Woohoo! Sharp 25R-S100 with remote by the side of the road.

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by jstout66

Zeno, I'm with you on that one. I'll throw out a bigger bomb... ( ready to duck and take cover.. haha) IMHO Sony is not one of my faves either. They started out with a premium product ( and I am a HUGE fan of the Trinitron tube), but in the early days, they were a bitch to get parts for if you weren't an authorized service center. They had a "tude".. Then towards the late 80's they started shipping out crap, and rolled with it because they were SONY. I look for older Trintrons, but have discovered that it's "good luck" finding a decent tube on one.

Ha, I think zeno beat you to that one actually. I'm not a fan of Fonys either, and I started with one from 1987. Don't know if the CRT was weak or if there was something wrong with the video stage, but I couldn't be bothered to find out so I junked it. The remote was badly worn which was a good indicator of heavy use. Couldn't unlock locked-out channels without that remote. I never liked the "must use OEM semiconductors" thing.

[zeno]

Originally Posted by jstout66

Zeno, I'm with you on that one. I'll throw out a bigger bomb... ( ready to duck and take cover.. haha) IMHO Sony is not one of my faves either. They started out with a premium product ( and I am a HUGE fan of the Trinitron tube), but in the early days, they were a bitch to get parts for if you weren't an authorized service center. They had a "tude".. Then towards the late 80's they started shipping out crap, and rolled with it because they were SONY. I look for older Trintrons, but have discovered that it's "good luck" finding a decent tube on one.

We are on the same page on Sony. The early ones were better than most
sets of the time. In the 80's they got easy to deal with & easy to fix
but reliability started sliding. Other top of line sets were just as good, pix
quality became just a thing of taste. In the early 90's with Zenith going
to the dogs were got a Sony franchise NOT easy to do. It took a year to
get & the thing that finally got it was a visit from one of there tech
who was impressed by our operation. In the end the Sony CRT sets
were probably the most unreliable sets. Tons of FBT's, power supply &
bad connection problems & tuner problems. Parts on 2 yr old sets
were coming back NLA jugs were shorting & dealing with sales became
a real pain. It all ended abt 4 yrs ago, in business since 1957 & the
last real surviving Mom & Pop in the area. All worth nothing

73 Zeno

[Sandy G]

Aye-Yup... I bought that 36" Trinitron right after they came out, what, late Nineties or early 2000s ?, And it died last fall-CRT would go dark, except for red splotches. In other words, I only got about 15 yrs of life offa it-Pretty shabby when a LOT of us have color sets from the FIFTIES still boogying along.. It COULD have been something simple, but WHO do you take a TV to be fixed anymore ? I'm 57, have a bum knee, & there was NO WAY I could man-handle that 280 lb monster & try to get it into the Mighty Valdez... And even if I DID, how the hell do you get it IN a shop to be fixed ? Terry's the only one I know who could fix it, but I think lugging it into his shop would be pushing our friendship...

[jstout66]

Sandy G... oh god....you really did buy one of the HEAVY ones. ( and I bet paid a ton for it new) I have 2 32" that are my main watchers, and when they die... out to the trash they go. I am to old and FAT now to be lugging anything that heavy anymore. That 32" JVC I'art about killed me when I brought it home. I love CRT sets, but never again with anything that huge.
You wanna talk heavy tho.. someone on CL has a top of the line 27" Sony ( black lacquer cabinet) in the free section. The hoarder in me was all "ohhhhhhhh" but reality kicked in and I said EFF NO.

[radiotvnut]

I suppose one major advantage to a flat screen is that you can get a big screen TV and it not kill you when trying to move it. I have a 32" HD XBR that's been in my basement for 2-3 years and I think it has bad MCZ IC's in the power supply. When I got it, my plans were to fix and sell it. Well, that's pretty much impossible today; so, if someone showed up here who would help me get it out, it would go to the dump (same goes for another 32" Sony that's also in the basement).

I had a friend who was in the second hand business and he was the only one who could sell a CRT TV; but, he passed away a few weeks ago and I've made the decision not to fool with anymore SPC/BPC TV's. When I list them for sale, they generally sit here with no interest and when someone does call, they either don't show up or they expect a new TV for $15 or $20. Frankly, I don't have the time or the patience for that BS.

I'm thinking of donating what few working BPC TV's that I have to one of the thrift stores and washing my hands of them.

[Sandy G]

I remember DEAD-LIFTING that Bad Boi when it was new-And I was only 40-42 or so, & I saw Stars, Moons, Lightnings... Another problem is they're way out of balance, & there is NOTHING to really "Get a FIRM Purchase" on when you're trying to move one-Just slippery grey/black plastic... Fun, fun, fun..

[Jon A.]

I could barely team-lift a 36" Fony, can't imagine what moving one solo must be like.

[zeno]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

Aye-Yup... I bought that 36" Trinitron right after they came out, what, late Nineties or early 2000s ?, And it died last fall-CRT would go dark, except for red splotches. In other words, I only got about 15 yrs of life offa it-Pretty shabby when a LOT of us have color sets from the FIFTIES still boogying along.. It COULD have been something simple, but WHO do you take a TV to be fixed anymore ? I'm 57, have a bum knee, & there was NO WAY I could man-handle that 280 lb monster & try to get it into the Mighty Valdez... And even if I DID, how the hell do you get it IN a shop to be fixed ? Terry's the only one I know who could fix it, but I think lugging it into his shop would be pushing our friendship...

Bring to mind something most here may not have seen. Dont remember if Sonys did it but something to watch on SS sets.
When the vert output fails sometimes the yoke gets enuf DC on it to pull
the pix off the screen. You will see blurry blotches until you shut the set
off then the the "no vert" line shows up for a second. Very bad for the
set, its the cause of Zeniths getting necked, indirectly cause by the
4 lead cap. So thats one reason why modern sets have shutdown
for no vert along with overcurrent et al. Any newer sets with a vert
output IC should be resoldered, many brands had trouble here.

73 Zeno

[Sandy G]

Originally Posted by Jon A.

I could barely team-lift a 36" Fony, can't imagine what moving one solo must be like.

LOTSA Fun, my friend.. I WAS a very strong Young Man..Picked up a 289 Ford short block, & toted it out of this junk hole... But THOSE days are long gone. I'm LUCKY I didn't stumble & drop the ginormous Sony. Also didn't have NEARLY as much "Uncle Arthur-Itis" to contend with..

[rca2000]

Originally Posted by zeno

We are on the same page on Sony. The early ones were better than most
sets of the time. In the 80's they got easy to deal with & easy to fix
but reliability started sliding. Other top of line sets were just as good, pix
quality became just a thing of taste. In the early 90's with Zenith going
to the dogs were got a Sony franchise NOT easy to do. It took a year to
get & the thing that finally got it was a visit from one of there tech
who was impressed by our operation. In the end the Sony CRT sets
were probably the most unreliable sets. Tons of FBT's, power supply &
bad connection problems & tuner problems. Parts on 2 yr old sets
were coming back NLA jugs were shorting & dealing with sales became
a real pain. It all ended abt 4 yrs ago, in business since 1957 & the
last real surviving Mom & Pop in the area. All worth nothing

73 Zeno

One real bad thing about Sony--and it STILL seems to be this way now--is their "we do it OUR way" attitude about ckty design. Some here will remember the "GCS sets", from maybe 1973 or so to 1977 or so...and ho0w they were VERRYYY difficult to0 keep running. You found one with a bad SG-613, replaced it, maybe a couple of caps in the H drive area....and it worked...for a WHILE_-then POW!! out would go that GCS with not a TRACE of warning--and it usually took the pass regulator with it.. (Sony did NOT like to use a cold chassis, till SMPS sets became common...and even THEN---"they did it THEIR way.."). The GCS sets have been discussed in depth before here.

And the Trinitron tube--while it does look good---NEVER won any accolades for long-life, compared to a chromacolor tube, 10BP4, or even a 21FJP22. And they do NOT restore at ALL. It almost seems as if they "program them" with a certain number of hours and when that runs out...."flash..flash...flash"...from the IK kill ckt. And SOME Trinitron tubes were SHIT frtom the get-go, sunch as the 710AB22 or its metric labeled sister. It is VERY unlikely one will find a useable one today...they were dying 25 YEARS ago!! And the CRT projo sets they had maybe 10 or so years ago had bad tubes when they were NEW--with contaminated cathodes that DID die-- usually after under 5000 hours of use !!

BTW--what does that "73" mean? I think it is some Ham term, right ?

[zeno]

Originally Posted by Jon A.

Ha, I think zeno beat you to that one actually. I'm not a fan of Fonys either, and I started with one from 1987. Don't know if the CRT was weak or if there was something wrong with the video stage, but I couldn't be bothered to find out so I junked it. The remote was badly worn which was a good indicator of heavy use. Couldn't unlock locked-out channels without that remote. I never liked the "must use OEM semiconductors" thing.

A good example of why you need an OEM remote often. That Sony
was only around for a year or 2. HAD to have the OEM to add/del
channels. What made it worse was the original $25 remote fast
became NLA but was subbed to a unit that had tons off buttons &
dealer cost was $65. Its why we started telling people to bring in
the remotes with the sets even if broken. An early example of the
MFR's turning TV's into a blister pack commondity that they
didnt give a crap about. In the end all those remotes that came in
made for a nice collection & we got one of the Sonys that we held
on to instead of selling it used.

73 Zeno

[davet753]

Originally Posted by jstout66

Zeno, I'm with you on that one. I'll throw out a bigger bomb... ( ready to duck and take cover.. haha) IMHO Sony is not one of my faves either. They started out with a premium product ( and I am a HUGE fan of the Trinitron tube), but in the early days, they were a bitch to get parts for if you weren't an authorized service center. They had a "tude".. Then towards the late 80's they started shipping out crap, and rolled with it because they were SONY. I look for older Trintrons, but have discovered that it's "good luck" finding a decent tube on one.

It's nice to know I'm not the only one whose not too crazy about Sony. Not only were parts hard to get, they were also way over-priced. And if you were not a Sony authorized servicer, you could forget about getting any tech assistance from them.

I can say one thing for them, they built the heaviest portable TV's on the market in the 1980's. Those darn things were a pain in the back to get up on the workbench, and a pain elsewhere once you got it taken apart

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by rca2000

BTW--what does that "73" mean? I think it is some Ham term, right ?

I often wonder about that.

[Sandy G]

Yep, a ham term. Means "Good Luck !"

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by NoPegs

Sign on the face of the tube says "FREE FREE WORKS" and the remote is taped to the top. I just lugged it in from the car (At 28, I'm beginning to think that I'm shortly going to be too old to live in a 2nd floor apartment.) and haven't powered it on (and won't, yet, see below.) but nothing seems visually wrong with it.

I used to live on the 2nd floor of a walk-up, no big deal. I reckon the rent for those is generally lower than for a place with a lift. To get around the problem of moving heavy items up and down stairs I'd just get creative and fashion some kind of rolling platform that can easily mount stairs.