Parting out old televisions. Which parts to keep ?

[Zappacat]

I've got some old televisions I've been cannibalizing for parts.  Unfortunately, ALL of them are solid state and from the late 90's early 2000 era.  Most of the transformers and power sections seem to be built into a larger circuit board making it difficult to extract transformer without damaging it.  Are any of these parts worth keeping (for audio projects like discussed in the forums here) besides the heatsinks or am I just creating a huge pile of crap to clutter up space and make more of a mess?

[joecool85]

Last TV I took apart I kept the transformer (mine came off pretty easy), 4 capacitors (I generally only keep really big ones since they are expensive and also the easiest to remove/reuse) and the speaker.  The speakers are great for small amp speakers using little gems and similar circuits.

[J M Fahey]

Do they have real transformers? I doubt it; the norm there is some kind of switching power supply.

[Enzo]

They all have switchers now, but they all didn't go that way at once.  Remember, a 1990 TV set is 20 years old, and a 2000 set 10.


I recall 50+ years ago, I used to go down the street to the local TV repair shop, and after they closed in the evening, I went out back and looked in their trash for dead TV sets.  I hauled them home in a wagon, and tore them down for parts.  Tube circuits all.   I think if I looked in my parts drawers I might even still have a few of those old parts.  Little resistors with short bent up lead wires.  Their values won;t even be close.

Now I am in my 60s, and I still find it soothing to tear something down.  An older VCR is always a favorite.  LOTS of screws and stuff.  Or a cassette deck.  I think of it as therapy for a half hour. 

Useful parts?  These days I mostly save the power cord and the screws.  I have a pretty darn good collection of metric screws, almost entirely from stripping old consumer electronics.

TVs today wouldn;t be my first choice.  If you have lots of time anad a soldering iron, but no money, then you might find a few useful transistors or diodes.  But since I can buy most small transistors for a few cents, I don;t bother with them.   I will admit I needed some dumb little transistor in whatever that smaller than TO92 package is.  I had just tossed the main board from a cassette deck into the trash.  I fished the board out and sure enough, it had some small signal transistors exactly as I needed.

Cassette deacks and VCRs almost always have some lengths of shielded cable - like from the tape heads back to the board.  I find the occasional hunk of that useful for a project or repair.  Tiny stuff, not big clunky coax.

I have considerable experience in the arcade industry working on video monitors.  And MOST problems with those monitors is due to bad caps..  In fact several companies sell "cap kits" for the video monitors.  If you don;t know much but can solder, when your monitor has an issue, replace all these caps, and 95% of the time, your issue is solved.  For that reason, I would not be saving caps from monitors.  And a monitor is a TV set without a tuner.

I will admit, many time I have looked on a dead board for a little trim pot for some application.


TV set - speakers, pots, they can be useful.

[phatt]

Hi Enzo,
            Arrh good to know I'm not alone,
I also have spent many times head down bum up inside industrial rubbish bins.

Hi my name is Phil and I am addicted to salvaging every last bit of value from any old VCR/ AudioCassette, you name it if it's got electronics inside it and it's in a bin I just can't help myself.

A chap in Auz put me onto super cheap high voltage Electro caps.
Those use once, throw away cameras have a 80uF/330Volt cap inside them.
Handy for tube circuits.
Most camera shops just throw them in the bin,, if you ask they will gladly hand them over for FREE!! (you will also gain a collection of AA cell Batteries)
Just be warned some caps still have a charge, an they hurt like hell when they bite you!!
I admit I'm speaking from experience, ouch!
(actually it's the first time in 40 ish years I've been bitten by a HV Cap.
My arm pained for a good half hour,,Maybe I'm getting sloppy in my old age)
From King of the junk pile,
Phil.

[joecool85]

Do they have real transformers? I doubt it; the norm there is some kind of switching power supply.

The TV I took apart last month did, but it was also 28 years old and had a 12v port for if you wanted to power it in the car or something as well as the 120v cord.

[goamp 56]

Hi
I just want to add that TVs mostly contain good heat sinks and high-voltage power transistors. I also often keep foil capacitors as these practically don't age, opposed to electrolytic ones. It all depends on the time you want to invest into disassembling and desoldering.