How are RCA F38310 owners doing? - Page 39

Can't connect HDMI to one of these. Use component video and analog(stereo) audio instead. (Alternatively run hdmi or spdif to your receiver for sound). If you don't have component output on yoru htpc, buy a new video card. (Or alternatively a new tv).

Or... HDFury. That supposedly converts HDMI to component.

It does. When my F38310 was my primary TV, I used an HDFURY II to connect my Blu-ray player and dvd recorder to it. The combination facilitated upconversion to 108i from both players and produced a significantly better and more detailed picture.

How's the HDFury compare to a non converted component signal?

The highest resolution you get with a straight component connection is 480P. The HDFURY enables upconversion to 1080i through the RCA's component inputs. You get the next best thing to true high definition instead of an SD signal. The result is a significantly better picture. the purpose of the HDFURY is to permit the dvd player to recognize an HDMI device. Blu-ray or upscaling DVD players will only upconvert to 1080i(or P which the RCA 38310 can't display) via an HDMI connection.

You are mistaken. Component supports up to 1080i.

I get 1080i no problem with a straight component connection. My PC, Dish HD DVR, and BD player are hooked up to my tv that way (with my receiver acting as a switchbox).

I neglected to add the phrase "from an upconverting DVD player" to my statement. You're right with the exception that a DVD upconverting player will only move the resolution of a standard DVD up to 1080i(or 1080p if the TV is capable of displaying it) through an HDMI connection. The HDFURY provides that connection.

^ Yeah, component is able to display even 1080p. It depends on the TV and the output signal. I have seen many TV's that weren't 1080p thorugh HDMI and could accept 1080p through component. Component is as good (i find even better) than HDMI. The advantage of HDMI is sound and having one cable . If a console or DVD could output higher than 1080p, component could accept it easily. The only problem would be with the TV. A monitor like my Xp37 Xtra would be the only kind of set able to display it easily.

Well, my JX4 with a DTV306GCB finally gave up on me! Suspect a power supply problem, but have not troubleshot yet other than a visual inspection. I see that RCA used to sell a DTV306KIT that included the following parts -
DTV306 Repair Kit
> : Contains :
> : T14600 - 243860 - Transformer
> : Q14601 - 258229 - P4NC60 Kit
> : Q14602 - 147665 - MPS8599
> : Q14603 - 232218 - MPSA05
> : U14603 - 231525 - IC
> : R14603 - w/258229
> : CR14611 - 234048 - diode
> : CR14613 - 236168 - zener diode
> : CR14615 - 227887 - diode
My visual inspection didn't show anything obvious with these parts. My question would be - am I on the right track?
I also looked at CR14710 and it was a bit dull from heat, but didn't look to be badly burned.

I'm trying out one of the HDView boxes now.
I use XBMC on my htpc.
I have Windows 7 and XBMC both set at 1920x1080
On windows 7 desktop the display is scrambled.
I have tried all sorts of different refresh rates and nothing seems to work so far.
However, when my htpc loads XBMC it syncs up and gives me a picture.
Any ideas what's going on?

Is there a way to force NTSC on windows 7 desktop?

Mine has been working fine since 2001. We've now replaced it with a larger flat panel. I'm in the SW suburbs of Chicago. If anyone wants it they can come by and pick it up. Just send me a PM.

I'm need to adjust these settings for the component input but all I can get are P1 and P0 when component is selected.

Is there any way to do it?

---

I figured it out.
I had to send 1 standard 1080i signal to the TV and then it allowed me to get to the other settings.

I wanted to download the alignment PDF but the link no longer works.
http://www.manitoupark.com/public/Section3_1-10.pdf
Could someone please upload it or tell me another link.

Thankfully the Internet Archive Wayback Machine had a backup:
http://web.archive.org/web/200601060...tion3_1-10.pdf

I have also uploaded it here if anyone else needs it.

 

Section3_1-10.pdf 158.380859375k . file

Could someone please tell me what the "Screen" adjustment (3rd Hole) is for?




Could someone please tell me what the "Screen" adjustment (3rd Hole) is for?

If you are using this with a HTPC like me get the attached test pattern and put it in a folder by itself.
Open the folder and right click and "preview the file"
Then hit F11 to make it full screen.
Put a big mirror a couple of feet in front of the TV and go around back of the TV
Stare at the vertical and horizontal lines in the center circle.
Use Focus 1 to make the vertical lines as thin as possible.
Use Focus 2 to make the horizontal lines as thin as possible.
Repeat Focus 1 and Focus 2 at least 3 or 4 times.
You will be impressed with the results!

I tried lightly turning the third "screen" adjustment but it doesn't seem necessary.

Now the only other thing I might do is try degaussing the screen but it isn't bad enough to make worry about it too much.

After hanging on for too long, I've got to let my F38310 go. I have no room for it. If anyone wants it, I'm in Holland, MI.
Can't find the CR14710, diode, stock number: 243846 anywhere. It fried.
Best TV I ever had, unappreciated because of its size these days.
Let me know if you want it to fix or for parts, otherwise its off to recycle land
Is there any point in removing the HD receiver before scrapping?

FWIW, you may be able to get the part here:
http://www.hbfelectronics.com/index....item_id=415530
http://www.partstore.com/Part/Thomso...43846/New.aspx
http://www.searspartsdirect.com/part...EVISION&blt=11

Well, I guess all good things must come to an end.
You know that small greenish vertical line in the center of the screen when you first turn on the set?
That's all I get now.
And it just stays there whether I turn the set on or off.

After discovering it would cost $0.15 per pound to "recycle" large TVs locally, I found a local TV repair shop who agreed to take it off my hands, fix and sell it or donate it to a church.
Thanks for this forum over the years!

I have a working F38310 that I am trying to get rid of to make way for new TV. Free to pickup in Northern VA. Please bring in extra help to carry this 200lb TV. You can have the stand that is made specially for this TV

I will post the odometer once I figure out how to do it.

Periodic lurker here, post at times.

I recently looked at my 10 year old f38310 and said, maybe its time to go bigger, newer, flatter, and lighter. Lets research, so I dug around allot here and some other sites.

Motion blur, burn in, limited viewing angles, good blacks but bad whites, good whites but bad blacks, good movies but bad sports, 480 content looks terrible, good video games but..., good sports but...

OMG my 10 year old HDCRT IMO has none of these problems, WTF are the consumers excepting. I'm wondering how I can score something like what I have but bigger and it's not clear I can even get something close in my budget? However, my 38 16x9 CRT is running fine whilst crushing video quality all over best buy's floor. Allot of the tail end of this thread is "my F38310 just died". I understand I'll have my day too, but my research has told me to re-appreciate my beast. And yes I have moved her 4 times, including an upstairs pad (wow I had to dig deep on that one), and back down. Make sure you got the right buddy with you and half the load isn't a problem for yourself.

CRT vs LCD or Plasma thread is very interesting. As is the Plasma vs LCD thread.

When my day comes for my F38310 to retire, so shall tears flow from my eyes. That picture is gorgeous, and I am loving it as my primary TV still.

What do I have to spend to rival this picture and is plasma the only option to getting there?

Hi all, just joined this forum and am wondering if there's anyone followiing this F38310 thread anymore? Or should I post questions to the general 'direct view' area?

thx

Any specific questions? Many like me are still sub'd to the thread. I still have my 38310 but I have not used it in a few months. I think it's still something to behold.

Thx for the reply and glad there's still interest in the best PQ monitor there is.

My JX5 bought 02/02 just turned 10yo, and except for the tuner going out 6mo's ago, hasn't given me any prob's. Trying to fix the tuner prob. led me to this forum, and gave me courage to pull the cover off. Very dusty/dirty! The cap's on the boards are the upgraded one's, no burns or oozing. Thinking last summers violent storms fried the tuner (along with my wireless router).

Did the service menu check, and at eeprom it said avdec=ok, tuner=ok what?? so much for that test... Tried unplugging for 2hrs and retuning on both antenna's but still no channels found.

odometer reads 22,958 with act.date of 11/03, but that's when I first used D*TV so must have lost a couple of years of readings.

Having gone through every post, using search, down-loading Dr. Joe's, etc., etc., so many of the links are dead, so...

I still can't seem to find out if the tuner fan can be disabled. The noise is so bad while watching...and don't want to blare the sound to drown it out. For that matter, would like to pull the whole tuner since I have a digital stb for ota. Possible??? Seems I read that all the inputs are running through it...

Any thoughts, ideas, links, pics, would be appreciated.

I loved this set. Bought it new in 2002 for $1650 at Best Buy. The internal tuner (forgot its numbers) went bad in 2003. After a 2 month part delay, Best Buy called me and told me I could get a new "comparable" TV instead. I said "no", I'd rather wait for the part since there is nothing else like this set. Went dead again in 2007. Took it to a local mom & pop shop for repair (extended warranty was over in 2006). They worked on it for a long time (3 months), and never gave me updates. I always had to call them. Eventually, I stopped calling and never heard from them again. It was very strange because they had (and still have) such a good reputation. I ended up finding a KD-34XBR960 on Craigslist because I didn't want to deal with it anymore. Still don't know whatever happened to my TV...

The 38" size was perfect for my viewing distance. The loss of 4" definitely is noticeable even now. However, I'm glad I ended up with the Sony. The main reason is due to an extremely annoying flaw with the RCA. Back then I didn't know what caused it, but I do now. The deinterlacer constantly tripped up on 240p video content commonly used by older video game consoles. Newer games that used 480i worked fine. So on my Dreamcast it worked fine with Soul Calibur, but tripped up on Capcom vs SNK. I played tons of old video games on there and the glitch would always drive me nuts. Imagine playing Super Mario Bros and while you're running across the screen, the picture freezes for a split second and then goes normal. Imagine this every 5-10 seconds.

There are a couple other minor reasons:
1.) Having an HDMI input is nice, but without owning a Blu-ray player it's hardly necessary.
2.) Being able to accept external 720p signals is also a plus. I use XBMC a lot and it runs like butt when rendering in 1080i instead of 720p.
3.) I used to use the 1394 port on the Sony to record to D-VHS.

Despite all that, the F38310 was great for OTA HD, DVDs, and newer video games. I think I still have the remote and the super thick AC power cord lying around somewhere.

I have loved, used, and transported my RCA FS38310 for a long long time (over 10 years i'm pretty sure). I think it died last night. Come on, one of you ninjas can tell me how to fix her.

While watching cable HDTV the TV switched off then on real quick. It came back on just fine. About an hour later it started cycling off and on rather quickly. The cycle is approx... On, .2 sec with little light in center of screen, off, .7 sec, repeat. I was tired and didn't want to mess with it but I dabbled a little last night and today.

Last night, while it was cycling on and off, I tried hitting power on remote and on the set and nothing changed, still cycling. I pulled the plug waited a few minutes, and plugged it back in. After the click after a few seconds of having power I pushed the power button and it started cycling on and off never fully lighting up the screen. I pulled the plug and went to bed. Retested 12 hours later and same result. Different power jack (not sure if different switchbox fuse) same result. Tried plugging in and getting to diagnostics (info, menu/ok, right volume+) and nothing. It can never power up enough to get there.

I've started digging through this thread to see if I can find any similar situations, still have a ways to go. Does anyone have any ideas what may be wrong or suggestions for me? I'm broke, and I love this TV, I'd love to get her working again.

Thanks for any help anyone may be able to provide

You and I must be the only ones still using this crt. From what I remember going thru the thread, your problem is probably the high tension board, bad caps/resistors?. Search on something like that and you'll see a lot of posts. The caps and resistors are still available, but you'd need a shop if you're not set up to diagnose it.

Was the tuner working before this happened? If yes and you decide to trash the set, I'd be interested in taking the DM-1.

Thanks for the info, I'll do the search and read up but I think I'm going to buy a plasma. This has been a great set for me. I loved the picture quality and even though I paid the Best Buy 3k top dollar price within 6 months of graduating college, I've been very happy with the purchase. This is the first issue I have had with it(well sometimes it didn't like synching between resolution switches but I can always get it working quickly); it's never been to a shop or been opened up. I hate to see her go.

I saw a great deal on a panasonic tc-p55st30, cheaper than the 46 inch variant of this model line tonight in Target, even lower than the online prices I've seen. I think I'm pulling the trigger on it tomorrow.

As far as the Tuner goes I'm fairly certain it still works. I haven't gone over the air in about two years though but it was working then. I'm on a cable box now so???? The Satellite box has never been used. I'm an idiot when it comes to this stuff, I'd need some real straight forward step by step, or you can find a shop around me to pull it for you. I think my buddy has a buddy who does TV stuff:-) You're welcome to the whole set, I'm in Hampton Roads area of Virginia, but I am getting rid of it tomorrow so we got to figure this out. My buddies supposed to come help me haul it away at 4. I'll PM you my number.