91RS Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 I found someone local to me selling a 65" Panasonic Plasma TV for $50 they say got hit by lightning. They said the TV turns on and you can see "things" but the inputs don't work and there are purple ribbons across the screen. They said they replaced the input board and it didn't fix it. Does anyone know anything about TV repair? I've never done TV repair before but it can't be too hard to replace boards (provided that's all that's wrong with it). The input/main board seems to be the most expensive board but I'm finding 5-6 other boards on eBay and TV repair parts sides that go for about $30 each. Even if it needed all of them, that could still probably be a good deal for a 65" plasma. I'm not sure if it's worth the risk? They said they bought the TV new in 2013. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91RS Posted September 28, 2017 Author Share Posted September 28, 2017 That's what I'm worried about, the display itself could be damaged and who knows how much that would cost even if I could find one. The ad originally said a power surge fried it but then I asked if anything showed on the screen at all and then they said it got hit by lighting. I just figured I'd ask in case anyone has had experience with something like this before. I asked on AVS Forum also since they have a huge thread about this particular TV. If it's a bad deal then no big deal. My wife says I don't need another project anyway. I was only interested because it's 5" larger than the TV I have an Plasma instead of LCD so it would be a slight upgrade for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 I used to be involved repairing very heavy electronics in the old days. (Radar, Tropo, Microwave, Teletype, Movie projectors, K & L drop equipment, Fire control radar, A/G Comminications, Etc. Trying to fix TV's nowadays is like trying to keep afloat your car in the middle of the Pacific ocean. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 Guide to TV repair: - Unplug TV. - Take TV to Electronics Recycling center. - Buy new TV on way home. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 My experience was with computers and lightning strikes. The lightning came in on the phone line and took out the modem (remember modems?) Then once it was replaced, there was a cascading effect. The video card would then fail, then the mother board. The bottom line is that electronics damaged by lightning are trashed. A better use of your fifty bucks is to put it on the lottery where it will at least go to benefit senior citizens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 1 hour ago, wvu80 said: The bottom line is that electronics damaged by lightning are trashed. Amen. My system once took a lightning strike. Everything was plugged-in to a quality UPS/surge-protector. In fact the only item that survived the strike was the UPS. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 I know enough about TV repair not to attempt TV repair. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted September 28, 2017 Moderators Share Posted September 28, 2017 48 minutes ago, CECAA850 said: I know enough about TV repair not to attempt TV repair. Exactly, and of all things lightning, except for shooting a hole in the TV lightning is the worst you could do to anything electronic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91RS Posted September 28, 2017 Author Share Posted September 28, 2017 I had the feeling I should pass once I found out it was actually hit by lighting. Fine by me, I'll use the $50 on something else! Thanks guys. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 7 minutes ago, 91RS said: I had the feeling I should pass once I found out it was actually hit by lighting. Were we too subtle? My dad used to tell me not to buy someone else's headache. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91RS Posted September 28, 2017 Author Share Posted September 28, 2017 I've bought and fixed things before, just not anything hit by lighting. I've got an Impala I bought for $500 and spent $150 on parts and now I have a great little car that's worth around $2500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 1 hour ago, 91RS said: I've got an Impala I bought for $500 and spent $150 on parts and now I have a great little car that's worth around $2500. I'll bet it wasn't hit by lightning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoboKlipsch Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 plasmas are millions of tiny phosphor cells....once thats messed up its game over no fixing it imo cec is right it was dropped hard and was killed instantly with decent 4k tvs at 500 no way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 I recently saw a 4K tv picture. Dialed in and with the right content it is amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 I had a near new 60" Sharp TV that was hit and I had it repaired (approx $400). Worked great for about 2 years and then lightning hit it again. Gave it to repair shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsosdrummer Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 10 minutes ago, JL Sargent said: I had a near new 60" Sharp TV that was hit and I had it repaired (approx $400). Worked great for about 2 years and then lightning hit it again. You should have kept it and used it as a lightning rod to protect your other electronics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 The thing about lightning is it doesn't have to be a direct hit and it can kill your transistors 100 feet away. It kind of works like an E & EP Nuclear weapon. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91RS Posted September 29, 2017 Author Share Posted September 29, 2017 12 hours ago, CECAA850 said: I'll bet it wasn't hit by lightning. Quote I've bought and fixed things before, just not anything hit by lighting. I said that. It had an engine problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 29 minutes ago, 91RS said: I said that. It had an engine problem. I knew that. Should have used a smiley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 I had a lightning strike a Walnut tree out back years ago and it created enough of a charge on the Ethernet cable running through the house that it zapped everything connected to the network. On some devices it only destroyed the network card but others it wiped out everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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