Boat Sound Bar Model AAVANTE-1800V2 Survived A Lightning Strike
This was brought by a recently added customer, who came first to me with a TV. As many of you know, I operate from my home (converting one of my bedrooms to a workshop) in a small town with only this international exposure, with ofcourse the techie groups. But the clientele built up through word to word publicity is increasing regularly and I have more than a thousand customers all-around, some of whom are from far away distances. A few cases of non-residentIndian customers carrying sets from US during their short visits to India adds feather to the cap! I am not sharing this due to any ego or over-pride, but to highlight that ‘Sincere and strenuous efforts will never go unrewarded!’ A satisfied customer would fetch a few more for sure. Though the general complaint we all would have heard from techies is that customers go for a replacement of set rather than getting it serviced, I have more than 40 sets pending with me, which I take up as per my convenience, which the good customers are ready to put up with. I seldom get any follow-up call!
This shows that quality work has acceptance from the customers and they are ready to wait! They also pay me very well, sometimes more than double my charges, appreciating the work done because of the stage by stage picture and video sharing and lastly because of handing over the replaced parts to them as a proof! Kindly do not be under the impression that I am beating my own trumpet; I only wanted to show an example from my experience that patience and tolerance pays! We should take the customers with us in our repair and service work to instill confidence and earn credibility and maintain it well.
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The complaint on this Sound Bar was that a loud noise was heard and it went dead. In order for us to open this type of set, we need to gently pry out the grill, as the screws are hidden under it. We have to take care not to cause a bend or dent to the grill. Prying out with a small flat screw driver from one end to other progressively would take it out without any damage. Let us have a look at the inside of this interesting sound system, which has four speakers and can play from various inputs such as USB, Optical, Co-axial, HDMI (ARC) and Aux apart from Bluetooth:
I detached the PS Board and removed it out to check to know the extent of damage and this is what I saw:
As you can see, the primary side of the SMPS board as well as that part of the case had got charred which indicated signs of lightning attack. The thin jumper wires provided at the AC in portion in place of coil markings on the board had completely melted and there was no trace of it. The 2A fuse was found blown, which perhaps saved all other components on the board. I cleaned the inside as well as the board thoroughly. Patched up the burnt out tracks and provided two jumper wires and replaced the 2A fuse. The bridge rectifier was found ok. Tested the SMPS using the ring tester, which showed healthy. The Mosfet was checked with analogue multimeter and found ok. I also checked the electrolytic caps and found these to be healthy. Did a dry solder patch up on selected places.
Then applied power through a series bulb and found an output of 21V without load. Connected the mother board and checked. Found the power on LED light up indicating that the set was back to working condition and survived the massive attack, which the fuse contained at the primary level by self-sacrifice like a soldier! While checking, I noticed that the RC unit was not functioning and mobile camera showed no emission from the emitter diode, though the batteries were ok. So, opened the RC Unit, which had press to on metal bubble contacts instead of carbon buds:
I checked the emitter LED using an analogue multimeter in its X1 Ohms setting and observed through the mobile camera that it was working. I noticed dry solder on the +/- contacts as well as on the IC pins. The metal pads were well secured with a transparent sticker that prevented corrosion due to exposure. I patched up the dry solder points and retouched the SMD IC pins and cleaned the board thoroughly using IPA. The RC Unit was found functional after this work. I tested the set in USB and Bluetooth modes for a few hours before closing the back cover and informing customer to pick up.
Mission accomplished with vigor and enthusiasm that qualified the derived satisfaction to obtain entry into the collection bag:
This article was prepared for you by Parasuraman Subramanian from India. He is 76 years old and has more than 30 years’ experience in handling antique equipment like Valve Radio, Amps, Reel Tape Recorders and currently studying latest tech-classes conducted by Kerala State Electronics Technicians’ Association. He has done graduation in BBA degree, private diploma in Radio Engineering and retired as MD of a USA company. Presently working as Consultant to Hospital and other institutions.
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You may check on his previous article on Panel Replacement Was The Only Solution In Sony LCD BL TV Model KLV-BX300
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