kp57ws500 Convergence Drift

[Satch0922]

ok...in July of this year the convergence IC's blew on my Sony and I had them replaced. Everything works however the convergence drifts (blue and red) after only a week or so. Everytime I "think" the picture looks a little off....I get into the service menu to check the convergence and sure enough it's off slightly.

My question is this. Is there something I am not doing correctly that is causing the drift?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[lcaillo]

Let the set warm up for about 20 minutes before evaluating or adjusting it. Also, how much heat sink compund did you use. A common mistake is to use too much or to not clean off all the old dried solids from under the chips. There should be as thin a layer as possible, just enough to fill the gaps that do not make metal to metal contact. If there is not at least some metal to metal contact between the heat sink and the chip, you have a poor installation.

[Satch0922]

the IC's were professionally installed.

I always let the set warm up for at least 30 minutes before checking the convergence.

I am saving the setting everytime but thought maybe there was something else that "locked" in the settings.

[lcaillo]

What mode are you converging it in and are you performing a COPY function? If not you may be seeing differences between modes, which have difference convergence memories.

[Satch0922]

actually I check all the modes/inputs so that all of them are set. After setting one mode (before moving to the next) I hit "mute enter" and I get the word "saved" in the upper right corner of the screen.

[lcaillo]

Sounds like you have either a bad IC, poor installation, or a drifting PS.

[d6500k]

Let 'er warm for a full hour, then try it again. My experience with sony's like yours required at least that long. Worth a try before more desperate steps are taken.

Your Mute-Enter protocol is correct. When entering save, does the "write" in the upper r-corner turn red?

Doug k

[Satch0922]

went saving via "mute-enter" the word write goes from red to green.

I will try letting it warm up a full hour. When this TV is dialed in it looks awesome. I guess 4+ years is all you can get out of them.

So maybe my next ?? should be....if your gonna buy a tv that will last....what should it be?


-B

[lcaillo]

Have you been running the auto convergence while still in the service mode? If not, you are not storing the locations for the sensors and as soon as you run it after exiting, it will use the previously stored parameters and adjust to those rather than your last settings.

[d6500k]

lcaillo is absolutely correct. While still in service and after saving the data, you must perform a "flash focus". Upon completion the display will present "calibration OK". From then on it will go back to momma so to speak which will be the settings you wrote to the epprom.

I've never been a "flash focus" kind of guy, but if that was the button you were trying, and you had not completed the above, then the display was going to another momma entirely!

Good pick up Icaillo!

Doug k

[Satch0922]

Since the repair, I have NEVER used the flash focus. So if I understand correctly, you are saying that if I DID use the flash focus and it had not been set in the service mode then it would revert to old settings.

But, just want to be clear, if the flash focus is NEVER used, it should not drift if set in the service mode correct?

[d6500k]

You should use the flash focus in service after saving the good work you have done. The "calibration complete" message is confirming the "save" if you will.

Some displays drift more than others due to many factors. I've done older PJ's that really needed to be touched up once a month. Once a week for your sony is too much though IMO.

Now for a seemingly strange question and please take no offence. Do you wear presciption glasses when making adjustments? Parallax has caused calibrators to be fooled many times with fine conv.


Doug k

[lcaillo]

Since the repair, I have NEVER used the flash focus. So if I understand correctly, you are saying that if I DID use the flash focus and it had not been set in the service mode then it would revert to old settings.

But, just want to be clear, if the flash focus is NEVER used, it should not drift if set in the service mode correct?

What running the FF before you exit the SM does is store the parameters needed for the sensors so that when you do FF later, it has the right references to go back to. If you never used FF it would retain the alignment that you saved when you did muting, enter. This does not relate to drift, just FF offsets.

D6500 is correct, everything drifts to some degree, but it sounds like yours is varying more than it should be. At this point, basic troubleshooting techniques are needed to evaluate the power supplies, signal sources, thermal properties, and output of the chips. This is what techs do. Your servicer should have a service warranty...

Are you sure that you are not seeing a difference because you missed calibrationg a particular mode? Is it really drift that slowly occurs or is it a shift? Where on the screen does it occur? Is it consistent across the whole screen? What parameters are affected for which colors? What was the source you used for the ICs when they were replaced? What did you do about heat sinking? What measurements have you taken and what can you take? Did you dress the wires back to their original locations when you changed the chips? What is the pattern of drift/shift.

Solving a problem like this requires a lot more info than we have. You will have to provide more detail if you want this kind of specific help or get it to a skilled technician. This may or may not be the technician that you used to install them, but that is the place to start.

[lcaillo]

went saving via "mute-enter" the word write goes from red to green.
I will try letting it warm up a full hour. When this TV is dialed in it looks awesome. I guess 4+ years is all you can get out of them.
So maybe my next ?? should be....if your gonna buy a tv that will last....what should it be?-B

I would expect the average life of this set to be more in the ten year or more range. 4 years or ten years, even out of the box you could have the same problem. The thing that determines the life of CRT based sets is CRT aging, not a problem like this, which amounts to an ineffective repair.

Sony is hard to beat if you want a TV that is going to last. You can have aproblem with any brand and any technology. At least the set you have is reasonble to fix if it breaks.

[Satch0922]

I would expect the average life of this set to be more in the ten year or more range. 4 years or ten years, even out of the box you could have the same problem. The thing that determines the life of CRT based sets is CRT aging, not a problem like this, which amounts to an ineffective repair.

Sony is hard to beat if you want a TV that is going to last. You can have aproblem with any brand and any technology. At least the set you have is reasonble to fix if it breaks.

The reason I asked that question is that I originally had the kp51 and it lasted all of about 4 months and had to replaced under warranty (BestBuy warranty allowed for replacing at the same purchase price so I was able to upgrade to the 57" since prices had dropped). Now the 57" has been worked on 4 times under warranty ( having to have all three guns replaced) and then this issue where the IC's blew and have been replaced (out of warranty). Now it drifts out of convergence. I am just about done with this set and there is no way in hell I would purchase another Sony. BTW...my Sony 32" Trinitron that is 12 years old still works like new.....it's in my master bedroom and cost $1000 back in the day. It was worth it. This KP57ws500 is worth about $199.00

[Satch0922]

lcaillo is absolutely correct. While still in service and after saving the data, you must perform a "flash focus". Upon completion the display will present "calibration OK". From then on it will go back to momma so to speak which will be the settings you wrote to the epprom.

Doug,

I took your advice and for some reason (maybe unrelated) the TV has been more stable since calibrating the FF. Does this set somehow try and calibrate it's self when you turn it on? I don't think it does but that was something that crossed my mind. Since calibrating the FF the set does not drift. Maybe it's a coincidence......

Thanks for all of your responses.