| I had an RCA 13 inch color TV model number E13155WN manufactured in
August 1992.The set worked fine for six years until it started getting
a snowy picture on channels 58 and above.It also made a loud noise on
those channels when it was snowy.I also have two newer model RCA TV's
manufactured in 1998, 1999 and both sets are working very well.I have
since replaced the RCA with a 13 inch Samsung TV and it also works very
well.I might still buy RCA products in the future since I have had good
luck with my other two sets. Ryan Chouinard <gkchouin@home.com> Moline, IL U.S.A - Monday, June 05, 2000 at 18:07:37 (PDT) I guess RCA ( THOMSON ) is doing pretty good now I hav'nt seen any more complaints for a long time, since back in March. GOOD JOB THOMSON. Shadow - Tuesday, May 30, 2000 at 16:56:27 (PDT) i have a rca 5231z dvd/divx player--its fine--but--i want to know if there is a way to knock out the divx codes--it keeps displaying a red box and telling me to hook up the phone line and wait a few minutes--but its frozen in this mode and dosent call in--i just want to play the remain divx discs--it does by the way play dvd beautifully--i would like to play the divx discs permanently if thats possible---some of the titles i have like Some like it hot--are going for 25 bucks----however i will take a fair offer for the 50 or so divx discs i do have----anyhow--any divx code breakers out there? sebastian toombs <astron2000@webtv.net> - Sunday, April 23, 2000 at 06:50:06 (PDT) i have a rca 5231z dvd/divx player--its fine--but--i want to know if there is a way to knock out the divx codes--it keeps displaying a red box and telling me to hook up the phone line and wait a few minutes--but its frozen in this mode and dosent call in--i just want to play the remain divx discs--it does by the way play dvd beautifully--i would like to play the divx discs permanently if thats possible---some of the titles i have like Some like it hot--are going for 25 bucks----however i will take a fair offer for the 50 or so divx discs i do have----anyhow--any divx ode breakers out there? sebastian toombs <astron2000@webtv.net> - Sunday, April 23, 2000 at 06:48:57 (PDT) Just a comment, I have a RCA 52" projection TV that I purchased from Wal-Mart. I had it for three months and the color went weird. Blues and reds were not converging in the menu set ups. I tried everything that the owner manual said to do. So I called Thomson (RCA) They tried to help me on the phone, but there was definitely a problem. They recommended a place close by to me and said they were authorized and very good. I called the the place. They were very nice and kind to me. They ask where I purchased the TV, and I gave them all the information that they needed. They set up a service call the for the next day at 9:30 AM. They were promt and on time. I was really scared that I was going to get a hassel routine because of what I read on this web site. The Service man was real nice and kind, he was dresses in in a uniform, and very clean cut. I was surprized expecting to see a sloppy dressed man in an old beat up van come to my door. He introduced himself, and I showed him what the TV was doing. He took it apart, and had a computer that he pluged into the TV. He said after a very short time that I had a digicon that was defective (what ever that was), and he would have to take it into the shop to be repaired. He politely said he would only take the insides of the TV out to the shop so there was no chance to damage the screen or TV, and that they will call me to set up a time to come back and reinstall the insides. Now I really started to worry, it will probably be gone for months I thought. To my suprise I got a phone call at 5:30 PM the same evening from the service man who was at my house. He said he had my TV ready and will be at my house in the morning at 9:00 AM. The next morning there he was right on time, installed the parts he had put a computer on the set and performed what he called factory level convergence on the set in my home with the computer. When he was finished he apologized for having to take the parts back to the shop overnight but for the type of problem that the set had he needed more sophisticated equipment then he uses in the home. He then asked me if the picture was adjusted to may satisfaction. The set looks great now, better than the day I bought it. I am very impressed at these guys who RCA told me to call, they are very good and courteous, and it didn't cost me a dime. I would recommend these guys to anybody. I ask the service man how long he was doing this kind of work. He told me 24 years and that they repair 26 other major brands of TV's. He told me that they were all CET certified and constantly schooled, and it shows. Maybe alot of people have problems with repairs, but this place knows what their doing. Mary Carlinville, IL - Sunday, April 02, 2000 at 09:20:04 (PDT) Dear Slow Learner, We agree with the Sony Tech - after checking with the Sony Parts Distribution Center and 7 major parts distributors, we experienced a 2 1/2 month back order delay for a flyback transformer for a Sony TV that was only 6 months old. Needless to say the customer wasn't happy. The customer even called Sony themselves, with no better results. This same scenario happened to us several times. And try to call Sony Customer Service. GOOD LUCK!RCA parts are generally in stock with most parts distributors, but when there is a delay, it is only for 2 weeks at the most. If you are experiencing a longer delay, we find that the majority of the time, it is due to an inferior independant servicer, who hasn't been properly trained in repairing any product, not just RCA. We've experienced some independant service centers that take up to 2 - 3 months for a minor repair. Who's at fault - the Service Center - or RCA? I think anyone with an MBA would agree that it is the Service Center. Consumer's Group Consumer's Group - Saturday, March 18, 2000 at 13:45:02 (PST) Dear Slow Learner, I,m a tech for Sony Service center. I want to clear somthing up on a comment that you had. Since I have been getting my but chewed on by customers every day. Our repair turn around time on the "S" and "v" chassis has been about 2 mounths do to new big wigs in the company who do not want keep parts on supply at our parts dist. center. Most of the parts are back ordered until May 30th for those chassis. So happy waiting when your sony goes out. P. S. The new Wega system has a 100% fail rate on the flyback transformer, in the first year production line. The replacement part will not be available until July 15th Happy Waiting CET cert. SONY TECH Sony Teck Mo - Friday, March 17, 2000 at 07:47:38 (PST) Well, it sure is nice to see we're all a bunch of happy campers here in the RCA family! I want you to know that I have read each and every one of your stories. Unfortunately, I have nothing to do with the company, and I can't help you in any way. But I did laugh harder than I can remember in the last several years. I'd planned to use the internet to find some high-tech way of solving my TV's SECOND breakdown (the first time it was in the shop for 2 months). Instead I've found a surprisingly calm reality: I'm going to be without a TV for a while. That is until I get me a nice new Sony. Thanks to all of you for your stories, and to the builders of this web page. To the management of RCA: I have an MBA too. I've been in operations management for more than 10 years (including in manufacturing and customer service). I can not understand how you have let your product quality AND service get this bad, and NOT have taken some strong, positive steps to rectify it. It can only be attributed to imcompetence. Your company (or your management of it) is embarrassing to professionals. I'd ask you to leave the television industry (where customer costs are so high), but it looks like you already have. Right now your reputation is looking like that of Packard Bell in the computer industry, and if you don't take it seriously, your company's sales will end up the same way also. I'll keep an eye out for improvements in the future, but for now, YOU'RE FIRED. My boycott is on. And I'll pass the word to everyone in my part of the world, with emphasis. Slow Learner - Friday, March 17, 2000 at 01:29:01 (PST) I have three of the RCA 27" ( P.O.S.)that one at a time did the shirking screen crap! I just read all the postings and took some self help advice and to apart the D*^$@ thing apart and soldered everthing ....so for so good???? E-me if you want detailed soldering Kevin <kevi007@hotmail.com> WA - Wednesday, March 15, 2000 at 13:39:44 (PST) Mike, I do not agree that the Universal Remote is a "useless design", as it is a lot cheaper than buying an original remote. And all Universal Remotes are set up with the code feature, not just RCA. We advise customer's to write the code on the inside of the battery cover so that they can find the code after the book has been tossed or misplaced. Also, RCA, and several other brands, now make a remote with a "Code Saver" that enables you to replace the batteries without losing the code. This remote is Model # RCA410 and can be found at Wal-Mart or most TV shops. Hope this helps! Consumer's Group Consumer's Group - Friday, February 25, 2000 at 07:42:01 (PST) Mike, Consumer's Group - Friday, February 25, 2000 at 07:34:15 (PST) When I took the batteries out of the universal remote to check them, the universal remote lost its remote code. What a useless design! Being a bad owner I had tossed the owner's manual, and it is not obvious how to program the thing. So here I am searching the net to find the codes and instructions - thought I'd enter this rant while I was at it. Mike Teachman <teachman@islandnet.com> Victoria, BC Canada - Monday, February 21, 2000 at 19:34:22 (PST) How do I join the Consumer's Group? I think you guys/gals are providing a beneficial service and I would like to help. Can you advise? S.Parker - Thursday, February 03, 2000 at 13:33:59 (PST) Robert, What is the model # of your GE tv. Maybe I can steer you in the right direction. Glenn Glenn <ate7426@internet-stat.com> Staunton , IL - Wednesday, February 02, 2000 at 18:02:58 (PST) NEED HELP i have a 19" ge tv that no longer turns on so if you know any tips or any little things that i can attempt please let me know it would greatly be appreciated...i have tried the Menu + Power button at the same time but it does not work... Any little tips would greatly be appreciated.. Robert Rivera <riverarob@home.com> Phoenix, AZ U.S. - Wednesday, February 02, 2000 at 16:29:41 (PST) Dear Consumers Group, Sorry. I used the word "seem" so as NOT to put words in your mouth, but rather ask for clarification. I stumbled across this site becuase I purchased a Class 1 Pro-Scan TV that carried a manufacturer's 1 year warranty. I expected many years of use (7+) before requiring service. My experience has been that if an electronic product fails, it usually occurs within the first couple of months (while under warranty). After that, they seem to work for years. Something seems to have changed in the industry -- quality. That's just my perception and I certainly could be wrong. As for the service behind the sale -- I'm glad its there, but I hope not to need it. My main point, and perhaps I made it poorly, is this: I don't believe the average consumer buys a product and expects it to fail soon after the warranty expires. Your comments lead me to believe that, perhaps, we should. Thanks for responding. Brent Philo Hudson, OH - Tuesday, February 01, 2000 at 06:34:17 (PST) Dear Mr. Philo, Typical consumer feedback putting words in our mouth that we didn't say. What we were implying is that Rob expects retailers to do thier research. Lets face it MR. Philo you and I know that big retailers go for profit margin, volume sales they are not worried about research. That is exactly what we said. Small retailers do worry about thier customers, because one bad transaction hurts thier business. So they do the research, and service what they sell. your not just a number with them. I'm sure you are going to buy your next car at a place that has no service dept. "yeah rite" Compare apples with apples not oranges. Our consumers group does the research. Let me tell you that RCA THOMSON is not the worst on the market. Last year out of 1.6 million products sold they had 6.2% fail rate. Compared to ZENITH that had 38.3% fail rate, at 2.2 million pieces. Our point is do the research!!!!!!. Consumer electronics is not like buying a car. Electronic Manufactures make hundreds of models per year. And yes some are designed for minimum support of service. Because they are considered throw away, and 78% of those product are specifically made for the big chain stores to save you a buck. You really do get what you paid for. The chain stores pay very little for some of the "E" merchandise they sell but charge high retail rates. Mr. PHILO that is profit margin. If the big stores are trying to sell you thier own warranty " third party type" like for instance what BEST-BUY or CIRCIUT CITY does, They are probably low end product. But if they offer you a factory direct plan that you fill out yourself and send it in with your registration card you more than likely have a class 1 "good" product. I hope that clarifies our position. PLEASE DO NOT PUT WORDS IN OUR MOUTH. WE ARE HERE TO EDUCATE. Consumers Group. Consumer.Group - Monday, January 31, 2000 at 18:47:03 (PST) SHADOWS & CONSUMER GROUP, You seem to be saying that consumer's should expect their electronics to fail shortly after the warranty period expires. Is it reasonable to expect a consumer to drop $300 on a DVD player that is designed to fail after 365 days? Shouldn't television sets be expected to last more than a couple of years without expensive repairs? My vehicles generally come with a 36 month warranty, but I don't expect the engine to be rebuilt in month 37. If these electronics are truly disposable commodities, they should be priced that way. I think there is a huge gap between consumer's quality expectations and reality. It doesn't even seem to be a case of "you get what you pay for." Some of the high-end equipment is failing as often as the bottom-end models. I'm probably off my rocker, but I don't think it is unreasonable for ROB to be miffed that the DVD died after 6 months. Brent Philo Hudson, OH - Monday, January 31, 2000 at 14:16:34 (PST) I agree with SHADOWS comment to ROBS problem, but let me interject a little further ROB!!!!!! Are you that nieve that you think retailers should do your research for you? You do know that BEST-BUY, CIRCUIT CITY, WAL-MART, ETC. big chain stores look for profit margin, not taking hours to actually research the products they sell. You do know, I hope, that these big chain stores make deals with manufacturers to buy cut down, and what we call in the professional field, "E" Merchandise Product. That is product which has been factory refurbished, which is "E" Merchandise, and cut product is deals they make with the manufacturers to make certain model number electronics with cheapened software or internal parts to make them $10 - $20 cheaper than anyone else can sell them for. Let's drop back 50 and punt here: If you really wanted research on the products you buy, and service that you respectfully want when you purchase them, then you should have seen a small dealer. Oh sure, you may have spent a few dollars more for the product, but you are getting a "Quality Class 1" Product that has not been cheapend by cutting or E merchandising for profit margins, PLUS In House Service Department. BUT NO!! You think you are going to save money and get all the benefits by shopping from big stores. THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THE MAJORITY OF CONSUMERS TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! FACE IT - with these big stores, your purchase is just another number on their profit statement. They care less about what happens after the SALE!! And quite frankly, the manufacturer's who cut their products, just not RCA by the way, for these big stores, have separate warranty policies that are nothing like the small stores have. Hey, let's face facts, the small retail stores with in house service departments "CARE" about thier customer's. They have a reputation to build! But all you care about is to save a few bucks, and then you CRY ABOUT IT when you get stung! I DON"T FEEL SORRY FOR YOU!! AND GOOD LUCK AT CIRCUIT CITY/BEST BUY - I'm sure you will go back there and make your next purchase!! P.S. The DVD Player that you purchased for $ 279.00 with 90 day warranty, could be purchased at a local retailer for $ 259.95 with a stock year warranty! RCA treats small retail service centers different than big profit stores. Sincerely, Consumer's Group consumers.grp - Monday, January 31, 2000 at 09:54:05 (PST) Yikes, Hey Rob, did you happen to read what your warranty was before you purchased your DVD player. All manufacturer's warranty's are darn near the same. I'm sick to my stomach (to quote you) about reading some idiots babble because they didn't read what the warranty was. You blame RCA but it's not their fault. I have a JVC DVD and their warranty is the same, 90 days labor, 365 days parts. Rob, maybe you should go back to school and learn to read. I'm out! Shadow - Friday, January 28, 2000 at 12:48:37 (PST) Heavens. I was upset when I started this trek this morning and now, after reading all of your issues, I am just sick to my stomach. Yikes! How is this company, Thompson Consumer Electronics, staying in business? Here is my story: Purchased RCA DVD player model #: RC52312 in June of 1999 as a gift for my husband. Bought it from Circuit City. Now, after only seven months, the unit has stopped working. I did all of the things that you are supposed to do with Thompson, and was turned down flat. I was shocked at the flippant and horrible customer service experience that I had. I thought that maybe I misunderstood, so I called again this morning. No. I had not misunderstood. After spending $272.98 several months ago, not even a year ago, Thompson said they would ship me a refurbished unit (one that had been broken before and repaired by these con artists) eventually and it would only cost me $80.00 (down from the $100 that they orginally quoted me before I had a minor heart attack). How kind they are to do me this favor! I was given the run around with no help, no customer service and warranty on the refurbished unit for only 90-days post shipment. Like I would even trust another unit from these thieves. What can I do? I feel victomized. I feel like someone has stolen from me. In fact, someone has. I have read on this site that I should have spent time on researching and deciding what units are good and what units are bad. Shouldn't the retailers be making these same inquiries? What has this market coming to that you can not count on any purchase that you make without spending countless hours on research? My time is much more valuable. The unit I have is getting power to it, but the display no longer works and the menu no longer comes up on my machine. Y2K? Have not used it in the new year, could this be a problem? I am tagging this site in all emails I send from now on. I hope that someone out there takes this company down and I will be first in line to help and to cheer when it happens. Keller <robkeller@mindspring.com> Clemson, SC Pickens - Thursday, January 27, 2000 at 10:45:34 (PST) I purchased a RCA television approximately 4 years ago, and have had no trouble with my television. I have a Sony, which I must tell you is a piece of crap, and if you want to hear of someone who doesn't stand by their product, you should think of Sony. RCA is a good product, at least for me it has. I found this site when I was trying to find a replacement remote for my RCA 36" TV because my new puppy chewed it up. Sony is impossible to get ahold of and I had a 36" TV and it went out after a year and a half when my picture began to get smaller and finally just went to a bright line across the middle of the set. Also, those of you who love Sony and hate RCA because they're owned by the French should also note that Sony is owned by the Japanese and do you remember anything about Pearl Harbour? Get over it!!!!!! Chuck <CharlieHustle@webtv.net> Torrance, CA USA - Monday, January 24, 2000 at 07:14:42 (PST) I have a 1989 RCA model G26137TN floor model TV... was watching tv and heard a pop sound and it went off..now when you hit the power button all you get is a click like it wants to come on and nothing happens... what could be the problem...any help would be appreciated... Hatcher <hatcher@jobe.net> st roberts, mo usa - Saturday, January 22, 2000 at 13:35:52 (PST) Thanks to rca i know that when i go to work everyday i will always have work danny - Thursday, January 20, 2000 at 23:28:28 (PST) I have a RCA Model F20351SF, Serial 408271380, Chassis CTC176E made in 1994. Damn thing will shrink the picture, sometimes turning itself off. You can clear it up by jiggling the coax jack on the back. I asssume by all of the posts that this is some sort of solder problem? Any help will be appreciated, please email me. I refuse to put this thing in the shop so I'm going to fix it or it's getting punted out the door. Mike Clayton <iammdc@earthlink.net> Solana Beach, CA USA - Monday, January 17, 2000 at 23:03:42 (PST) I bought a RCA camcorder CC4392, and used it for awhile, then wanted to attach an external microphone, and it doesn't have a jack. There is a plate on the side of the viewfinder/light/mic assemble with a small four-prong plug under it, which is where the external mic jack maybe plugs in? I can't get any information from the company (either a recording or somebody that doesn't know anything about the product) Does anybody know if it's possible to hook up an external mic to this camcorder, or if it's possible to use the audio in phono jack to do this (haven't gotten it to work yet). This is my own fault for not checking to see if it had an external mic jack before I bought it, so I'm not blaming the company. Would just like some information on if it can be done. Tom Chilton Tom Chilton <tchilton@earthlink.net> usa - Thursday, January 13, 2000 at 19:31:29 (PST) I was thinking of buying an RCA VCR #VR-615-HF for my mother for her 90th birthday because I read that this model is "senior friendly". There's another one by Phillips Magnavoc which is also mentioned as senior friendly (VR-362-AT). She has never operated a VCR before and needs one that's really simple to operate. Can anyone help? Molly - Monday, January 10, 2000 at 18:36:22 (PST) With the end of 1999 Brings Y2K. For those of you who are interested here is the results of our 1999 repair history at our service center. These percentages are based on 3278 repairs on my repair bench alone, with the corresponding brand name by the percentage. It starts with the most repaired brand and ends with the least repaired type, and contains all of the brands that we do factory service on. OK lets go. Zenith 28%, Emerson 18%, orion 12%, Mitsubishi 10%, Sanyo 9.5%, Funai 8%, Sony 6%, "THOMSON RCA/GE/PROSCAN" 4.2%, Magnavox 3%, Pioneer .8%, Quasar .3%, Samsung .2%, Toshiba .1%, Panasonic .1%, and the least repaired "HITACHI" .01%. Take your pick on what brand your next purchase will be. Glenn <ate7426@internet-stat.com> IL - Sunday, January 09, 2000 at 15:45:10 (PST) The CTC 195 & 197 do not have the solder problem with them. The symtom of picture snow or drop out needs to be cured by using chiper check program and performing " I.F. VCO & APC " alignments in the I.F./ VIDEO alignment section of the program. You will need to use pin 12 of U16201 for the test point. Apply a good signal to the set and take a digital volt meter and check the voltage at pin 12 if it reads higher than 4.8 volts you will need to perform the alignment That test point needs to be 3.8 Volts. It may sound like a solder problem but it is not. If you soldered a few of these and did not check this voltage I gauranteeee!!!!! you will get them back. If you are not a Thomson Tech I suggest you get the CHIPER CHECK software you cannot repair these sets without it. GOOD LUCK. Glenn, A.T.E. Engineering Staunton, IL - Friday, January 07, 2000 at 06:39:46 (PST) i am a tv tech. and i am seeing ctc 195 coming in with the same old problem of bad ground connections. the sets where manufactured in 1998,1999. danny kish <danny@webtv.net> baton rouge, la - Thursday, January 06, 2000 at 22:25:40 (PST) I work for Circuit City as a sales counselor and we cringe every time we sell a Thomson product. It's a shame people have to ast their money. The govt should investigate. thom <astron2000@webtv.net> - Sunday, January 02, 2000 at 18:50:36 (PST) Hi Fred, your RCA 46 inch 5 year old projection TV will more than likely have a CTC169 chassis installed in it. If you look on the back of the set there will be a tag that has the model, serial, and chassis number on it. There is no " video board " module that is stand alone in this particular chassis. It sounds to me that they have probably changed the convergence output module or quite possibly the convergence adjustment panel which is a stand alone module. In either of these cases a convergence touch up if not a full convergence alignment will be necessary. Alot of those convergence output modules run warm due to the class A output devices on board. Which after a period of years if the ventilation is not good the solder will become the decomposed because of the heat. The cure is just to take some solder wick and remove the old solder from the pad a resolder with high temp 60/40 type. a good trained and experienced tech should take about two hours to perform the entire procedure. Our company charges 25 dollars for the service call and 30 dollars per hour. So the average cost to answer your question with our center would be approximately 85 dollars. That is also assuming that it is only a alignment, no parts. It is my opinion only, having 24 years of experience in this field that they probably have changed the convergence drive or output module and in that case you need to touch up the convergence. To answer your other question, is it true that the convergence is preset and need not be adjusted. No!! Convergence even changes with time, as the set ages the CRT'S become not as efficient and the propagation of light changes a few degrees as with the focusing and brightness. So don't let them fool you about that subject. I really wouldn't be worried about finding something else wrong unless they screwed something up and didn't tell you. Once again there is no dedicated video Board in the chassis that I am talking about but there is a device called a T-CHIP that is on the main module and it processes the video but usually if this chip goes out you will have other symptoms, such as smeared video maybe sync buzz in the audio or possible tearing of the picture. Good luck and I hope it turned out well for you. GLENN Glenn <ate7426@internet-stat.com> Staunton, IL - Tuesday, December 28, 1999 at 18:30:48 (PST) I just had my main vidio board changed in my RCA 46" projection TV. The set is 5 years old. The set has come back with poor color convergance at the corners of the screen. The center convergance is OK. The repair shop tells me that a congergance problem is not connected with what was replaced, but a repair man is comming out to try adjusting the set. How long should such an adjustment/convergance procedure take to correct, and what is a reasonable cost to pay? Is it true that this is preset at the factory and not affected by my receiving a new board? What are the chances of correcting such a problem without finding something else wrong with this RCA product? This problem did not exist before the video board was replaced. H. Frederick Felder <ffelder@infinet.com> Dayton, OH USA - Tuesday, December 28, 1999 at 07:04:54 (PST) Sarah, I seen your message on the site and thought maybe I could help you, but there are several different versions of that chassis in that year span. Do you have the MODEL #, that would help alot. You said that it was a SUPER TRACK color monitor. Could It be possibly be a color trak 2000 color monitor series. Either way there is two ways to use your video jacks through menu software with the remote or front panel switches on the TV set under the control panel. That depends on the model series. P.S. hopfully you have your owners manual that also explains very easilly how to do the procedure. It is a holiday and even though their web site is on line there customer service has families too. MERRY XMAS Glenn Glenn <ate7426@internet-stat.com> Staunton, IL - Sunday, December 26, 1999 at 08:04:35 (PST) I have about an 8-10yr old RCA SuperTrak Color Monitor. Fourtantly the TV has worked great since we've had it no problems...untill today X-Mas...we bought a DVD player and went to hook it up to the RCA TV which we have out expensive reciever and speakers hooked up with. In reading the directions for the DVD player we realized we needed to hook it up thought the video in/out jacks on the TV...well no problem the TV has those...except we cannot figure out how to get the TV to swich to external input and "activate" these...I thought okay, I'll go online and find an answer to my question...wrong!!!! the only RCA page I found is all about selling and little to no customer service...Now on christmas day i'm sitting here with a brand new expensive DVD player and 10 movies with no way to watch them...Thanks for your great customer service RCA! Sarah <SProeb2132@aol.com> IL USA - Saturday, December 25, 1999 at 10:23:06 (PST) My law firm is prosecuting a class action against Thomson Consumer Electronics in connection with allegedly defective television sets manufactured by the company. If anyone has any information about this, I would appreciate hearing from you. My telephone number is (212) 686-8004 (ext. 13). My e-mail address is LShalov@AOL.com. Lee Shalov <LShalov@AOL.com> New York, NY USA - Wednesday, December 22, 1999 at 15:25:29 (PST) Brent, I think that you got a good deal because Thomson only will pay us $80.00 for the repair and it is to be done in home service. You did good it's not a bad company if you work with them level headed ( NO TEMPER ). Glenn <ate7426@internet-stat.com> Staunton, IL - Friday, December 17, 1999 at 06:24:08 (PST) Oops, the repair shop did take the chassis away for repair and brought it back the following morning. They wanted to test it on the bench to be sure it was the solder and chassis wrap repair. It now works perfectly. The reason I bought this set was the picture quality -- now its back. Thanks again, for your earlier input. I hope this helps those of you with unresolved issues. Take your complaint to the top of the organization. Top management, if they truly care about their customers, will respond. Brent Philo Hudson, OH - Thursday, December 16, 1999 at 10:26:02 (PST) They promised to reimburse me for the full amount of the repair, which was $145.13 ($135 plus tax). They also stressed that this was a one-time only coverage. I'm guessing from your question that the flat reimbursement rate for authorized repair shops is substantially less... Brent Philo Hudson, OH - Thursday, December 16, 1999 at 10:14:11 (PST) To Brent Philo, I was wondering how much rca reimbursed you for the repairs. Last time you and I Spoke you said they offered $80.00 and that is a fair price for the repair that was needed. I guess my question is when we spoke the service center in your area wanted $135.00 for the resoldering of the circuit and tuner wrap. They wanted to pick it up and do it in the shop which was not necessary, it's an easy process and could be done at home. Did they do that and did they renegotiate their price. As I told you we charge $75.00 for the repair and that includes in home service and that $135.00 was a little expensive. Thanks, Glenn Glenn <ate7426@internet-stst.com> Staunton, IL - Wednesday, December 15, 1999 at 19:46:33 (PST) To Brent Philo, I was wondering how much rca reimbursed you for the repairs. Last time you and I Spoke you said they offered $80.00 and that is a fair price for the repair that was needed. I guess my question is when we spoke the service center in your area wanted $135.00 for the resoldering of the circuit and tuner wrap. They wanted to pick it up and do it in the shop which was not necessary, it's an easy process and could be done at home. Did they do that and did they renegotiate their price. As I told you we charge $75.00 for the repair and that includes in home service and that $135.00 was a little expensive. Thanks, Glenn Glenn <ate7426@internet-stst.com> Staunton, IL - Wednesday, December 15, 1999 at 19:44:36 (PST) This is for "Disgruntled" inkogneato@hotmail.com Hey man, this is a sight for RCA consumers. These people have the right to "bitch" or "praise" RCA any way they want. I agree with you about the life of electronics for I am also a tech. But above that, I'm a consumer. Like the others, I've purchased products (besides RCA) that breaks down. Hey, I get mad, I wanta blow off a little steam. That's all these people are doing, they are sharing their experiences with each other and the world. Others who read it can take it or leave it, their choice. There is NO reason for YOU to come onto THIS site and voice YOUR opinion on THESE consumers. If you have a problem with people "bitching", then go to a "I hate bitching people" site and "bitch" about "bitching" people. While you are there, bitch about yourself "bitching". Don't go away mad man, just go away. If you have a comment about RCA, put it there, if not, shut up and leave. Disgruntled <inkogneato@hotmail.com> Alabama, AL USA - Wednesday, December 15, 1999 at 17:16:11 (PST) Jeez, yall make me sick... Yes, RCA sucks... quit yer bitchin' ya believed the damn consumer reports, or your neighbor, or the salesguy... so what?!?! All TV's suck... it's the point in history that we're at now. All electronics break down, because all consumers want more, better, faster, free... What the hell you do expect? The world for a penney?! Nevermind, I know the answer to that last question. It's not like any of you can even operate a remote worth a shit. And forget anyone over the age of 60 owning anything new, yall are either too stupid or too lazy to learn anything. YES RCA's SUCK...SHARP SUCKS (not quite as bad though), SONY REALLY SUCKS (overpriced, and the only people who buy them are chronic whining bitching idiots who can't work the equipment even if they read the manual). YES, THE AVERAGE LIFE OF ANY...ANY!!!! ELECTRONIC DEVICE IS 4-6 YEARS. Live with it, if you don't like that, don't buy anything electronic!!!!! it's that simple!!! But fuck...quit bitching about it, you're asking to get screwed! Not that I like RCA (or any) customer service, Im a tech...they suck, but you'd act like that too when all you get is bitching complaining assholes who expect everything for nothing... I tell this to EVERYONE... buy the damned service contract!! You won't have a reason to bitch then! You know the length of the warranty when you buy the damned thing, no matter what brand... figure it out... if the warranty is 1year/1year then I guess the life expectancy of that set is 1 year, geez, you don't have to be a genius to figure that out... buy the damned service contract and the life expectancy goes up... and don't buy the crappy contract offered through secondary companies...buy the one from the manufacturer of the set you're buying. One last thing while Im at it... If you don't have a truck, don't haul your damned TV in, in the back seat of your car and expect someone to get it out for you, it's rude and shows how stupid you really are (as if I didn't already know!) -Happy Buying Inkogneato Disgruntled <inkogneato@hotmail.com> CA USA - Wednesday, December 15, 1999 at 00:48:05 (PST) Final Chapter. Thomson stood behind their product and offered full reimbursement for the repair. I'm not happy that the repair was even necessary, but I can't complain about Thomson's ultimate resolution. Brent Philo Hudson, OH - Tuesday, December 14, 1999 at 13:07:43 (PST) Final Chapter. Thomson stood behind their product and offered full reimbursement for the repair. I'm not happy that the repair was even necessary, but I can't complain about Thomson's ultimate resolution. Brent Philo Hudson, OH - Tuesday, December 14, 1999 at 13:06:43 (PST) I wrote back in October about my experience with my RCA DSS system. ( see below for details). After chasing around in circles I decided to pop the top and take a look. After a couple of hours probing I found 2 capacitors had gone bad. after replacing them, The unit works great!!! I'm really suprised RCA tried to sell me another unit for $150 when I can purchase a new 32 bit system (everthing included) at Walmart for $99, or a new dual 32 bit unit for $200. Oh well, live and learn. By the way, I priced having my unit fixed and someone wanted $65-$75 dollars. The parts I bought cost me under a dollar from Digikey. Go figure. Patrick Taylor <SCAiken@yahoo.com> Aiken, sc USA - Sunday, December 12, 1999 at 15:55:02 (PST) COME ON GUYS, DONT YOU PEOPLE DO ANY RESERCH BEFORE YOU BUY STUFF? RCA,EMERSON,QUASAR,ZENITH, THEY ALL USED TO BE GOOD AMERICAN PRODUCTS, BUT NO MORE...DO THE RESERCH AND LEARN ABOUT THE SPECIFICATIONS OF EACH ELECTRONIC ITEM YOU WANT TO BUY. ITS NOT THAT HARD. I FIND THAT SONY WEGA TV, PIONEER PROJECTION TV, AND ADCOM,KLIPSCH,AND POLK AUDIO ARE SOME OF THE BEST STEREO COMPONETS. Scott Prelwitz <sagnhill@home.com> mi usa - Sunday, December 12, 1999 at 15:08:25 (PST) 4 years ago I purchased an RCA 25" TV. 2 Months after the warranty ran out so did the tube. A little over a year ago I purchased an RCA stero unit and 3 months after the warranty ran out, so did the CD player. I will not have 3 strikes with RCA, because I will never purchase another RCA product. This site is great and RCA SUCKS!! John Jennings <johnford@webtv.net> Pauline, SC United States - Wednesday, December 08, 1999 at 10:22:37 (PST) I own a piece aof crap RCA 31 home theater tv model f31700gg that I purchased in 7/95 for almost $900. Well I spent $150 to have it repaired in 1997 and now to have it fixed again it would cost another $350. I agree with everybody that their customer service sucks, after 3 months of daily faxes someone finally called me to offer a rebate of $100 toward the purchase of a new tv of equal or greater value. Why would I want another LEMON? They said that they couldn't offer repair assistance because of the age of the tv. When I asked how long an RCA tv should last they said that the average of a tv is 4-6 yrs. Does anybody know anyone that replaces their set every 4-6 years? I didn't know that tv's were disposable. There phone sysytem is the worst I've ever encountered, I had a name and was told that I could't speak to her, so after that whenever I faxed my letters I asked if she was fired? Finally she called me and she is a member of the SECRET ELITE AGENCY that they call the REVIEW BOARD. I'm still fighting with them and call everyday. They always say how important our relationship is and that they value my business, then why don't they address the real problem . That their product is inferior and their customer service is second rate. I suggested that they begin to advertise disposable tv's that cost $900. Avoid RCA at all costs. Chris <WWW.CrashnBurn911@aol.com> Bloomfield, Nj U.S.A - Thursday, December 02, 1999 at 13:58:27 (PST) I thought I was done -- I'm not. It turns out that the service shop, while familiar with the repair, was not authorized. I'm sending a letter to James Meyer - Executive Vice President and CEO of Thomson Consumer Electronics in order to request the previously promised reimbursement. I'll let you know what his response his. Brent Philo Hudson, OH - Thursday, December 02, 1999 at 13:46:09 (PST) Here is the conclusion to my saga. I called the (317) 415-4151 number and spoke with a Consumer Relations Coordinator. Make sure you have your Serial Number and Purchase Date before calling (or else you'll have to call back). They gave me $80 towards labor charges and will cover all necessary parts. The work, however, has to be performed by an authorized service center or Thomson won't cover it. Good luck! Brent Philo <bsphilo@email.msn.com> Hudson, OH - Wednesday, December 01, 1999 at 12:06:54 (PST) I bought a ProScan PS32109 in November of 1997. For the last several months the tuner has been unable to hold the picture for more than a few minutes. I have been forced to watch through the VCR. However, when you watch through the VCR, the screen will briefly flash every 20 minutes. The repair shop told me that it sounds like a cracked chassis wrap. They also offered that this is a common problem with these TVs. Once the TV has been modified, the set should remain trouble free. If the problem is not addressed, it could burn out the EEPROM (sp?). He quoted me a price of $135 to come out to the house, remove the chassis, repair it at the shop and return. Is this a reasonable quote? Has anyone else experienced this problem? If so, did Thompson Consumer Electronics offer any coverage for the repairs? Your responses would be greatly appreciated. Brent Philo <bsphilo@email.msn.com> Hudson, OH - Tuesday, November 30, 1999 at 18:45:27 (PST) I Agree with Glenn's comments about the RCA products. From alot of the articles you read on this site it seems that some of the problems could be blaimed on poor service in some area's of the country. I read one person say that he paid $250.00 just to have a servicer pick up his projo. The kicker was this individuals servicer was only two miles down the road. That was the cost only to pick it up, COME ON!!!! I have a friend that is an authorized Thomson service center. I told him about that article, and he just laughed saying that RCA pays him $115.00 labor to repair a projo under warranty and that includes pick up & delivery plus shop time. He told me that their are alot of servicers out there who are not registered rca repair centers that Know about the solder problems in all the brands of televisions that Glenn wrote about and just have HOG HEAVEN with their prices because their not honest. THANKS GLENN for helping set some of the picture in perspective. Buy the way that guy who repairs RCA and say's I LOVE YOU, thanks for being honest on this site so that anybody who lives around you and knows about you will think twice to take a product to you. bred mo - Monday, November 29, 1999 at 21:25:56 (PST) I appologize to the people who have tried to post in recent weeks. I moved my site to a different server and in the process of merging the old RCA guestbook with the new one, I neglected to make the new book writable. In any case, the problem is fixed now. Keep the stories coming! Geoff <geoff@netnoise.com> - Friday, November 26, 1999 at 09:54:34 (PST) Brandon, I can't understand your logic. First you say you charge $120.00 for the solder repairs on the RCA chassis, then you say that you charge $85.00 for the 19 inch TV. Then you say that you do them for $20.00. You tell me that you give 120 day's of warranty on your work, but in your last paragraph you say that you gave a year warranty period. On your second paragraph besides the vulgarity, I fail to make any sense out of that statement. I don't think you have the proper business attitude here. The 177 CHASSIS, 175 CHASSIS, 187 CHASSIS, are the same for the problem we are talking about. There should be no differences between charges on any of these chassis be it a 19 inch TV or a 32 inch TV. Our technicians are also very good in what they do, we are highly trained and degree engineers. I personally repair over 2600 TV's a year on my bench, and approximately 1100 in home service calls. Were not only authorized for RCA televisions but we are authorized for 26 other major brands. Our call back rate is less than .7% on our repaired products. I'm not saying that you are a bad repair man. But the benefits of being in my position is that we get trained by many technical schools on their problems that may develop, that research and development did not find. As I said before we charge $45.00 dollars for the repair of the solder problems that you are encountering. That by the way is carry in service, it is $75.00 for in home service up to 35 miles. As for the zener rectifier that you have replaced in that customers TV, I would have personally bought the part anyway because it only cost 35 cents, and the resistance cost 45 cents. If you worry that those parts are going to make a big dent in your pocket book then you need to restructure your business attitude ( buy the way that diode shorts out because of static buildup from a loose solder connection at location E-60 on the print circuit board. When that connection comes loose their will be a build up of static electricity at a very high amplitude approximately 6000 volts, that will discharge through the ground return taking out that diode. Anybody that has attended the RCA school knows this. Evidently you perhaps missed that solder connection. For the people on this web site. I am not trying to advocate that RCA is the best product around but there are many other manufacturers that have this same problem. We get SONY'S, TOSHIBA'S, EMERSONS, ORIONS, GE'S, SHARPS, JVC's just to name a few. Oh how about those ZENITH'S now theres classified junk, you definitely need a web site for that brand to complain about, but that is a whole other issue. If I may, since I am on my soap box. For those of you reading this article here is a little inside. The EPA told all manufacturers of electronic products or printed circuit boards, that there soldering facility shall no longer use lead base solder in their manufacturing processes. For those of you that are not physics engineers, lead is used in the solder material to bond two different pieces of metal. As you all know that lead content is bad for our personal being. In 1993 when this Law came in effect, many of the above mentioned manufacturers failed to slow down the robotics wave soldering facility, to compensate for the differences in melting and bonding of the new lead free solder. That has led to the problem that we are discussing in this article. The new RCA products coming off line with the chassis numbers CTC-203 , CTC-195 CTC-185, and CTC197 have been compensated for this problem. Our repair facility has not seen any of these chassis coming in with those same problems. BRANDON, I'm not your enemy, but I just cannot understand your business ethics. What aggravated me his hearing you stay in a previous article on this page bragging about making $120.00 on the 15 minute repair of the customers RCA TV, and then saying I love you RCA. You said that if you could or would put RCA service on your roof that you would be rich. Well I think that the prices you are charging you definitely don't need to do that. By the way we calculated today at our facility, if my bench alone would have charged your prices we would have made to $138,000 dollors more than we did. I'm glad that we didn't though because I am a firm believer that honesty is the best policy, and yes our business is very successful we have been at it for 24 years, and looking forward to another 24. Glenn IL - Friday, November 05, 1999 at 21:02:02 (PST) Glenn, buy th way I do in home service, on the 177 for 120, and on the 177 I guarentee for 1year, and the RCA Service Center has a flat rate, and if you are charging under warrenty, that would be labor, no parts. I could do that, you know if I said RCA Service on my rooftop, I would be rich............ Brandon Kuna, - Friday, November 05, 1999 at 00:16:03 (PST) Glenn, Bullshit. Any one who has an rca, just out of warrenty, you have a flat rate. If it's in warenty you have to pay labor, not parts. I am verry good,and on the 177 I give a one year on labor and parts.That's also good insurance. Brandon - Friday, November 05, 1999 at 00:09:05 (PST) Come on you Know as well as me a 25in.+ 177, is well worth $120 for a repair. as the 19in. I do for $85. I have done for $20. As Well as the 25 for $60. Altho it is a simple process, I bet you have to back up your repair. I'm not saying I'm ripping people off. but if you are a service Tec. you have to cover your ass.(True?).I had a Lady who called me and said her 32" Is Dead. OK no problem. I come out. ...... Tunner resolder..... Too weeks pass......."My Tv is dead again." Ok I go back out...5v supply off the EEprom missing....(You know what is wrong, bad reg. zener...) ok , Try and tell the Lady it's not the same problem. I will have to charge you for the parts...She diden't agree. I ate the parts..(I'm a nice guy). I put a 120 day on all of my tv's. Three weeks later I get a call again..Same Lady.I go back out. Resistor in power supply. (Once again I eat part).. I'm not here to rip anyone off.understand, you have to protect yourself. And $120 to fix a 25-32in tv, and not break down again(If you know what you are doing) is not bad. Sure beats a new set for 300+. Brandon - Friday, November 05, 1999 at 00:00:33 (PST) I feel very lucky after reading the horror stories on this site. The problem with my 1996 32" is one I haven't read on this site. When I watch either my hi-fi VCR or my DVD using the AUX inputs (AV or S-video), intermittently the picture will squiggle for a split second and sometimes go as far as the screen reading unusable signal. The picture has never failed using the coax input. I've been very happy with this tv up till last month when I got the DVD player (Toshiba). I'm working on a letter to RCA's review board but based on what I read here I don't think I'll hold my breath. This situation is ruining my DVD viewing. Has anyone heard of my problem or have any suggestions. Chuck Manly <manly@cftnet.com> - Thursday, November 04, 1999 at 22:29:53 (PST) Well another sad story! Chassis no. CTC177AG Model no. F25651BL. My father was watching tv and all the sudden the fuse just blew! I replaced it and that one blew too! I'm in the midst of trying to find the fu@#ing problem but can't seem to. Any suggestions would help! Thanks! RCA BITES! Brad Faught <b_faught@hotmail.com> Pembroke, ON Canada - Thursday, November 04, 1999 at 14:12:11 (PST) I own one of the first RCA DSS that was produced, and have had a wonderful time viewing it with my family since Christmas of '95. I have rarely ever had any problems with the unit, and any problems I was concerned with RCA was very helpful on walking me through. DirectTV has also been there when I needed them and have very friendly people all hours of the night (I usually call after 5 and sometimes after midnight).Recently, I could not pay my bill so my services was terminated. October 16 was atually the day my services was cut off. I waited til October 29 and paid my bill and had my services turnd back on that afternoon at 5pm. The problem I have is that I have a great picture but my sound is VERY low and is filled with static. Now the day I had my services terminated (October 16) I turned my unit on and, of course, had no pictures, but there is always a few channels you can view, such as pay per view advertisement and Directtv advertisement. I was also able to recieve these channels but the sound was very low and had static in it. Back then, I assumed this was a result of having my services disconnected and thought nothing of it. Now I'm not sure what to do. A few years ago, I changed over from paying Directv to my local electric company, whom now offers the DSS system. This was done for billing purposes only. I could pay locally and not have to mail payments away. But in doing so Directv cannot support me or has very limited support options they can do. My bad. Now I contacted my electric company and they tried walking me through it. Some of the things we tried was a "soft boot" and a "hard boot" and turning my services off and back on. Nothing worked and I still cannot get correct sound from any channel. They recommended that I contact RCA and ask them for help. This was about 7pm so I rushed to contact them. I was not impressed this time with their services. I had to wait through the multiple selections on the phone and when I did get someone, he wasn't very helpful. Basically, if it wasn't the cable then I have a bad reciever. I'm not mad at RCA, but I didn't like the 10 minute wait for someone to tell me my unit is bad and that I should purchase another for $150.00, but hey, maybe he's right. I just thought that there would be someone with more technical background whom I could speak with (I have 2 degrees, one in Electronics and one in Computers. both engineering and both I have been doing over ten years). I contacted Directv and they tried to help me with a few other things, but I still cannot get the correct sound. All in all. everyone was helpful to a point (even RCA), but I'm not sure what to do now. my unit is out of warranty and it's to close to Xmas so I can't afford a new reciever. I'm not trashing RCA, They have great products and great services, but, like everyone else, every now and then someone will get unlucky. I guess it was my turn. If anyone has had or has heard of something I have gone through, contact me. If someone at RCA reads this, I open to suggestions. Thanks for your time people. Patrick Taylor <SCAiken@Yahoo.com> Aiken, SC USA - Sunday, October 31, 1999 at 05:12:53 (PST) Brandon, you wrote a comment that you charge $120.00 for repairing the solder problems in the CTC-177 chassis. Well I am an authorized tech for Thomson and let me tell you readers of this web site that if you are paying over $45.00 dollars for this repair, you are getting ripped off. Our service center charges $45.00 for the repair for carry in products. Add $30.00 to that if you want in home service. If you pay more than that you got stung. He is correct on the 15 min. Depending if you had to use chipper check to reset the EEprom, that equates to about 30 min. People dont let these service centers disgrace the good ones. Glenn <ate7426@internet-stat.com> Staunton, IL - Thursday, October 28, 1999 at 20:38:58 (PDT) I am an Electronics, Tec. I repair many ctc177. They are my most profitable tv. Figure $120 for 15 min work. RCA (I LOVE YOU!!) Brandon Kuna, Id - Thursday, October 28, 1999 at 20:06:19 (PDT) I have purchased RCA products for the past 15 years and have had nothing but the best of results with them. I am now the proud owner of and RCA refrigerator, home theater, 27" TV, and satellite dish. When the refrigerator ice dispenser broke, I called, ordered the part, it was late coming in - they gave it to me for free. I have never had a problem getting through to Direct TV for assistance - patience is the answer - slow down - breathe. Customer service has always been extremely helpful and my stereo works wonderfully well - all I have ever had to do is have the tape heads cleaned. RCA, for my family, is a good product and has served us well. Paul Kennedy <rev@iol33.com> Holly Springs, NC USA - Thursday, October 28, 1999 at 05:45:46 (PDT) I will boycott RCA products forever. My TV is less than five years old and has been in the shop twice. The first time, the repairperson that helped get the TV out of the car, looked at it and said Vickie <vickie40@tds.net> SC USA - Wednesday, October 27, 1999 at 14:48:58 (PDT) In 1987, my husband and I used all our wedding-gift money to buy the biggest and best TV we could find: the 27" RCA colortrak 2000 stereo monitor. Well the 1st set came home with us and within a few days the color was completely screwed up, so we returned it to the dealer and had a 2nd delivered. This second set had a bright wavy line in the top of the left hand corner, but we decided that that was minor compared to what went wrong with the 1st set and that we could live with it. Within a couple months, the set "died" (don't recall the exact problem), but an $80 repair fixed the problem. We've been using the set ever since and love the flat tube. In fact this past weekend our friends complimented us on the TV and asked us if it was "new". We chuckled and said that it was over 12 years old. Then, a day later, like voodoo, my husband had the TV on, accidentally hit an unknown combo on the remote - and now the TV is dead as a doornail. There's no response what-so-ever to power, no lights light up, no speaker sound - nothing. So, off to the fun world of repair we go. I too came upon this site while searching for "RCA repair". After reading this site, I won't feel quite so all alone with my broken TV. However, thanks to everyone who shared their story - as- I remember what we went through when we first bought the TV, and I will probably never buy another RCA. Heather <heather@comcat.com> PA USA - Tuesday, October 26, 1999 at 11:45:32 (PDT) What do you expect from a American-made electronics. Yes, I know its owned by the French now. When buying most electronics ALWAYS buy Japanese products!!! Just look at the market and see the trend..ALL Japanese electronics from cars to computers. John Malten MI - Tuesday, October 19, 1999 at 20:41:45 (PDT) We purchased an rca dish 1 year ago. of course we have to subscribe to direct tv in order to watch anything. I have a couple of complaints about the dish and about direct tv. When it sprinkles rain, not even a bad storm just drizzle, or when it snows and I don't mean a blizzard just a dusting we lose our signal, sometimes for days. When it rains or snows is when we and I believe everyone else would like to have a television show to watch. This system sucks, and I would like to try to sell it before my husband takes a hammer to it. We are very displeased with it and tell everyone we can not to buy it. Now about direct tv, overpriced, cannot get through to a customer rep, not helpful when you do. I could go on and on but you get the idea. I object to not being able to cancel direct tv and go with another service, it seems that rca and direct tv have got you right where they want you. The dealer didn't explain to us when we purchased the system that we were stuck with direct tv. Bad business RCA!!! carole <mitch@shentel.net> edinburg, va - Monday, October 18, 1999 at 04:42:53 (PDT) Why does a huge company like RCA have little or no internet presence? Because they don't give a Rat's Chicken Ass about their customers, and would be overwhelmed with all the complaints. Long story short: DSS satellite system = dead at6 months, no help, cheaper just to buy a new one than to fix. 20" TV/VCR combo, dead after 6 months, been in shop twice, can't fix, no help. NEVER AGAIN will I buy anything RCA. Check out their product manuals, how they devote so much to greening the earth, recycling landfills, etc., as well they should, since they're no doubt responsible for HALF THE JUNK IN LANDFILLS IN THE FIRST PLACE! My only satisfaction now is to do an Elvis and shoot the damn thing. Janet McGrew <janetm@abac.com> Los Banos, CA USA - Saturday, October 16, 1999 at 13:59:17 (PDT) I am the "proud" owner of a Proscan DVD DIVX player...model# PS8680Z. Ever since DIVX went under, my player no longer plays ANY DVD's.....not DIVX....not DVD...not CD's. It has apparently put in it's year of service, and is now on workman's comp for eternity. (I have successfully watched all of 10 movies on this player.) I called DIVX, and was informed that the issue is with the player, not DIVX. I tend to agree with this person, as I know other people who own the same machine who have up to this date not had a single problem....my guess is their days are numbered. DIVX gave me the number to Thompson....(for you brave souls...the number is 800-311-9263)....I have not called them yet...and the horror stories I have read on this site are not boosting my confidence very much. I guess I will take the $100 rebate from DIVX, and invest in another player...but I assure all, there will never be another RCA product under my roof. Good luck to all my fellow victims. John <JHethe3873@aol.com> Walnut Creek, CA USA - Friday, October 15, 1999 at 10:01:04 (PDT) I own a 27" color track , 4 years old, so many factory defects with this piece of junk it's unreal. I have this garbage on display in my store so customers can get educated. I called thompson and they snubbed me, telling me since my local tv technician of 30 is not "authorized" to fix their garbage, so they voided any assistance that would have cost me more than this piece of shit is worth. This truly is a "factory defective tv". My millenium resolution is to never buy any of their products ever again, and I hope they go bankrupt !!!!!!!! Paul <pcmaker@stargate.net> pittsburgh, pa usa - Monday, October 11, 1999 at 15:02:00 (PDT) I've had the same bad luck with an RCA DSS reciever that freezes up constantly. I have an older GE version that works perfectly on the same lines, but the RCA is a pile of junk. Thompson help has been horrible. They have replaced the thing three times and each one shows the same problem. I've even gone so far as to hook the piece of junk up on someone elses system- same results. Complete junk. Bubba Jonez <clark@eai.com> - Monday, October 11, 1999 at 12:24:39 (PDT) My wife bought me an RCA videocam Proview 32x image 8, and spent almost $800. I didn't use it for more than 5-10 hours since it was intended to record a rennovation project. 13 months later it ate a tape and failed. I returned it to the retailer, and was told...sorry, the warranty is out by one month! I've sit and stewed for about 6 months...but now I'm finally fed up and want some action! Anybody know how to make RCA replace the machine...or give my wife's money back so I can get a camera that works!!!RCA is off my "buy" list and we have always been regular and loyal customers. Steven A. Vaughn <savaugh@dmci.net> Fremont, IN US - Friday, October 08, 1999 at 10:36:24 (PDT) Try contacting RCA using this https://www.rca.com/secure/service/contactrca/1,1196,,00.html? Joe Smith <wildone@juno.com> Anytown, TN USA - Wednesday, October 06, 1999 at 09:33:58 (EDT) I just purchased a RCA VCR that has commercial advance and I can't get it to work.I no w find out that the signal from the major networks that makes this function work is no lo nger sent. I want my money back from RCA or the supplier for a function that does't work as advertised. Does anyone know if this function ever worked? Please email any info!< br> David Haag <pdhaag@webtv.net> - Sunday, October 03, 1999 at 16:34:11 (EDT) Abbout 43 months ago I bought an RCA DSS system which lasted for almost three years be fore it quit working. I thought it might be an age-related failure so I bought another o ne which lasted ONLY SIX MONTHS. Since JUNE OF 1999 I have had FOUR units fail (and be r eplaced under warranty after plodding through Thompson's tedious telephone system). I ha ve had a surge suppressor (1 nanosecond rise time) on both the coax and the power line to the units. My power company (rural coop) has replaced my local transformer and service line. It can't only be bad units from Thompson (the odds against it are astronomical, ev en given RCA's less-than-perfect quality control). ANY IDEAS FROM ANYONE??? laz <lazalier@edge.net> Hillsboro, TN USA - Sunday, September 26, 1999 at 20:03:07 (EDT) Great Site. I bought a RCA Tv from Sears only four years ago and it just broke down for the second time.. It cost $80 to fix it the first time.. Now, if I pay another $80 fix it. I just bought another tv.. Ive had the same problem with everyone here and cannot find anyone at RCA to complain to. Ive had a Sylvania for 11 years and has never broken down once..This is the only site i have found to bitch about it.. NEVER BUY RCA.. the people at thomas electonics didnt give a crap about my problem. THey just said.. The warranty is only 90 days... JORDAN GATLEY <jordansuzie@monad.net> Spofford, nh usa - Wednesday, September 08, 1999 at 13:49:44 (EDT) A little over a year ago, my Stepfather purchased the RP-9325 Audio System. Although it barely been used, it began to not recognize CDs in all 3 trays. A week later we were limited to the Tape deack and Stereo. I personally buy Sony products. I have yet to have a problem with any of them, even after 3-4 years. I refuse to let my Mother pay for such a new product. Instead, we need to unite and stand strong. I will take this to a whole new level if i do not receive compensation. Furthermore, I will never again recommend or purchase any product manufactured by Thomson-Multimedia. Whoever is reads this, contact me via email. Together we can do everything in our power to avoid this happening to others. Stranger <eastcoasthc@yahoo.com> Deptford, NJ USA - Monday, September 06, 1999 at 15:15:27 (EDT) I TOO HAVE BEEN RIPPED OFF!! 6 months ago I purchased a RCA Sattellite System (DSS), RCA HiFi VCR, & Home Theatre Surround Sound System. Today(9/5/99) I came home to watch movies and realized my home theatre surround sound system was no longer working. The volume percentage dropped by 75 % and clarity was gone. My minural( one speaker-not stereo) TV (RCA-3 years old) has a clearer and louder sound. Therefore I have concluded I have a very expensive paperweight. I looked up my warranty and found out I must mail this heavy paperweight to Texas with every wire and speaker, remote, etc. I remembered in the past being able to use local repair shops with warranty with well known brands. Note: I am still in beginning process of hopefully having this repaired. I did a "search" on line for RCA repair & voila here I am. I am uncomfortable with saying good-bye to my surround system by mailing it to this trustworthy and upstanding Corporation. ( Ha! Ha! Ha!) Instead I am insisting on local repair under warranty by RCA. If RCA does not accommodate me in this way my only recourse will be to take this matter up with K-Mart where I purchased all of these wonderful RCA products. PLEASE-PLEASE- If anyone has had a similar problem with their HOME THEATRE SURROND SOUND SYSTEM-let me know your outcome-hopefully good or any suggestions. e-mail me. Thank you. James Carlsen <carlsen@webtv.net> Mastic Beach, NY USA - Monday, September 06, 1999 at 04:11:05 (EDT) I forgot to tell Kelly from WA to look for those knobs I discribed in the previous message on the back of her 27". Try those before you send it in for repair. M. Jordan E. Lansing, MI USA - Sunday, September 05, 1999 at 22:47:32 (EDT) My dealings with RCA are 50/50. I have a 27" set and a 20" set. The 27" has always worked fine, except that once these annoying lines and brightness showed up. Thought it was broken until I found these unmarked knobs on the back that I fiddled with until it was fixed. The knobs look like plastic screw holes, but you can put a small Philips head screwdriver in them or use your fingernails to adjust. I haven't had a problem since. The 20" however, stopped showing a picture, and would not stay on. This happened about 18 months after I bought it. It cost about $100 to fix. Overall I am pleased, but I feel like I am waiting for the other shoe to fall, if you know what I mean. M. Jordan <jordanm1&$64;pilot.msu.edu> East Lansing, MI USA - Sunday, September 05, 1999 at 22:44:43 (EDT) This is a follow-up for my post on Feb. 9, 1999. I did end up getting my money back that I had paid for repair costs on my T.V. The problem was the shrinking screen. However, now seven months later, the sound is going crazy, the entire screen has a light blue color to it, and it is covered in lines spaced about an inch apart. I don't have the desire to fight to have it repaired again, so I will be replacing it with a Sony as soon as I have the money. Goodbye RCA! Kelly <kscriver@webtv.net> WA - Sunday, September 05, 1999 at 19:22:39 (EDT) I dont know if I should feel relieved that my problems arent that bad or scared that my problems are just begining. After not even a year my 27 inch color tv has become a 27 inch black and white tv. Doesnt that bring back memories, I estimate 70 $ to fix, but hope that this is the first and only problem that Ill have. KC <doro626@yahoo.com> jamaica, ny usa - Saturday, September 04, 1999 at 19:23:19 (EDT) Interesting to find a web site has been created in lieu of RCA simply handling consumer issues. Mine is simple but goes to the root of the larger issues I read. Bought a simple $10 RCA universal remote at Radio Shack. 45 days later it will not hold its programing. Should be simple enough. Take the remote with receipt back to Radio Shack. The can't help you. Call the number (which is Thompson). Their response; Radio Shack should have handle the 90 warranty. Called the 800 number to RCA which then refers you to a number you must pay for. O.K. I'll simply send an internet repsonse and request. Sure as the world they provide all sorts of info just no service to contact them about simple issues. Guess I have read and experienced enough to keep me from purchasing any RCA products in the future. Very interesting that they don't even have the courtesy to provide simple consumer service and contact. QM <dmrjr@uswest.net> AZ Maricopa - Saturday, September 04, 1999 at 18:46:54 (EDT) RE: CONTINENTAL MODULE--I finally did receive my RCA chassis back from them and it appears to work. They were not good about answering emails, but did repair the chassis after two month, so in the end I didn't get ripped off by them. Steve Davis <skippy@infocom.com> IN - Saturday, September 04, 1999 at 16:53:30 (EDT) I have an RCA that the picture is pulling in on-which is very common I've learned. I sent the chassis into Continental Module at Waterbury, VT-a company advertising on the web, for rebuilding at a reasonable cost $100. That was on July 2, 1999. I have written several times and received a couple of answers-all promises, but have never received the chassis back. Do not use Continental Modules (TVModules.com0 for rebuilding your chassis-just give up and throw the whole TV away-you'll be money ahead unless you can find a reputable company to rebuild it. This company has already changed addresses from Texas to Vermont. Steve Davis <skippy@infocom.com> Greens Fork, IN - Saturday, August 28, 1999 at 07:46:21 (EDT) I bought my RCA 27" only 3 years ago and it has been in the shop once and is not working now. I will NEVER buy this name brand again and I will tell everyone I know about this product. I wish I could find the rca home page so that I could coomplain to the company. Never again. diane kelley <dikelley4@aol.com> holliston, ma usa - Sunday, August 22, 1999 at 09:58:26 (EDT) I used to work on the old RCA's. (We're talking mid to late 60's) Those sets weren't much better. Every summer when the humidity came up you could be assured the flybacks would burn up. And that was on every model. However that was about the only major weakness. Now I do some repair for a used store and consignment shop and we don't even mess with the "newer" RCA's (Thomson era) We won't accept them because it runs our trash bill up. They are ALL junk!!! How sad that a company can buy a name,and than make junk and dupe everyone who thinks they're buying quality. I guess that's how it is now. I used to work at a shop in the 80's that sold RCA and Zenith(Junk now also) products. Now I only buy Sony!! James Stout <cardude66@yahoo.com> - Saturday, August 21, 1999 at 18:08:20 (EDT) As the President of a certain country in North America (and it ain't Canada), I must say that I am outraged to find out that good ol' RCA is owned by a bunch of French bastards. Vive la resistance! B. J. C. Washington, D.C. U.S. of A. - Thursday, August 19, 1999 at 16:20:37 (EDT) I found out about this page from a friend who works at Thomson Consumer Electronics at their home office in Indianapolis. Employees there are fully aware of how much their own products suck. I bought a TV through said friend's discount. Well, just as the one year anniversary rolled around, my tv starts having problems... Anyway, the guys I know there agreed with the contents of this page. I know I do. I'll never buy another one again, even though I saved a couple hundred bucks buying via my friend...I'd rather have a quality component rather than an expensive hunk of junk that won't work right. The Shadow Conspiracy Indianapolis, IN U.S.A. - Wednesday, August 18, 1999 at 00:12:07 (EDT) I am so sorry to hear about everyones bad experience with rca. I am personally a sony fan. We have purchase alot of rca tv's in our life. Besides the fact they are expensive that's about all I found with them. Our first one we bought was a 20 inch. Then we bought a 27 inch which we have had over a year and never a problem. We bought a used rca for the bedroom. We ended up having problems with that one but I mean think about it it was 7 years old. We also have an rca vcr which is also over a year old. Never a problem. And just recently we bought a 52 inch tv and we love it to pieces. Our stereo is a sony though and if we had lots of money everything we own would be sony. Tina <tinascales@hotmail.com> Port Alberni, BC Canada - Sunday, August 15, 1999 at 11:47:54 (EDT) I am a Sears repair tech. Unfortunatly I'm an HVAC and R repairman and dont know alot about repairing big screens. Mine is a 46" RCA P46731AT chassis no. PTK169PGA, years ago i lost some upper UHF channels. Last week started getting pincushining problem in upper left side. Then set would not even come on. Power button would light up a second and nothing. I looked in the back but it's been years since i worked on any tv's and it looks like a jungle in there. When you plug in the set you hear a few faint chirps, sounds like from the high voltage section of the main board. Any TV tech's out there with helpful hint?? I'll trade you info on furnace,AC,ref.,water heater or softner. Mark MARK RILEY <riley24@reliable-net.net> Martinsville, IN Morgan - Friday, August 13, 1999 at 10:24:34 (EDT) I got a 52" TV in the fall of '95. It worked fine until this year. In February '99, we paid $500 for a repair because the TV basically died. One day it just went blank and wouldn't turn back on. Then in July, after it was on for 20 minutes, it would get hot and the picture would get lines all across it from top to bottom. Sears picked up my TV on June 22, and it is just getting returned today. The problem is.....they couldn't even fix it. They called RCA and my only option was to send it to them and have them rebuild the chassis. I can't even imagine what that would cost. We are going to buy a new Hitachi big screen TV and will never purchase another RCA product. I thought TVs were supposed to last longer than 4 years!!!!! Alison Morgan <kiremorgan@msn.com> Novi, Mi USA - Monday, August 09, 1999 at 13:38:28 (EDT) Great and much needed web site!!! I bought an RCA VCR model VR 615 HF, and it worked great. (For a whole 3 months!) The sound quality was awesome through my Bose home stereo system. If it could accept a tape now, I'm certain it would still sound good, but it won't. It is a nice looking piece of equipment, but it just won't work. I tried for hours online to contact RCA, but they just don't have a web site that will take customer complaints. I'm glad this site is here for me to vent, but I must ask myself "Self, why doesn't RCA have a web site that will take customer comments, concerns, or complaints?" They have a 1-800 automated line that will refer you to a long distance (317) 415-4151 number, that you can pay 10 cents a minute to sit on hold all day though. The only answer I can come up with is that they either don't care about your concerns, or they don't want to hear them. Hey RCA, how about showing some integrity. I spent $249.99 for a VCR that lasted 3 whole months. I feel that I have paid for the right to speak to someone at RCA. Where are you???????????? T. J. Fekete <Tfek70@aol.com> Kailua, HI USA - Saturday, August 07, 1999 at 05:13:49 (EDT) I recently purchased a RCA DSS receiver which out of the box was not working. Tried to return the piece of junk, to find out the store from which I purchased it would not give a refund. Turns out RCA has a policy which states they will not give refunds for non functioning equipment. They will however exchange the equipment. I however wanted my money back from these idiots, and am currently in the process of working with the retailer to accomplish this. I am pissed at the retailer also, since they do not at any point tell you that they will not give refunds for the DSS equipment. I actually took the receiver back to the store and was told flat out no !! by the store manager. I then called the corporate offices of the retailer and they indicated they would give a refund if the DSS card in the Receiver was not activated. Now this is total crap. How is it legal to sell something and then say 'well we will keep giving you a new piece of junk, but you cant get a refund !!!' isn't that illegal ??? Anway, just something to think about before buying a DSS system....make sure you check the return/refund policy, after all this IS supposed to be entertaining !!!! Just A Warning - Tuesday, July 27, 1999 at 15:50:57 (EDT) Have now purchased 2 Camcorder batteries at Walmart, RCA AV8MLED. Both units are supposed to run my JVC unit for, box says, 2 Hr. 40 Min, 2.7 amp hours.The most I got out of these were 14 minutes. these are the trick batteries that have some led's on them to indicate the state of "charge", cost me $48. The blister pac they come in had the name Thompson Consumer Electronics, with a mailing address of 32B Spur Drive, El Paso Texas. NO PHONE NUMBER, NO EMAIL ADDRESS, NO WEB SITE, ETC!!! How the hell does a person communicate with these people?? Aren't they in the Electronics Communication business??? I have (on my ECHOSTAR 7100 Satallite system with built in WEB TV that has GOOD SUPPORT and real phone numbers and real people on the phone) tried to "Search" for RCA, Thompson Consumer Electronics, and all of the different combinations of their name, I finally arrived at this site and it looks as if this is as close as I am going to get to them.What I want to ask them, or if anyboby can tell me, I have a date code of 5907 on this AV8MLED Battery. Is it old or just a piece of RCA junk. (I have other words to describe it but should not use them here). I have been flying Aircraft and installing Communication, Navigation, Auto Pilots, and GPS equipment for the past 15 years (none bearing the name of RCA) so I feel I am very qualified to call these batteries JUNK. Any One have their e-mail address??????? thanks John Perry, Penryn, Calif. John Perry <johndperry@webtv.net> Penryn, California USA - Tuesday, July 27, 1999 at 01:23:00 (EDT) My RCA television has a mind of its own, from time to time it starts changing channels and volume (imagine the surprise when it switches to full volume). There does not appear to be any pattern to when it decides to go, it can happen shortly after being turned on, or after it has been on for awhile. My theory is that someone in the neighborhood has one of those long range portable phones, which just happens to hit on the same frequency as my remote, does anyone know if this is possible? Is anyone had the same problem and have you been able to fix it? B. Laidley <mypaljenna@globalseve.net> Pickering, on Canada - Saturday, July 17, 1999 at 10:16:16 (EDT) I just bought a Thompson RCA digital satellite system. It sucks. Out of the box, the installtion video tape was defective. The 800 support numbers listed in the owner's manual were no longer in service. When I got the correct number, there was only a cascading answering machine reply. A human techie was a long distance toll call. When I secured a functioning video tape, the guy in the movie had a different dish antenna than the one in the box. Thompson makes profit when you buy. They don't want to hear from you after the sale. DirecTV doesn't make profits until the Thompson RCA system is up and running and you download their programming. You would think they'd have a tech support line to help you, but they don't. Their attitude seems to be "Give us a call when you get that RCA turkey working." My lesson? Stay away from Thompson RCA and DirecTV if you can, but DirecTV just bought out PrimeStar. Walt <deeptoad@earthlink.net> Bryson City, NC - Monday, June 21, 1999 at 12:42:05 (EDT) Can some one relate? I have a 3 yr. old RCA 13" tv, one night my daughter accidently pushed "01" on the remote and bam the tv is dead. The cost is $95 to replace the diodes and processor. First RCA I bought and by GOD the last. Of course RCA doesn't think theres a problem here. lee <lkimmet@tamerica.com> - Sunday, June 20, 1999 at 14:23:54 (EDT) Well I hate to say it but mt mom's 20 in. RCA started with the tuner problem. T he set ia about 2yrs. old .Time to get out the old soldering iron again. Thanks rca for making such a great product, that's 3 people in the same family you screwed with your lousy workmanship . Harry Chapman <bluesdoctor@msn.com> Trenton, NJ USA - Friday, June 18, 1999 at 15:49:26 (EDT) I bought the G36788, CTC197CE2 chasis in Dec 97. In Mar 98 I started getting the screen problem everybody gets. I found this site and got some numbers. I called 317/587-3000, told them the problem, we picked a local guy to do the work, he came to my house, re-soldered all of the connections in the board, works great again. No bill, no hassle, and no problem. I was expecting trouble based on these msgs, but had a great experience, after calling this number. All the 800 numbers did was put me in an infinite loop. I still love RCA. Tom Hammack <tom.hammack@appl.ge.com> georgetown, in - Thursday, June 17, 1999 at 21:18:04 (EDT) Bought RCA F25651bl in 1993. Picture did the collapse thing that everybody seems to talk about [10/14/94] under warranty at a local repair shop. Zero problems through various moves over the last 4.5 years. then one day I'm watching tv and all of a sudden it goes fuzzy and tunes in to a totally different channel. Ran cable from my VCR [hitachi] to the tv and away I go. Well that lasted two whole days. now the picture flicks on and off at will and I have to go to the back of the TV and give it a firm smack in the area around the coax cable port. this continues until the TV warms up and sometimes two or three hours after that {NHL Playoffs}. What I suggest to you is when buying your RCA/GE product is to take it from the store directly to a good repair person {you can tell who they are, they've been in business for years} and have them redo all the solders that seem to be going on these TV's. As for my TV, I will get it fixed, it still cheaper than buying new and besides once it fixed, I will know where I stand. Iwon't be taking a chance on a new product. S Beggs <spbeggs@hom.> Calgary, AB Canada - Tuesday, May 18, 1999 at 22:57:32 (EDT) NOW listen up everybody! You won't believe what happened to me. I shopped around all the stores for a price comparison for different brand projection tv's. I called Sears at Ingram Mall in San Antonio and spoke to a sales person named Richard. He tolded me he had a real good deal to offer me. It was an RCA 56" Projection TV P56812BL that was a floor display for $1499.99. He said he had no models in stock and this model was like new and had been only on display. It had a screen protector on it that was supposed to be included in the price. I purchased the TV but after the transaction of the sale Richard took off the screen protector and said we had to pay $199 to purchase this. He said we didn't need the protector that the TV was excellent video without it. My husband told him that had he been told the protector was not included in the sale price, we wouldn't have purchased the TV. So we took it home to see if the TV was ok without the screen protector. Sure enough it was lousy. The TV in the store was high up on a shelf and difficult to see the color convergence. The screen protector hid the problems the Tv had. I had purchased a 5 year extented warranty with Sears. I called Sears service techs who came out to evaluate the TV. I discovered the TV was sitting on the shelf since 1997(or suppose to have been). The service tech could not algin the color convergence. For all those with RCA,GE,ProScan Large screen tv's, if you go to the Menu and select the factory pre-selected color you will find Green,Red and Blue convergence. Press #1 for Green. The screen will change to a black screen with a Green surrounding box. If the box is not even all around you can pull the area that is not in line either in or out by using the PIP arrow buttons. Once the Green is centered press the Menu button, press #2 Blue button on the Convergence Menu and line up the Blue with the White cross and follow up with the Red 3 button. Once the cross clear white with NO colors showing exit the Menu. Next: if you put in this code using the buttons on the front panel of your TV:(press and hold MENU;press and release POWER,then press Volume UP,then release Menu and Volume Up at the same time. What will appear will be the letters V 00 to the right of the screen and to the left will be P 0 000. Press the channel Up button to 80 and the V will increase to V80. The TV screen will give you a white grid. You can start at the top left and work across the screen from left to right and up or down using the Volume Up and Down buttons and Menu to line up the Red and Green with white grid. When there is no red or green showing on the TV you have converaged all colors. Then exit or clear back to the TV. You with have a much clearer focused picture. My TV had shadows in various places on the screen and Sears service techs could not fix this nor did they know what the hell it was. I called Thomson Electronics and 2 Independent authorized repair centers for advice on the problem but they had never heard of this problem before so i contacted Sears Customer Relations and complained about the way i felt i was conned and lied to about the age and problems with the Tv set. Sears changed my TV set for a brand new Toshiba 55" model TP55H60. It was delievered to my home and exchanged out for the RCA. The Toshiba was a more costly TV and I presumed better quality. Upon hooking up the TV and powering up the TV had a dark shadow wide up and down the right side of the screen. The picture was not straight and was bowing at the top with the left corner pulling upward more extreme than the right corner. The bottom was bowing with right side pulling way down. This is called pin cusion. If your TV set is not calibrated at the factory correctly or tested prior to shipping you will have all these problems not to mention the fact that if your TV is dropped or bumped in anyway you can knock the yoke and the color picture tubes out of alginment. Sears refused to exchange the TV for a comparable model to the Toshiba and could not order another Toshiba because they were discontinuing this model. After 2 weeks of fighting corperate and management with Sears my ultimatum was basically return the Toshiba for a full refund of my money. One thing to remember when you purchase an item and it is defective out of the box no warranty covers this item from the manufacturer till your warranty is registered. Thats why stores make you get an extented warranty when you purchase an item so they don't have to give you your money back but the service can fix it. In my case when my RCa could not be fixed i canceled my extented warranty for the RCA so i did not have one for the Toshiba. Toshiba have a one year full parts and labor coverage and you can purchase most warranties from the manufacturer with the card inside your new TV. Toshiba however, even though TV was covered would not authorize any repairs because I was told that any defective product purchased within 14 days is the responsibility of the store to exchange or refund. I chose to get my money back and was about to purchase another RCA new model from CONN'S but i am now reluctant to do so and i'm looking at Magnavox TV's. I have fought all my life companies who don't honor their sales or warranty policies and got excellent results except for Sears. I am truly disgusted with my treatment from management, store to corporate level. Everything in my home was Sears and warrantied but I will never ever again give Sears my business again. They don't care if they have sales people who lie and cheat customers. Frances E. Strickland <Tommy-S-@webtv.net> San Antonio, TX - Wednesday, May 05, 1999 at 16:11:50 (EDT) Wow, now I'm really depressed! My husband and I started our worldwide cruise from Seattle last August and we have both an RCA 27" TV and VCR. Right now we're in Puerto Vallarta and I have spent over 3 hours on the net,searching for a phone # with a real person to speak to and thanks to Jim D. I now have one. After reading all this info, I don't think it will do any good, only have 3 months left on my VCR warranty and it's going kapoots so I thought maybe I could find a repair place in PV to have it fixed. Looks like our special treat of watching a movie now and then is going to have to be replaced by some other form of cheap entertainment. I'm not surprised though,RCA and GE have just followed suit with the rest of the money grubbing industries with their "throw away disposable" products. If you think about it, there's alot more money to be made if people need to keep replacing items over and over and over... Samantha S. <DawnsBelle@aol.com> Liquid Planet, - Tuesday, April 20, 1999 at 04:30:41 (EDT) RCA MEANS ROTTON CONSUMER ASS RCA HATER <DONTBYERCA.ROT> - Sunday, April 11, 1999 at 16:06:53 (EDT) We Bought an RCA 60" tv Jan. 8 1999, thinking we were getting a good product. WHY couldn't I have found this web page first?? The tv won't even come on, the power botton sounds like it is coming, but no picture won,t come on. Can't get a service man out here anytime soon so I called RCA/Thompson and you know what they told me? they told that I have a problem with my tv! Imagine that. Now I have a $2000 2.5 month tv that will not work, but what do they care? All those RCA workers are probably at home watching their Sony tv,s. If anyone has had this problem and knows what to do to fix it, please E-mail me at tc.tilc.com. Good Luck to all who have RCA products. Any help would be much appreciated. Tony @ Teresa @ Mississippi Tony @ Teresa - Thursday, April 01, 1999 at 19:18:31 (EST) good grief, what a site to behold, all these stories with the exact same gripe. makes me feel alot better about my rca 27" stereo tv junk. same old snowy picture. bought it in '93, been in the shed collecting dust since late '94. it's such a pile of junk i just decided to replace with a better product. after seeing all of this, i'm going to get with it and try to get at thomson where it hurts - their pockets - you can't expect to stay in business treating customers this way, thomson. thanks for the space to vent walker/don atl, ga usa - Wednesday, March 31, 1999 at 20:40:36 (EST) The last 3 RCA products i bought stopped working about the time the warranty ran out.I have learned my lesson; No more RCA junk for me. T.Brown <t7g7b7@webtv.net> Phenix City, Al U.S.A. - Thursday, March 25, 1999 at 15:01:03 (EST) jUST AN UPDATE ON MY SOLDER FIX, 3 WEEKS AND THE PICTURE IS CLEAR AS A BELL. Harry Chapman <Bluesdoctor@msn.com> Trenton, NJ USA - Thursday, March 18, 1999 at 14:29:46 (EST) To the last entry, you are either lucky or the ceo of thomson Harry Chapman <Bluesdoctor@msn.com> Trenton, NJ USA - Thursday, March 11, 1999 at 16:51:14 (EST) I LOVE RCA. IN THE LAST 12 YEARS I HAVE PURCHASED OVER $40,000 WORTH OF RCA PRODUCT AND IT IS STIL GOING STRONG. I TELL YOU IT IS THE BEST. SONY COULD NOT KEEP UP AND TOSHIBA WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY. I COUL NEVER CONTACT ANYBODY, THE BOZO'S WERE SO IGNORANT I JUST LEFT MY 32" TV ON THEIR FRONT DOOR OF THEIR MAIN DISTRIBUTION CENTRE. RCA RULES bob jones <kingkong@hotmail. com> surrey , bc canada - Wednesday, March 10, 1999 at 23:20:06 (EST) I agree one hundred percent with the writer and his comments concerning RCA. I purchased a RCA stereo system for $700.00. I have got exactly five years use out of the piece of junk. First problem that arosed was with the CD play. Second problem is when you hook a turntable to the system you get a hum. The problems weren't limited to just the stereo. I had purchased a VCR four head. It lasted exactly as long as it was covered. My latest problem concern my GE TV. Also made by RCA. That lasted exactly one week longer then the warranty. The attitude of RCA and their holding company is one of we could care less. You bought it, we have the money, now your stuck with it. In the future when I replace all this crap that has the RCA or GE name you bet your last dollar it won't be with one of their products. If anyone out there is going to buy any product such as TVs, VCRs, or stereos keep away from this company. They could care less about you. Mark Vernon <markdc10@hotmail.com> Birmingham, US Alabama - Wednesday, March 10, 1999 at 08:03:13 (EST) I sent a letter to Tompson Electronics, and they blew me off.They said the consumer should take responsibility for the repair.I got an estimate of $160.00 for the solder fix.I want every one to know if you know how to solder you can do it yourself. I did my set,I had the snow, and the pulling in from the side, and I had to smack it to fix it. It got to the point were that wasn't working any more.I found a web site http://ftpunina.it/pub/electronics/repairfaq/REPAIR/F_rcatune.html Note: be careful of red wire to picture tube, it can knock you on your butt PS my set has been up for 3 days now, the picture is clear as a bell.It took about one hour to complete. Harry Chapman <Bluesdoctor@msn.com> Trenton, NJ USA - Sunday, March 07, 1999 at 14:14:23 (EST) i have a full rca home theater system 56" tv,dss,5 disc cd changer,dvd,vcr and surround sound. the works! i have had it all for about 2 years and it is outstanding! friends and family come over just to watch movies.i have read all the complaints on here and am shocked! i have had rca electronics for years with no problems i guess i am fortunate?? brant - Wednesday, February 24, 1999 at 21:04:36 (EST) I wonder if you put proscan in the same catogory as rca,I was thinking of buying a 27" Jim Laughead <jdlaughead@webtv.net> - Friday, February 19, 1999 at 14:58:53 (EST) i have a 27" rca that is not quite a year and a half old. i noticed the infamous shrinking screen and imediately called about repairs. at first, rca was willing to work with me on this and were very pleasant. when i stated that i had purchased the set from sears the attitude did an about-face. i was informed that sears has a contract with rca, and therefore it was sears problem. the woman even hung up on me. i had been told by the sears repairman, that repair costs would be about $250. i called sears customer service and basically threw a fit. all of the sudden my repair bill went down to $65. i picked up my tv and paid the bill. i told everyone i talked to about the hundreds of angry consumers i came across on the internet. i always got the same response, "we have never heard of this problem before" i still was not satisfied and called sears back. i persisted until the head honcho of service called me. i explained my story all over again. he agreed that the tv's are faulty. he told me that every one of his repairmen could fix them in their sleep because they have repaired so many of them. he apologized for the lack of response i had gotten from anyone else and told me to expect a check in the mail for the cost of repair. everyone hang in there and DON'T GIVE UP! insist that the retailer make good on the product if rca won't. maybe the retailers will think about future contracts with rca. kelly <kscriver@webtv.net> wa - Tuesday, February 09, 1999 at 20:35:59 (EST) What do you expect for a product made in Mexico but then again they were crap before then anyway. My brother bought a rather expensive 35" RCA tv only to have it go out 2 years later. I bought a 20" RCA tv only to have to replace the tuner into 3 years of ownership and now its going bad again 4 years later. What's RCA stand for anyway? I'm sure someone can fill me in on that one... bbyreptar <bbyreptar@hotmail.com> - Monday, February 01, 1999 at 00:59:25 (EST) I had a previous entry on this page in referance to 2 36 inch rca's purchased by my father, and myself. I am happy to report that my father, whoes tv has been in the shop for 3 months got a call from Sears customer service saying that his tv was so screwed up ,that they were going to give him a new tv. he said that was fine ,but that he did not want an rca piece of s---. The person from Sears finally agreed ,so he is going for a Toshiba . perserverance, and tenasity do pay off way to go dad!!! Harry Chapman 609 394 9581 Bluesdoctor@msn.com Harry Chapman <Bluesdoctor@msn.com> Trenton, NJ - Friday, January 29, 1999 at 16:47:41 (EST) Hey everbody I finnaly located the phone numbers to complain to at RCA/Thompson Consumer Electronics!!! 1-317-414-4151 Customer Relations 1-317-587-3000 Corporate Off. 1-800336-1900 Warranty Repair All I have gotten is the big basic run around. But there are humans on these lines to Gripe at GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!! Jim DeGennaro <jimy@webtv.net> Pinedale, wy - Thursday, January 28, 1999 at 15:12:15 (EST) My 52" has been junk from day one.I found this out after it quit for good just months after the warranty expired. RCA suggested I purchase another product rather than pay costly repair bills. I told them that my money would be better spent on a computer to let the world know about their products. I promptly received a letter from them saying they would repair everything at their cost only the repairman refuses to do the work now because they ripped him off too. RCA has refused to respond since. Dee Sandlin <deesandlin@webtv.net> Edinburgh, IN - Thursday, January 28, 1999 at 01:25:01 (EST) I purchased an RCA36 inch tv, that worked ok for a few months. Then the picture started going snowy on certain stations. I thought this was just a cable problem, as the local cable company is upgrading there system.Then my father bought the same tv and he started having simular problems, but even a little worse. After hearing his story I lightly tapped my tv on the top when the problem started happening. This cleared up the picture. My set is 2 yrs old and the warranty has expired. My fathers tv has been in the shop for 3 months, and is still no right. If any one has a class action suit or a solution please email me or call me after 5pm est or write at Harry Chapman 133 Hobart ave. Trenton NJ o8629 I paid alot of money for this piece of junk, and I am not ready to buy a new set. Harry Chapman Jr. <bluesdoctor@msn.com> Trenton, NJ USA - Wednesday, January 27, 1999 at 15:51:28 (EST) Here's my experience. RCA 19" TV. Dead in three months. Wouldn't power on. The problem was diagnosed as a bad power supply...$85 bucks to fix. Of course the picture began to shrink before it finally died. Unfortunately I had no idea this was a tell tale sign! RCA 4 Head Stereo VCR...Dead in 18 months. Diagnosis, bad transport / tape loading mechanism. Cost to repair $200 bucks! What's up with this crap? I had no idea this brand had degenerated so low! I bought RCA because I thought it was a respected, reputable brand! Just last week I got a letter from their warrantee department ( the one that wouldn't cover the power supply problem) saying that I could buy an extended warantee on my 19" TV for only $50 a year or something like that...now there's a deal! DO NOT BUY RCA!!!!!! Thompson Electronics, Wake Up! <provostd@warwick.net> Burlingham, NY USA - Friday, January 22, 1999 at 22:11:13 (EST) That should be Theram on the email address. N Greene <theram@webtv.net> Cheltenham, MD - Saturday, January 16, 1999 at 00:14:03 (EST) a family member of mine purchased an RCA DVD player and it worked fine for about a year then it developed a peculiar problem. Unlessthe movie is from MGM studios, the DVD player will not play it clearly. They're all region 1 and this is a region 1 player. We cleaned the dvd's and the laser to no avail. I don't get it. N Greene <thram@webtv.net> Cheltenham, MD - Saturday, January 16, 1999 at 00:11:28 (EST) Bought an RCA once, would never do it again. In fact the replacement for the P.O.S. rca is a Sony. Could not be happier with the sony. RCA was almost $700.00, then add freight and tax to that. It lasted 18 months before it went bad. I should have made the seller replace it. But as you all know they make it sound like you are the only one with a problem and I was not as pushy then as I am now. Be LOUD and PUSHY and DEMAND satisfaction from whomever you bought it from!!! Kathy <pinkyg@webtv.net> Washington - Monday, January 11, 1999 at 20:26:30 (EST) WE bought a 19" RCA XL100 It worked fine for about 2 Months. One day we turned it on and it started on fire. We were lucky enough to be able to get it our of the house before it burned it down. We took it back to the retailer and they replaced it with the same model. A few months later the replacement set started to make loud noises and a snowy picture until after about 20 minutes It would finally warm up and funtion normally. Some times you would have to wiggle the coax input to get the picture and sound to come in. I will never buy another RCA product for as long as i live. We also have a one and a half year old RCA VCR. Its also a big piece of junk I finnally ended throwing it in the trash yesterday. That Is the most satisfaction I have gotten from Thomson Electronics to date. I can't locate An E-mail Address from this company, and have gotten no satisfaction over the phone at this point. (I don't think they care anyways!!!) I Will never buy another RCA or GE product for as long as I live. If any body has an E-mail for these people please let me know ASAP It would be greatly appreciated. BoycottRCA/GE until they fix there products, and maybe show they care about what is going on with all the JUNK they try to push off on poor fools like me. THANKS! JIM DeGennaro <jimyde@webtv.net> Pinedale, WY - Saturday, January 02, 1999 at 17:33:39 (EST) |