Quick (possibly noob) TV fault question

[Megamixer]

Having a bit of trouble with my big CRT TV. It's really old so I'm suspecting it might be dying but I thought I'd make sure there's not a simple answer for it by asking you knowledgable lot first

Basically, whenever using something connected through the scart socket on the back (there's only 1 by the way), I can get the picture to hold for 10-15 minutes but then it'll start breaking up, eventually becoming a screen of solid colour i.e. white, light blue etc. Sometimes I can get sound and no audio, most of the time nothing. Wiggling the scart cable about fixes it sometimes, other times it doesn't.

I've tested it with the scart extension block and also with something plugged directly into the TV's scart socket and get the same problems.

Basically, I want to know if this means that the TV's scart connector is dying. If it is, can it be replaced quite easily? I know I could pick up a replacement CRT on the cheap but if all it needs is a new scart connector then I'd rather do that.

Any advice appreciated

[Antiriad2097]

If wiggling the scart connector is making a difference, it may just be dry joints. Over years of use, the soldered connection from the scart input to the motherboard has broken down, so now you may have a cracked, intermittent connection.

If the TV is fine using an RF connection for an extended period, that does suggest the tube and other components are still fine and validates this theory. If it plays up with RF too, then the scart connection could be a red herring - its possible wiggling the scart is moving other components affected in that case.

If its fine on RF and only scart has the issue, its a fairly simple job to resolder the joints from scart input to motherboard. If you've no experience of soldering I'll not suggest you try it yourself, but its not a terrifying one to attempt.

I guess the question is: If you've nobody else to do it for you, are you prepared to sacrifice the telly trying? A professional repair will probably cost more than a replacement CRT these days.

[Megamixer]

If wiggling the scart connector is making a difference, it may just be dry joints. Over years of use, the soldered connection from the scart input to the motherboard has broken down, so now you may have a cracked, intermittent connection.

If the TV is fine using an RF connection for an extended period, that does suggest the tube and other components are still fine and validates this theory. If it plays up with RF too, then the scart connection could be a red herring - its possible wiggling the scart is moving other components affected in that case.

If its fine on RF and only scart has the issue, its a fairly simple job to resolder the joints from scart input to motherboard. If you've no experience of soldering I'll not suggest you try it yourself, but its not a terrifying one to attempt.

I guess the question is: If you've nobody else to do it for you, are you prepared to sacrifice the telly trying? A professional repair will probably cost more than a replacement CRT these days.

I don't mind giving soldering a go. I'm not saying I'm a pro solderer but I've done a bit here and there so I have some experience. Didn't think to check the RF connector as everything has had scart leads bought for them so I'll have to check that one too first.

I just want to keep it going as long as possible really. It's a big Toshiba CRT that's well on the bad side of 15 years old so there's a reluctance to just let it die

Thanks for the advice anyway. I'll test the RF connector first then open 'er up if that's working fine.

[Megamixer]

Well, I haven't had chance to test the RF yet as anything with RF leads is packed away and a pain to get to at the moment but I did find that there was a second scart socket after all . Problem is that it worked for about a day then that one packed up too

The problem seems to come on when I switch the TV off by the remote for a while with a console still switched on (so as to save leccy and all that) and upon turning it back on, the screen is all white and everything is f*cked. Furthermore, I noticed that the red standby light is blinking on and off which I'm assuming is bad news...

It's a Toshiba 2163DB and I'm currently looking for a PDF of the original instructions out of curiosity but to no avail. Seems like CRT TV's never existed according to the internet