CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[deronmoped]

Anyone specialize in board repair? What is the lowdown on that, is it expensive, successful?

Thanks, Deron.

[jkruger]

I've fixed a few dings in the past...... Oh wait. Not surfboards? Boards from an NEC?

[Tom.W]

Curt would be a good choice...

[Elaine Benes]

[mp20748]

Let me start out by saying that I don't offer board level repairs on the forums. But I am a board level repair technician, but I have a target customer group only.

I think concerning board repairs or projector repairs in general, I would contact Curt. Curt is a very competent component level technician that has nearly mastered repairing most of the boards and problems that are commonly seen in our setups. Him and I at times exchange ideas and consult each other on problems. He's not your common or regular tech, in fact and in my opinion, because of what he has acquired over the years to master his repair work, he deserves to be compensated very well for it, because he would be considered what is known in this area as a "master Tech"

I personally think he's not charging enough for his work. I get emails, PM's all the time asking about his prices. And in every reply, I make it clear, it's really a good or fair amount. Only one time I was not clear on being able to say so, but I was not also clear as to all that was involved.

I know the value of CRT projectors has diminished over the years, and that should impact what the repairs would cost. But why would the value of a device effect what a technician should charge to fix it. If a board or device is not worth the repair or not economical to repair, the tech should inform the customer of that. And that's something that I know first hand that Curt does, that plus being very qualified to do the work is what makes for a top shelf technician.


I too have a few computer monitors laying around that will be going into the trash. And it's not that I'm not able to fix them, they're just not worth the time and parts, so they have to go. Now on the other hand, when it comes to my HT, it's not something that laying around because I have no use for it. And it's not something I can really do without, so it falls within the category of some other things in my life, when if it fails I'll be about the business of getting it repaired.

My HT is a big part of my life, much like my HVAC system, washer dryer, fridg, etc.. if any of those need attention, I'm not going to simply replace if I can get them going at a very reasonable cost. And If I'm lucky enough to get an very competent repair person to look at them and also inform me if it's time to replace them. It would be then that I would make the change.


And i would rather have my boards repaired than get one off ebay or from somewhere else that has not been well tested and/or upgraded with the other necessary fixes, and would not come with a warranty, which you will get from Curt. So having a board repaired from Curt is also like buying an extended warranty, because he would stand behind it.

When suggesting to some of his customers on going with him on repairs and were also considering going the ebay route, I've also advised that they also contact Curt to find out how much it would cost to have the board shipped directly to him for evaluation and upgrades if necessary.


Curt don't need to raise or lower his prices, the people who would want a very good and competent repair tech should consider what it would cost for him to do what he does. Or when If you get to be up in age and can see death around the corner, just think of things the same way some think of their projectors --- don't even bother to spend the money, because it's not about quality, it's all about how much longer....

[Nashou66]

well said mike !!

Athanasios

[Curt Palme]

Really, with any repair, CRT or not, you have two choices:

1) Repair the original board
2) Buy a used board and install it.

I'd opt for option 1 wherever possible, and here's why:

a) Many boards are specifically calibrated to your set. This includes (but isn't limited to) HV and video boards. Another board will work out of another set, but may not work properly, or at worst case, damage a tube or other boards in the set.

b) When you buy a used board, it might be near the end of its lifespan. At least once every 2-3 months I get a board in for repair where someone has bought it off eBay or elsewhere, and the replacement board that the person bought has failed again. Now you're out the replacement board costs and the downtime.. twice.

c) When I repair boards, I do a number of repairs/part replacements that commonly fail on the board, even if that part isn't bad when you send the board in. That maintains long term reliability of your set, and upgrades parts that are known to fail.

I usually charge $250 flat rate per board, unless the board needs to be replaced, in which case it could be more, like a Marquee HVPS. I've also given massive discounts to the older ES focusing sets like the Sony 12XX and Barco 800 or similar, as the sets simply aren't worth putting $250 into at this point. For things like Sony 10XX or ECPs, there's not even a point in sending in a bad board, I'll just sell you a replacement for cheap.

Thanks for the post Mike, that was indeed well put.

[Curt Palme]

Really, with any repair, CRT or not, you have two choices:

1) Repair the original board
2) Buy a used board and install it.

I'd opt for option 1 wherever possible, and here's why:

a) Many boards are specifically calibrated to your set. This includes (but isn't limited to) HV and video boards. Another board will work out of another set, but may not work properly, or at worst case, damage a tube or other boards in the set.

b) When you buy a used board, it might be near the end of its lifespan. At least once every 2-3 months I get a board in for repair where someone has bought it off eBay or elsewhere, and the replacement board that the person bought has failed again. Now you're out the replacement board costs and the downtime.. twice.

c) When I repair boards, I do a number of repairs/part replacements that commonly fail on the board, even if that part isn't bad when you send the board in. That maintains long term reliability of your set, and upgrades parts that are known to fail.

I usually charge $250 flat rate per board, unless the board needs to be replaced, in which case it could be more, like a Marquee HVPS. I've also given massive discounts to the older ES focusing sets like the Sony 12XX and Barco 800 or similar, as the sets simply aren't worth putting $250 into at this point. For things like Sony 10XX or ECPs, there's not even a point in sending in a bad board, I'll just sell you a replacement for cheap.

Thanks for the post Mike, that was indeed well put.

[draganm]

[ralpharch]

[Curt Palme]

While I haven't seen the Optoma, a Marquee will still give you better cost her hour of run time. Don't get hung up on specs, just because a machine is 1080p doesn't mean it's any good.

[Curt Palme]

While I haven't seen the Optoma, a Marquee will still give you better cost her hour of run time. Don't get hung up on specs, just because a machine is 1080p doesn't mean it's any good.

[Tom.W]

When it comes to board repairs Curt is VERY good and someone to trust in. My Barco's just hardly ever fail....

[wallace123456]

[deronmoped]

What I'm concerned with, is parts may start to get scarce if everyone keeps throwing out the boards in need of repair. Also, some boards may have common problems (especially older boards), you may buy a used replacement, but it could have the same problem down the road.

Deron.

[draganm]

[Nashou66]

[Curt Palme]

[Curt Palme]