the professional magazine for electronics and computer servicing elegi'1111111… ·...

THE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE FOR ELECTRONICS AND COMPUTER SERVICING

ELEGI'1111111*GmServicing & Tcchnolosy August 1998

Troubleshooting microprocessors

Troubleshooting tube circuits

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ITHE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE FOR COMPUTER SERVICING

Servicins & TechnologyContents

Volume 18, No. 8 August, 1998

FEATURES6 Troubleshooting microprocessors

by Bob Rose

Microprocessors are now commonlyfound in every type of consumer elec-tronics product, including television sets.Consequently, troubleshooting TVs thesedays frequently means troubleshootingmicroprocessor circuits. It's not as hardas it might sound. Read this Bob Rose arti-cle to find out how to start troubleshoot-ing a set in which you suspect that theproblem is microprocessor related.

16 Troubleshooting tube circuitsby Alvin G. SydnorThey're back. Vacuum tubes that is. Backwhen transistors and ICs were developed.most of us thought that these multi -pindevices with their glass envelopes andcheerily glowing filaments were obsolete.but, as this article points out, there are stilla lot of products that contain vacuumtubes and need to be fixed. If you've neverworked with vacuum tubes before butwould like to learn more about this aspectof consumer electronics service, this arti-cle will help you get started.

47 Continuing education in servicingby the ES&T Staff

Everything in consumer electronics ischanging and developing so fast that it'senough to make a technician's head spin.That's why it's so important for techni-cians to study constantly to keep up withall the changes and developments. Thisarticle, compiled by the ES&T staff, pro-vides suggestions and ideas on how to stayabreast of everything that's going on. andlists a number of excellent resources thattechnicians can turn to for help.

DEPARTMENTS2 Editorial3 News

4 Literature17 Calendar of Events29 Profax46 Books54 Test Your Electronics Knowledge58 What Do You Know About

Electronics?60 Photofact61 Products62 Classifieds

63 Reader's Exchange64 Advertiser's Index

ADVERTISINGSUPPLEMENT18 Replacement Parts Showcase

The service procedure is never completeuntil the faulty part has been replaced andthe product is back in operation. And asevery technician knows, in these timeswhen consumer electronics product man-ufacturers are using such a variety of spe-cially manufactured parts, many of whichare hard to identify, it can become a majorchallenge just to determine what the partis and to find a supplier for it. In thisShowcase, replacement parts supplierswho advertise a half -page or more aregiven an equivalent amount of space totell you a little bit about their companies.The information in those companydescriptions may help you locate the sup-plier you're looking for to locate thathard -to -find part.

ON THE COVERIf you shop around at a few of the grocery stores in your area, you quickly find that some have betterproduce than others, some have a better butcher department, and some just have a wider selection ofall of the products that you need. The same is true with department stores, hardware stores, and justabout any type of store where you shop. It should come as no surprise that what's true of consumershopping applies to replacement parts suppliers, as well. You'll find that some specialize and have abetter selection of replacements for a certain manufacturer's products. Some charge more, some less.for shipping and handling. Some provide a great deal of help in identifying a replacement and somedon't seem to want to help at all. It pays to choose your supplier carefully.(Photo courtesy of Electro Dynamics, Inc.)

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August 1998 Electronic Servicing & Technology 1

_/irip EDITORIAL /AiThe joy of troubleshooting

An article by Bob Rose in this issue,"Troubleshooting microproces-sors," describes in general how to

troubleshoot microprocessors in televi-sion sets, and then provides some detailedtroubleshooting procedures that he fol-lowed in servicing some specific micro-processor -controlled sets. One thingcomes through loud and clear as you readthe article: while microprocessor controlchanges somewhat the way in which elec-tronics products operate, for the mostpart, the tried-and-true troubleshootingtechniques used by service techniciansapply just as well to microprocessor -con-trolled circuits as they did to products inthe past.

For example, the first rule of thumb thatRose recommends if you suspect themicroprocessor and/or surrounding cir-cuits is to check B+ and ground to theprocessor. Isn't that pretty much the firststep that a technician would take in ser-vicing just about any circuit? After all, ifa circuit doesn't have B+ or ground, itwon't operate.

The article goes on to suggest that thetechnician check the standby voltage,reset voltage, the oscillator, and data -inand data -out lines. Again, these proce-dures don't differ much from the proce-dure that a good technician would followin servicing a set that was not micro-processor controlled.

A good troubleshooter must possesscertain qualities. For starters, an in-depthknowledge of the design and operation ofa product is essential. If a technician isgoing to be able to determine why a prod-uct is not operating correctly and restoreit to proper operation, it helps immense-ly to know what is involved in making itwork properly in the first place.

Another quality of a good trouble-shooter is the drive to solve problems.This includes the ability to ask questionsand record and sift data. For example, ifa technician is presented with a dead set,the first thing he does is look to see if it'sreceiving power. A check at the output ofthe power supply determines whether ornot the power line is providing power andthe supply is providing the correct outputvoltage(s). Armed with that basic knowl-edge, the technician can then step throughthe rest of the set gathering information

on which to base a sound determinationof the cause of the problem.

In fact, most competent techniciansreally enjoy their work. It's a joy and achallenge. Determining the cause of aproblem in a TV set or VCR is much likeworking some kind of puzzle in terms ofthe intellectual challenge that it presents.It's an exercise in logic. You might saythat in a way troubleshooting is a little likebuilding a truth table: this conditionexists, and this condition exists, but thiscondition does not exist. What type offault could cause this set of conditions?

In some cases, the answers recorded inthe initial information -gathering steps isenough to make a determination. In othercases, the first troubleshooting steps pro-vide some valuable information, but notenough. Then the technician begins to askquestions about the data he has alreadygathered. Why was the voltage at point xa few volts different from that specified?Or is that within tolerance? Why wasthere no signal at point y? Questions likethese allow the technician to gather moreinformation and to refine the informationhe already has.

Unfortunately, troubleshooting is notall fun and games. Perhaps if it were aleisure pursuit it would be more fun, butreality has a way of rearing its ugly head.The expectation of having to repair somany sets in a day or a week puts a greatdeal of pressure on the technician. Butthen, I guess that's why they call it work.And that's why it's so important that atechnician be constantly honing his skills.One incorrect conclusion based on theinformation gathered can lead the techni-cian down a long series of dead ends fromwhich is may be difficult to return. Thewrong idea, once implanted, can confusethe technician's thinking to a degree thatit makes it difficult to return to the prop-er frame of reference.

When this situation occurs and the tech-nician just can't seem to make anyprogress on the repair, the best approachis to put the product aside and let it sit fora while. Such an approach sometimesallows the technician to forget the blindalleys he's gotten into and to bring a freshmind to the problem.

It can't be overemphasized that trou-bleshooting is far easier when the

required test equipment and service liter-ature is available. The ability to refer to aschematic diagram helps immensely indetermining the nature of the problem.For example, if the technician is trying totrace a signal to see where it disappears,it will be difficult in the extreme if theschematic diagram is not available.Moreover, the function of many circuitsin today's consumer electronics productsis not obvious. The explanation of circuitoperation that the technician finds in a ser-vice manual or in a manufacturer's sem-inar may be just the tidbit of informationhe needs to pinpoint the problem andcomplete the product repair.

But the enjoyment of troubleshootingand repairing the product doesn't endwhen the cause of the problem has beenidentified. In a way, the next step is thebest part. Once the faulty components orcircuits that are causing the problem havebeen identified, the technician gets toreplace them. Then comes the moment oftruth when the technician turns on the setand observes the effects of his trou-bleshooting and repair. What could bemore satisfying than to turn on a set thathad just a horizontal white line across thecenter of the screen and see a picture atfull height and in glorious color, or torepair a set that had no volume and thatnow puts out ample sound in high fideli-ty stereo, and to realize that it was hisskills that had caused the transformation.

Fortunately, it doesn't matter whetherthe product to be serviced is controlled bya microprocessor or not. Most of the func-tions are the same, in general, as they werebefore the application of microprocessorcontrol in television. However, as BobRose says in the conclusion to his article:"microprocessors are a fact of life, andthey are not going to disappear. As a mat-ter of fact, they and their associated cir-cuitry are getting more complicated astime goes on. It, therefore, behooves peo-ple in our business to learn to work withthem. After all, this business is our liveli-hood. Learning how systematically toevaluate their performance is one way towork with them."

°Naihe.42 Electronic Servicing & Technology August 1998

NEWSSeminars to be featured at National Professional

Service ConventionService managers who attend the 1998 National Professional

Service Convention (NPSC) Will find an Intel informationprocessor inside. The name of this processor is Dan Russell,Director of Platform Marketing for Intel Corp.; who will be thekeynote speaker. Mr. Russell will relate his company's thoughtson the marriage of the computer with the television set. Of inter-est to consumer electronics servicing professionals is how thismerger will affect the consumer, and thus, what it will demandfrom the manufacturer, retailer, and servicer. Also to be coveredis its effect on the Universal Serial Bus, IEEE 1394 (Firewire),Digital Video Disk, and more.

The keynote session by Mr. Russell will be held on the firstday of the six -day service industry event. NPSC '98 will be heldAugust 10 through 15, 1998 at the Hyatt -Orlando Hotel, inKissimmee, FL.

On the convention's final two days, business guru Mike Stollwill share abundant information about profitable service manage-ment In his seminar titled, "If You Sell Below Cost, You Can'tMake it Up With Volume," he will discuss pricing strategies forservice dealers. His two other seminars will focus on -Team Powerand Performance," and "27 Ways to Increase Profits."

Other sessions at NPSC '98 to help service managers improvetheir bottom lines will be the famous annual Best Business IdeasContest, a study session for the Certified Service Manager exam,and seminars on "Discovering Diversity," and "Tax Changes ThatAffect the Small Service Business."

Forums intended for all convention participants will include apanel on standardizing electronic service data, and informationabout the progress of High -Definition Television.

Another highlight of the week will be the two-day ProfessionalService Trade Show, August 12 through 13. This will featureproducts. services, and equipment for professionals in the prod-uct service industry.

Servicers will also have the opportunity to meet privately withthe top service executives from dozens of major manufacturers.These information -sharing "Service Information Symposiums"will occur preceding the trade show on Wednesday and Thursday.

More than a dozen technical seminars will help prepare tech-nicians to cope with the newest technology. The featured pre-sentations will cover Windows 95 troubleshooting and networksetup, and computer monitor, and PC servicing schools. Alsoincluded will be: sessions on DVD concepts, and MPEGCompression, as well as how to service FAX, copiers, scanners,printers, big -screen monitors, LCD projectors, progressive -scanTV, and power supplies.

Registrations are available for the full week, for any threeconsecutive days, or on a daily basis. Early registrants can saveup to $70 over the $300 at -the -door price. For registration infor-mation, contact NPSC '98, 2708 West Berry, Fort Worth, TX76109, (817)921-9061, FAX (817) 921-3741, or e-mail:iscetFW @aol.com.

First graduating class for C.N.S.T.ETA, The Electronics Technicians Association, International,

Inc., (Green -castle, IN) recently announced the addition to itsarray of certification programs for electronics technicians, theC.N.S.T., Certified Network Systems Technician, program.

Since that announcement, the C.N.S.T. initiative, developed

by Texas A & M University System's, Engineering ExtensionService, has completed beta testing of the 100 -question writtenexamination and has gone ahead to certify through ETA, an ini-tial group of computer networking professionals.

Each successful C.N.S.T. receives a wall certificate and wal-let card and is entered in ETA's international certification database at Greencastle, IN. In addition, those who qualify for SeniorC.N.S.T. status, receive a walnut and brass wall plaque attestingto their accomplishment and status. C.N.S.T. lapel pins are alsopart of the recognition items.

On June 9, Texas A & M's Engineering Extension Servicein San Antonio, graduated the first class of C.N.S.T. technicianaspirants at its HemisFair Park campus. The rigorous 144 -hourprogram is designed to prepare the students who pursue it topass the C.N.S.T. exam.

The C.N.S.T.'s role in the telecommunications industry isbetween that of a Computer Desk Top Service Technician, and aNetwork Systems Engineer. The C.N.S.T. assists the NetworkSystems Engineer in designing, installing, and maintaining com-puter networks. Prerequisite for applying for the C.N.S.T. throughETA is an ETA C.E.T. in Computers, or the A+ certificationthrough CompTIA. Two years of experience and/or schooling arerequired for the Journeyman C.N.S.T. status in ETA.

Dick Glass, President of ETA, stated that the C.N.S.T. certifi-cation program has generated more initial interest in its first 3months, than any other of the association's 15 skills and knowl-edge certification categories, since 1986.

While additional classroom courses are not a requirement ofthe C.N.S.T. program, ETA advises that, unless the networkingtechnician is already an expert, an in-depth class such as thatconducted by Texas A & M, (and being implemented by sever-al other proprietary schools around the country), can bring thecomputer technician up to the level of C.N.S.T and its currenthigher financial rewards.

For more information and the competencies listing for C.N.S.T.certification, contact ETA at: 602 N Jackson, Greencastle, IN46 I 35. Fax 765-653-8262, e-mail: [email protected]

CEMA applauds FCC decision on consumercable devices

The Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA)applauds today's decision by the Federal CommunicationsCommission (FCC) to adopt pro -competitive, pro -consumer rulesallowing consumer cable devices to be sold at retail.

"This decision will benefit consumers because it will fosterinnovation and competition. Consumer electronics manufactur-ers now can move forward to develop a wide range of productsand features, increasing consumer choice and driving down con-sumer costs," said CEMA President Gary Shapiro.

The Telecommunications Act required the FCC to enact rulesthat orovided for a competitive market for cable services equip-ment. As a result of today's decision, consumers will be able topurchase set -top cable boxes at retail like any other consumerelectronics product.

CEMA is a sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA),the 74 -year -old Arlington, Virginia -based trade organization rep-resenting all facets of electronics manufacturing. CEMA repre-sents U.S. manufacturers of audio, video, accessories, mobileelectronics, communication, information and multimedia prod-ucts which are sold through consumer channels.


TN( POOP FSSIONAL MAGAZINE FOR ELFCIRONICS AND COMPUTER SERVICING

ELECTROINGServicing & Technology

Electronic Servicing & Technology is edited for servic-ing professionals who service consumer electronicsequipment. This includes service technicians, field ser-vice personnel and avid servicing enthusiasts who repairand maintain audio, video, computer and other consumerelectronics equipment.

EDITORIALNils Conrad Persson, Editor(Internet e-mail: [email protected])Kirstie A. Wickham, Associate Editor(Internet e-mail: kirstieestiraoLcom)Richard S. Moseson, NW2L, On -Line Coordinator

CONSULTING EDITORSHomer L.Davidson, TV Servicing ConsultantVictor Meeldijk, Components ConsultantJohn E. Shepler, Audio ConsultantSam Wilson, Electronics Theory Consultant

PRODUCTIONElizabeth Ryan, Art DirectorBarbara McGowan, Associate Art DirectorEdmond Pesonen, Electronic Composition Mgr.Dorothy Kehrwieder, Production ManagerEmily Leary, Assistant Production ManagerPat Le Blanc, Phototypographer

BUSINESSRichard A. Ross, PublisherSal Del Grosso, Accounting ManagerAnn Marie DeMeo, Accounting DepartmentCatherine Ross, Circulation ManagerMelissa Kehrwieder, Operations ManagerJean Sawchuk, Data ProcessingDenise Kells, Customer Service

ADVERTISING SALES OFFICEElectronic Servicing & Technology21704 SE 35th Street, Issaquah, WA 98029Tel.: 425-557-9611 Fax: 425-557-9612

Evelyn Garrison, Director of AdvertisingEmily Leary, Sales Assistant

EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE:P.O. Box 12487Overland Park, KS 66212913-492-4857

Ng]033114- 11011011114111itialit

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Member. Eleelronic ServicingDealers Associetion

Electronic Servicing & Technology (ISSN 0278-9922) ispublished 12 times a year by CO Communications, Inc.25 Newbridge Road, Hicksville, NY 11801. Telephone(516) 681-2922. Periodical class postage paid at Hicksville,NY and additional offices. Subscription prices (payable in USdollars only): Domestic-one year $26.95, two years $49.95.Canadian-one year $36.95, two years $69.95. Foreign AirPost-one year $44.95, two years $85.95. Entire contentscopyright 1998 by CO Communications, Inc. ElectronicServicing & Technology or CO Communications, Inc. assumesno responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. Allow six weeksfor delivery of first issue and for change of address.Printed in the United States of America.Postmaster: Please send change of address notice toElectronic Servicing & Technology, 25 Newbridge Road,Hicksville, NY 11801.

CO Communications, Inc. is publisher of CO The RadioAmateur's Journal, Popular Communications, CO RadioAmateur (Spanish CO), CO VHF, CO Contest, and ElectronicServicing & Technology.

--/V1/- LITERATURE

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Transformer information websiteSignal Transformer Company, an oper-

ating unit of the Insilco TechnologiesGroup, has unveiled a website that makesit easier for engineers to obtain informa-tion about the company's off -the -shelfand custom power transformers, as wellas valuable educational material on trans-former design and applications.

The website, located at http://www.-signaltransforrnercom, features a homepage that offers functionality and the abil-ity to easily link to other sections of thewebsite. Product information on Signal'scomprehensive line of printed -circuit(PC) and chassis -mount transformers, aswell as supplemental magnetics, can beeasily accessed directly from the homepage. Detailed specifications and partnumbers are available by downloadingAdobe Acrobat portable document files(PDFs) for various products. Visitors canalso download the Custom MagneticsDesign Data Sheet to find information onthe company's custom design capability.

Users looking for technical informa-tion on transformers can find it by access-ing the Technical Library section, whichposts application notes on various trans-former technology products.

Circle (86) on Reply Card

Tool, tool kit, tool case and testequipment catalog

Specialized Products has released itsnew comprehensive Spring '98 Catalog.The new 384 -page publication features awide assortment of products for virtuallyevery service application in telecom,LAN, fiber optic, wireless, medical elec-tronic and computer industries.

Technicians, field service managersand engineers can choose from a com-plete assortment of electronic test equip-

ment featuring component testers, digitalmultimeters, frequency counters, func-tion generators, oscilloscopes, powersupplies and more.

The computer testing selection includesbenchtop test equipment, EPROM testersand SIMM testers. LAN test equipmentchoices include analyzers, category 5testers, continuity testers and fiber optictest equipment. The telecom selection fea-tures bit error rate testers, digit grabbers,digital butt sets and transmission test sets.For fiber optic test equipment, the techni-cian can choose from cleavers, lightsources, optical time domain reflectome-ters, power meters, strippers and more.


Electrostatic dischargecontrol catalog

Desco's new catalog of electrostaticdischarge control products has 68 pagesof products in sections of personnelgrounding, neutralization, shielding andtest equipment. Products include wriststraps, foot grounders, floor and tablemats, ground cords, shielding bags, floorfinish ionizers, test equipment and more.A separate section on the basics of ESDcontrol is also included.


Component data book

Alps has released the all -new 1998 DataBook. Completely redesigned and ex-panded, the data book features a new pageformat and a new compact size in a book

4 Electronic Servicing & Technology August 1998

/0binding. Several new additions includemore detail drawings, product referenceguide for each section and an all-inclusiveindex, and Alps ISO certifications.


Test equipment catalogAmprobe announces its Golden

Anniversary Catalog, covering the entireproduct range and including a host of newproducts. The catalog has extensivecross-reference charts and product in -usephotographs enabling customers toquickly find the tool that provides the bestsolution for their needs.


Catalog updateThis 64 -page update from Contact East

lists the latest in test instruments and toolsfor engineers and technicians. Featuredare quality products from brand namemanufacturers for testing, repairing, andassembling electrical and electronicequipment. New product highlightsindude Fluke's 15 Electrical Testers,Tektronix' Huntron Tracker TR210, andthe CEK-74 complete electronics tool kit.Other products displayed are DMMs,oscilloscopes, soldering/desolderingtools, clamp meters, power supplies, ESDprotection products, aerosol cleaners,adhesives, and precision hand tools.Choose from quality brand names likeFluke, Tektronix, Hewlett Packard,Xcellite, Xuron. Ideal and Weller.


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Power products guide and catalog

Hewlett-Packard Company announcesthe availability of the 1998/1999 editionsof its System Power Products SelectionGuide and Power Products Catalog. TheI6 -page guide (Literature No. 5966-1707) contains a succinct overview of thecompany's power product line, high-lighting key features and specifications.

The 65 -page catalog (Literature No.5966-1706) provides R&D and produc-tion engineers complete technical infor-mation on more than 125 models ofdynamic measurement dc sources, acpower source/analyzers, harmonic/flick-er test systems, dc power supplies, dcelectronic loads, solar array simulatorsand modular power systems.


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Troubleshooting microprocessorsliob Rose

Virtually every modern televisionconsists of five basic systems.Whether it's a nine -inch fellow

Rose b, an independent consumer electronics businessowner and technician.

that is kept in the kitchen or a 60 -inch jobthat dominates a room in the house, it willstill have five systems: power supply. sys-tem control, deflection, video, and audio.Each system presents a special challenge

to the technician because each system isdifferent.

System controlThis article will explore the TV's sys-

tem control, the "brains" of which is the

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microprocessor. Perhaps this is as good aplace as any to note that microprocessortechnology is not going to go away. It isin fact getting more and more complex.For example, if you service RCA TV'syou know that the microprocessor usesdata and bus lines to communicate withthe EEPROM, video IC, tuner, and audiocircuits. Consider the operation of thehorizontal oscillator. The CPU receivesinformation about horizontal frequencyand phase from the EEPROM and sends

-6 chassis.

the information via clock and data linesto the video processing IC where the hor-izontal drive signal is generated.

I just recently received PanasonicServices Company's training manual forits new VCR (the UZ mechanism) andTV/VCR combination. These units fea-ture the "I -Squared -C" bus which con-sists of a data line and a clock line. Itemploys a "master" (system controlmicroprocessor), a "slave" (EEPROM),and several other "slaves" (the TV jungle

IC, the HI-FI IC, and the Y/C/normalaudio IC). This system replaces many ofthe mechanical controls to which we havegrown accustomed with an on -screen dis-play (OSD: as in "service menu") andadjustments via remote control.

Is it a system control problem?Given the complexity of these new cir-

cuits, how do you determine if the prob-lem you are trying to solve is a system con-trol problem? Once you have determined


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Figure 3. In the Phil ps G-6 chassis, the stand-by voltage is developed by IC410 at pin 4. Instand-by mode this voltage should be about 15.7V.

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Figure 4. When all else fails, check the standby 5V. In this set, this voltage measured about 4V, and had a lot of noise on it.

that you have a system control problem,how do you pinpoint the exact cause?

I am going to suggest a five -stepapproach to help you answer these ques-tions. First, locate the microprocessor andthen check the following: B+ and ground,reset, oscillator, input data lines, and out-put data lines. These few measurements

will give you a picture of the health of themicroprocessor and should point you tothe source of your problem.

Troubleshooting toolsNow a word about some necessary

troubleshooting tools. You will need goodliterature. The literature will give you pin -

outs and voltages, and it will also provideyou with waveforms. You will need agood DMM, and I recommend a goodoscilloscope. There are some problemsyou w ill not find if you don't use an oscil-loscope. For example, you might con-demn a tuner when the tuner is good. Ifyou had checked clock and data inputs to

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Figure 5. In one set, the picture looked washed out, as if there were a problem with the contrast. Transistor Q410 at the 5V regulator, was leakyand permitting 6V to get to the microprocessor.


the tuner you would have found one orboth signals missing. Those missing sig-nals would have pointed you to the micro-processor or memory IC. There are lotsof technicians who do not use an oscillo-scope, and I am willing to bet they missa lot of diagnoses (and fees) because ofit. If your oscilloscope (or DMM) doesnot have a frequency counter, you willneed a frequency counter because youwill want to check the frequency of themicroprocessor's oscillator.

Check B+ and groundThe very first check you should make

is the B+ to the processor. I include acheck of the ground as well, because,

believe it or not, a loose ground connec-tion can cause all sorts of weird problems.Figure 1 is the CPU for a Magnavox 25N1chassis. I remember almost changing themicroprocessor in one of these setsbecause the set was dead and would notrespond to any command. Just before Ibegan to unsolder the chip, I noticed "aringing crack" around pin 30. I resolderedthe pin, and the set acted normally fromthat time on. The problem was caused bya bad ground connection.

Figure 2 is the microprocessor for aPhilips' G-6 chassis. One of these setswas brought in for repair and was com-pletely dead. We checked pin 13 of IC345for 5V. The voltage at that pin wasn't cor-

rect. The stand-by voltage is developedby IC410 at pin 4 (Figure 3). In stand-bymode this voltage should be about 15.7V.It was less than 2V. A new IC410, an STR30130, solved the problem. I shouldemphasize the fact that when the set isoperating, this voltage must be very closeto 5V, and it should be as free of rippleand other noise as possible.

A customer brought a Zenith TV in forrepair, complaining that sometimes the setwould come on and sometimes itwouldn't. When it came on, it might stayon for a minute or two and would go offas if it had been unplugged. We checkedthe obvious, the B+ regulator, to see if itwas defective. It wasn't. What now?

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Figure 6 The reset voltage in the N1 chassis is developed via R417, a 100 , 1W resistor.


Figure 7. A load on an input data line can mimic a defective CPU.

When all else fails, check the standby 5V.This voltage measured about 4V (Figure4), and had a lot of noise on it. We replaceda leaky diode and filter capacitor to restorethis voltage to the correct 5V (CR 3414and C6019 in Figure 4). A good DMMwould have revealed the low voltage, butit took a good oscilloscope to show the"hash" riding on the supply voltage.

What would be the situation if this volt-age exceeded 5V? We serviced a set thathad such a problem earlier this year. Thepicture looked washed out, as if there wasa problem with the contrast. The color

was also very poor. But the really oddsymptom was a very dark, almost black,OSD. None of the customer controls hadan effect on the quality of the picture. Ihave a rule -of -thumb. When you have anoddball problem, check the power supply.In this instance the 5V regulator wasleaky and permitting 6V to get to themicroprocessor (Q410 in Figure 5).

Check reset voltageSuppose you have good B+ and the

ground connection is also good, but theset still will not come on. What next?

Don't forget the reset voltage. Look againat Figure 1. Pin 33 (reset) should be anactive high after ac has been applied. Thishigh signals IC350 to initialize its pro-gram. If the voltage is missing, IC350does not initialize its program, and theresult is a dead set. According to Figure6, the reset voltage is developed via R417,a 100kil, 1W resistor. For some reason,these N-1 chassis are tough on R417.Rarely does a month go by that I don'thave to replace an open R417. If your ser-vice center is like mine, it will not seemany reset problems. Nevertheless, whenyou encounter a dead set and suspect a sys-tem control failure, be sure to verify thereset voltage. The reset may be an activehigh or active low (a condition when thereset will go high for a specified timewhen ac is applied and then low).

Check the oscillatorIf a television set is to operate proper-

ly, the oscillator should be on frequency,and the waveform should have the spec-ified peak -to -peak value. The latter isusually around 5V. The former will varyfrom chassis -to -chassis. For example, theN-1 chassis runs at 4MHz while the G-6runs at 12MHz. Always consult the man-ufacturer's literature for voltage and fre-quency. If the oscillator is not running, orif the waveform is not close to the statedvalue, the microprocessor will not oper-ate. The most common cause of a faultyoscillator in my area is lightning damage.When the oscillator is not running, I usu-ally replace both the IC and the crystal.

Oscillators can cause problems. Forexample, I remember one N-1 chassisthat would be playing fine and suddenlygo off, as if the set had been unplugged.Well, a lot of things can cause the prob-lem, but in this instance Y320 at pin 31of IC350 was failing. I don't think wewould have found the problem if wehadn't consulted the engineers at Philipswho were kind enough to point us in theright direction.

Be certain to confirm these parametersbefore moving on to the next level. If theoscillator is running, is it on frequency,and is the waveform the correct value?

Incidentally, a microprocessor needsmore than B+, reset, and oscillator to per-form its functions. For example, if it gen-erates on -screen display information, itwill also need inputs from the horizontal

August 1998 E.ectronic Servicing & Technology 13

--___J--C 3

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Figure 8. A partial schematic for a Sanyo DS31450. One of these sets that we serviced hadbeen damaged by lightning and was com-pletely dead.

and vertical output circuits. So, if theOSD is missing, you would naturallycheck these inputs to the microprocessor.

Check input data linesA load on an input data line can mimic

a defective CPU. Take a look at Figure 7,a partial schematic for an RCA CTC 177.We just recently received such a unit forservice. The customer said it began tochannel up by itself and then turned itselfoff and would not come back on. A pecu-liar set of symptoms! I immediately sus-pected a system control problem. Follow-ing the procedure I am outlining, I beganwith U3101. B+ voltage was about 4.8V,and the ground was good. The oscillatorwas working, and the reset voltage wasthe correct value, but there was no com-munication between the CPU and theEEPROM. Was, therefore, the EEPROMor the microprocessor defective? Let's notchange either just yet. The next check willthen be the input data lines (pins 5, 6, 7,and 8) which should be at OV. Sureenough, one of the pins was high, whichpointed to a defective front control switch.Replacing the switch (Channel up.Remember the customer's complaint.)restored this CTC 177 to proper operation.

What about the loss of a single func-tion? Philips has had several chassis thatwould intermittently lose remote controlfunction. Every function worked exceptthe remote control. The G-6 chassis inFigure 2 was one of the affected TV's. Ifyou scoped pin 44 of IC345, you would

find the IR signal present. The problemalmost had to be the IC itself, which infact it was. Philips came out with a ser-vice bulletin confirming the diagnosis. Itseems that random noise would lock upthe IR port. The problem could be curedby removing ac for a couple of minutes.When power was reapplied, IC345 resetand the remote functioned fine. But theonly permanent cure was to replace thechip. If one function does not work, youmust check the appropriate data input tosee if the input changes. The change maybe a voltage change, or it may be a changethat appears on the oscilloscope as aseries of pulses. If there is data input,then you will have to check the appro-priate data output port. Which brings meto step five.

Check data output.Always make this final check before

you condemn the microprocessor. Re-member if a data output line appears"hung up," some component tied to theline may be hanging it up. I once checkeda Goldstar TV that had a system controlproblem. All checks were good exceptwhen I got the data output lines. It turnedout some "glue" left from the manufac-turing process had shorted out two of theoutput lines.

Figure 8 is a partial schematic for aSanyo DS 31450. The TV had been dam-aged by lightning and was completelydead when we began to work on it. Webegan by getting the power supply up and

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Figure 9. In one RCA CTC167 that exhibited a horizontal white line in the middle of the screen, the most obvious place to begin troublesootingwas the vertical circuits. I quickly determined that all voltages were present, but there was no vertical drive at pin 6 of U4501.


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Figure 10. A partial schematic for a Sharp 25A -M050. The complaint was "cannot raise or lowerthe audio." In this case, IC1001 was defective.

running. Then we repaired verticaldeflection. When deflection had beenrestored, the TV came on with no rasterand no audio. The OSD worked, and thechannel numbers changed. But that wasall. We couldn't even force a video signalthrough the set. What was going on?

Some of the voltages on the videoprocessor were substantially off, butthese voltages were controlled byIC531, the microprocessor. Voltages onpins 30 through 35 of IC531 were sub-stantially off. When the pins werewicked out, the voltages were still off.We replaced the IC, and the TV beganto work as it should.

A strange problemLet's look at another "slightly weird"

problem caused by a defective micro-computer. I accepted an RCA CTC 167for repair. The customer's complaint was"a line in the middle of the screen," inother words no vertical deflection. WhenI assessed the TV I noted that there wasindeed no vertical deflection. There wasalso no audio and, as far as I could tell,there was no video. In fact the only func-tion that worked on the remote or the frontcontrols was power on/off.

Where to begin? The most obviousplace was the vertical problem. I quicklydetermined that all voltages were present,but there was no vertical drive at pin 6 ofU4501(Figure 9). Drive exited pin 55 ofU1001, but it almost disappeared at thebase of Q4501. A waveform that shouldhave been about 20Vpp had dropped toalmost nothing! This chassis takes verti-

cal drive at the collector of Q4503 andsends it to U3101 to develop OSD infor-mation. I wicked out pin 27 of U3101,which restored vertical deflection.However, the other problems had notgone away. A new microcomputer putthis CTC 167 in good working order!

No volume controlLet's use one more example. Figure

10 is a partial schematic for a Sharp 25A -M050. The complaint was "cannot raiseor lower the audio." I checked B+, reset,and oscillator of IC1001 even though allother functions worked. I hope I havelearned not to ignore the obvious. Thesewere within acceptable parameters.Data was present when I requested achange in volume, but there was no dataout on pin 10. I wicked out pin 10 andchecked it again. Still no change whendata input changed. IC1001 was indeeddefective.

Microprocessors have becomea fact of life

Microprocessors are a fact of life, andthey are not going to disappear. As a mat-ter of fact, they and their associated cir-cuitry are getting more complicated astime goes on. It, therefore, behoovespeople in our business to learn to workwith them. After all, this business is ourlivelihood. Learning how to systemati-cally evaluate their performance is oneway to work with them. Use my systemif you like it; if not, work up one youdo like.

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Troubleshooting tube circuitsby Alvin C. Sydnor

Every vacuum tube you encounterhas been designed to be operatedwithin certain predetermined lim-

itations that are called "characteristics."When dealing with tube operating char-acteristics you will encounter the term"amplification factor."

One of the most important features ofa tube is the fact that a very small varia-tion or change in grid voltage will pro-duce a large change in plate current. Thisis possible due to the ability of the tubeto amplify. We can also cause a changein plate current by varying the plate volt-age, but we can get a greater change inplate current by a smaller change ingrid voltage.

AmplificationLet's assume that we have a tube oper-

ating in a circuit and we measure anincrease of 5mA when the grid voltage isdriven 10V more positive, but that anincrease of 30V on the plate was neededto produce the same 5mA increase in theplate current. From this we can see that ittakes a three times greater increase inplate voltage than the increase in gridvoltage to produce the same 5mA changein the plate current. From this simple testwe can say that this tube has an amplifi-cation factor of three. When looking attube characteristic data it is commonpractice to call the amplification factorthe "MU" (p) of a tube.

The amplification factor or p of anyvacuum tube is the ratio of the change inplate voltage to the change in grid volt-age that would be required is required toproduce the same change in plate current.

Troubleshooting vacuum tube circuitscan become very easy once you are famil-iar with the Eg-Ip and Ep-Ip curves.Looking at the curve shown in Figure 1you will notice that if -3V were applied tothe grid of this tube, 25mA of plate cur-rent would be flowing. With -6V on thegrid, the plate current will be reduced to

Sydnor is a retired consumer electronics servicingtechnician.

52

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l5mA. With -9V on the grid the plate cur-rent drops down to 5mA. When the gridvoltage is -15V the plate current dropsdown to zero. This point at which the platecurrent drops to zero is called cutoff

The characteristic curve shown inFigure 1 also shows us that by making thegrid more negative we can reduce platecurrent, and by making the grid more pos-itive we will be increasing plate current.Also notice that as the grid graduallybecomes more positive the change inplate current is not as great as for valueslocated on the straight portion of thecurve, which indicates that we areapproaching this particular tube's satura-tion point at higher grid voltages.

Tube characteristicsThe particular characteristic curve

shown in Figure 1 acquires its specificslope only when a certain positive volt-age is maintained on the plate. If a dif-ferent voltage were applied to the plate,the slope of the curve would be altered,

and the plate current values for a givengrid voltage would be different from thatshown. An important point to rememberis that a higher plate voltage will result ina steeper grid-voltage/plate-currentcurve, whereas a lower plate voltage willresult in the curve having a more gradualslope. When you look in any tube manu-al you'll see different slope curves for dif-ferent tubes, so we can see that each tubetype has its own particular Ep-Ip curves.

Every tube and its associated circuit isdesigned to operate within certain limi-tations, and by conforming to these lim-itations and specifications, a tube's lifecan be prolonged considerably. There aremany factors that contribute to a tube'slife span and in many cases little can bedone to control them. There are, howev-er, some things that you should be awareof that can help in controlling tube life.

Factors that determine the lifetimeof a tube

Whenever a low filament emissionoccurs, the filament or the cathode isunable to supply the necessary electronsto the plate or grid. This deficiency ofelectrons manifests itself as weak signalswithin the circuits associated with a weaktube. The external factors that affect emis-sion life are filament temperature whichin turn depends upon filament voltage,plate current, plate voltage and overalltemperature of the tube.

Whenever a vacuum tube becomesgassy, ionization takes place and the plateor grid current no longer responds to anyvariations in electrode voltages as

required in the circuit design. Filamentemission is destroyed very rapidly by thepresence of gas. A gassy tube in somecases is caused by deficiencies in manu-facturing techniques.

Severe overloads, either prolonged ormomentary, can cause an appreciablerelease of gas within a tube. Only limitedprovisions are made in the fundamentaldesign of the tube to limit this gas release.Some tubes use the metal tantalum, whichhas the ability to quickly absorb gases that


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are liberated by momentary overloads,within their structure.

A cracked seal, as distinguished froma broken bulb, usually permits a smallamount of air to enter the bulb. If theprocess of admitting air takes place veryslowly over a long time period, the tubewill possibly behave as though it wasgassy. Once enough air enters the tube,the filament will burn out immediately.

In some cases a cracked seal can beattributed to a weakness in the manufac-turing process or careless handling duiing the manufacturing process. Severevibrations, sudden shock, overheating.voltage arc-overs, and corona are otherpossible abuses that could cause prob-lems for the technician.

Tubes react to abuseAbusive handling of tubes in the form

of shock and vibration can result in bro-ken or possible shifting of internal ele-ments. For example, the control gridcould sag toward the cathode. This typeof failure can render a tube uselessbecause of internal shorts, broken fila-ment, sagging grid, broken leads and mis-aligned elements. Tapping and hittingtubes while in operation can be classifiedas abusive handling.

Overheating elements can cause theliberation of excessive gas and can alsocause warping or melting of electrodeswithin the bulb. All these failures com-bined can cause localized heating. I haveseen tubes that had developed localizedheating so great that the bulb becamedeformed and melted the glass at the pointof excessive heat. Localized heating isusually caused by inadequate cooling,which occurs when the tube is coveredwith dust and dirt. Keep the tubes clean.

Tube life vs. emissionThe effects of emission and emission

life versus filament voltage for tungstenfilaments are shown in Figure 2. The lifeof a tungsten filament depends on the rateof evaporation or reduction of the tung-sten wire. This rate depends on the tem-perature at which the tungsten wire isbeing operated.

As shown in Figure 2, a three percentdecrease below normal filament voltagewill result in an approximately 50 percentincrease in emission life with only a 20percent decrease in filament emission.Also note that a three percent increaseabove normal filament voltage will resultin about a 30 percent decrease in emis-sion life with an increase of 25 percent inemission. This illustration points out theneed to be aware of the filament voltages.

Since most filaments draw very highcurrents at relatively low voltages, it is

important to be aware of filament volt-ages. Extreme care must be taken whenchecking the filament circuits looking forand eliminating contact resistance whereappreciable voltage drops may develop.Examine and clean the filament tube pinsto eliminate corrosion and any other highresistance substance. Examine all fila-ment wiring and always measure filamentvoltages at the tube pins.

Parasitic oscillationParasitic oscillation is a condition in

which undesired oscillations occur due tofeedback. These undesired oscillationscan be caused by long leads, unshieldedleads, large interelectrode capacitance,and relatively high values of transcon-ductance, all of which are common topower -output tubes. Besides subjecting atube to excessive voltages and currents,parasitic oscillations can reduce poweroutput and cause distortion. These phe-nomena can usually be observed by mon-itoring the grid and plate currents whichwill most likely be fluctuating.

References:

RCA Receiving Tube Manual RC -34(or later edition)

Radiotron Designers Handbook 3rdEdition

Principles of Electron Tubes By H.Reich

Saga Of The Vacuum Tube By Tyne

ES&T Calendar

NESDA 48th/ISCET 28th/NIAS 6thAnnualAugust 10-15, 1998Kissimmee, FL817-921-9061

CeBit Home Electronics '98August 26-30, 1998Hanover Germany609-987-1202

PCS 98September 23-25, 1998Orlando, FL703-739-0300

Personal Computer & ElectronicsExpoOctober 15-18, 1998Uniondale L.I., NY800-886-8000

PCS 99September 22-24, 1999New Orleans, LA703-739-0300

August 1998 E'ectronic Servicing & Technology 17

* * * REPLACEMENT PARTS SHOWCASE * * *Do you remember that old bit ofdoggerel that goes: "For want ofa nail the show was lost, for want

of a show the horse was lost?" If so, youmight remember that the last lines read"For want of a ...the kingdom was lost.

All for want of a nail"Doesn't that pretty much express an

idea along the same lines as what happenswhen a service center can't find a replace-ment part for a television set, VCR, cam-corder or stereo. Although I supposeyou'd conclude "For want of a part, thesale was lost."

Unfortunately, that kind of problemcrops up much more often than most ser-vice centers care to think about. As anexample, there was the case of a certainbrand of consumer electronics productmanufactured off -shore. It was sold in theU.S. for a year or two, then the companywent out of business in the U.S. and it wasall but impossible to locate replacementparts. A lot of customers were unhappyabout the products they owned, and a lotof service centers spent a lot of timeresearching, only to find that it was futile.The parts didn't exist.

That's an extreme example, but lack ofparts availability is a pervasive problemin consumer electronics service. Anotherproblem that sometimes faces servicecenters is early obsolescence of product.Many consumers are very happy with theelectronics products they buy. They usethem for a number of years, pleased withthe sound and picture, and when the prod-uct fails, they want to get them serviced.However, in many cases if the product is

more than about seven years old, theymay not be able to get it fixed.

Oh, if the problem is caused by a stan-dard resistor, capacitor, inductor, transis-tor, the service center will probably beable to track down a replacement andrestore the product to working order. Butif the faulty part is a horizontal -outputtransformer, or a yoke, or a proprietaryIC, the customer, and the service centerthat has a great deal of diagnostic andparts research time sunk into the unit, areboth probably out of luck.

From time to time, however, it happensthat although the product is obsolete andmany suppliers have no replacement partsfor the product, one or two resourcefuldistributors might just know how to gettheir hands on that part. And that's one ofthe differences between a good distribu-tor and an excellent distributor. There aremany other qualities that differentiate thebest parts suppliers from the good andvery good suppliers. Sometimes it's hardto tell which is which. The list belowprovides some guidelines.

Evaluating a distributorHere's a list of questions you might

ask yourself when you're evaluating adistributor.

g7e How many locations do they have?gra- How often are they able to fill orders

from stock?tar What payment options do they offer

- open order account, credit card, etc.?Fa' How soon after receipt of an order

to they ship?' Do they add a shipping surcharge?

' Do they have a toll free number?far What ordering options do they offer?air What is their return policy?Ira- Do they offer a warranty?Eir Is there a minimum order amount?' What shipping options do they offer?far What special services do they offer?grar Do they have a research department

to help technicians find a specific part?

"You want to find someone youcan count on for reliability,convenience and service."

Food for thoughtKeep some of these questions in mind

when you're looking for a supplier ofreplacement components. You want tofind someone you can count on for relia-bility, convenience and service. Merelylocating someone who stocks the partisn't the only consideration. For example,if you have to wait until you fill a largeminimum order amount before you canorder, or if you have to wait weeks for thepart to arrive, you'll have that defectiveproduct sitting around the service centerfor a long time without earning you anyprofit, and the customer will not bepleased with the wait.

It might be tempting to order from thefirst distributor that comes to mind, but ifyou will take the time to ask a few ques-tions, it might save time, money andaggravation. The following section willgive you a head start in answering someof those questions.


* * * REPLACEMENT PARTS SHOWCASE * * *

Thomson Consumer Electronics

Thomson Consumer Electronicsbelieves that you should have achoice. We realize that you rely on ourgenuine replacement parts not onlyduring the required warranty period,but also when you want the highestlevel of quality and performance avail-able. We also realize that not everyestimate you give can be converted toa repair using original parts. That's ourdifference, we give you the choice!

Original PartsRCA and GE genuine replacement

parts provide today's service profes-sional with the reliability they needwhen completing in -warranty repairs.And they are delivered to you by partsdistributors who provide an outstand-ing level of service. In fact, our mostrecent survey of the service industrycontinues to show that three out offour servicers believe that no othermanufacturer provided a consistent-ly better parts fulfillment system thanthe Thomson Consumer Electronics'parts distributors.

Thomson Premier Distributors canfill your warranty part orders either offtheir shelves on all in -stock products,or by placing a Direct Drop Shipment(DDS) order via computer directlyinto the TCE national parts depot.Either way, you receive the part youneed to complete the repair quicklyand you get the highest possible fillrate for warranty parts to serviceRCA, GE and ProScan products. Thiscomputer link also allows the PremierDistributor access to all the informa-tion needed to provide you with thehigh level of service you require intoday's fast paced business.

SK Series Universal PartsYou know that lower estimates

equal more repairs and more busi-ness for you. To help you turn moreof those COD estimates into repairs,Thomson continues to broaden it'sline of SK Series Universal Products.These quality parts let you reduce therepair estimate by lowering yourreplacement parts cost, and that'sgood news for you!

SK Series Universal Productscover a wide range of high wear, highusage parts. Whether you need videoheads, flyback transformers, videoreplacement parts, belts, tires, pinchrollers, laser pickups, RF modulators,exact semiconductors, servicer aids,repair kits, capacitors, resistors andmore, you can look to SK Series First.

TCE LiteratureThomson also provides a number

of publications which makes findingthe right part for the repair even eas-ier. Our latest "SK Series ProductGuide" (Catalog #301) is a quick ref-erence tool to the SK Series UniversalProduct line. Photographs, text andgraphic illustrations all help guide youto the right stock number very quick-ly and easily.

In addition to TCE's service data,the "Television Components QuickReference Guide" contains key partnumbers for recent RCA, GE andProScan chassis. It's ideal forthe technician on the road. It foldsto fit in your pocket. The QuickReference Guide also contains asection dedicated to the EPROM'sassociated with chassis CTC169through CTC189.

And there is of course, our wellknown and widely accepted "OEMRemote Control" book. This book isprinted once a year and no one that

repairs TCE products should be with-out one!

These publications are availablefrom your Authorized Thomson PartsDistributor. For the "SK SeriesProduct Guide" order publication1J1226, for the "Quick ReferenceGuide" order publication 1J9548, andfor the "Remote Control" book order1F5790.

Accessories andComponents Business

The Thomson Consumer Elec-tronics, Accessories and Com-ponents Business provides servicefrom a 358,000 square foot facilitylocated in Deptford, New Jersey.All business functions-customerservice, sales and marketing, qual-ity assurance, product analysis,administrative departments andware- housing operate under oneroof. Some parts are stocked in satel-lite warehouse facilities in El Paso,TX, and Indianapolis, IN.

A full line of RCA brand ConsumerElectronics Accessories is marketedfrom this facility as well. The busi-ness is managed by Jack Nick,Vice President. Thomson ConsumerElectronics corporate headquartersis in ; ndianapolis.

One Call Is AllYou Need To Make

Whether you need original RCAand GE parts or SK Series products,your Thomson distributor is yourone stop source. A single call toa Thomson Distributor gives youthe choice you deserve, makingyour business more profitable. Tolocate a nearby Thomson AuthorizedDistributor simply call (800) 336-190C today.



Panasonic Services Company20421 84th Avenue SouthKent, Washington 98021Phone: 800-833-9626Fax: 800-237-9080

For over 35 years, the Panasonic,Quasar, and Technics brand nameshave appeared throughout Americanhomes and industries. In that time, ourcompany's commitment to total cus-tomer satisfaction has manifested itselfin many ways. Our approach to postsales support has evolved to includeprograms that encompass qualitativehuman resource training, as well asones that stress the development ofautomated processes that allow us tooffer timely, accurate solutions to ourend users' service needs.

The engine behind PASC's ability toensure timely repairs is our ability todeliver parts, accessories, and serviceliterature to our network of factory ser-vice centers, independent servicers,and dealers in a timely manner. We arenow seeing the results of over a decadeof continued investment in the modern-ization of our facilities. The primary pointof support for all replacement parts andservice literature is the National PartsCenter in Kent, Washington. From here,and with further support from sales &marketing staff and field staff through-out our U.S. regions, we handle a widevariety of inquiries and fill just about anyrequest made of us.

Customer ContactGenerally, the first line of customer

support is provided by our order officeslocated in Kent, Washington. This officehandles a wide variety of customer callsranging from simple parts orders torequests to do research on uniquemodel numbers. Currently, the orderoffice handles an average of 1,800 callsa day just for taking orders, as well astake an average of 250 calls from cus-tomers requesting such things as esti-mated shipping time, return authoriza-tions, processing credits, and specialorders. Also, the office receives over1,000 faxes daily. In addition to all this,we offer retail customers toll -free phoneand fax numbers to call and order liter-ature, parts, or any of our comprehen-sive line of accessories.

In order to further improve our level ofservice, we've made significant invest-ments in phone management systemsto improve our efficiency. Data gatheredfrom these systems graphically depictwork load volume, peak times, and aver-age call length on a daily basis, and givemanagement a true picture of whereadditional improvements are needed.

Our staff includes representativeswhich reach out to the field as well.Regional parts accessory representa-tives call on distributors, independentservicers, dealers, and even end users,to assess their needs. With a compre-hensive portfolio of sales programs andpromotional items, they are able to offerprofitable opportunities to small andlarge businesses alike. Along the way,they are able to keep in touch with theever changing needs of all, and makethe necessary recommendations to ourmarket development personnel.

Our commitment doesn't stop with ourinternal efforts. We also maintain a net-work of over 40 authorized independentparts and accessory distributors whoare well positioned to support our widerange of customers in various marketsthroughout the country.

Parts and Service LiteratureDistribution

Once we've established what our cus-tomer needs, we have to get it to them.That's the job of over 125 employeesthat staff our parts and service literaturewarehouse in Kent. The building is aquarter mile long, and encompasses228,000 square feet, which houses over110,000 line items and 2.8 millionpieces.

The warehouse day begins at 6:00a.m. There are over 2,000 parts ordersbeing processed at any given time. Inorder to manage such an overwhelmingtask, procedures have been created thatallow us to meet our goal of having allorders shipped within 24 hours. By theend of the day, the facility will haveshipped approximately 2,700 parts andliterature orders, which consist of over

7,000 line items, and over 35,000 pieces!Through the use of bar coding, and a

RF (radio frequency) based receivingsystem, we are able to reduce the turnaround time for receiving and stockingmaking goods available to the customereven sooner.

We have recently completed ourinvestment in the modernization of ourwarehouse operations. This includesthe expanded use of RF and bar codesthroughout the facility, conveyors,carousels and a new software system.Designed to create a paperless envi-ronment, this comprehensive, state ofthe art installation enables us to providefaster, error free service to our cus-tomers as well as positioning Matsushitafor the next decade.

Finally, in our effort to be earth friend-ly, the warehouse has been a leader inthe effort to recycle. It all started fouryears ago when we began to usebiodegradable packing material. Today,we have a comprehensive program torecycle all paper, cardboard, aluminumcans, and pallets. We make an effort topurchase recycled product when it isavailable. In recognition of our efforts,we were designated a "DistinguishedBusiness in the Green" by King County.

The FutureThere will be a continued emphasis

on expansion of our customers' ability togo "on line" with PASC, not just for orderentry and order inquiry, but also for cred-it and return procedures.

Internally, with systems that our cus-tomers don't directly see, we move fur-ther into the information age. Not onlydo our purchasing agents continue toemploy CD-ROM information systems,we are now on line with our factories inJapan for inquiry purposes, a capabilitywe plan to expand to selected aspectsof our market. The use of bar coding willcontinue to expand.

Our goal for the future is customer sat-isfaction, not just for our direct customer,but anyone who comes in contact withPanasonic, Technics, or Quasar.


Matsushita OriginalReplacement Parts and Accessories

Nothing less than total satisfaction is expected by today's customers. The onlyway to live up to this standard is by using Matsushita Original Replacement Partsand Accessories. The source of this quality is Panasonic Services Company andyour Authorized Replacement Parts Distributor. Consult the list below, or call1-800-545-2672 for the location nearest you.

CALIFORNIA MINNESOTAAndrews Electronics (CN/M/A) 25158 Avenue Stanford. Santa Clank' 91355 800-289.0300* FAX SI10-289-0301AVAC Corp. (V) * 3746 Bradview Dr.. Sacramento 95827 916-361-7491 FAX 916-361-5480Blakeman Wholesale IV) 1800 E. Walnut St. Fullerton. 92631 * 714-680-6800 * FAX 714-680-8700Cass Electronics (CN/M/A) ((II Seventh Ave.. Oakland 946(16 510-839-2493 or 800-289-0300(outside 510) * FAX 510-465-5927E and K Parts. Inc. ICN/M/A I * 2115 Westwood Blvd.. Los Angeles 90025 * 800-331-8263 or3111-475-6848 * FAX 800-826-0890 or 3111-474-1)846Pacific Coast Parts 1C/V/M/A) 151)24 Staff Court. Gardena 90248 800.421-5080 FAX 800-782-5747Star For Parts t V) 10727 Commerce Way. Suite B. Fontana. 92335 909-4284404 ` FAX 91.19-428-3213

COLORADOStar For Parts (VI * 235(1 Arapahoe St.. Denver 81)2(15 3111-296-2117 FAX 303-296-2120

CONNECTICUTSignal Electronics Supply. Inc. (C/M/A) 589 New Park Ave.. West Hanford 06110 860-213-8551 FAX 860-233-8554

FLORIDAHerman Electronics (CN/M/A) 7350 N.W. 35th Terrace. Miami 33122 800-938-4376" FAX 800-938-4377Layco, Inc. (C/V/M/A) 501 S. Main St.. Crests icy, 32536 850-682-0321 FAX 850-682-8820Vance Baldwin IC/M/AI 27(11 W. McNab Road. Pompano Beach. 33(169 800-432-8542 954-969-1811* FAX 954-969-0226 800-552-1431Vance Baldwin IC/M/A) 18(11 N.E. 2nd Ave.. Miami 33132 305-379-4794 *FAX 305-173-8855Vance Baldwin (CN/M/A) 1)07 N. Nimes Ave.. Tampa 33607 *800-299-1007 FAX 813-870-1088

GEORGIABuckeye Vacuum CI (V) 2870 Plant Atkinson Rd.. Smyrna 10080 404-351-7300 FAX 404-351-73(17Wholesale Industrial IC/M/A) 5925 Peachtree Corners East. Norcross 30071 770-447-8436" FAX 770-447-1(17%

ILLINOIS11-B & W. Inc. (C/V/M) 2137 S. Euclid Ave.. Berwyn 60402 708-749-1710 FAX 708-749-(1325Hese°. Inc. (V) 6633 N. Milwaukee Ave.. Niles 60714 * 847-647-6700 " FAX 847-647-0534Joseph Electronics. Inc. (C/M/A) 8830 N. Milwaukee Ave.. Niles 60714 847-297-4208* FAX 847-297-6923Union Electronic Dist. (CN/M/A)* 311 E. Corning Rd.. Beecher. IL 60401 800-648-6657 or708-946-9500 * FAX 80X643 -UNION or 708-946-9200

INDIANAElectronic Service Parts ICN/M1* 2901 E. Washington St.. Indianapolis 4621)1 317-269-1527 FAX 800-809-1220

MARYLANDTritronics. Inc. iCN/M/A) 1306 Continental Dr.. Abingdon 21009-2334 800-638.3328* FAX 800-888-FAXD

MASSACHUSETTSTee Vee Supply Co. (C/V/M/A) 407 R Mystic Ave.. PO Box 649. Medford 1(2155 781-395-9440 FAX 781-391-8020

MICHIGANAllied National (V)* 132711 Capital Avenue. Oak Park 48237 * 800-730-5696 FAX 800-999-8099G. NI. Popkey Co. (C/V/M/A)* 500 W. Greenbrooke Dr. S.E.. Grand Rapids 49512 800-444-3920 or616-698-2390 FAX 616-698-1)794Remcor Electronics (CN/M/A) * 10670 W. Nine Mile Rd.. Oak Park 48237 248-541-5666

FAX 248-39/1-1016

CODING: IC) Consumer Electronic Parts (V) Vacuum Parts NII Major Appliance Parts IA) Accessories

AVAC Corp. IV ) * 666 University Ave.. St Paul 551(4 612-222-0763 * FAX 612-224-2674Ness Electronics, Inc. IC/V/M/A) 441 Stinson Blvd. N.E.. Minneapolis 55413 612-623-9505 FAX 612-623-9540

MISSOURICititronix, Inc. (C/V/M/A) 1641 !Neiman Rd.. St. Louis 63132 8(X0-846-2484 or 314-427-3420 FAX 314-427-3360Tacony Corp. IV) 1760 Gilsinn Lane. Fenton 63026 314-349-30(8) a FAX 314-349-2333

NEVADAMC%I Electronics (CN/M/A) 495 East Parr Blvd.. Reno 89512 800-543-4330 FAX 513-434-6959 (OH)

NEW JERSEYPanson Electronics. ICN/M/A) 1-80 and New Maple Ave. PO Box 2003. Pine Brook 07058 800-255-5229 or 973-244-2400 FAX 800-332-3922

NEW YORKDale Electronics (C/V/M/A) * 7 E. 20th St.. New York City 10003 212-475-1124 * FAX 212-475-1963Fox International. Inc. (CN/M/A)* 24)-A Central Ave.. Farmingdale. 11735 800-321-6993 or516-694-1354 ' FAX 516-694-0595Radio Equipment Corp. (C/A) 196 Vulcan St.. Buffalo 14207 716-874-2690 FAX 716-874-2698Standard Electronics (CN/M/A) 215 John Glenn Dr.. Amherst 14228 800-333-1519 OR 716-691-3371 FAX 800-318-1241Star For Parts IV) 250 Rahro Drive E.. Hauppauge 11788-0255 * 800-525-6(46 FAX 516-348-7160

OHIOElectric Sweeper CoJESSCO (V) 7800 Huh Parkway. Valley View 44125-5711 * 8110-321-2664 FAX 216-524-4142Fox International. Inc. (CN/M/A) 2360 Aurora Rd.. Bedford Heights 44146 4406439-8500 FAX 800-445-7991MCM Electronics (CN/M/A1 650 Congress Park Dr.. Centerville 45459-4072 800-5434330 or917 434 0011 FAX 937-434-6939

OREGONDiversified Parts (CN/M/A)* 2114 S.E. 9th Ave.. Portland 97214-4615 800-338-6342 FAX 800-952-0602Northwest (Nholesale (V) 426 N.E. Davi, St.. Portland 97232 800-234-8227 or 503-232-7114 FAX 503-212-7115

PENNSYLVANIASteel City Vacuum Co.. Inc. (V) 919 Penn Ave.. Pittsburgh 15221 800-822-1199 or 412-731-0300 FAX 412-711-3205

TENNESSEEElectrotex. Inc. (C/V/M/A) 6122 Macon Rd.. Memphis 38134 * 901-383-9300 FAX 901-388-0258Shields Electronics Supply. Inc. (CN/M/A) 4722 Middlebrook Pike. Knoxville 37921 423-588-2421

FAX 423-588-343

TEXASF:lectrotex. Inc. (CN/IVVA) 2300 Richmond Ave.. Houston 77098-3299 713-526-1456' FAX 713-619-6400Electrotex. Inc. (CN/M/A) 1200 W. Hildebrand. San Antonio 78201 210-735-9271 FAX 210-737-2642Fox International (CN/M) 752 S. Shemran. Richardson 75081 800-321-6993 or 216-439-8500 FAX 81O-445-7991VCP International. Inc. (V) 2285 Merritt Dr.. Garland 75040 972-271-7474 FAX 972-278-5981

WISCONSING. M. Popkey Company (CNNI/A) 2035 Larsen Ave.. Green Bay 54307-2237 920-497-0400 FAX 92)1-497-4894C NI Popkey Company 4CN/M/A I 2355 S. Calhoun Rd.. New Berlin 53151 414-786-5887

FAX 414-786-9031

Panasonic Services Company20421 84th Avenue South, Kent, Washington 98032

Panasonic ® Technics Quasar®


Philips Software Development401 East Old Andrew Johnson HighwayJefferson City, TN 37760Phone: 423-475-0393Fax: 423-475-0178

The Software Development department grew out of aneffort to create the best electronic service manual programpossible. From this effort, we have embraced the goal to"Develop the most user friendly software products for theservice industry".

The criteria we used in developing our electronic servicemanual program:

1. An electronic service manual program has to be FASTto allow a technician to make the most of their time. Accessto diagrams and other information needs to be simpleand fast.

2. It had to be COMPATIBLE with all other manufacturers.In order to prevent servicers from having to have multiplesystems, our program is designed to be flexible to accom-modate any manufacturers service manual data.

3. The most challenging and important is that our programhad to OVERCOME EVERY COMPLAINT we could imag-ine concerning the use of paper manuals.

Overcoming every complaint was most difficult. There areso many problems to using paper manuals. This is a shortlist of problems we worked to overcome:

Manuals get lost on one bench, under other manuals anddo not get refilled.

Tracing signals through a manual is time consumingand difficult.

Finding any information in a manual takes too long. The diagrams are printed too small for most people. It takes too long to order and receive a manual when it

is needed. Storing paper manuals takes up too much floor space in

the shop. Paper manuals take up too much bench space when

opened to view the diagram. Keeping paper manuals updated in a timely manner

is difficult. Paper manuals lack an up to date history of known fixes

and troubleshooting techniques. Paper manuals cost too much. Every company makes their manual in a different style.We considered every one of these complaints and

designed FORCE, our service manual program, to overcomethese and many more complaints. FORCE makes everymanual available to every technician at the same time. Itincludes Hot Spot signal tracing that quickly jump from onediagram to another. Location information for components cir-cuits, diagram name, and all Known Faults are included. Wecan deliver our manuals via the Internet as well as update itat any time. We allow you to make notes about any fix thatyou find. In addition, we are soliciting consumer electronicscompany wishing to make manuals in this style to join us.

FORCE is user friendly and can improve productivity somuch that every technician will soon have his or her own

computer. We see productivity improving by 10% to 30%,depending on the technician's use and the kind of productsworked on. It costs only 1% of that productivity improvementto put a computer in the hands of every technician.

How to distribute and useelectronics manuals

CD-ROMS can be used to distribute manuals but to usemanuals while on a ROM has problems. ROMs slow themanual down, eliminate your ability to make notes on dia-grams, limit usage to one technician at a time, and if youdon't file them, they can get lost.p

We want to update your manuals daily with new fix infor-mation, corrections to part numbers, and make sure yourdiagrams are accurate. We can do this through the Internetmost effectively.

What are the main featuresof FORCE?

Diagram zooming and panning is very fast. Part numbers can be linked to pricing to allow orders or

fast estimates. Our manuals are small, 500k for a regular TV to 3meg

for a large VCR. We allow distribution via CD-ROM or over the Internet. Instant access to all parts of a service manual insures a

speedy repair. Signal flow from circuit to circuit is as fast as a tag and

a jump. Keep a fix hstory of all repairs. Draw a box on a diagram, type a note, and from then on

its viewability by everyone using the manual. Force was designed from the beginning to be used by

all manufacturers.The FUTURE of FORCE is growth and expansion. We are

adding many more features: Cause voltage measurements to appear on -screen and

remain there while you diagnose a problem. Draw or wr to on a diagram, save it and FAX it to a

help line. Link via modem to any compatible help line to exchange

ideas on a repair. Allow NARDA claims to be generated and electronically

filed right from the job.There are more features being planned and we expect

technicians to make suggestions that turn into even morenew features.

The Software Development Department is ready to helpany company make manuals that work with Force. We wantto overcome the last complaint about paper manuals andfinally produce manuals that are easy and intuitive to use.FORCE is designed to do just that.



Philips Service Solutions GroupPO Box 555401 E. Old Andrew Johnson HighwayJefferson City, TN 37760Phone: 800-851-8885Fax: 800-535-3715

PHILIPS SERVICE COMPANY is fastbecoming known as the PHILIPS SER-VICE SOLUTIONS GROUP. We havechanged our name because it betterdescribes who we are and what weoffer TIMELY SOLUTIONS for all ofyour parts, accessories, and servicingneeds. In addition to stocking genuinefactory replacement parts, PhilipsService Solutions Group has a completeline of BK Precision test equipment,Sencore test equipment, and a fullline of Chemtronics Chemicals andService Aids, in addition to a vast arrayof Magnavox Accessories.

Easy to Do Business With

Toll Free Order Line - 800-851-8885Toll Free Fax Line - 800-535-3715Courteous and knowledgeable phone

representatives are available Mondaythrough Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. ESTand Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00

_ Audio_____ Accessories

/ 996 -

Priwhict

SmartPeirtsGenuine Philips Parts...The Intelhgent choice

p.m. EST and are ready to take yourorder or assist you with on-line pricing and availability infor-mation. A toll free fax is also available 24 -hours a day, 7 daysa week for customers to fax their orders. A confirmation ofyour order can be returned upon request indicating the ordernumber and item availability.

Accessories: Added -Value ElectronicsPhilips offers a full line of added -value electronics in the

form of Magnavox and SouthWestern Bell branded acces-sories. We have something to enhance everyone's enjoy-ment of their electronic products. Shop us for all your needsin Surge Protection, Audio/Video Tapes, Audio, VideoCables, Universal Remotes, Observation Systems,Telephone Accessories, Audio/Video Cleaning Products,Camcorder Batteries/Chargers, VCR/Camcorder acces-sories and much, much, more. Also, ask about our FREEpersonalized accessory display ($500 minimum purchase).

No Hassle Return PolicyIn our continued effort to be easy to do business with Philips

offers a 30 -day No Hassle Return policy. The details of thispolicy are provided on the back of your packing sl p, andenable the servicer to maximize this turnaround time of

customer repairs and estimates by allowing the return of newparts within 30 -days of purchase with No Hassle.

Customer Service DepartmentServicers are encouraged to contact our Customer Service

Department if they experience any problems with their or-ders, parts returns, or account. Associates are trained toresolve most problems while you are on the phone. TheCustomer Service Department can be reached through theParts and Accessories ordering number 1-800-851-8885.

Making Things Better

Reduced PricingIn our effort to continually make things better, Philips

Service Solutions Group reduced its parts pricing in late 1996representing a reduction in price from 2% - 23% for many ofour most popular items such as tuners, remotes, and trans-formers. There have been no significant changes since thattime to increase pricing and we continue to review to ensurewe remain competitive in our pricing. We believe in offeringthe highest quality products as the best possible price.



electro dynamics, inc.Leading The Way in the USA7 Oser Avenue, Hauppauge, NY 11788-3808Phone: 1-800-426-6423Fax: 1-800-873-2948

There is no time like the future...... And the future is now. The con-

vergence of the home electronics andpersonal computer marketplace is nolonger a discussion or theory. It is nowa fact. The only question left is howmuch time remains before these twoindustries consolidate into one. With BillGates investing over $1 billion dollarsinto cable providers, and other hard-ware / software competitors pledgingallegiance, it would appear that thebusiness plan is already in place.Business models are being adjusted.Marketing and distribution efforts arebeing modified to comply. Support sys-tems will have to be created. Distributorsand manufacturers are scrambling tounderstand, and to manage, this newemerging marketplace.

What is the CrossoverConvergence?

As the communications and enter-tainment marketplace embrace the newdigital era, information distribution vehi-cles will convert to full digital technolo-gy. Simply, put this means that the tele-vision and VCR that you use on a dailybasis will soon utilize the same compo-nents as your personal computer. Beltsand idlers will be replaced by flashmemory and micro -controllers. Infor-mation will be transmitted as binarycode not as an analog signal. Whatwere two succinctly different markets,are now one.

How will it affect our industry?The replacement parts distribution

companies that have prepared for thisconvergence of technologies will be theones ready to meet the needs of theircustomers. Those that have not prop-erly prepared will not be able to providethe proper services.

EDI is ReadyInformation is the commodity of the

new digital era. Information is the keyto any service center's future. To pre-pare for this new commodity EDI has

formed alliances with service compa-nies that consolidate and supply perti-nent, valid, and concise information toservice centers globally.

We have engaged in marketing anddistribution efforts that will bring thisinformation to the service centerscheaper and quicker than ever before.We have invested in the developmentof this information for future technolo-gies and for future delivery platforms.

We're not looking towards tomorrow-we've brought tomorrow to our cus-tomers today.

"...TV is now on a collisioncourse with the PC - a

modest little $125 billionindustry. Companies onboth sides of the fenceare jumping into theconvergence game, bid-

ding up the stakes to

dizzying levels."

Robert H. Reid, 'The Real Revolution',WIRED, page 122, October 1997

Company evolutionFor more than 14 years, Electro

Dynamics has been importing and dis-tributing television, VCR, computermonitors and other peripheral electron-ic replacement components. As thegrowth of the computer service andmaintenance marketplace becameapparent, EDI crossed over into thismarket in 1989. EDI's customer basereaches from local and family ownedrepair service centers to global corpo-rations in the United States, Canada,Europe and South America.

Our current penetration level into themarketplace allows for power purchas-ing. Our active customer base will coi-

tinue to aid and develop that penetra-tion level for years to come. We haveinsured that position by extending ourcustomer base and by expanding ourproduct line. Through this growth andplanning, EDI has created a niche foritself into other growing marketplacessuch as government installations, majoreducational institutions and medicalresearch facilities.

Why do we want to help advance ourcustomers' success?

The core philosophy of our company isbased on three concepts; service, serviceand service. If our customers do not succeedin making this crossover we will not succeed.At EDI we know that it is our customers thatmake our success and we never stop improv-ing our service to our customers. This is ournumber one concern.

EDI is a highly engineered, productspecific, future involved company. Itsbusiness model has been constructedof the right materials, formulated, test-ed and refined over the course of 14years. Its corporate culture and struc-ture has been constantly adapted anddesigned for the future and the imme-diate needs of the marketplace. Thishas been accomplished by an ongoingdedication to planning and forecasting.These kinds of accomplishments havetaken personal as well as financialcommitment.

EDI realized the future was upon us,and prepared for the day when the con-sumer electronics and computer ser-vice marketplace would crossover andbecome one. We embraced this emerg-ing marketplace, and are prepared toprovide the next generation of serviceand parts for the new niche created bythis convergence.

Our vision and dedication make ussuccessful, our leadership, capabilitiesand commitment make our customerssuccessful too.

Electra Dynamics - Your Partnerof Choice, Today and Tomorrow


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The Future is Here, and It's Name is Convergerce.

EDI realized the future was upon us, and preparec forthe day when the ccnsume- electronics and computerservice marketplace would crossover and becomeone. We embraced this emerging marketplace, and areprepared to provide the next generation of service andparts for the new niche created by tiis convergence.Our vision and dedication make us successful, ourleadership, capabilities and commitment make ourcustomers successful too.

Electro Dynamics - Your Partner of Choice,Today and Tomorrow!

electro dynamics, nc.Leading The Way in the USATM

1117 Oser Avenue, Hauppauce, NY 11788-3808

NATIONWIDE TOLL FREE PH oNE:1-800-1-AM-NICE [800-426-64231NATIONWIDE TOLL FREE FAX: 1-800-813-2948 International in 511-496-4166 International Phone: 516-496-4400


dear° dynamics, incLead ng The Way in the USA


PRIMItil DISTRIBUTOR

Herman Electronics7350 Herman WayMiami, FL 33122Phone: 800-938-4376Fax: 800-938-4377

Herman Electronics is a diverse and multi-faceted full -line distributor of everything in elec-tronics, committed to offering only the best in orig-inal replacement parts, everything in serviceaccessories, and most importantly, customer ser-vice to their customers. In business for over 35years, Herman Electronics has clearly establisheditself as one of the leaders in the industry by pro-viding only quality products and outstanding cus-tomer service to all facets of the electronics indus-try. The heartbeat of the company lies in the OEMparts department. While serving the industry forover 3 decades. Herman has many of the majorOEM parts lines enabling them to provide moreefficient and cost effective service to you, their val-ued customer. The company prides itself on beinga SINGLE source to the service industry.

Herman Electronics is one of the largest origi-nal replacement parts and accessory distributorsin the country and is factory authorized for most ofthe major brands. In addition, Herman Electronicsis the source for everything in service accessories.Their new catalog, published three times a year.includes everything in technicians' aids, tools, sol-

der & de -soldering equipment, test equipment,audio/video accessories, chemicals and muchmore, all from the industry's leading manufactur-ers. Stocking one of the largest and most com-prehensive inventories in the country enables thecompany to fill over 80% of their orders from inven-tory and guarantees SAME DAY shipment of allin -stock orders placed before 5:30 PM (EST).

Herman Electronics provides a variety of cus-tomer support services as a result of their commit-ment to customer service excellence. They haveseveral professional customer service representa-tives to serve all your needs from 8:30 am to 6 00pm. (EST) Monday through Friday. The companyprides itself on being accommodating to its cus-tomers in order to provide complete customer sat-isfaction. "We realize there are many good dist'ib-utors throughout the country," says Jeffrey A. Wolf,President and son of one of the company'sfounders. "It is our job to EXCEED customers'expectations by taking that extra step in providingthe highest level of professional, personalized ser-vice. This industry has quickly become service dri-ven and therefore it is our focus and dedicatior to

maintain a standard of excellence in customer ser-vice. As the year 2000 rapidly approaches we mustcontinue to develop innovative ideas and freshapproaches to meet and exceed the demands thatlie ahead." And the company is doing just that.On-line computer services, a 24 -hour electronictelephone ordering system, EDI, the world wideweb and on-line parts research, just to name a few.

If you haven't given Herman Electronics a try,please do so today. Call to request a copy of theirnew catalog or simply visit them on the world -wide -web at hermanelectronics.com and experiencethe true HERMAN ADVANTAGE.

yam YOU NEEDW

rr...WE HAVE IT!

THE HERMAN ADVANTAGEAll In -Stock Orders Placed Before 5:30 PM EST Are Shipped the Same Day.

FREE or DISCOUNTED Air Freight Program

RAPID RESPONSE tc All Research Requests.

PROFESSIONAL Customer Service Representatives to Serve Your Every Need

CONSOLIDATE YOUR BUYING and purchase all the major lines from ONE SOURCE.

NO MINIMUM ORD ER

Phone: 8009384316 Fax Order Line: 8009384311ORIG JP 1.1,1.1tR,alSONY KENWOOD Panasonic Rim

EVIEWC.° TOSHIBA Tecimicsnuat's-ar HITACHI 4.1a=1P Pk( )S( \N

ONKYO

HMI mulhorizet1 Distributor For_rte73507350 HERMAN WAY

MIAMI, FL 33122Address: info crhermanelectronics.com

Web page: www.hermanelectronics.com

Call fo our copy of our new catalog!26 Electronic Servicing & Technology August 1998 Circle (67) on Reply Card


MCM Electronics650 Congress Park DriveCenterville, OH 45459Phone: 800-543-4330Fax: 800-765-6960www.mcmelectronics.com

MCM Electronics, Your Source ForService Parts And Accessories

For over 20 years, MCM has been a lead-ing supplier to the electronic serviceindustry. Stocked are literally thousandsof repair parts used in all aspects of con-sumer electronics repair. As authorizeddistributors for Denon, ECG, GE,Magnavox, Panasonic, Philips, Quasar,RCA and Technics, we have the exactreplacement items you need. For thebench, we stock a broad selection of toolsand technician aids from trusted nameslike Chemtronics, Tech Spray, Caig,Xcelite, Crescent, Klein, Weller, Ungar,and Hakko. Not to mention test equipmentfrom Tenma, Fluke, BK Precision, Hitachi,

Sencore, Leader, Triplett, Simpson andTektronix.

Discover The MCM ElectronicsDifference

MCM publishes two full-sized catalogsannually. The latest issue boasts over5000 new p-oducts, and features over 100pages devoted solely to semiconductors,repair parts and accessories. In all, MCMstocks over 39,000 items essential to theservice industry. Sales flyers are mailedregularly featuring specially p -iced itemsand new product additions keeping thecustomers Jp to date on the latest avail-able products.

Superior Customer ServiceThe MCM staff is trained to answer all

calls fast, friendly and efficiently. All salesrepresentatives are professionals who areavailable Monday through Friday from7:00 am to 9:00 pm EST, and Saturdayfrom 9:00 am to 6:00 pm EST. Faxedorde-s are also accepted 24 hours a day,seven days a week. MCM also provideshighly trained electronics technicians toanswer customer product questions. Witha separate toll -free "Tech Line," customersreceive prompt answers to their questionsby calling 1 -800 -824 -TECH (8324).

Fast Delivery From Two DistributionFacilities

MCM is committed to providing superi-or customer service. Distribution centersstrategically located near Reno, NV andDayton, OH, enable fast delivery atgrouid rates throughout the U.S. In addi-tion, with over 39,000 items stocked, 99%of all orders are shipped within 24 hours.In fact, all in stock orders received by 5:00pm "OUR TIME are shipped the SAMEDAY! For more information and a free cat-alog, call 1-800-543-4330, in Dayton, OHcall 1-937-434-0031.

Order#72-4

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with Logic Function3/ digit DMM provides all of the functions you see in more costly meters, plus-sEnsistor h. measurement and logic test. Call MCM today and receive thismeter with protective holster for this incredible low price. AC/DC voltage measurement to

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Regular price 565.95Technicians have come to know MCM as the undisputedleader in supplying the service industry. Our 20+ yearsexperience, selection of over 39,000 stocked items andsame day shipping have set the standard for ourindustry nationwide. Get the complete MCM picture.

When ordering, please provide CODE: ES105

1-800-543-4330www.mcmelectronics.com

MCM ELECTRONICS650 CONGRESS PARK DR.CENTERVILLE. OH 45459A PREMIER FARNELL Company

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Price effective Aug. 1 thru Sept. 11, 1998 Same Day Shipping! In stock orders received by 5 00 p.m. (YOUR TIME), are shipped the same day.

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B & D EnterprisesMain & Liberty StreetRussell, PA 16345Phone: 888-815-0508Fax: 814-757-5400

#1 IN EXPERIENCESince 1976 B&D Enterprises and their par-

ent company have been entrusted by the man-ufacturers to be their authorized distributor inthe United States. Companies such as Sanyo,Sanken, Shindengen, and NEC have agreed tolet us represent them for the distribution of theirsemiconductor products. At B&D you'll find 22+years of accumulated product knowledge andfactory supported sales. No other distributorcan match our experience level in the Japanesesemiconductor market. Our engineering libraryalone covers more than 25yrs of componentsand all of the major Japanese manufacturers.

JAPANESE SEMICONDUCTORSB&D Enterprises stocks more than 10,000

line items. Specializing in Japanese semicon-ductors, we can help you solve your compo-nent problem. We also stock an extensiveinventory of discontinued and hard to finditems. Our purchasing history and cross-refer-

ence knowledge of the products is 2nd to none!The engineering office number for technicalsupport is 814-757-8300. In addition to Sanyo,Sanken, Shindengen, and NEC, other linessupported are Fuji, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Mitsubishi,Panasonic, Rohm, Sansha, and Sony. We alsostock various components made by I.R., G.I.,Motorola, National, SGS/Thomson, andPhilips. When it comes to semiconductors,other distributors depend on us, and we're nowavailable to you the consumer as well!

CONVENIENCE!Located in Western Pennsylvania B&D

offers 2nd day air (up to 5lbs.) in the continen-tal U.S. for only $3.95! Also our minimum orderis only $15.00! We use UPS and Fedex to bestsupport our customers with orders shippedsame day up to 4:00pm EST. Our businesshours are 8:OOam-7:OOpm EST and we gladlyaccept MasterCard, Visa, American Express,and COD's (company check or cash).

'

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1-800-458-6053TECH SUPPORT 11114-157-831/0

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FACTORY AUTHORIZED SUPPORTAt B&D we are a family run business that

believes in supporting the sale with service.From spec sheets to pricing we will do what ittakes to ensure your satisfaction! We handlemajor OEM's, distributors, brokers, repairdepots, and small business concerns.

B&D-"Where we're big enough to serve you,but small enough to know you! IN

4fa W4svp FACTORY AUTHORIZED SEMICONDUCTOR DISTRIBUTION FOR:

Call today for your FREE catalog!

*.111.1.4:if411457711140.1J J .1)

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PO BOX 460 MAIN R. LIBERTY RUSSELL, PA 16345

(4:1itco\riVt 44,

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REDUCED PRICES ON

ORDER TOLL FREE!

TECH SUPPORT 814-757-8300FAX 814-757-5400

BUSINESS HOURS: 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM EST

Visit our Web Site at www.bdent.com

(AND MANY OTHERS!)

1000'S OF ITEMS

MINIMUM ORDER.ONLY 515.00C.O.D. ACCEPTED

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Circle (63) on Reply Card40 Electronic Servicing & Technology August 1998


Andrews Electronics25158 Avenue StanfordSanta Clarita, CA 91355Phone: 800-289-0300Fax: 800-289-0301

Andrews Electronics is housed in 50,000square feet of warehousing and officespace. Miles of shelving are arranged forimmediate identification and easy accessi-bility for over 250,000 different parts thatwe carry.

Maintaining an inventory of this size hasbeen the cornerstone of our success as theO.E.M. parts distribution industry leader. Itprovides us with an average first pass fillrate of above 90% and makes us the largestsupplier in America for the manufacturersthat we represent. Our fill rate is calculat-ed on not only everything that is orderedbut also on every call or fax that we receivefor availability, even if it isn't ordered! Ourdealer order desk has 32 available salesrepresentatives to handle all of your order-ing needs.

We've built our reputation on a very sim-ple philosophy.... service. Not very fancy,but very effective. Our constant growthattests to it. You see, all of our policies thathave been developed over the years havebeen based on that one simple thought:"How may we better serve the industry?"How about:

14 major brands to save you time,frustration, and money with "one -stopshopping."

Orders placed before 2:30 PST are rou-tinely shipped the same day.

A freight program that offers free anddiscounted shipping.

No minimum orders or handlingcharges.

Automatic backorder reports withETA's mailed bi-weekly.

A fast, highly -efficient research de-partment, second to none.

A program that converts make/modeldescriptions to part numbers instantly forthe majority of research requests.

24 -hour toll -free phone and faxorder lines.

Over 100 full-time employees waitingto serve your needs.

Our already outstanding freight pro-gram has been drastically improved! Theminimum qualifying amount has been cutin half and the 2 day air discount has beenalmost doubled! Even if an order is belowthe minimum, we'll ship it blue label at the3 day select rate! With this type of ship-ping program, we're a lot closer than youmight think.

In case you've heard this elsewherebefore, now's the time to let us prove it to

you. By investing a mere two minutes ofyour time. you can discover what thou-sands of others have: that there is a differ-ence. When you place your next order with

your local supplier, check the availability ofall the items. Then call or fax Andrews andcheck our stock levels. We believe you'll bepleasantly surprised! Wouldn't gettingthose extra units repaired a week or twosooner be good for your reputation? Sureit would! And we can help! After all is saidand done, it is performance that counts. Weknow that your ability to perform your jobdepends on how well we perform ours. Ourregular office hours are from 8:15 to 4:45PST and we're closed for lunch between12:00 and 12:30. When you think of elec-tronic parts...think of Andrews.

a9 apdrewselectronics

Stocking the Largest Inventory of O.E.M. Parts,Accessories, and Service Literature in the Country

AIWAHITACHI

OPTONICAQUASARSHARP

RCA'PROSCAN+

GE+TOSHIBA

SONYJVC

PANASONICTECHNICS

ZENITH'Premier

OVER 1/4 MILLIONDIFFERENT PARTS IN STOCK.

SHIPPED THE SAME DAY !

.7 Over a 90% Fill Rate

.7 FREE or DiscountedFreight Program

.7 No Minimum Orders

.7 Backorder Reports with ETAsMailed Biweekly

.7 No Handling Charges

.7 Fast, Efficient Research

.7 Factory Authorized ipplie, to milers n.(141, ed In 2: Co PSI

Phone (800) 289-0300 Fax (800) 289-030125158 Avenue Stanford Santa Clarita, CA 91355

Inquiries (805) 257-7700 Fax (805) 295-5162Circle (62) on Reply Card



Howard W. Sams & Company2647 Waterfront Parkway East DriveIndianapolis, IN 46214Phone: 1-800-428-7267Fax: 1-800-552-3910Web site: http://www.hwsams.com

Howard W. Sams & Company isproud to be celebrating 50 years asthe nation's leading technical pub-lisher. Since its inception in 1946,Sams has seen its product offeringsexpand and diversify, so that today,Sams boasts the most complete line-up of technical documentation, ser-vices, and publications found any-where.

Over 50 years ago, Howard Samswas the first company to recognizethat the increasing popularity of homeentertainment electronics meant acorresponding demand for reliableservice documentation. This insightgave birth to the first PHOTOFACT®,which presented concise technicalinformation to help service techni-cians repair specific makes and mod-els of radios. Televisions soon wereadded to the product line, followed bycomputer equipment and then VCRs,further enhancing Sams' ability toprovide complete, consistent, high -quality repair information to servicetechnicians.

Today, Howard Sams is the nation'slargest provider of after -market ser-vice data for the television and VCRrepair industry in the form of thePHOTOFACT® and VCRfacts® sub-scription services, as well as throughelectronics distributors. Researchshows that 95 percent of the compa-nies providing after -market repair ser-vice for color televisions use Samstechnical data.

While PHOTO FACT® provided thefoundation for Howard Sams' rise tothe top of the technical publishingindustry, it is only a portion of what thecompany publishes today. Sams cur-rently offers a complete line of serviceproducts, distributor catalogs, techni-cal books, copy service, and custommanuals for a wide range of clients.

Another major part of the Samstechnical products line, PROMPT®Publications has grown to become

one of the top technical imprints inthe nation and one of Sams' bright-est stars. Concentrating its efforts ontechnical books designed both forthe novice and the experienced elec-tronics technician, PROMPT®published over 60 books in its firstfive years, with another 30 scheduledto go to press this year. Amongthe upcoming titles yet to be re-leased are Basic Home TheaterInstallation, Projection TV Trouble-shooting and Repair, Power SupplyTroubleshooting and Repair, andAudio Interfacing.

Each and every PROMPT® bookprovides a clear understanding of theprinciples involved in the installation,maintenance, and performance ofelectronic devices that have becomesuch a large part of our everydaylives. Some of PROMPT's mostrecent best-selling titles includeComputer Monitor Troubleshootingand Repair, 1998 Computer MonitorTroubleshooting Tips, and Cam-corder Troubleshooting and Repair.

Sams' photocopy service is anoth-er element of the company's busi-ness that provides invaluable infor-mation to its customers. With a libraryof hundreds of manufacturers cover-ing a wide range of product lines andthousands of models, Sams can pro-vide service documentation on mostany product, including TVs, VCRs,FAX machines, computers, micro-wave ovens, antique radios, plusmuch more.

Howard Sams experienced anoth-er historic growth year in 1995 as itwas acquired by Bell AtlanticDirectory Graphics, a member of theBell Atlantic family. The acquisitionwas a result of a successful strategicteaming agreement that started in1994, when BADG and Sams beganworking together to develop DATA -HOST® an industry -leading on-linecatalog delivery system.

The teaming agreement demon-strated that Directory Graphics' tech-nological skills combined with Sams'content -rich database and technicalcatalog expertise would lead to next -generation business -to -businessinformation products for both printand electronic delivery. Presently,Sams' five -million item database isbeing converted to a relational data-base platform, coined DATAHOSTO,The information contained in DATA -HOST® can be extracted from thedatabase and delivered to distributorcustomers through not only tradition-al print catalogs and niche catalogs,but also CD-ROMs and electronic on-line applications.

The growth of 1995 was followed byeven more expansion in 1996.Howard Sams created an on-linepresence at www.hwsams.com. Byvisiting this site, guests are treated tocomplete title summaries forPROMPT® books, as well as anentirely searchable version of the An-nual Index. The site also features aninteractive demonstration of theDATAHOST® cataloging system. Inaddition to the Web site, Sams addedthree national sales offices in 1996.National headquarters remain inIndianapolis, IN, with sales officesnow located in California, Florida, andPennsylvania.

Since its very creation, Howard W.Sams & Company has been settingthe standard by which every othertechnical publisher is judged. Manyhave tried, but few have succeededin matching the level of quality andcustomer satisfaction that Sams pro-vides with every one of its products.Sams is now taking its half -century oftechnical expertise into the next gen-eration, once again forging the paththat other publishers will try to follow.

To receive more information on anyof Sams' products or services, pleasecall 1-800-428-7267.


IC Cross Reference BookThird Edition

The completely updated third edition of this bestselling ref-erence book lists replacements and substitutions for morethan 35,000 ICs and modules. It is an easy -to -use guide andincludes part numbers for the United States, Europe, andthe Far East. The IC Cross Reference Book was compiledfrom manufacturers' data and from the analysis of consumerelectronics devices for PHOTOFACT service data which hasbeen relied upon since 1946 by service technicians world-wide. This book is divided into two sections with the first

section listing IC or module part numbers in alphanumeric order by manufacturers'part number and section two providing the substitutions and replacements.

Sams* 61141 $24.95 160 pages June 1998

PROMPT®PUBLICATIONS

Semiconductor Cross Reference BookFourth Edition

This newly revised and updated reference book is the mostcomprehensive guide to replacement data available forengineers, technicians, and those who work with semi-conductors. With more than 490,000 part numbers, typenumbers, and other identifying numbers listed, techni-cians will have no problem locating the replacement or substi-tution information needed. The Semiconductor Cross Reference Book covers allmajor types of semiconductors, including bipolar transistors, FETs, diodes, rectifiers, ICs,SCRs, LEDs, modules, and thermal devices.

Sams# 61080 $24.95 671 pages August 1996

EMICONCROSS

REFEREDUC TOR

NCE BOOKFourth Edition

IC CROSSREFERENCEBOOKBOO.-

=::vr=7"'

The Component Identifier & Source BookThis source book was written to assist technicians and systemdesigners in identifying components from prefixes and logos,as well as find sources for various types of microcircuits andother components. It will help readers cross reference com-ponent types to manufacturers, and also cross reference tradenames, abbreviations, and part number prefixes to the manu-facturer. There is not another book on the market that lists asmany manufacturers of such diverse electronic components.Sams# 61088 $24.95 383 pages November 1996

Bell Atlantic n,

Howard W. SamsCall for the Name of Your Local Sams Distributor!

(800) 428-72672647 Waterfront Parkway E. Drive Indianapolis, IN 46214Circle (110) on Reply Card


MAT Electronics(East Coast)400 Pike RoadHuntingdon, PA 19006-1118Phone: 800-628-1118Fax: 800-628-1005Website: www.matelectronics.com

"The On Time Electronics Distributor" is our mottoat MAT Electronics. and we have proudly served therepair industry for over 18 years. Over the past sev-eral years. MAT Electronics has striven to constantlyimprove our product lines, customer service andcompetitive pricing.

MAT Electronics has two locations to better serveour customers-our original location in Pennsylvania,and our office in Las Vegas, Nevada. The growth ofMAT Electronics has been due to the following: qual-ity product, competitive prices and fast, reliable ser-vice. The company's products are used by manu-facturers, engineers, hospitals, technical trainingschools, hobbyists and technicians.

MAT Electronics stocks an extensive line of TVand monitor flybacks, Japanese semiconductors,capacitors and MATV accessories. Recently MATElectronics has started to distribute original partsfrom Hitachi, NEC, Panasonic and Sony, at verycompetitive prices. The company publishes an easy -to -read, 124 -page catalog filled with thousands of

(West Coast)Phone: 800-811-5177Fax: 702-434-7509

inventoried items which can be accessed immedi-ately on our state-of-the-art computer system.

MAT Electronics is always current with ma-kettrends in the repair industry-always emphasizingwhat is new in electronic parts and components-for VCRs, TVs, computer monitors, stereos andmicrowaves. MAT Electronics sources its productsfrom around the world as well as domestically. tooffer the best merchandise at a true savings.

MAT Electronics has become a prominent dis-tributor in the surveillance industry, and is an autho-rized Sony, Phillips and ProVideo distributor.

MAT Electronics takes great pride in its ability toaccommodate the various needs of all our valuedcustomers-both in the U.S. and worldwide. Thecompany normally ships orders within 24 hours ofreceipt of your order, and UPS red and blue labelservice are available to ensure even faster deliveryservice if necessary.

Our customer service department features friend-ly and knowledgeable telephone operators on both

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coasts, who are waiting to take your phone call anddeal courteously with any questions you may haveabout any electronic part. If you don't see it in ourcatalog-just ask for it.

MAT Electronics takes the risk out of orderingfrom a catalog, offering a 90 -day, 100% guaranteeon all purchases. Large volume discounts arealso available. Our toll -free lines are open weekdays8:30 A.M. to 7 P.M. EST, and Saturdays from 8:30AM to 2:00 PM EST. The toll -free FAX number isavailable 24 hours a day, as is our new website:www.matelectronics.com

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CitiTronix/PansonAmerica's One Call Source for Brand Name Electronic Parts and Accessories®

More BrandsFactory authorized to distribute 21 major

brands, CitiTronix/Panson can fill your exactreplacement parts, kits and accessoriesneeds. Named a Premiere Distributor forThompson (GE, RCA. SK, ProScan),Exclusive Supplier of JCPenney Repair Partsand an Elite Distributor for Hitachi verifies thelevel of excellence you can expect fromCitiTronix/Panson. You can be confident thatyour major and secondary brand parts needswill be filled with one call.

More InventoryWith three warehouse distribution facilities

spanning the Midwest and upper East coast the"In -stock" parts inventories are larger than ever.

Faster ShippingYour order will be filled and shipped

from the most efficient location saving you timeand shipping costs. Free freight on backorders. Same day shipping on in -stock orders.

Outstanding Customer ServiceFriendly and knowledgeable customer ser-

vice representatives are ready to take your callfrom 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM CST. toll free 1-800-

846-2484 or fax any time to 1-8C0-397-8587.Warranty pricing and open line o' credit avail-able. To make your job easier and more effi-cient the fol owing information is available toyou: daily open order and shipped orderreporting along with line item ID to servicer'swork order number.

Superior Technical SupportAny question you have concerning part iden-

tification can be answered by one ofCitiTronix'Panson's highly trained parts spe-cialists. The company maintains an experi-enced staff dedicated to serving you and pro-viding exact replacement parts for yourservicing needs. Parts research is provided viathe On -Line system, or by calling 1-800-846-2484. This research includes helping you deter-mine the correct parts. A large collection ofmanufacturer's literature, microfiche and com-puter data is maintained for the sole purposeof assistirg you.

State -of -the -ArtDistribution Process

CitiTronix 'Panson maintains a state-of-the-art computerized telephone system, Fax, andOn-line computer system for communicating

with you. The highly computerized remote cus-tomer access system (P.A.R.T.S.8) is continu-ally updated and provides research capabilitiesas well as access to the complete combinedcompany inventories. You have immediateaccess to the customer service department,research help desk, fax and Dial-In/On-Lineremote access system with extensive data base,parts price/availability, model number to partnumber research, open order status and orderentry (P.A.R.T.S.8).

CitiTronix/PansonAmerica's One Call

Source for Brand NameElectronic Parts and

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VCR Troubleshooting & Repair,Second Edition, by Gregory Capello &Robert Brenner, Butterworth Hein-emann, 286 pages, paperback $19.95

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Continuing education in servicingby the ES&T Staff

Education and training have alwaysbeen constants for every consumerelectronics service technician.

There are a number of reasons that this istrue. For starters, the subject matter,whether we're talking about vacuumtubes, transistors, or integrated circuits,or whether we're talking about analog ordigital, is difficult. A television set, forexample, is a complex device, and oper-ates on principles that are not readilyapprehended. To know enough about aTV set, or a VCR or personal computer,to be able to actually troubleshoot andrepair a problem based on an analysis ofthe symptoms, and not on tips providedby another agency, takes a great deal ofeducation and training.

Most technicians get a pretty good edu-cation at some kind of formal school: atechnical school, a junior college, or someother kind of school that they attend fortwo years or more. And that's a good start.If it's a well-done course, it gives the entrylevel technician a good grounding in thefundamentals of electronics. Unfortu-nately, given the scope of electronicstoday, and the pace at which it's beingdeveloped, that two-year is only thebeginning of the technician's education.

As I understand it from talking to anumber of service managers, most grad-uates from technical schools these dayshave a thorough grounding in the basics,with emphasis on digital circuits. Mosthave had little or no exposure to consumerelectronics circuitry, however, so contin-uing education for technicians of todayshould start the minute they've left schoolwith that diploma. And given the dizzy-ing pace at which engineers and manu-facturers are expanding and changing theworld of consumer electronics, it willbecome a way of life for most technicians,until they retire. Interestingly, however,most retired technicians I have met are sointerested in the subject that their curios-ity, and their efforts to learn about newdevelopments in electronics continuelong after retirement.

And here's another interesting item:Occasionally a subject area that is nolonger at the forefront of technology is

discontinued in some schools so thatother more recent material can take itsplace. This has to be done, of course; itisn't possible to teach everything.Unfortunately, sometimes the discontin-ued subject matter still exists and may beencountered by someone who is not pre-pared for it. As an example, vacuum tubeshave been deemphasized in electronics infavor of solid-state devices. And thismakes sense, since there are so manymore solid state devices in use. However,many older products, and some newerhigh -end stereo systems use vacuumtubes. If a technician who becomes inter-ested in servicing one of these productshas never studied tubes in school, he'llhave to continue his education in order toprovide that type of service.

Skills and attributes of an effectivetechnician

For what it's worth, here's our idea ofthe set of skills and attributes that techni-cians must possess in order to get the jobdone. If any readers have any other ideas,or suggestions about technicians' qualifi-cations, we'd love to hear from you.

Basic language skills in order to beable to communicate with customers,other people in the service center, manu-facturers, distributors, etc.

Good reading skills in order to be ableto gain information from textbooks, ser-vice manuals, service bulletins, etc.

An even temper, tact and diplomacyas needed to handle difficult customers,difficult service jobs, etc.

Good math skills. A technician shouldbe able to perform all of the calculationsnecessary to interpret readings frommeters, oscilloscopes, etc. He shouldhave at least a passing familiarity withelectronics math, such as Ohm's Law,Kirchhoff's Law, etc. He should be ableto perform all of the financial math inorder to be able to prepare an invoice.

A technician should have a reason-ably broad background in electronics cir-cuit theory. He should have some kind ofpicture in his mind of how the basic elec-tronics components work, and how theyinteract in a circuit.

A technician needs to have a basicbackground in the use of test instrumentssuch as DMMs, oscilloscopes, signal gen-erators, signal analyzers and more,including how to use them safely.

A technician needs to be reasonablyskilled in the use of small hand tools andsoldering/desoldering equipment in orderto be able to disassemble a product to theextent necessary to identify and replace adefective component and to reassemblethe product once it has been repaired with-out causing any damage to the product.

The need for continuing educationA good two-year or four-year technical

education provides many of the skills thata technician needs in order to be adept atthe duties of a service technician. But twoyears, or even four years, is a relativelyshort space of time in which to absorb allof the knowledge and hone all of the skillsneeded to develop a skilled technician,Moreover, as time goes on, we tend to losesome of the knowledge we gained whilegoing to school, sometimes quite a greatdeal. For those reasons, it is important fora technician to continue his or her educa-tion for life.

Another, very important, reason forcontinuing education for technicians isthe difficult, demanding nature of the sub-ject matter. Because it is so abstruse, stu-dents, and, yes, instructors and writers aswell, sometimes don't really understandwhat's going on entirely, and end up withmisconceptions, or sometimes just fuzzi-ly understood ideas. The more study atechnician does, the more likely he willencounter material that will help himclear up misconceptions, or sharpen ideasthat were fuzzy in his mind.

Here's an example from this fuzzymind. A lot of us learned that electro-magnetic induction takes place whenmagnetic "lines of force" "cut" a con-ductor, thereby inducing a current in theconductor. There is a simpler explanation,that doesn't require the idea of any kindof lines cutting anything. It's this: whenthe magnetic field in the vicinity of a con-ductor changes - increases or decreases-a current is induced in that conductor


that is proportional to the strength of themagnetic field and its rate of change.

Keeping up with developments inthe field

But the greatest reason for continuingeducation is to keep up with develop-ments in the field. This is especially truein a pursuit such as consumer electronicsservicing which seems to be undergoinga continuous revolution.

Take, for example, someone whobecame a technician in the 1950s. Now, 40some years later, and maybe getting readyto retire, how useful would a technician beif he hadn't updated his skills severaltimes. Most electronics servicing in the'50s still emphasized vacuum tubes.Transistors were just being introduced andICs hadn't been heard of yet. Everythingwas still entirely analog. All TV signalswere received via a broadcast antenna;there was no cable TV, no VCRs, laserdisks, etc. A technician who allowed him-self/herself to stagnate at that period wouldbe helpless with today's technology.

Interestingly, the paradigm shift fromanalog to digital has caused some educa-tional problems on the other side of thecoin. Most technicians graduating fromtechnical schools today have specializedin digital electronics, because that's whatindustry wants, and besides, it's muchmore glamorous than analog. So techni-cians today who want to work in con-sumer electronics servicing must contin-ue their educations beyond technicalschool simply to learn some of the "old"stuff in electronics.

Every profession has to keep upSometimes people in the consumer

electronics service business feel pickedon. They complain that those engineersand manufacturers keep advancing thetechnology, so the poor technicians haveto continue running to keep up. No onecan blame a technician for feeling thatway. It is frustrating to constantly watchthe state of the art in electronics technol-ogy advance faster than any individualtechnician can possibly keep up.

If it's any consolation, many profes-sions have similar problems. Take medi-cine for example. Of course, when itcomes to humans, there are still only thetwo basic models, male and female, andthey haven't really changed in thousands

of years. But the practice of medicine haschanged incredibly and continues tochange. Doctors have to study constantlyto keep up or they'll be in danger of pro-viding less than the best care.

As another example, in recent yearsautomotive technology has been chang-ing rapidly, and automotive technicianshave to work hard to keep up.

In the final analysis, any kind of knowl-edge worker has to be prepared for change,and work to cope with the demands ofkeeping up.

There is helpFortunately for service centers and

technicians, everyone from the manufac-turers and the manufacturers' associa-tions, to service associations and techni-cal schools, as well as publishers, haverecognized that technicians need a lot oftraining for this new technology, and aremaking that training available.

And depending on the amount ofmoney available to the technician, theamount of time he has for school, and thetravel budget, the technician has a choiceof resident schools, hands-on schools,self -study courses, videotapes, books,test equipment manuals and user instruc-tions, association meetings and seminars.

The ES&T staff continually remainstuned in to the educational opportunitiesavailable to technicians. We like to thinkthat we're a valuable source of techni-cal/servicing information, but we recog-nize that a 70 -or -so -page magazine oncea month can't begin to fulfill the infor-mation needs of consumer electronicsservicing technicians, so we try to makeyou aware of every other avenue of edu-cation that we can find.

Training from EIA/CEMAOne of the best, and least expensive,

sources of training for servicing of con-sumer electronics products is the Elec-tronics Industries Association/ConsumerElectronics Group (EIA/CEMA) ProductServices Department. This organization,in conjunction with state and national ser-vice organizations, offers three-day andfive-day on -site workshops for techni-cians who are actively working in con-sumer electronics servicing (Table 1).There is a nominal fee for these classes.

EIA/CEMA is the association to whichmanufacturers of TVs, VCRs, stereo

equipment, etc. belong. They recognizethat it is in their best interests to attractand train technicians to service all of theproducts that they manufacture and sell.Every service center that can do so shouldtake advantage of this superb training.

In addition to the workshops, EIA/CEMA also offers video cassettes, manu-als and the like on a wide range of subjectsfrom "Troubleshooting with modem elec-tronic test equipment" to high-tech sol-dering and microprocessor troubleshoot-ing, and more. These tapes are priced veryinexpensively, just enough to offset thecost of producing them.

If you or someone in your service facil-ity is in need of training, you should atleast explore what EIA has to offer. Seetheir name and address in the listing inthis article.

Currently available from EIAFor example, the EIA currently offers

several courses in servicing of color TV,VCR, personal computer, microproces-sor/pc, and monitors. These courses willbe presented in cities throughout theUnited States, throughout the current year.

Workshops for electronics instructorsin vocational education are also available.

Interested in attending? Contact:

Consumer Electronics ManufacturersAssociation2500 Wilson BlvdArlington VA 22201703-907-7656Fax: 703-907-7968

You can also learn more about CEMAby visiting their website at http://www.cemacity.org.

Considering the high quality and time-liness of these programs and the materi-als the attendees retain, EIA believes thatthe practical nature of these workshopswill provide the attendees with new skillsof immediate benefit.

These courses have an estimated valueof several hundred dollars, but EIA/CEMA offers them at minimal cost toqualified technicians. Attendees mustprovide their own transportation andlodgings while at the workshops.

Identifying the need for educationFor the technician, identifying the need

to further his education usually isn't dif-ficult. One day a customer brings in a TVset for service and, when the technicianopens up the set to perform a technical


evaluation of the nature of the problem,he finds components and circuitry he'snever seen before. Or one day a customerbrings in a digital compact cassette or aDVD, a product that the technician hasonly seen in photographs before.

Once the need to get further educationhas been established, it's important to pindown exactly what education is needed.There are usually two questions that thetechnician must answer: "What training doI need?" and "How do I get that training?"

It's important to examine these ques-tions in detail to determine beforehandexactly what it is you need to study. It'snot enough to just say "I need to learnabout DVD servicing," and then to lookfor a correspondence school or a localschool that might offer a course on DVD.

It's important to examine the situationprecisely, and determine what aspects ofthe subject that need to be covered. Do youjust want an overview on DVD technolo-gy? Or do you really have a pretty goodidea of how DVD works and really need acourse in nuts and bolts DVD servicing?

Once the specific goals are set, thequestion becomes how to achieve them.One simple but effective method mightbe to contact other technicians in yourarea. If you have a skill that they lack andvice versa, you might be able to arrangefor a session, or a series of sessions, inwhich you educate each other.

Technical booksTechnical books provide a good way to

fill in the gaps in your service education.Many technicians are able to learn enoughthrough reading books to enter into awhole new area of servicing. If the bookis well written, and the technician has alot of self discipline, he just might be ableto add a whole new product to the scopeof his technical education. If the book ispoorly researched or written (there areprobably a lot more of these than thereshould be), or if the technician doesn'thave the self-discipline to study on hisown, the whole thing might turn out to bea waste of time.

Home study coursesHome -study courses are a step up from

simply studying from a book on one's own.and they generally make learning easierand lead to better results. In a home studycourse, the material is divided into logicalstudy units, an instructor tells the student

what is expected, and there is feedbackthrough regular tests. Some schools alsoassign an instructor to the student withwhom he can correspond by telephone andmail when there is a problem.

Schools and seminarsIf the technician or service center can

afford the time and money, structuredclass and lab courses provide a moreeffective way to learn. There are manyoptions available fora technician who canattend such classes. Technical schoolsthroughout the country offer anythingfrom the most elementary introductorycourses to detailed theory, design and ser-vicing courses.

For anyone who has the time and thebudget to travel, consumer electronicsequipment manufacturers offer seminarson the operation and servicing of specif-ic products to servicing technicians.

There are also many organizations,especially in the computer area, that offerseminars of a few days to a week or so,usually in a number of locations through-out the country.

Other good sources of technical edu-cation are manufacturers of test equip-ment and tools such as multimeters, oscil-

loscopes, soldering tools, etc. Many ofthem offer instruction in using their prod-ucts. Some offer books and pamphlets,and some even have videotaped instruc-tions, that help the technicians understandhow to most effectively use their prod-ucts. Some companies offer formal cours-es for home study, and others offer cours-es and seminars that travel to differentareas of the country so you can take a for-mal course taught by the experts nearhome. Some of the instruction is free, andsome will cost a substantial amount, socheck before you proceed.

Finding the knowledgeWe wish we could provide a complete

list of all of the technical educationalresources available to technicians today,but such a list would no doubt fill severalthick volumes. Some of the educationalresources, in no particular order, are: localvocational technical schools, both publicand private, a large handful of nationaltechnical correspondence schools, associ-ations such as ETA, NESDA/ISCET, PSA,manufacturers' training, thousands oftechnical books. Any service technicianwho wishes to stay abreast of modern elec-tronics technology, would do well to sim-

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ply maintain an awareness of what the edu-cational resources are and how to takeadvantage of them.

Along with this article, we present sev-eral lists of companies and other organi-zations that offer some kind of trainingand/or training materials. Unfortunately,space doesn't permit a comprehensivelist. There are a number of detailed listsavailable that will provide someone whois serious about training many avenues toexplore. One such list is the ES&T MarchBuyers' Guide. That issue contains a largelist of consumer electronics manufactur-ers, tool and test equipment manufactur-ers and associations with addresses andphone numbers.

Try the product manufacturersMany of the manufacturers of consumer

electronics equipment provide training ina number of ways. Some of the manufac-turers restrict the training they provide totechnicians from their own authorized ser-vicing facilities. Others not only offercourses to anyone who is both qualifiedand interested, they make it a point to maketheir courses universally applicable.

Test equipment manufacturersTest equipment manufacturers not only

know a great deal about the test equip-ment they sell, they are also familiar withapplications of their products. They talkto the engineers and technicians who buyand use their products and learn what theirproblems and needs are.

They also recognize that the more theircustomer knows about how to apply theirproducts, the more likely they will be tobuy their product in the first place, to behappy with it once they've bought it, torecommend the company's products to afriend, and to buy that same brand the nexttime they need a piece of test equipment.In order to enhance the customer's orpotential customer's understanding of thetesting/diagnosing function in generaland the company's product in particular,many manufacturers of test equipmentoffer courses, manuals, videotape cours-es, and other training opportunities.

For example, B&K Precision offersbooklets such as a "Guidebook to FunctionGenerators," a "Guidebook to Test Instru-ments," and a "Guidebook to Oscillo-scopes." Sencore offers seminars through-out the country as well as their "Tech Tips"binder, the periodical "Sencore News" andother training materials.

Tektronix Oscilloscope Division putsout booklets such as "The XYZs of usinga scope" and "Basic OscilloscopeOperation." They even sell a training kitthat allows a scope user who needs to learnmore about use of an oscilloscope to prac-tice on circuitry for which the scope tracesare known. The Tektronix TelevisionBusiness Division offers application notessuch as "Basic NTSC Video Testing" and"Checking VCR Performance."

Hewlett-Packard offers manuals suchas "The fundamentals of signal analysis"and "Feeling comfortable with digitizingoscilloscopes," that provide in depthinformation about the state of the art incircuits and signals, and the test equip-ment and techniques needed to study andunderstand it.

You should also check with any of theother well-known manufacturers of testequipment to determine what kinds oftraining materials they have, or that theymay recommend.

Office equipmentPersonal computers now constitute a

large segment of what is considered con-sumer electronics products. The increas-ing availability of useful, user-friendly,low-cost software such as word process-ing, spread sheet, data base, desk -top pub-lishing, accounting, on-line data bases,and the huge information sources avail-able on the Internet are making personalcomputers more and more attractive tomore and more people.

More people are establishing offices athome. Along with fax machines andanswering machines, personal computersare essential tools for the home office.

One result of this increasing populationof personal computers in homes is that per-sonal computers have become consumerproducts, and consumers are looking totheir traditional service centers to servicetheir computers. And while making thetransition from servicing TVs and VCRsto servicing computers does take some-thing of a mental adjustment, it's usuallyfar easier than it first seems, especially forsomeone who has made a lifetime studyand a business of understanding and ser-vicing electronics circuits.

Trade associationsOrganizations such as ETA, NARDA/

NASD and NESDA/ISCET (see the"Associations" listing below for the

meaning of these abbreviations, and theaddresses and telephone numbers of theseassociations) and their state and localaffiliates offer many opportunities foreducation, both technical and manage-ment oriented.

For example, state and local chaptersof these associations frequently invite atechnical training instructor from a con-sumer electronics manufacturer to theirmonthly meetings to lead seminars on ser-vicing the company's new products.

Some of the most successful servicecenter owners and managers belong tothese trade associations, and attend themeetings, seminars and annual conven-tions religiously. Most, if not all, of themattribute a great deal of their success totheir membership in the organization andtheir participation in these training activ-ities. If you don't belong to such an asso-ciation, you should at least look into it.

Just do itIf a technician hasn't taken a course,

read a technical book, or otherwise madean attempt at learning about some of thenew technology in some time, he may bein danger of joining the dinosaurs inextinction. The resources to develop newskills to catch up with the new technolo-gy may be as near as the local library, thelocal association meeting place, the mail-box, or the nearest computer with Inter-net access. The information is there. Thelistings that accompany this article willhelp you get started in finding it.

Let us knowAs always, if any readers are aware of

any good training resources that we havenot mentioned in this article, please let usknow about it. The more thorough andcomprehensive we can make this list oftraining resources, the more useful it willbe for readers.

Some of the sourcesTable I lists a number of correspon-

dence schools, book publishers, associa-tions, and test equipment manufacturerswhom you might want to contact for infor-mation on what educational opportunitiesthey have to offer.

CEMA Product Services conductsworkshops around the U.S. as part of theiron -going project to improve the trainingof Consumer Electronics technicians.CEMA offers hands-on workshops on:


Windows 95 Troubleshooting &Network Setup (3 Days).

"CEMA's technical training puts theexperience in your hands. We don't justtalk about methods or demonstratesolutions, we give you real hands-onexperience." The workshop features:

Damage Control Installing newhardware Registry Editing Networktrouble shooting File & print services Peer -to -Peer Networking Ethernet TCP/IP Internet Network Topologies

PC servicing w/Windows 95 (3 Days)Updated for 98

"The focus of the workshop is on prac-tical aspects of PC servicing. Every dis-cussion is illustrated with a lab exercise

or demonstration. Hands-on activitiesaccount for more than 50% of the work-shop time. The exercises provide theopportunity to observe signals, makeadjustments, and troubleshoot defects.(An understanding of basic electronics isneeded for this workshop.) The work-shop features:

Microprocessor overview Address/data/control bus signals PC bus signals PC bus buffering Address decodingand decoders Power control interfaces Keyboard interface Communicationsinterfaces System configuration &expansion POST and software diagnos-tics Hardware diagnostics Operatingsystems Config problems Serial andparallel I/O problems Troubleshooting,

adjustments and repair PreventiveMaintenance

Basic Color Television Servicing ( 3 Days)After an overview of a TV receiver and

a review of test equipment usage, eachfunctional block of a typical currentmodel TV is examined. (A general back-ground in analog electronics is needed forthis workshop.) The workshop features:

The NTSC system Receiver famil-iarization Test equipment Oscilloscopecalibration Microprocessor RF signals Tuning system Video Signals Audioprocessing Power supplies High volt-age Deflection Scanning Convergence Adjustments. On the last day all partici-pants gain essential skills, hands-on trou-

Trade Associations

Consumer ElectronicsManufacturers Association2500 Wilson BlvdArlington, VA 22201703-907-7656Fax: 703-907-7968

Electronics RepresentativesAssociation444 N Michigan Ave Suite 1960Chicago, IL 6061 1312-527-3050800-776-7377Fax: 312-527-3783

Electronic TechniciansAssociation604 North Jackson St.Greencastle, IN 46135317-653-3849

International Society ofCertified ElectronicsTechnicians2708 W. Berry StreetFt. Worth, TX 76109817-921-9062

Musical InstrumentTechnicians Association,International (MITA)MITA, Inc.12425 Parkwood LaneFlorissant, MO 63033-4662314-355-2339

NARDA (NationalAssociation of Retail Dealersof America)NASD (National Associationof Service Dealers)10 East 22nd StreetLombard, IL 60148630-953-8950

National Association ofService Managers (NASM)PO Box 712500Santee, CA 92072-2500619-562-7004Fax: 619-562-7153

National ElectronicDistributors Association35 East Wacker DriveSuite 3202

312-558-9114

National Electronic ServicingDealers Association2708 W. Berry StreetFt. Worth, TX 76109817-921-9062

Professional ServiceAssociation71 Columbia StreetCohoes, NY 12047518-237-2953

United Servicers Association,Inc. (USA)PO Box 626Westmont, IL 605595630 Harmarc PlaceDowners Grove, IL 60516708-968-6752800-432-0972

Technical BookPublishers

CRC Press, Inc.2000 Corporate Blvd., N.W.Boca Raton, FL 33431407-994-0555

Hayden Book CompanyRochelle Park, NJ 07662

McGraw-Hill Book Company1221 Avenue of the AmericasNew York, NY 10020

MacMillan PublishingFront and Brown StreetsRiverside. NJ 08075800-257-5755

PCS PublicationsPO Box 10492Clearwater, FL 34617-8492800 -74I -DATAFax: 813-446-3157

Prentice -Hall, Inc.Rte. 9WEnglewood Cliffs, NJ 07632201-592-2455

Howard W. Sams & Company2647 Waterfront Parkway,East DrieSuite 300Indianapolis, IN 46214-2041800-428-7267

Tab BooksPO Box 40Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214717-794-2191

Van Nostrand ReinholdCompany135 W. 50th St.New York. NY 10020

Fublishers ofSche-natic Diagrams

(other thanmanufacturers)

Eagan Technical Services, Inc.1408 Northland DriveSt Paul MN 55120612-688-0098800-285-1873Fax: 612-688-7829

M I Technologies3310 E. Peterson RdTroy, OH 45373937-335-4560Fax: 937-339-6344

Howard W. Sams & Company2647 Waterfront ParkwayEast DriveIndianapolis, IN 46214317-298-5400

Software SourcesService tips programs

AnaTek Corporation(Computer monitor tips)PO Box 1200100 Merrimack RdAmherst, NH 03031603-673-4342

Electronic SoftwareDevelopers826 South Main StreetSouth Farmingdale, NY 11735

FixFinderTCE Publications10003 Bunsen WayLouisville, KY 40299

High Tech Electronics1623 Aviation Blvd.Redondo Beach, CA 90278213-379-2026

Ilk;lier Intelligence Software60 Farmington LaneMelville, NY 11747516-643-7740

Technical InformationProcurement Service (TIPS)PO Box 1681Forest Park, GA 30051-1681770-968-3715Fax: 770-968-3715 -IP'


Home Study

Cleveland Institute of Electronics1776 E. 17th St.Cleveland, OH 44114216-781-9400Fax: 216-781-0331

Cook's Institute of ElectronicsEngineering4251 Cypress DriveeJackson, MS 39212Fax: 601-371-2619

Heath/ZenithPO Box 167Hilltop Rd.St. Joseph, MI 49085616-982-3411

National Institute of Technology1701 W. Euless Blvd.Euless, TX 76039

National Technical Schools456 W. Santa Barbara AveLos Angeles, CA 90037

NRI Training for ProfessionalsMcGraw-Hill ContinuingEducation Center3939 Wisconsin Ave.Washington, DC 20016

Private Trade Schools

Accrediting Commission of CareerSchools and Colleges of TechnologyACCSCT (Formerly NATTS)2101 Wilson Blvd Suite 302Arlington, VA 22201703-247-4142Fax: 703-247-4533e-mail: [email protected]: http://www.accsct.org/

Other Training Programs

Computer training

American InstituteInstitute for International Research437 Madison Ave., 23rd FloorNew York, NY 10022212-826-3340

Learning Tree international6053 West Century BoulevardPO Box 45028Los Angeles, CA 90045-0028213-417-8888Fax: 410-2952

National Advancement Corp.2730-J South HarborSanta Ana, CA 92704714-754-7110

Test EquipmentManufacturers

B&K Precision1031 Segovia CirclePlacentia, CA Status 92870714-237-9220Fax: 714-237-9214

Fluke CorporationPO Box 9090Everett, WA 98206206-347-6100206-356-5116

Sencore3200 Sencore DriveSioux Falls, SD 57107605-339-0100

TektronixOscilloscope DivisionPO Box 500, MS 39710Beaverton, OR 97077503-627-2010Fax: 503-627-5593

Tentel4475 Golden Foothill ParkwayEl Dorado Hills, CA 95630916-939-4005800-538-6894

Table 1.

bleshooting with faulty equipment guidedby an experienced instructor.

VHS Video Cassette Recorder Servicing(5 Days)

"This workshop focuses on basic VCRoperation and servicing. After an over-view of a VCR system and a review of theNTSC television system, each functionalblock of a typical current model VHSVCR is examined. (A general back-ground in analog electronics is needed forthis workshop and familiarity with TVsystems is highly recommended.) Theworkshop features:

The VHS system Television signal Audio REC / PB Video REC / PB Drum servo Capstan servo Micro-processors Display circuits Modeswitch logic Tape transport Power sup-plies Adjustments. On the last day allparticipants gain essential skills, hands-on troubleshooting with faulty equipmentguided by as experienced instructor.

Computer Monitor Servicing (3 Days)Updated for 98

Three day electronics servicing work-shop that covers current technologies

using a hands-on, service -oriented ap-proach. (A general background in analogelectronics is needed for this workshop.)The workshop features:

Test equipment usage Oscilloscopecalibration Monitor familiarization Multi -sync systems VGA/SVGA/XGASignals Video signal processing Switching power supply High voltagepower supply Deflection and scanning Microprocessor control Manual ad-justments PC-controled alignments Convergence Troubleshooting andrepair. On the last day all participantsgain essential skills, hands-on trou-bleshooting with faulty equipment guid-ed by as experienced.

Windows 95 Unleash the Power.Troubleshoot Hardware and Software,Setup Networking and TCP/1P.

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Skill Improvement in differentiatinghardware and software problemsDiagnose and Solve System Problems Gain Hands-on Experience with Windows95 Avoid Potential Hardware/SoftwareConflicts Learn to Support Peer -to -PeerNetworking Configurations MaximizePerformance for Windows 95 Select theBest Equipment for Your Needs

This workshop provides essentialskills to those who:

Provide Support for PC Hardware andSoftware Make Software/System rec-ommendations Develop PC SupportPolicies Teach Computer Technology Install Windows 95 on PCs TrainWindows 95 Users Troubleshoot PCHardware/Software Issues Plan to Up-grade to Windows 95

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Training aids on the InternetThe Internet is a virtual treasure trove

of information for individuals and com-panies with access to the Internet. Forexample, if you access the AdvancedTelevision System Committee websitelisted below, you can download hundredsof pages of technical specifications andother information having to do withHDTV. The ITT Intermetall website, alsolisted below offers information on thechipset that that company has engineeredfor HDTV sets.

Other websites listed offer informationon the subjects noted.

Introduction to the oscilloscopehttp://www.ee.su.oz.au/teaching/

topics/labintro/cro.html

Cathode Ray Oscilloscopehttp://www.richardson.k12.tx.us/

school s/phys/Academics/Physics/APPhysics/OscopeWeb/OscopeLab.html

ATSChttp://www.atsc.org/

http://www.intermetall.de

Hewlett Packard Educators CornerThis is a website that displays infor-

mation about learning and teachingresources for educators. In the month ofJune it carried a Spectrum Analyzer seg-ment that helps users visualize modulationof radio frequency signals with audio fre-quency signals.

http://www.tmo.hp.com/tmo/iia/edcorner/English/index.html

In addition, Hewlett Packard offers anEducator's Corner CD-ROM; containingpre -written and interactive lab experi-ments from HP's Educator's Corner web -site, for those who don't want the long waitrequired to download them. This free CD-ROM, available by ordering from thiswebsite, contains all of the content foundon the website. It's packed full of learningand teaching resources for engineeringeducators. It includes search tools, livelinks to the World Wide Web, and more.

This is Version 2.0 in an on -going seriesof CD-ROMs for engineering educators.The labs and experiments in this series aresubmitted by professors and educatorsfrom around the world. To use this CD-ROM, the user will need a Windows orMac PC with a CD-ROM drive. The CD-ROM has a familiar web browser inter-face, and all required software and driversare included on the CD-ROM.

EIA/CEMA will be offering (optional-ly) 2.0 CEUs for this workshop. A nomi-mal registration fee will be charged forthe CEUs.

Another CEMA resource is Raising theStandard - Electronics Technician Skillsfor Today and Tomorrow.

This manual covers skills standards forwork -ready, entry-level electronics tech-nicians. The Electronic Industries Assoc-iation and the Electronic IndustriesFoundation developed the national skillstandards under funding from the U.S.Department of Education. More than 200representatives from the electronics in-dustry, business, labor, and education,worked side by side in this industry -ledeffort to develop workable and mutuallyagreed upon standards. An additional 300individuals helped assure their validity.

The manual includes guidelines on howemployers, employees, trainers, educa-tional administrators, educators, schoolcounselors, and students can use thedetailed lists of skills required of work -

ready, entry-level electronics techniciansin any of a broad range of occupationalareas. Service centers can use this valuableresource in a variety of ways:

Clarify the competencies workersneed Improve workers' capabilities andproductivity Enhance a company's abil-ity to convert to a high performance work-place Evaluate prospective employeesand new hires Plan internal training pro-grams Develop performance -based cur-ricula preparing graduates to leave schoolwith work -ready skills, qualified to obtainjobs Encourage excellence in voc-ed toimprove the American workforce

The spiral -bound manual is dividedinto tabbed categories for easy reference.Each describes and lists the skills identi-fied as necessary for competent work infive general categories: Desirablebehavior and work habits Technicalskills test equipment and tools Basicand practical skills Additional skillsneeded in three advanced specialty areas.

The cost of this document and the discis $25.00, including SM.

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'The Computing Technology Industry Association and 4. are regedered trade marks. All rights reserved.' 98-100



Test Your Electronics Knowledgeby J.A. Sam Wilson

Figure 1. What does the dot notation on the transformer indicate?

1. In the circuit of Figure 1, the dot nota-tion on the transformer indicates

A. which end of the transformershould be grounded.

B. that the dc voltage value at thosepoints is the same.

C. that the ac voltage value at thosepoints is the same.

D. None of these answers is correct.

2. Which of the following amplifierconfigurations has a gain related to"?

A. Common collectorB. Common baseC. Common emitterD. Starved amplifier

3. Which of the following is a linear,bilateral circuit element?

A. ThermistorB. ResistorC. TransistorD. Nuvistor

4. Which of the following statements iscorrect?

A. Bipolar transistors have the prob-lem of partition noise, tubes do not.

B. Tubes have the problem of parti-tion noise, bipolar transistors do not.

C. There is no such thing as "parti-tion noise" as related to tubes and bipo-lar transistors.

Wilson is the electronics theory consultant for ES&T.

0.47

A+26V

Q1

2N697

Q2

2N697

R2 R3 R4

220K 10K 1K

C

C2

60

Figure 2. If you create a short between the emitter of transistor 01 andto the base of 01, what will happen to the collector voltage?

D. Both tubes and bipolar transistorshave the problem of partition noise.

5. Which of the following symbolsmeans the same as alpha in reference totransistors?

A. hFEB. hFBC.fiD. A

6. Which of the following amplifyingcomponents is primarily controlled bycurrent?

A. Pentode tubeB. JFETC. MOSFETD. PNP transistor

7. Which of the following is correct?A. Thermal agitation noise is more

of a problem with tubes than withtransistors.

B. Thermal agitation noise is moreof a problem with transistors than withtubes.

8. Which of the following is NOTcorrect?

A. Removing the speaker from atransistor power amplifier circuit candestroy the transistor when the circuit isoperated.

B. Since P = I2R it follows thatincreasing the load resistance of a tran-

Figure 3. In this amplifier circuit, what shouldthe voltage at point 'A' be?

sistor amplifier will always increase theoutput power of the circuit.

C. There is no vacuum -tube equiva-lent circuit for complementary bipolartransistor amplifiers.

D. It is not necessary to make a goodmechanical connection before making asolder connection.

9. In the circuit of Figure 2, shorting theemitter of Q1 to the base of Q1 will causeits collector voltage to

A. become more positive.B. become more negative.C. remain unchanged.D. become zero volts.

10. In the amplifier circuit of Figure 3,the voltage at point 'A' should be

A. positive.B. negative.C. zero (ground) potential.

(Answers on page 60)


r-

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95

What Do You Know About Electronics?

by Sam Wilson

Sam's opinions expressed here onemerging technology do not necessarilyreflect the official position of ES&T.

In a technology as dynamic as elec-tronics, new developments are con-stantly taking place. Every time

something new is developed, someonecomes up with abbreviations for it. As it'simportant to keep up with these abbrevi-ations, we bring you these:

SMPT - Simple Mail Protocol Transfer(It governs the transmission of E -Mailthrough the Internet.)

WWW - World Wide Web (also, WorldWide Wait)

It is an information network.

This and thatThere is a glut of information on the

World Wide Web and, it is not all impor-tant information. No person could possi-bly use all of the information available.

An example is news information. Thereare more people writing news stories thanare needed. How many different ways canyou write a story about Monica Lewinski?

Many broadcasters are taking a "waitand see" attitude toward HDTV. They arenot even sure the public wants it.

Broadcasters favor the 1080i format.That's 1080 interlaced scanning lines.Computer people favor a 720p (program-mable scan) format. That's 720 lines aframe at a time - no interlacing.

Most broadcasters are reluctant to com-mit to HDTV until they can be sure thatthey can profit from it.

Here is a problem that has raised itsugly head. Broadcasters don't haveenough material to support the channelsavailable. How many times can you runand re -run Kukla, Fran and 011ie?

Also, do you really want to invest up to$10,000 in a high -definition receiver soyou can see the pores on the newscaster'snose? Some broadcasters claim that DTV(Digital TV) and HDTV (High -DefinitionTV) is not just about getting a clearer pic-ture on the screen. It's also about the otherthings you can do with them.

Wilson is the electronics theory consultant for Fti &T.

Let me translate that for you. Its alsoabout many other things you will have topay for and may not want. An example isinteractive video games. An 80 -year oldwidow who relies heavily on TV for herentertainment need interactive TV gameslike a moose needs a bathing cap.

Cable TV - which services 60% of theTV viewers - has threatened to supply a"set -top box" to convert digital programsto analog format so customers can usetheir present TV sets. There is a lot ofbehind -the -scenes fighting with broad-casters over that one.

The FCC has been one of the stumblingblocks in the DTV and HDTV mess. Upuntil the middle of May they failed toissue standards that are needed by equip-ment manufacturers. Now that the stan-dards have been provided do you thinktechnicians will get to loof at them? I'mtrying to get them for you.

When color TV first hit the market wewere quickly advised about that signal.As a result, we knew much about therequirements of the receivers. Have youseen a block diagram of an HDTV set?

The U.S.A. in technical competitionHere I go again! I know that this sub-

ject is going to bring at least five letterstelling me: "That isn't electronics" and"Stick to the subject." But, if I don't passthis along, who is going to tell you?

I got the following information fromJames C. Dobson, Ph.D. in his FamilyNewsletter - Focus on the Family. If itdoesn't boggle your mind, your mind justisn't bogglable.

In 1990, President George Bush and all50 governors announced their goal forU.S. students to be "first in the world inmathematics and science and achieve-ment by the year 2000." It sounded goodat the time. But, almost a decade laterAmerica's high school seniors still com-pare poorly with young men and womenin most other industrialized nations.

That was the conclusion of the mostcomprehensive and rigorous internation-al comparison ever conducted of acade-mic achievement. The results of the study

were released in February, 1998. The finalreport should be of concern to every par-ent and grandparent in the nation (andevery technician, technologist, engineerand scientist.)

What it revealed is that fourth -gradestudents in this country scored aboveaverage internationally, but by the mid-dle school years, scores were below aver-age. And by the time they were seniors inhigh school they ranked near the bottomwhen compared to other nations. The con-clusion is unmistakable: The longer stu-dents stay in American schools, the far-ther they fall behind their age -mates inmost industrialized nations.

Tables I and Il show the mean (aver-age) achievement test scores in variouscategories of science and math for thenations that participated in this compari-sion study at the secondary level.

As dismal as the U.S. position in theserankings was, it easily could have beenworse. Asian countries which typicallyexcel in math and science did not partic-

TABLE IMATHEMATICS LITERACY

Country Mean AchievementNetherlands 560Sweden 552Denmark 547Switzerland 540Iceland 534Norway 528France 523New Zealand 522Australia 522Canada 519Austria 518Slovenia 512Germany 495Hungary 483Italy 476Russian Federation 471Lithuania 469Czech Republic 466UNITED STATES 461Cyprus 446South Africa 356


TABLE IISCIENCE LITERACY

CountrySwedenNetherlandsIcelandNorwayCanadaNew ZealandAustraliaSwitzerlandAustriaSloveniaDenmarkGermanyCzech RepublicFranceRussian FederationUNITED STATESItalyHungaryLithuaniaCyprusSouth Africa

Mean Achievement559558549544532529527523520517509497487487481

480475471

461

448349

ipate in the study. "Otherwise," wrotecolumnist John Leo, "American mighthave been fighting for 39th or 40th placein a 41 nation field."

What is even more shocking is how ourmost gifted students compared with highachievers in secondary schools fromother participating countries. For manyyears, Americans have consoled them-selves with the believe that their most -tal-ented youngsters were on a par with thebest -educated students on earth. Not so,according to these findings. When com-pared with gifted students elsewhere, oursmartest kids tested even worse.

Tables III and IV are the results for stu-dents enrolled in the most advanced mathand science courses.

Think about this:

I am thankful for this information fromDr. Dobson. I believe it to be very impor-tant to everyone who reads this magazine.

Toroidal transformersAs I have said before, some of the most

useful technical information available totechnicians and technologists comesfrom advertisements for technical prod-ucts. The following information comes tous from a company named Ulveco, Inc.in Houston, TX. It spells out the advan-tages of toroidal transformer design.

Low Weight - Because they are moreefficient, toroids can be up to 50% lighter(depending on power rating) than tradi-tional transformers. Low weight simpli-fies end product design by reducingmounting hardware and supportingenclosure requirements.

Small Size - Most toroids are smallerthan their conventional transformer coun-terparts. Electrical and mechanicaldesigners, when "painted into a corner"by a minuscule space allotment for powersupplies, appreciate a toroidial trans-formers compact dimensions.

Flexible Dimensions - Compoundingthe benefits of low weight and small sizeis the flexibility to vary dimensions. Aslong as the core cross section is held con-stant, the height and diameter for thetoroid may be economically varied toaccommodate equipment design require-ments, a great help when designing lowprofile, slim -line equipment.

Easy to Mount - A single center screweasily and quickly mounts the toroid,avoiding costly mechanical design andpractical problems associated with tradi-tional laminated transformers, and threescrews are eliminated at assembly!

Low Stray Magnetic Field - Toroidshave no airgaps: primaries and secon-daries are wound uniformly around theentire core. As a result, toroids emit verylow radiated magnetic fields. This makesthe toroid ideal for application in CRT dis-

Funding School Days Per Year

United States $3,843 Japan 240Canada 3,508 Korea 222Italy 2,683 Taiwan 222West Germany 2,470 Israel 215

France 2,446 Scotland 191

United Kingdom 2,438 Canada 188

Japan 1,978 United States 178

TABLE IIIADVANCED MATHEMATICS

CountryFranceRussian FederationSwitzerlandAustraliaDenmarkCyprusLithuaniaGreeceSwedenCanadaSloveniaItalyCzech RepublicGermanyUNITED STATESAustria

Mean Achievement557

542

533

525

522518

516513

512

509475474469465442436

TABLE IVADVANCED PHYSICS

Country Mean AchievementNorway 581

Sweden 573

Russian Federation 545

Denmark 534Slovenia 523Germany 522Australia 518Cyprus 494Latvia 488Switzerland 488Greece 486Canada 485France 466Czech Republic 451

Austria 435UNITED STATES 423

plays, high -qualityical equipment.

Low Mechanical Hum - The core of atoroid is formed from a single strip ofgrain -oriented electrical grade siliconsteel tightly wound in the form of a clockspring with the ends spot-welded in place.The copper wire is wound over polyesterfilm, forming a silent, stable unit withoutglue or varnish coating.

Reduced No -Load Losses - Comparedto traditional transformers, toroids exhib-it extremely low no-load losses. In appli-cations where a circuit is in a "stand-by"mode for long periods, the potential costreduction for power can be significant.

amplifiers, and med-


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Test Your ElectronicsKnowledgeAnswers to list (from page 54)

1. D - The dots indicate the points that have the samepolarity.

2. C - The common base amplifier has again related to alpha.

3. B - By definition.

4. D - Partition noise occurs when the charge carriers can goeither of two ways.

5. B - By definition.

6. D - Bipolar transistors are current -operated devices.

7. B - Thermal agitation noise occurs when charge carriersmove through semiconductor materials.

8. B - Excessive load resistance can reduce the collector volt-age and lower the gain of the transistor stage.

9. C - The collector voltage is locked to +25V.

10. A - Making point 'A' positive makes the collector neg-ative in the PNP transistor circuit.



---71/1i---PRODUCTS

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Computer monitor pattern generatorComputer & Monitor Maintenance

Inc. announces the newest member of theChecker family of monitor test equip-ment, the "Checker Pro," an ac or batteryoperated computer color monitor patterngenerator, designed for the sophisticateduser. Sweep rates to 64kHz, various pat-terns, and gray scale, allow the user tocheck-out a wide variety of monitors.

The technician can quickly switchmodes using the push buttons, add Syncon green, turn off any of the colors, andturn off either horizontal or vertical sync.The unit provides various test patterns forVGA monitors. Its color bar/8 step grayscale pattern allows color balance andtracking to be quickly evaluated.


Digital/analog waveform monitorLeader Instruments announces an

improved version of the LV 5100D, thecombination digital -analog waveform,vector, picture and stereo monitor. Thislatest version is Model LV5100DE andincludes the "EYE" pattern display withboth level and time cursors to facilitate

full evaluation of the digital data stream.Other features include full EDH facil-

ities with readout of the time of detectederrors, and the status of ANC, embeddedaudio, TRS, EAV, SAV, APCRC, FFCRCand EDH flags. The operator may assigninternal and external alarms to any or allof the status readouts. A rating of serialdata quality is given in terms of equiva-lent length of coax from an ideal source.Also featured is a direct readout of signaldata in hex form for all 1716 data pointsof a user -selected raster line. The line mayalso be selected automatically as trig-gered by a TRS error.

Monitor modes include waveform(overlay and parade), component vector,picture (from the Y or G signal and in-cluding the line -select strobe), and astereo audio phase/amplitude displaywith an electronic scale. Extensive menucontrols select YCbCr or GBR for wave-form and monitor output, setup operatingchoices, line -select, cursors, calibration,preset/remote, dc restorer operating para-meters, clock/calendar settings and more.A rear -panel jack provides an active ser-ial feed of the selected A or B input.


DMM with data portWavetek introduces the new 235, a

DMM with an RS232C serial data outputport. The meter features I I functions in45 ranges. and a bright display backlight.The meter's "T" design allows for anoversized display area and larger charac-ters. The unit also features a bargraph pro-viding analog and digital displays.

An RS232C data output port allows themeter to interface directly with laptopsand PCs. Included software, includingdriver and application that add featuresincluding alarm trips, datalogging, graph -

mg and output to spreadsheet. Output isoptically isolated, and the meter comescomplete with I/O cable.

Using simple front panel buttons, theuser can quickly select from featuresincluding Probe -Hold, Max/Min,reading hold,Relative (A) read-ing mode andRange locking.Display and audi-ble annunciatorswarn the userwhen measuringpotentially haz-ardous ranges,and fully fusedcurrent inputsadd to measuringsafety. Test leads, rubber holster and sparefuses are also included.


ELECTRONICS TECHNICIANSAUSTIN TEXAS

Sears Customer Network is an in-dustry -leading provider of PC, elec-trorics, and home appliance repairinfo -mation. Our new state-of-the-art technology/call center inR,r.rid Rock is nearing completion,and we have a seat with your nameon i We offer stable year-roundemployment with noslow seasons. On -goingtrailing on all the latestproducts le provided.We offer competitivecon- peneation and a ben-efits package that Includes medi-cal, dental, 401(k), stock purchase

plan, and tuitionreimbursement.Relocation as-sistance pro-

vided. If you can repair consumerhome electronics includingTV's,VCR's, and camcorders, fax or mallyour job history to:

Sears Customer Network8317 Cross Park Dr.,

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-1/1i --CLASSIFIED /1/1/'

Classified advertising is available by the word or per column inch.By -the word. $1.65 per word, per insertion, pre -paid Minimum charge is $35 per insertion. Initials and abbreviations count as fullwords. Indicate free category heading (For Sale, Business Opportunities, Miscellaneous, Wanted). Blind ads (replies sent to ES&Tfor forwarding) are $40 additional. No agency discounts are allowed for classified advertising by the word. Contact Kirstie Wickhamat 516-681-2922 to place your classified ad (by -the -word). Mastercard, VISA, American Express and Discover are accepted for FAXor mail orders.Per column Inch (classified Display): $235 per column inch, per insertion, with frequency discounts available, 1" minimum, billedat 1/4" increments after that 10" maximum per ad. Blind ads are $40 addition. Reader Service Number $25 additional to cover pro-cessing and handling costs. (Free to 4 -inch or larger ads.) For more information regarding classified display advertising please call516-681-2922. Optional color (determined by magazine) $150 additional per insertion.

Send your order, materials and payments to:Electronic Servicing & Technology, 25 Newbridge Road, Hicksville, NY 11801

Attn: Classified Department Ph: 516-681-2922 FAX: 516-681-2926

FOR SALE

SENCORE, TEKTRONIX, HEWLETT PACKARD (all models). WeBUY, SELL, & TRADE . Please call "CHOICE ELECTRONICS" forall of your test equipment needs. Complete financing options avail-able. Call 1-800-609-0677, 605-361-6386 ask for Lance Tople.

FURTHER PRICE REDUCTION. Diehl Mark III $49, Diehl Mark VHorizontal circuit tester $169. New. Conductive coating for remotecontrol keypads $9.99 ppd. WEEC, 2411 Nob Hill Road, Madison, WI53713. 608-238-4629, 608-273-8585.

TV CASE HISTORIES: Booklet with 2,825+ histories. Satisfactionassured. Only $56 (plus $3.00 for priority mail). Mike's Repair Service,P.O. Box 217, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005. Same mailingaddress 34 years. Send SASE for samples. 410 -272 -4984,1 -800 -2 -FIXTVS 11am-9pm. ( or at http://www.netgsi.com/-mikesrs).

Factory service data, used -Sams, books, vintage parts. AGTannenbaum, Box 386, Ambler, PA 19002. 215- 540-8055, fax 215-540-8327, On-line catalog: www.agtannenbaum.com.

TEST EQUIPMENT BOUGHT & SOLD: OSCILLOSCOPES, ETC.925-706-0177. FAX: 925-706-0156.

SERVICE TIPS for FREE!!! That's right it's FREE!!PROFESSIONAL BOARD LEVEL & COMPONENT LEVELREPAIRS for TV's, VCR's, Projection TV's, CAMCORDER's, CDPlayers, Audio and other repairs on computer disk. ADD your ownrepair tips. PRINT out repair tips. BACKUP & save Your repairs.Want to share your own repair tips? If you do, we will send youFREE Updates!!! Ask about our TIP EXCHANGE policy. For IBMcompatible computers with a hard drive and some Apple Macs.Get your FREE Stage 1 SERVICE TIPS PROGRAM Now!!!

FREE CALL - CALL NOW!!! CALL 1-800-215-5081.

IN -CIRCUIT CAPACITOR ESR TESTER - Find bad caps FAST andRELIABLY with the new Capacitor Wizard in -circuit ESR Tester!Great for monitors, switching power supplies. TVs, etc. Only$179.95. MCNISA. Independence Electronics Inc., 800-833-1094,www.awiz.com.

New EURAS 1998 CD Rom 165,000 repair tips, 563 brands, 32, 645models Win 95/98/NT compatible. Now purchase EURAS for the reg-ular dealer price of $149.50 (upgrade) or $199.50 (w/hardware lock)and receive KDTV SVCTIPS for 1/2 price ($35)! ORDER TOLL FREE1-888-KD-STIPS.

Sen-.:ore SC61 - scope, $800.00, CM2125 - Computer MonitorANalyzer, $1,500.00, CR7O-CRT analyzer + restorer, $500.00.Call: 610-380-1935.

FOR SALE

SERVICE TIPS ""30,000 technical SERVICE TIPS coveringover 139 POPULAR Manufacturers Brands. SERVICE TIPSwith MULTIPLE SOLUTIONS FOR EACH SYMPTOM IN 1 CONCISEEAST TO USE FORMAT has features no other technical tipsprogram has. SERVICE TIPS THE ONLY NESDA APPROVEDTECHNICAL TIPS PROGRAM available for WINDOWS at $199.95or DOS at $169.95 (plus s&h). Electronic Software Developers Inc.,826 S. Main St., S. Farmingdale, NY 11735 or e-mail us [email protected] or visit our web site at www.servicetips.comTO ORDER SERVICE TIPS CALL 1-800-621-8477.BE SURE TO VISIT us at the NPSC SHOW Aug 12-13 booth # 307 & 309

NAP Tuner 340309. RCA Tuner TCHRIA or TCCRIA and more.Snowy picture? Will rebuild for $25.00, Free Shipping. Tip Top TV &VCR, 18441 Sherman Way, Reseda, CA 91335, 818-345-1974.

SERVICE TIPS over 60,000 excellent ones from KD T -V, Nesda,over 600 professional servicers 380 brands (TV, VCR, ComputerMonitor, Microwave, Camcorder, Audio, Misc.). Only $69.95! Addyour own tips. Alphabetizes symptom. DOD version. Runs in Win95/98. Tip exchange. Print tips. Symptom/Info/Cure Search. VCRcross. Sams cross. Finest ORIGINAL data. FREE DEMO on web -site http://www.kdtviwe.com updated monthly. KD T -V 514 3rd St.Aurora, IN 47001. ORDER TOLL FREE 1-888-KD-STIPS. Allc/cards. Ken Hull C.E.T.

( ( 36,000 REPAIR TECH -TIPS ) ) As promised, another2,000 great repairs occurring DAILY in our service centers havebeen added this update. WE ARE TECHNICIANS, TEST our FULLDATABASE of 221 brands in CD FORMAT, DOS or WINDOWSfor ONE WEEK in YOUR SERVICE CENTER for $20.00. If satisfied,you may join our membership for an additional $330.00. Ourmembership price has been the same for the past 8 1/2 yearsand will remain the same in the future."FREE" 48 Page membermagazine "THE TIP INFORMER", "FREE" Emergency tech -assist telephone line, "FREE" FCC -ID Cross -Reference Manual,"FREE" Service Center Forms. Semi-annual updates with 2,000new repairs in five - 2" Paper Manuals or Computer, CD, DOS orTrue Windows. You may enter your own repairs, edit or tag anyreport or press one key and printout selected or all repairs on aparticular Model or Chassis or FCC ID No. "GET TO THE BOTTOMLINE PROFITABLY" CALL TODAY and speak to a servicecenter owner and technician ED Erickson. NESDA MEMBER andpast president of the ( PROFESSIONAL ELECTRONICS ASSN.OF SOUTH FLORIDA ).- - - - You and your technicians will be gladyou did! - - - - Labor is your largest expense. 800-474-3588 or954-349-2455, TV -Man Tech -Tips, Inc. 2082 Augusta. Weston,Florida 33326.


--/V1P--CLASSIFIED

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

SERVICE CENTER FOR SALE. Golden opportunity in thesunshine state. If you would like to have a six figure income, thenstart out with a six figure income! Why wait ten years to build abusiness in an area that may never provide that income. Purchasea business that will pay for itself, and historically increases itsrevenue yearly, in the largest growth market in the country.South Florida has expendable incomes from all parts of the world.and is never limited by a poor economy or bad weather.Two techs provide an annual gross $250,000.00 + Est. 16 Yrs. Bestlocation in the country. Call for Brochure. 954-723-1977

(owner retiring and will finance 50%)

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

CENTRAL FLORIDA TV/ELECTRONICS Business/Building. Heartof the retirement area. 36 years (75K). Owner retiring. 941-385-0359.

To Advertise in ElectronicSery icing & Technology's

Classified SectionCall 516-681-2922 or

Fax 516-681-2926

CIMENV,IMMH(M/N16,11..... M1 -4{,

READERS' EXCHANGE_wlReaders. Exchange is a free tier. ice.The following restrictions apply to Readers' Exchange: Only individual readers may use Readers' Exchange, and items must be restricted to those that are ordinarily associated with consumer electronics as

a business or hobby. If you're in business to sell the item(s) you want to offer for sale, the appropriate place for your message is in a paid advertisement, notReaders' Exchange.

Readers' Exchange items must be restricted to no more than three items each for wanted and for sale.All submissions must be typed or printed clearly!

Send your Readers' Exchange submissions to:Readers' Exchange, Electronic Servicing & Technology, 25 Newbridge Road, Hicksville, NY 11801

FOR SALE

Sencore VA62, VC63, NT64 NTSC. $1500.00.SC6I, mint condition and still in box, $1500.00.Contact: Darlene, 281-424-2744 after 6PM central.

Sencore SC3100, $1800.00; VA62 with VC63plus HP200, $900.00. All probes, manuals andschematics. Excellent condition, in original boxes.Contact: Frank. 813-546-7060.

Sencore SC6I waveform analyzer, with allaccessories and manuals. $750.00; AC Poweritemodel PR57 with manual, $200.00. Both in excel-lent condition. Contact: Ron, 309-452-3073, (fax)309-454-2428.

Hickok model 615 sweep marker generator, withmanual and cables, good condition, $50.00. B&K1827 frequency counter with manuls and leads. Newin box, $25.00. All plus shipping. Contact: KermitShetley, 2031 Woodland Hills Drive, CapeGirardeau, MO 63701, 573-334-2055.

Sencore CB42 analyzers (2), $500.00 each.Ramsey COM-3 communications service monitor.$1700.00. All include probes, manuals, originalboxes. Serious offers only. Contact: Jim Livermore,J&J Electronics. PO Box 274. Cincinnatus, NY13040, 607-863-4368, e-mail: [email protected].

Sams Photofact and service repair manuals.Some pretty old. Contact: David M. Kinchlow,1515 Walnut Street, New Albany, IN 47150,812-944-4097.

Sencore SC3100, $1800.00, VA62 with VC93plus HP200, $900.00. All probes, manuals andschematics. Excellent condition in original boxes.Contact: Frank, 8/3-546-7060.

Sencore SC6I with probes and manuals.$800.00: SC3100 with protective cover, manuals.probes, $1750.00. Two Heathkit VTVM's withmanual, $25.00 each. All equipment in good toexcellent condition. Contact: Roger Schreur, POBox 779, Forest Ranch, CA 95942.

Howard Sams tube substitution handbooks, Vol2-19 Photofact - cheap. Contact: Ann Bichanich, 15W. Lake Street, Chisholm, MN 55719.

Sencore SC3100 oscilloscope (mint), LC -53capacitor inductor analyzer, TF46 transistor-FETchecker, SCR -250 accessory tester. Protek 506 mul-

timeter. Contact: 612-869-4963.

WANTED

Samsung flyback, FCC 1215AL. used in Sears13 inch TV. No longer available from Sears, eithernew or good. Used one is fine. Contact: GordonHard Electronics, 1005 E. Grand Avenue, Tonkawa,OK 74653. 580-628-4234 after 3PM.

Emerson horizontal output transformer. part no.4221051014 (HFT 683) for model EC I 2PA TV.Contact: Dudley Overton, 843-406-9942.

Sony 1040 series projector tubes part number SD -187G, B or R. Contact: D. Manly. 562-924-2666.

Dell color monitor display GPD- I 6C schematic.Northern transceiver model N550. Contact: JoeSyczyle, 208-865-2216.

Sears TV model number 564.4890065 I , errordetector board part number 409-015-3301. Will paymoney. Contact: Randy Sanders. 317-859-8567, fax3/7-899-6977. Leave message.

Zenith model 953508 or 9535I2R SYSIII, work-ing with IC's included. Contact: George Schierer,2/25 NE 63 Court, Ft. Lauderdale. FL 33308, 954-771-0406.

Panasonic volume control 5K with switch for anAM/FM portable radio. Manufacturer is MatsushitaElectric Co. Ltd., Japan. Contact: Joe Quinn. 7/7-642-6883, e-mail: [email protected].

Emerson radio model 5-38, music cone and 90VB+ battery and 16 to 45V B+ batteries. Contact:Apple Electronics, 3428 E. Bankhead Highway.Lithia Springs. GA 30/22, 770-948-9895.

Hitachi schematic for SR2004 stereo receiver.Sony KV-1370R VIF IC module . MotorolaMRF309 RF power transistors. Contact: C. Ellis,9419 Wallre Rd. E., Tacoma, WA 98446, 253-531-8142. e-mail: [email protected].

A start-up disk and an Apple works programs diskfor Apple computer model A2S4I00. This is a 5 1/4disk and it runs a word processor. Contact: Gordon,/130 Rocky Fork Road, Smyrna, TN 37167, 615-220-0874.


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/Vaticorta/ComputerAssociationThe National Computer Association

is the Professionals' Choice for secunng a future in thecomputer industry We make the computer industry a better

place for our members to work by uniting together and workingto reverse the trend of high overhead and low profits.

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American Hakko Products, Inc. 5 61 805/294-0090AnaTek Corporation 8 60 800/999-0304Andrews Electronics 41 62 800/289-0300B & D Enterprises 40 63 888/815-0508Citironix/Panson 45 59 800/846-2484Delphi Internet 64 118 800/365-4636Electro Dynamics. Inc 25 113 800/426-6423Electronic Design Specialists 15 64 561/487-6103

Electronics Technicians Assoc. 60 77 765/653-4301

Electronix Corporation 64 65 937/878-1828Heathkit 53 66 800/253-0570Herman Electronics 26 67 800/938-4376International Components Corp. 64 68 800/645-9154Iscet 8 76 817/921-9101MAT Electronics 44 69 800/628-1118

MCM Electronics 39 70 800/543-4330NCA/National Computer Assn. 46.64 79 800/615-6224Newnes 46 71 800/366-2665Panasonic 21 800/545-2672Philips Service Solutions Group IFC 120 800/851-8885Philips Software Development BC 117 423/475-0393SBS Direct 64 72 800/603-9000Sams & Company. Howard 43 110 800/428-7267Sears Home Services 61 73 800/676-8321

Sony World Repair Parts Center 49 74

Thomson Consumer Electronics IBC 12 800/336-1900Vance Baldwin 64 75 800/432-8642

We'd like to see your company listed here too. Call Evelyn Garrisonat 425-557-9611 or Fax her at 425-557-9612 to work out an advertisingprogram tailored to suit your needs.

What's Your BestServicing Value?

The magazine that makes money for you -

ELECTIIIIIiieServicing & Technology

Each month, ES&T brings you how-to service articles on TVs...VCRs...Computers... CD players... Microwaveovens... Audio products and more. It's theinformation you need to co your job everyday.

Regular columns and special features from experts will make you moreefficient - and more profitable - in no time. Plus. our monthly PROFAX, a FREE8 -page pull-out of popular TV, VCR and computer schematics. makes ES& Taneven greater value.

1 -year, (12 issues) $26.951 -year Canada/Mexico $36.95

1 -year Foreign Air Post, $44.95

2 -years, (24 issues) $49.952 -years, Canada/Mexico $69.952 -years Foreign Air Post, $85.95

Electronic Servicing & Technology25 Newbridge Road, Hicksville, NY 11801 Phone: 516-681-2922 FAX: 516-681-2926

64

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