Philips FW-399V: Tape stops on rewind and fast forward

A Philips Mini-Component with 3-VCD Rotary Changer and tape deck has symptoms of tape automatically stopping within 3 seconds in the rewind and fast forward mode. Tape playback function, though, is normal.

I have replaced the rubber belts on both tape decks as part of the routine service procedures but tape deck still automatically stops and can't finish rewind or fast forward action.

I noticed the optical encoder discs located behind the tape deck to be dusty and tarnished so I cleaned it using cotton swab.



Cleaning the optical disc encoder finally solved the problem of tape stopping on rewind and fast forward mode.

Repair is a greener solution than e-waste recycling

Image by law_keven via Flickr

It is the fashion these days to show concern with the state of the environment. Rampant use of the Earth's resources have wreaked havoc on the environment. Pollution has become a by-product of manufacturing activities.

To save the environment one of the solutions being implemented is recycling of materials from electronic waste.

The activity of recycling is a process which involves four steps:

1. Collection of discarded products
   
2. Processing: Extracting the materials from the e-waste and sorting the materials into homogeneous types.
   
3. Manufacturing: Using the extracted materials in the production of new products.
4. Purchase: Manufacturers market the products and the consumers purchase the products made from recycled materials.

As we can see manufacturing is the third step in the recycling process. But the bottom line is recycling has been made an adjunct to the manufacturing system and encourages the throw-away attitude among the consumers towards electronic products. The sooner the consumers allow their old appliances to be taken to the recycling plants the easier will it be for them to decide to buy new appliances.

And so we suspect behind all these a strategy of planned obsolescence which may be seen as artificial and intended to shorten the natural lifetime of electronic products.

On the other hand, repair and restoration of electronics products encourages reuse which reduces the need to manufacture new products as replacements. The reduction in production requirements would also reduce pollution that may arise from the manufacturing process.

Product repair also gives the customer the option to delay purchase on new appliances and earn savings.

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How to fix an Epson Printer C45 stripping gears noise problem

Most problems that occur in an electromechanical equipment is caused by mechanical rather than electrical defects. And most mechanical defects reveals itself by performing a visual inspection of the mechanical parts. Being able to open the equipment and looking at the parts under the cover is almost halfway to solving the problem.

Take the case of a problem with an Epson C45 printer which I have encountered just recently. The ink cartridge carrier will move to the left side slowly then back to the right side again. As the ink cartridge carrier nears its park position a stripping gear noise is heard and the cartridge carrier appears blocked in completing its travel.

From here on there is no other way to go but to open the unit and inspect what the problem is from inside.

To open the printer I removed one screw located between the label and AC plug terminal at the back of the machine.



To remove the top cover there are four locks that need to be unhooked using a small flat screw driver.

Two of the locks can be found at the back on the lower left and right side of the unit. These locks can be unhooked by pushing through the small rectangular holes.

The other two locks are located at the front and can be accessed through the small rectangular holes located at the bottom corners of the base cabinet. I inserted the flat screwdriver blade through the holes and pried the hooks loose.

After the four locks have been unhooked...




















... the top cover can now be removed.

Once inside the machine I noticed the ink cartridge carrier pressing against a white lever which must be the object preventing it to reach park position.


I pushed the ink cartridge carrier a little bit back...



... then pushed the lever towards the cartridge...



and it snapped into place, no need to use force.
















I plugged the printer to AC outlet, pressed the power button, tested the unit and found it to be working just fine.

Recession boosts demand for repair services

It is ironic that something as adverse as the economic recession would provide the stimulus needed to increase demand for repair services. But as statistics from OnForce Services Marketplace Index show repair interventions accounted for 63% of all job orders. New installations for consumer electronics products accounted for only 31% of job orders as reported in the CEPro feature article.

Will repair activities again become a vital part of Customer Service? Surely, the time has come once again for electronic repairers to use this opportunity to maximize the practice of their skills. This is also the chance to cultivate a closer relationship with the customer and encourage them to adopt a mind-set of reuse and having their defective sets repaired instead of throwing away the defective appliances. This will also reduce the volume of e-waste going to the garbage dumps.

Image via Wikipedia

This increase in demand for repair services can be seen as the consumers way to minimize spending on new appliances and use the savings for more important items.

Troubleshooting Philips CTV 21PT3932: Black OSD problem

Symptom: Black on-screen display(OSD)
Cure: Replace diode BZX79-C3V9 on board location 6601.
Repair Details:
Set used the L9.1A chassis.
Picture and sound is good; the only thing obviously wrong was that the OSD was black.
When the +3.3V supply going to the microprocessor was measured actual voltage reading was at about +5V. This indicated that the +3.3V supply regulator circuit was defective. The +3.3V supply was restored to its specified voltage output when the BZX79-C3V9 was replaced. Normal color was also restored to the OSD.

Cleaning the optical lens of CD and DVD players

'No disc' error message appearing on the front display of the disc player or screen of the TV monitor can often be solved by cleaning the lens of the disc player.

So in my years of working as technical support engineer for a multinational consumer electronics company one of the most frequently asked questions that I have come across from end-users of disc players was how to clean the optical lens.

Always the answer I gave to end-users was to try to clean first the tiny, delicate optical lens of their disc player with a cotton bud before bringing their player to the repair center.

Later, I found out from one service information document that there is a right way of cleaning the optical lens than just brushing its surface with the cotton bud.

OK, according to the service information you have to brush the surface of the lens with the cotton bud lengthwise -- not in circular motion as I myself had been accustomed to do earlier.

For top-loading disc players the optical lens is easy to access. Just lift the tray door and the tiny glass eye looking up at you would be the optical lens. Cleaning the lens would be easy. If the lens looks blurry it might help if you slightly moist the cotton with rubbing alcohol to take away sticky dust or dirt.


For DVD players, you need to take off the top cover of the set. Then remove 2 screws on top of the loader.



After removing the screws the optical lens can now be rubbed with the cotton bud. Always remember to rub lengthwise along the direction of optical pick-up travel.

Sony TV KV-1982NG Power Supply Problem

Symptom: Dead set
Cure: Replace R602(220K ohm/0.5W)
Repair details:
No voltages measured at collector terminal of horizontal output transistor.
Voltage supply was measured across power supply filter capacitor terminals. Traced the PCB foil from the B+ terminal of the positive side of power supply filter capacitor to 220K ohm resistor(R602). B+ is measured on one side of the resistor R602 but no voltage measured on its other terminal. By using ohmmeter test it is found out that R602 is open-circuited.

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