Finding older content

[Rgarner]

It's weird that I can't locate some of the stuff I posted in maybe the last year or two. Some older things than that are available, thank goodness. I wanted in particular to get to the discussion(s) about that plasma tv. It suddenly stopped working and I don't know why. I have unplugged and replugged, changed the remote's batteries (4 AAA), EVEN PRESSED THE ON/OFF BUTTON ON THE SET. Is there a television expert among us?

 

[Fox Mulder]

Your profile shows 2000+ posts but only some of them show up by clicking on that number. Selecting "View Older Results" on the bottom does nothing so I suspect that is something that happened when the forum was reorganized that Rob needs to look into. Hopefully that content is just misplaced and not lost. Same thing happens if I try to search for my own posts.
As for the TV it's likely a power supply failure, and not something you can repair yourself unless you're familiar with working on electronics. Unfortunately TV repair places, which used to be plentiful, have pretty much gone by the wayside as most consumer electronics have become disposable.

 

[Rgarner]

Thank goodness it is actually working but it has to be switched on and off manually, and there is no way to change the channel. Also, the screen has a new, big scratch. Could it be the supposedly brand new batteries are already no good? How do we fix the scratch?

 

[ocnbrze]

looks like its time for a new tv.

 

[olbriar]

AI Overview
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To remove scratches from a plasma TV, you can try using a 50/50 solution of 90% pure isopropyl alcohol and distilled water:

1. Clean a microfiber cloth and dip it into the solution.
2. Wring out the cloth so it's slightly damp.
3. Gently rub the scratch in a circular motion.
4. Continue to use a circular motion while keeping the cloth damp.
5. The scratch should start to disappear as the alcohol evaporates.
   If the scratch doesn't disappear or gets worse, you should stop and consider that the scratch may need professional attention.
   Plasma TV screens cannot be repaired, and replacing the screen can cost more than the original price of the TV.
   
   

 

[treb1797]

For those that are not familiar with it : Google is a popular search engine. It scans the internet to find web pages that are relevant to the words you have typed into a box on the screen.

 

[mikedt]

I believe plasma screen TVs haven't been made for 10 years now. So you may find it difficult to find a tech that will take the repair on, as spare parts are discontinued and may well be unavailable. Never really liked plasma screens myself, as they always ran hot and consumed a lot of electricity, like 500 watts or more. The last ones I did see, all showed bad screen burn from use.

 

[Hadron]

Some of the seminar rooms at my institution say "plasma screen" in the equipment list, but while the screens are big (for which plasma might have been cheaper) I've not looked at one lately to check what technology they actually use (I can imagine early ones were plasma and the learning resources team just use that label whenever a screen is used rather than a projector, whatever the actual technology).

I agree that I've not seen one for sale in consumer outlets for a very long time.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Plasmas haven't been made or sold in quite a long time. They were the first flat panel option to transition from CRTs and they did have a great picture, but as mentioned they were rather big and heavy as well as power hungry and yes they did suffer from burn-in.
They are still prized by some video purists who love the picture quality but the LED panels have long knocked the plasmas out of the market.
Plasmas are also the bane of ham radio operators everywhere as they are horrible RFI generators.

 

[Rgarner]

Good news, everyone...the tv is ok. Except for the scratch thing, it's fine. The batteries were in the remote wrong. Now we can change the channel and the volume, hooray. I'm glad I thought to check that before I spent any more money on it.