It is in the "play room" for the kids. My son placed a rather large magnet on top of it. After I discovered it, the colors are now wacky, greens & purlples replace skin tones & such. Repair shop said they could fix it, for $75-$100, I paid less than $100 for it. Is it something I can fix (they would not tell me what was wrong), I am good with most things....
CRT TVs can build up residual magnetic fields, which alters the accuracy of the electronic scanning beam. Click here for an example of what this problem looks like.
The process of removing these magnetic fields is known as "degaussing". Many tube sets have a built in degaussing circuit. Some TVs have a button on the back of the set or an option in the menu, so look there first. Another option is for you to unplug the TV for 4 hours, and then plug it back in and turn it on. If the problem remains, either the set has no degaussing circuit or the field is too strong for it to remove.
I've heard that it may be possible to use the same magnet that was placed on top of the TV to degauss the screen. To do this, hold the magnet near the areas of the screen that have been affected, and pull the magnet away from the screen at a reasonably slow speed. Repeat as needed. It is okay to do this while the TV is on, which will help you see if you're making any progress.
Depending on the intensity of the magnetic field, it may not be possible to remove this with the magent you have. In cases like these, a servicer will need to deguass the screen using a special "degaussing wand". I can't imagine that a service center would charge $100 for this procedure, but the quote you got may have included a charge for in-home service. Shop around for a qoute, but make sure you mention that you're willing to bring the TV to the shop. I can't see this costing any more than 60 dollars, but hey, a dollar doesn't buy what it used to.
Good luck, and please follow up with the community. Check back here with an update of your experience.
Matt, thanks for the tips. I unplugged it first for about 4.5 hours. Just got home and plugged it back in to find it worked!!
Thanks again...
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Ravenatic,
I can't believe the shop gave you an estimate of $785-$100 to fix this set. These sets are pretty much throwaways. We have fixed a few but they are hard to repair. As to the color problem if you had called me I would have come to your home and degaussed the picture tube. Our shop charges a $35 trip fee, and our estimates are free.
I'm not trying to advertise our services, I'm just giving my opinion on what I think a honest repair shop would charge you.
Brian
Matt, I did better. I visit many message boards; football related. I have posted a link to you site with a short explanation in my sig tag at each place.
Brian, it is true, the local place told me $75-$100 to repair. I was just going to toss the set since it was so cheap and buy a new one. Then I found this lace and figured give a try. As you can see, they fixed the problem and all it cost me was some typing....
Thank you for spreading the word ravenatic! We could use more football lovers around here! :-)