Plasma - Check for Damage

[mallik]

My buddy was moving and he dropped his Panasonic Plasma TV while transporting. It was about a 2 ft. drop and the floor was one of those fake hardwood laminates. The TV doesn't turn on now.

He decided he didn't want to invest the time to try and repair it, so he gave it to me. I figure I would give it a shot. Maybe it's a capacitor or one of the boards that needs replacing.

When he brought it over he laid it flat in the back of his car. When I went out to bring it in and I first saw it like that I was a little startled, but this was the only option and he is only about 2 miles away.

When I got the chance, I did a search online and read all these horror stories about how laying it flat is a terrible thing to do. I started getting more worried again.

What precautions can I take before trying to turn it on and how can I tell if there is damage to the internal screen or any other physical damage?

 

[kalrith]

The risk of transporting with the TV laying flat is for the screen to crack. It won't necessarily be cracked like a broken window. It could have some hairline cracks in it. I'd take a close look at the entire screen with a flashlight to check for those cracks. Even if they're small cracks, they'll likely get worse, and the TV is probably junk.

If you need to clean the screen to check for cracks, use nothing put a microfiber cloth either dry or with a tiny bit of distilled water on it.

I don't know much about why it doesn't turn on. You should try avsforum or Google for that.