Looking for a cheap and reliable TV repair person...

[dvdrat]

I've got a 9 or 10 year old rear projection TV that I need to get a few more years out of. Right now, on the coax inputs (not the S-Video input), it's really flaky. The picture will be rock solid and then bang all you get is massive snow and wavey lines (like an old analog scrambled channel).

Wait awhile / turn it on and off a few times / change channels / all of the above, and the picture returns but eventually the same thing happens again. I think a capacitor or transistor is marginal on that input path, since the image is solid and consistent on the S-Video input (I can only use the TV to watch DVDs now).

If anyone out there knows a cheap / reliable TV repair person, please post the info. I do not want to pay $350 for someone to change a $20 part (which is what I had to do a few years back, and I brought the TV chassis into the shop!), but I would be willing to pay cost of replacement part + reasonable labour (I know that you need to pay for expertise / tools / coming by the house, etc.). I would say reasonable labour would be in the $100-$150 range.

Please help me out...

- dvdrat

[runamuck]

earth?

[Irb]

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=201916

This one sounds pretty reputable.

[Iron Chef Ajax]

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=201916

This one sounds pretty reputable.

LoL - Pays to read all the posts.

[afong56]

http://findabusiness.yellowpages.ca/mp/ON/TORONTOC/Home%2BTV%2BService/416/4211259/482%2BCosburn%2BAvenue/East%2BYork/M4J2N5/0/1/0000000000000936820129880007.html

. . .if you're in toronto

[dvdrat]

I was just looking for some independent that some one might have used previously and had a good experience with; or some who had someone in the family who does this kind of repair woork. I forgot to mention that I'm in west-end GTA (Etobicoke/Mississauga/Brampton).

It's all water under the bridge now, though, because it seems that the TV decided to commit suicide on Saturday (I wasn't home on the weekend and just found out about this yesterday after creating this thread). Looks like the power supply has just ended it's life. Probably not worth any kind of repair now.

Off to look for a new TV a few years before I was hoping to. It's actually a bad time to be buying, as the old CRT RP TVs are really cheap now, the current generation DLP/LCD/LCoS TVs are becoming much more affordable and the new 1080p TVs are out making whatever you buy now instantly obselete! I just know that we're going to end up with the older CRT RP technology (though properly calibrated, it is the best HD picture). I just want to get away from the bulk and weight that these things bring with them.

Oh well...

- dvdrat