I have to slap my tv to make it work!

[Zedtom]

I've got an RCA ColorTrak 20" tv that must be ten years old. It works okay most of the time, but it occasionally goes out and all you get is snow and a loud buzzing sound. I guess it's wearing out, but I'm using it in the bedroom, so I'm not in any hurry to replace it.

If I get up and smack the side of it, it returns to normal. I think there is a microchip or something in it that is bad, and the vibration of hitting it causes it to reset. I asked a friend who is an engineer and he speculated that there might be time release chips in electronic appliances that cause them to malfunction at a set time,(lets say, five years), after purchase.

Does this sound like a conspiracy or am I just too tight to buy a new tv?

 

[LOLyourFace]

my roommate bitchslaps his PC when the fans start to growl..

 

[yellowperil]

I had an old TV about 10 years ago that was the same way. I think it would have been prohibitively expensive to put 'malfunction chips' in back then

 

[Evadman]

My TV used to do that. It had to be like 200 years old ( ok, maybe 15 years ) And if it did not work, you smakced the top of it ( it was in a wooden cabnet ) and then it would work.

We finaly just bought a *gasp* new TV

 

[Harvey]

The technique is known as Accubash. It's not just slapping it; it's knowing exactly where and how hard to slap it.

Seriously, this indicates an intermittant connection in your TV. It may work for awhile, even a long while, but eventually, the set will fail. Also, the slapping, itself, may cause other soldered connections to become intermittant. Either get it repaired, or replace it.

 

[LOLyourFace]

Originally posted by: yellowperil
I had an old TV about 10 years ago that was the same way. I think it would have been prohibitively expensive to put 'malfunction chips' in back then

ROFL I LOVE YOUR QUOTE!

Step 1: Steal underwear
Step 2: (ROFL)
Step 3: Profit!

 

[Booster]

Originally posted by: LOLyourFace
my roommate bitchslaps his PC when the fans start to growl..

All he has to do is to drop a little of mineral oil in the bearing, works great, as far as my experience goes.

 

[rayma2]

brute force is the most satisfying way to fix random apliances.

 

[ElFenix]

i liked it better when i didn't know the cause. thanks a lot harvey!

 

[Zedtom]

My microwave suddenly died... I opened it up, replaced a fuse, now its okay. But what is it with blow dryers. I have to buy one every six months. I use it for maybe a minute, but my girlfriend runs it for at least ten minutes. I was out in the backyard one day while she was drying her hair, and I started watching the electric meter. It was spinning like crazy.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: Zedtom
My microwave suddenly died... I opened it up, replaced a fuse, now its okay. But what is it with blow dryers. I have to buy one every six months. I use it for maybe a minute, but my girlfriend runs it for at least ten minutes. I was out in the backyard one day while she was drying her hair, and I started watching the electric meter. It was spinning like crazy.

You are aware that every Power Utlility invests it's retirement funds in Electrical Appliance Manufacturers , right?

 

[Staples]

Something is really wrong with RCA TVs from that generation. The tunner can't focus on a channel and hitting seems to fix the problem. I have had to deal with it many years ago when that started to happen to both of my RCA TVs. They adventually will get so bad that unless you get them repaired, the picture will stay really snowy. I have never TVs now since repairing them costs almost $100.

 

[MajesticMoose]

I don't remember what kind it was, but we used to have one that i would kick until my foot hurt aswell as lift up and drop a few inches to get it to work. Then we got a new 48 inch projection screen. I like that a lot more

 

[Howard]

Of course, ColorTraks tend to be female.


*ducks random objects aimed for my head

 

[bmacd]

Originally posted by: Zedtom
I've got an RCA ColorTrak 20" tv that must be ten years old. It works okay most of the time, but it occasionally goes out and all you get is snow and a loud buzzing sound. I guess it's wearing out, but I'm using it in the bedroom, so I'm not in any hurry to replace it.

If I get up and smack the side of it, it returns to normal. I think there is a microchip or something in it that is bad, and the vibration of hitting it causes it to reset. I asked a friend who is an engineer and he speculated that there might be time release chips in electronic appliances that cause them to malfunction at a set time,(lets say, five years), after purchase.

Does this sound like a conspiracy or am I just too tight to buy a new tv?

my mom had the same exact problem with her (now about 5 years old) 9" General Electric TV. My little sister now has it, but doesn't watch it due to the annoyance level.

-=bmacd=-

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: Zedtom
My microwave suddenly died... I opened it up, replaced a fuse, now its okay. But what is it with blow dryers. I have to buy one every six months. I use it for maybe a minute, but my girlfriend runs it for at least ten minutes. I was out in the backyard one day while she was drying her hair, and I started watching the electric meter. It was spinning like crazy.

If you want a blow dryer that will last, you have to buy a quality unit, like good hair salons use.

These, in my GF's mom's opinion (she owns a hair salon) are the best.

She gave both of us a Supersolano red/black model four years ago. Both are still working like a dream.

The ones she buys for her salon rarely, if ever break down. They are usually replaced when dropped or they get nasty looking and can't be cleaned.

Granted, they cost $100. But if you're buying a $30-40 dryer once every six months or year, it will pay for itself in just a few years.

As for power consumption, what did you expect? The average blowdryer uses 1600 watts.

 

[Lars]

I have to slap my microwave because it often suddenly turns off.

 

[huey1124]

I have to slap my tv to make it work!

I can't believe no one has said the same for their wives...


























i'm just kidding!!!!

 

[her209]

I have to slap my butt to make "it" work sometimes.