Page 1 of Help! Powergen killed my VCR =o( ...and just before Christmas! =o((

Went to bed last night having just watched the latest installment of Buffy that I`d taped earlier (was Angel cheesy or what?!), anywho, got up this morning and all was dark, well, very dim any way; we were just getting a faint glow from the lights and nothing would work.

Several hours later and we go the power back. Everything was OK, except the VCR.

Dead.

As a dodo.

So, changed the fuse, switched sockets.

Still dead.

Less than two years old but out of warranty (why is it always so?)

Anyone any suggestions? Should I be knocking on Powergen`s door and will it do me any good?

We are getting the VCR checked over but it may take a while and the earlier we can report it to Powergen the better. Odd (fortunate), thing is, it`s only the VCR that`s gone down; the DVD and TV are fine!

ChrisB

Sounds to me like a surge when the power came back on. Of course Powergen may argue that you should have anything like delicate electronic equipment connected to an anti-surge device and they`ll try and wriggle out of a claim IMO. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say. Good luck.

JohnF

GW6UFO is QRT at the moment

Hi Crispy,

It could be 2 things, quite common problems, when the power came back on the surge may have blown the internal fuse. They will be rated a lot lower than the one in the plug, it will be near the transformer and glass wile metal ends.

Other thing, and a lot more likely, is one of the capactors has dried out in the power supply, there is usualy 2 or 4 big ones near each other for the regulator curcuit and about a dozen more smaller ones for no particular reason. They just give up over the years but the fault only appears when the power has been of for a while giving them a chance to cool down. You can sometimes find the duff one has a bit of slime coming out of the bottom but in practice you change them all.

Just have to way up the odds, a couple of quid on a new set of caps, a trip to maplins and a couple of hours of very steady soldering, or get a cheapy video from Argos/Asda/Safeway etc or, even better, is it the excuse you have been looking for to get $ky + :D

All the best

Ger.

Read my older posts as Gerald here

Hi Crispy,

It could be 2 things, quite common problems, when the power came back on the surge may have blown the internal fuse. They will be rated a lot lower than the one in the plug, it will be near the transformer and glass wile metal ends.

Other thing, and a lot more likely, is one of the capactors has dried out in the power supply, there is usualy 2 or 4 big ones near each other for the regulator curcuit and about a dozen more smaller ones for no particular reason. They just give up over the years but the fault only appears when the power has been of for a while giving them a chance to cool down. You can sometimes find the duff one has a bit of slime coming out of the bottom but in practice you change them all.

Just have to way up the odds, a couple of quid on a new set of caps, a trip to maplins and a couple of hours of very steady soldering, or get a cheapy video from Argos/Asda/Safeway etc or, even better, is it the excuse you have been looking for to get $ky + :D

All the best

Ger.

Read my older posts as Gerald here

Good advice from Superted.
A couple of years ago we had an oldish Panasonic VCR die after a power cut.
Took it to the local TV repair shop (who also sold second-hand TVs etc.) & he told which was the most likely capacitor (no charge for his advice/knowledge either).
I changed this and it`s been fine ever since.

Chris Muriel, Manchester.

This happened to a friend at work a couple of years back. Faulty power supply to your house is the responsiblilty of the power supply company and can permanently damage many items. In this case the supply company arranged to repair or replace all items damaged by their power supply failure. Contact Powergen who should sort out any problems at no cost to yourself.

Cheers for that!

Also been advised by trading standards that Powergen ARE responsible, regardless of what they try and tell you. will keep you posted.

Chris B