Help with our tv?

[hans030390]

I'm not quite sure whats wrong with our RCA 36" tv (its about 10 years old). It doesnt pick up any cable channels (we have cable hooked up to it). It also displays no image (not even the fuzz from not picking up any channels). It's always on a black screen, but it will display the channel number, menu, etc etc. There is sound. It's not video cables for our things (dvd, ps2, etc) that aren't working either.

Anybody have a clue what might be wrong with it?

 

[Dman877]

Tuner might be dead. Can you hook the cable up to a vcr and check?

 

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: Dman877
Tuner might be dead. Can you hook the cable up to a vcr and check?

It's not just the cable, it's anything we hook up to it. For example, our ps2 will start up, and it will play sound, but no video. It's like this for everything, yet it can still display the channel number and menu screens?

 

[Rage187]

er 10year old cathode ray tube? it's out lived it's usefulness, toss it and pick up a 30"+ LCD for a few hundred dollars. If you can wait till November, LCD prices are supposed to drop another 1/3.

Hell you could pick up a 37" 1080P LCD for $1400 now, just imagine how much they'll be in November^^

 

[hans030390]

Yeah, only a few hundred dollars...

Sorry, I'm looking for a possibly cause of the problem (for a possible fix).

 

[akugami]

Sound like a wire carrying the picture signal is burned out or loose inside of the TV. It should be accepting the signal just fine since for cable, it's all one line. The tube is fine or else it won't display the channel number or menu screens. Maybe a fuse burned out somewhere inside? If you want to take the chance, open it up and take a look at it to see if there is any burned spot or a loose wire somewhere. Use a flashlight and something non conducting. The caps still hold a charge even though the TV is off and unplugged and it can shock and kill you. You're going to have to be prepared to buy a new TV because sometimes the cost of getting someone to repair it is uneconomical and you're better off getting a new TV.