EEVblog #446 - Dumpster Diving Samsung Plasma TV

Dave goes Dumpster Diving again and scores a Samsung 42 PS-42S5H Plasma TV

EEVblog Main Web Site:
EEVblog Amazon Store:
Donations:
Projects:
Electronics Info Wiki:

[Aussie]

good to see a Plasma on EEVBlog. plenty of parts for those around at the moment, since the PSU and sustains are in good order I would just jump on Ebay and find a digital board

[Mr.MSTER]

We have an old plasma Samsung at home and we've had it for more than 10 years and never an issue with it. Good tv.

[curtisbeef]

I recent repaired my LG 42 inch plasma. It blew the Y-SUS board. Unsoldering the Y-SUS was a huge pain in the ass... The Heatsink was screwed on to the module before it was soldered on so it couldnt be taken off without unsoldering . Lead Free + huge PCB traces + huge heatsink = Very hard to desolder. Then the Z-SUS board blew 2 weeks later and I had to do it again. I love my plasma tho :)

[kristsh]

The random thing is I also found a Samsung monitor at the dump, a 22" 1650x1080 monitor, which worked without any problems. Some minor scratches on the panel, but after all a free 22" monitor is good anyway. Also, our 50" Samsung plasma from 2008 failed in the late 2012, fixed it with a single cap replacement and been working fine since.

[sloperdude]

You must be a connoisseur of old vacuum tube/valve TVs. The one thing I remember about my parents' old RCA tube TV from the 60's is how often it had to be repaired. My Dad finally got sick of the repair bills and replaced it with a small B&W TV.

[HCOSzifon]

"It's upside down, all the electrons are gonna fall out" - love this :D

[piratetv]

the larger set has the same power supply but also has fans. its great to see someone who cares what's inside. i fix those tvs all day and my customers could care less, its all magic to them

[markfranklin]

I got a 37" 720P(1366x768 resolution effective, 1080i if you're really into flickering images) from someone because "It wouldn't turn on", took it home, popped the back off, noticed a fuse was popped, replaced it, powered on. Been working fine for the few days I've had it(used it to watch this video even). Just goes to show you'd be surprised what people will throw out not knowing what's wrong with it. Hope you get yours working!

[helgestewartbergstad]

Hey Dave,
Just to let you know, albeit you might already know. Plasmas do not like to be laid flat. This is due to the weight of the glass, which is why they are so bloody heavy in the first place.
While servicing they need to be standing, or actually at all times they need to be upright. I have had a couple screens crack under their own weight just by laying on the screen.

My guess in concern to the fault is a power failure, I think one of the low voltage lines are dead.

Cheers!

[leokuan]

I picked up a 2007 model last year, and it would work fine for ~10 minutes of viewing, then it would restart itself and the main power relay would just click non-stop. Took me about a couple of hours of probing around on the power board to narrow it down to the mosfets. I reflowed the solder on those suckers and put some new thermal grease on them, put the heatsinks back on, and voila! the tv set has been working great ever since.

[PhattyMo]

~22:00 That first core is probably the inductor for PFC. The other half dozen, or so, are likely the various SMPS transformers.
(I've spent way too much time trying to reverse-engineer and repair plasma/LCD power supplies!)

[portogonzales]

Got myself a brand new 50" Samsung ps50c91h Plasma back in 2007 and 'til today the thing is performing 100%, no problems at all, even all the inputs are working! ;)
It gives a really fantastic image and the colors are very natural (CRT like) and the screen is vivid; watching movies on it is just great fun for your eyes! The thing cost me some $2300 back then but it is worth every buck! The reason I choose a plasma is that I really don't like the colors on a LCD panel, too 'digital' and not at all natural. Maybe the LCD's nowadays don't have this manco anymore but as long as my rusty old Sammy is doing his job I'll keep him; another reason is you DON'T want to lift a 50" plasma, those guys are really heavy! Whenever it finally dies, maybe I'll get myself an OLED, but only if Plasma screens aren't sold anymore by then!
A salute from Holland!

[DamienOBrienJ]

EEVblog  I'm pretty sure when you turn blue screen mode on it overlays that ontop of all images. My TV has a Blue mode aswell and When i turn it on Nothing shows up on Screen. Turn it off and I get a Picture.

[miroslavmiljkovic]

Hi! I recently got in electronics "game", and one of my tasks is to watch at least two EEVblog videos per day. You were recommended to me by my new colleague,  and I can't thank him enough for introducing me to your videos. Thank you for being so enthusiastic about everything that you present to us, and for being willing to share your knowledge. Keep up the good work!!!

[rwdplz]

I wish I worked in a building with a garbage room like that! All kinds of treasure to be found!

[illiteratebeef]

Did you try wiggling the VGA connector on the tv while it was connected? My first guess would be broken solder.
Great video, I love seeing what you find and wishing I could find anything half as fun to take apart!

[dingiedong]

nice monitor and a nice room heater..

A vacuum tube based colour tv uses also 380 watts of power ;)

[DJDaddyKerfel]

Hi Dave, I'm a fellow dumpster diver myself!  I recently scored an LG 42" plasma that all works great except for the picture - the screen flickers randomly on and off, but the sound and inputs work great!  My first guess was to check all the HV boards for blown caps, so I'm going to try the YSUS and ZSUS boards next.  I can't even begin to tell you how many cool things I've found in great working condition from my various dumpster diving expeditions!  I found an absolutely perfectly good lawn mower in addition to monitors and televisions. So from a fellow dumpster diver, happy hunting and cheers!

[hickey]

Even though plasmas are known for failing, we struck lucky with ours. Was still perfectly good after 16 years. My dad and I did eventually take it to the dump though because it wasn't being used, took up a huge amount of space in a back room, and weighed an absolute tonne. Probably could have rehomed it, but I suppose not too many people would want one these days, especially an SD one.

[HedgehogStudios]

My family has a Panasonic plasma TV from 2006. It uses 300watts, and it still works just fine. It had more AV inputs than this one, but it didn't have a VGA connector.