[Nickthedentist]

Well done, but you have learned from this experience.

I always used to think that CRT TVs needed a "specialist" to fix, but I've mended dozens over the years, learning from books, magazines, and just playing around with old sets.

Many faults are trivial (dry joints, cracked print) and many others can be fixed with a circuit diagram, multimeter and if all else fails, a bit of component substitution. And many sets had "stock faults", in other words, a particular model had a particular weak spot which made fault-finding even easier.

Over here, in the late 1980s and 1990s, I could find a colour TV thrown out in the street very easily, take it home, get the circuit diagram from the local library, and mend it in my student bedroom with just a soldering iron, ancient multimeter and some bits salvaged from other old TVs. If I needed any new parts, there were plenty of small independent dealers I could order from by phone or fax, with the parts arriving by post a day later.

20 years later, most "street TVs" which I found were in perfect working order. A bonus in many respects, but no more fun!