Table of contents

Contents
Best electronics repair articles by Humphrey Kimathi........................................................................... 1
1. Introduction to switch mode power supply (s.m.p.s) ............................................................................... 4
2. CRT Television (SONNI-MAX) dead now repaired................................................................................... 10
3. How I repaired a DVD home theatre system with “No Disc” symptoms. ............................................... 19
4. LG 14 inch CRT Ultra slim television with shut down symptoms now repaired ..................................... 24
5. DVD player dead now repaired. .............................................................................................................. 32
6. What is the future of electronics repairing? ........................................................................................... 37
7. Recommended: Buy your electronics repair test equipment here ........................................................ 40
8. What others are saying! .......................................................................................................................... 41
9. Recommended: Electronics repair books ............................................................................................... 44
Disclaimer
The reader of this book is expressly warned to consider and adopt all safety
precaution that might be indicated by the activities herein and to avoid all
potential hazards.

The author particularly disclaims any liability, loss or risk taken by individuals
who directly or indirectly act on the information Contained herein. The author
believes that the information presented here is sound, but readers cannot
hold him responsible for either the actions they take or the result of those
actions.

Email: humphrey@humphreykimathi.com

Website: http://www.humphreykimathi.com
1. Introduction to switch mode power supply (s.m.p.s)

All electronics devices need power in order to work; therefore all electronics
equipment has a power supply section.

Most modern equipment’s today are using S.M.P.S, you will find them in LCD
Television, DVDs, Power amplifiers, LCD monitors etc.

Switch mode power supply (S.M.P.S) comes in different shapes but the basic
mode of operation is very same.

Below you can see a diagram with the basic components of an S.M.P.S.

One common thing with all switch mode power supply is that they have the
primary side (HOT) and the secondary side (COLD)
The primary side includes all components from the power supply input to
the input of chopper transformer down through the middle of the Opto-
isolator.

The secondary side includes the output of the chopper transformer,

secondary rectifier diodes, and the secondary filter capacitors for each line.

Below you can actual picture of a DVD player S.M.P.S

We have the Alternating current (A.C) coming directly from the power outlet
and goes through a fuse which is used for safety purposes.

In case something short in the supply (usually on the primary side) the fuse
will always blow (open) and this will in turn disconnect the power from the
rest of the circuit to prevent further damages.

After that the A.C passes through a filter circuit which is basically used to
get rid of any interference from radio frequencies (noise).

After that the AC get into a bridge rectifier which then rectify the incoming
A.C into pulsating DC, this is not still clean to be used by the circuits and
therefore the Pulsating direct current(PDC) passes through the Main
capacitor and this smooth out any pulsating DC.
Please note that if you measure the AC voltage at the bridge diode input you
will get (220AC or 110 AC) depending on your outlet. But if you measure the
voltage at the output of the bridge diode you will get 320Vdc or 155Vdc.

How can it be? This is because you meter in AC mode only test the root
mean square (R.M.S) of the ac signal and therefore after being rectified you
will get the peak voltage in DC.

For example if you measure the A.C input at the bridge rectifier input pins is
110VAC then you will have to multiplier that figure with 1.414 to get the
peak voltage and therefore you will get (110 X 1.414=155 Vdc and for those
using 220 Vac you will get (220 X 1.414=310 Vdc) this is the voltage you will
get at the main Capacitor in DC.

Using the above principle we can use the voltage at the main capacitor to
know if there is something wrong with the bridge rectifier as in if you get
320 Vdc or 155Vdc at the main capacitor one can immediately conclude that
there is no problem with all the circuit before the main capacitor including
the bridge and therefore no need of checking, but if you get the voltage is
less at the main capacitor then you can suspect a problem on the component
before the main capacitor, for example if you find the voltage is low this
could point to one of the bridge diode is open.

If the bridge short the fuse will blow instantly…

After the main capacitor has done a good job of smoothing out the pulsating
dc we have a transformer waiting to transform that voltage into different
voltages, but the bad news is….Transformers are not meant to use direct
current (DC) but alternating current (A.C).

To solve that problem a transistor is used, basically this transistor act as a

switch that open and closes very fast in order to cause current to flow
through the chopper transformer which then generates various voltages for
the secondary circuits.

In our case this transistor in inbuilt into the Pulse-width modulator I.C (PWM)
and therefore you will not see it physically but in some power supplies it is
separate.
The work of the PWM is actually to drive this transistor in response to the
feedback from the secondary side.

In order for the PWM I.C to communicate with the secondary side an opto-
isolator is used.

An opto-isolator is composed of a Light emitting diode (L.E.D) and a photo

transistor.

Opto-isolator is used to feedback output voltages back to the control chip

(PWM) without forming an electrical connection.

This will then enable the supply to have a stable output on the secondary
side but again not without a challenge.

The output of any transformer is usually AC, so we need to change this A.C
again into DC in order to be used by the secondary circuits and to solve this
problem we will introduce once more rectifier diode to rectify this AC signal
back to DC and that where the secondary diode comes in…

Please note that these diodes are not ordinary diodes like the one we used
for the bridge rectifier but they are special diode (fast recovery diode) and
therefore you should never replace them with ordinary diode because they
will overheat and blow.

After the AC has passed through these special secondary diodes the signal
is rectified and now we have pulsating DC which is still not good for
electronics consumption and therefore we need a capacitor to smooth out
these pulses into smooth DC ready for use by various circuits.

For the purposes of monitoring the secondary output the main DC output is
sampled back to the primary side of the supply and this is the outlet which
is called the main B+ supply.

In CRT television it is the one which feed the fly-back transformer and in
DVDs and computer power supply the +5 volts is the monitored output and
hence the main B+.

Start-up Resistor- this is usually high value resistor used in s.m.p.s to

provide start up voltage to the control i.c or transistor.
This resistor drops the main AC or DC voltage to a low voltage which is used
as start-up voltage.

If this voltage is missing (usually between 8-20 volts) used in control i.c or
the 0.6v dc volt which goes to the base of the chopper transistor to switch
it on- the supply will not work and it will appear dead.

The supply to the control i.c goes to the start-up voltage pin. You can use
the datasheet for the particular i.c to know which pin is start-up voltage
(v.c.c)

This voltage is very important and if it is missing the supply will not start.

If it is missing could point to an open start-up resistor or the circuit is broken.

Want to be an expert in Switch mode power supply (S.M.P.S) repair? I
personally recommend this book by Jestine Yong...I have personally read it
and added a few tricks to my arsenal. Click here for more info.
2. CRT Television (SONNI-MAX) dead now repaired
Initial test: Television is totally dead.

I opened the TV and went straight to the safety components; I started with
the main fuse, found to have had catastrophic failure that even the glass
part of the fuse was broken.

Once I found the fuse has died catastrophically, next I moved to check the
state of the switching transistor.

Upon testing it with my digital meter set to diode test, I got a beep either
way, the resistance was near to zero.

Then I concluded this component has gone also-please note that if this
transistor short expects the fuse or the surge limiter to open.
To confirm the switching transistor was actually shorted I cut its middle leg
(collector) with a side cutter and tested across the C-E pins again, there
was still a beep (short indication)

Next I moved to the secondary side, I tested across the secondary side
diodes with the meter probe on one side and then reversed the probe.

I noticed when testing across the main B+ diode rectifier there was a beep
either way, This is an indication that the actual diode is shorted or a
component along that line.

To confirm, I cut one leg of this diode and tested across it again I got no
beep. This confirmed to me that this diode is okay and therefore I should
concentrate on the component after this diode.
The main suspect now is after this diode is the H.O.T, testing across the C-
E junction of this transistor; I got beep on either way of the meter probe.
Again I suspected it is the culprit, to confirm I cut the middle leg from the
circuit and upon testing the again the C-E pins with one leg (collector)
removed from the circuit, the transistor was found to be okay.

Then I suspected the flyback as you can see from the above diagram it is
also on direct path with the suspect line (B+) and to be sure it was the one
shorted, I decided to remove it completely from the board.

This I did and after testing across the C-E (on the circuit track with the
middle leg of H.O.T transistor lifted up from the circuit board) sadly I was
again wrong. The short was still present.

So what next? I pulled my ESR meter to assist me to locate the shorted

component.

With one probe of the ESR meter on the collector(C) pin of the HOT
transistor, I followed the circuit track from the pin E(emitter) and going
forward I noticed the ESR value was decreasing steadily and the lowest
reading was recorded at both legs of capacitor C416 which was number
470p/2kV
I pulled my digital meter to confirm and indeed this capacitor was dead
short.

I soldered one of it leg out and testing again across the C-E junction of the
HOT, this time I never got the beep and this confirmed to me that indeed
this was the culprit.

I got another from the junk board and I replaced it, I also replaced the
switching transistor and re-installed the FBT and now was the time to apply
the power which of course was via the series bulb.

After applying the power I noticed the bulb was very bright and was not
going dim and this concluded to me that there is still a shorted component.

I tested the voltage across the main capacitor and the reading was 64 vdc.
This could point to a problem with the diode rectifier and I tested with a
meter in diode mode and for sure I found one of the four (4) diodes was
shorted and replaced it.

I was now smiling because I figured that this is the end of this assignment
but again I was wrong.

After replacing the diode I tested across the main capacitor and still the
voltage was very low and the series bulb was still very bright which is still a
sign of present of a shorted component on the supply.

So decided to do component by component testing for the entire primary

side components.

From my experience I decided to start with all the diodes and all diodes
were found to be healthy according to my digital meter.

Next I checked the transistors and I decided to start with the transistor
C3807 which drive the switching transistor.

This transistor has its collector pin connected to the base of the switching
transistor.

I tested between the C-E junction of this small transistor and I got a beep,
I reversed the probe and still got a beep.

I guessed maybe it is because I am doing the testing in-circuit and hence

decided to remove this transistor out of the circuit and upon testing it out
of the circuit still there was a beep and therefore I concluded the transistor
is shorted.

I took another and replaced it and again applied power via the series bulb
and this time the bulb was dim.
This confirmed to me that there is no other shorted component on the
supply.

Later I went to the owner of this board and after re-installing the board
back to the tube the TV came back to life.

Lessons learn: whenever you change the switching transistor kindly change
the drive transistor also directly.

Usually when the switching transistor get shorted this small driver
transistor connected to its base short also or get a lot of stress and
therefore even if you find it okay it is a matter of time before it succumb.
Recommended eBook. CRT television repair course by Humphrey click here
3. How I repaired a DVD home theatre system with “No Disc” symptoms.
A friend of mine brought to me his home theatre to me to check it out, the
initial complaint was that it was not able to read disc.

Upon receiving it on my workbench I pressed the power button and it

came up well...

I pressed the eject disc button and the tray was not opening. May I point
out here that sometimes if the spindle motor is shorted it can load down
the supply such that even the drawers are not able to open.

This gave me a clue that the spindle motor may be shorted even before I
opened the machine.
I pulled my best friend analogue meter to confirm if the spindle motor is
shorted or not and true the spindle motor was gone.

I pulled one from my drawer (I always keep several pieces because this
motor has a high failure rate and replaced the faulty one).

Because the polarity of the wires were not marked on the board I decided
to cut the two wires to the spindle motor one inch from the board so that I
won’t have problems to figure out which wire is which when replacing
them.
Please note that I have seen a DVD player brought to me with “No Disc”
symptoms and I traced the problem was the spindle motor was replaced
with a good one but the technician inter changed the positive (+) and
negative (-) wires and therefore the disc was spinning at normal speed
(500RPM) but in the opposite direction and hence the tech never solved
the problem.

After replacing the spindle motor with a new one which my meter has also
confirmed to me that it is okay, the home theatre developed another
problem.

The drawers were closing and opening throughout. So I tried to figure out
what could have gone wrong while replacing the motor.

After a lot of mind searching, I started to observe the behavior of the disc
(movement in and out with the top cover of the home theatre removed.
I noticed the platter height was quite high and the disc was not loading
smoothly.

To solve this problem of the height I had to use the platter from the
previous motor and that solved the height problem and the home theatre
DVD module started working again.

Advice. Please note that whenever changing the spindle motor be sure to
note the height of the platter (table) from the spindle motor body because
this is very critical otherwise you may solve a problem and create another
and end up not repairing the machine.
Recommended eBook: DVD player repair course by Humphrey Kimathi click here
4. LG 14 inch CRT Ultra slim television with shut down symptoms now
repaired
I meet one of my neighbors on my way to work and requested me for
assistance on his two TVs which he suspected were hit by high voltage
within the estate since they stopped working the same day.

So I passed by his place in the evening to collect them, he was not indoors
but the wife was around and since she also know me she has no problem
letting me go with the television.

Back in my workshop I powered the TV via the series bulb and as you can
see the bulb was very bright and even after one minute still the bulb was
bright and with that I concluded there must be a shorted component in
there, especially on the primary side of the power supply.
Equipment hit be high voltage usually affects the primary components and
therefore even before opening I was expecting a easy fix.

I opened the set and headed straight to the primary side of the power
supply and my first component to test was the switching transistor which
usually short when there is power surge.

I pulled my analogue meter and testing across the B-E junction and got
high and reversing the meter probe I got low.

This is how it should be if it is okay and with that I decided to believe my

meter.

I tested the primary rectifier diodes and all tested okay.

I then crossed over to the secondary side and tested across the H.O.T
transistor and was also found okay.

So now I wondered: Was it really power surge or I am dealing with a

different animal (problem).

So I decided to think outside the box and ruled out power surge problem
and decided to do general troubleshooting.

I applied power once again and very keen to see what is happening and to
my surprise I noted the screen is coming on briefly and then shutdown.
Before shutting down I was able to pick this on the screen, this new
observation pointed me to the pincushion circuit and I went there running
with a lot hope that I have localized the faulty circuit.

I checked the entire component around that area and all tested okay.

With that my stress level increased and I started asking myself questions
“where did I go wrong”?

By coincidence I powered the TV without the series bulb and I noted the
screen was full.

It is now that I came to realize that the voltage drop across the series bulb
has effect on this set and that is why the TV screen wide was not full.
I also noted this TV was not an original LG, this I noted immediately after
opening the set.

I noted the board was cheap china board otherwise for branded TVs there
should be no effect on the B+ irrespective of the primary voltage since the
B+ voltage is highly regulated.
With that I decided to change my hypothesis to shutdown symptoms.

Shutdown in CRT television causes varies but the most suspect are power
supply problem, B+ voltage very high and hence high HV which can trigger
the X-ray circuit to kick and shutdown, secondary filter capacitor ESR gone
to the roof and finally, last but the least dry joints on the primary or
secondary side can cause this kind of problem.

To trace the cause of this problem I decided to start with my favorite

gadget the ESR meter and did ESR test on the few big filter capacitor on
the secondary side and all tested good.

Next I decided to solder all dry joint visible in the entire TV not caring
where they were; among them I noted this which looked more suspicious
in regard to this problem.

All in all I soldered all dry joints and after finishing and I was happy and I
decided to dis-connect the B+ line and attach the dummy load (40Watts)
across the B+ line and the cold ground.
The dummy bulb came up beautifully and stable, with that I concluded that
the primary power is okay...I also tested the B+ voltage and was 110 volts
and stable.

With that I decided to remove the dummy bulb and do live test and after
re-soldering the resistor which I had soldered out as take off point for B+,
applied the power and this is what I saw.
Recommended eBook: CRT television troubleshooting guide by Humphrey Kimathi click here
5. DVD player dead now repaired.
I received this DVD player in my shop for repair, on the model label it was
written SONY but when I opened it, I noticed it is not an original SONY
DVD player as you can see by yourself.

With the top cover off I applied power and I noticed it is powering ON
because I could see the pickup move a bit.

Looking at the display screen I noted it has no display (just blank), I asked
the owner for a brief history of this DVD player and he told me that before
the screen went blank it used to write “NO DISC”

With that I decided to check the state of the spindle motor which can
cause such a symptom if faulty.

To check the spindle motor I used my favorite meter for this which is the
analogue meter set to low ohm(X1)
If the spindle motor is good it should read low ohm and also rotate at high
speed, this I did and the motor was found to be in good health.

By the way you don’t have to remove the spindle motor to test with a
meter, just solder out the red and black wire at the small PCB board where
they are connected.

Next I wanted to know if the lens is okay, a simple test for lens is to take
it(pickup) to the outer lane when the power is off (you can use gears) to
do this. After that apply power and if the pickup moved smoothly to the
center and the lens start moving up and down with a deep red light
flashing means the lens is probably okay as it is trying to focus.

In my case the Pickup moved smoothly to the center as expected but no

red light and therefore I suspected it to be faulty.
I normally change the lens as my last resort and therefore I decided to
continue troubleshooting the DVD player.

First I decided to see if the output from the power supply is good and
stable, I always do this because if the power supply is not good, it can
cause other circuit to behave funny and therefore it is always good practice
to check if the supply is okay.

I checked it with my digital meter and I got +5, +12,-12, with that I
concluded the power supply was good.

The owner who was with me all this time decided to call it a day and I was
left alone in the shop.

Now that I was alone I decided to do some more troubleshooting, first I

wanted to know why there is no display on the screen.

So I opened the display circuit assembly module trying to investigate why

there is no display. Upon getting this small board out, I started scanning
the board looking for dry joints or loose connection; I noted the read wire
to the power ON button was broken where it connects to the P.C.B

In electronics we start from known to unknown, so I decided to solder the

wire back, afterward I decided to apply power to see the effect of that.

To my surprise after applying power I noted the display was now back, just
when I was about to celebrate this new development, I got yet another
surprise to see the lens now full red searching for the disc to read.
I loaded music CD Disc and indeed the DVD player was now working.

Conclusion: most DVD player problems are mechanical and very

inexpensive to repair and rarely require sophisticated test equipment, just
observing using the best tools I have come to realize in my troubleshooting
experience which are absolutely free “YOUR SET OF EYES”
6. What is the future of electronics repairing?
A friend of mine who is a Salesman once told me this statement which still
ringers in my mind like yesterday, we were taking a walk discussing and all
of a sudden he told me these words” Humphrey my professor of economics
told me that the first Sale is not important for the business but the second
sale is very important”
Stunned by his words I asked him to elaborate further, and then he gave
me this example...Suppose you have a small shop and a customer come to
buy for the first time, the sale you make on his first visit is not very
important in marketing world. So I asked him what is more important my
learned friend…he told me the second visit/sale is very important because
it means the customer was satisfied with your service.
This principal can be applied to every area of our life and because I am in
electronics repairs and I believe most of you are let me apply it to
electronics repairing business.
Suppose you have a repair shop, do you do your work to the highest
standard so that you can keep your customers coming again and again or
you are satisfied with the first visit only? A satisfied customer will always
come back and bring more customers by referrals to your shop.
Statistics show that the best way of increasing your sales is not necessarily
by increasing the number of calls but be keeping the customers you have
coming back again and again.
When I joined the electronics world I was having one issue I wanted to
deal with as a matter of urgency, to change the perception of customers
toward the so called technician and I thought this was a Kenyan technician
problem but sampling the emails I get across the world I have concluded
that this problem is global.
For me getting my first repair was so hard to get but when I fixed the
Television the customer was very satisfied and he referred to me yet
another customer and when I went to collect the television he told me that
he had no intension of having it 21 inch JVC repaired by a technician and
whenever his equipment break down he buys a new one but he reluctantly
accepted me to check it because his friend has convinced him that I can
assist him by repairing his set.
So I was given a credit of doubt and I started working on the Television
and it successfully came back to life, this was my second repair and since
that time this customer has been coming to me whenever there is a
problem with any electronics gadget in his house to date not mentioning
many other referrals he make to me.
As technicians we have a collective responsibility to see that our services
meet and exceed our customers’ expectations at all times, and by doing
this we will keep our customers satisfied and keep on coming back with
even more referrals.
The technology is changing at a very high speed and therefore a technician
who want to remain relevant in today’s technology must be ready to invest
on learning continually otherwise he or she might become irreverent pretty
fast as far as repairs is concerned and therefore I urge my fellow
technicians to set aside some money for personnel improvement in his/her
area of specialization and also do some customer care courses to improve
on his relationship with customers.
In conclusion my dear technician the future of electronics repairing is very
bright for all of us if we are willing to listen to our customers and
continually improve on our services in order to satisfy our customers at all
times.
If you are willing to follow these basic steps...Then I will look for you at the
top!
Recommended eBook: Basic electronics course by Humphrey Kimathi click here
7. Recommended: Buy your electronics repair test equipment here
8. What others are saying!
Patrick M. from Tahiti-French Polynesia-South Pacific
Hello Humphrey,

I like what you do, and I bought your 2 eBooks thank you so much for your
works, Will you release new eBooks soon??? (Please, say YES)Please, don't
give up, you are going to be a guru!!!

Nitram Mosay from Papua New Guinea

Hello Mr Kimathi,

It's been a long while, I haven't been replying your emails to thank you for
sharing your experiences in repairing electronic appliances with me via
email, they are great articles, and as a person who is interested in
electronic repair, it helps me a lot to understand how to repair faulty
electronic appliances and want to learn more from your expertise through
your articles and e-books too.

I believe one day I'll become like you, you are indeed my teacher and
mentor in electronics repair.

May our Creator God Almighty continue to protect and bless you with more
wisdom, knowledge and understanding so you can write more e–books and
new articles in electronics repairs.

KAJUMBA ABRAHAM from Uganda in East Africa

Hi bro Humphrey, I am trying to learn electronics and I have come to

discover that you are one of if not the best teachers alive, I would like to
get copies of your books but I neither have a credit card nor pay pal. Any
assistance offered will be greatly appreciated. I needed CRT TV REPAIR
course and any others u can recommend. Currently am in Kampala
Uganda, God bless you

Songre osmenep from Antigua & Barbuda.

Hi Humphrey, I have never forgotten you and you are always on my mind.
I must say you have open my eyes so much to electronics TV and DVD
repair and I am just so grateful to you...because you have helped me so
much that you are constantly in my prayers and you and your family will
always be blessed. This is the way I make my living to help compliment my
wife and to help feed my kids so for me it's very important. You would not
believe the simple and most important things I have learned from you like
the testing of the power supply which is my greatest challenge and so
much more.....anyways please tell me again the price for the book, I will
be sending the money Via Western Union or Money Gram within the next
two weeks. I am so impressed with you Sir that I keep saying that i! f it
was feasible for me I would visit Kenya to meet you...lol. Just so proud of
you Sir. I really need this book and any other thing you may recommend
as we go along. You are my friend. Keep me posted with the price of book
in US dollars and God Bless....Thanks
Moses Olaki-Computer guru from Uganda but working in South Sudan.

Dear Humphrey, I am so delighted to read another article from you. Your blog has
become one of the most useful sites of study around the world especially in the
field of electronics repair. I want to encourage my fellow repair technicians to buy
all the eBooks of Humphrey as I have done, first I want to say that he has a unique
style of presenting difficult electronics concepts in a simple way. In his book basics
electronics book, Humphrey describes the components one by one showing both
a color photos and schematic symbol of the component on board, what the
component does, signs of damaged components, effect when open and effects
when shorted, how to test the component and the best equipment for testing. I
found His books to be so resourceful. Thanks Humphrey for your contribution in
making our businesses better through your well elaborated study materials. I
believe many of you guys out there can agree that most of the electronics books
out there have so explanations on the chemical and physical make up of
components and so much theory which in actual fact cannot really guide you on
the repair of the equipment which the client will require of you. Thanks
Humphrey and am looking forward to read another book from you especially on
LCD and LED TV. God bless you.
9. Recommended: Electronics repair books click here

By Humphrey Kimathi
CEO Hum-tech electronics
Nairobi - Kenya