What Could Go Wrong

Yes, I have opened the back of a flat screen TV to repair it. What could go wrong?

What's the difference between doing well financially and being broke?  When you're broke, you get out your modest tools and take a chance.

On Christmas day, my ex-wife told me that she was throwing out her Samsung LED flat screen TV.

"It just stopped working a couple weeks ago," she said. "If you think you can fix it, you can have it."

Challenge accepted. I don't know exactly how large this TV is, but it is larger than the current TVs in my house. So, I'm excited to get this working.

After doing research, I found a class-action lawsuit against Samsung due to a power defect. In fact, more than 7 million Samsung TVs were plagued with this problem. It was simple: you could call a toll free number, and Samsung would send a technician to your house and fix your TV for free. SWEET! Google research paid off once again.

But wait. The free repairs connected to the settlement ended in 2013. Dang!  After more research, I found that a couple capacitors are blown. I purchased all of the parts I needed, along with a new soldering iron and solder. Total cost: $24. Oh yeah, I haven't soldered in 15 years. Help!