Update on my TV (based on a true story)
So, this morning, a guy claiming to be a TV repair guy stopped by. It turns out, he was just a take-apart-your-tv guy. Read on. He strolled in around 10. Earlier than expected, I was very excited. I directed him towards the TV. He brought it down to the floor, and began disassembling the case. After doing some willy-nilly poking around, the diagnosis was announced: "Looks like the picture tube is bad," he stated, with a notable flatness to his tone. I got my degree in Finance. I work with computers. I have never been an electrician's apprentice. My dad is a retired electrical engineer, not one bit of his knowledge about that passed down to me. I have never tried to open a TV. I had never seen the inside of a TV. I've never tried to troubleshoot internal TV problems. Prolonged exposure to circuitry gives me hives. If we were all in a building, and there was a bomb, and the local law enforcement bomb experts wanted me to locate the blue wire and cut it within 30 seconds, we would all die. I know enough about a TV to know that it brings me great enjoyment through a clear color picture. Nothing more. Given that, how the hell is it possible that I already knew that the "picture tube is bad"?!? Could it be because THE TV HAS SOUND WITH NO PICTURE? Following his expert analysis, I asked what we do next. He didn't appear to have a spare picture tube with him. "Well, we've got to call Panasonic to find out how they want to proceed." I'm sorry, but am I the first person who has had a picture tube go bad? Has this instance never come up before? Does Panasonic require any knowledge of Panasonic products before granting companies the title of "Authorized Panasonic Repair Center"? Bottom line is that the TV is still broken. And heads will roll if it's not working soon.
6 Comments:
OMG, Omar, living without a TV AND with an infant at the same time? That's not good. Not good at all.
Well, at least your repair guy is ON THE CASE...the case of beer, maybe.
:)
i hate to say this, but it doesn't look good omar.
my dad is an electrical engineer, too. and when i was little he used to repair tvs, vcrs, microwaves, vacuums (the man is a genius) on the side. i was in charge of adjusting the mirror in front of the tv (so he could see while he tinkered in the back) and handing him tools. picture tube is a biggie. we still have some old tvs in the basement that people didn't want to bother to fix b/c it was cheaper to get a new one.
BUT that was back in the day. maybe it's easier to fix these days...? i really hope your guy gets the tube up and running very soon.
side note: i don't know exactly why they call it a boob tube, but the old school picture tubes actually looked like a breast. they were even caucasian-flesh colored. kind of creepy.
There’s nothing that frustrates me more than incompetence from the people that are supposed to be helping you. That’s up there with tech support asking me if I’m sure everything is plugged in. "What? No, that never crossed my mind. Why would I check something like that?" I like to tinker though. Opening things with seals that say “Warranty Void if Seal is Broken” is my idea of a good time.
Have you considered cryogenically freezing yourself until the TV is fixed? That’s my best advice. You’ll probably want to listen to cadiz12 though, my dad studied rocks in college, so she’s probably much more qualified than I.
17 - Not good indeed. And I refuse to call him a repair guy until he repairs my TV situation.
cadiz - He said the same thing, that based on the price of the TV, they might just be giving me a new one instead of replacing the part. Luckily, it's all covered under warranty. I don't care if he hand-builds a tube in his garage, if he gives it to me tomorrow and it works, I'm good.
jon - Ironically, I have considered it. But the only thing is, I wouldn't want to miss anything with the boy. So I asked if they could freeze him too, but they wouldn't do it. I guess they say it's not an "exact science" yet, so they don't do it to anyone under a year. Bah.
i'm so sorry dear! stay strong!
You could borrow my scribe, he was really good at lobbing off heads. Oh, the fun we had lobbing off limbs for no apparent reason! I have a collection of arms that I'm thinking will make a great modern art exhibit one day...
Grisly comments aside, I commiserate. But it turns out that NO ONE has EVER lost a picture tube. It's unheard of, so you must be imagining it. Like having polio if you're American. Sheesh. What kind of issues do you have?
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