RADIO RECEIVERS

LECTURE 8
RADIO AND TELEVISION RECEIVERS

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Objectives:
1. Understand the techniques used in troubleshooting both radio and television
equipment.
2. Learn to perform visual and hearing inspections for identifying obvious signs of
damage in radio and television units.
3. Develop skills to test suspected faulty components, such as filter capacitors and tubes,
in both radio and television systems.
4. Gain knowledge of using ohmmeters to check switches, fuses, power supply diodes,
thermistors, and filter coils in dead radio and television sets.
5. Master voltage checking techniques to locate problems caused by shorted components
in radio and television, and understand the use of Zener diodes for voltage regulation in
these systems.
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 Radio Receiver Troubleshooting
• Several techniques are used in troubleshooting radio and sound equipment.
• For example, when you are troubleshooting a superheterodyne receiver, start
with a visual and hearing inspection.
• Look for obvious signs of damage. If the receiver has a hum, most likely it has a
defective filter capacitor.
• Test the suspected filter capacitor by bridging it with a known good one of equal
value or by using a capacitor substitution box, as shown in Fig.1.
• If the hum disappears, replace the filter capacitor.

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Fig. 1. Using a substitution box to bridge a capacitor.

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• In a dead set, check the switch with an
ohmmeter.
• Naturally, this should only be done with the
unit disconnected from the power line. Also,
use the ohmmeter to check the fuse, power
supply diode, thermistor, and filter coil.
• Any one of these components could cause an
open circuit.
• A simple power supply circuit is shown below
with its components in Fig 2.
Fig. 2 Simple power supply.

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• Voltage checks can be a very effective

technique to locate a problem.
• For example, if a power supply is “loaded
down” due to a shorted component, it will
draw excessive current.
• This excessive current will bring down the
voltage.
• If the Zener diode shown in Fig. 7 is suspected
of being short circuited, you lift one of its
leads from the circuit.
• If the voltage goes back to normal, the diode is
Fig. 7 Lifting one lead of a Zener diode
shorted and should be replaced.
to determine its effect on the circuit.

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● If a receiver continues to blow fuses, turn off the power and start taking
resistance measurements.
● Keep in mind that if a shorted capacitor is suspected, do not bridge it with
another. Instead, substitute a different capacitor in its place.
● Check for shorted rectifiers by using the ohmmeter and the manufacturer’s
resistance specifications.
● Check each specification with the reading obtained with the ohmmeter
until the short circuit has been identified.
● A short circuit has a near zero or zero reading, as shown in Fig. 3.
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Fig. 3 Measuring the collector resistance of a transistor by using an ohmmeter.

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 Audio and Stereo Troubleshooting Guide

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 TV Receivers

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Various Control Sections of TV Set

1. Power – Controls power in the circuit
2. Vertical – Controls proper vertical position
3. VIF – Controls Raster and White Screen
4. Sound/Audio – Controls the audio output
5. Video – Controls the video or images
6. Synch – Mixes Video and Audio signals

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• The TV set is basically an Am receiver for picture information and FM receiver

for sound reception.

• A TV receiver utilizes the superheat principle. The block diagram for a typical
TV is shown above.

• The incoming signal is selected and amplified by the RF signal and step down the
IF by the mixer local oscillator block.

• The IF amplifiers handles the composite TV signal and then the video detector
separate the sound and video signals.

• The sound signal detected out of the video detector is the FM signal that is sent
into the sound channel block which is a complete FM receiver system.

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 • The video detector output is the video signal. The actual video portion of the signal is
amplified in the video amplifier and subsequently controls the strength of the electron
beam that is scanning the phosphor of the CRT.

• The sync separator, the horizontal and vertical sync signals which are then used to
precisely and periodically calibrate the horizontal and vertical oscillators.

• The oscillator outputs are then amplified and used to control the horizontal and
vertical movement of the electron beam that is scanning the phosphor of the CRT.

• The signals are applied to a coil around the yoke of the CRT whose magnetic field
cause the electron beam to be deflected in the proper direction.

• The low voltage power supply in the diagram is used to power all the electronic
circuit.
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• The high voltage power output is derived by stepping up horizontal

output signal which is between 15-75 kHz through transformer
action.

• This transformer is usually termed the fly blade transformer has an

output of 10kV or more which is required by the CRT anode to make
the electron beam travel from its cathode to the phosphor.

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 Fig 4.9 Block diagram of a typical TV
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TROUBLESHOOTING OF TV

● With the power supply off, look for obvious problem at the
back of the set. Look out for loose wires or connectors,
burnt components, broken or burnt P.C.B and coded solder
joints.

● With the power supply ‘ON’ listen to unusual sound like

hissing normally associated with horizontal output
developed high voltage
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Troubleshooting Of TV
Symptom Cause Stage/ area of trouble

Set is dead, no sound, no video, No power to circuits Check main power supply, start-up circuits, main
no raster fuses and line cord

Check for shorted diodes, shorted regulator

Set blows fuses A short circuit exists in the transistors, and shorted filter capacitors in the main
main power supply or power supply or shorted horizontal output
horizontal output transistors and shorted horizontal output
transformer

Sound normal, no video, no No high voltage Check the horizontal output circuit/high – voltage
raster section

Normal raster, no video, no Video and sound signal missing Check the antenna, tuner and IF amplifiers
sound

Raster and video normal Sound signals missing Check sound IF amplifiers, detector section, audio
amplifiers and speaker

Raster, video and sound normal Colour signal missing Check colour killer and colour processing circuits
no colour
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Picture has snow, noise heard Signal – to – noise ratio high Check RF amplifier in tuner
 HD, UHD and Smart Televisions

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• There are several HDTV formats in existence today. Some of these include
the liquid crystal display (LCD), digital light processing (DLP), light-
emitting diode (LED), plasma, ultra-high definition TV (UHDTV), and
smart televisions.

• These televisions have revolutionized the television industry, especially

since the original CRT, by allowing clearer images, brighter pictures, and
larger screen sizes.
• They also are significantly thinner and lighter than the CRT and projection
televisions.

• The LCD operates byBEEE

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Circuits
• The troubleshooting of HD, UHD, and smart televisions requires the use of
the manufacturers’ service manuals by trained company certified
technicians.

• For example, one of the basic service needs of these televisions is often
calibration. Most high-density televisions are calibrated at the factory.
• However, the picture settings may need to be adjusted by a skilled
consumer or troubleshooter.
• Calibration generally includes measuring and determining the desired
amount of colour intensity, contrast and brightness, colour details, and
temperature.
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Troubleshooting Of HD, UHD and Smart

Televisions

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 Digital Television Transmission And Troubleshooting Guides

• The digital television (DTV) transition refers to the switch from

analog to digital broadcast television.

• All full-power television stations have stopped broadcasting in

analog, and now broadcast only in digital.

• If you aren’t receiving digital signals on your analog TV, you can

purchase a digital-to-analog converter box from an electronics

retailer.
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Fig. 1 Block diagram of digital television system

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 S/N SYMPTOMS REMEDY
1. Audio vanishes on some Check the audio settings using the “audio” button on the converter box remote or by going into
programs but fine on others the on-screen menu.
Choose the first or main or primary audio service, not any secondary or later service.
2. Lost channels that were You need to rescan for channels if you use an antenna, whether you have a digital TV or analog TV
previously received with a converter box.
If the converter box is connected via the coaxial cable, the box output and the TV channel must
match.
3. Missing digital channels Move your antenna to a higher or better position using the signal-strength meter for feedback and
compared to analog rescan for the channel.
channels Be sure that your antenna is a combination of UHF and VHF.

It may be turned off – the factory settings often have it set in the off position, so they may need to be
4. Closed captioning doesn’t changed.
work If there’s not a button labeled “cc” or “captions” press the menu button – most likely the settings for
closed captioning will be under “options”. Set “cc” to “on”.
For digital stream go to function-> time -> power down to change the setting.
5. Converter box turns itself For others press the sleep button to rest or press the menu, then choose -> settings -> power saver 3
off to reset.

Check your manual under “display”, “aspect ratio” or “settings”.

6. Black bars on the edges of Expansion of the picture to a full screen might either move part of the picture off-screen and out-of-
the picture sight or stretch-distort-the image. Cycle through the options and choose the one you prefer.
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The closed captioning setting is improperly set. Be sure that it’s set to “off” or “service 1” or

Summary:
1. Troubleshooting techniques for radio and television equipment include visual and hearing inspections
for damage indicators such as hums in radios or visual distortions in televisions.
2. In non-functional radio and television units, switches, fuses, power supply diodes, thermistors, and
filter coils should be checked using an ohmmeter, ensuring the unit is disconnected from the power line.
3. Voltage checks can effectively identify problems in both radio and television systems; for instance, a
"loaded down" power supply due to a shorted component draws excessive current, lowering voltage, and
can be checked by lifting Zener diode leads.
4. For persistent fuse blowing in both radios and televisions, resistance measurements should be taken
with the power off, and suspected shorted capacitors should be substituted rather than bridged.
5. Effective troubleshooting of relays in both radio and television involves visual inspections and
ohmmeter checks for burned contacts, charred coils, and continuity tests to ensure proper functioning
based on the coil's resistance specifications.

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