When do you say enough is enough?

[AndyC_772]

A couple of weeks ago my small (24") TV decided it no longer wanted to switch on. The standby LED stayed lit, and it even blinked in response to the remote, but nothing could make it actually switch on properly.

Fortunately I have another near-identical set, so it was easy to swap parts to quickly determine that the fault was on the main board. The supply rails were all OK, but for some reason it wasn't responding to signals that it should switch on. (The buttons on the TV itself, and HDMI-CEC, were ignored too).

The main board is basically two ASICs; one processor with some DRAM attached, and a power management IC. On the basis that the only possible source for either is a new board anyway, I bought a (used) replacement main PCB which came from the equivalent French model.

The new PCB powered up just fine, but of course, didn't list the UK as a supported country, so I swapped the main software Flash and the two EEPROMs off my original TV. Then it came up as a UK model, but couldn't receive any signal through the aerial. So I swapped in the tuner module from my original TV (which had the exact same part number anyway), and that didn't help either.

So, now I have one main PCB which doesn't boot, and one which boots but can't receive a signal. Neither is particularly useful as a TV.

I'm sure I probably do have the parts to make one fully working TV, but the question is, when to just draw the line and say enough is enough. My time isn't free, and although I do have the tools to swap parts from one board to another, I could easily spend a couple of days at it and still have no working TV at the end of it.

As an aside, has anyone noticed that it's all but impossible to buy a Full HD (1080 line) 24" TV now? They're all 768p, with or without "smart" fluff.

[Anks]

When it's fixed lol

[Ian.M]

As a rough rule of thumb, you are probably throwing good money after bad if the total repair cost exceeds a third of the cost of a new replacement.   As you have pointed out, you need to put a cost on your time - don't set it lower than your hourly wage after tax.   If you are retired/unwaged it gets harder, but if you value your time at less than minimum wage you've probably got other issues . . . .

Once you are deep in the hole there is always that temptation to go just a little bit further.   If you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, then, yes, go for it as everything up to that point is a sunk cost, but you need to be very sure the end is in sight.

[FrankE]

When I've bought enough parts to build a complete new unit.

or I've had enough

[don.r]

When you can sell the parts for more than the cost of a working unit.

[Gregg]

You know it is time to quit when you feel that smashing it to bits will give you more pleasure than actually fixing it

[Armadillo]

The Art of fortune is to let someone else pick up your grief and misfortunes....
while you spend your time to plow gainfully on fertile soil.   
who knows, you can buy the cinemas.

[Shock]

A couple of weeks ago my small (24") TV

I'd call it quits right at this point.

Just mention to people you know you're adopting 40" plus TV's, laptops etc. Get them to spread the word around, something is bound to turn up on the doorstep before long. I tested this out myself, you would be surprised how many people just auto turf to the curb now.

I got a 50" Sony LED the other day, looks like the problem is with the panels buffer board. I just have to wait now until I have the space to lay it down on my workbench, hesitant to do it upright as the boards will be flapping in the breeze. So far I have 25" of a great TV .

In your case I probably would have troubleshooted the original board before swapping out parts from it, but anyway assuming you have set the panel/country up correctly in the hidden service menu or some other weird setup problem, the next obvious thing is a defective replacement board. At this stage it's only worth it if you learn something.

[lordvader88]

Troubleshooting & Repairing Switch Mode Power Supplies
https://readerspage.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/smpsrepairebook.pdf

Lot of TVs in that book. I wish I had more broken stuff to work on. I have a broken ATX PSU, I've made some progress. Soon I should have it narrowed down, hope its a common part I can get.

[rsjsouza]

That is highly dependent on the cost of a similar product where you live. Flat screen TVs here are priced to discourage any attempt of repair other than a blown fuse or a couple of caps ($260 for a Samsung 50' is a joke).

I sometimes repair equipment mostly for the fun of it but also to get some videos for my channel, but the resale price was never recovered in time and material.

[ovnr]

If the problem isn't bleedingly obvious, I don't bother repairing it. Caps oozing all over the board, or signs that something's been very toasty? Sure, try to fix it. If the initial attempt to fix it doesn't show a lot of promise, it gets binned.

If the repair cost - or estimated repair cost - exceeds 10-20% of what the thing cost when it was new, it also gets binned, unless for some reason it's hard to replace due to new models being New and Improved and completely fucking ruined.

[Mr. Scram]

As a rough rule of thumb, you are probably throwing good money after bad if the total repair cost exceeds a third of the cost of a new replacement.   As you have pointed out, you need to put a cost on your time - don't set it lower than your hourly wage after tax.   If you are retired/unwaged it gets harder, but if you value your time at less than minimum wage you've probably got other issues . . . .

Once you are deep in the hole there is always that temptation to go just a little bit further.   If you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, then, yes, go for it as everything up to that point is a sunk cost, but you need to be very sure the end is in sight.

It depends on what your goal is. If it's just fixing the thing for economic reasons, you're right. If it's repairing the thing for environmental reasons, things start shifting already. If it's an item you value or like to use and it's not available any more, repairing might be the way to go. If you're repairing to learn something or have some fun, the costs and time spent becomes less relevant en spending more time might actually become desirable.

Conversely, if you loathe repairing it or want to spend more time with your family it might be worth it to simply chuck the item or give it away. That's like hiring a house cleaner. Most people are more than capable or doing that themselves, but many simply want to upgrade the quality of the time not spent on their job.

[oldway]

This is a question that we are constantly confronted with in repair - coffee.
https://repaircafe.org/en/

Our practical results are as follows: we are able to repair between 60 and 65% of the devices that we bring to us.

In electronics, we generally only repair power supplies outages.

For more sophisticated failures, important technical means are required.
I worked in the support service of LG and Panasonic to repair the plasma TV and LCD, we had at our disposal a case with all the new printed boards of the TV that we had to repair .... There are many variants of the circuits so much at the hardware level as that of firmware ....

It is necessary to know what are the compatibilities.

It is for this reason that we must only attempt repairing simple breakdowns .... As soon as they are more complicated and we do not have the replacement boards and the instructions of the manufacturer, we must not lose our time to attempt a repair because the chances of success are minimal.

[stevelup]

As an aside, has anyone noticed that it's all but impossible to buy a Full HD (1080 line) 24" TV now? They're all 768p, with or without "smart" fluff.

Samsung do about half a dozen different 24" 1080P models.

[beenosam]

Given the price of televisions (if you can afford them, that is), after the effort you have already put in, I think enough is already sufficient now.

[alpher]

Jeez, the very best answeR is:
Just stop watching the damn TV !!!!!
I did, 15 year ago.

[AndyC_772]

 

[MyHeadHz]

you need to put a cost on your time - don't set it lower than your hourly wage after tax.   If you are retired/unwaged it gets harder, but if you value your time at less than minimum wage you've probably got other issues . . . .

how much do you charge your girlfriend to hang out with her?  or your friends to drink with?  How much did you get paid for that post?

LOL, that's such a silly proposal.  "you've probably got other issues"  Ohh, HE does?  :p  ok, sure.  he is the one with "issues".  not you.  nope.  :p  Sorry to poke fun, but that was just too ridiculous to not comment on.

[Bud]

What does your facepalm refer to?

[AndyC_772]

The post immediately above it; probably the single least helpful comment in the history of the internet.

By way of an update, I bought a new TV (a cheap, 768p, but otherwise surprisingly high quality Samsung). I have, however, kept hold of the old one and the spare main board, just in case I find I have some spare time and feel like spending it in a vaguely productive way.

It'll probably take up space for a few months, then get dumped next time I have a clear out and head for the tip.