"Antique" Hitachi Ultravision RPTV needs some care (1 Viewer)

[Mark^Faust]

Good Evening All,

Fred Flintstone here...err...I mean Mark...I feel like Fred though with my "antique" Hitachi Ultravision 50" RPTV (CU5002K)
It just turned 13 years old and believe it or not has never had any major problems....or cleanings.....until now.
Lately, about once every 2 weeks, the convergence jumps WAY out of wack.. I mean, like I see ghosting about 2" apart.
After about 5 minutes, it fixes itself and all is well. I am trying to get every last bit of use out of this TV, so I would at least like to clean it this weekend to see what it looked like when it was new. From reading posts, I need to do the following:

Clean the lenses of dust and dirt with a camera lens cloth?
Clean the vertically ribbed screen in a vertical motion with soap and water?
Clean the mirror behind the screen with some mild soap and water and dry with a lint free cloth?

Am I missing anything??
Can anyone take a stab at my convergence problem and a possible "cheap" fix??

thx a lot

Fred (Mark)

 

[Mark^Faust]

come on guys...just a little help....
I would be very grateful

Fred

 

[Jesse Skeen]

My VCR's older than your TV- almost 17 years old. I've got a 21 year old CED videodisc player hooked up too.

 

[DanielKellmii]

Wow, that is old. You have gotten every last bit of use out of it. I wish I could help. I don't know why nobody has responded.
Maybe it is time to let it go. For under $2K there are some great RPTVs. But that is still a lot of money.

 

[Mark^Faust]

I am not quite sure either...Maybe they think it is a lost cause...

I guess I need to start hunting down threads for a new TV..

I will go in and clean my old TV this weekend....Worst that can happen is that I escalate the timeframe to get the new one..hehehe

thx
Mark

 

[Chad B]

Hello Mark,

Cleaning these parts can be frustrating. The mirror is very prone to streaking, so be prepared. I wouldn't attempt it unless you can see significant dirt and film on the mirror. With the vertically ribbed lenticular screen, I use one of those magic dusters from the dollar store. It's like a fake feather duster; it has thin strands rather than feathers. I just use that dry and run it from the top to the bottom of the screen. If there's problem areas on the screen, I use either a wet rag or my camera lens cleaning pen that I got from MCM electronics for $7, which I also use for the lenses.
I wonder if your convergence problem might be a solder joint going bad. Maybe after it warms up the solder joint starts making contact again. If it starts happening more frequently, a compromise solution might be to leave the TV on all the time; when you're not watching, just turn it to an unused input. Make sure it doesn't go to a blue screen, and make sure your brightness is low enough that the screen is black. If it only does it every couple weeks, I wouldn't go to that trouble, though.

Chad

 

[Wes]

I would agree you got your money's worth out of that set. I have an 8 year old Hatachi 50" that is still going strong. I am only hoping and wishing it will give up the ghost so the wife will OK a new purchase. The new Ultravisions are so much nicer than the old non HD ones. I am getting tired of seeing interlaced lines. The new set upconvert all feeds to 540p or 1080i. If it was not for my front projection theater in the basement to watch movies on I would definitely have a new set up stairs. If I were you I would start looking at the new sets and sell that one for a hundred or two in the newspaper.

Wes

 

[Mark^Faust]

That is what I was thinking...
The wife said I could get a new one when this one gave up...the only rule was that I couldn't "accidentally" put my foot through the front of the screen.

I have neglected my studies on the way TV technology has evolved over the past few years. I am going to have to get smart quick and then go through the "pain and anguish" of picking out a set. Questions like:

Manufacturer
Size
Options
Price
Drop Cable Go satellite?

too many questions...Guess its time to go study...

Southpaw
ps..never got to the cleaning this weekend..My 7 month old had other plans

 

[Wes]

It's easy:

-Hatachi (Ultravision)
-57" or bigger
-Around $2200.
-There is a great deal on the net that gives you (2) HD receivers and a two tuner DVR recorder for free when you sign up with Dish network!

See problems solved!

 

[Don Peskin]

My 13 year old 46" Hitachi died the other day. I went to put it on, heard a click, then nothing - it refused to power on. I was very sad, until I got a new Toshiba 34HFX83 HD-Ready set. Amazing improvement in picutre quality.