Sony KP51WS500 Problem -Flickering (1 Viewer)

[Brian GT]

OK, coming out of lurker mode here. First, let me say this site has been a great information source while I was trying to decide what to buy. You guys have been a lot of help.
Here's my problem.
I bought the Sony KP51WS500 last October. Great set, DVDs are amazing. A little while ago while watching a B&W dvd the image seemed to flicker, meaning the black and white "color" seemed to change slightly. I thought maybe it was the disc, or an inconsistent master of the film. Within the last few days though, there is a very noticable flickering of the screen image, to the point of being annoying. The set is connected to a satellite reciever so normally the picture is rock steady. There also seems to be a hint of green overlay in the flicker or a dropping out of red.
I talked to the service guy who does the warranty work for Future Shop, and he said that he thought that he had a notice from Sony about a flicker problem and that there was a fix for it. He's going to try to drop by tomorrow to have a look.
Anything I should be aware of?
The set has never been calibrated other than the usual adjustments for picture and flash focus.
I'd appreciate any heads up you guys could give me.
Thanks,
Brian

 

[Jason Charlton]

Brian,

The flicker problem you describe has been well documented here as well as other forums. Don't worry, though. Sony issued a service notice that all 3 CRTs will be replaced at no charge to you. The technician can do all the work at your home, so there should not be a need to send the set off to who knows where for repairs. You should be back up and running in no time! Good luck.

-Jason

 

[Jim Lenneman]

There have been a lot of good and bad experiences with flicker repair. Mostly, it depends on the technician who services your set. In my case, the experience was very positive.

I would suggest, that you insist on in-home repair, it's supposed to be done in-home, but this hasn't always been the case. I would also suggest that you be available to watch the technician, I think people do a better job when the owner is watching. I'd keep a log of who you talked to, when, and what was said in case there are disagreements. It's also been suggested on another site, that you take before and after pictures of the set with Avia or similar test patterns displayed. There have been some horror stories of terrible focus, convergence, etc. after the repair. In some cases the technician insisted that the set was "within specs" resulting in a his word against yours situation. Having pictures can make all the difference in the world if you have to resolve a dispute.

Hope everything works out,
Jim L

 

[Brian GT]

Thanks Guys!
Timely advice. The service tech just left. He seemed a little puzzled, he hadn't seen quite this problem before. I mentioned to him Jason's statement about the service notice so after he left he was going to check with Sony about it.
This is a small market so there's not a whole lot of these around yet. He did seem to know what he was talking about, and I know enough so that I don't think he can fool me with tech talk.
I have no plans for the set to leave here to be serviced.
Sees to me that would just be looking for more trouble. I also have an extended warranty on the set that covers me until 2008 so hopefully I'll be OK in the long run.
I'll ask more questions as we go along.
Thanks again.

 

[Brian GT]

A quick update- He just called and he read me the service notice. Sounded exactly like my problem. He said there is a kit for it and he'd give me a call again on Tues.
So far so good.

 

[Jim Lenneman]

Brian,

Thought you might like this, it's the Sony procedure for replacing the CRT's. Additionally there are some resistors that MAY have to be soldered in first, depends on what resistors are already installed.

1. Replace the green CRT first. It is the reference color. If the set had reasonably good convergence and geometry, it will be aligned to the existing red and blue. Make sure the unit is in "FULL" mode.

2. Enter the service mode and scroll to the PJE category. Press "7" and "ENTER" on the remote controller. This will zero out the convergence correction data. The idea is to remove any centering and skew correction. The deflection yoke can now be rotated to match the X and Y tilt to the red/blue lines. The centering magnets can also be adjusted to bring the green in line with the remaining colors. This is very important. Excessive centering correction by the convergence circuits can result in over-heating of the convergence drive ICs. Press "0" and "ENTER" when these adjustments are complete to return to the original convergence data.

3. Adjust CRT cutoff (G2).

4. Adjust the 2-pole and 4-pole magnet rings as per the service manual instructions.

5. Adjust static focus

6. Converge the green lines with the red and blue.

7. Save the data and flash focus in the full mode only.

8. Install the red and blue tubes and perform the adjustments made for the green tube mentioned above.

9. Any time an adjustment produces good results, save the data.

10. Once convergence is complete, save the data and flash focus.

11. Press the "DISPLAY" button on the remote and "All COPY" will appear on the screen. Press "ENTER" to copy the data to the other modes. The wide-zoom mode will need to be touched up. The horizontal size and linearity will be slightly off. HSIZ data in the global adjustments can be changed to the same data value as the other modes, but it is recommended to adjust the wide-zoom mis-convergence in the PJE mode.. When wide-zoom is properly adjusted, save the data but do not flash focus again. Flash focus is only done in the FULL mode.
12. Keep the unit in the FULL or WIDE-ZOOM mode for the first 30 days to promote even, initial, phosphor aging.

Jim L

 

[Steve Berger]

Playing the devil's advocate here, if this is the first one the tech has had to do it may not be practical for him to spend 4 to 10 hours in your home trying to get convergence just right with someone looking over his shoulder. Many shops also have a "never solder in the home" policy , especially if they've replaced someone's carpet due to a spill or splash. In general , Servicing Dealers will attempt it but most Independant Servicers won't. Dealers don't have to make a profit on service , independents do ; and changing 3 tubes for warranty rates without a lot of practice is definitely not profitable along with the negative cash flow of buying the tubes and waiting 2 months for reimbursement.