by Cameron Foster

Created on: December 06, 2009

If we accept the definition of "TV repair" as a workable strategy of the modification and/or removing and replacing of defective parts by a properly trained technician, then we must conclude that such an era has indeed passed.

One only need compare the interior of today's television to the ones of 40 years ago to see this in evidence.

The televisions of the 1960's contained a number of tubes, each of which plugged into sockets and could easily be replaced at minimal cost. Controls such as the volume, picture, and color knobs were analog potentiometers that a repairman could change in five minutes with a soldering gun, some electrical tape, and perhaps a few screwdrivers.

Sometimes the problem might be a burnt wire or a bad transformer; these were not especially pricey operations either. The more elementary design of these devices availed itself to inexpensive fixes. Usually the only "death knell" for the older TV's was the picture tube. If that went, it was more sensible to replace the entire set.

Compare this to a 21st Century unit circa 2010.

Most of the newer sets have on-board diagnostics (OBD) which generate codes (much like today's cars) for various detected problems. However, these procedures often wind up being more expensive to fix than the value of the set, even in a just-purchased model.

The electronics in such devices are very complex and require sophisticated diagnostic tools (sometimes beyond the TV's OBD capability) which add to the service cost. There are few simple "fixes". This is not some conspiracy among manufacturers but rather a necessary evil of the much more complicated elements and miniaturized components.

Furthermore, such "repairs" are little more than the replacement of large assemblies or circuit boards inside, not individual parts. This once again usually makes such tasks cost prohibitive versus what we found in TV's of the past.

It will be rare today to find someone qualified to delve into the electronics circuitry of the set and actually fix a small malfunctioning piece of a circuit board, for example. What will happen is a total replacement of the card.

Therefore, those who still "repair" TVs today usually don't perform a bona fide "repair", but rather a replacement of a large portion of the TV's guts (cost wise).

With the exception of warranty work for factory-defective parts, you will be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of TV repair shops today. The sets are too complex and the "repairs" are not economically valid. It is a rapidly diminishing career choice.

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