I have a Mitsubishi 52" rear projection tv which stopped working (7 years old). It's probably not worth getting fixed, so is it worth anything to someone, or should I just trash it?

Lol. Sorry man but it's not worth the plastic in it.

Sounds like a job for a MP5..............

Actually you'd be trashing a perfectly good fresnel lens probably worth $75-100.  Great survival item similar to a giant magnifing glass.
If you're in the San Antonio area, IM me.  I'll remove your old TV for free.
Check out www.greenpowerscience.com

Seems it's not worth anything, so a trip the river with Tannerite and belt-feds is in order...

Good to see your back.  I live in Lewisville now.

Its certainly worth a big smile on your face.

Here is a vid of my last old dead tube tv being recycled via a M16 and CMAG.

http://www.youtube.com/user/jnewbill#play/all/uploads-all/2/prm0GnvJo7w

Not sure what is wrong with Mitsu, but I have a similar TV from that timeframe that died.  Not sure what model  yours is but there is a period of time where there is a common problem with a capacitor on the cpu motherboard that goes bad and the system won't turn on.  The green power light just blinks.  The repair cost quoted was like $800 but a little searching on google and you come to find out it is two bad caps on the motherboard.  If you have a solder gun and replace them viola! the tv turns back on and starts working.

Mine has been going strong for at least two+ years after the cap replacement.

May not be your issue but if the Mitsu power light just blinks, its an easy $5 fix at home, and would hate to see you machinegun a TV that could net you a couple hundred bucks on craigslist over a $5 capacitor and 5 minutes of soldering.

James
Ausitn, Texas

Thanks, James; that is exactly what my Mitsubishi WS-53xxx model is doing. I've read the Mitsubishi tv forums and this is indeed a common problem, but most posters stated it would require new firmware which costs $800 or more. The capacitor fix sounds like it's worth a try, but unfortunately I know nothing about electronics. So would you be willing to try when you come up to talk shop about the pig....?

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If memory serves correctly there are a couple different root causes that can cause the blinking green light of death symptom, but the swollen CPU capacitor issue is the most common and easiest/cheapest to fix.  You can usually tell if that is the issue once you take it apart as the actual capacitors themselves are physically swollen on the board indicating they are used up and cant do their job anymore.

Honestly the hardest/most time consuming part is getting the CPU module out of the TV as there are a ton of screws that have to be removed in the process.  Nothing difficult, you just need to be dilligent and lable everything screws/cords as you take it apart.  I personally always take a ton of digital pictures during disassembly when undertaking any first time project like that.  It makes putting things back together much easier iat 2 in the morning when you are scratching your head asking "where the f*ck did that blue wire with the yellow strip go" and you can just go back and review the digital pics to remind yourself you have to 100% back together right before re-applying the AC power.

If you have any soldering experience it is really easy to do the actual cap replacement on the board.   I would be more than willing to help you get them changed out but it will probably be a couple weekend before I can come up to Dallas as I am going up to PA. tomorrow to check out the pig I am purchasing and the wife already has social plans for us for the following weekend that I can't get out of (since I used up all my monthly brownie points buying a 60  and ditching her this weekend going to PA this weekend to look at it).  

I could probably do that first weekend in October if you can hold out that long without your big screen.  Don't know if it is your main screen or not or if the siren song of a new plasma will get the better of you in the meantime.

If it is a basement or secondary TV and can wait and/or don't feel comfortable pulling it apart, I can definately help out in a couple weekends. Worst case if the cap replacement  doesnt fix it we can take it to the river and give it a proper tanerite induced funeral.

James
Austin, Texas

eta-  'dammit drew, always read the whole thread before posting'

James, the green light has been blinking for several months now, so a few more weeks won't bother me, particularly because I had planned to kill this tv anyway. Let me know how your weekend trip goes and what you find out. Thanks!