true colour which could be black, brown Metal-bowl tubes ing on reminiscences, stories, hints and or any old colour. In this event the Allan also mentioned a Cossor model that I so on. Always welcome. You can reach original paint had to be removed, which was fitted with a round tube whose bowl me at could be difficult at times, almost was made of metal instead of glass. Being [email protected] impossible at others, before repainting. the final anode, the metal bowl was at EHT Here's a selection from the latest emails. "All in all" Allan comments, "we had to potential. It was shrouded in a funnel- be more then just television engineers". shaped cone of PVC. If this was left off Dirty tubes But there were laughs. One customer, a when the tube was refitted, the EHT would Allan Lloyd of Plymouth recalls his time small-holder, reported that there was a fly, cracking about to all the metal high- spent working in a mining district. There live fly trapped between the tube's face points on the chassis! were many calls to deal with dim pictures — and the implosion screen. "It runs about I recall an even nastier set of that time, a because coal dust in the air was attracted to while we're watching our programmes huge and heavy English Electric model that the screen by the tube static. But cleaning and distracts us" he complained, "can you also had a metal-bowl tube. Its soldered-in meant more than just a wipe with a damp remove it?" EHT rectifier was buried in a trough of cloth. In those days, before the advent of "Only by taking the tube out and doing solidified wax, well under the tube's bowl. the CRT rimband, the sets had a thick glass a complete cleaning job" Allan replied. The idea of these metal-bowl tubes was to implosion screen in front of the tube's "It means a good deal of work, and the get a really flat screen. One disadvantage faceplate. With some Ekco models you charge is six pounds. That's quite a lot was that, compared with the thin internal could remove the glass by laying the set on for a single fly. Why not tolerate it until graphite coating in a conventional tube, the its side and removing three tiny screws that the fly dies?" thick metal bowl comprised a capacitor secured a gold-coloured strip of angled The customer decided to take this plate of enormous mass. As I ruefully metal. The glass could then be prised advice, but came back a few days later. recall, it could deliver a whacking great forwards and out, using a fine blade, so "That fly's not going to die" he said, "in elbow-jerking shock even days after the set that the tube face and the glass screen fact it's livelier than ever. My missus had been disconnected from the mains could be cleaned. With most sets however wants it out. Can you do it?" supply. a dirty screen meant that you had to take The set was dismantled, the fly released, Sadly these tubes seldom survived the the tube out, which involved removal of then the cleaning job was done. The bill regunning process, which was a necessity the main chassis and ITV tuner (if one had was made out along the following lines: in those days when a new tube cost several been fitted). It was a time-consuming job, times an average man's weekly wage. This and there could be complications. To removing set to workshop, was basically because of the high rejection All sets had a masking escutcheon dismantling, removing chassis, tuner, rate in tube manufacture. between the tube face and the implosion cathode-ray tube, implosion screen and screen, and this also became dirty. Some escutcheon. To cleaning escutcheon and Tube life of these escutcheons were made of a hard, polishing tube face and implosion screen, In those days tubes were guaranteed for thin plastic material while others were then reassembling, redelivery and setting only six months, and the failure rate was made of thick, heavy rubber. Both types up: high. I recall one customer, a rather tended to warp with time, and the £5.19.11d. aggressive hulk of a man, whose tube resulting gaps led to an uneven coating of To removing and releasing one large, shrugged off its earthly worries just a dust. arrogant housefly: £0.0.1d. week or two outside its guarantee period. The workshop where Allan worked had Every time I tried to move towards the very high standards. The escutcheons When the customer came in to pay, he telephone to tell him so, my legs took me were taken outside to brush off the greasy protested that a penny was excessive for somewhere else. When I finally managed dust, and were then taken back in and the fly since it wasn't large, as we had to impart the sad news he accused me of immersed in a sink full of hot soapy claimed, but only of average size. He said stealing his tube and feeding him with a water. This treatment was all right if the he intended to reduce this charge to a half- pack of lies before inviting me to call at escutcheon hadn't been painted. If it had penny, but would add a halfpenny tip in his place "to be sorted out". the paint, which was often white, would view of our excellent service. We ended At another time I worked with about flake off in patches as soon as the up with the £6 plus a couple of boxes of seven others in the television service room escutcheon was handled, revealing the vegetables! over Tom Foyle's furniture shop.

570 July 2003 TELEVISION Customers were often committed to a there at one time. Having been called to Misleading symptoms three-year credit contract for their sets, so restore the picture on a set they had sold Steve Beeching tells me about the first tube failure could lead to tears and accusa- and installed, he noticed that the picture time he encountered a baffling fault with a tions of all sorts. None of us ever volun- shift was mis-set — there was a dark gap Panasonic camcorder, where the symptoms teered to be the messenger who brought down one side of the screen. The customer appeared to have no relationship to the the news, so we used to draw lots and was delighted and astonished when he cen- cause of the fault. He's now had the trou- worked it so that poor Norman, who was a tred the picture correctly. ble on several occasions. bit thick, usually ended up being sent off "But it's always been like that" the cus- When the camera was switched on it to do the dirty work. He would often be tomer said, "the installation man said it sometimes powered up and produced a gone for ages, and eventually return look- was caused by the lamp-post outside!" defocused monochrome picture. This led ing as though he had been savaged. Ron recalls how difficult it could be to him a merry dance until he discovered that I remember being pressed into the job of get out of the house after carrying out a the lens was faulty! "It seems," he writes, telling Mrs Whratham the sad news. She repair. He devised an excellent solution. "that if the system cannot fully initialise ran a tough dock-side pub, and was usually He would set up the picture correctly, then the lens, the chroma circuits don't switch well primed. When I told her, in the show- set the field hold so that the picture slipped on and the camera remains in a mono, room, she looked me over, told me exactly vertically every few seconds. The cus- low-light mode." what she thought of me and ripped the tomer would focus his attention on this, "We get our full measure of tricky faults" music stand clean off an expensive piano and Ron would say "right! I'll adjust it and he continues, "and in most cases we just fit nearby. you tell me when it's as you want it." This a replacement board and/or software. Not a happened when he set the control correctly lot of skill is involved in this — a monkey Sobel! of course, and after that he'd get out fast! could do it. In fact from the state of some But back to Allan's reminiscences. He camcorders that come to us after being recalls the Sobell/McMichael range of sets Collaro previously 'looked at' a monkey has!" at that time. Sobell was owned by a Fellow contributor Michael Maurice is a colourful figure, Michael Sobell, who was man who enjoys punishment — he tells Old Smoker Sam prominent in horseracing circles. In those me he's a regular reader of this column, A long-time customer of ours, Old Smoker days television sets were generally housed and brings up the subject of the Collaro Sam, told me the following tale when he in sober polished-wooden cabinets. Sobell Conquest record-changer! "There was a brought his set along. He's well over thought that they were too dull and, after common fault with the speed-selector seventy and has smoked for a long time. producing an initial range of sets in wrap- mechanism" he writes. "The pulley rises Last week his doctor sent him to the local round, yellow-brown plywood cabinets, he up on the motor shaft and the record then hospital for a session of aerobic exercises. went on to produce a range of models that plays too fast. Another characteristic is "When I went along I found I was one of were finished in plastic, imitation woven- that the pick-up arm does a little dance seven" he relates. "We all had to sit in a material in bright pastel shades, notably then comes over and touches the edge of row. In comparison with the rest I reckon I orange and beige. They were run-of-the- the record to determine when the stack looked like an Olympic athlete. They were mill technically but were competitively has been played. I've three of them, and all stooped and wheezing, and four of them priced and sold well. a manual, but am loath to strip one down carried little oxygen canisters that fed them There was a recurring fault with the to discover how it works." continuously through nose tubes. Because tuners Sobell used. The PCF801 mixer What a man to even contemplate such a our exercises involved us in moving about, valve worked hard and, when its early bout of self-inflicted punishment! The the nurse connected these four to long, thin demise came about, it would blow open its answer to how they work is easy, rubber tubes that were fed from a big 10k52 screen-feed resistor. This soon Michael. They don't! Nothing in this canister in the corner. One of them, Cyril, became a well-known stock fault. Allan trade caused me so much misery as sat next to me. recalls a visit to a house on one bitterly Collaro record-changers. Our first exercise was to stand up then cold night to deal with the problem, only "At last!" ran the publicity material, "a raise and lower our arms ten times. I found to find that his repair made no difference. completely foolproof record-changer that it easy but the others puffed and blew a bit. He took the set back for bench attention, always works!" Cyril quickly went blue and sagged to the and when he returned found that a number I recall the pick-up arm swaying about floor. The nurse ran to him, then spun of other sets had been brought in. The real like an anaemic cobra ready to strike, and round to me. cause of the trouble that day had been the the whole stack of records falling on to `Sam, move your right foot at once' she local transmitter, whose mast had iced up the turntable while the first one was shouted, 'you're standing on Cyril's and collapsed. being played, thus fracturing the car- oxygen line!' tridge and sometimes its bulbous head Fortunately he recovered." ITV moulding. Stephen Mallison of East Sussex recalls his Our workshop was always full of them. Help wanted 25 years in the trade, mainly as a technician I recall being driven to borrow one from Finally, a couple of readers seek help. with ITV. When he began, the programmes a showroom radiogram and stringing it Stephen Head of Perth, Western Australia were all in black-and-white and BBC2 had up, well above the bench, along with the says the column is read and loved by many just started. The videotape machines then faulty one, to try to figure out where the of his trade colleagues there. He has asked used were huge and noisy and the tape was latter was going wrong. But the complex for help in repairing a UK Bush TV set, two inches wide. Programmes were mechanism has hundreds of parts and, Model 3463NTX/400. His email address is recorded by a cine camera that looked at a after about a half an hour, I had a pain in [email protected] high-quality monitor. the neck, a first-class headache and Michael O'Sullivan is trying to repair an Steve also made crystal sets. He recalls became boss-eyed. By then the 'good' LG Model CF25A5OF without a circuit the thrill of pulling those crystal-clear one had failed, and I needed a third . . . diagram. If you think you can help, his programmes out of the air. I remember it Then the BSR changer came along. Its email address is too. Sheer magic! mechanism was simple, with very few [email protected] moving parts, and though its movements He presumably writes from Ireland. The Snoddies then as well were a bit frantic it was reliable. Soon trouble with emails is that unless the Ron Bravery of Brighton, who ended up as after almost every record-player and sender includes the information you've no a lecturer at the local technical college, radiogram used it, and that was the end way of knowing where the message comes reckons they had a Snoddies-type dealer of the Conquest. from. ■

TELEVISION July 2003 571 WHAT A LIFE!

Sony dry-joints, VCR faults, record-changer unit difficulties, UPS trouble and a plumbing problem. Donald Bullock's commentary

t's an ever-changing world. When customers, is anything to go by. "More likely laughing hysterically, Sony first launched its TV sets in Vicar" I replied. "I wish we could I the UK, their extreme reliability, A Sony KV25X5U swap jobs!" coupled with their robust construction He told us that his Sony Model "Oh, I'd make a terrible electronics and superior pictures, frightened the KV25X5U, which is fitted with the engineer" he boomed, "and you, er, few remaining British manufacturers to FE1 chassis, spent more of its early life you . . death. The sets had no 'stock' faults in the retailer's shop than it spent with "I know, I know" I said, "what's the that we knew of and their Trinitron him and continues to give trouble. trouble with the recorder?" tubes, based on a new concept in There were several things wrong when "Terrible picture and sound" he colour tube design and operation, bore he brought it to us the other day. There replied, "it's old Mrs Drubit's, you witness to Sony's capacity to innovate. was poor EW correction, unacceptably know. She's the oldest in my flock — high contrast, lack of width — and it ninety-eight, and none to well. She Sony marketing kept shutting down spontaneously. thinks the devil's in the machine and In those early days several of my estab- Every one of these faults was caused called upon me to exorcise it. If you lished customers came to me to buy by dry-joints, for which so many Sony can get it right it'll help keep her faith. one of these sets. So I phoned Sony products are infamous. The picture Er, she's very well off you know, and and asked to be supplied. The chap geometry trouble was caused by dry- the church does need a new roof . . ." who answered the phoned politely joints at the 9V regulator IC605 "I understand" I said, making out a laughed me out of court. (TYA7809CTV), the intermittency and job note. "We supply only selected dealers who width problems by dry-joints in the The cause of the trouble was in the pass our detailed scrutiny" he said. chopper power supply and line output capstan motor. It raced at high speed, "You'll have to refer your customers to circuits, and the contrast trouble by and we found that the flywheel had a Sony dealer." more dry-joints in the video section. slipped and had been rubbing on the "Look" I replied, "your purpose as a Whilst we were at it we found and windings for some time. They'd short- company is surely to make money. remade many more poor joints in vari- ed together in places. A new one cured You sell television sets. I want to buy ous parts of the chassis. the fault, and I noticed the Reverend some. Simple enough, isn't it? Let's set "My neighbour's got one just like it" happily propelling her and her the scene: you sell, I buy. You fulfil Mr Woodford said as we were loading wheelchair to tea at the vicarage soon your purpose and prosper accordingly." the set into his car. "Gradually, the pic- after. "Your basic assessment is incorrect, ture has gone dull and red. He wonders I mentioned her to John Berryman, sir" he said. "We aren't in business to whether you would care to look at it." the hale and hearty village undertaker make money. We're in business to "I don't think it would be too wise, who called in shortly afterwards. make people happy." Woody" I replied, "my news would "Well, you aren't making me very only make him very unhappy. I've seen A Panasonic NVFS90 happy" I commented, "and when I tell so many like that, and the price of a "Yep, ninety-eight she is" I said, "won- my customers the result of this conver- new Sony tube is out of this world. derful isn't she?" sation they won't be very happy either. Tell him to throw it away and buy "Well, 'er goes on if that's what you So you don't seem to be on the right another set." mean" he answered. "Ever since I put track to me." "Not me!" he exclaimed. her 'ubby away thirty years ago 'er's So I developed a dislike of Sony, been promising I'd get 'er when the though I had to concede that their prod- Mrs Drubit's Aiwa time comes. But it don't seem to come. ucts were excellent. In fact I ended up We came back in to find the Reverend I gets a lot from these parts. 'Ow you buying an expensive Sony sound sys- Goode entering the shop together with been keeping?" tem. Curate Bland, who was sagging under I loOked at him coldy. "Bad news, Now, today, virtually every multiple the weight of an Aiwa HVFX1500 John" I said, "very well indeed thanks. outlet and catalogue dealer sells Sony — VCR. Now what have you brought for us?" but they still haven't found out how to "Hello Donald, old sport" boomed the It was a Panasonic NVES90 VCR. make people happy, if the experiences reverend, "you look well! I see that the When it was cold it was all right, but of Mr Woodford, one of our old repairs Lord is smiling upon you!" when it got warm it flew into the stop

634 August 2003 TELEVISION mode. Now we know this fault well. street at about ten o'clock. But there smell from son John's bedroom-cum- The cause is usually dry-joints at the was no sign of him. Now Ted was a study. It came from his PC's UPS AN3821K capstan drive chip. But this canny fish. He knew that after calling on machine, which was hot. So I discon- time resoldering it failed to cure the us the rep walked on to Tom's, a friend- nected it. fault. A new chip was required. ly dealer a bit farther along the street. When our street-box reset itself, the When John came back I asked him if So he phoned Tom to ask him whether trip inside the house fired again and the trade was good. he had missed any of the chap's calls. acrid smell intensified. I was puzzled, "Better 'n ever" he said, "it's this 'ot He hadn't. and checked the mains voltage. It was weather. I likes a few 'ot spells. 'Ow When the TLO was next due, Ted kept fluctuating wildly and rapidly. A scope old be you, by the way?" an eye on the reflections in the plate- check revealed that it was full of peaks I waved this question away as he head- glass windows of the shops opposite. and troughs. Sniffing about led me to ed for the door. Sure enough, at about ten, we saw him — my own computer's UPS unit, which with his collar pulled high, furtively lop- was also hot and was the cause of the Record changers ing past with a series of low, crouching remaining smell. All was normal when I Glancing through my notes on Collaro bounds. Ted gave him most of the twen- disconnected this one as well. record-changers last month I was ty minutes he usually spent at Tom's, When I opened the two units it was reminded of some of the other changers then rang Tom and asked him to tell the clear that they had both been cooking that used to send us grey back in those rep that we had spotted him absent- separately. All very puzzling. I came to days. The Garrard was no fun, then mindedly strolling past and that it would the conclusion that when John's unit there was the Philips range. I have to be nice to see him. "Tell him we're just had become faulty it had fed its rampant declare a personal bias here. From my about to put the kettle on" he joked. waveforms back into the common earliest days in this trade I've been con- A few minutes later the rep breezed in, mains-supply leads, much as a TV vinced that while Philips products are, to be greeted with a nice cup of tea — receiver's chopper circuit can do (thus electronically, superior to most, the and half a dozen more errant changers. loosening the screw in the plug's nega- company's mechanical products are too And there at the bench he stood, bend- tive lead). I reckon that this was what gentle and unconventional. The ing this rod and crimping another until had upset the other unit. Philishave breaks this pattern in being the changers grudgingly improved their robust, but Philips autochangers used to behaviour. A plumbing problem cause a lot of concern to us. Just as I had sorted that lot out our One or two of them resembled a kit of Spanish electricity plumber friend Frank dropped in. While unlikely-looking parts. There was an Every Spanish house I'm familiar with telling him about my problem I men- elaborate and long spindle that had to be has an automatic electricity cut-out box. tioned that there was no trade like mine pulled out and reinserted at each load- These are set in clusters along the for such inexplicable troubles. He reck- ing, after which you had to juggle a streets, cutting out if any household tries oned that his was as bad, and went on detachable platform over it while trying to draw more than its allotted 5.5kW at to tell me about a recent problem he'd to support the heavy pile of records. a time. They switch back in after a cou- had. And most of the Philips changers I ever ple of minutes, provided the load has His customer had complained that she saw were well endowed with lots of been suitably reduced. couldn't draw water through her garden very thin, interconnecting wire rods that The boxes are locked from the con- hose tap. Sure enough there was no the manual advised us to bend and sumer by the electricity suppliers and, water from the hose when the tap was crimp as necessary to set the various being both thermally and mechanically turned, though the tap was new. He felt changer operations. operated, they give trouble. This is the pipe. Instead of being hard and We used to struggle manfully, and roughly proportional to the number of heavy with compressed water it was sometimes managed to get one or anoth- times they pop open. When they fail we light and pliable. So he went to the er of them working by some fluke or have to phone the supply people. And wholesaler, bought another tap, and fit- other. But our spare bench gradually when they eventually amble along to ted it. The results were the same. became cluttered with those we'd "put poke about with the box we have to pay When he unscrewed the hose fitting aside for a while". At this our service about £30, plus another £50 or so if they the tap worked. Curious, he refitted the manager Ted got concerned and tackled think that the mechanism is in need of original tap. This also worked, with no a few himself — to show us that they replacement. hose connected. He felt carefully along could be fixed. But he was no more suc- Instead of a fuse-box in the house we the whole fifty yards of hose for an cessful than the rest of us and, some- all have a 'consumer unit' box that's set obstruction, but couldn't find one. The what rattled, he decided to let them wait into the wall. It contains a series of trips, hose was soft and pliable throughout its until the Philips TLO called on his plus a single live-to-earth resettable cir- entire length. When he reached the monthly visit. cuit-breaker. This latter device is handy, hose fitting he disconnected it and tried He called and drew back all pop-eyed, in a way. But the bad news is that the to blow through it, which was impossi- like a trapped rat, when Ted confronted supply system in our part of Spain is ble. him with the changers. But, to his credit, wired in a Heath Robinson fashion. When he looked into it he discovered he and Ted managed to fix them all, Sometimes the mains voltage falls so that the fitting had a polished and though it took them the rest of the day low that microwave ovens can't cook tapered plastic anti-return plug. This had and threw his schedule out. There were properly, while at other times we get been fitted the wrong way round during a few for him the next time he called, high-voltage surges that blow the trips. manufacture, and therefore closed when and the time after that. Then, the follow- Last night, just as dusk was falling, our it was subjected to forward pressure. ing month, he failed to turn up. We lights started to flicker and dim. After a "Good, wasn't it?" Frank commented. wondered whether he was ill. series of recoveries they went off com- "It cost me half a day and the price of a We watched out for him when he was pletely, to the sound of our trip-out trip- tap I didn't need, and what could I next due. This was easy, as we knew he ping. It continued to trip when I reset it. charge the old dear for finding the noz- would come striding towards the shop Then the trip in the road popped open, zle fault? The nozzle thing isn't worth on the opposite pavement of the high and I noticed an acrid burning-plastic five bob!"

TELEVISION August 2003 635 WHAT A LIFE! A mixed bag of faults and some outrageous customers. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

A troublesome set slow rate. There were hesitations I booked Bill Bradmore's set in and before the cassette was fully bade him good day. Paul had a go at accepted. it. The set was dead all right, but "It'll be the loading motor I aving spent an age in this we've had this before. Failure of expect" Steven commented as he trade I've seen more than a D25 (BA157) is a common fault. It began to dismantle the machine. Hfew miserable faces, I can overheats and goes short-circuit. But the motor worked perfectly tell you. But none as bad as the Sometimes it chars the board. Paul when it was powered from an fellow who barged into the shop the soon had a replacement installed. external source. This suggested other day. Mind you it was very "I daresay that's the full extent of trouble with the 12V regulator, warm, and he was struggling with the trouble" he said as he switched IC504, which turned out to be the weight and bulk of a 28in. the set on, "it usually is." leaky. Its 56Q feed resistor R534 Goodmans set, Model W282NS. He smiled when the set sprang to was also faulty. It had risen in value "Quick, where can I put this life, but not for long. The picture to nearly 90Q. down?" he panted. "Be quick. It's was bowed because of an EW fault. Replacements for these two items heavy y'know." Paul started to finger his chin, then restored normal results, and we At the time Paul was lounging at suddenly it died. The set, not his looked forward to the return of the end of our short counter, writing chin . . . Lotus Blossom! something down. He had the phone He dived into the EW section and jammed between his shoulder and discovered that C70, a hefty 0.22µF, Storm damage chin and was propping himself up 400V capacitor, was short-circuit. Then I saw that the weather was with one elbow. So he fitted a new one, checked for worsening. The sky darkened to a Ever considerate for someone in any further failures in the area, then silent lead grey, and the air settled difficulty, I brushed an outstretched switched the set on again. The set still. Suddenly there was a bright arm along the counter to hastily rustled into life briefly then died. flash of lightning, followed by a make room for the Goodmans set, "Hope there's not much more loud clap of thunder. The rain and accidentally swept Paul's elbow wrong" I said, "don't forget flooded down in sheets. into space. Paul went down with a Bradmore's complaint about the But it didn't take long, and as it wallop, grabbing at the rotating fiver Snoddies charged him!" cleared the phone rang. It was battery stand in the process. He "It's over twenty-five quid Eunice, Ramsbottom Nugent's ended up littered with batteries and already" Paul replied. His next seventy-year old daughter. nursing a dead phone that had been discovery was that the S2055N line Ramsbottom himself is over ninety. torn from its socket. output transistor had a base-emitter He and Eunice have lived alone "I was told this place could be a leak. A replacement restored normal together since Ramsbottom's wife madhouse at times" our visitor operation, with a surprisingly good left him sixty years ago. He's not commented. picture. "That will cost him thirty- easy to get on with, and Eunice has Feeling in need of a bit of dignity, five quid" he said. a hard time. They come from a I pulled myself up to my full height remote part of Wales. and put on a highly respectable An Aiwa combi "Dad's video recorder went off in expression. This faded a bit when I We had better luck with our next the storm, Mr Bullock" she sang, realised that I only came up to our customer. It lifted our hearts when "can you send someone to fix it?" surly visitor's armpit. this delightful young lady came in. "Tell them now!" came a deep, "This 'un's dead" he growled. "Please, I have troubles" she musical voice in the background. "Everything I touches seems to cost announced. She'd brought along an "Dad says now, if you could, Mr me a fortune. First went wrong Aiwa TVIVCR combi set, Model Bullock." eighteen months ago. Snoddies VXT147. We were all mesmerised They live fairly close by, so Paul charged me a fiver! As I said to the and didn't get round to asking what popped along and brought the missus, 'never again'. Nah, nobody the problem was. I just booked it in machine back. It was a Samsung catches Bill Bradmore twice!" and told her it would be a pleasure SV241K, and Paul seemed to know I noticed that Paul was pulling to attend to it. what had failed. himself up. "Sony about that" I Steven tried it out and found that "I've had these machines in before said. the trouble was with the VCR deck. after a storm" he said. "There's a "Not at all" he replied, "anytime, When a cassette was inserted it was little varistor, VAI on the circuit anytime . . ." drawn in reluctantly and at a very diagram, that blows apart. We've

698 September 2003 TELEVISION got some in the drawer." standby at switch on. So I decided found a really bad dry-joint in this He was quite right. When the to replace the IX0640CE field tuner and resoldered it. Now I'm VCR was opened we found that the output chip IC501 with the going to reassemble the set as varistor was physically damaged. A recommended LA7830 type. This quickly as I can, so that you can replacement cured the trouble. did the trick, and the results were take it with you. Just stand there for "I don't suppose it'll be the last good. a few minutes, will you?" one we will be fitting" he added. "Sure" said Charlie. Charlie's return "And while I'm doing it, Charlie, A live-wire A few days later Charlie turned up will you do me a favour?" Charlie Rowe is a live-wire type again, this time with a Panasonic "Just ask", he replied, "you know with a non-stop supply of tales. Model TX21V2 (Alpha 4 chassis). me. Anything." They start off promisingly but all "This set plays up, but for only a "Not a word while I'm at it, too often become incredible. He minute or two every few days" he there's a good chap. Not a word!" came in with an old Sharp set, announced. "I talked my neighbour Model CV2133H (8PSR chassis). into letting you do it." A reminder "All right for days, this set" he "For heaven's sake!" I exclaimed, Hints, reminiscences, stories and so said, "then it does this sorta thing." "we just love intermittent faults on from fellow members of the At that he started to jump up and here Charlie." trade are always welcome. You can down. "Nobody can watch a picture He beamed as though I meant it. reach me by email at like that" he added. When I connected the set and [email protected] "I'm sure you're right" I said as I switched it on it seemed to be I look forward to hearing from tried the set. It came on at first, then perfect. Then Charlie started to you. ■ the picture collapsed and the set fling himself from one side of the went into standby. shop to the other, moving his hands "Reminds me of Eadie Dungly. from side to side as he went. Joo remember her? Tall thin woman "This is how it goes" he said. she was, to start with at any rate." "Now she can't watch a picture I looked at him. "What do you which does that, can she?" mean to start with?" I asked, though I shook my head solemnly. I knew it was a mistake. "Did you hear about Tom Short?" "Well, when her husband started he asked. to take an interest in that fairground "Can't say I recall the name" I trapeze artiste she started to do replied. Then I caught on and somersaults to show she could do touched his arm. "Charlie, this isn't just as well." another of your silly yarns?" I "Hmm . . ." I said, "this set of asked. yours has some sort of short-circuit. "It's a true story this" he replied, It's switching itself off to avoid "came to a head last night. Tom was further trouble." I took the back off a hunchback and none too tall. He and had a careful look around the was eighty, and no one had ever chassis. seen a smile on his face." Charlie continued in full flight. "Good heavens" I said, "but what "She did more and more about him?" As I spoke the set somersaults. At all times of the day. suddenly developed its fault Higher and higher. Even over condition. Bright lines flashed passing cars." across the picture, and the sound I gave him a look, then turned was also affected. The symptoms back to the set. I noticed that R521, persisted long enough for me to the 3.352 surge-limiting resistor in come to conclusion that the cause of the 27V supply to the field output the trouble was probably in the stage, looked a bit cooked and tuner. As I opened it and started to started to unsolder one end. examine the joints, Charlie resumed Charlie was still engrossed in his his tale. story. "And over some smaller "He complained about backache houses" he added. last week and was taken to hospital. I looked at him again, wanting an They put him in a busy ward where end to it. "I must ask you what he laid scowling, as he always did. happened" I prompted him. As the clock struck twelve last night "Well, the more she jumped, and he uttered a loud shout and died. the higher, the shorter she became. The bed was shaking. Nurses and Sort of pounded herself shorter. doctors rushed in and were Wore herself down." astounded to find that he was "If you want your set done, you'd smiling angelically — and was no better get this over" I said. longer a hunchback. He had "Well, her husband left her and straightened out like a ramrod. Over fled off with the fairground lady. six feet tall!" Said he'd loved her because she "And that's a true story is it, was so tall." Charlie?" I asked. "Enough" I said, and replaced "Absolutely true!" he replied. R521. But the set still went to "Look Charlie" I said, "I've just

TELEVISION September 2003 699 WHAT A LIFE!

The recent heat induced at the edge of town. Packs of dogs Band Ill problems roamed the litter-strewn streets, and Old Grenville looked a bit like another some reminiscences, there were several old cars with their customer we had long ago. His name had bonnets up, some receiving attention better be Carruthers. He was a tall, thin, including problems with from oily characters. We stopped outside dry character who had earned his living communal aerial a house that looked rough. Matt banged as a packman, selling cloths from door- on the knocker and, when the door to-door in the poorer parts of the town. systems and Band Ill opened, strode in shouting "television Packmen never got all their money, but converters. There are man, missus". I followed him. they made enough from those who did A sour smell hit us for six. So did the pay to live comfortably. After retirement also some audio tacky floor and mangy cat. Piles of he and his wife invested their savings in empty cans and bottles contributed to the a large, four-storey house in The Square, servicing tips. Donald stench. "Christ" said Matt as the lady of a once-grand area. They lived in the Bullock's servicing the house gave him a toothy grin of basement and let out the rooms above. welcome. He strode smartly on, went With the advent of ITV we were given commentary round the table and back out through the the job of installing a communal TV door, with me following. I suppose it had signal distribution system there. At the all taken about five seconds. time we were in a fringe service area. "Thank you very much, madam, The Band I BBC signal could be fairly he other day Steven and Paul goodbye!" he sang out as we jumped well received, using a large multi- decided to slip up to the Midlands to into the van, which immediately burst element aerial mounted at the highest T do a bit of shopping. Before they into life, taking us away at a very good point of a house. But the Band III ITV went, they promoted me to the position lick. signal came from distant Sutton of Chief Repairman and Bottle-washer. I looked curiously at Matt, but received Coldfield — when it came at all. Twelve- I received the news sombrely. The no word of explanation or clue about element aerials were required for this, prospect of being Mr Big about the place what might be next. Funny business, I often with a head amplifier. The signal was all very well, but it meant that I mused . . . was weak, and sometimes faded entirely. would have to handle all the customers Carruthers was a highly-strung who came in, answer the phone calls and A DVD player hypochondriac, with every illness known do all the benchwork — at the same time! My reminiscences were brought to an to man plus a few more, and his only Not to mention lugging about TV sets as end by Grenville Carter, who had sidled interest in life was watching television. big as cars for young fellows who in carrying a DVD player. I shuddered. His grey-haired wife didn't take too claimed to have bad backs and parked DVD players frighten me. And Grenville readily to her self-appointed role of long- their flash vehicles hundreds of yards up is no oasis of charm. suffering nursemaid-martyr. "He's a the road . . "Wish I had your life instead of mine" trial, but he's worth it. I couldn't live Anyway, the warm weather made me he growled without him" she told us. feel tired. In fact I was tired and, as they I grinned back, and decided to be Having installed the amplified departed, I decided to sit on a TV set uproariously funny. "Perhaps we could communal-signal system, with a behind the counter and muse away for a come to some arrangement, Grenv" I distribution amplifier in a cupboard on minute or two. Then I'd get cracking, I said brightly, "what's your missus like?" the top landing, we called that night to told myself. As I spoke a miserable lady came in see how well it performed. As always The voice of a deliveryman floated and walked up to Grenville. "'Ave he Carruthers was sitting in his tall over from the shop opposite. "Thank you mended 'im yet?" she growled. I looked armchair, about two feet in front of the very much, madam, goodbye!" he sang at Grenville with fresh understanding, huge 23in. console set, with his long out. Then the engine of his van sprang to then they departed together. fingers ready and eager to flick about to life and he was gone. Those words, and I looked at the player, which was a adjust the fine tuner, the contrast, the the way they'd come across, reminded Sony HCD-S800. It was dead. I went brightness and the hold controls for the me of old Matt Morris. straight to the fuse, but it was all right. So best picture. I reached for the meter and went gingerly We switched on and at first the ITV New job round the power supply. It wasn't long picture was excellent. "Mr Bullock, It had been my first day in a new job, before I found a diode, D909, which was you've worked wonders — what a good and Matt was showing me the ropes short-circuit. It's type RK46LF. When I picture" he cried before he went on to his next call. had fitted a replacement the player Then the picture faded and broke up. "Don't particularly like this area" he worked a treat. Aw, DVD players are not Carruthers started to complain like a sang out as we reached a row of houses that bad to mend I reckoned. child. "Oh dear, the picture's gone.

762 October 2003 TELEVISION Gone! Mr Bullock, please do something other side of the town. It contained some These converters were soon about it. I shall have to have another high-quality flats and our caller, an superseded by the large and rather cigarette. Mary, I shall just have to. upstairs tenant, complained that his ITV clunky Cyldon and Brayheal 13- Give me one, will you?" had completely disappeared the previous channel tuners that became available as "Certainly not!" she snapped, "you've night. But it seemed to be all right to us. kits for fitting into the cabinets of BBC1 already had one. Whatever next!" Soon he was joined by another tenant, only sets. We had to remove the RF "Some fellahs have three or four a and yet another, who had experienced amplifier and mixer valves in the set and day" he protested, and, oh dear, I'll the same trouble. plug the new tuner's pair of Paxolin never know who murdered him now! Meanwhile a chocolate-brown Bentley valve connectors into their sockets. We It's too awful. I feel quite ill! Medicine, glided into the drive, driven by a slim must have fitted hundreds of them. They medicine!" and elegant blonde who had clearly seen were all alike in that the results were Sighing much too loudly, his wife better days. She was accompanied by a largely unpredictable, and they often went out and came back with a trolley handsome and attentive young fellow. produced herring-bone patterning — that resembled a chemist's shop. "How nice to see you, Mr Bullock!" sometimes with other people's sets if Carruthers wasn't short of money and, cried the blonde. "This is one of my they were close by. in the coming weeks, we tried boyfriends, Rock." Fitting one of these meant using a everything to improve his ITV picture. I looked at Rock and smiled. Then I brace-and-bit and a drill, also sometimes We fitted an extra, cascaded RF head looked at her. a keyhole saw, to cut the cabinet. I soon amplifier, tweaked his tuner for "Ah, you don't recognise me" she learnt to try them out by connecting optimum gain rather than bandwidth, said. "Marilyn's the name. Marilyn them electrically and observing the and even added an extra IF amplifier to Carruthers! You used to do our repairs results before deciding to fit them the set. These steps improved the before I put my grumpy old husband to physically. The results weren't always situation somewhat, and eventually he rest. Thought he'd live for ever, but . . all that successful, and customers who agreed that, having done our best, it was ." She clicked her tongue twice and found them to be poor, with their now for him to enjoy his pictures such grinned. "You remember, we lived in beloved polished-wood cabinets cut as they were. The Square!" about, would sometimes get shirty. I gave her a watery smile and made We devised various dodges to cancel Following weeks hastily for the van. or reduce unwanted patterning and to As the weeks went by we had a number improve the gain, including wiring one of calls to the Carruthers'address, all An Amstrad of the converter's plugs straight into complaining about intermittent ITV. "Here, is there anyone here or not?" the circuit instead the intended valve Each time the caller had been advised to boomed a powerful voice. base, using the base thus made get in touch with us by Mrs Carruthers. I quickly returned to reality to see the available for an extra IF stage — We serviced the sets at the address, one swarthy Charlie Rowe at the counter. because in many areas the Band III by one, and souped them up for "This micro-thing" he boomed. signal was extremely weak and noisy. maximum gain. In fact we improved "Belongs to the missus. The little record We also had dodges to combat the most of them considerably, but their thing in him goes round and round like patterning that converters caused with owners still kept complaining that ITV the devil, but no sound comes out of neighbour's sets. But this meant sometimes disappeared completely. 'im. I'm giving him one more chance. If bringing in the sets concerned, and not Soon we were spending a lot of time on he plays up again, out 'e goes." every neighbour was happy at the free repeat calls, yet each time we found It was an Amstrad MC2900 micro hi-fi prospect of fuss and bother, to say that the pictures were all right. The only unit, and I had a good idea what the nothing of having to pay out in the people in the house who didn't complain cause of the trouble was. I opened it and hope of curing or reducing the were the Carruthers. studied the multi-ribbon cable that plugs patterning that was caused by their Then one night, when we called on one into the optical block. Sure enough, it neighbour's activities. I could tell many of the tenants to deliver a repaired radio had cracked at the end. I made it good tales about the troubles this caused. set, we found that he had no ITV at all. carefully, and after that it worked a treat. Enquiries showed that the other tenants "You'd better behave yourself now" I Requests were all in the same boat — and wanted told it as I boxed it up, "or it'll be Darren Henwood, who runs a fishing- us to do something about it. Not curtains for you." tackle shop in Romford, has asked me if knowing quite what to do, we went I know of a computer database package. down to the basement to check with Band Ill converters I don't, but if anyone can help I'll be Carruthers. Looking through the Bill and Hilary Wright of Rotherham delighted to pass the message on. window we saw him sitting there have written to ask whether I know You can reach me by email at contentedly, watching the best ITV anything of the old ITV converter boxes. [email protected] picture we'd ever seen. I'll say I do. And I've still got the scars! Hints and tips and reminiscences are His wife saw us and ran outside to They used (I'm told!) to sit on the tops always vvelcome. hustle us away. "He makes me do it, Mr of early BBC-only TV sets in the Fifties Darren also asked about my recent Bullock" she exclaimed. "When ITV to receive Band III ITV and convert it to book, The Legend that was Clapham (in fades he makes me run upstairs to the Band I for feeding to the set. They were, Gloucester, not London). I gave him the cupboard to pull out all the aerial leads I suppose, a necessary evil of their day. publisher's website address, which is except ours." Bill asks if I have a photo of one. Sadly, www.wheatleypress.com I only have my photographic memories! There aren't many copies left, which is A year later If anyone can help in this respect, please just as well — it will encourage me to About a year later we had a call to a get in touch at the email address at the complete my autobiographical book large house in an expensive area on the end. Hovels and Haydust. ■

TELEVISION October 2003 763 WHAT A LIFE!

"There wouldn't be a cup of that nectar belongs to my aunt Rosie. You've made TV and VCR faults. Band Ill for poor old Shiner, would there?" he them both happy, Donald. Now it just so converters. Strange asked. happens that I have another couple of There was of course. jobs for you." customers and warm sets. Donald Bullock's servicing The Toshiba TV More TVs When he'd danced off I put the Toshiba He ran out then returned with a giant commentary set on the bench and plugged it in. After Goodmans TV, Model GTV69W3BLU4. five seconds it clicked off. So I tried it We know it, the chassis being the Vestel again, and once more it tripped. I 11AK19PRO. From where I was the set removed the back and looked around the seemed to run in on its own two legs. chassis for dry-joints. There was a "Dead as a dodo" he said as he put it beauty at the mains bridge rectifier's down. "It belongs to my uncle Herbie." reservoir capacitor. I felt good as I Then he danced out again and returned speedily dealt with it and tried again. with a widescreen Sharp set, Model e were due to return to Spain I didn't feel so good when the set 66FW54H (DA100 chassis). earlier in the month but, by tripped off once more. I had to do a bit "Cracking and banging and all sorts" way of getting their pound of of thinking. Then I reached for the meter he announced. "Belongs to my late W younger brother's wife." He winked at flesh, Steven and Paul thought up a to check the HT output from the power wheeze that would keep me in the supply. It should have been about 115V, me, clicked his tongue then put on a workshop for a couple more days. They but the reading was way out at 145 V. No devout face. decided to go on an extended tench wonder. The Goodmans set had a short-circuit fishing exercise. It's my own fault I I decided to check the electrolytics on line output transistor, type BU2508AF. suppose. I became addicted to the sport the primary side of the power supply and A replacement restored the picture, but at fourteen or so and I guess they are just soon found that C817 (22pF, 100V) had the width was poor and there was severe taking after me. Of course they are fallen to about 2µF. It's the reservoir for EW distortion. It didn't take long to nowhere near as good at it as I am! the STR58041 chopper chip's —42V establish that the BUK444-200A EW supply. The set worked perfectly once a driver FET was short-circuit. I fitted a Enter Shiner replacement had been fitted. PNQ2OT in its place as this is more up to I had scarcely taken my coat off when the job. But the bowing remained. After Shiner Albright danced in. He's a 'ten The VCR checking the various capacitors in the per center' — he will take this or fetch Then I got round to the Sharp VCR. circuit, including the scan-corrector that for anybody, saying that he does it Apparently it kept chewing tapes and C630 that gives a lot of trouble, I turned out of the goodness of his heart. So he seizing up. When I opened it I found that my attention to the EW modulator might, and no one says a word against there was a large amount of tape debris, diodes. The capacitors had both been him. But he always insists on a ten per all saturated with oil. After cleaning out OK, but D611 (BY299P) was open- cent discount from the shop, and charges the debris and mopping up the oil I circuit. A replacement completed the the customer ten per cent on the price he carefully degreased the deck. In so doing repair, and the picture was perfect. should have paid to the shopkeeper. A I noticed that the left-hand spool was Not bad I thought, now for the Sharp handy way of getting by. He's also a stiff, because the back-tension band was set. There was a lot wrong with this one, natural charmer, with a quiet and casual sticking to it. A new one put that right. which was arcing badly. The HT gift of the gab. People queue up to have When Shiner breezed back I'd prepared reservoir capacitor C720 (100pF, 200V) him help them. the bills, taking care to add the ten per had blown off its top, and the BUH515 He brings us a lot of jobs, so we can't cent that he would want subtracted. He line output transistor Q601 was short- complain. This time he brought in a paid up happily after deducting his ten circuit. R623 (1Q, 2W safety type) in the Sharp VCM29HM VCR and a Toshiba per cent, as he always does. HT feed to the line output stage had gone TV set, Model 2151TB. "Er, Shiner" I commented, "you didn't open-circuit, and I assume that there had "For two of my good friends, Donald" accidentally drop a teeny spot of oil in been excessive HT. he said. Then he heard cups chinking, the recorder's works by any chance, did The MOC8106 otpocoupler IC705 in but didn't let on. It was Greeneyes you?" the power supply is the prime suspect in making the tea. He's always full of "Well, in a manner of speaking, just the this event, and turned out to be faulty. So compliments for the ladies, and tiniest drop" he replied, "but I want to were R765 and R766 (both 100Q) in the Greeneyes falls for his charm. He thank you for doing these two so feed to pin 1 of the optocoupler. They all dropped his voice and smiled at her. quickly. One is my granny's, the other live on the copper side of the board.

58 November 2003 TELEVISION There were a number of faults on the CRT base PCB. The 11,A5101A RGB output chip IC1801 had to be replaced, also Q5407 (2SA1837) and Q5408 (2SC4793) in the scan velocity- modulator output stage. R5425 (470Q, 1W) in the supply to this stage was open-circuit. It took some time to replace these various items. I then switched the set on, somewhat gingerly, and breathed a sigh of relief when it behaved perfectly. To prevent a recurrence of this sort of thing Sharp recommends adding a 170V avalanche diode in parallel with C720, with its cathode to the positive side. The part number is RH-EX0875BMZZ

Band III converters "Coo, but that picture at the top of the The first sort of set-top box, a Band 111 Last month I mentioned that Bill and column is an old one of you, isn't it?" converter that dates from the mid Hilary Wright were looking for a picture In fact of course I'm much younger and Fifties. of a Band III converter, the first type of more handsome than the picture makes set-top box, that used to sit on top of out. I think someone else walked in front recalled an incident in his early days in BBC-only sets in the Fifties, after the of the camera as it was clicked . the trade when a customer with a Bush start of ITV transmissions. I was TV22 complained that it got too warm. doubtful whether there would be much Strange types Peter reassured him that he was response — they soon became obsolete, Dave Smith of Leigh, Lancashire tells mistaken, then placed the palm of his as the setmakers devised their own Band me about some of the strange types who hand on the side of the Bakelite cabinet. I/III tuners for fitting inside their sets. have wandered into his TV and It was red hot! And what a mixed bag of tuners they electronics shop. One was an old lady When he looked inside he soon found introduced! Some were quite good and who came in and studied a large card the reason for the heat. In an effort to tidy, others were good but clumsy, and display of control knobs. She declined suppress some slight mains-borne some were an absolute headache. The assistance and eventually turned away, interference someone had added an RC worst, to my mind, were the Ultra showing some upset. Dave approached circuit that consisted of a large wire- `trombone' ones. They remain etched in her again and it transpired that she wound resistor in series with an even my memory! thought she was in an ironmongers and larger paper capacitor. This had been To my surprise however there was a wanted a brass doorknob. fitted to the side of the cabinet, on a tag good response. It's clear that many Another time a tall, intelligent-looking strip, and wired across the mains input. readers have collections of vintage radio chap slapped his money on the counter The capacitor had gone short-circuit and and TV sets and other brown goods and asked for a packet of rubber goods. the resistor was indeed red hot. items. I received photos from two Dave explained that they didn't sell Another case involved a Bush TV53. readers, Bob Webb of Burton upon them, and that he should try the This model had a strip of gold-coloured Trent and Dave Higgison of Doncaster. chemists opposite. metal trim along the bottom of the One was of a brand new, unused "But," the chap persisted, "I naturally tube's implosion screen. The owner converter made by Champion! Dave assumed that you would be the best phoned repeatedly to complain that she mentions that it was potentially lethal, place to try, this being an electronics got shocks from the trim while adjusting because it has a two-pin 5A mains shop. After all each one is electrically the controls. He explained that this connector into which the TV set could tested, isn't it?" wasn't possible, as there was no be plugged. Nothing wrong with that Then there was the chap who bought a connection between the trim, and but, instead of fitting a shrouded socket, radio kit and brought it back, saying it anything live. there's a two-pin unshrouded live plug! didn't work. It looked neat and tidy but Eventually she threatened legal action My thanks to Bob and Dave. when Dave investigated he found that a and he called to discuss the matter. In fine-nozzled tube of grey Bostick had fact she was right! While it was true that Emails been used instead of solder! there was no physical connection of I am also grateful to those who have Darren Henwood of Romford, Essex anything live to the metal trim, a fault sent me emails on various points. Keep mentions the oddball who came into his condition made it fleetingly and it up! You can reach me at TV shop and plonked a pair of well- painfully 'live'. The EY51 EHT rectifier [email protected] worn shoes down. "I'd like these soled was going short-circuit intermittently. Greeneyes is also very grateful to a and heeled please" he said. As a result the EHT would momentarily reader we recently met and is about to collapse and induce a charge in the settle in Spain. It wasn't long before Warm sets metal. Profuse apologies and a new Television was mentioned and, when Peter Nutkins of Charmouth, Dorset EY51 restored good customer relations. this column came up, Greeneyes called at our place in Spain last year. He Peter did not mention it, but I wonder confirmed that I was the guilty scribbler. commented on the fact that customers why the lady didn't notice the effects of He stepped back, looked at me carefully, often complain that their sets, after spasmodic EHT collapse on her picture? then said: being repaired, get too warm. He Too busy getting shocks maybe. ■

LEVISION November 2003 59 WHAT A LIFE!

disagreeable chap. It has been said that it takes a couple to produce two Trouble with prats of one type or another - complete individuals. Trouble is they including ITV News! Sets and couples and their don't make equal contributions, certainly when it comes to the demands. Some TV and a TV/DVD combi unit decency or the prat scale. Take the fault. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary case of the Russell-Burrows, old customers of ours. They came in the other day with their Bush Model WS6671 TV set, s regular readers will know, I Basher Punk is a footballer. Basher which is fitted with the Vestel seem to receive the attention of Punk also hit the referee. Basher Punk 1 1 AK19P4 chassis. "Hello Mr Aan excessive number of prats. denies the charges. Basher Punk says Bullock" he greeted us cheerfully as I've often wondered whether every men were all accident-prone." he entered backwards, holding one one of them in the locality makes a One's mind reels when confronted end of the set. "It's dead like. You've beeline for me, or whether others get with this repetitive nonsense. Then done work for us before, a long time a share. It might help me to decide there's the all too common illiteracy. back. It was the sound that time." about this if other readers who regard Take the news item about a "Wojamean a long time back" cut in themselves as prat-prone would drop parachutist who died when his his wife, "it wasn't that long ago at me an email to tell be about their parachutes failed to open. We were all. You'm goin' the right way to us experiences. I'll give you the address able to read, all day, that the getting a great big bill again!" at the end of this piece. If enough parachutes' "chords" had been cut. Greeneyes quickly checked and emails on the subject arrive, I'll Chords relate to music of course. handed a sheet to me. "March 1999" include some of the details in a future They meant cords. it said, "no sound, dry-joints, £7.50." column. To give you the idea, I'll If you think I'm being a bit too I showed it to Jack Russell-Burrows. recount some recent prat experiences sensitive about this, bear in mind that "See dear, it wasn't that much" he in a moment. Meanwhile I have to say it's a British news programme that said. "And they got it done it an hour that the ITV News channel qualifies goes out all over the world from the or two." for membership of the league of prats. ITV stable, the country's second His wife Enid scowled. "Seems a lot largest broadcasting outfit. When to me" she said, "just for a loose wire ITV News exposed to such incompetence, . . . When it isn't running advertisements viewers must wonder how accurately Fortunately he steered her out at this by the yard, ITV News provides a the actual news presentation is point, and Paul soon dismantled the series of written news items at the handled. When I was at school such set. There wasn't much left of D822 bottom of the screen. The problem abysmal standards would have (MR856), which is in series between with this lies in the presentation. Take produced instant reprimands. My old the mains bridge rectifier and the first the awkward style. Imagine a schoolmaster Mr Cryer would have a chopper circuit. Paul fitted a report on a current football very busy time if he could be brought replacement then started to carry out occurrence. An average grown-up back and let loose amongst today's cold checks on the components might write "Basher Punk, the TV broadcasters! downstream. The MTP6N60E footballer, was found guilty today and Most intelligent viewers would turn chopper transistor Q802 was short- mildly reprimanded for attacking ten the channel off as soon as they had circuit, also D823 (1N4148) which is other players during last Saturday's heard the news headlines — or tried to connected between the gate and match and also hitting the referee. He hear them above the pulsating, source of Q802, and D824 (BA159). denies the charges and says the others stabbing and bubbling electronic "Don't think old Burrows' wife is were simply accident-prone". noise that ITV insists on using to going to like this one bit" he Not ITV News however! You get a drown its announcers' words. commented. Further tests showed that horrible, disjointed presentation of the three more BA159 diodes were short- story via bottom-of-the-screen The Russell-Burrows circuit, D825, D826 and D827. headlines, in this sort of style: Back to customers however. Have Having fitted replacements he "Basher Punk has been charged. you noticed that when you encounter surveyed the chassis and carried out Basher Bunk has been mildly a decent, agreeable chap his wife is all one or two spot checks. Then he reprimanded. Basher Punk found too often a battleaxe? It works the looked around the power supply for guilty of attacking ten other players. other way as well: decent lady, dry-joints, resoldering a couple that

122 December 2003 TELEVISION were suspect. The next step was to stage. He found the BU508AF line I came out when Paul had booked spray the new diode in the D822 output transistor TR128 short-circuit the unit in and Horace had gone on his position with freezer and keep an eye base-to-collector. When this happens way, maybe to the Trafalgar Arms. on it when he applied power. The the BY299 diode (D110) in the EW "There goes a happy man" I frost disappeared at once. Paul pulled diode modulator circuit often fails as commented. On a decency scale for the plug then felt D822 with his well. Sure enough it was short-circuit. the couple, Horace had contributed finger. It was hot. Steven fitted replacements and, not the lot. "I'm glad she settled on the "Oh dear" he said, "the MC44604P finding anything else wrong, tall, thin chap from Snoddies" I chopper control chip IC802 must switched the set on again. All he got added. have failed." Paul fitted a for his trouble was a loud click — the The combi unit was a Model replacement and went through the set remained in standby. When he TVDVD1450, about a year old. Paul D822 spraying procedure again. This freeze-sprayed the replacement plugged it in and found that it time the set performed perfectly when components the frost disappeared produced an unmodulated raster with he switched it on. immediately. They were both short- no sound. After carrying out a lot of "Eight new components and a circuit. "They didn't have a very long voltage checks and clearing couple of hours for labour — assuming life!" he commented. everything else, he concluded that the the set survives its soak test" he Steven fitted fresh replacements cause had to be the tuner. He packed concluded, "the lady ain't going to then spent some time checking about it up and sent it off to MCES in like it at all!" in the chassis. But he couldn't find Manchester. We rely on them when any other faulty components. After a we get tuner problems. They provide The Horrobins while he suggested that one of the a first-class service and we never Mr Horrobin then barged in, replacement components might have have to worry about the results. The accompanied by his quiet and been faulty. As they were new, he service is fast and the charges very cheerful wife. On the decency scale hadn't checked them. reasonable. I'd say she contributes 96 per cent to I thought about it then shook my Mr Horrobin's four per cent. They head. "There must be a short A widescreen Panasonic chalk up the same score on the noise somewhere" I concluded, "or an Shortly afterwards Tom Murphy scale. intermittent joint arcing and drawing called in with his wife. He was "Your bloody front door's stiff to a lot of current." having trouble with his 32in. open" he barked, "anyway, 'im's in Steven returned to his checking and widescreen Panasonic TV, Model the car. Can't manage 'im on me finally removed the scan-coil plug. TX32DK2. own. You two beller bring 'im in. This was the cause of the trouble: it "It blubbers and bejabbers" he Then if 'e gets dropped it's your fault was badly carbonised, and had been commented, "but it's mighty heavy not mine." arcing. When he'd fitted a like. I've got it in the car outside. I "Eustace!" his wife said, "not so replacement he hesitated before want you boys to help me get it out." loud dear." trying the set again. He needn't have "Do you think you could?" added "You shullup" he replied, "I wants worried. The set worked well, and his wife. "He doesn't like bothering tuh talk to these people." Steven heaved a huge sigh of relief. people, but he's not as young as he She smiled at us by way of apology, was . . ." and Paul and I went out to collect the A TV/DVD combi unit So we all went out to pull and coax set. It was a monster, a 28in. NEI While he'd been doing this Horace the monster out of the car and into the Model C28F1FXN. Price called in with a Grundig shop. "What's the trouble with it?" I TV/DVD combi unit. I saw him When Steven tried it the set asked Mr Horrobin. coming and slipped off to the back of produced a blue screen. It didn't take "That's for you to find out, ennit?" the shop. Not to be away from Horace him long to discover the cause of the he replied, "atter all, you'm supposed particularly, but to be away from the trouble, which was the tube — type to be the telly experts, ain't you? I combi unit he was carrying. They W76ESF031X13. There was a short dresses tripe, and can talk tripe for frighten me! Paul stepped forward to in the blue gun. hours." greet him. After getting Murphy's acceptance Steven plugged the set in and "Hi, Horace, what's new?" he of the quote we ordered a switched it on. It remained in asked. replacement from D'Lec Components standby. So he prepared to write out a "Toothache, a lousy cold, won 200 at Cobham in Kent. It arrived a card. salami sandwiches in a Crubbs couple of days later. When we'd "What's 'im going to cost, and Foodstore competition and" he fitted it the set worked exceptionally when can we have 'im back?" Mr hesitated, then brightened up, "oh well. Horrobin said. "Couple of 'ours, yes, the missus left me and went to "Nice couple, the Murphys" I said shallus say? Not as we watches 'im live with that tall, thin chap who runs to Steven. "Both decent, too. I'd say much, mind." Snoddies! It's heaven now. I go they're about 50/50 on the decency "We'll phone you as soon as we shopping on my own and if I want a scale! know" Steven replied. pie I have a pie. And another if I want Oh yes, the email address. You can When the Horrobins had gone it. If I want to cross over the road for write to me at Steven started to check the set, a pint at the Trafalgar Arms, over I [email protected] concentrating on the line output go. I feel twenty years younger!" I look forward to hearing from you!

TELEVISION December 2003 123 WHAT A LIFE!

But there are other aspects. For a start Unusual customer requests. Component-level engineers aren't always paid an testing. Odd fault with a Panasonic set. Steven appropriate rate for their time and skills. Never were in this trade. And where and Paul scarper off. The TV clinic. Donald power circuits are involved it will always Bullock's servicing commentary be worthwhile looking for and repairing faults. Even at the present unbelievably low cost of much domestic electronic equipment it remains cheaper to deal with the dry-joint that's giving the no here was a very welcome letter at characters but photographs some of the results symptom than to buy new. the top of my postbag today. odd things they do. In fact he's compiled "I've enjoyed your column for so long" T Another from Ron Bravery, telling a sort of rogues' gallery of excellently writes Alan "that I can't recall when it me about strange customers he's had photographed blunders and outrageous started." Nor can I, for that matter! But I over the years. First a rather forceful workmanship. If you want to take a look, do recall that it coincided with my ever- lady. go to increasing family — we ended up with "I want a BBC test card, please, young www.wrightsaerials.tv/roguesgalleryview.html five boys and a girl — and my developing man" she declared. I've had a look. Some of it would be taste for malt whisky. "Please tell us how Ron swallowed, straightened his tie and unbelievable were it not for the it all started, and of all the changes over did his best. "Er, you can't actually buy extremely clear photographs. Well worth the years" he concludes. Well, Al, it them, I'm afraid" he managed. a visit! would take me a long, long time, and fill "Can't buy them? Well perhaps you a very long book! can give me one. Right away, if you Component-level testing could. I've a lot to do, and I'm in a Alan Velden tells me he moved from TV Odd TV set behaviour hurry" she replied. servicing to computer repairs some while Gerry Meek, another long-standing "Er, I can't do that either" Ron replied, ago. Reckons he's past the age of reader, mentions an odd fault he has with "you see, they belong to the BBC, which retirement. But I think he's one of the a Panasonic TX32PK2 32in. widescreen transmits them over the air." newer fellahs in disguise. Says he thinks colour set (Euro-4 chassis) that he "Don't try to fool me" the lady replied, Television started out with this title when bought as recently as 2001. He describes "my neighbour's got one. I've seen it a he was a youngster. That gives the game the symptoms as follows. number of times." away. In its earlier days it was known as "At switch on a yellow background Ron doesn't tell us what he did next. Practical Television and was edited by with fuzzy white lines appears, the sound He obviously managed to extricate F.J. Camm, who also edited Practical being OK. Then the set switches to himself from the situation somehow. Wireless — amongst other Newnes standby. If I try again after a few Space helps, if you can manage it publications. This wasn't an entirely minutes, the same thing happens but the quickly! accurate description of his role however. picture gradually becomes sharp, only to The other odd customer was an old boy He was certainly clever, and was able to fade to white after which the set cuts out who breezed in and asked for "a box of master the technology of the day fast again. When a further try is made a few medium waves and a tube of Q paste to enough. He seemed to like to have his minutes later the set gradually settles to help with selectivity improvement". name on magazines and books and produce an acceptable picture." You don't see Q referred to much Newnes backed him, making him a sort Now I'm not clued up about this nowadays. It was the measure of the of celebrity at the time. Others, rudely, chassis. Steven has dealt with a number goodness of a tuned circuit. The higher would refer to his magazines as Camm's of these sets however, so I asked him for the Q factor, the more sensitive the radio comics. But they sold well, so FJC his comments. receiver. obviously knew his market. The chap There's a 120kS2 resistor, R558, in the Stick at your post, Ron, I say. There are who did the day-to-day work of editing line output stage that tends to go high in better times around the corner. Practical Wireless and Practical value or open-circuit. It's worth Hopefully. Television up to the late Fifties was Bill checking this. The CRT's pins and the Delaney. But he never got his name on sockets on the base PCB should be Aerial work them! carefully cleaned. The EEPROM chip is David Porter's email addresses me as Mr Alan says he is surprised that there are a frequent casualty in this set but fails Billhook. Says he's taking on some of still engineers who routinely diagnose completely: since the fault isn't the characteristics of his odder and repair equipment down to consistent, this possibility is ruled out. customers. Welcome to the club, Dave! component level. I suppose he bases this Otherwise, it could well be that the He goes on to mention a colleague of on the cost of time compared to the low tube's emission is low. Regardless of his, Bill Wright, who doesn't collect cost nowadays of mass-produced panels. what the tube label says, it will be of

180 January 2004 TELEVISION Philips manufacture. They do seem to headed for me and eyed me but it was all right. Then I advanced the bite the dust as early as this. We've suspiciously. setting of the first anode control. This never come across one priced at less "You used to be that Mr Bullock, made no difference, in fact the Al than about £300. didn't you?" she asked. supply was missing. That meant a new So there you are. As one who has "Well, if you put it that way" I line output transformer, which we taken many batterings from fairly new replied. "Now this set of yours, very happened to have in stock. It must have Sony tubes ("dull red picture, Mr old now you realise. Too old to be been waiting for ages for a suitable set Bullock") I'm sorry to have to suggest worth repair in fact, even if we could to turn up. I fitted it while Mr Leaky this sad prospect. get the parts." waited. The result was an excellent "You're trying to sell me a new one, picture. He was well pleased. A stint at the shop ain't you?" she said, "that tall thin chap Then I quickly did the bill and Just before we returned to Spain after at Snoddies warned me that's ussactly presented it to him. His smile faded. our last visit to the UK Steven and Paul what you'd say!" "Oh, thirty powends is it, Mr tackled me in the shop, pointing out'in "Wouldn't he mend it either?" I Bursome" he commented, "didn't take a well-rehearsed manner that they had asked. long to tot itself up to thirty powends, both been working so hard recently that "E'd just lost 'is screwdriver, did it?" they were faded and jaded. otherwise he would have done. A real But, as he peeled some loot from the "We need a day or two away from the gennulman, not like you lot!" nest of notes he had in his wallet, his shop" Steven said. "You tell 'im Mam" commented a smile returned. "Oh well, these I must say he did look a bit fatigued, dapper little chap who was struggling transformer things don't grow on trees, so he had my sympathy. Then Paul cut in with a widescreen Akura TV set. It do 'un?" he observed, "but it's sort of in. was Sid Tredwell, and his set turned funny how one moment you've got "I'm not as young as I was" he out to be a Model APTPV028WSS. thirty powends in your pocket and the commented, "and I heard on the news "Too much width, and the picture's next it's in someone else's!" the other day that someone's sons and sorta shaped like an hourglass" he Another caller had arrived however, daughters are nowadays unlikely to live explained. with a Sony KV25K5. He put it on the as long as their father". bench and started to explain. "I heard that too" I replied. "And did Dr Bullock's TV clinic "It's giving me serious trouble" Mr you hear why? Because, instead of "EW trouble" I pronounced, then Wu said. "When I switch it on all I get getting up early and getting cracking opened up the set and pounced on is two flashes from the standby light." and eating proper food and living RV38, a 2.212 safety resistor that had "Not much of a show" I sympathised, active lives, you lot loll about in front failed. I fitted a replacement then then went straight to the line output of TV sets stuffing fatty rubbish and switched the set on. The new resistor transistor which was dead short. In this watching the antics of other fat bores immediately went open-circuit. This chassis (1-hl) it's a 2SD2539, and who are even duffer than yourselves. time I replaced CD21 (680nF) as well nothing else will do. Fortunately we Why, when I was your age . .." as the resistor. That did the trick. had one in stock, so I fitted it then "Never mind that" Paul said, "I've "Next!" I bawled. checked for dry-joints in the line driver had a headache for days. Strain and A thin, spare chap came in, looking as stage. There they were, in all their overwork I'd say. A chap needs a day though he had just been wound up. wickedness, waiting to punish the new off now and again — to recharge his "I'm Mr Leaky, hasn'tit?" he sang, transistor. But I resoldered them batteries, so to speak." "and my set is in my car's boot, Mr carefully, then switched on. Another "I see that the weather out there is Burley. You can bring it in for me, if excellent picture, and one more vile" I pointed out. "Cold, cutting you will, 'cos I'm getting old like." satisfied customer. wind, puddles everywhere, dark skies He looked about fifteen years younger The final customer that morning was full of rain. It couldn't be the time for than me, but I walked out for him, a charming young lady who brought in the Cheltenham races, could it? The leaving Greeneyes to mind the shop. a 14in. Matsui portable, Model weather certainly suggests so." His car was about a hundred yards up 14TR50. She's actually Elijah Spry's "Why I do believe it is the the road and the set was an ancient fifth wife. A remarkable man! Cheltenham races today" said Paul. 21in. Pye Model 52KE1585 (CP90 "It's causing us a lot of worry. When "And all weekend" added Steven. chassis). I hadn't seen one for ages. we switch it on it goes for only five "And I daresay you've raided the "Long time no see!" I said as I seconds, then this little light flashes" petty cash and looked up where the brought it in, trying to be bright. she said, pointing to the standby LED. Guinness tent is?" I asked, then pointed He looked at me, puzzled. "No sea, "They do these things" I replied, to the pile of sets on the shop floor. Mr Burcock? No, that's true. But there glancing at my watch. I must have had "Fill me in" I said. never was here in the midlands, wasn't about a thousand of these, sets on the "That's old Scrubber Hopton's there?" bench, all with the same trouble. I took Sobell" Steven said. "Tube, line output I smiled benignly, having decided to three 1801(52, 0.5W resistors from the transformer, paper capacitors oozing — get back at him via his pocket. "What's drawer and tinned them. Then I quickly not worth repair." the trouble with it?" I asked. dismantled the set and fitted the "Sobell!" I exclaimed, "I thought they He looked surprised. "Well I suppose resistors in place of the open-circuit went out_with the Major!" it's because the land is too high" he ones on the tube base panel. After that "And the rest are all done, with the added. the set worked perfectly. bills attached" Steven concluded. I tapped the set hard. "The set" I said Lotus Rose was pleased and paid the And with that the two of them firmly, "what's wrong with it?" modest fee happily. It was time to-hang skipped off, like a pair of sprightly "Oh" he exclaimed, "plenty of sownd up the 'gone to lunch' notice. yearlings. like, only no peecture." Oh, and don't forget, keep those emails They passed a grim-looking old dear My first instinct was to look for the rolling in. You can write to me at at the door. It was Mrs Hopton. She 165V supply to the RGB output stages, [email protected]

TELEVISION January 2004 181 WHAT A LIFE!

"Morning Mr Carp!" he said, "has Odd customers and their sets. The role of your set failed?" batteries in the trade over the years. Points from "Yes he bloody have!" said Fishy. "Once a year 'e goes west, allus about emails. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary this time." "Good!" Steven interjected, "if this goes on many more years we'll have to "Hello Mr Bulmer!" sang the little He replaced the optocoupler and give you a quantity discount. Remind chap who came through the shop door avalanche diode and switched the set me about 2010!" the other day, "it's me, Mr Leaky, on. It's voltages were now normal, and "It ain't good enough, you know" con- couldn't it?" it behaved perfectly. tinued Fishy. I recalled Mr Leaky well, having "Nah — every six months would be repaired his old Pye television set not Boozer's Beko better!" said Steven. all that long since. When he paid he had Boozy Bashford then stumbled in with a When he tried the set the picture was made the amusing observation "funny TV set that Paul seemed to recognise. too small and resembled a dome. how one moment you've got thirty Boozy runs a dockside pub, and is reck- "Whatever could this be?" he mut- powends in your pocket and the next oned to be its best customer. tered. Then he noticed that there was it's in someone else's!" Well, yes! I "I'm seething" he said thickly as he also a slight hum. When he checked the eyed him anxiously, wondering whether swayed about, rolling his bloodshot outputs from the power supply he found he'd come to ask for it back or to pay eyes around for somewhere to put his that the HT voltage was low, with AC me some more. It turned out to be the set down. ripple. The reservoir capacitor was low latter, and I was soon all smiles again. Fearing that he might drop it on to a in value. "I recommended you to my neighbour, few sets that had been done and were Mrs Hewitt" he continued. "'Er set died parked on the shop floor, Paul raced Tightwad Sceats on 'er last night, like. She's a widow. round, took it and placed it on the Our next caller was Tightwad Sceats. Rather fancy her, so I said let me take bench. "What's the matter then?" We weren't at all excited to see him, it to Mr Bulsome, 'e'll do it."Clarence, he asked. because there's no money at all in him. you're so kind' she'd replied. Anyway, "I've just had to throw a drunk out of In winter he makes a living selling tripe, 'ere I am with it like. It's in the car, the pub" he said. "Third time this week! while in summer he sells ice-cream. isn't it?" If there's one thing I can't stand it's He's also an undertaker, when he can It turned out to be a Sharp 56FH53H someone who drinks too much." get a client. Tightwad has never bought (DA100 chassis) and, when Mr Leaky "Too true" said Paul. an envelope in his life. He simply cross- had piped off, Steven got it on to the The set was a Beko, Model es out his name and address on ones bench and started to make some checks NR28128NX. Boozy said it was dead, sent to him and reuses them to send out with his meter. then staggered off. his replies and bills — sealing them with "Trouble in the power supply" he Paul examined its chassis carefully paper tape, and never putting enough -announced, "the HT reservoir capacitor before carrying out any tests. "Another stamps on. has blown its top clean off." burnt out 8101" he commented, "that "Will you test this battery at no He replaced it and started to check means a faulty line output transformer." charge?" he asked Paul. associated components. In the process "How do you know that?" I enquired. Paul did so and told him it was flat. he found that the regulation feedback "Because we've had three like it "Right, give it me back will you?" optocoupler IC705 was short-circuit. recently" Paul replied. Tightwad said, "I know where to get When I looked his way a few minutes He fitted a replacement, and asked 'em cheaper than you'd charge." later he was still frowning. "Can't make Steven to add another one to the order it out" he commented, "my meter tells that was being prepared for SEME. Batteries me there's an avalanche diode up the R101 also had to be replaced of course: While Greeneyes was out shopping the creek, but I can't see one!" it's 4.7Q, 0-5W. The set then worked other morning she noticed that her It turned out to be on the copper-print normally. watch had stopped. We had arranged to side of the panel — D735, type BZX04- meet that lunchtime for something to 145. He removed it, checked it and Old Fishy's Bush eat. Because she couldn't bear the looked up the specification. As Paul stowed the Beko set under the thought of missing me (or was it the "Good thing I did" he said, "with a bench Old Fishy appeared outside the food?) she popped into a jewellers to number like that you'd think the break- front door, mouthing silently through see if it needed a battery. It did, and she down voltage would be 145V, but it's the glass. He was carrying a Bush was charged £4. not — it's more like 170V. Bit of bright Model 2027T. Steven ran across and Later we found ourselves in one of numbering, that!" opened the door for him. those 'Everything for a £' shops and

250 February 2004 TELEVISION bought a card of about twenty similar An old couple came in with a valve fine-nosed snips to separate the screen batteries for £1. There's obviously portable. lead. We used a tiny dentist's mirror, or something cockeyed somewhere. It set "Can you change the batteries?" he perhaps I should say a dentist's tiny me thinking about the ever-changing was asked. mirror, to see what was what in some battery scene. "I can do better than that" breezed small, closely-packed sets. When I first came into the trade so- Porky, taking their set off them and Those AF117s made a good few bob called personal radios were mains-bat- putting it down. "I can sell you a set for us. tery types that were full of valves. They that's lighter, smaller and costs virtual- were usually built into a rexine-covered ly nothing to run!" With that he led Emails box with an attaché-case type lid, and them to a display of transistor sets and Bill Wright, whose website address I were big by today's standards — about started to deliver his spiel. The couple gave in the January issue, says my men- four inches thick and a foot square. were impressed when he told them tion generated a lot of website visits. He Battery manufacturers loved them, as that the sets used just one tiny, cheap also mentions that he's getting a bit each set used two hefty batteries that battery. `long in the tooth' for ladder work- "I didn't last long. One was used to light "And how long does the battery last?" run out of puff and have to pause on up the valves, the other to provide an he was asked. every second rung". Writing just before HT voltage. "Last!" echoed Porky, "it lasts abso- Christmas, he says "I'm sure you'll Incidentally as these sets aged, those lutely for ever! Once you buy one of exercise moderation over the festive sea- customers who used them with a mains these you've finished buying batteries son". I wish I could share his optimism! supply would complain that the Light for life." Alan Velden has sent me another Programme (Radio 2 to most of you) And with that his till took another email recalling the F.J. Camm days. had disappeared. The remedy was to hammering and the set went from Says he had always thought that the replace the frequency-changer valve, the shop in the arms of his beaming name was a pseudonym. Not so Al, usually a DK91 or DK96, or change the customers. there was an FJC all right — he made voltage tapping from 240V to 220V. By coincidence I was in the shop a numerous appearances at shows, lec- Then, quite suddenly, the reps started few weeks later when the same couple tures etc. to prepare us for the advent of the came back with the set. It was dead. Alan also says he agrees that TV transistor radio. Our Ever Ready man, "Most unusual!" exclaimed Porky as engineers have always been absurdly a rather insecure fellow who used to he took the set into his hands. "By the underpaid — even in those far-off times call every week and top up our battery way, there's a new machine on that when the sets themselves were sensibly rack with new stock, became a very stand over there. It makes your early priced. Alan, a youngster of 67, says worried man. morning cup of tea all by itself!" he left the trade back in 1966 to "It seems that the batteries will last "Eh?" they exclaimed as they turned become a postman, as that was a bet- virtually for ever" he complained. "I'm to look at a Goblin Teas Maid. As they ter-paid job. going to have to keep my eyes open for did so he swiftly replaced the battery He also recalls the then well-known, another job." and their set sprang to life. maroon-covered Newnes Radio and Fortunately for him he didn't find "Ha, loose wire!" he exclaimed. Television Servicing books that con- one. While the first transistor radios "Sony about that. The set will be all tained nothing but condensed service were of similar size and shape to the right now." information for hundred and hundreds valve models they replaced, the set- As the couple trundled out, beaming of receivers, with a separate volume makers soon began to produce smaller again, Porky casually popped the bat- issued each year. You could buy them and smaller radios that used smaller tery back into his stock behind the as sets of books or separate ones. and smaller batteries which lasted no counter. My first set came as something of a time. The rep's living standards rose We were to discover that he had been surprise, as I hadn't ordered it! The visibly, along with his confidence. doing a great deal of this. He solved his accompanying bill seemed to be for stock deficiencies by reselling the dud rather a lot of money. I immediately Sales spiel batteries. Of course it all caught up contacted Newnes, which sent me an About that time I changed my job, with him before long, and he was soon apologetic letter and a photostat of the going to work at a multiple shop that replaced with manager number ten. coupon it had received, made out with was managed by a chap we called I was reminded about all this by a letter my name and address. This was a hoax, Porky. The bench engineers told me he from Mark Garton in the last issue. He and I recognised the handwriting. To was the ninth manager that year. "They referred to the AF117 type germanium save me the expense of returning the don't last long" one of them said, "they transistors used in many vintage transis- books, Newnes invited me to accept come and they go." tor radio sets. I recall them well, and the them at no charge. Like his predecessors, Porky's wages recurring short-circuit fault that would By the time I discarded them years were set at peanut level so that he develop between the earthed internal later every page was well worn from would be encouraged. or driven, to screen and the collector. The result was a frequent use. They must have made me make them up with the commissions he silent set and, very often, a flat battery as a fortune, enabling me to repair so earned on sales. I soon noticed that he well by the time the set came to us. many sets. I had every reason to be was selling transistor radios at a phe- The transistors had four leadout wires, thankful to the hoaxer, who had set out nomenal rate. We in the service depart- the one for the base being apart from to cause me trouble but had in fact done ment upstairs wondered how he man- the other three, which were for the me one of the best turns in my life. aged it. I found out one day when I was screen, collector and emitter. As Mark Keep the emails rolling in! in the showroom, replacing a valve in a points out, all you have to do to bring The address is stock set. the set back to life is to use a pair of [email protected]

TELEVISION February 2004 251 WHAT A LIFE!

A mixed batch of faulty equipment. An even more mixed batch of customers. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

'm not too good at remembering there?" I asked Steven. faces. Never was, and it has caused "The chap you sold that monster TV I me more than a few problems over When dealing with set to" he replied. the years. This can be particularly so I turned round to wave and return his when I sell TV sets or whatever, customers I can get grin, but by now he seemed to be deep especially those bought in at 'special' really friendly and in thought, studying the carpet. prices, where the profit margin might "Funny chap" I said. "Didn't really take make the job almost worthwhile. personable - almost to him. Bit dishevelled. Thought he might work for some oil-stained back- A displeased customer nice to know... street dump that tinkers with bangers... " When dealing with customers I can get "But don't you remember his face?" really friendly and personable. Almost Steven continued. nice to know. "He hasn't?" said Paul. "Well, not really..." It happened again last week. Paul had "Not at all" I said, "in fact he's done diagnosed a faulty smoothing block in us nothing short of one great big Video trouble Mr Hoighty's TV set — a monster with favour." I began to hum a tune. Paul Just then a heavy little fellow sloped up the largest screen I've ever seen and all looked at me, pursed his lips and to us, nursing a pint. the latest technical extras. It was smiled with his mouth, though not his "Be you the Mr Bullock that mends capable of everything short of doing the eyes. tellys?" he asked. washing up. It wasn't long before the set sat I gave him a watery grin and pointed But Mr Hoighty had become gleaming in the middle of our shop at Steven. displeased with it, because this was the display. When it caught the eye of Pausing only to give me a withering second time it had given him trouble Bertie Bunyan, happiness started to look, Steven smiled at him and bent during its first eighteen months. When well up within me. The keener Bertie down to align his ear with the chap's we told him that this time we wanted became, the happier I got. Within two mouth. £25 to repair it he became even more minutes we were on the most jovial of "I don't wanna talk shop when you're displeased. His eyes turned to slits, and first-name terms. Two minutes after 'aving a drink after a day's work, but I got he slammed his upper lip down like the that, as the set became his very own, he a video, see?" he continued. "And he's top of a roller-top desk. made me and our till croon. Our gone dead like. 'Ow much would that cost "I gave it a chance last year" he lifelong friendship had got off to a now? Could you do 'im quick? Couldn't hissed, "and let you repair it. I would flying start. be much wrong like. Oney they've got have let you repair it this time if it had A day or two later, in the Red Lion, brand new 'uns up town fer £35.50..." been under guarantee, like then. But some chap started waving and grinning At that I caught sight of somebody I nothing and nobody plays me up twice, at me from across the room. I looked at knew over the other side of the room see? I'm cute when it comes to paying him stonily. "Who's that lunatic over and sloped off, leaving Steven to deal out. You can keep the bloody set!" with the fella's questions. He signed our bit of paper with a Next morning the chap waddled in flourish and strutted out, beaming like a His eyes turned to with his recorder. It turned out to be a victorious gladiator. Samsung SV230B. He saw me there. Paul, who had witnessed it all, slits, and he slammed "Joo work here?" he asked. Then he scratched the top of his head like a saw Steven. "I brought the recorder in, puzzled Stan Laurel. So I tried to ease his upper lip down Mr Er..aww..ahh" he said. "I knows it his evident discomfort, 011y style. can't cost much. Only the missus 'as "What's the matter Stanley?" I asked. like the top of a roller- this in-grown toe-nail like, an' sister "Now it's ours. We can mend it and sell ent none too good..." it for a mighty good price. Just think, Mr top desk When he'd departed Paul took the Hoighty hasn't been bad to us at all!" machine to the bench and opened it up.

31 0 March 2004 TELEVISION It was dead all C714 (1,000pF. right. But nothing "It blew up, Mr Bullock" he trumpeted. 10V). C604 is in difficult. The two the line output start-up resistors on "Just as my wife was about to stage and forms the primary side of part of the unusual the power supply, watch her favourite programme! feedback drive R15D12 and arrangement. C714 R15D15, were Have you met my wife?"... is the reservoir open-circuit. Once capacitor, on the he'd replaced them secondary side of the machine seemed to be OK. He that the carriage drawer would close the chopper circuit, for the 7V supply started to write out the job card. without a cassette in, but with a that feeds the 5V regulators. "Don't forget his wife's toe nail" I cassette in it wouldn't. When he Steven replaced them and the line said, "and the state of her sister ..." dismantled it he found that the capstan output transistor, after which the set Then we noticed a personable and, I motor was sluggish. It didn't respond worked happily enough. suppose, good looking chap in a to cleaning and lubrication, so a leather jerkin thing. He was heading replacement was ordered. It arrived Help wanted for the shop door and was carrying a first thing next morning. Once it had The phone rang. Steven answered it, VCR. been fitted the camcorder worked but I could hear the raucous voice from "Can't be coming in here, can he?" I normally. the other side of the room. It could commented. "He looks too normal." Later that day Mr Western popped his only have been Stan Idler. He did come in, smiling pleasantly, head around the door, said he was "If you comes outa your shop door and the VCR was an Akai VSG745. coming in, then dashed off again. But and looks to your right, you'll see me "Morning Mr Bullock" he said, he soon returned, and was happy that by my red car" he bellowed. "I'm closing the door quietly behind him. we'd been able to cure the trouble with wearing a brown trench coat and a big "Is there any chance you could repair his Samsung. cap like." this for me, please." "Glad you were able to fix it by Steven frowned and put the phone As Steven booked it in I could see today" he said, "only I needed it last down. He went out, huddling his that he was impressed. "Nice to night to see that Cheaters programme. shoulders against the rain, paused, encounter a normal fella for once" he Really good, innit?" looked right then ran off up the road. commented. He was away for fifteen minutes. This VCR was also dead, for the A blown up Sharp When he returned, puffing and same reason. Paul, who handles the Mr Christianiou hales from Greece. blowing, he was soaking wet and was videos, soon found that R209 (270k52) He's tall and well padded, and sports a carrying a large 21in. Matsui set, was open-circuit. The repair took a big black moustache. The set he Model 2107R. matter of minutes. struggled in with was a Sharp "Thanks for 'elping me, Mr Bullock" The chap came back later that day, 51CSO5H, one that's fitted with the CS Idler said: "I'd have carried 'im and was happy with the price. He chassis. meself, except I've this bad back like." opened his jerkin and pulled out a "It blew up, Mr Bullock" he Steven opened his mouth to reply, but frilly pink handbag. trumpeted. "Just as my wife was about no words came out. I turned to Steven when he'd gone. to watch her favourite programme! "Give us a ring like" said Idler as he "As you said, he was a bit different" I Have you met my wife?" made off, commented. I shook my head. "Don't think I've "Where did you get to?" I asked had the pleasure" I commented. when Steven had recovered his breath. A camcorder He rolled his eyes and brought his "He was parked over a hundred yards Our next caller opened the door and hands up as though to conduct an unseen up the road" he replied. "He could have popped his head in. orchestra, swaying to its silent music. pulled on to the front ..." "Hello Mr Burford" he exclaimed, "Oh Mr Bullock" he continued, "my By now Paul had powered the set and "I'm Tom Western and I'm coming wife ..., my found that it was dead. The trouble was in!" Then he ran away. wife ..." He smiled happily at the in the start-up circuit, where a 1MQ, We exchanged glances, but not for thought of her. 0.5W resistor was open-circuit. long. Within a minute or two he was "Er, yes. Well, right" I said. "We'll "Experience has taught me to suspect back, clutching a camcorder. It was a have a look at the set and give you a any resistors that are over 68k52" I Samsung VPL500. ring." commented, "the higher the value, the "He works, Mr Boodle, but he don't "Oh thank you, Mr Bullock" he more likely it is that.you'll find them work" Tom explained helpfully. "You continued, "my wife will be pleased." open-circuit." puts a tape in, and he don't play it, then Then he closed his eyes and started A replacement got the set working you takes it out and he do." Steven swaying again. again. gulped a bit. When he'd departed Steven pulled "Any chance of me picking it up the set on to the bench. We've had a lot Keep it up! tonight?" of dealings with these sets. They can Many thanks to all of you who have "We'll try" said Steven, "call in about blow the line output transistor weekly sent me emails recently. I'll include five." unless you get to the root of the some comments next time. Keep it up "That's good of you. See you tomorrow." trouble, which is a couple of — you can reach me at Steven looked at this one. He found capacitors, C604 (330pF, 10V) and [email protected]

March 2004 TELEVISION 31 1 WHAT A LIFE!

The shop to myself for a while. Some faulty TVs and a dead VCR. Then a visit from the shop steward... Donald Bullock's servicing commentary.

hey are clever lads. "There's a fine for you that I am unfortunate you see." Marmaduke is bothering Phyllis, my new restaurant in town" Steven We managed to extract two sets from brand new, delightful little girl cat. Will T said to Greeneyes and me the other his car, a monster widescreen Bush you come out and, er, attend to day as we were closing the shop, "and model and an Aiwa TV/VCR combi Marmaduke for me?" Paul and I would like to take you both unit. Then he was off. "No" I snarled, and slammed the out for a meal tonight." In less than no phone down. time we were enjoying the best nosh-up Mr Ng's sets It rang again, and once more I rattled of our lives, wine and all. So instead of The Bush set was fitted with the it from its rest. "What is it now?" I being suspicious when, afterwards, they 11AK19 chassis and was stuck in stand- shouted. gave us a great joint smile, I smiled by. As I was the only one there, I had no "What do you mean, Mr Bullock, what back benignly. Then they drove us back choice but to have a go at it myself. I is it now?" bumbled an ancient voice. "I home. They're good lads. began by getting to the chassis and giv- haven't telephoned you since 1992." "Oh, there's just one thing" they said ing it a keen examination in the hope of I wiped my face with my dry hand. when we reached the door. "We've got a discovering a simple remedy, like a dry- "Oh, hello, Mr Dodd" I said, "er, ha ha, little trip planned for tomorrow morn- joint. Yes, there it was! A beauty at the was that a crossed line we had there? ing, down Meadow Pool way. Pike spin- anode of D825 in the power supply. These things happen, don't they? Ha ning, you know. Won't take us many Although it had been arcing, the diode ha." hours. Do you think you could open the was undamaged. I resoldered it fever- "What an odd fellow he must have shop and look after things until we ishly, then tried the set again. To my been" said Old Dodder, "hope he's done arrive a little later?" delight the EHT rustled up and the — for good." Well of course I didn't mind, and said screen brightened. But there was no "Sure to be" I continued, "now what so. "Take as long as you like" I added. video, just a bright screen with no dis- can I do for you Mr Dodd?" "Oh, and there's one other little thing" play. Steven said, "we've a couple of repair I noticed a video output IC on the tube A Beko jobs due in soon after eight. Best open base panel and decided that it could "It's my telly, Mr Bullock. A Beko it is. the shop at eight instead of nine, would- well be the cause of the problem. I was Got it in Snoddies Sale last week. But n't you think?" right. It's a TDA6108JF, and the lads when I told the tall thin chap there that had one in stuck. When I fitted it the set it had gone wrong he was most unhelp- Next morning produced an exceptionally good picture. ful, unpleasant in fact, and hung up. At twenty past eight next morning a car The Aiwa combi was slow to start up Shall I ask my sister Molly to help me drew up outside and a sleek, gentle fig- from cold. When it did, it produced bring it along?" ure, like a dressed-up and bearded eel, murky video and audio wow from our "Er, good idea Mr Dodd" I replied, "in slid out. The day had hardly begun, yet test tape. I have always found that the fact spot on!" he was smiling happily. cause of the trouble is, with these units, There was a pause. "What's 'spot on' "Ah, you will be being Mr Bullock!" low-capacitance electrolytics. This one Mr Bullock?" he asked. he said softly, "the 'old man' as your was no exception. C523 (100pF, 16V) "Well yes, do bring it along" I said, sons say." had fallen in value to 60pF, and C522 then gently hung up. I shot him a look. (22pF, 50V) had fallen to 1pF. A little while later he drew up outside "I am being Mr Ng, and very pleased Replacements cured the trouble. in his car, with his woolly sister. I went to meet you." out to help them carry the Beko in. He "I am being, er, pleased to meet you Interlude was tugging it from his side of the car. too" I replied, pulling on the best smile As I was boxing the unit up the tele- "Lift your end, Molly" he shouted I could muster at twenty past eight. phone rang. I made a grab at the phone, "now push it to me." "What is being the aah" then I couldn't which slipped off the counter. "What's "No, you push it to me" Molly said. control a big yawn. "Sorry about that — the bloody matter" I barked when I Old Dodder straightened. "Molly, television trouble is it?" recovered it just before it hit the ground. you're not being at all helpful. Just con- "Yes indeed. My misfortune, your "Mrs Wellington-Harper here" an edu- fusing things. Same as always." gain!" he smiled, "so it is being good cated voice boomed. "My tom cat "Stop bullying me Cyril. Did you hear

374 April 2004 TELEVISION that, Mr Bullock? He's always been the umbrella, Donald?" When he'd departed I put it on the same." I smiled at him as best as I could bench. It was dead, with no display. I waved to them to stop, grabbed the manage. "Some sort of trouble, Mr Faults like this mean something wrong set and took it into the shop. Flighty?" I enquired. in the power supply of course. Sure Old Dodder toddled in after me. "Can "Well yeah, Don. It's a Beko telly that enough one of the outputs was very I visit your loo?" he ventured. belongs to my neighbour. She's a low indeed. The relevant reservoir "Over there" I said, then hastily young widow, poor thing . . ." capacitor is C910 (4.7y€F, 50V). I was- moved Mr Ng's Bush out of the way. "I understand," I said simply. n't surprised to find that it was open- The Beko was stuck in standby. I He did a double-take at my sincere circuit. A replacement worked won- checked the line output transistor and face. "Er, black lines keep coming and ders, with everything then working found that it was short-circuit. So I fit- going on the picture. When they appear correctly. ted a replacement and tried again. The there's none of the usual writing to tell core of the line output transformer then us what it's on. Only I'd like to help The shop steward arced violently to the chassis. It was her, you know . . ." During the late afternoon, as I was type 1352-5048. The HR8368 is an "I'm sure you would" I replied, "why beginning to look at my watch, we had equivalent and, after finding one in the not bring it in then?" our last caller that day. He was a forth- stores, I fitted it. The set then produced He went back out to his car and right, formidable-looking fellow. We an excellent picture. returned with the set, a Beko Model soon learnt that he was Jim Fargill, the Old Dodder reappeared. "Oh that's NR20242-8R. Then he smirked at top shop steward at a nearby factory. good" he said when he saw the set. I Greeneyes and departed. "Still working hard at this end of the suppose I must owe you some money." We've had this trouble before. The day?" he commented. "You want to "You've got it in one" I smiled. TV trouble, I mean. It led us a merry join a union, you know. What's your Old Dodder stepped back and looked dance until we discovered the cause, boss like? I'll bet he's taking it easy at me. "What do you mean, Mr which is a tiny 1,000pF surface-mount- somewhere luxurious." Bullock, I've got it in one?" he asked. ed capacitor, C410. It often disinte- I wondered whether he meant Steven Molly had come in. "Cyril" she grates as soon as it's warmed by the or Greeneyes, but never mind. We need exclaimed, "concentrate on the Beko. iron. his patronage. I'm glad we chose it instead of the one I fitted a replacement then turned to "Look" he said, raising his left palm you wanted." Greeneyes. "What shall we charge him and tapping it with the forefinger of his "You backed a winner" I pronounced. dear. Eighty quid maybe?" right hand. "Point 1, I've got a Old Dodder frowned. "A winner, Mr "How could you!" she exclaimed. Goodmans TVC46 combi unit, right?" Bullock? My sister doesn't bet on hors- "Aw, well, it would be quite easy" I I nodded. es, you know." said. "Right. Point 2 it's as dead as a door- "Definitely not" Molly rejoined. nail, right?" A Mitsubishi VCR I nodded again. Another Beko Colonel Starch marched in shortly "Point 3, I want it repaired. Got it? As the old pair left I saw that they had afterwards. He retired twenty five years Can you manage that?" forgotten their umbrella, and picked it ago and still goes on and on. I nodded weakly, then he went out up to chase after them. But just then "Hello Donald, old boy" he rasped, and returned with the TV/VCR unit. He Greeneyes came in, looking quite rav- pumping my hand energetically. placed it on the counter, shook my hand ishing in the new green and beige outfit "Always good to see you, and your and announced that he would be back she had worn the week before for son charming young wife. What a lucky the following day. James's wedding to Dawn at chap you are! And so you should be. I was feeling tired, but opened the Porthmadog in North Wales. And, as if One of us. True British! But, as you unit and headed for the power supply by magic, Mr Flighty also entered the know Donald, my dear wife is so silly. section. An easy one. The power switch shop, jauntily with his fetching smile Bought one of those Jap video SW08 was badly dry-jointed. and pencil moustache. He was wearing recorders. Against my advice, I might I resoldered it and tried the machine a cravat and a black blazer with a add. Told her British is best! out. There didn't seem to be anything gaudy, club-type red and gold crest. Always was!" wrong with it, so I boxed it up and "Hello dear" he sang out to "Er, what did she buy?" I ventured. turned to Greeneyes Greeneyes, "my you do look sparkling- "Told you! I'll go get the thing in." "Time for home I think, dear" I said. ly attractive today. As always, of He strode off to his vintage car and course." returned with a Mitsubishi VCR, Model Keep it up! Greeneyes smiled demurely and, at HS641V. Many thanks to all who have sent me that, Flighty pretended to notice me for "Says she can't see the dial thing, interesting emails recently. These are the first time. or whatever it is" he continued. welcome, and I'll be commenting on "Oh, hello Donald old chap. My! "Don't know why she'd want to, but some of the points raised. You can Time passes! Bad night last night? Still there it is! We have to make reach me at on the tablets? Do you always carry an allowances, I suppose." donald@ wheatleypress.com

TELEVISION April 2004 375 WHAT a LIFE!

From a pool-side idyll to a surprise interview, ail in a day's work. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

t was good of the boys to pres- pared to go along. Then Gaffer "Donald Bullock?" he asked sure me into having a day off. Unwin appeared. Another local. Gaffer. I Since it looked promising, I "Ha! Just phoned the shop" he "You'm a joking" Gaffer decided to follow the quiet coun- exclaimed. "The boys said you replied. try lanes to the Haven Pool to were in the country, and I thought I followed them in and hastily prepare my favourite tench swim `yes, and I know were he gets. went through to the workshop, for the start of fishing next He won't mind a visit to the cot- leaving Steven to book in their month. It's a magical spot. There tage for a minute or two. sets. Moggy Morgan's was a were a few overhanging willows Ready?'" 28in. widescreen Sharp set, to trim back, one or two water- I stared at them both. "Look, Model 66GF63H (DA100 chas- lily roots to drag out and, to I'm off duty" I said, "why not sis). "Crackle on the sound and make room for my rod, a few take your sets to the shop?" no picture" he said. Paul immedi- bank-side bulrush reeds to tether. The air seemed different when ately put it on the bench. To make it all enjoyable, the they'd departed. No more magic. Gaffer Unwin's set was a 32in. scent of wild roses filled the air. The soft mist had gone, also the widescreen Matsui model, fitted scent of wild roses. And the with the Grundig CUC2058 chas- Summer idyll doves, the coots and the dragon- sis. "Just before it died" he said, It promised to be a day of bliss. flies. I decided to return to work "it displayed a bowed picture". The sun smiled contentedly, and in the hope of being able to go a gentle mist shrouded and soft- out again next day. The Western Gazette ened the water. A pair of blue- The scruffy chap, taking it all in, powdered doves fluttered and Back at the shop wanted to get on. He addressed cooed in a nearby beech tree, a Moggy Morgan and Gaffer himself to Moggy Morgan. "Who flock of amorous coots twittered Unwin got there at the same time are you then, boy-oh?" he asked. and dived at the far end of the as I did. Both had brought along Moggy told him. pool, crickets chirped in the long enormous TV sets. I let them go He then turned to Gaffer grass and dragon-flies hovered in first. Inside the shop the boys Unwin. "You sure you're not old and darted over the lilies. I were talking to an extremely Mr Bullock?" he asked. plopped a handful of bread-paste scruffy-looking chap with a flash "Quite certain" said Gaffer. nuggets into the water where my camera. He turned round and At that Steven called me out to float would soon be. What heav- looked at us as we came in. introduce me to our scruffy en, I thought, what total tranquil- "Donald Bullock?" he asked caller. lity! There was never anything Moggy. "This is Scoop Spinner from the like the peace and solitude of the "Not me" Moggy answered. Western Gazette" he said, "he waterside to banish all thoughts of television — and the bores who pester those who carry its cross.

An interruption Then I heard the sound of feet tramping on the overgrown path. They drew nearer. It was old Moggy Morgan, who farms near- by. "Ah, Donald" he wheezed, "just the chap! That set you fixed the other month. Still playing up, you know. My missus reckons that the picture slips from corner to corner, and the sound sort of races. But 'er's been under the old Quack, like. Keeps on com- plaining though. Pop over to the house for me, will you?" I screwed my face up and pre-

504 June 2004 TELEVISION wants to interview you on your Dodgeworth, then arrived with a ter with a lady's handwriting. lifetime in the television trade." 28in. widescreen set. "It's a Smells nice and scenty . . ." "Ello, Mr Bullock!" said Scoop, Lecron, Mr Bullock" he said. By the time he had gone on his "that's it, we're doing a series "A what-ron?" I asked.' way Paul had got Gaffer Unwin's featuring old-established local "A Lecron" he replied, "Model Matsui back in working order. businesses. Do you know that CTV900W it says on the back. The cause of the dead-set symp- yours is by far the oldest-estab- It's dead. Belongs to my cousin, tom was similar to that with the lished local TV firm?" Mrs Woodward, who got it from Lecron. The 1.6A fuse Si60001 Debenhams with the insurance had blown, the IRFPC50 chopper A hectic time she received after she put her MOSFET T60006 was short-cir- As he spoke the Reverend Goode husband away. Did you know cuit, also the TDA4605-3 control came in with his curate, who was him?" chip. In addition resistor R60001 carrying an Awai XR-MDS7EZ I shook my head. had risen in value from 2701(52 to hi-fi unit. Oh, a real beast he was" contin- over 5501(52. "Greetings, Donald" the ued Roger, "a real beast. Why he Once these items had been Reverend boomed. "Do be the replaced he investigated the EW angel you are and have a look at "Look Roger" I interrupted, fault. There was a short-circuit my verger's gramophone thing, "it's a bit hectic here at present. modulator diode, D53072, and will you? His wife is suffering Can we talk about the set?" the 4.7Q safety feed resistor from severe toothache." "One day she refused him a R55006 was open-circuit. After Greeneyes then brought in the Woodbine" Roger continued, fitting replacements he'd tested tea, and Paul announced his find- "and he walked out. Bought a the set. To his relief it crackled to ings after dealing with Moggy's toffee 'ammer, went home and life and produced excellent Sharp set. On test the set had dis- gave her an 'ammering!" results. played a faint blank raster with Steven was looking at the flyback lines, and there had been Reverend's Awai hi-fi unit while The interview a crackle with the sound. The Paul was attending to Gaffer Scoop, who was getting impa- cause of the former fault had Unwin's Matsui TV, so I decided tient and was a bit confused been Q912, a BC337-40 transis- to take a look at the Lecron. about what was going on, tor on the tube base panel. Its We'd no data on it, and I could- gnawed at his pencil and darted base-emitter junction was open- n't identify the chassis, but his eyes about. He decided to set- circuit and, as a result, the checks in the power supply tle on the Reverend. TEA5101A RGB output chip had revealed a blown fuse, a short- "Paul" he said, "was there ITV no 12V supply at pin 2. The circuit BUZ90A MOSFET, desig- when . . ." crackle had been from the front nated T602, and a similarly "That's Paul there" the centre speaker. Replacement of shorted TDA4605-2 chopper Reverend said. the TDA7480 centre audio output control chip. I fitted replace- Scoop turned on his feet and chip IC1302, the BA4558F driver ments, then checked for any saw Greeneyes. "Er, Mrs chip IC1300 and three associated other shorts. Not finding any, I Catmore . . ." he began. electrolytics on the centre-speak- switched the set on. The fuse Greeneyes sighed loudly and left er PCB had cleared the crackle. blew at once. Further investiga- the room. Some resoldering was also tion revealed that the degaussing At that Steven decided to inter- required. After that the set posistor was virtually short-cir- vene. "Look Scoop" he said as worked well. cuit when cold. Once I'd he pointed to everyone in turn, Scoop Spinner, who was paying replaced this item the set worked "this is Paul, I'm Steven, the attention to everything, was normally. The picture was OK, gentlemen with the white collars beginning to look bewildered. and the sound particularly good. are the Reverend Goode and his Mrs Catmore, accompanied by curate, George the postman her unruly kids, then came in to Progress brought the letters, and Moggie buy a battery. The eldest had a As I was boxing the set up Morgan, Gaffer Unwin and sticky toffee-apple which he Steven mentioned that he'd Roger Dodgeworth brought their waved about, the youngest pulled found the cause of the trouble sets in for attention. And this is the telephone off the counter with the Awai hi-fi unit. There my father Donald, who you came while the other one spun the bat- had been an open-circuit fusible to see. Mrs Catmore left with her tery carousel around so that it link, PROOL in the supply to the little ones after buying a battery, collapsed and scattered batteries display. It worked correctly when and you're Scoop Spinner of the all over the floor. this had been replaced. Western Gazette. "Was a marrer with you lot?" Then George the postman came "Oh right, Donald" Scoop Mrs Catmore shouted, "I can't in with our mail. "Nothing too replied, "tell you what. Things take yous nowhere, can I?" worryin'" he commented, "a can be a bit hectic here, can't packet from SEME, your water they? I'll go back to the office A Lecron rates, a letter from the telephone and we'll finish the interview on A further visitor, Roger people, a few bills and a nice let- the phone, if that's OK." ■

TELEVISION June 2004 505 WHAT a LIFE!

The True Story of a Goblin carpet shampooing machine, and a collection of TV faults. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

ello Boys and Girls! Are "Because my Lovely Doggies to take it back to the shop where you all sitting comfort- have accidentally played on the he bought it, for sending to them. Hably? Then we'll begin! carpet So Much that it needs to "But the machine is in Spain, Today we are going to start with be cleaned" she sobbed, "and I with me!" cried Donny. a Story! And it's a True Story! haven't got a Carpet Cleaning "Then your guarantee is About a little boy called Donny Machine." invalid" sang the Friendly Lady, who delighted in making people Now Donny, always kind, "and we can't help you." Happy! didn't like to see his Greeneyes "I'm happy to pay for the friend Upset. So he saved up all spare part" persisted Donny. The Goblin story his beer-bottle pennies and drove "We can't supply it" she said, Now Donny spent a lot of time to England to buy a big Goblin "not to anyone. You must send in Spain with his Very Best Shampooing Machine to take the whole machine to us, and we Friend, a pretty and vivacious lit- back to her in Spain. will charge you." tle girl with Bright Green Eyes This made her Very Happy, and "But it's too heavy and bulky" who loves doggies, chocolates, in no time at all she had the carpet Donny said, "I could fit the spare doggies, children, doggies, as Clean and as Fresh as New! part in a minute if you'd send it Spanish meals and doggies. She When Greeneyes had used her to me." loved to play with her doggies on nice Goblin carpet-cleaning But the Friendly Lady said the nice marble floor of the villa machine a few times, what do you "No. Why not make a spare part where they lived. think happened? It broke down! and mend it yourself?" But when the Cruel Winter Donny, kind as ever, took a "Will you email me some dis- came the nice marble floor look at it. He saw that the little mantling instructions?" Donny became Very, Very Cold. plastic tube that projects from the asked. Greeneyes cried some big, clear cleaner's dome for the clean "Certainly Not" said the Tears and complained that it was soapy water pipe to slip on to had Friendly Lady. not fair to her doggies. broken at the elbow, because of a So Donny took the Clever This annoyed Kind and Big Big Bubble in the casing. Goblin Shampooer to his little Thoughtful Donny, who slyly workshop and turned it round kicked the doggies but bought her Repair and round to see how to open it. a Nice Big Carpet to sit on while Now Donny knew how to mend At last he flexed off two thin she fed them lots and lots of such things and, while Greeneyes plastic wings that clipped the smelly bones and dishes of meat. sat sobbing on her carpet, he pretty blue cover to the dome, Donny didn't like Greeneyes' telephoned Morphy Richards and undid a self-tapping screw doggies much. In fact he didn't who make the clever Goblin under each one. Then he lifted like them at all. But he did like machine. the dome and the Clever Goblin to sit near her because she kept "Morphy Richards Customer Shampooer rolled on its wheels pouring him lots of little glasses care!" sang the Friendly Lady on to the marble floor and broke of what he did like. While she who answered the phone. Donny into lots of eggshell pieces! had her back turned he would felt that he was in Very Good Donny wondered how a com- slyly jab his foot at Flashy, her Hands. pany like Morphy Richards Very Favourite Doggy. He told her about the faulty could have arranged for such a Whenever Donny caught Flashy Goblin machine, said he was in Very Heavy machine to hang by in a sensitive spot, Flashy would the trade and that if she could only two self-tapping screws to leap up and fly out of the door, arrange to send him the little the shell that includes its carrying yelping his head off. Greeneyes spare part he could easily mend handle. would call him back and tell him the machine himself. When he tackled the Friendly he was being a silly boy, and that But the Friendly Lady said Lady again, she told him that Donny wasn't like that at all. she couldn't, because Morphy because the machine wasn't One day Donny noticed that Richards didn't trust anyone in guaranteed there was nothing to his pretty friend Greeneyes was the Whole Wide World to mend be done. crying again, and asked her why? their machines. He would have And now, Question Time. We

544 July 2004 TELEVISION have Two Questions for you to "Is that true now?" I asked. "But I'll tell you about a chap I answer. "Absolutely true it is" said met the other day" he said, First, would any of you buy a Charlie. "name of Turpin, Dick Turpin Clever Goblin Shampooer after Sensibly, Steven had been actually." reading this tale? concentrating on the Sanyo set. I gave him a pained look, and Secondly, where can Donny He had found that the line oscil- Steven took on the Hitachi set. buy a Proper and Sturdy carpet- lator struck up then closed down. "Would you look out a shampooing machine?! This was a protection mecha- TMP47C1637N-RA01 micro- nism. The cause of the trouble controller chip if we have one" A Sanyo 21BN1 was failure of the LA7832 field he asked me, "it's in circuit posi- Meanwhile back at the shop output chip IC501. Once it had tion IC001 and I don't like the Charlie Rowe had bounced in, been replaced the set worked look of it. Could well be the under the weight of a 2lin. normally. cause of the faults. Sanyo set, Model 21BN1 (EB4- "Now who's a bringing the I managed to find one while A21 chassis). Goodmans outa my boot?" asked Ribby stood there smiling to "And when you've done this Charlie. himself. Better be sociable 1 one, boys, there's a big Paul and I went off to get it. thought. "What's your trouble Goodmans in the boot. Belongs "Then there was the bowling then Ribby?" I asked. to my neighbour Ducky for the pig at the Church Fete" "Well I went for a spin in a Gribble!" Charlie resumed, "who do you stagecoach the other day" he Charlie's a live wire with a reckon slipped the pig into the began. rich supply of yarns, some of beer tent and scattered all the "And that's when you met this which get less believable as he drinkers? And he got the Dick Turpin fella I suppose" I spins them. Reverend Goode to run him broke in. "The Sanyo first" Steven said, home afterwards, on account of He nodded. "There were sev- "what's up with it?" being a bit unsteady like." eral of us. Suddenly we heard "He comes out of standby but shots and Dick Turpin was there, he don't start up" Charlie replied. The Goodmans set spinning his gun on his second "Gives me missus the ab-dabs, The Goodmans set turned out to finger." but never mind 'er. By the way, be a widescreen Model W282NS "As they do" I said under- did I ever tell you about my (F19 chassis). It was dead, but standingly. I noticed that neighbour Ducky Gribble? He there was a clue that helped. Steven had managed to fit the was certainly a boy." Once the back had been removed microcontroller chip and had But Steven wasn't paying there was a smell of smoke. D25 reset the EEPROM. This had attention as he opened the set up. (BA157) had gone up because removed the product code, A couple of 120kW resistors in the line output transistor TR16 but there was still no remote- the power supply in this chassis, was short-circuit. When Steven control operation. R620 and R621, give trouble. tried the set after fitting replace- "Then Dick Turpin looked us They were both OK however. ments he found that there was all over" Ribby continued "and Some further tests showed that picture breathing and EW bow- said 'Right! I'm going to rob all the HT rose momentarily at ing. The cause was a 400V the ladies and pester all the switch on, then quickly decayed. capacitor, C69, whose value men!' At that a fat lady next to Charlie was eager to continue depends on tube size. me started to laugh. 'No, no' she with his spinning. "Yeah, Ducker It wasn't too difficult to get said, 'you mean rob all the men liked his drink, but never had Charlie on his way once his two and pester all the ladies!'" any money" he said, "yet he sets had been done, though we "At this a thin little chap in managed to stay half cut." had to listen to yet another the corner jumped up, folded his I looked at him. "How?" I improbable yarn. arms and stamped his foot. 'Mr asked. Turpin knows what he means' "Well, take the other lunch A monster Hitachi he said." time" Charlie continued, "he saun- Later Ribby Ellis, another right I looked at Ribby, who was tered to the Spread Eagle at open- nuisance, called in with a 28in. laughing to himself. "Enough, ing time and saw three old-timers Hitachi set, Model C2867TN. It Ribby, I think — Steven seems waiting in the shade for Tom to worked, but there was no to have finished the job with open up. When he did, Ducker remote-control operation and the your set." gave 'em time to go inside and product code C46TN was perma- There had been dry-joints at order some drinks. Then he nently present on the screen. regulators IC951 and IC952, a bawled out 'get yer cloths back "Ribby" I said, "we're feeling not uncommon condition in this on, yer brazen hussy!' After that a bit worn out this afternoon. Had chassis. Once they had been he went in the back door and Charlie Rowe in for the best part attended to remote-control oper- scoffed the drinks while the land- of a couple of hours. So none of ation was restored and there lord and the old-timers were a your practical jokes, eh?" were no further problems. running around outside looking Ribby grinned, pursed his lips We managed to get rid of for a woman as wasn't there!" and gave me a thumbs up sign. Ribby pretty promptly after that!

TELEVISION July 2004 545 WHAT a LIFE!

Feedback from readers and a miscellany of TV and video faults. Donald Bullock's monthly commentary

4m y wordprocessor was picking up my letters. Steven tionist, had talked the BBC into playing up last night" I soon had the set working merrily. supplying him with a colour slide said to Steven, "so I'll of Test Card F. He used this fre- have to do my article in the work- Carpet cleaners and local quently and religiously to com- shop. Do you think you could try commercial radio stations pare with his set's test-card pic- to keep the customers away until The first two email printouts ture. "If the picture geometry I've finished it?" were from Martin McCluskey, drifted even slightly" writes "I'll do my best" he replied, who hails from Co. Durham. One Steve, "he would have us along "but it would be easier if they referred to my trouble with a to adjust it as per the slide." couldn't see you sitting at the Goblin carpet cleaner. He recom- "One day we had to have his desk at the back of the counter." mends the Numatic George, from set in. That evening we rested it "I've no choice" I said, "that's Machine Mart, as being very well on the workshop floor with its where the machine is!" made. "What's more they sell the back off. Our shop manager, So I settled down and began spares" he adds, "not that we've checking the workshop before he by looking through my mailbag. ever needed any." left, managed to catch the tube's Quite a large one this month. In his second email Martin neck with his backside as he leant comments on local commercial over something else. The follow- A Thomson 426 radio stations, saying that they ing day he came to us a bit sheep- "Hello Mr Bullwork!" screeched are ruined by phone-ins, competi- ishly to confess. 'I accidentally a voice. It sounded like a saw on tions and the childish jabbering gave that big set a slight tap last a sheet of tin. "Just the chap! of the presenters. "Even the BBC night' he said, 'and it went Have a look at Old Pukey's telly station plays music over the news pshssssssh. I hope I didn't dam- will you? He's my lodger. bulletins" he adds. age anything'." Remember 'im? Bit of a prat. He "But," he continues, "while "It took us a week or more to plugged 'im in wrong." travelling through the Midlands I get and fit a replacement tube, I put my letters down. found a station called Saga FM, and no fewer than four men to "Plugged him, er, it in wrong? I with tasteful music, well spoken carry the set from the van to Mr said, "what do you mean?" English and no pulsing rhythms Fussie's lounge. When it came to "Well, 'e plugged the mains that drown the news. They have switching on, he hovered about into this little hole with `12V DC' stations in other areas as well." squinting at his test-card slide. We wrote by it." Further details can be obtained were worried in case the set's test "Can I help?" intruded Steven, from the website `Saga.co.uk'. card failed to match the slide!" taking the set. "Give us until later this afternoon, will you?" Mr Fussie John Berryman's Hitachi The set was a 10in. portable, Steve Cook, from the Isle of Our next visitor was John Thomson Model 426. Steven Wight, keeps a few old TV sets Berryman, who strode in with a began to open it up and reached for nostalgic reasons. He also has 25in. Hitachi set. He's a big chap, for his meter. I picked up my let- a huge collection of test-card and is also the undertaker from a ters again. music dating from the Sixties to local village. He is always look- "Hm" he said a few minutes the Nineties. I wonder whether he ing for extra trade. After putting later, "two transistors, TD15 and has the strict-tempo piece called, the set on the counter he looked TD20, have blown their tops. if I remember correctly, Sylvia? It over at me. They're both W6 One 10s. And was played in the late Fifties or "Hello there Don" he called FD01 has blown too. That's the early Sixties by what I assumed to over, "how are you keeping?" sugar fuse of course." be a trio or quartet. I haven't "Very well, John" I replied. I stopped, put down my letters heard it for fifty years but am sure "Just had a thorough check up, and looked at him. "W6 One that if I did it would take me back and was pronounced very fit 10s?" I said, "an odd number for again to that sunny and dusty indeed. You'll just have to wait." a transistor. And whatever are workshop over the furniture store! His set was an Hitachi you talking about, sugar fuses?" Steve recalls his days working C2519T. "What's up with it?" "Don't you know them?" he for a Cirencester dealer called asked Paul. asked, as though I was a slip of a Ettles and Bumford. They had a "Aw, he's terrible. Soon be lad. "They are very small, yellow customer whom we'll call Mr ready for the long box, I reckon. and highly rated. This one's a Fussie. He owned a massive 25in. You plug him in and see." 15A fuse." Deccacolour console set complete Paul did. The picture had "Well, I must get on" I replied, with doors and, being a perfec- shifted to the right by a third,

608 August 2004 TELEVISION was in black-and-white and before with this model. The cause In this connection I suppose I rolling, and there was little line has always been the two 2kV ought to mention my son James, sync — also no sound. ceramic capacitors C599 and who is a computer wizard. He did He took the back off and set- C592 in the line output stage. a search of the internet and came tled down to find out why. The C599 had cracked open, and C592 up with the website TDA2579A timebase generator had a nasty bulge in its side. It www.satcure.co.uk, which he chip IC501 seemed to be a logi- read all right when checked with a describes as being quite astonish- cal place to start. Scope checks at capacitance meter, but both capac- ing in its scope. its pins revealed incorrect wave- itors have to be replaced for cor- Incidentally I welcome emails forms. Freezing the IC made no rect operation. Once this had been from readers — you can contact difference, but heating it did. done the set's geometry was OK. me at [email protected] Sync was restored, and all the troubles were cured. A replace- Horace Price and his Ristic ment put the set to rights. Philips VCR Finally this month, a sad note. Our next caller, Horace Price, Those who have never heard of Service info looked the picture of misery as John R.T. Davies, who died I turned back to my letters. Allan put a Philips VCR on the counter. recently, are almost certainly Haskins had written to say that he "Ello Mr. Bullock" he said unknowing beneficiaries of his was having difficulty getting a flatly, "don't feel so good today." skills if they listen to the radio. service sheet for a Philips K40 "What's up?" I asked. An enthusiastic and highly-skilled TV set with two scart sockets at "Think I've got the flu coming sound engineer, he was frequently the back. Personally I'd run a on, I've got a raging toothache called upon by most of the major mile if someone confronted me and I got the screws in me arms" record companies to re-master with such a set. I reckon Allan he replied. their old or imperfect records for should consult the Fryerns adver- "Didn't your missus leave you dubbing to LPs or CDs. He also tisement in the back pages of the a while back to settle with that tall, specialised in reassembling and magazine. I've used the compa- thin man from Snoddies?" I said. re-mastering 78s that had been ny's services on a number of "Yeah, but 'er's come back. broken into pieces, using a variety occasions, and can vouch for its Reckons he's screwy. Tried to get of devices he had invented. Just speed and the quality of the serv- her to go back, but 'er won't." tapping his name into Google will ice information provided. The "Too bad" I sympathised, gain access to his website, which phone no. is 01206 211 570. "what's up with the recorder?" his wife Sue is continuing "for a It turned out to be a VR6761, few weeks". An Amstrad CTV3128 and was dead. A keen classic jazz enthusiast, "I say!" bawled a tweedy-looking Paul knows these things inside he played no fewer than fourteen chap who had just bounded in, out, and made straight for the instruments. He was a founder "which of you chaps is going to thermal cut-out in the power sup- member of the Temperance help me in with my TV set, eh?" ply. Once he'd fitted a replace- Seven, which actually had nine Paul strode forward, and the ment the VCR worked. members (one over the eight!). He two subsequently struggled back played with many other groups with a 28in. Amstrad CTV3128. Remote extenders over the years, including the They heaved it on to the bench. I turned to my letters again. Back Crane River Jazz Band and the "What's wrong with it?" asked in the May issue I mentioned my Cy Laurie and Acker Bilk bands. Paul. need for a remote extender to Ristic, as he was affectionately "Dunno" breezed Tweedy, "if I operate my Technics audio sys- known, re-mastered many of the did I'd mend the blighter tem in an adjacent room. I've early Bing Crosby 78s on the myself!" At that he slapped his received a great many emails Jonzo CD series produced by a thigh, stamped his foot and dou- about this, and will reply to each. friend of his and mine, John bled up over his great joke. Jack Paterson recommends the McNicholas, so that those who We waited patiently. When he Multi Link kit from Maplins, were familiar with the original had settled down, Paul asked him Model BV28F, at £40. You can 78s heard them as never before. what the symptoms were. get an extra infra-red eye. Bill He had worked through the "The picture's like this" said Leonard of SEME mentions the classic recordings of King Oliver, Tweedy, waving his arms in the One For All at £29.50 and made Jelly Roll Morton and Louis air in big curves. me a special offer. Mike McNeill Armstrong, and produced an eight Paul rubbed his chin. "Picture's of Global Communications, CD set of all the known record- like an hour-glass?" he asked. Essex told me about the one his ings of Bessie Smith. When he "Got it in one!" Tweedy firm supplies, the TV Link Plus. died he was working on a com- bawled. "Now mend it and I'll be Richard Schroder was one of plete re-mastering of his large col- back!" At that he stomped off. several who wrote to recommend lection of Bix Beiderbecke Paul reached for his tools and the Powermid. "I've used a pair of records. He made a huge contri- got to work. It didn't take him these for years" he writes, "and bution to interest in the music of long to find the cause of the trou- can thoroughly recommend them." the Twenties and Thirties. ble. In fact we've had EW bowing The choice is overwhelming! I for one will sadly miss Ristic. ■

TELEVISION August 2004 609

WHAT a LIFE!

Some fishermen call in - with TV sets. More TV faults then a return to Spain. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

t's nice to see old fishing friends The resistor was wide open. "'Elio Mr Bullock bach" he again, especially when they come In no time the two sets were piped, "Walter the Fish 'ere. I'm I in bearing gifts. Or, the next best working and boxed up. Their owners calling for my neighbour, Mrs thing, TV sets with nice easy faults. paid up with a grin before making to Digby." So it was when Walter and Toby carry out their sets. "Well, she ain't here, Walt" I called in and met at the shop the "'Ere Walter, d'you ever fish replied. other day. Twyford's pond these days?" asked Walter collapsed in peals of After they'd exchanged greetings Toby. supersonic laughter, then recovered I booked their sets in. Walter's was a "Not no more" said Walter, "it'd and went out to get his neighbour's 21in. Matsui, Model 2107R, while flow too fast." set from his car. Toby's was a 28in. widescreen "Flow too fast? What do you "Funny name, ennit?" he piped, Hitachi, Model C28W511NA (A7 mean?" exclaimed Toby, "ponds "a Seg." chassis). It wasn't long before they don't flow." We'd had several of these sets in started swapping yarns, while Paul "This 'un did" Walter replied, however, Model CT7800. It uses the and Steven tackled their sets. "last time I chucked my line in it Vestel 11A1(19E3 chassis. When "I did go up to the old Brickpits tore the rod outa my 'ands. And left Paul plugged it in he found that it the other day" said Walter, "and me with a strained back." was stuck in standby. So he took the catched a whackin' good tench back off to check the BU2508AF under the Old Man's Willow. Turned Hairdryers line output transistor Q605. the scale at over nine pound, 'e did." As they went off Mrs Bellwick "Boy, look at all those dry-joints Toby's eyes narrowed. It was a stumped in with a modern hairdryer. in the line circuit!" he exclaimed. minute before he spoke. "I chucked "Gotta be quick" she said, "my old He resoldered them carefully my line in at the same spot las' man's in bed wiv his bad chest. then, as expected, found that the Sunday" he said, "an' straightaway I He've had the ammonia for years." transistor was short-circuit. After fit- catched an old lantern." "This hairdryer looks new!" ting a replacement Paul tried again, Walter nodded wisely. "Ah, the Steven exclaimed. but the set was still stuck in standby. gypsies do throw their rubbish in "'E be that" Mrs Bellwick Further checks showed that there there at times" he replied. replied, "I bought 'im last Thursday was no 8V supply, because the regu- "Ah yes, but this lantern's wick week from Snoddies. 'E lasted a lator IC805 was dead short. There was alight" Toby added. week an' when I took 'im back that had to be a reason, so Paul got busy Walter paused. "Now don't thee tall thin chap said to take 'm to you with his meter. A few minutes later get taking the Mickey out of I, as they don't mend 'airdryers." he found that pin 37 of the Toby" he continued. Off she bowled, and Steven soon TDA8843 jungle chip IC401 was Toby shuffled on his feet a bit. found that the mains lead was loose- shorted to chassis. After fitting a "Tell you what I'll do" he said, "thee ly connected. It didn't take him long replacement and a new regulator the knock six pounds off your tench, to get it working, but I'd never heard set worked perfectly. and I'll blow me lantern's light out." such a clatter and yelled out. "Oh thank you Paul" piped "They all make this noise nowa- Walter the Fish, "Gladys, er Mrs The sets days" Steven said. Rigby, will be pleased. I tries me By that time Steven had the back off "Can't think why, or how they best and I reckon 'er fancies me..." the Matsui, which was dead with no make 'em do it" I commented. standby light. Paul was having more "Fifty years ago I used to get lots of An 11AK37 Bush difficulty with the Hitachi set — it Morphy-Richards hairdryers in. "Hello there boys" said a solid and wouldn't fail. Then the speaker Always dead, because of a huge deafening voice. We span round — crackled and the set cut out. "I bet paper capacitor that was housed in and saw Mr Sparrow. He's a tiny, it's the usual dry-joint trouble with the handle. Went short-circuit. Good slight fellow, but has this powerful the regulators" he commented as he money-spinners they were. And voice. made for the power supply. He was silent running. Just a small motor "My misfortune is your good right about the dry-joints, which had and an element. How do they make fortune" he continued. "I've got my caused start-up problems. The cause the present ones kick up such a hor- telly in the car here. Went wonky of the crackle on sound however was rible clatter?" last night. You should have heard complete lack of solder at one end of the missus kicking up! Told her 'to R4005 (47Q, 0.25W), which is in the A Seg shut up or get out'." left channel feedback circuit. It had Before he could answer Walter "Which did she pick?" I asked. left the factory in that state. Wingnut came in. He's a widower "Well, 'er shut and went. Not The cause of the trouble in the and ex-fishmonger, and has the seen 'er since." Matsui set was R529 (1MQ) in the most musical Welsh accent and the The set turned out to be a Bush start-up circuit. When I glanced at highest-pitched voice I've ever Model WS6673SIL, which is fitted the meter movement it didn't move. come across. with the 11A1(37 chassis. When we

6 6 8 September 2004 TELEVISION plugged it in there was excessive width more when I discovered that my nice house. "This paper devotes its front page and severe EW distortion. new line output transistor had snuffed it. and two inside pages to the heatwave. Steven went to the components rack Further checks in the line output stage Hospitals and the public services have and took out a capacitor, then unboxed revealed that C2912 (22nF, 2kV) was apparently been alerted to expect a the set and checked C622 (15nF, 630V). open-circuit. So I fitted a new one, stream of casualties. It says that those It's the earthy side capacitor in the EW replaced the transistor, and smiled when most vulnerable are old folks, the over- diode modulator network, and was short- the picture came up. I glowered afresh weight, and alcoholics. So you're in dan- circuit. He replaced it with the one he'd when it collapsed again. I was beginning ger on all counts. You'd better call for a taken from the rack. to hate Mrs Hargreaves-Smith. Joshua Juice." "You, er, suspected that capacitor, I fitted yet another line output tran- "Never mind the funnies" I said, didn't you?" I asked. sistor, was pleased to find that the "most people who see us about together He nodded and smiled, then tried the 2.2nF capacitor was all right, and reckon that I'm your toy boy." set. His smile faded. The picture was the checked around for further component Then the barman came across with same. So he got to work with the meter failure. This brought me to L5420, a our drinks. and soon found a dry-joint a few inches 15pH coil, which was open-circuit. We "Hace calor (it's hot)!" I said in my away. It was effectively causing the same didn't have such a thing. But, after best Spanish. trouble. He soon had the set put to rights. studying it, I was able to carry out a "Yeah, and it's going to get hotter" he "Thanks for a good and quick job, repair. This time, when I tried the set replied in perfect English. old son." Sparrow's voice again filled again, it worked properly. I looked him up and down as he saun- the shop. "Now if the missus do come After boxing the set up I had a look at tered off. "Pumped-up sod" I muttered. back, 'er might pay attention to it and the diamond ring and decided to glue the Looking through the magazine, I came not carry on!" stone back in with epoxy resin. Then I to Michael Maurice's article on field phoned Mrs Hargreaves-Smith and invit- servicing. He seems to get away with it, All by myself ed her to call round to collect. but I found that customers don't like pay- "Paul and I have to go out and fit an aer- She came not long after, complete ing for repairs that take only a short time ial this afternoon" Steven said as our din- with smile. I wedged the set into her car, to carry out. I would always get the same ner hour approached, "but I don't sup- then handed her the repaired ring. response when I presented the bill. pose we'll be away long." She glowed with happiness until her "But you were in the house for only a So I would be on my own-ee-oh at mouth began to twitch, then slipped it on couple of minutes!" the start of the afternoon. This was a to her finger. After that she plucked a And "how much is that little part pity, because I had no moral support to small cloth parcel from her handbag. then?" help me deal with Mrs Hargreaves- "I knew you'd manage to repair the Then I spotted Charles Coultas's letter Smith when she arrived — just as I ring, you clever man!" she said. "And "is Sky worth it?" opened the doors. ai've brought you some more little repair "I wouldn't waste time on it if it was "Ah, Mr Bullock!" she gushed as she jobs!" free" I blurted. entered, "ai've got mai television set in She then undid her little parcel, Greeneyes put down her paper and mai cahr. Can you bring it in foe me? revealing a dozen more items of broken looked at me. "What?" she asked, then You're so kaind Mr Bullock." jewellery. "is the heat getting to you?" Her set was a Goodmans 256NS. It "Er, we don't usually repair jewellery, I next saw A. Lloyd's letter about was nearly the size of her car. Mrs Hargreaves-Smith" I stammered. spares and service information availabili- "It daid on me last naight" she "Ai know you doun't, Mr Bullock" ty. It reminded me of my troubles with breathed, "they can be such exasperat- she gushed. "And that's why I appreciate Goblin. "Swines!" I said. ing things, cahn't they? And, ouh, the your mending main so cheerfully." Then Greeneyes again put down her paper, prowgrammes!" she backed out, again holding my eyes and gave me another look. "I'll give you a ring" I said, pulling with hers to acknowledge our little I hurried on to Peter Nutkins's trade my face into a polite smile and willing secret... comments about, amongst other things, her to depart. our diminished profits these days. He's But she lingered and smiled more, as The return dead right. Everything we sell is too low if we had a secret. Then, tweaking her Most UK settlers in Spain will tell you priced. fingers into her handbag, she handed me that this is no time of the year to be When colour first came we bought a a gold ring minus its diamond and a tiny there. The endless heat is too wearing. new Commer Cob van. At the same packet with the diamond inside. "When Those who can head back to the UK for time I bought myself a Philips G6 you do mai set, would you repair the the moderate summer weather. So it colour set. It cost the same as the van. ring?" she asked, "ounly you're so beats me why we found ourselves land- Had the price of colour sets kept pace clever, Mr Bullock." ing at Alicante airport the other day, to a with that of vehicles (and almost every- Then, holding my eyes with hers, she heatwave that even the Spanish papers thing else), they would now sell for a backed out. were alarmed about. fortune. Not only would the sales mark- The set is fitted with the Philips L6.2 We were soon in one of our favourite up be sensible, we'd also be able to chassis. We get quite a lot of them. It was bars. While I was ordering a couple of charge properly for repairs. It's a sad dead, so I fitted the power supply repair beers and trying to see the news on a fact that the more complex domestic kit. I also checked the line output stage bawling TV set with no field sync, electronic equipment becomes, the less and replaced the BU1508AX output tran- Greeneyes idly thumbed through that we can charge to repair it. sistor Tr7906. Then I switched on, smiled day's Spanish paper. Finally, as mentioned on previous happily when a picture appeared, and "Ho" she said as I was opening last occasions, I welcome your comments, glowered when, five seconds later, it col- month's Television magazine, which I'd particularly by email. You can reach me lapsed and the set died. I glowered even snatched up as we were leaving Paul's at [email protected] ■

TELEVISION September 2004 669 WHAT a LIFE!

The ever-changing world of radio. Reader feedback and some reminiscences. A printer headache. Donald Bullock's monthly commentary

t seems, according to the people a month use this facility, 1980s. Digital radio was officially papers, that the days of our old mainly to listen to The Archers. adopted in 1994. It provides room I faithful the transistor radio are It's all too magical for me. I'm so for expansion through more effi- numbered. Switch-off time could excited I could eat three steaks cient use of the crowded FM spec- be approaching for the UK's ana- washed down with four glasses of trum, with interference-free, crys- logue radio transmitters. The Joshua Juice. tal-clear listening. newer generation is receiving its So there you have it. The five programmes digitally, via their The fives ages ages. As my decent old science mobile phones. And, as everyone As part of an inquest on radio as master Mr Forsey would say, knows, only the young folk count we knew it, social historians are "now write that down". What these days. Funny, but those of my drawing up the Five Ages of he'd say about the dawning radio generation didn't get an innings at Radio. These are as follows. fiasco in this country however I all: when I was young you didn't First the spark. Guglielmo can't imagine. count until you reached twenty Marconi invented his spark trans- one, and even then you continued mitter and the first aerial ever in Prices to be corrected and soberly advised December 1894, in Italy. He Alan Boyle, an old friend of this by older folk. patented it is Britain on 2 June column, tells me that his local A new generation of digital 1896. In 1897, when he was 23, he Kwik-Save branch is now selling receivers is apparently about to hit formed The Wireless Telegraph brown goods, including an Alba us. They'll incorporate something and Signal Company. CD-tape-radio at £14.99 with a called The Bug, a gadget designed Secondly AM broadcasting. twelve-month money-back guaran- by Wayne Hemingway. It manages Reginald Fessenden discovered tee. In comparison Greeneyes must to rewind programmes, so that amplitude modulation and, in have been done the other day those who switch on after the pro- 1906, became the first person to when she called into our local gramme has started can wind it broadcast words and music, using Lidl store in Spain and paid 17 back to the beginning. All this and a special HF alternator to generate euros for a personal voice memo more says Chris Kimber, head of a an 80kHz carrier. Ships' operators recorder. It's of German manufac- BBC department called Radio were amazed to hear him over ture, is solidly built and performs Interactive. "Only ten years ago" their headphones, playing his vio- well. chortles Chris, "radio was a one- lin and reading from the Bible. Incidentally how many of you way experience. But digital tech- Thirdly the short waves. Frank have noticed that some of the nology has now given it ears that Conrad, an amateur radio enthusi- more expensive, better-quality provide programme makers with ast with the call-sign 8XK, invent- power tools can now be bought at instant feedback. No need to wait ed short-wave wireless and made a fraction of the price under alter- for old-fashioned letters. There'll the first commercial broadcast native brand names? For anyone be chat rooms, message boards, from his garage in Pittsburgh, who is not too conversant with the text messaging and email. Our pro- Pennsylvania in 1920. He called originals, the returns address on grammes will really connect with his programmes 'Air Concerts'. the guarantee form helps with people, in a way that only ten The transmitter he built for identification. years ago was impossible. And it's Westinghouse later that year was happening in Britain faster than given the call-sign KDKA. It com- Worldwide fame anywhere else!" menced broadcasting on 2 Television certainly gets about. I Later this year, we are told, November 1920, giving the results receive letters from all over the suitable radios will be available in of the presidential election, and is world, in particular from Australia supermarkets for £50. Not from claimed to have been the world's and New Zealand, many from across your counters, dear dealers. first non-experimental broadcast- dealers or repairmen who swear But why stop at fifty pounds? ing station. It ran for fifty years. that the oddballs amongst our cus- Why not five? Or five pence? Fourthly FM. Frequency-modu- tomers regularly call on them too! And guaranteed for ever? Just give lation was invented by Edwin A few readers in Spain have them time. Armstrong in 1933. It requires a sought me out, and the other day I There's more breathtaking wider bandwidth, but can carry had a delightful and amusing letter news. These wizard new wireless stereo and has much clearer, static- from Diana Harthan who lives, sets, er radios, will enable any free sound. with her TV engineer husband, in tardy fellow to listen to pro- Finally digital radio, which was Portugal. She tells me she's his grammes that went out a week developed by a consortium of Greeneyes! earlier. Even now, seven million engineers in Germany in the early "My technical knowledge is so

756 October 2004 TELEVISION small that it would fit into a thim- quilt-lined needlework cabinet. It Remote control ble and still leave plenty of room" was in the early days of small, pri- Doug Carson has written again, she commented, before telling me vate DIY shops. I was about to pay this time about a TV service call about their oddball experiences. an outside call and would be pass- he had from an 82-year old chap That thimble remark reminded me ing a good one, so Wally asked me who lives at a remote farm in the of a very formidable lady I knew to pop in and buy him a small Coniston area. His caller explained years ago. She ran the lithographic sheet of wood. that he had suffered a slight stroke department of a well-known book "The proprietor is helpful but and could no longer operate the publisher. Some of the men she quaint" Wally said, "he sells oak remote control he had been using had to deal with seemed to think and elm in small sheets. Just ask to switch the set on and off and that, because she was a woman, him for a sheet of elm." change channels. her abilities were doubtful. She "OK" I said as I walked "When I got there" says Doug, had a shock comment for such towards the van. Then I stopped "I found that the 'remote control' occasions. "You can talk to me in and turned round. "Elm?" I ques- was in fact an eight-foot long bam- as much detail as you like, young tioned, "I thought you said you boo cane that he used to press the man" she would say, "what I don't wanted oak!" on-off and programme-selection know about lithographic printing "I do" said Wally, "but if you buttons on his ancient Decca set — can be written on the side of a go in and ask for oak he'll say one fitted with the hybrid 80 chas- blackcurrant." That put them in `why not have a piece of elm sis. The set still produced excellent their place. instead?' So ask him for a piece of pictures however." elm and, when he suggests oak "I sold him a nice reconditioned Wally instead, say 'what a good idea'. Mitsubishi set with a more con- I was also reminded about Wally, He'll feel good that you took his ventional remote-control system" who worked for me half a lifetime advice, you'll get what you went Doug concludes. ago. He was one of the most capa- in for, and it will all be fine." ble men I ever knew, a learned I did, and it happened just as A phone call man with a fearful intelligence: an he said! The phone rang while I was read- excellent TV engineer and a ing Doug's letter in the workshop. superb general handyman. Another headache The caller sounded out of breath, Because he was very thin his My Epsom Color 680 printer has but I felt I somehow recognised clothes hung on him, giving an been driving me mad. It seems to the voice. odd impression. But he was have brain trouble. Before I settle "I got telly trouble, Mr healthy, and tended to move down to write an article I like to Bullock" he rasped. around a lot as he spoke. One day run through my emails and print "Good!" I said, in my happiest he was called down to the shop to those I want to refer to. But when I and most assured voice. "What's it see a complaining oaf of a cus- try, the printer won't play ball. up to?" tomer (no, they're not always Sometimes it does nothing but "Well, when we watches ITV right!). As he was patiently blink at me. Sometimes it jumps we gets BBC sound, and the other explaining the situation, the oaf into life and zips and zaps endless- way round. And the picture keeps threw back his head and called ly with no results. On other occa- rolling slowly from the top left- him a fool. sions it prints me yards of budget hand corner to the bottom right- "Oh, I know that" said Wally, airline tickets for flights that left hand corner." without the slightest pause, "a years ago. "Anything else?" I asked. complete fool in fact. How could I Son John had an identical print- "Yes, the picture's sorta dia- fail to know it? After all, people er. The other day he threw it out mond-shaped, and everything like you have been telling me I'm and bought one of another make. moves backwards, like a film a fool for years!" Steven also had one. He put up going the wrong way. By the way, That poleaxed the customer. with it for a week or two then do you do long-distance calls?" Wally thanked him for his diagno- dumped his one. They've proved to "Where are you?" I asked sis and graciously took his leave. be a headache for all of us. At one "213 Montana Road." Later I went to sympathise with time it was worse, when we had no "Where's that?" I enquired. him. "We all suffer the same" choice but to buy their own ink "Mexico" he replied, and burst I said, "all my friends agree that cartridges at unbelievable prices. into laughter. I'm a good TV engineer and a So, Epsom, if you want to stay "I see" I said, "and I daresay good writer." in business try making a simpler the name's Ellis. Ribby Ellis the "Really?" Wally replied. printer that isn't a smart-alec spoilt practical joker." "Yes" I continued, "but my brat. One that ordinary people can "Dead right!" he guffawed. writer friends say I'm a good TV work easily. One that doesn't end- "Har har har cyuk cyuk . . ." engineer while my engineer lessly gobble up ludicrously tiny friends say I'm a good writer!" thimbles of ink. One whose mech- Keep it up! Wally's wife's birthday was anism doesn't keep zipping and Finally, as mentioned on previous about to come up at the time. It zapping about but instantly prints occasions, I welcome your com- was typical of Wally that instead of what the user wants printed. And ments — particularly by email. You buying her a present off the shelf make it sensibly box-shaped. can reach me at he decided to make her an oak, You'll make a fortune! [email protected] ■

TELEVISION October 2004 757 WHAT a LIFE!

The boys take a late holiday, so it's back to guard the fort. A wet day at the shop brings a mixture of different types of faults and customers. Emails welcome. Donald Bullock's servicing commentary

he boys had wanted to take a "You thinks it's the valve, don't was my best friend, the prettiest few days' late holiday. So you dear?" she said to him. "But budgie there ever was. 'Bugger TGreeneyes and I were driving our daughter's chap says it's the off, bugger off Cyril' e'd shout. towards Alicante airport to return condenser." Then he died. Just like that." and guard the fort. "Can't be the tube, cos 'e's I adopted my best undertaker's "Did you lock the front door?" only four year old" he said. "But expression as I worked out his said Greeneyes. "I hope Rebecca these telly people says anythin', bill. remembers to feed the dogs . . . don't they? What was on when 'e Hope Flashie won't miss us too went wrong, Flor?" A turntable fault much . . . Look at the row of Shortly after he left a lovely windmill ruins along the top of Back at the ranch young lady came in with a that mountain ridge. How did they We landed in England to a terrible Technics record deck, Model SL- get the grain up there? Did you patch of weather, rough and rain- QX200. I gave her all my atten- check the car for oil? And water? I drenched. It was even worse when tion. hope Flashie will be all right . . . we reached the shop the following "The pick-up doesn't lift" she Why can't we get the BBC on Sky morning. But it didn't stop said. any more? Did you bring some Greeneyes from going shopping. At that the phone rang, just as I beer for yourself and some juice What would? As she left I saw wanted a bit of peace. "Hello" I for me? I wonder what Flashie that there was a 21in. Toshiba set bellowed. thinks when we go away?" You on the bench, with a note from the "Donald!" a voice said, "nice know how they go on. boys asking me to do it first. It to hear you again." It was the I pondered. "Because the pow- was a Model 2173DB (C7S chas- Reverend Goode. "Could you pop ers that be decided to aim the sis). "No pix, no function, no on- along and have a look at our lady transmissions well towards the screen display, no audio" it said organist's set? Her name's Miss north of Spain" I said. "We could on the card. Hewitt. It's a Beko or something. pick up enough of the scant signal I dismantled the set and let my Not like the days when they were if we really wanted to. Dealers are eyes dawdle on the power supply, all Pyes and Ekcos, what? She offering to install eight-nine foot which was under a carpet of bird lives in one of those little places in dishes for £1,000 or so." seed. It seemed a good idea to The Mews. Everyone there knows check the fuses and fusible links. her! She'll be back in ten minutes Travellers When I did so I found that Z830 or so and will wait for you." We arrived at the airport a few (1A) was open-circuit. A replace- I booked the call, then put a beers later and took our place in ment restored normal operation, record on the turntable and started the queue, behind a scruffy, over- and the results were very good. it. Sure enough the arm didn't lift. weight, sunburnt pair of holiday I had barely got the set back I knew why, because I'd come Brits. Hearing us speaking together again when its owner across the problem before. The English, they turned round. blundered in, ready for battle. rising lever on its underside had "What joo do fer a livin' "I'm Mr Belcher, mate" he slipped out of the slot. It took only mate?" beer-gut asked. growled. "Ah, I see me Toshiba's a moment to fix, and I showed her "Nothing" I replied. done. At last. You new 'ere?" that it now worked. "He's a very good TV engi- "More or less" I replied. As she reached for her purse I neer" said Greeneyes, "but he's "They said it 'ud be ready said "no charge for a little thing retired now, really." Sat'dee night" he continued. "'Ad like that". His wife studied me as if I was 'im all weekend, you 'ay. No telly "Oh, my husband will be a smear on a slide. "He don't look all weekend. Didn't know what to pleased" she replied. "He knew it old enough" she declared. Only do with meself. Made me bloody wouldn't be much. He's so clever then did I realise how very intelli- mad it did. I was comin' in to you see." gent she was. wipe the floor with that smiley Clever enough to send you here Meanwhile beer-gut was also young chap, Paul innit? But that I thought as she left. I'd have looking me up and down. "Had was before my tragedy." His lip charged him plenty. our set so-say mended before we started to tremble. At that Greeneyes returned came over" he said. "Kept 'im a "Tragedy?" I echoed. with her shopping. Most of it was week and charged us thirty quid. "Caruthers 'ad a convulsion in big, slim expensive-looking Lasted two days. Reported 'im I and died. Just afore opening time bags with Next, New Look and did." yest'y. Had to 'av nine pints. 'E Stead and Simpsons all over them.

52 November 2004 TELEVISION "I found a lovely pair of shoes fill the total in first if that makes it worked loose enough to discon- to match my new lipstick" she easier. Comes to fifty five pounds nect the dew sensor. Hence the announced, "only forty five fifty." message displayed. pounds. I wanted another pair to She shot me a look. "What? The other fault was very inter- match my green skirt but . . . For one diode and a few minutes mittent camera-lens drop-out, "Just park yourself behind the time?" leaving the unit with no image counter, dear" I said as I strode "Sure thing" I replied, "remem- when recording. This was also out, "only I have to go look for a ber it's for Flighty. Oh, and you're caused by an unsecured plug-and- woman." getting to sound like the cus- socket connection that had tomers!" allowed the ribbon to work loose. The Beko TV "Itemise it" she challenged. It was still in the socket, but had I found Miss Hewitt's place and "Right!" I said brightly. "One partially pulled out and was at an saw the set, a Beko Model diode, fifty pence. Time, labour angle. 2842NDS. It didn't produce a pic- and expertise, twenty five pounds. Pushing these two connectors ture but there was a band of fly- Aggravation and pratness factor, home and securing them properly back lines on the raster, the top thirty pounds." put the camcorder to rights. Lucky ones being red, green and blue. I noticed that the rain had I didn't have to delve any deeper! "I do hope it isn't the tube" she become heavier. At least he would said. get wet. Emails I gave her a reassuring smile, Later on I had an opportunity to while being a bit worried about A camcorder read a print-out of an email I had the possible cause. I suspected Our next customer, Mrs Crabbe, received from Steve Burgess, who field timebase trouble, but it took was soaked when she came in. controls a crew of ten technicians me a while to find the culprit. This She was carrying a camcorder at Channel 4. Their job is to keep was a short-circuit electrolytic wrapped in a plastic bag. The the whole technical operation capacitor, C126 (100pF, 100y). weather and her appearance going twenty four hours a day, "Does it seem to be the tube?" reminded me of an item I'd seen seven days a week. The total staff Miss Hewitt asked. in an early Two Ronnies pro- there, including commissioning, I managed to produce another gramme, in the days when some advertising sales, legal, finance reassuring smile and, while put- BBC programmes were worth and so on amounts to some eight ting the back on the set, I strad- watching . . . hundred. dled the coaxial flylead across the "I didn't want to get this thing I've always felt that Channel top. wet" she said as she handed me 4's programmes can be outstand- Miss Hewitt was looking at it. the package, "there's a note ing, providing proof that commer- "Is that the tube?" she asked. inside". cial television doesn't have to be I smiled and drew up a job cheap and nasty. While criticising A DVD/VCR combi unit card. "Tickle your bum with a present British programmes as a When I returned to the shop I feather" I mumbled. whole, he agreed with me on this found Mr Flighty chatting up She stiffened and glared at me. latter point. Steve, who is clearly a Greeneyes. She was lapping it up. "What?"•she said sharply. fount of wisdom, points out that "At it again Flighty!" I I carried on smiling calmly. television today has become a declared as I strode in, "what's "Particularly nasty bit o' weather" highly competitive, multichannel, your trouble this time, apart from I commented. commercial business, with roots the usual?" She relaxed and looked a bit going back to Murdoch. The tradi- "Oh, er, hello Don" he splut- happier. "Oh, er, yes, I suppose it tional broadcasters feel that they tered, "actually it's your lucky is" she said. have to respond to this situation. day. I've brought you my new The camcorder was a JVC For commercial stations, he rea- Sanyo DVDIVCR combi unit to GRDVX707EA. When she'd gone sons, this means chasing the lucra- look at. It's dead." back out into the rain I put it on tive eighteen to thirty-four year "You're kindness itself' I the bench. It didn't seem to work. olds, who are the big spenders. replied The accompanying note men- "A new generation's culture It was a Model HVDX1E. tioned two faults. and values have to be embraced" Once he'd departed I opened the First, the unit continuously dis- he says. "Sponsorship, a commer- unit up and carried out a few played the message 'operation cial by another name, is a big checks in the power supply. It paused due to condensation'. As earner and is the biggest blurring struck me that I'd had trouble of expected the cause was the dew factor in the once sacred pro- this sort before, with a Philips sensor. It's connected via a flat grammes/adverts divide." Then, model. The cause of the fault ribbon cable that plugs into con- mercifully, he added "as long as turned out to be a 1N5822 diode, nector CN201, which is on a small they don't start messing around D111. PCB below the lens assembly. The with Radio 4!" "Would you do a bill for cable also connects the loading Don't forget, emails are wel- Flighty, dear?" I asked Greeneyes motor. As the securing clip hadn't come. Send them to as I boxed the unit up. "You can been pushed home, the cable had [email protected] ■

TELEVISION November 2004 53 id Bulk) • servicing commentary

Hire-purchase protection 0 A collection of Dysons Shopping in Spain The Sony KVX2962 0 That record-player deck 0 Emails

ears ago when we used to sell a Even when his wife ran off with his have to deposit our rubbish in the large, £65 monochrome TV set on three partner and cleared his account of every plastic bins that every village or area Yyears' hire-purchase (and suffer the penny. Worked tooth and nail and paid provides in a frequently-cleared walled- financial consequences if, during that everything back. Wonderful chap!" off compound. There is also an area for time, the financial company deemed the dumping anything that's too large for purchaser 'bad') we used to fill in a Another Manning the bins, like old wheelbarrows or bro- Proposal Form then relay the informa- Even farther back in time, when I was a ken furniture or TV sets. There is often tion, by phone, to the local branch of boy, I used to make my own fishing an assortment of large-screen sets. I've our Trade Protection Society — to get the tackle. I would cadge pieces of cork, for often remarked that one could open a low-down on the proposed buyer. The making floats, from Corky Manning's reconditioned TV shop here, getting phone was always answered, to the dusky little cork-cutting workshop down one's stock from the tips. melody of others ringing in the back- by the river. Corky, who was noted for Anyway about two months ago ground, by a mature, fruity-sounding, his kindness, lived on fistfuls of coarse Greeneyes saw a yellow-and-grey deep and round-voiced eccentric who brown snuff, which he frequently Dyson 04 vacuum cleaner that had been always seemed to be in a hurry, to grabbed from a huge wooden box. dumped and brought it back to my answer the other phones I expect. His Much of it would lace the air or join the workshop here (our own Dyson at the name was Eustace Manning, and he was thick layer on the front of his waistcoat. time had been one of the much inferior also a lay preacher. You would start wanting to sneeze as 03 models). The one she found was "What is it m'dear?" he would boom soon as you entered. And, because you crammed solid and the mains lead had at me, "tell me now, quick as you can!" could hardly speak, he would get impa- been snipped of flush at its point of "Oh!" I'd say, "can you tell me if Mr tient and rasp at you "Come on now, entry. I cleared it out, cleaned and oiled Ransome of 1, Nut Lane, Pleabury is speak up! I haven't got all day you it, replaced the mains lead then tried it. good or bad?" Or it might have been Mr know!" The machine worked perfectly, and I Brownett or Sally Springer of Sunnyside Then he would slap his waistcoat was able to present Greeneyes with a Avenue or whoever. He never once had with both hands, sending a cloud of the mint and efficient Dyson 04. to refer to his files. He knew all about concentrated stuff up into the air. This A month later we saw another 04 that everybody, and his response was always would make one's eyes stream and had been dumped in exactly the same immediate. you'd have to grope out through the place. This time it was a purple and grey "Hoo-hoo! Ho-ho-hahh!" he might door. You'd be sneezing and spluttering one called a Zorbster, with a dry-powder laugh, "don't touch him with a barge- for a hundred yards or more. carpet-shampooing facility. This pole m'dears! Ho-ho! Old Ransome try- It was only when I mentioned machine was also crammed full of ing it again! I say, whatever next!" Or Eustace to the editor that I recalled impacted dog hair but was otherwise in "Hah!, I see old Sally is back out!" Or Corky as well. Two Mannings. Both mint condition — and the mains lead was "Poor old Mr Brownett. Best of inten- eccentric. Both kind. I must try to dis- intact! Was I going to go on finding a tions, but he just never manages to pay cover whether they were related. Dyson a month? Maybe it should be a anybody a penny!" reconditioned appliances not a TV shop. Other times, he would be optimistic Spanish finds Yesterday I found a third one, at a and complimentary. "Oh, a most won- In our part of Spain there are no milk- different but equally nearby site. This derful fellow! Built his business on men and no postmen. Nor are there any one was a Model 01. It had been care- credit and paid every penny on time. household refuse collectors. Instead we fully emptied, cleaned and polished,

372 April 2005 TELEVISION then deprived of its life-giving mains advice is as follows. pleased to see that Pete Hill was in the lead. So I decided to take it home to Once the set is working again access magazine recently (P.J. Hill check over. Because the latest one was to the tuning mode is via the remote- Components of Tewkesbury). I remem- so immaculate, it occurred to me that control unit. There are two LEDs side- ber Pete from more years past than I the cleaner might have been taken by-side at the front of the set. The num- care to recall, when he first started in somewhere for a quote, been con- ber of flashes indicates the fault area. business from his home. During his demned then dumped. Perhaps it had a The first LED flashes up to thirteen calls all workshop activity would cease. burnt-out motor. When I inspected the times, then the second one flashes once We would perch on the tops of a couple stump of the mains lead I saw that the to indicate that the sequence will restart of sets for an hour, laughing like loons inner cables had burnt where they take with the first LED. Usually the first as Pete spun me the latest trade funnies. the strain. LED flashes thirteen times then starts Pete gave me the following couple A mains lead later, we have a third again, indicating a fault in the field out- of jokes at the time. Remember, they've mint and working Dyson cleaner. I've put stage or, less likely, a line output had several years to do the rounds. always thought that I seem to lead an stage fault. It could be the line output First: interesting life, without really trying! transistor, but the usual cause is unde- Patient: "Doctor, I feel insignifi- Previously, Greeneyes had come back tectable dry-joints around the cant." with a compact silver and mint-condi- TDA8179S field output chip IC501. Try Doctor: "Next!" tion Matsui VP94061 VCR she'd seen resoldering every pin. If this doesn't Second: there. It worked when tried, and is still cure the fault, replace the IC and the Elderly patient: "I used to think I working merrily. small number of associated electrolytic was undecided, now I'm not too sure!" capacitors. If they still make you cringe, call Shopping in Spain While on the subject here's the flash- Pete not me! He's available for your Here's another thing that happens to me, ing fault code for the set: complaints (and TV/VCR spares whenever Greeneyes and I go out shop- orders) on 01684 296 902. ping together. Last time was typical. I (1) I2C bus SDA line low. wanted a hardened-steel five-eighths (2) EEPROM IC072 fault. Emails metal drill to help me make my latest (3) Fault in tuning PLL. Terry Robinson of Woodend, Victoria, dog-restraining grill to stop Greeneyes' (4) TDA9145 colour decoder chip fault. Australia comments that the TV pro- pack of hounds from streaming out (5) CXA1587 jungle chip fault. grammes there are worse than those in under the front gates whenever anyone (6) TDA6612 sound processor fault. the UK. "Thank goodness for our video dares to walk along the road outside. So (7) CDX2018 digital deflection proces- machines and DVD players" he says. into the ironmongers we went. sor fault. Ron Bravery, who hails from closer "I want a hardened-metal drill (8) CXA1545 AV switch chip fault. home, asks me to keep up the column please" I said to the fellow there, in my (11) SDA5248 text chip fault (applies and keep taking the tablets! He men- best Spanish. only when there's a separate text PCB). tions an old customer, Mrs Blabber, He looked at Greeneyes. "What size, (13) Vertical protection in operation. who had been on the phone about her madam?" he asked. Field or line output stage problem. TV. Not having seen her for ages, he Greeneyes turned to me and I told asked about her health. her. "A half-inch one" she repeated to That Sony PS-LX50 fault "Terrible!" she replied, "just explod- the fellow. Many thanks to the readers who have ed with a terrible noise! Me heart's all a He took a long one and a short one emailed me about the fault I have with flutter and there's a peculiar smell. I'm from a drawer. "Are either of these suit- this record-player deck, which uses telling you straight, I need a good man able?" he asked her. electronic speed control instead of a right away!" I looked at them, then at him, and stepped drive wheel. The two motor Bill (of aerial fame) and Hillary pointed to the short one. "This one will leads are connected to the first and Wright have written again, referring to do" I said. fourth legs of a semiconductor output my compilation of a video library of TV- He held it up and looked at device that had been running hot and is transmitted films. He mentions an old Greeneyes. "This one, you think?" he well cooked. One problem is to identify customer of his who also built up a vast enquired. this device. The printing on it is faint collection of televised films. Then, one "Yes please" she smiled. and microscopic, and has been affected day, Bill fitted a new array for him. This From there we went to a bar. "Two by the overheating. provided much improved reception. "It'll beers please" I said. Martin Pickering, who has vast be lovely to enjoy the improvement The woman looked at Greeneyes. knowledge of and technical data on when we watch our old tapes" was the "Draught or bottled?" she asked. semiconductor devices, suggests that it comment as Bill tip-toed away. I looked at her, then around the might be a uPC1470. This looks like a Two years later Bill called to cheer place. "Bottles please" I replied. four-legged BD131 and is described in him up after the death of his wife. He She looked at Greeneyes. "Bottles?" the data as a motor-speed control IC. laughed at his earlier gaff, then went on she asked. Looking again at the original, with the "Never mind, it's given me something I don't know why this is. Could it be aid of a magnifier, I am convinced that to do — I'm recording them all again!" because she looks as if she might be he is right. I have a pair of them wing- Referring to my bit about early video Spanish, while I don't? ing their way to me now! recorders, Bill says "I too had an early But I still don't have a circuit dia- Panasonic. It cost me £711, then! But it A Sony KVX2962 (AE2 gram, though the ever-helpful Colin of lasted a lot longer than today's chassis) Fryern's (FES) is making enquiries for machines. One day, in 1981, Hillary My correspondent Grantley Best of me. He advertises most months in the thought she had broken it. The Channel West Norwood has asked how to get his Service Data section at the end of the 4 test transmission had begun on its Sony KVX2962 into the tuning mode. • magazine. output channel!" He also mentioned that it's dead, with Emails are always welcome. You can the LEDs flashing. I asked Steven, Adverts reach me at who's the Sony expert around here. His Talking about advertisements, I was [email protected]

TELEVISION April 2005 373 Donald Bul ock s • servicing commentary

1

001,,A session at the shop with some audio and TV repairs Email summary 0+ And a warning about the prospects for LCD TV repair

ssie Onions didn't look too pleased as he elbowed the mented, "they're sparkling clean as it is. Did 'em myself only shop door open. "I'm giving that little swine one more yesterday — for nowt!" Ochance" he growled. "You ought to see the state of the baker's windows up the I looked through the glass door anxiously to see who he was road" I said, jerking my thumb over my shoulder. "Talk about talking about, but there was no one that close. "What's eating needing a clean . . ." you?" Ossie, I asked. His eyes narrowed. "Gotta go" he said as he flew out. He twitched his mouth towards his right ear and switched on "There's no baker up the road" Paul commented. "The one the sweetest smile. "The wife's Sony. On the back seat he be. who was there closed ten or more years ago. Shop was demol- Fetch 'im in, will you? You're younger than I, and I got a terrible ished to make way for the roundabout." bad foot." He twitched his mouth again and switched off his "Quite so" I said. smile. As he's fifty odd and reckons I look younger, I decided he The set, Model 66GS62H (GAIO chassis), was stuck in stand- was OK. by. A check on the BUH515D line output transistor showed that it Meanwhile Paul had popped out to his car to collect the was short-circuit. We've had the fault before. Q602 (2SK2843) offending item, which turned out to be a Sony mini hi-fi Model goes short-circuit as well. It's best to fit a heftier heatsink, with HCD-CP101. plenty of compound, and you'll find a dry-joint at C619. This is "What's up with it?" I asked him. the basic cause of the trouble. "Stubbed it against our step" he replied. Once we'd followed this procedure the set worked all right. "The set, Ossie" I said gently. We put it aside to wait for Ed's return. He moved his mouth again and switched on the smile. "You could possibly just about hear it if you was an ant what crawled A phone call into the speaker thing" he said. Just then the phone rang. "Is that Bulger's Television?" a female I made a note and busied myself at the battery stand until he voice drawled. departed. "More or less" Paul replied. Paul decided to tackle the unit. Ossie had been right. If you lis- "Well look hyah. Our set's quaite dead. It's big and hevai, a tened at full volume you could just about hear some sound. good wan, Loewe Xelos. Onlah pretty flashing lights. Ohh, and a "We've had it before with this model" Paul commented. "If I ticking noise. Need somewaan to collect it. Can you come now?" recall correctly the cause was a transistor in the muting circuit. I "That was Lady Lloyd-Cranbrooke" Paul told us, "only person must have made a note of it somewhere." in these parts who talks like that. Local magistrate. Certainly puts He had. The transistor was Q330 and, in addition to fitting a yobs in their place." replacement, you have to replace wire link JW370 with a 470Q "Better watch out then when you call" Steven commented. resistor. Once this had been done the unit produced normal sound. "Loewe Xelos, it'll weigh a ton. We'd better both go." Ages later they returned with the giant set, and it took all three A Sharp GA10 of us to get it on to the bench. It was Model 5381ZW, the one that Shortly afterwards Steven humped in a Sharp TV set from Ed costs a bomb. Bigg's car. Ed is a window cleaner. Drives the largest BMW I've There was no start up, with the red and green LEDs on and a ever seen. tripping noise every ten seconds. We decided to isolate the line "Look at the state of your windows" he commented, "you output stage and try again. This made no difference, so we started could have 'em sparkling clean all the time for just twenty quid a to carry out checks in the power supply. Or at least Paul did. After week. I'm sure you could afford that rather than have 'em dirty!" checking quite a few things he found that R622 (820kQ) was Paul looked at the windows. "No need for that Ed" he corn- open-circuit. It's on the primary side. Once a replacement had

500 June 2005 TELEVISION been fitted the set worked normally,with a very good picture visited us in Spain. "Christmas time used to be the busiest of the indeed. He couldn't findanything else amiss. year" he writes, "but this last one brought only a couple of calls. "She'll be pleased" said Steven, "even though you look like a A friend who is also in the tradefound the reason when he visited criminal. Probably let you offwith a caution and a couple of cop­ the local recycling centre. There was a skip overflowing with used pers for the poor box:" sets. Previously he'd done good business reconditioning large and "Never mind the funnies" Paul replied, "let's get it in the van widescreen sets he had found at the tip. Now, because new sets in one go, shall we?" are so cheap, people are dumping working sets and buying new And offthey struggled with it. ones." I've also had a welcome email from my old friend Steve Emails Beeching. What he doesn't know about servicing camcorders and I've had a hefty wad of emails this month - thanks! video cameras could, as they say, be written on the side of a red­ K. Knopov of Samsung has a story with a moral to tell. A man current. In his latest email he mentions an ancient Revox audio was driving up a steep and narrow mountain road when an attrac­ tape recorder he decided to tackle after reading my recent refer­ tive woman came driving towards him in an open-topped car. As ence to a Grundig TK830. they passed, she leaned towards him and shouted "pig". "Bitch" "It uses lOin. reels of tape" he says, "and still works well. I he shouted back and, as he rounded the bend, crashed into an tried to change a chip in it but couldn't get through the hot glass enormous pig in the middle of the road. If only men would listen, thing. It unplugged however, so I put another one in. These old Kcomments. things don't have enough legs on them for my taste, and there are A while back I mentioned to the editor the enormous kindness too many high voltages flying around them." and helpfulness of readers of our magazine. "It's like belonging to I'd never known much about Revox tape recorders, and could­ a friendly club" I added. He agreed, and said it was part of the n't figureout what the "hot glass thing" was. "Here's a clue" pleasure of his job. I wonder how many readers appreciate that Steve replied, "they work by thermionic emission, and some peo­ John and Tessa alone organise the editorial contents and maintain ple remember them as valves!" friendly liaison with the many regular contributors? It doesn't happen by chance! You've been warned! To return once again to my ancient Sony PS-LX50 turntable, I He then told me about his attempts to repair a 26in. LCD TV set had become convinced that there was no such thing as a manual. with a red level instead of the correct black level. "The LCD is Sony in Ireland declared no knowledge of it to a supplier there driven by fourdifferential-drive pairs as well as a clock pair. I who tried to help. Then, all at once, several readers responded with wondered why there were four pairs forthree drives (red, green advice, technical help and servicing data. I am especially indebted and blue) and asked the manufacturer's Technical Department. to Alan Bray, Mike Wall and Ray Smith and, thanks to them, have They said they had no idea, because the factory 'doesn't tell been able to listen to my vinyl records again as well as the CDs. I them', but that the cause of the faultwas 'most certainly' on the am beginning to sympathise with those who maintain that vinyl digital processing board. So, after replacing a couple of suspect has the edge on CDs when it comes to bringing the sound to life. ICs to no avail, I sent the board to them fortesting. I subsequently As a buffonce said to me, "natural sound isn't digital, it's continu­ ordered a replacement board at over £200, but it made no differ­ ous, not sliced up segments at different frequencies". ence. They wouldn't accept it back for credit because they said I I don't wish to get involved in yet another controversial subject had used it!" just now. However I'm by no means convinced that the headlong "Meanwhile I had found the cause of the trouble, and am still rush to digital TV is a good thing. I much prefer analogue UHF waiting for the original board to be returned." transmissions and, if that means fewer channels, it would be all to "So" Steve concludes, "you can tell any other service techni­ the good. My view is that there's enough talent to keep only one cians who may be contemplating LCD or plasma TV repairs to part-time programme going. beware. Spares are going to be very, very expensive. New LCD Incidentally Ray Smith runs his own repair shop at Pedmore screens come complete with peripheral units - power supplies, and has promised me some customer stories. Let's have 'em, Ray! backlights, drive boards etc., and the cost ranges from about £800 Others who have provided help include David Smith of Leigh in to £1,200. You've been warned!" Lancashire and James Horsley of Horsley Electronics. Emails are always welcome. You can reach me at [email protected] Help requests Tony Agar has a problem with a Bush Model 2037T (11AK30 chassis) which is dead. When powered up the LED glows red, then green when the channel buttons are touched. He's also been unable to locate a remote-controlunit for it. Can anyone help? M. Joshi complains about a patterned, disturbed picture, worse on some channels, with a 14in. Grundig set (CUC7303 chassis) when operated with an indoor aerial. With an outdoor aerial the picture is perfect. Bridging the electrolytics in the IF strip and in the LT supplies made no difference. This looks like normal performance to me. The set is working at full gain with a poor signal so everything gets amplified, noise and all. M. Joshi doesn't give his first name or locality. I prefer to know - because I'm nosey! Friends I've had another letter froman old friend, Peter Nutkins, who has

TELEVISION June 2005 501 Donald B.Alock s servicing commentary 9

1

Radio and TV faults and a laptop problem Are consumer electronic products going the right way? 0,00, Emails and moans

t's not often that I get a good laugh before the customer has Remembering the days when he lashed us kids off his land actually reached the shop. But it happened the other morning. with his long, stinging cane, we complied. I Old Sam Crust was bringing us his radio for repair, with his It was a Black Diamond Model MD2850PFS, a widescreen dog pulling him towards the shop. As usual, Sam had his head in set fitted with the 11AK33J3 chassis. Steven started to take the the clouds. When his dog stopped abruptly to battle with another back off. one Sam fell over the pair of them, also the other dog's owner, a "Dead as a doornail" said Stringer. "Fresh from Snoddies. But surly looking lady. It took several passers-by to sort them all out. I ent gonna back there, 'cos if I do I'll clout that tall thin chap. A couple more ran after their hats. All very amusing I thought, Told me to get out because I stunk!" and I was still laughing when Sam came in. "Never!" I said. "That Matilda Cresswell set 'er nasty dog on mine, Mr Steven went straight to the line output stage, which was the Bullock" he exclaimed as he put down a Sony radio, Model logical thing to do. But the problem was that its supply was miss- STR-DE495. ing. Checking back to source he found that the HT reservoir "Good" I thought. Then I realised I had said it as well. "Er . . . capacitor was bulging and short-circuit. ha ha . . . This radio of yours . . . it's er . . . good?" There's a modification for this chassis that is recommended He looked at me thoughtfully. "No Mr Bullock, 'e's bad." whenever trouble is experienced on the primary side of the power When he'd departed Paul opened the set and blew through his supply — increase the value of R101 in the start-up network from teeth. "Boy, what a mass of dry-joints" he said. He then spent the 11S2 to 4.7k52. This prevents damage to the MC44608 chopper next twenty minutes on a resoldering operation. When he had control chip by reducing the amplitude of spikes and dirt from the finished the set worked very well. mains supply. It works, so we carry it out with all sets that come "Never seen so many bad joints before" he commented, "all our way with the 11AK33 chassis. over the place and particularly around the function control chip IC201. A monster Hitachi Our next customer, Edgar Mange, struggled in with yet another Stinger Short's Black Diamond monster 28in. set. This time it was an Hitachi Model Just then a huge pile of dried mud and straw pulled up at the C28WF560N, which is fitted with the 11AK45B5 chassis. front. When I looked closer I saw that it had a wheel at each cor- "The set looks new, Edgar" I said. ner. Then a piece of it swung open and a scruffy old-timer rolled "It's only four months old, but it's dead" he replied. "Got it out. from Snoddies, and the tall thin chap remembers selling it to me, "Blimey it's old Stinger Short the pig-farmer!" I said, "I 'cos it was his wife's birthday. But he won't repair it because I've thought he'd seized up thirty years ago!" lost the receipt." Meanwhile Stinger was negotiating himself and the farm Paul had a look at it and found that the primary side of the smell through the front door. "Gotta Black Diamond in there" he chopper power supply had broken down. He had to replace the croaked, jerking his thumb at the pile of mud. chopper FET Q102, the MC44608P40 control chip IC106, D104 "Must be worth thousands" I said. and D105 (both type BA159) and the surface-mounted 1 kg2 resis- "'E's a big 'un. Twenty eight inches" he said, "and he's chirp- tor R112. ing!" Edgar ended up with a tidy bill. When he came to pay it he "Good god, some diamond!" I replied, "millions, never mind made a few bitter comments about the tall thin chap at Snoddies. thousands!" "Some might say he needs his snout lifted a couple of inches" "Never mind the funny stuff. Get 'im out" Stinger command- muttered Paul. ed. I looked at him aghast.

52 November 2005 TELEVISION "Don't you mean four inches?" I said. price. "Naughty, I know, but it paid off — and I was self- employed for fourteen years, with a large customer base." Another laptop The phone rang and Steven answered it. Consumers' problems "That's Steven" said a foreign-sounding voice. A recent survey concludes that of all the modem devices con- "How do you know?" asked Steve. sumers have difficulty with, the bulk of them are supplied by "Because I'm psychic" the voice said. our trade. Top of the list came difficulty with programming Steven looked up and saw that Ribby Ellis, the practical joker, VCRs, despite three decades to get used to this. Most people had just come into the shop. He was laughing insanely as he said they find VCRs unnecessarily fiddly and complicated. stowed his mobile phone away. Second came the operation of digital TV sets, third the installa- "Sorry about that" he babbled as he wiped his eyes dry. Then tion of a child's car seat, then the operation of digital cameras, he put a Toshiba SA30-203 laptop on the bench. washing machines, dish washers and electrical tin openers. "It's only the power-socket thing" he continued. "Can you pop Opening the wrapping on CD discs, batteries and DVD discs another in while I wait?" also came high on the list. "Sorry Ribby, but it's a custom-made part that has to come "It's amazing that, with all the technology at our disposal to from Toshiba." Steven said. He then made a phone call to Toshiba make products easier to use, so many everyday items still man- and found that a replacement socket on its own couldn't be sup- age to frustrate customers" says Chris O'Rorke, a director of plied. A main board would be required, at over £400. User Vision. He added that while VCRs have been superseded For once Ribby couldn't muster a laugh when he was told the by more advanced technology millions of people still own and sad news. He left with a longer face than the one he'd come in use them, and that some of their poor interfacing has been inher- with. ited by newer innovations such as digital cameras and set-top boxes. "Manufacturers should be looking at their basic design Resistor problem mistakes and listening to their frustrated customers" he con- Percy Paltry brought his set along in a gleaming new Jaguar. It was cludes. a Naiko Model N2850W, which is fitted with the PT92 chassis. I've long been saying this! "It's got a very funny fault on it" he said, giving a little laugh. "Very funny indeed!" The mobile phone "Seems almost a pity to mend it" I said, "but what's up with While introducing a device that makes phoning on the move it?" even easier — and more annoying — Comet's divisional managing "Well, the picture sort of tears and twitches sideways, and an director Simon Turner announced that "the days of old-style upright black band comes on the screen. And there's a soft arcing fixed-line telephone calls are numbered". If he's right, more is noise, especially with bright scenes." the pity. "Sounds like corona sparking being picked up in the RF circuits I am writing this in my peaceful garden hut. Before going to and upsetting the line sync" said Steven. the shops Greeneyes dumped a radio-linked phone here. When Paltry looked anxious. "Don't forget I'm an old-age pensioner, she'd gone a frantic ringing started. I couldn't find the phone of and my wife's been ill" he added. course. Never can. So I jumped about patting everything in sight "Worry not!" declared Steven, "we've had the problem with to locate it. When I did, it had ceased to ring. I eventually found these sets before. It's simply because of a nasty little 3301S2 resis- that it had been the mobile phone in my trouser pocket, and a tor on the primary side of the power supply." wrong number at that. He was right. But note that there are different versions of this How nice and peaceful it was when the phone was a fixture chassis. and was always in its place! A satellite receiver Moans An email from Ian Campbell of. Warwickshire mentions a Toshiba Nor am I convinced that the digitalisation of our radio and TV satellite receiver, Model PRO 6100, that had shut down for no services is a good thing. The problems with digital TV are the apparent reason. "After cleaning the ventilation slots and reapply- plastic and pixelating images and the stuttering sound. Those in ing thermal compound to the processor's heatsink" he writes, "I favour admit that there can be reception difficulties, and that the am convinced that the cause of the trouble is in the power supply. cost to all concerned will be enormous, but point to the vastly The only problem is that, having tried to get into it several times, increased selection of channels. I've still not managed this. I'm going to try again, following the This is surely the best case against digital TV however! There detailed steps in a previous article." are already far too many channels on offer, with less and less tal- Best of luck, Ian. Let me know how you fare. ent available to support even the main ones. He also mentioned that he managed to get only one job inter- And finally, is the DVD such an advantage? People just get view when, in 1980, he emerged from the Swindon SkillCentre confused by the complex and unwanted features with recorders, with his City and Guilds certificate. "This was at a small shop while most players are now cheap, rubbishy, troublesome and where, as a test, I was asked to repair a line timebase fault in a don't last. They either develop a software fault or the laser fails Decca Bradford chassis and converge a Philips G8 set. Having prematurely. And a new laser is often more expensive that a new passed these tests I was interviewed by the owner. This didn't go machine! No wonder some people are going back to their fiddly too well and, although I was offered the job, I didn't feel able to old VCRs. Sales of the older, reconditioned ones we offer are accept it." more buoyant than ever! He went on to say that, being desperate for work, he hung Well that's it for this month. Letters and communications are around the local Co-Op service centre, trying to persuade cus- always welcome. You can email me at tomers that he could repair their sets equally well at a cheaper [email protected]

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