WE DID IT!!

Background story:  We have a Hitachi projection T.V. in our living room..huge beast of a T.V.  Two weeks ago everything on it started to look like we had switched it to 3D...we didn't.  So...Brian called a T.V. repair shop and we were told that it was going to cost $150.00 just to come out and LOOK at the dang thing and tell us what we already knew was wrong with it (the convergence was out...thanks be to Google for once again enlightening me).  $150.00 just to look at it??!!!??  So...Brian tried another place, same answer.


I decided to spend some time researching on the computer and came up with an awesome site called TVrepairkits.com.  They had a repair kit for our T.V. for only $50.00 but we would have to teach ourselves how to solder and desolder...so we decided...why not give it a shot.


So here are some pics of the "Sage to fix the T.V."...also known as "Brian stop talking to me through clenched teeth...we'll figure it out...Gosh".


First we had to wait for the kit to come in the mail..which turned out to be two small pieces and 12 really small pieces and NO instructions...just a password to download the instructions!


The first instruction was: buy a pencil thin soldering iron, desoldering iron, solder (as thin as possible..of course), a soldering board and a little piece that you use to practice soldering...well needless to say, it quickly became apparent that I would be reading the instructions, unhooking the small parts, etc and Brian would be doing ALL the soldering and desoldering.  This became apparent when I soldered myself to the kitchen counter....solder by the way...is freaking HOT!


The next instruction was to open up the back of the T.V. and remove the  convergence board;..this is what we saw....what we thought was..."oh hell"....

actually in the above pic, we already have it out..it went in that big empty space to the right.

That's what it looked like in the T.V.  all those wires had to be removed, all the clips removed and bolts removed then CAREFULLY remove the board...see those little green things with the strippy colors???  those are what we had to replace and the converter chips which are bigger pieces that each required 18 solders!!

Brian is desoldering all the little parts here (48 parts)..and I'm watching....apparently too closely..I believe I was asked to take my camera and leave....

So.....I did. I went outside to find this picture of Queen of the little pool..and below you will find the smartest member of the family...hiding.

Poor baby...He was also tired of being talked to through clenched teeth...

Daphne took it all in stride though...she just wanted her big T.V. back.


But...Look...I didn't slack the whole time...here's me and Bootsie..hard at work.

I'm putting the converters back in because they were kind of delicate and Brian was not in a delicate kind of mood.

So...this is Brian soldering all those little things into place, honestly...he's amazing and it was really delicate and time consuming work...I think the Coors light may have helped.....


So at this point...we put it all back together....turned on the T.V. after 4 hours of work....


and....


IT WAS WORSE!!!  arghhhh!!


So...we took a couple of days as a break...got a nasty email back from the company telling us that we were supposed to use "certain, specific values of resistors"...hmmmm...interesting..since this was NOT in the instructions.  We waited until they got the values and emailed them to us and then we did it ALL over AGAIN!!


Only this time...

IT WORKED!!  Woo Hoo!! I got my T.V. back and look who's on it!!!


No more 3D and no more bowing out on the edges and it only cost us $70.00!!  


So far in the last four months, we have fixed our T.V., our washing machine, our air conditioner and our P.C.  all by trying to do it ourselves and with the internet....LOVE you internet!!!  Especially you Google..you know you're my fav.