Archive for December, 2008

You Tried to Buy a DLP Lamp From Where ? The Light Depot !!

You Tried to Buy a DLP Lamp From Where ? The Light Depot !!

I have actually had customers bring their DLP lamps to me in their bare hands.

After they had told me they had travelled to various Home Improvement and Lighting Companies.

Dlp and LCD lamps have Mercury content. They should only be handle with gloves and even then, very carefully. There are a lot of do it yourself websites and self help money saving blow-hearts that offer quick fix, easy solutions ( for a price ! ) and they will never divulge the whole truth.

The truth is, once your lamp blows, it is a toxic element, that should be handled and disposed by qualified technicians. This is such a key element of our business, that we will insist on having the failed core back to complete the sale. No core, no new lamp. That’s our policy.

In addition, LCD and DLP projection systems using these lamps, MUST be cleaned when lamps replaced.  Most manufactures suggest this effort and as a business and service supplier, I can only suggest what is needed.  But if you find yourself in need of lamp replacement, please consider the previous points made.

#1  Wear Gloves when Handling the Lamp !  Both removing and installing. Do not touch glass with hand. Oils, dirt, contaminants will ruin the high powered ,high heat optics

#2 Test the market for qualified servicers and see how and what they think about these details. If they don’t know, don’t hire !

#3 Negotiate with servicer/part supplier to also clean/vacuum chassis to keep fans from blocking , thus eliminating heat build up and optical block/light engine failure ( these failures are catastrophic ).

#4 What type of warranty covers the new lamp?  There are guys selling lamps that they removed from broken units and may have 10k hours on them. Yes they wil work initially but for how long ? Standard warranty should be at least 90 days. We have 6-12 month warranty, depending on program chosen.

For more info or questions, feel free to link to our,  ” So What’s Your Problem page and leave a comment and we will provide additional info if possible.

Remember…….Now That You Know….You Cannot ,Not Know (-:<<

Honey ? When did cable switch to 3-D ?

Honey ? When did cable switch to 3-D ?

Why Does My TV Look Like a 3-D Movie ?

One of the most common problems and repair issues of traditional crt projection systems is the failure of Geometry Correction or Convergence. To converge is to bring things together. The purpose of this circuit is to align the Red, Green and Blue guns to uniformity.  This is achieved by 2 or 3 ICs that run so hot, you cannot hold your hand on them for long. They are hard working semiconductors prone to failure.

How do I determine if this is my problem ?

Common symptoms will be a separation of colors. You may be watching ESPN od CNN and notice the words at the bottom or Logos at the top, with a 3-D effect or separation of one of the 3 colors from the others. Or you may see a bowing on the sides or bottom/top or both and that is complete failure of both ICs or the supply to them.

Well what does this mean for my bigscreen ?

First off, it can be repaired economically. The repair should be done inhome ( no need for servicer to remove your tv from your home and 1 hour of labor to complete ). Cost should be about $200 plus service fee of $50-$100 ( depending on travel time).

Failure of this circuit is beginning to drive our business and some manufactures, whose units where manufactured between 1995 and 2005 are just beginning to fail for the first time. We have LCD and Plasmas inshop that are only 18 months old. Although there are great improvements and price reductions in these technologies. CRT/Projection systems have been manufactured since the early 1980s and the units produced between 1995 and 2005 are some of the most well designed and reliable and performance was King.

Where do I go from Here?

You will want to check search engines for you model number, manufacturer, Bigscreen repair in your town and negotiate for pricing, inhome service, scheduling, etc.

Cleveland Classic TV is commited to restoring and keeping cherished, invested bigscreens alive and well. We welcome questions and would love to support and guide our clients thru the maze of bigscreen and HD transitional information