Does your television set have a discoloured patch on the screen or maybe the colours are completely wrong over the entire screen? Chances are the picture tube is magnetised. You can often avoid a costly service call to fix this problem by turning the set off at the main power switch, leaving it for 30 minutes, and then turning it back on. TV's have an automatic demagnetising circuit, but it only works when turned on from cold. If you use the remote all the time, it never gets activated. Be sure to keep hifi speakers away from the set and don't turn your vacuum cleaner on or off near it to prevent the problem in the first place. If this does not fix it, then it still may require service.

Obviously this advice only applies to older sets with a glass picture tube. Newer plasma or LCD sets are not affected by magnetism so are unlikely to have this problem.

For a wide range of remote controls and other TV parts, visit our store Allfix Electrical