School me on rear projection tv repair

[TheShanMan]

Picked up a Prop Cycle (posted about it here which has a 50" Mitsubishi VS-5042 consumer tv. The number one problem is the picture goes out sometimes. Sometimes it never shows up when I power on. Sometimes I'll see a picture for a few seconds and then it goes out. Other times it'll work fine for a long time, with maybe a few minor flickers sprinkled in here and there as though it was about to go out but then recovered. When I've seen it go out, it seems to collapse to the center of the screen and then the screen is totally black. Is this something that will likely be taken care of by replacing electrolytics and/or fixing cold solder joints? Sound still works when this problem happens, btw.

It also doesn't have great convergence around the edges (I've converged the center of the screen via the menu). How hard is it to deal with this in a projection tv?

It does have a fair amount of screen burn, unsurprisingly. So ultimately if I come across a cheap enough, ideal enough tv on CL that might be my best option. But for now I'd like to proceed with repair.

I know this is pretty general info at this point but I'm hoping to just get a sense for how bad of a job I'm in store for and if I'm likely on the right track with the shutdown problem or if there's other stuff I need to look for.

And I am aware of the need to clean inside the TV too. Hopefully between cleaning and rejuving (if necessary) I'll be convinced that the TV is worth saving!

 

[KenLayton]

Try this site:

http://www.fixyourowntv.com/

 

[That80sGuy]

Would it be easier to get a used flat screen and hook the game up to it? It definitely would take up less space.

 

[hatrick]

Rear projection TV's aren't all that different from a regular TV or monitor, just more parts. They use 3 small tubes, one for green, blue and red that are converged electronically and by manual adjustments. Often times, there is a convergence IC that will go bad over time and need replaced. I did this in my Sony RP TV.
Getting these perfectly converged can be a real pain in the butt if you are not a proffessional. I can get them close, but never perfect, and I hate doing it.
There's also lots of oportunity for dirt/dust to gather inside and make the picture look crappy. 3 tube faces that can be dirty, the mirror, and the front and back of the screen itself.
There may be one flyback split between the 3 tubes, or 3 spearate ones depending on make/model. They are usually really tiny tubes, so I'm not sure what CR adapter they would use if you had to Rejuve them.
Cold solder and all the typical problems of any overused monitor could be an issue with this thing.
That's about all I know. I'm no expert, but I've owned and fixed a couple over the years. I did lots of internet research before I dove in.

 

[TheShanMan]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll keep watching this thread in case anyone else wants to share some advice.

80sGuy, not sure what you mean. The cabinet size ain't gonna get any smaller if I put a smaller TV in it. But yeah, I could put pretty much any tv that would fit in there so that's the good part about it using a std res tv!

 

[KevinMullins]

so I'm not sure what CR adapter they would use if you had to Rejuve them.

Last one I did was a CR-34 .... didn't end well.
(killed a red tube)

 

[mecha]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll keep watching this thread in case anyone else wants to share some advice.

80sGuy, not sure what you mean. The cabinet size ain't gonna get any smaller if I put a smaller TV in it. But yeah, I could put pretty much any tv that would fit in there so that's the good part about it using a std res tv!

he means that common replacements for the projection parts are actually LCDs. lol

Happ makes a LCD kit for the big Sega and other projection games (the ones that are like 50") that's really a 42" LCD. I never saw one up close, I don't know what you use to mask it off or even hang the screen in there, but it makes sense I guess.

you would use the VGA input on it, if your game already has a VGA plug, it's like plug and play. if it uses the BNC RGB cabling I think you have to get a little creative...

incidentally, the Mitsubishi RPTV on our 18 Wheeler is doing roughly the same exact things yours does. ours will black out and just show like a sliver of bright red on the right hand side of the screen. turning it off and back on makes it usually come back on, but it'll shut off again sooner or later.

it used to maybe do it once a month. now it does it every day we're open. so I just leave the game turned off, since we don't have a grand to drop on that Happ kit.

 

[EnduroExpertFSR]

Correct me if I'm wrong but every projection tv that I've worked on had bad soldier joints and got new convergence chips and I haven't had a problem yet. Not sure if its the same with arcades though

 

[1988Voltron]

Mine is hangin on by a thread...convergence sucks...a lot of pinkish red and burn in

 

[TheMaze]

My dad has the service manual for this TV (actually he has the 45" version of this TV" - if no one comes up with one by then, I'll grab it and scan next time I visit them (~2 months).

Going from memory on this, but IIRC VS-4541 is the same electronically (including tubes) but is a 45" screen. VS-6051 used 9" tubes, but mostly the same set (might have been exactly the same otherwise)

The last digit was something insignificant - I believe 42==woodgrain finish and 41==black, but it might have been hotel vs home TV.

 

[TheMaze]

Re: convergence, consumer convergence sucks on this set (I believe it only lets you do center) but you can set a ton of points using the service menu (though it is a big pain to do it, as you have to cross-reference the number codes of the point in the service manual)

 

[TheShanMan]

I came across a perfect fit TV on CL for $50 with zero burn and beautiful color so the original one went to Goodwill for recycling. I found out how to get into the hidden service menu for the new TV and did the convergence there. Digital convergence rules!