There are many models of televisions in the market and with the invention of color television it has become even more attractive. With so few knowing so little about electronic gadgetry it is no wonder they can be fleeced by a technician who may make a home call to repair the set or have the set moved over to the workshop. It is good to have a little knowledge of the working of the television and try to rectify a small fault without having to call in the professional.

There are basically three main faults that can be settled without having to open up the television and can be taken care of quite easily.

Snow on the screen

Snow on the screen is caused by a very weak signal. If the set is receiving a signal through an antenna then the antenna has probably turned away from the direction of the transmission. The narrow end of the antenna should face the direction of the transmission. It is always a good idea to check the cable at the television end for breakage before checking the antenna. If this does not solve the problem it may be the 'tuner', which will have to be replaced by a professional. However, remember that snow accompanied by the sound of snow will always be caused by defective antenna or a blown tuner and is fairly cheap to fix. Nothing else can cause this problem. But, if there is snow without the sound then there is another small circuit that needs to be replaced, this is called the Intermediate Frequency Section and is pretty cheap too.

Snow accompanied by sound of snow

Sound of snow but no snow on the screen can be rectified by fine-tuning of the set. The antenna may have to be slightly turned if the sound of snow is not filtered. However, if there is no sound at all and the picture is fine then the speaker of the set may have blown or the volume control may be defective. Very rarely will the audio circuitry have to be changed.

Vertical Rolling of the Picture

Vertical rolling of the picture can be settled by adjusting the tuning of the set at times but most of the time it has to be rectified by adjusting a small hidden control at the back of the set. This is usually located somewhere towards the middle of the rear of the set.

One must be careful not to open the television set as there very high voltages that exceed 12,000 volts. Without the prerequisite knowledge it is possible to get a bad shock while trying to repair the set at home. However it is always good to know what the professionals are doing as well so that they cannot fool the gullible.