How are RCA F38310 owners doing? - Page 26

I bought my set in early 2002, using it primarily with OTA stations in SF Bay Area, plus with my DVD player at 480P; I've always been happy with it.

Recently got a used DVDO iScan HD/SDI to use my Denon DVD player (w/SDI)upsampled to 1080i. Very impressive! I've been reviewing my large DVD collection and WOW!

I won't be switching to HDVD or Blue Ray anytime soon...

Anyone else using a scaler to watch upsampled (to 1080i) DVD's?

-chas

Does anyone know if this tv will support 1080i at 50Hz (over component)? This would be from upscaled PAL SD-DVDs. I checked the onwers manual and a pdf faq I found online but there is no mention of supported frequencies. I would just try it and see, but it requires putting european firmware onto my player, which makes the players setup menus default to 50hz, so I dont want to do it unless I know the tv supports it.

Awesome thread, just found it

In Service Counter: 51331 (which puts the plugged in date ~4/7/2002)
no activation date set
warranty clock hours: 9128 (so that's an average of 4 hours per day)

Love the set. Had to get the caps on the PS replaced, guy did it in place with a soldering gun, couldn't believe it

I have only two issues with this set:

1) When watching a letterboxed image on 4:3, when I change the "Screen Format" from "Normal" to "Fill" (i.e. zoom in), the aspect ratio isn't correct; it zooms 10% more vertically then horizontally. Example, a circle with screen diameter of 6 inches in normal mode will be 8 inches wide, but 9 inches tall in fill mode. Might not seem like a lot, but it's totally noticeable to me. Any thoughts on how to fix this?

2) That blasted always-on cooling fan (never had DirecTV) is starting to whine, loud enough that I can hear it while the TV is playing. I'm sure there are posts on how to fix this, but I'm a little worried about opening up the TV myself. Any suggestions?

BTW, just added AT&T's U-Verse service (dropped Time Warner) and LOVE the HD+DVR set up. Until now, I've only watched a few OTA channels in HD.

I just recently found this thread. I found my F38310 in the trash. I saw 2 people dragging (yes, dragging) their set to the side of the and asked them what they were doing. They said the set had a "menu" problem and they couldn't watch anything because of it. After coming back later with my roommate and loading it into a truck we got it back to the house where I took the cover off of the top near the power button and found that water had been spilled on the circuit board there. After some re-soldering and a down button replacement I had a practically new set that's still working great 4 years later! (also required some paint down the side where they drug it down the driveway...)

Anyways, thats my history and here's my question:
My wife cannot take the fan noise anymore. I've read that there's nothing that can be done about this because the 1 fan that's on when the set if off is inside the DM1 module that all of the TV inputs run through. Ok, so I wouldn't want to not be able use any inputs, but I don't use any of the directTV things at all, only the component input for my HD DVR. What I would Like to do is cut the wire for the DM1 fan and split the wire of one of the other 2 fans to this one so it will only come on when the set is on. See page 15 of this awesome guide for pictures:
"http://home.austin.rr.com/doctorjoe/f38310faq.pdf"

Has anyone thought to try this? Does anyone see any reason why this wouldn't work? Any suggestions on how to do it? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Got mine in Oct '02, gave it to my daughter and her husband last june when I got a 50" Sammy plasma, still working great, has never skipped a beat.

Wouldn't it be easier to just plug the set into a power strip and shut that off when you don't want to hear the fan?

hi all,

great thread! i've had my set since late 2001 or early 2002 i think. it's been an absolute perfect joy the whole time - never a problem.

until now!

the other day it began having an intermittent problem exhibited by uncontrolled input switching while powered on. it's as if someone is standing behind me with a remote, toggling through the inputs. goes like this for 10-20 seconds then stops. i then reset to the correct input, and resume viewing, sometimes for as little as 15 minutes, sometimes for an hour or more, until it happens again.

is this a common failure mode? anyone know the fix? as timing has it i am planning on replacing the set with a 50" Pioneer Kuro plasma soon and was going to sell this one to a friend who loves it. of course i can't sell it in it's current condition!

any and all help is really appreciated here - thank you!

-d

I had a similar problem with the set I picked up on the side of the road. I fixed mine by removing the button from the circuit board that is on top of the set (Found it on the side of the road so it was trash anyways right?) you don't need it, after all what are remotes for?

If you think its possible it is the button: I would first try resoldering the button connections on the bottom of the circuit board. You can get to it by popping off the black cover surrounding the buttons on top of the TV (make sure your set is unplugged when you do this of course). Next time it starts switching make sure you note if the inputs are cycling down or up, this will diagnose the correct button. If resoldering the connections doesn't work it may be something internal to the button, my solution to this part was pliers but you may think of an alternative.

Good luck!

Yeah, I still have mine although it is now my #3 HD set. It's been repaired once by me (bad diode). Last week I moved it upstairs to my office. What a job getting this beast up those stairs. It took a hand truck and a strap ratchet with a safety line to move it to the second floor. I'm now working through a Directv H20 via component input, so I get all the new HD channels. It still has a great picture. My wife and I both agree, it will be removed in pieces if it goes dead.

I think the RCA and my 38" Loewe Aconda share the same glass from the same maker.

Doesn't fix my problem, since I can hear the fan when watching TV.

great - thanks for the tip - i'll hope it's just the button - odd because i NEVER use the button, but worth checking out!

perhaps there's a way to jsut "disconect" the button without actually removing it - i'll see when i bust that baby open tonight!

thanks gain, wish me luck!

-d

I have had my f38310 for 5 yrs, and lateley an intermittent to almost permanent condition.
that is - my unit pwrs on tries to turn on (it doesn't and repeats until you unplug) relays just keep clicking.

THE FIX (for me) I isolated it down to SIP PWR Board (part #250725) for those w/o schematic it is the "daghter board off the main board. It has part#236657 or IC U14356 on it.

I fashioned ated test bench for this board and found that both 470uf 16V Caps (by the 10uf 63V caps) were "leaky" Bad. however at a quick glance on checker they appear okay- But load them down, and watch em leak.....

I replaced with HI temp 470UF 25V Caps I had on hand.....

I put the sip pwr board back in, closed her all up, conected everything, turned it on with fingers crossed, and voila the great picture I had was even better!

May this greatly contribute to the society!!!
P.S. this is my first post but I have read damn near the whole board

Thanks for the solution. I have been living with this for a while and figured it for pwr supply caps but didn't know where. Looks like I have a week-end project. I had to fix a similar problem on my Maytag refrigerator a few months back.

I have had my F38310 for about 6 years now and while I rarely use it I do love it. Yesterday I was deeply sadened when i went to turn it on and realized it was on and had no picture or sound. The fans are running and the power light on top is on. If I unplug it I get a small flash of light in the center of the screen and when plugged back in I get the same, but other than that I am unable to get anything on the screen. I would like to have it repaired but am unsure if it is repairable or cost effective to do so. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

So it was on already or you didnt see anything once you turned it on?
What input were you trying to use?
Does the power button on top respond or do you need to remove AC plug?
When was the last time you watched it?

hi all,

still having the same input switching issue. tv will periodically cyle thorugh the inputs while powered up. very annonying. at the suggestion of another here i removed and took a good look at the input button assembly that is at the top front of the set. there is no visual damage there and it appears in perfect condition - was a long shot i thought anyway since i never use the button to switch inputs but rather the remote. not a remote problem as i took the batteries out of all remotes in the room in order to rule that out.

anyone had this issue? is this really a new problem? i don't want to have to call a repairman for this if i can avoid it!

any help much appreciated here! thanks!

-d

I just moved, and noticed something I find odd when I was hooking up my tv at my new place. The led for the toslink output is ON even when the tv is off - I could see the visible red light coming out of the fiber as I was plugging it into my receiverr! What's up with that? I knew the fan stayed on (which seems like a waste of power, but the sound doesn't bug me) but why would the digital audio output be on? Do those LEDs ever wear out?

Hey, I found this thread looking for info about my new set...

Purchased ours September 2001. Always swore I'd keep it until it died. Then last year I finally saw a Sony XBR LCD that had a better picture IMO. January came around and I got a great deal on a Samsung 5271, so it had to go.

I got $320 for it on Ebay, the guy really just wanted it for OTA. It was a later JX5, over 50,000 when we checked. Great set, I was sorry to see it go but it went to a good home.

anyone have a parts set they want to sell me this circuit board from? anyone done the replacement?

thanks,

-d

Bought mine in 02 or 03. It was a demo at circuit city. The picture was PERFECT then and it is PERFECT now. I just bought a Sony KDSR-50 XBR1 SXRD because I wanted a bigger picture but I hope I'm not "stepping down" to a bigger set. I'm never gonna get rid of the RCA it's a museum peace and a work of art. I'll keep it as a spare.

Well, after almost six years, my set just died about an hour ago. I went to turn it on, and it just would just click off like what protojim had happen to him. I unplugged it for about 20 minutes and when I plugged it back in, I get nothing at all- although I can still hear the fan. I'm going to unplug it and wait until morning to see what happens. Everything was fine until DirecTV installed their new box so I could get the latest "upgrades" about three weeks ago. The picture quality was terrible, and I had to get an AB switch because of the sole component input. I'm bummed. Money's tight right now, and I don't know what type of replacement TV to get.

Weird. the TV came back on yesterday, but was dead again today. WTF is going on? I have the back taken off, but don't know what to look for.

i was wondering if their a member here that owns this set and the 8g pioneer kuro? i'v seen some pictures of the rca f38310 but dont know who it is.

also mine is for sale as its only collecting dust and taking space... no flaws what so ever make an offer and im assuming its going to be localy since it weights a ton.

dont want to burst your bubble bro but xbr is way out of line to compare to the rca! it seems to me you like the artificial colors and that "POP" then a natrual realistic picture the only contender that is on par with this tv set is the current pioneer 8g kuro and thats it

I'm assuming this means the XBR is the better set. I was wandering about this also since I am replacing (still works perfect RCA) with a Sony KDSR-50XBR1 SXRD tomorow. Keeping the RCA or now. The picture on the RCA "AMAZES" me but the XBR "WOW'S" me

Why would you assume XBR is a better set? again its not, the only reason why it "wow" you is because SONY made this DYnamic mode so un educated people buy tvs when in reality is a showroom condition is not the same as home condition / enverioment.....
do as you please its your money but i know its a given fact crt > pioneer kuro .... that it

For the record i would not get a sxrd/ lcos or CRT PROJECTION because viewing angles suck and suffers from other flaws! lol you should know this


let me make it as clear as possible CRT TUBE was the best PQ technology you can get UNTIL only 1 tv surpassed it ... that being the pioneer kuro plasma 8g.

no other tv can compare to a crt not a plasma *except pio* DEFTIANLY NOT a lcd ..... if you want realistic natrual tones not artfiicial you'll know what i mean... so i suggest hold on to your crt and if you want a bigger size go with the current kuro or wait for the july 9g kuro.... its going to be slightly cheaper i belive

I am having second thoughts. I think maybe when I get the sxrd home it won't look as good to me as it does in the store. And I have no way of doing an ab comparison of the two without buying it. But for $1000 for an "updated" sxrd50 w new bulb and full warranty can I be going wrong.

I cant agree with you on this. I have a friend that even has a 720p plasma and the picture is as good as my F38310. Plus its a 50" so its even bigger. The new pany plasmas are what I have my eye on and they are awesome.

Hello,

We've loved our RCA F38310 since we bought it in Nov. 2001. The tube is now going bad so sometimes we get a perfect picture, other times we get scan lines and an interesting shadowy blue glow. Everything else works just fine except an occasionally noisy cooling fan inside the directv tuner.

We've been told that we can get a new (lighter) TV for the price it would cost to fix the tube in the unit.

I know there might be some folks on this forum who would be interested in rescuing it or having it for parts, so I'm offering it free to anyone who will come get it. I'm in Thornton, CO.

I'll check this posting for a couple of days and then probably list it on craigslist. Hopefully someone can put it to good use.

-Patrick