Predicta tv chassis repair service = $149.95 - Videokarma.org TV - Video

cwmoser · #1 10-15-2010, 05:45 AM

PREDICTA TV CHASSIS REPAIR SERVICE = $149.95

Holy Moley!!

I couldn't compete with this guy:
http://cgi.ebay.com/PREDICTA-TV-Chas...item27b597e044

miniman82 · #2 10-15-2010, 08:17 AM

It says other non-predicta chassis as well, guess I should have sent him my CTC-7.

bandersen · #3 10-15-2010, 10:09 AM

He's been offering repair services for years although not this cheap. He used to sell parts too.

Tom Albrecht · #4 10-15-2010, 10:10 AM

Yes - that's a good deal, and priced right given the value of Predictas (not as high as they once were). He's not making much money, but probably gets quite a bit of business this way.

RDusel · #5 10-15-2010, 10:50 AM

I've often wondered at this price if he is doing a full recap or just changing the failed parts. Seems rather cheap to me as well..

cwmoser · #6 10-15-2010, 10:55 AM

My Capacitor and Resistor order for the Emerson 639 TV I restored was $75.00.

The service techs who work on my Heat Pump charge $95.
Ditto for the auto mechanic.

It took me many hours to recap and check resistors and then more hours to test the darn thing.

Carl

bandersen · #7 10-15-2010, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RDusel

I've often wondered at this price if he is doing a full recap or just changing the failed parts. Seems rather cheap to me as well..

I asked him about this last year. He told me he replaces the multi-section electrolytics with discrete caps. i.e. no restuffing. All paper caps and bad resistors are replaced.
Not sure if he removes the circuit boards or replaces them from the top.

DaveWM · #8 10-15-2010, 12:27 PM

wonder what the deal would be if bad tube sockets or bad fly?

Phil Nelson · #9 10-15-2010, 02:34 PM

He's not getting rich on a per-hour basis, but I'll bet the work goes pretty quickly once he's done a few dozen Predictas. When I pulled the board on mine for a second time, I did it much faster than the first time.

And who knows, an inexpensive Predicta offer might act as a "loss leader" to bring in additional work that's more interesting/lucrative.

Phil Nelson

mbates14 · #10 10-15-2010, 06:09 PM

possible because of the bad economy? at our shop we had to lower our repair prices to almost peanuts JUST to get people to come in through the door. and still that isnt much..... Its low enough to make it almost non-survivable in real-life conditions, but i want to keep the business going as long as i can to get through this rut...

bandersen · #11 10-17-2010, 10:50 PM

Seems he's asking $295 for the 17" versions. http://cgi.ebay.com/17-PREDICTA-TV-C...-/170554141249

kx250rider · #12 10-18-2010, 10:59 AM

I know him; met him through some eBay sales about 8 years ago... Name is Ross. He's a good guy, honest, but I haven't had him do any work for me as of yet, so I can't vouch for it as of this time. The price is right, but I would ask whether he pulls the PC board off the chassis to recap, or if he just snips the leads on the component side of the board. When I used to do a lot of Predicta restorations, I charged a lot more, but I also pulled the board off and fully removed/replaced caps. That's a PITA of a job, as the board has to be unwired and unsoldered from all the ground lugs to be pulled off.

NO! I don't do those anymore, so no competition here at any price.

Charles

Tom Albrecht · #13 10-18-2010, 12:19 PM

I would imagine he snips and splices. Although it isn't quite a pretty, it's probably better from a reliability point of view, since the less stuff you disturb, the more likely it's going to stay working.

Predictas don't have very many paper capacitors. Not too many tubular caps, and some of the tubulars are not paper. Probably less than 10 paper caps that have to be replaced in a Predicta.

I could imagine these repairs go pretty quickly, since he's probably quite experienced at Predictas and knows exactly what needs replacing, and what symptoms mean what on that chassis.

Dave S · #14 10-18-2010, 03:10 PM

If I had a rare or really mint condition set, I'd go to the trouble of pulling the board. I actually did that on one of my Predictas (hardly a rare or mint set, but hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time...) Otherwise, for a garden-variety set, I have NO problem just working from the top. It's always entirely upgradable to a fussier restoration in the future if someone should choose to do so. And as Tom noted, I'm less likely to cause other problems in the process.

Many years ago, a company (Mallory?) used to sell kits of repair parts that I think were called "squigs" which were little coils of wire that looked like very small springs, with an inside diameter the same size as capacitor leads. You would insert the coil over the cut end of the wire left from the part that had been removed. Then you'd insert the end of the replacement part into the other end of the coil and solder it. A very easy and secure repair (although admittedly it didn't look as nice as unsoldering the old part.) A guy in our club figured out how to make a tool out of brass tubing and piano wire to make it easy to wind those tiny little coils. It makes it a LOT easier to replace parts as long as you're not shooting for a pristine restored appearance.

DaveWM · #15 10-18-2010, 03:19 PM

yea and I think they came coated in solder as well.