Hello Fellow Tube Heads,

I am a regular antiqueradios.com and Usenet poster who has restored a few 1940's TV's.

http://home.att.net/~yonny/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-256484.html

Recently when resetting a circuit breaker (I'm a pool tech by trade) I noticed an old RCA color set that must have been gathering dust for the 20 years I've known the customer and more.

I'm certain it's a Randolph (CTC-10, no remote) in oak. It's the exact model and finish seen here (thanks to Ed Reitan)--

http://novia.net/~ereitan/Gallery/images/CTC10/Randolph_Christmas_403_Kent.jpg

http://novia.net/~ereitan/Gallery/images/CTC10/Glendale%20800.jpg

(the Randolph is simply a Glendale with no remote)

It is I'm sure an unusual set to find in Vermont. We only had one station in Burlington back then. I could likely save this set but would love to know a bit more about the breed from anyone here. I've worked my way up through restoring 1930's radios and am looking for a further challenge. Thanks in advance.

John H.
http://home.att.net/~yonny

Welcome! Lots of TV knowledge hanging around here. Look at this TV as being a really high-end radio. I think that's why I like working on them so much...I always liked higher tube count sets from the late 30s era. In the 50s and 60s this was the equivalent. A CTC-10 is just old enough that the filter caps should be changed. Not many paper caps to worry about. The 2 worrisome things are the picture tube (they can be rebuilt, but it's expensive-spares are out there if you look hard enough) and the flyback transformer (also available with some dedicated looking) Chances are good though that both are fine. The other thing I like about these sets is they are open to quite a lot of tinkering. You can take one of these, that doesn't work or works very poorly, and with some tuning & tweaking you can end up with a very, very nice color picture. There are some service books from the era that are helpful...the RCA Color Pict-O-Guide is one that offers lots of great service tips in an easy-to-read format.

I don't have a -10, but do have the similiar CTC-11. They have a vertical chassis that is easy to pull and work on. I hope you can save this one...and have lots of fun doing it!

THANKS Bryan, I was assuming it would be filled with Black Beauties and it would be agony to fully recap :grumpy:! I am encouraged now and will have to speak to the absentee landlord about adopting it. The cabinet's a bit homely really, but after all most things 1960 were. My mother always used to say that American pop culture went down the tubes for a few years because Elvis was in the Army for awhile after '58.

Thanks again very much.

John H.

Welcome to AK Hagstar. Good to have another Vermonter here, there aren't very many of us. :D

Save it if you can. Even if you do not want to restore it, someone on here likely would like to have it. Sometimes it just depends on where you are located. I have had to pass on lots of sets simply because they are usually to far away. As has been said, most parts are still available somewhere.

Bill R

Welcome to AK ! And you're not speeding to the set's location, right now, to plead w/the owner ?!? Good gravy, man, what's wrong w/you? A genuine, vintage 1960 color set ?!? They make Hen's Teeth look abundant by comparison....

Welcome to AK ! And you're not speeding to the set's location, right now, to plead w/the owner ?!? ...

THANKS for the warm welcome everyone :bigok:

Normally I might very well have called about this set anxiously, but in this case nothing has moved in this particular basement for twenty years at least. I have a feeling the landlord bought the junk in the basement with the building and knows only vaguely what's there and likely cares less. BUT I don't want to appear too eager and there seems little need to do so. I also won't dawdle too long either as I can make the room here and would just have to leave some room in the van I bring there for service anyway.

So these flybacks don't catch fire though, right? I remember well our 1969 Zenith color set smoking up in '71.

And by filters you mean all the electrolytics, right? Should I change the main filters before applying power, or just Variac it up slowly?

Thanks again,
John H.
Hinesburg, VT

Personally I would just variac it. Generally I've had decent luck with the 60s sets still holding up but a couple of the electrolytics in my CTC-11 went bad after a short amount of use. I usually pull the horizontal output tube out before running it at low voltage and then if it comes up okay I'll turn it off, put the tube back, and turn on the power.

Hagstar,

Be one of the few in Vermont to own one! My CTC-9 has been running for 10 years on the original caps and CRT and a new thermistor. A variac is a good place to start with the HO tube removed and then a restart at full power. We will take care of you after that on AK. Without a tester, the CRT is always a gamble, but I would be glad to loan my Beltron for the occasion.

And a tip of the rabbit ears to you for the fine article about Kutztown in the current ARC.

Dave A (VP-DVHRC)

Curses, foiled again! The TV has sentimental value to the woman who owns it, she remembers all the early color shows she watched on it. She did sound tempted when I offered her some of my pool service labor as a swap (perhaps $100- it might cost me) but said no for now in the end.

Of course now that I'm aware of color roundies I want one, but this one may take some time.

John H.

That is too bad, maybe she will come to her senses soon, I have been reading this thread and it appears that you have now become infected with the dreaded roundie syndrome. It may start slowly, where you just glance at online auction sites, then it gets worse and you start figuring what it would cost for a thousand mile round trip to pick one up that worked when last used 35 years ago. Welcome to the club and good luck in your search.
Richard

Yep. Now, you WON'T be happy til you get one...Preferrably working...Having an early rectangular is nice, but it's kinda like kissin' your sister...

---

Curses, foiled again!.
Don't be too discouraged. She may change her mind if she phones around and learns that it would not be cheap to hire someone to professionally restore it to safe and reliable working condition.

And there are always more fish in the sea. I got my CTC-11 by trading it for an old mono amp that I bought for $7 about 20 years ago. Not everyone cares about this sort of TV, or has room for it, or knows how to fix it once they have one.

P.S. If she tells you next year that she's going to gut the TV and turn the cabinet into a fishtank, please offer to dispose of those "worthless guts" for her :-)

Phil Nelson

I would casually remind her of your interest every 6 months or so. Maybe mention that you can restore it to its original condition and she would then be welcome to come over and watch a dvd of Bonanza on it!

Don't be too discouraged. She may change her mind if she phones around and learns that it would not be cheap to hire someone to professionally restore it to safe and reliable working condition.


Thanks Phil (and everyone), but I'm certain she has NO intention of restoring it. It worked when it was put down there twenty years ago, she simply likes that it's there, period. After meeting a host of pat rack types over the years I quickly sized this one up as a hard case. She has no issues with over ten grand each year in lost rent on a large apartment one bedroom of which houses her magazine collection. I will follow up though for awhile.

Since these roundies are beautiful on the INSIDE and I don't think I'll ever have more than two or so I'm not in too much of a hurry. Almost no one knows these matter yet, whereas everyone's known about radio collectibles for a long time. So even though they are rare I figure I can find one or two that are easier to catch :)

John H.

So these flybacks don't catch fire though, right? I remember well our 1969 Zenith color set smoking up in '71.

I remember we had a mid-late 60's RCA console set my dad drug home when he worked at the old RCA plant in Bloomington. He had the back off of it about as much as we watched it. One day, smoke started bellowing out the back and burst into flames. It was replaced with a Zeinith later that day (or a day or two later.) Flyback? I dunno. I wanted to get some marsh mellows...

Are there any more desireable 60's color roundies to look for, are is it 'grab one when you find one'? I put another post up asking but no responses yet.

The older, the more desirable, I guess. But roundies are getting old enough & scarce enough now that about ANY of 'em is a Target of opportunity...