I have a Zenith SR2773DT Losing Color

[D. E. Smith]

First off.. if this double posts, forgive me. My ISP was having an
opportunity last night..

I have a Zenith SR2773DT 27" TV that loses color once in anwhile. All I have
to do is 'finaggle' the cable connector and the color will come in and out
until I finally find a place where the color will stay for a while. It will
eventually go out again and I will play with the input signal cable until
the color shows again. I had the set to a tech, and they rebuilt the tuner,
and repaired something else concerning the color signal. I had the set back
to them 3 times, and the problem still exists. At least I got a rebuilt
tuner out of it. Anyway, I was wondering if it could be something as simple
as a bad RF connector? It seems weird to me that all I have to do is wiggle
the cable a bit and the color will come back in. However, sometimes when I
do this, I get bad snowy reception on my cable channels 33-39. All is well
with the world if I change to channel 35 and wiggle the cable around until
it comes in clear and in color. Sometimes I have to settle for just color,
though. Any thoughts? Should I look for a new TV repair facility? Could it
be as simple as the RF screw connector? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Dennis

 

[D. E. Smith]

OK.. OK.. forgot to include a ligit e-mail addy..
Please read between the nospams and exchange the 'dot'

sednospam55@nospamyahoodotcom

 

[Art]

Good possibility that the CRT may be going bad, may be best to have it
inspected by a tech. Common problem with Zenith/Goldstar teles. Best 2004

 

[Jerry G.]

Did you try the cable connection on another set to make sure that it is
working properly. The connector on the cable side may be defective, or you
do not have proper signal from the cable company considering that the set
was properly serviced.

You can call your cable company to check their feed, and verify their
signal. They can come with a field strength meter, or a spectrum analyser
to check their signal. Most cable companies also have their own portable TV
sets for checking, if they customer wants to see a picture.

However, it is possible that the tuner or the connection to it is not very
good, and was not serviced properly. A snowy picture is due to a lack of
signal, or a defect in the front end of the tuner, and or an RF AGE fault.
If the picture signal gets too weak, it is normal to have a loss of colour.

Considering the age of your set, and the bad reputation for the Zenith
product you have, I would have not put any money in to that set. Since you
are in to the repair, you may as well take a chance and pursue it.

As for the value of a set, you would be better off in total performance, if
you were to buy even a low end TV set to replace the one you have. The TV
sets have improved greatly and the prices dropped sharply in the last 3
years or so. With a new set, you would have a 2 or 2 year warranty to start
with, and all the parts inside would be new.

--

Greetings,

Jerry Greenberg GLG Technologies GLG
=========================================
WebPage http://www.zoom-one.com
Electronics http://www.zoom-one.com/electron.htm
=========================================


First off.. if this double posts, forgive me. My ISP was having an
opportunity last night..

I have a Zenith SR2773DT 27" TV that loses color once in anwhile. All I have
to do is 'finaggle' the cable connector and the color will come in and out
until I finally find a place where the color will stay for a while. It will
eventually go out again and I will play with the input signal cable until
the color shows again. I had the set to a tech, and they rebuilt the tuner,
and repaired something else concerning the color signal. I had the set back
to them 3 times, and the problem still exists. At least I got a rebuilt
tuner out of it. Anyway, I was wondering if it could be something as simple
as a bad RF connector? It seems weird to me that all I have to do is wiggle
the cable a bit and the color will come back in. However, sometimes when I
do this, I get bad snowy reception on my cable channels 33-39. All is well
with the world if I change to channel 35 and wiggle the cable around until
it comes in clear and in color. Sometimes I have to settle for just color,
though. Any thoughts? Should I look for a new TV repair facility? Could it
be as simple as the RF screw connector? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Dennis

 

[D. E. Smith]

I have put another set in place, and I have no reception or color problems,
which to me rules out any cable issues. Could the problem be rectified by
replacing the RF, or is there a deeper problem such as a picture tube going
out? It just seems strange to me if it was something more serious, why then
can I coax the color to show back up by moving the cable around?

Thanks for the feedback!!

Dennis
sednospam55ATyahooDOTcom

 

[ToasterKing]

Problems such as this are commonly the result of bad connections
(solder or otherwise) in the tuner can or nearby on the main board. If
the problem is in your picture tube, then you should not be able to
affect the results by wiggling the cable. You may just try
disassembling the TV and using the "toothpick test" to find any bad
joints on the main board, then resolder them. One would hope that your
rebuilt tuner isn't still the source of the problem.

If your TV has separate video/audio RCA inputs, use those and connect
the TV to an external video source such as a VCR or DVD player, then
try wiggling the cables and connectors. This should make it clear
whether the tuner in the TV is to blame.

TK

 

[D. E. Smith]

When the set loses color, it loses it to the AV inputs, too. I just don't
understand how "coaxing' the F connection would have anything to do with the
AV connections, though. I would hate to pitch the TV.. it's only 6 yrs old.
I am assuming that if the AV connections lose color too, that the problem is
not in the tuner.

Thanks for your input! If anything else comes to mind, please let me know!

Dennis

 

[ToasterKing]

That pretty much confirms it: the problem is not in your rebuilt
tuner. It's likely a bad solder joint or otherwise a bad connection on
the main board (to which the tuner can is attached). Slightly bending
the board from direct pressure on the F connector of the tuner is
probably exploiting the flawed connection by helping to make or break
the already-marginal mating of the parts.

If I were you, I'd take the set apart, get the main circuit board out
while keeping all the important parts connected, power it on, and take
a toothpick or other small insulative stick and poke around on the
board until I could reproduce the problem. When I could narrow the
offending joint down wo within a few inches, I'd then power down and
resolder all the joints in the neighboring area, then test to see if
the problem was resolved, and if not, repeat. If you plan on
undertaking this project yourself and have never worked on a TV before,
I HIGHLY recommend you read the TV repair FAQ and safety precautions at
http://www.repairfaq.org and at least have an understanding of what not
to touch, and how to discharge the CRT.

Good luck!
TK

When the set loses color, it loses it to the AV inputs, too. I just don't
understand how "coaxing' the F connection would have anything to do with the
AV connections, though. I would hate to pitch the TV.. it's only 6 yrs old.
I am assuming that if the AV connections lose color too, that the problem is
not in the tuner.

Thanks for your input! If anything else comes to mind, please let me know!

Dennis