Andy King 📺

crtdatabase.comSony PVM-2030 | CRT DatabaseManuals Special Thanks to chrysolophus.amherstiae and Derf for sourcing a physical copy of this incredibly rare service manual so we could scan it!

5 Feb

Here's the last drop of PVM 2030 scans - Supplement 2, 3, and 4! These contain updated schematics for the D, B1, and B2 boards. Refer to the cited serial number ranges or part number variations to figure out if they apply to your model. crtdatabase.com/crts/sony/so...

5 Feb

Thanks once more to chrysolophus.amherstiae and Derf (@consolemods.org) for sourcing a physical copy of this incredibly rare service manual so we could scan it!

archive.orgSony PVM 2030 Service Manual Supplement 1 : CRT Database : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet ArchiveSony PVM 2030 Service Manual Supplement 1 for serial numbers above 2,000,000

4 Feb

Following up my last post about the Sony PVM 2030 service manual scan, here's ANOTHER ONE. This time, Supplement 1 for serial #2,000,000+ models. These are the ones where Sony switched from the VTR port to an S-Video port on the back. archive.org/details/sony...

crtdatabase.comSony PVM-2030 | CRT DatabaseManuals Special Thanks to Derf and chrysolophus.amherstiae for sourcing a physical copy of this incredibly rare service manual so we could scan it!

4 Feb

Once again thanks to Derf (@consolemods.org) and chrysolophus.amherstiae for collaborating on this effort, more supplements for the 2030 still coming! crtdatabase.com/crts/sony/so...

archive.orgSony PVM 2030 Service Manual (First Edition) : CRT Database : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet ArchiveSony PVM 2030 Service Manual (First Edition) scanned by CRT Database for www.crtdatabase.com. First full high-quality PDF scan of this manual available online,...

2 Feb

The first ever PDF copy of the Sony PVM 2030 service manual has now been uploaded to archive.org, at 300dpi Some of you may be shocked that such a common PVM model didn't already have a copy of the service manual available online. Not even paid manual websites had this archive.org/details/sony...

Additionally their package included 3 supplements to the service manual, which I will also scan eventually. This is a huge win for CRT preservation and I will continue to scan all of these rare manuals. *** If you have a rare service manual, please lend it to me for scanning ❤️ Feel fee to DM. ***

crtdatabase.comSony PVM-2030 | CRT DatabaseManuals User Manual Service Manual .crtdb-scan { display: inline-block; background-image: url("/favicon-16x16.png"); width: 16px; height: 16px; } Special Thanks to Derf and chrysolophus.amherstiae...

2 Feb

You can find this manual directly on archive.org, or on the CRT Database entry here: crtdatabase.com/crts/sony/so...

This was a collaborative effort between myself, Derf (@consolemods.org) , and chrysolophus.amherstiae (who owned a physical copy of this incredibly rare manual, originally sourced from Canada!). Derf put me in touch with chrysolophys.amherstiae who then shipped it across the US to me for scanning!

18 Jan

SCART modded another Commodore 1084S over the holidays. These Philips monitors are so gorgeous in RGB.

27 June 2025

CRTDatabase should be back up within ~30 min

14 Apr 2025

I've been working on lots of cassette decks lately. The mechanical aspects of them make it quite fun and the metrics of performance are well understood. It's cool seeing the direct results of proper maintenance reflected in the speed consistency, wow and flutter rating, and frequency response.

4 Apr 2025

Removed the RIFA caps on this Apple Lisa and recapped the power and video boards while I was in there. What a wonderfully modular computer design for its time...

15 Mar 2025

The Sharp SF1 is fixed!

Andy King 📺@crtdatabase.com

Update: its fixed! Turns out there is a 5v reg on the TV board for the SNES to use, but that wasnt even the problem. There is a PNP transistor that pulls the 5v low for the reset button and that transistor was dead. So 5v was being pulled low 100% of the time. I'll document more about it on my site

Andy King 📺 reposted

15 Mar 2025

Replying to @crtdatabase.com

11 Mar 2025

I'm putting out an SOS for anyone in the community that knows SNES hardware like the back of their hand. I don't mean like installing mods or replacing capacitors, I need someone who could diagnose a bad CPU, bad smd transistor, etc. this is for a rare Sharp SF1 tv 🧵

Switching the SNES power switch on/off changes where the 12v supply is - which seems to be a logic controlled operation not a simple "switch changed the pins that 12v feed" situation. Power switch doesn't ever have 12v. So maybe something is alive, I don't know. Help! Lol

I've gone and labeled all the chips I can read right now. Nothing resembling a regulator so that leaves me to assume the 12v to 5v regulation is done discreetly somewhere in this 2nd pic

The SNES I am working on is not your average recognizable variation of the SNES hardware, does not follow the published schematics, and runs off 12v instead of 10v. I am hoping someone could look at the board and recognize what each area does what.

11 Mar 2025

The SNES is from a Sharp SF1 where the 12v power supply for the SNES blew up. I've repaired the PSU and restored 12v power to the SNES but it does not seem to be running. Only thermal activity I see is a couple warm transistors. The Nintendo chips are not warm at all.

Fixed a somewhat common issue on this Sony PVM 14M4J. The corners of the image were folded in on power-up and would slowly unfold into somewhat normal appearance after a few minutes. C572's responsible for this problem, its a filter capacitor on the pin amp section of the horizontal output circuit 🧵

The best way to avoid damaging the board holes while recapping is to flow the capacitor's pads with fresh *leaded* solder before you work. The factory solder is unleaded and doesn't transfer heat well, which makes the problems worse.

Often the holes on these will clog with solder and popular tools like the Hakko aren't able to clear them easily. My method to unclog the holes is to lay wick over the hole and push my conical iron tip into the hole (with the wick sandwiched between) until it flows out. Always works.

One more tip. You need to be careful when recapping these 90s Sony PVM boards. The plated through holes are crap quality and they will come out along with the capacitor legs if you overheat them while pulling. If you rip one out you need to cross referencen the (continued...)

... schematic to see if the affected pad still has continuity in all directions. If it doesn't, you will need to lift the cap off the board far enough to solder it on the top surface (as well as the bottom like you usually would). These PVMs are two layer boards so too and bottom covers both cases.

Another question I get is what causes the capacitors to go bad in some 14MXX PVMs but not others, since they are all the same general age? The answer is heat and operating hours. Capacitors specifically degrade over time from excessive heat. One thing responsible for excessive heat is dirt buildup.

Dirt, ash, and other mess inside will act as an insulation layer for heat, preventing the components from naturally dissipating their operating heat. If a PVM was run in a dirty environment for 10 years its far more likely to need a recap now than one from somewhere like a hospital or a clean studio

Any capacitor ESR chart will tell you that a 4.7uF capacitor like this is bad if it's ESR exceeds 3ohm. 30ohm is nearly off the chart :)

People often ask me if they need to preventatively replace the capacitors in their PVMs *before* any issues start to happen. My answer is no - just wait until you actually have a problem... You're more likely to introduce a new problem while recapping than if you just wait for a real one to occur.

When C572 gets worn out, its ESR worsens and it becomes leaky. Leaky capacitors will perform the worst when they are cold (on power-up). Once they reach operating temperature they will perform better, which is why the visual problem improves over time. 32ohm ESR vs 3ohm ESR on the old cap vs new.

8 Feb 2025

Successfully RGB modded this RF-only TV using a board from AliExpress. Hopefully the China import nonsense gets sorted soon so I can order more of them...

aliexpress.usCRT color display to RGBS module modified game console accessories Pan and source version - AliExpress 18Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

8 Feb 2025

This is the board I used. Right now the shipping is set to something insane, seemingly to prevent anyone from ordering it. Not sure of the exact reason why but I could speculate it's tariff related, or maybe the board is out of stock. www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807...

Sony KV-1224R fully repaired and restored 🧵

After checking all the reference waveforms and voltages that should lead to getting horizontal drive from this IC, it seemed pretty clear that the problem had to be the IC itself. Nothing else was amiss. Sure enough, everything started working after replacing that IC.

Now all that remained is replacing a lot of these old leaking capacitors and doing a full calibration.

Sony KV-1224R fully repaired and restored 🧵

Without horizontal oscillation the horizontal drive transistor is just latched on constantly, which sends B+ to ground via that load resistor. The poor 1W resistor can only handle that for about 5 seconds before it starts smoking.... This is going to be so fun during testing....

So why is there no horizontal drive input? Surely it couldn't be a bad horizontal jungle IC, right? I sub'd in horizontal drive using my Sencore HA2500 and sure enough the whole horizontal circuit came to life. All this TV is missing is a horizontal drive signal, it wants to live

Sony KV-1224R fully repaired and restored 🧵

After checking the obvious with B+ and power reg it seemed like the power section should be working just fine. Checking for horizontal drive at the HOT revealed the problem - no horizontal oscillation. First thing to check is if the horizontal jungle has VCC - which it did.

Checking nearby voltages against the schematic reference I noticed missing B+ voltage at the horizontal drive transistor's collector. Probing around revealed an open load resistor, which I replaced. Immediately after testing the TV again I realized why that resistor was blown...

Sony KV-1224R fully repaired and restored 🧵

The TV wouldn't turn on at all. All it'd do was click a relay every time I pressed Power. Since this TV is capable of being remotely controlled, it has a standby circuit that keeps it awake to respond to remote power-on. This circuit was working, but beyond that the TV was dead.

First I wanted to make sure the condition of the TV was worth putting time into. The tube tested strong enough that it should produce a nice picture, and I don't see anything burned to toast inside, so it seems like a safe enough bet...

Sony KV-1224R fully repaired and restored 🧵

The customer picked this up in working condition but unfortunately it only lasted about 15 minutes before it quit. You might think it'd just be a simple recap job but nope! This was a fully fledged diagnostic case.

14 Jan 2025

Replaced all the leaking capacitors on this Apple ColorMonitor //e. It was losing its image after running for a while, now it's good to go. I love how composite looks on this, got a lot of 80s charm.

11 Jan 2025

I bought a bad Walkman D6C for parts recently. The speed control is not working.. typical cause for that is fried power IC inside from connecting the wrong (or a failing) 6vdc center-negative power brick. I asked them to bundle in the PSU they used to test it, and yep this PSU is guilty of murder...

11 Jan 2025

Well actually I'm dumb and polarity matters since this power brick isn't grounded. Center negative is just more annoying to clip up to so I avoided it... With correct polarity it has no serious ripple but the unloaded output is 7vdc. Too high for the sensitive D6C.

9 Jan 2025

CRT Database is experiencing some temporary downtime - working on it now.