TV Display is distorted!

[Betamax001]

So I got this old Zenith from my Grandparents and it works pretty well and would be awesome addition to my room of doom, but there is one fatal flaw that pretty much prevents it from being awesome. There is a weird black bar at the bottom of the screen that squishes the picture!! Basically it seems to think that this new bar is the true bottom of the screen when its not. Kind of hard to explain in words, so here's a picture!



Sorry if the picture sucks, but i circled the problem area. Has anyone ever seen this problem before? And if so is there anything I can do readjust/fix it??? This is a pretty awesome TV. And I would love to have it. I do believe it was the TV I first Star Wars on when I was a kid

[emwearz]

If you can get into the TV's service menu (google its model number) you should be able to adjust it. Just remember to take note of any changes you make.

No doubt CRT will be here to tell you how to fix it

[CRTGAMER]

I'm here.

Hit the potentiometers behind the back cover. I'm not sure it will work though, in this case that bottom part of the tube distortion looks to be in the "gun" mechanism itself, tricky to move the back plates. But worth a try at the pots in adjusting the Vertical height and stretch.

Be careful, HIGH VOLTAGE at the tube even when unplugged! A set of "Plastic Screwdrivers" Pot tools lessens the chance of shorting.

[AppleQueso]

Yup, it's geometry issues. It's quite fixable so don't worry. Just do what CRTgamer says.

Might be worth searching online for a PDF of that model's service manual, it should come in handy when it comes to pinpointing exactly what you need to adjust. I'm guessing it'll be whatever pot is labeled "v pos" or "v position" or something along those lines.

[Gnashvar]

Be careful, HIGH VOLTAGE at the tube even when unplugged! A set of "Plastic Screwdrivers" Pot tools lessens the chance of shorting.

LIke CRTGAMER mentioned I will repeat this. Be very, very careful with what you touch.

[Limewater]

It gets mentioned all the time, but if adjusting the pots doesn't help, you might have some bad capacitors. You have to be exceedingly careful in doing a cap replacement on a CRT, though. I don't really recommend it. If pots and caps don't fix it, you're probably just out of luck.

[Betamax001]

Hooray I have something to do when I go back home this weekend ^_^ I think I might have the actually have the manual for it so I will take a looksie for that. Hopefully it is as easy as it looks.

[CRTGAMER]

Hooray I have something to do when I go back home this weekend ^_^ I think I might have the actually have the manual for it so I will take a looksie for that. Hopefully it is as easy as it looks.

Owners manual won't go into detail about internal Potentiometer adjustments. But still good to find out all the features of the TV. Just take the adjustments in small increments and remember where each "screw" starts. Also the pots don't turn a complete 360 degrees, don't force them past the stops. The focus control pot is in its own plastic box.

[AppleQueso]

Hooray I have something to do when I go back home this weekend ^_^ I think I might have the actually have the manual for it so I will take a looksie for that. Hopefully it is as easy as it looks.

The service manual is different from the owner's manual. They don't usually come with consumer TV sets.