It's a lonely job

for TV repairmen as well

At Philip's TV in Brookline, owner Allen MacPherson (left) visits with Herb Pratt,
who had to close his JP repair shop. (George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By Justin A. Rice Globe Correspondent / February 1, 2009

Surrounded by new high-definition and liquid-crystal-display televisions at Philip's TV & Computer in Brookline, TV repairmen Herb Pratt and Allen "Red" MacPherson remain throwbacks to another era.

	Discuss
	COMMENTS (0)

As American consumers switch to hard-to-fix flat-panel TVs, demand for repair shops like Philip's is fading. A third of US households now have at least one high-definition television, double the percentage that had an HDTV set two years ago, according to research by the Leichtman Research Group.

"The new phonebook got delivered today and I just looked at it," said Pratt, whose Jamaica Plain repair shop, Herb's TV, went out of business last August after 40 years on South Street. "There's very few [TV repair shops] left."

Outliving and outlasting their peers is nothing new for Pratt, 81, and MacPherson, 78, who have long been friends even though they are former competitors. Pratt, who has kept up his TV repair license, stops by Philip's every now and then to hang out.

"Nobody in their right mind gets into this business anymore," said MacPherson, who has owned Philip's TV for 50 years. "TVs are getting cheaper and cheaper and people are less and less likely to repair them. They're almost becoming disposable."

And more and more of the analog sets that were MacPherson and Pratt's bread and butter for many years will undoubtedly end up on the junk heap after the transition to digital broadcasting. The government has mandated that, as of Feb. 17, broadcasters must switch from analog to digital broadcasts to free up more room in the wireless spectrum for public safety communications.

With roughly 6.5 million US households relying on analog sets to pick up over-the-air broadcast signals, according to The Nielsen Co., the Obama administration had lobbied Congress to extend the deadline for the transition to digital broadcasts. But though the US Senate approved a four-month delay on Monday, the House rejected it, leaving the Feb. 17 deadline intact. As of that date, TVs with analog tuners that are not hooked up to satellite or cable will need a converter box to receive broadcasts.

The industry has come a long way since 1948, the year Pratt got into the business, just as televisions really began to sell after the war. Then, the sets had 10- or 12-inch screens, weighed about 100 pounds, and sat in wooden cabinets and steel chassis.

"Anyone with a little radio experience, they'd be put to work installing TVs," said Pratt, who repaired radios during World War II when the government prohibited the sale of new ones.

Today, according to Chuck Borstel of the Massachusetts Division of Professional Licensure, just 14 people are licensed to do television and radio repair in Suffolk County, 11 of them in Boston. Only a few TV repair shops remain in the city, among them the South End's Hite Radio & Television Co., which has operated on Washington Street for about 70 years, and Vinh's TV Repair in Dorchester, which has hung around for 22 years. Pratt estimates that three or four more existed 10 years ago when TVs first started becoming cheaper to replace than repair, and another 10 operated in the city two decades ago.

While Borstel said he believes there is a viable market for home theater installation these days, Pratt said it is impossible to earn a living fixing flat-panel TVs alone, because their circuit boards can't easily be repaired like those in older TVs. They often need to be replaced at a cost of $400 to $500, not including labor.

"Even big stores say 'this will cost too much to fix, but come on down and buy a new one,' " said Pratt.

Dave Hayes, 66, of Holbrook, came on down to Philip's TV recently when he couldn't find a 9-inch television/VCR online. He bought a used set from MacPherson for $129 and says he'll use it to record programs only.

"I'll watch it on a 42-inch plasma; I'm not completely in the Stone Age," Hayes said.

MacPherson, who also sells new flat-screen TVs, says he is hanging on by doing computer repairs and consulting. He also sells air conditioners in the summer, and he is doing a decent business selling and installing the converter boxes that allow analog TVs to be used after the transition to digital broadcasting.

Before closing his store, Pratt decided that selling the converter boxes was more hassle than it was worth.

"Now and then I stop in and say hello [to MacPherson] and the phone will ring three times in five minutes and it's someone with a converter box [problem]," Pratt said.

Currently there is a waiting list for the $40 government-issued coupons consumers can put toward the $60 boxes because the $1.34 billion program is already over budget. MacPherson said the boxes, which bring him about $15 profit per unit, are a labor-intensive sale because of all the misinformation surrounding them. He has sold about 75 boxes the last few months, and says he provides support that Best Buy or Radio Shack does not.

"Brookline has a senior population and they need tender loving care, and that's why we're still here," said MacPherson.