Fixing my TV
March 28, 2014
Last month, I fixed my 56-inch Samsung digital light projection (DLP) TV.
For 3 months, it made a screaming, buzzing noise when I turned it on. I made it stop by thumping it on the back. We had bought it for $100 off Craigslist; it was just sitting in someone’s garage. At the time, we felt great about it for financial and environmental reasons. And now, this.
I didn’t bother looking up TV repair services. It would cost more than the TV had cost in the first place. Besides, I would be cheating myself out of a learning opportunity.
The actual process turned out to be easy. I found out what the possible problem was by Googling variations of “Samsumg DLP tv noise”. Looked like it might be a bad color wheel. Found out how to tell for sure. Opened up the TV and determined that it was indeed the case. Ordered a new color wheel and followed instructions on Youtube to install it. It took about 2 hours of work spread out over 2 weekends: 1.5 hours to research, open up the TV, find the malfunctioning part and order a replacement, 0.5 to put the part in and sew the patient back up. I learned a lot:
- Take a lot of pictures as you are doing the disassembling. Put the screws in labeled cups or bowls so you don’t lose them or lose track of which one goes where
- In most cases, watching a video that demos the repair you’re attempting, even if it’s not for the same model, is better than reading instructions for your particular model
- If you feel stuck, take a break, then re-watch the part of the instructional video you’re having trouble with (or re-read the instructions)
- It’s always useful to have good tools. I have a Rosewill computer repair toolkit that I bought for $20. It’s been useful on many occasions since
- Doing basic repairs like this gives you the confidence to tackle more complicated projects
I’m a big believer in repairing your electronics. People don’t repair their stuff in the Western world. Having someone repair it can cost more than it would to buy it new. It’s a terrible waste and disastrous for the environment. On the other hand, some entrepreneurial person could probably make a decent living by buying (or getting for free) broken stuff, fixing it and selling it on.