Tv Dead After Monday's Storm

[Phil_ne_uk]

On Monday my electricity went off during a storm with severe thunder & lightening at 11.20am until 10.10pm. When I returned home I tried to switch my Sony Bravia 50” TV on but it was dead! No sound or lights on it at all.

BTW the TV only has a 2 pin plug on it, is this normal?

My PC monitor was also not working they are connected together with an RGB cable so I can watch stuff from the PC on the TV

So anyway, I phoned the Pattaya Sony service centre on Tuesday who said they would come to my house on Friday to fix it. They eventually came at 4.00pm and said it will be 300 baht to take it away to their workshop and 500 Baht to look at it.

I got my wife to ask them if they thought it would be an internal fuse or some basic problem bearing in mind Thailand must be used to the problems of storms and would assumingly have some sort of protection in the TV’s, like a fuse to prevent such a basic problem, right?

They said it might be a circuit board which will cost about 5000 Baht! So every time there’s a storm it’s going to cost almost 6000 baht for TV repairs???

So basically does anyone know or have experience of repairing a TV here as I can not believe they make TV’s without any type of fuse protection to prevent major problems?

Or am I expecting too much from a micky mouse country?

Thanks in anticipation,

Phil

[lopburi3]

Sony designed the TV - not Thailand. And yes; a two conductor plug is normal. The damage could well have been done via the antenna/cable connection or the computer connection as well as the AC line. Hopefully you will not take another hit so every storm will not be a 6k affair.

[Johnxxx]

So basically does anyone know or have experience of repairing a TV here as I can not believe they make TV's without any type of fuse protection to prevent major problems?

Or am I expecting too much from a micky mouse country?

Thanks in anticipation,

Phil

Recently I had a voltage surge in the power line. The PSU of the computer died first (despite a surge protector), the rest of the computer I could switch off before further damage could occur. My girlfriend switched on the Sony TV - it started to burn - the whole room was full of smoke. The fuse of the room was still like new :-) This was when I learned never to leave the apartment with things switched on. Almost everything is now on a power strip with switch.

Edited May 15, 2009 by Johnxxx

[dave_boo]

Ummh, did you have any sort of line conditioner or surge protector?

If you dropped that much money on a TV, why wouldn't you spend the little bit extra for protecting your investment? I'm sure that the cost of a quality surge protector is well less the 6 000 THB that you're going to end up spending.

Sounds to me like the end user is the mickey-mouse. What a lighting strike is termed in the USA, at least for insurance company, is an "Act of God". I.E., there's not much you can do to prevent it, but rather you should try and mitigate the affect of it.

[MeetJohnDoe]

We've had severe electrical and thunder storms day and nite in Pattaya for the past week.I too have a Sony Bravia 42" TV, Panasonic surround-sound system, DVD player, and notebook computer all hooked up to a APC UPS/surge protector unit. All the stuffs been either on or on standby mode the entire time and no problems. UPC unit about B 5000. I would suggest you invest in one too. If not, whenever you hear the sound of distant thunder, disconnect your electronics from the electrical outlets (not just turn them off).

Hope they can get the Sony up and running again.

[Phil_ne_uk]

Ummh, did you have any sort of line conditioner or surge protector?

If you dropped that much money on a TV, why wouldn't you spend the little bit extra for protecting your investment? I'm sure that the cost of a quality surge protector is well less the 6 000 THB that you're going to end up spending.

Sounds to me like the end user is the mickey-mouse. What a lighting strike is termed in the USA, at least for insurance company, is an "Act of God". I.E., there's not much you can do to prevent it, but rather you should try and mitigate the affect of it.

dave boo, you ask why didn’t I use a surge protector? Because I didn’t know about such things and no-one told me about them when I bought the TV.

Having said that Johnxxx used one and as he stated, and it didn’t work!

I incorrectly assumed that a company like Sony, making TV’s for a country like Thailand where I’m sure they have known about storms for god knows how many years would have the ability & common sense to fit some type of basic fuse to the TV as they would in a normal country like the UK

So in a way you’re right, I was micky mouse for expecting any sort of normality in a country where I have yet to see any in the 4 years of living here!

I would have replied sooner but my internet signal cut off, again,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, say no more!

[LivinLOS]

I have lost more stuff than I can count to bad power.. Just off the top of my head.. 3 washing machine mainboards.. min 3 PC power supplied.. 2 motherboard (in last 12 months) my Onkyo receiver no longer remembers settings if the power is cycled, DVD's etc etc etc the list just goes on and on..

I have surge protection on all my stuff and UPS's but they only work for about 20% over voltage so a german electrician tells me.. I have proper expensive cut out digital trip switches on my HT projector and expensive bits.. But live in fear of those frying.. The other day the power was on and off and my nice speakers made some god awful noises as I dived to turn off the amp, but survived (7.5k usd speakers.. Happy they came through OK)..

Basically get used to it.. Its another of those costs of living in a 3rd world country.. This is why it makes sense to have 1000 baht chinese junk electronics..

Running anything here without power protection is just asking for it to last a short time.

[Camelot]

The UK isn't a tropical country and all power connections there are earthed. That does not apply here where the power supply can be dirty. A fuse would not offer much protection against a lightning strike or major power surge so some form of power conditioning to smooth out fluctuations and shut everything down instantly if a spike occurs is essential, especially for sensitive digital equipment. Mine cost more than the TV but takes care of a computer and home theatre as well.

No power fluctuations also means a better TV picture. My line conditioner has probably already paid for itself.

Sorry you were unlucky and I hope the damage is minimal and quickly repaired. A surge protector or unplugging the TV in stormy weather should keep you safe in future.

[HDRIDER]

Hi

Just had my PS in my Samsung 40" LCD changed, dont know why it burnt out, it was 3200Baht

[T_Dog]

The 1:1 Isolation transformers that you can buy are a good first step to protecting your TV. A good one will have an electrostatic shield from the primary to secondary that will keep some of the common mode spikes out. All countries with 50 Hz 230 volt systems have a higher incidence of equipment damage from transients.

[MJo]

If i remember correctly my insurance covers lightning damages. Additional option on top of the basic few hundred baht home insurance. On top of my head they offered lightning damage, electrical fire, damages to 3rd party etc etc options and to get proper coverage basic fee of 750 per year was more like 7k per year...

Anyways i have those protected power strips. Not the cheap ones but that expensive either. Still on a list to buy proper surge protector for tv, amp and players. Seen few on hi-fi shops in the malls where you can also connect your tv signal coax cable etc. With the rainy season on the way maybe better to head shopping soon.

[dave_boo]

dave boo, you ask why didn't I use a surge protector? Because I didn't know about such things and no-one told me about them when I bought the TV.

Having said that Johnxxx used one and as he stated, and it didn't work!

I incorrectly assumed that a company like Sony, making TV's for a country like Thailand where I'm sure they have known about storms for god knows how many years would have the ability & common sense to fit some type of basic fuse to the TV as they would in a normal country like the UK

So in a way you're right, I was micky mouse for expecting any sort of normality in a country where I have yet to see any in the 4 years of living here!

I would have replied sooner but my internet signal cut off, again,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, say no more!

I was concerned my post came across as too condescending, and reading it again, it was. However, gramps always said "The first time the horse kicks you, it's the horse's fault. The second time it kicks you, it's yours".

But for a piece of equipment that expensive it's a bit of lunancy to trust others to protect it for you. Go out and purchase a proper surge protector, and if needed a line conditioner (up where my baan is we need it!). A good one will even have coax cable protectors in addition to regular main's protection. You can also get the version with rj-45(telephone) if you have a modem.

Granted it's best to disconnect everything, and I mean pull it out of the wall; not use the UK style switch on the outlet. The surge could jump the gap and still end up frying your precious investment. Of course if it's a flash thunderstorm, and you forget to say unplug the cable from the cable company, Murphy's law states that will be the entry vector.

[longball53098]

This last post is very good info. I agree.

Buying all sort of surge protection and line conditioners is good insurance to cover many instances of near lightning strikes and voltages spikes and other line issues. It does NOT guarantee that you are protected. The surest way has been said. If there is a wire or cable connected from a power plug, phone line, sat dish or cable TV then it all should be removed from the wall connection when a lightning storm is near. This is the only sure way of protecting your valuable equipment. That means ANY equipment. All you're home appliances are also a target for problems especially if they have microprocessor controls.

Sony is in the business of designing TV's and other fine equipment. I can bet that in the first few pages of the User book supplied with that TV they suggest how to take care of the TV. They have no responsibility to design into their equipment the type of protection necessary and that still will not guarantee anything. If they did this sort of thing for the TV where does it end? Do they put protection into all their systems? At what cost? Nonsense! The end user should take precautions to protect their investment.

Edited May 16, 2009 by longball53098

[sumrit]

The UK isn't a tropical country and all power connections there are earthed. That does not apply here where the power supply can be dirty. A fuse would not offer much protection against a lightning strike or major power surge so some form of power conditioning to smooth out fluctuations and shut everything down instantly if a spike occurs is essential, especially for sensitive digital equipment. Mine cost more than the TV but takes care of a computer and home theatre as well.

No power fluctuations also means a better TV picture. My line conditioner has probably already paid for itself.

Sorry you were unlucky and I hope the damage is minimal and quickly repaired. A surge protector or unplugging the TV in stormy weather should keep you safe in future.

No they're not, most appliances in the UK aren't earthed, they only have a two core mains lead. the main exceptions being any appliance that has a metal outer casing such as PC's, most LCD/Plasma TV's and things like central heating boilers and storage heaters. Earthing wouldn't prevent this problem anyway.

As you say though a fuse won't offer any protection against an appliance failing due to a high voltage power surge/spike. A fuse is only there to blow (and so preventing excessive current being drawn) AFTER a fault has occoured. As other people have said surge protector is the best way of preventing this.

As to the cost of repair, most modern equipment is now designed for modular/panel replacement rather than repair down to component level and this is why repairs are more expensive now. Panels, etc vary greatly in cost from manufacturer to manufacturer but Sony and Philips are probably by far the most expensive, they both seem to take the competative price and double it. I've known of components manufactured by sony and philips that cost 4-5 times the price directly from them than they do going to a component wholesaler.

Personally, as far as TV's are concerned, I don't think Sony (and Philips) are any better than the opposition and have been trading on their reputations for years. They just charge higher prices because of that reputation.

Edited May 16, 2009 by sumrit

[thunder30101]

Anytime I leave the house especially now with the rainy season I always UNPLUG my expensive stuff, dont care about cheap appliances, hel_l Im even freaked out when plugging stuff in seeing the arcs sometimes doing that lol