Sony convergence issues and the STK392-XXX

If you own a SONY DLP and are experiencing convergence issues, this is the post for you! What is convergence? You might have a convergence issue if the picture appears "3D" or looks like there are three (3) different colored instances of the same picture that don't quite overlap. This means the TV's convergence circuit isn't properly placing each of the red, green and blue images in the correct place. In some cases, you are able to adjust settings in the menus or otherwise to correct this problem. Sometimes, though, it really is a problem with the circuitry. Here's a few pictures to give you an idea of what it looks like when your convergence is off:

Don't chicken out. This repair will be simpler than you think!

It's going to be tough to navigate like this...

Somehow, this doesn't seem like Dish Network's problem this time.

If you are staring at a picture similar to these and you are the proud (or not so proud) owner of a SONY DLP, here's what you do!

DISCLAIMER: You WILL have to know how to solder. If you haven't had experience with this, then find someone else who does so that you don't pull your hair out trying to do this. You WILL have to remove a PCB from the TV to service it and it CAN be a little bit tricky if you've never done it before. 

If you want the easiest route, visit this link. They sell a whole kit complete with all the needed parts, supplies and instructions.

If you want the budget friendly route and know what you're doing with a soldering iron and a meter, go ahead and order some replacement IC's. The convergence IC's are commonly 392STK-560's or something similar. I keep STK392-570's (yes, you are reading correctly. It is 570 as opposed to 560) in stock for these repairs. They should be around twenty to thirty (20-30) dollars for the two of them. Find them here on Amazon. You'll also want some thermal paste (like the stuff you use to seat your CPU in your computer) to properly install the new IC's with their respective heat sinks. Everyone has their favorite, but here's the page for Arctic Silver on Amazon for under ten (10) dollars.

So yeah, for a mere fifty dollars or so, you'll be a happy camper again. I will not go into detail here on how to go about such a repair, but feel free to contact me in the comments or otherwise if you need a little more guidance. I have done many of these repairs personally, and have had a great success rate. There have only been two instances in which this did not fix the problem. Have fun!