Slaying the Trinitron

My largest television appears to be a casualty from the move. I cannot directly blame the movers because when it was unloaded from the truck, I hooked it up immediately and it worked. However, the very next day it would not turn on. I tried unplugging it. I tried resetting the fuse box. I tried a different outlet. I even tried to turn it on and off with its original remote. And nothing-- the little power light simply gave up. The movers didn't pack the TV, they just put a furniture pad over it and set other things on top of it in the truck.

I can't really be too upset about the whole thing, as this was the TV I got from the neighbor of a friend who was going to put it out on the sidewalk with his trash three years ago when he upgraded to a flatscreen. I guess it had served its purpose.

However, my new dilemma was what to do with the thing now that it wasn't working. My 13" television looked kind of goofy perched on top of it, and AG's 24" TV works just great, although I have it stashed upstairs. I tried to pick it up to haul it out to the car, but it was just too awkward, and too heavy. It was an old Sony Trinitron 32" television, and from what I've seen listed on old websites, the thing weighed 140 lbs. Even with lifting it from a squatting position, I couldn't hold it for more than a second or two, let alone walk with it in my arms.

So, I did what any stubborn woman would do: I dismantled it.

The dismantling wasn't so tough. Just six screws and the heavy front of the television was free from its awkwardly-shaped back.

Most of the back of the TV was just empty space. Several wires snaked back and forth between the two halves. I ripped off what I could, and the resistant wires I snipped with my wire cutters. I am sure somewhere a TV repairman just screamed. (And yes, I had the TV unplugged when I was doing all this. Recently, I had a patient who shocked himself pretty good working on a microwave that was still plugged in.)

Unfortunately, removing the back half only saved me about 20 lbs, but at least the concentrated weight was reduced to a size I could wrap my arms around. So, I was able to stagger the screen out to the trunk of my car and hauled the two pieces out to the dumpster. The back half I easily tossed inside, but the front half I couldn't lift up to get it into the dumpster, so I just left it in front. Today when I went to drop off another pile of trash (Moving is fun!), I noticed that someone had taken the television from it's resting place. Hopefully they're using the thing for parts or modern art sculpture, as I can't imagine they'll be able to replace the wires I snipped or figure out where they went! So I guess the saying is true-- One man's trash is another man's treasure. And now that TV set is being turned from my trash into someone else's treasure yet again!