I've got this 5 year old JVC that's been faithful, and it's been losing brightness for a little while. I'd like to refresh it, because it's a good TV and I like using it for my SD game systems and the like...

What part do I need replaced? Is SEARS reliable to repair TVs? Also, how much can I expect to spend on such a job for a 27" CRT?

Your TV is most likely out of warranty, so no, Sears isn't reliable. Try turning up the G2 on the flyback transformer assuming you already tried turning up the brightness in the settings. The flyback is the one with the red wire connecting to the CRT.

That's what I would try also, to turn up the high voltage. I just didn't want to be the one to initially make the suggestion:) Thinking of the knob as a clock, turn the thing 1/12th and see if that makes any difference. If the screen seems darker you turned the knob the wrong direction.

Also be real careful in there, once got a really bad shock working inside a Sony TV, didn't know the chassis was hot (had an electrical potential).

Any websites that could give me good instructions on this? I'm comfortable doing this stuff, I work on computers and things, but I have no idea how to actually do it...

Oh, and I found this little tidbit, any truth to what this guy is saying?

"As a start, I crank the brightness control all of the way up. I then turn the color control all of the way up. I let the set run with a bright screen for around 15 min. This procedure cleans up the cathode surfaces so that they can emit more electrons."

Can't you just turn up the contrast and brightness on your TV using the regular calibration menu? I know that's what I do when my CRTs lose brightness.

Any websites that could give me good instructions on this? I'm comfortable doing this stuff, I work on computers and things, but I have no idea how to actually do it...

Oh, and I found this little tidbit, any truth to what this guy is saying?

"As a start, I crank the brightness control all of the way up. I then turn the color control all of the way up. I let the set run with a bright screen for around 15 min. This procedure cleans up the cathode surfaces so that they can emit more electrons."

There will be a black thingy with a couple red wires coming out of it. One is labeled Focus, the other one is labeled Screen. The Screen one is what you want to turn. This is best done with little to none ambient light, just have a lamp behind the TV to see what you are doing. Turn up the contrast to max and the brightness to zero. Turn the Screen knob until thin white lines appear. Now slowly turn it down till the lines fully dissappear, check 7 times that they are gone as they'll annoy you if keep popping up at times. Now go back to your normal picture settings, you should notice a significant improvement.

As about that guy, yes it would help, but only on minor darkening. Preferably leave it on a white background and crank the brightness up. Leave the contrast to medium. However, increasing the G2 voltage will most likely bring a more significant improvement.

Can't you just turn up the contrast and brightness on your TV using the regular calibration menu? I know that's what I do when my CRTs lose brightness.

The user menu doesn't deal with G2 voltage. There is a big difference between turning the G2 voltage up and using the regular brightness control - with G2 voltage you do not lose detail and contrast at the expense of a brighter screen.