I received this set from a friend. He said that it started acting up several months ago. The convergence would go out of whack and finally shut down the set. He would have to unplug the set for a few minutes, then plug it back in. Eventually it wouldn't come back on at all. I've read several posts about changing the convergence chips, but most of those posters state that the power light blinks slow. I plugged this one in and turned it on for 4 or 5 minutes, and no blinking. By buddy said that he still had sound, but no picture. When I do power it on, I can hear what sounds like a normal TV powering up, and I also hear the speakers power on. I've yet to connect it to any antanae or cable to test the sound as of yet. I've checked the resitors around the IC's and they all seem to be OK. I was planning on changing these out based on the age of the set while I have it appart, but are there other more suspect components that I'm over looking? Perhaps a fuse somewhere? At this point I've removed the board so as to inspect the solder connections, but have yet to desolder the IC's.
Also, I've been reading as to what parts to replace the original IC's with. These are a STK392-110. Some sites and information state that you can replace these with and -150 or -180 and have longer life-spans, some say only use original equipment. I've also seen prices from $6 to $50 per IC for the 110's, but the all seem to be made by Sanyo.
For the desoldering I would like to removed the board completly so I'm not soldering on a vertical plane, but I can't seem to get 2 connectors of. There are 2 white connectors between the 2 boards (one I would call the power borad, the other the signaling board). They look like a small bridge. I assumed that they just popped open, but I didn't want to force anything at this point, not wanting any additional soldering.
Suggestions? Thanks.
