Successful repair to LG RZ-15LA32 LCD TV

[anachrocomputer]

I found an LCD TV in the scrap pile at the Hackspace the other day, an LG model RZ-15LA32. It was manufactured in 2004, and has a full set of inputs: RF (UHF), SCART, composite PAL, S-Video and VGA. I didn't find the remote, but I thought I'd test it out anyway, for use with 8-bit microcomputers and video games. Anyway, it didn't work. All I got was a white screen, which showed that the backlight was OK but the input stages weren't. There was no on-screen display (OSD) and no sign of either a blue screen (input out-of-range) or a 'snow' image (RF input).

I opened it up, expecting bad capacitors: https://www.flickr.com/photos/anachrocomputer/25233735352

But the capacitors were OK. I identified various chips, the NICAM processor, the VGA input chip, the LVDS driver, the audio power amp, and so on. Then I spotted the main chip the generates the (missing) OSD, an SDA555FXL (no relation to the 555 timer!). It's in a 52-pin, 0.07-inch pitch DIL package, and socketed. The chip looked a bit suspicious to me: https://www.flickr.com/photos/anachrocomputer/24725256823

To my total surprise, after I had gently lifted the chip in the socket and re-seated it, the TV worked! It must've been a bad contact in the socket. I was able to reassemble the TV and get it connected up to a laptop as a VGA display. Tonight, I'll test the composite video (PAL) and SCART connections with a BBC Micro!

The TV working, showing the OSD: https://www.flickr.com/photos/anachrocomputer/25352000805

[Wor3d]

Good job! Stuff that I often overlook Maybe the TV just fell down and "yeeaaa, its crushed"