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Old 18th Jan 2015, 5:49 pm   #81
Neanderthal
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Yes, it's a pity we didn't have the semiconductor technology in those times. I think the worst times for TV came when the urge to make sets slimmer took hold. Loads of valves and ballast resistors made the original square box hot enough, but when the lot was crammed into a much slimmer cabinet, it was an invitation for trouble. I had cases where parts of the back burned away opposite the mains dropper. When fitting bridging sections I often put these somewhere else on the chassis to distiibute the heat. The situation was made worse as dust accumulated, and in smoking households it stuck to a nicotine deposit.
The usual cleaning proceedure was to take the chassis outside and blow the dust out with a reverse vac. With stubborn ones, I've even used the local garage airline.
The arrival of PC boards was a mixed blessing, as some of the early ones were poorly soldered and could contain more gremlins than a fantasy movie.
We've come a long way.
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Old 18th Jan 2015, 5:59 pm   #82
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Thinking of power-issues: a now sadly deceased ex-co-worker who worked for National Grid said that in the late-1960s there was some concern about the appearance of a significant DC component on the mains/waveform-distortion because of the number of TVs that used half-wave rectification and AC/DC techniques.

Apparently if there was more than 5% DC it really messed-up smaller transformers/substations because of transformer-saturation.
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Old 19th Jan 2015, 10:03 am   #83
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A fault that won't appear on cue was one of the most frustrating things we had to deal with. I remember a customer with an early colour set complaining his picture vanished on occasions. A number of fruitless visits failed to reveal the condition, even a poke around the chassis made no difference.
A week later and a another recall. While the customer watched the screen more poking took plsace.
""THere"! he shouted,
By the time I looked the fault had vanished. More prodding and poking brought another shout. This time the screen looked blank, but then it was possible to see the ghost of a smeary picture. I had seen that effect once before - Video choke. Gentle prodding intiated the condition, and a few minutes with a soldering iron fixed the fault for good. It was not possible to charge for all the fruitless visits, and had the set been brought in for a soak test the result might well have been negative.
Mike G4BIY.
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Old 19th Jan 2015, 10:08 am   #84
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Male customer: "The colour flashes, only for a few seconds, so it can't be much"

Yeah right.

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Old 19th Jan 2015, 10:24 am   #85
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Ha! The phrase 'it can't be much' was used in our workshop as a kind of curse.
'You do this one Peter (the apprentice), it cant be much....'

One fault that wouln't show up for ages was the Bush CTV with an ultrasonic remote. Customer reported that it would randomly flick channels at about the same time (around 6 o'clock) every night.
I was volunteered to work a bit over and to stay in the customer's house from 5:45pm to see if I could see it happening. While I was waiting, I tried to provoke it by jangling my keys etc, but the set seemed virtually immune.
It happened on my third visit, but it was over in a flash. Workshop soak testing showed nothing, so we fitted a new ultrasonic transducer and the set was returned. Two days later, the customer was back on the phone.
To cut a very long story short, it turned out to be a Landrover that was braking for the nearby corner causing random ultrasonics. If I'd had my bat detector back then I probably would have diagnosed it much quicker!
I can't remember what we did about it. Perhaps we changed the set for one of those new infra-red thingies!
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Old 19th Jan 2015, 12:20 pm   #86
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew2 View Post
Ha! The phrase 'it can't be much' was used in our workshop as a kind of curse.
'You do this one Peter (the apprentice), it cant be much....'
In my line of work we have tasks known as the 'Can you just...'

My heart sinks as soon as I hear the phrase.
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Old 19th Jan 2015, 2:29 pm   #87
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Originally Posted by G6Tanuki View Post
Thinking of power-issues: a now sadly deceased ex-co-worker who worked for National Grid said that in the late-1960s there was some concern about the appearance of a significant DC component on the mains/waveform-distortion because of the number of TVs that used half-wave rectification and AC/DC techniques.

Apparently if there was more than 5% DC it really messed-up smaller transformers/substations because of transformer-saturation.
I had not thought of that, but yes, it sounds credible. Have to admit the power arrangements on those TVs were a bit heathen. Series heaters, rectifier straight off the mains and live chasis were not the best, but then cost and weight had to be considered. Things improved when we went hybrid and then all semiconductor, but a lightning strike could wreak havoc.
I remember a strike writing off one of my rental sets. The customer heard an early morning storm approaching and disconnectsed the aerial and mains plug.
The lightning hit overhead power wires, leapt from the socket to the plug lying on the floor and clobbered the set, Then as a final insult it burnt the customer's carpet. Lose some and win some.
Mike G4BIY.
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Old 19th Jan 2015, 2:35 pm   #88
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Yes Andy, I remember those ultrasonic remotes. That one was certainly baffling. Puts me in mind when I bought a little gadget to locate car keys by whistling for them. Worked a treat until the blackbird learned to mimic the unit's reply. Had to ditch it after that, as the bird ran the battery down.
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Old 19th Jan 2015, 4:52 pm   #89
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We had a customer whose house had had subsidence problems, but it was not noticeable from the outside. My two co workers knew about the problem but decided not to let me in to the secret, after all they had to find out the hard way.

It was a big house, entered by the front door and walked across the hall, about 20 feet towards the living room door. Due to problems with the floor you walked into the wall at the side of the door.
Once you knew it was ok, aim for the other side of the door.
Two lovely old ladies, obviously lived there all there lives and had got used to it. Always tea and biscuits while the set was repaired.

Another customer I went to too had an old Ekco TV. I parked at the front to see a BSM learner car driving forward up the small drive and then reversing back again. This went on for a few minutes and when I went to the house one of the owners got out of the driving seat and said, " It is a difficult drive we have so I am having a few extra lessons going up and down the drive".
Tea and biscuits for me and the driving instructor at that point.
I had some really nice customers, I realise from tales from other engineers I was probably very lucky.
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Old 19th Jan 2015, 6:10 pm   #90
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Sounds as though the levels in that house were well out Frank. Like you I had some nice customers. While carrying a TV I went through one lady's wooden floor. Seems as though she'd been expecting it to happen because my apologies were ignored, but she asked me to take a look below the boards. The torch beam revealed a world of white, dry rot. The poor soul had to have the place concreted, I cannot remember whether she owned or rented the property, but it must have been quite an upheaval.
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Old 19th Jan 2015, 6:33 pm   #91
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I used to do service calls to Francis Coudrill (Hank the Cowboy/Mexican Pete etc)

He had a shack halfway down the cliffs on the Lizard, I was always dreading the possibility of having to climb up the cliff path with his telly, the call outs were always for poor picture, one of the worst reception spots I ever went to, he had an ITT hybrid, CVC5? Nice chap.

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Old 20th Jan 2015, 10:39 am   #92
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We had several customers with very old houses and sloping floors but the worst one I came across was in south London, the customer had a Bush console on casters and when you pushed it into the corner after servicing, if you didn't get it just right it used to follow you back out into the room.

Also on the subject of remotes, I'm sure many of you must have experienced intermittent channel changing on the early infra red ones due to interference from the early CFC lamps but we had one customer with a GEC with a latching mains switch who's set used to switch itself off, always at about the same time of the day, after several fruitless visits I made a point of being there at exactly the time she said it went off and right on cue it did, it was being caused by the sun shining through a gap in the curtains on to the sensor.

I often wondered in the AC/DC days what effect only drawing power on each half cycle had on the mains supply but didn't know it was of serious concern until I read it a few posts back, I suppose the answer would have been to plug half of them in the wrong way round.

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Old 20th Jan 2015, 11:14 am   #93
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One of the more unusual call outs was to the MV Methane Princess and her sister ship MV Methane Progress which were moored up at Falmouth docks at the time, later they were moored up at the King Harry ferry.

Had one call out to a ship, I forget the name, it might have been one of the above, it was moored out in the Carrick Roads and I had to borrow a boat to get out there with me toolbox.

Used to fix Barry Bucknell's telly too, he lived at St Mawes.

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Old 20th Jan 2015, 1:31 pm   #94
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Would plugging half of them in 'tother way do the trick? Surely you'd have to have a telly with a positive chassis and everything upside down, like the early transistor radios with PNP devices.
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Old 20th Jan 2015, 1:59 pm   #95
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Yes, it would work. The chassis would be at mains live potential, not neutral, and the HT rail would be some hundreds of volts above this.
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Old 20th Jan 2015, 2:02 pm   #96
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Well, it was certainly and interesting life for a woman.

I first worked as a YTS trainee at a small little shop with all male staff and a toilet like the one in Trainspotting.

I wanted to be smart for my first day at work and wore a skirt, and it was only after the sixth trip up the rickety ladder, with the middle aged shop keeper"holding the bottom" that I realised what he was up to. Honestly it was like a sketch from Benny Hill.
It was common practice for SEME and other suppliers to issue topless and bottomless calendars as well, which this shop also had, but it was of the time I suppose.
I never wore a skirt to work again and got on fine.

I later worked for myself and Remember repairing a JVC branded Thorn TX10.
On close inspection there was a dirty great chip in the middle of the screen and I thought oh gawd, I must have knocked it.
I repaired the set anyway and returned it ready for the comment "what have you done"?
The customer seemed perfectly happy and I then asked about the tube and they said "oh my toddler hit it with a hammer" and that the picture was now much better.

I should have looked closer when I picked it up, but they had partially drawn curtains.

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Old 20th Jan 2015, 2:25 pm   #97
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Talking of shop toilets, I worked for a while for a national TV rental firm (VH) in South London. It was my first day as a field service engineer with them, the back of the shop had a small workshop, this was where the call sheets were dished out.
I needed to use the toilet so I asked where it was, an engineer looked at the rest of the staff then looked at me "through there mate".

I entered. All three walls of the toilet room were covered in historical snots, bogies if you like, they appeared to have been recently painted over. I'm talking about wall to wall, floor to ceiling depositions here. Yuk.

The disconcerting thing was that a fresh layer had already been started

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Old 20th Jan 2015, 5:42 pm   #98
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Having seen military service, thought I was used to what was drawn on toilet walls. Must admit to not having seen bogies, must have been revolting.

I suppose TV service department toilets must come under good, bad and indifferent.
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Old 20th Jan 2015, 6:12 pm   #99
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Hi Gill. It's nice to find we have another lady TV engineer, you have Wendy to keep you company. OK on the chipped tube, some of those things had very thick glass. Sounds as though your career was similar to mine as I went self employed after a while. I remember busting a tube, it dropped through the bottom of its box. What I hadn't realised the box had been nibbled by mice.
I remember doing my RAF trade training at Yatesbury, not far from you. Reckon the base is closed now.
I'm trying to sort out a digital camera at the moment. Ever since I had this thing, it has gobbled up batteries, doesn't even give you time to adust the settings. Even lithiums don't last that long. Got part of an old computer battery which gives nearly 4 volts, a quick test seemed to be ok, and for the first time was able to set the thing, now it's a question strapping the battery to the camera. A bodge perhaps, but it will save parking it in the bin.
I think the camera will only work on just over 3 volts, tad below that it dies. Seems far happier at 4v, at least this pack is rechargeable.
Oh, did you customer book a carpentry apprenticeship for that toddler? Sounds as though he was getting his toolkit together.
Mike G4BIY
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Old 20th Jan 2015, 9:40 pm   #100
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One post deleted. This is a very wide topic, but can we please keep the thread title in mind when posting.
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