Hey guys,

I am going to pick up a 1964 RCA Victor Home Entertainment Center, the radio and phono work well (solid state). The tv (roundie) crt has bad cataracts and I can fix it. The cabinet is pristine. Is this unit worth the 175 dollars I am picking it up for? The TV does not work, the origianal owners no nothing about it, all I know is I gotta drive 100 miles to go get it and lug it home. anyway what chassis is this unit, im not too familliar with the CTC chassis years and such. This thing is huge and it looks sweet!
Thanks, Shawn

Most of us collect these sets because we remember the early days of color and the excitement involved in the technology. The value of these sets sometimes is based on the individual collector. I would says the price is fair but it goes back to why you collect the sets and how much value you personally put on the set your buying.

A LITTLE high, perhaps, but if its a 1-owner set, the CRT is good, & its really pristine...Well...The thing is, if YOU want it, Go For It !! I'm 50, & the only things I've really ever regretted are the things I DIDN'T do, the TV/radio/gun/whatever I DIDN'T buy...the girl I DIDN'T call...You only go around once in this old life, roundies ARE getting scarcer by the day, this one may be your One True Chance on getting one...

I paid 150 for a dead CTC-16 from 1964 and I'm happy. It too some time to get the set so that it powers up.

if the cabinet is in good shape, go for it. Don't try to power the set unless you can variac. if it doesn't work at all, something may be up with the power supply.

the TV/radio/gun/whatever I DIDN'T buy...the girl I DIDN'T call...You only go around once in this old life


*sniffle*


perhaps i should begin disassembly of my 21-T639 and at least give it a stab....

Too much coin if you ask me. Sounds like the sellers know you want it, and are taking advantage. Personally, I hate people like that. Let em sweat, nobody is beating the door down for it. On your side of the country, those show up all the time.

Shawn,

Agreeing with most of the others, I say it's an OK price, and definitely a great price if it's a set you want. That wouldn't happen to the the set that was on the Los Angeles Craigslist a few weeks back, would it? I almost called, but I stopped myself :nono:

As Carmine points out, the combo units are a bit harder to sell due to size, but I personally like them. There was a TV repair shop in Culver City, CA, named Don's TV. It was a single family house with backyard that was converted to commercial property. In the backyard, they had at least 50 huge roundie combo sets. At the time, I hated to see them out in the rain, but they weren't worth a plugged nickel at the time.

Charles

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I'm sure ALL of us have spent more on less

Powered unit up tonight with a variac. Stereo works. and very well!
Tv, B+ up and could hear horiz output. no raster, good audio. going to test tubes later this week. This could be a simple fix. But I hope not, looking for a challenge (besides PVA restore on a badly cataract crt). I was right, this is a late ctc-16a chassis. looks all orig even tubes. Lady I got it from says she hardly used the tv since she was a one owner. Funny thing is the first time I tried a power up, the tv wouldn't power. The tuning knobs light up, but no hv, no lights in the tubes, nothing. As soon as I removed the rear cover, back to life... intreresting, like I let the gnome out, lol

Post some pics!

Probably a corroded interlock plug.

As for the raster being dark check th usual suspects (HO, damper, HV regulator, HV rectifier)

if you do get it working, I would replace the main electrolytic power supply capacitors for safety reasons, and pay close attention to the vertical section. The boards usually need resoldering and a lytic cap.


..and yes....post pictures :yes:

Having worked on a LOT of these, my advice is to turn the chassis over and start repairing bad solder joints and terminal strips that support the power resistors, before you do anything else. Wiggle the terminal strips and if they break, replace them. Hope you are proficient at soldering. You're not hoping for a simple fix? Be careful what you wish for. (If you had a Motorola with a 23EGP22, I guarantee you would be wishing for a simple fix) Have fun.

Thanks for the advice reeferman, well I soldered a few questionable connections and cap leads in the vertical sweep section, tested tubes tonight and found out why no picture! 12 tubes bad in this tv including some interesting readings on the 3A3 HV Rectifier tube, it pegs and bounces the needle on my Jackson 648-1 tester.. The 6BK4 Shunt Regulator tube doesnt budge the needle.. all the other tubes reading poor are just chroma, demod, burst amp sync and IF tubes, all are in the bad to fair range, just assume change em all out... Another thing I found suprising is the lack of dust inside this unit, the lady that owned it was meticoulous about the beauty of this set and kept the wood oiled and there is no scratches, dents or rips anywhere, as a matter of fact I just found the original instruction manual, warranty and schematic in the record holder! Sweet!

Well, for the Money Shot-Have you tested the CRT yet ?

If I could find my picture tube tester, I would.... If it's dead, who out here or anywhere could I send the 21fjp22 to for a rebuild or a replacement??
You know im curouus too, I was really young and I was given what seemed to be a 1972 to 1974 desigined RCA tube 25" rectangular tube tv. It's funny how close resemblence the chassis is to that newer unit..

You know im curouus too, I was really young and I was given what seemed to be a 1972 to 1974 desigined RCA tube 25" rectangular tube tv. It's funny how close resemblence the chassis is to that newer unit..

Electronically, there wasn't TOO much change from CTC-5 through CTC-38 (circa 1957 to early 70s.) Basically all the same circuitry, just newer tubes and a few new bells & whistles (AFT, etc.) Physically, the layout was about the same from CTC-12 through 38. I guess there wasn't any big reason to change, since they were pretty good sets.

Charles

If I could find my picture tube tester, I would.... If it's dead, who out here or anywhere could I send the 21fjp22 to for a rebuild or a replacement??


Hawkeye Picture Tube does excellent rebuilding work. I had the 21FJP22 in my Zenith roundie rebuilt and the set performs like new. It's not cheap, about $400 with shipping but well worth it if you plan to keep your set and use it regularly like I do with my Zenith. Please post some pics. That RCA sound great. I love the big roundie combos with the solid wood cabinets. I just wish I had the room for something like that.

I found a good 3A3 and a 6BK4 in my collection today, im going to install them tonight with all the other weak tubes and attemp another power up on the variac. Lets see what happens! Ill post some pics while im at it.. Hopefully ill snap a pic of the set in action!

SHES RUNNIN!!!
Well I got a blurry raster, focused, looks better, Green lookin, so I adjusted screen controls. adjusted everything the best I can, brought back proper greyscale. picture a little dim, not much, added brightness causes blooming, there is color, washed out looking just a bit, I still have weak tubes, im in need of a 6GM6 (2nd pic IF), 6KA8 (AGC noise & sync sep), 6EW6 (burst amp), two 6GY6 (x&z demod), and two 6GU7 (RGB blankers), these tubes test bad, and some borderline. Im wondering if this could be a cause for faint retrace lines, I still cannot find my picture tube tester...

That's good news! I bet that some of that dimness is the cataract. Not a BIG factor, but every bit will help.

Blooming (picture gets BIGGER and dims from the center outward when turning brightness up) is caused by several things: First one I'd check is the filter caps. If they leak, your B+ is low, and the set will bloom. Also the 3A3, and possibly the damper and horizontal output tube will cause that. If it's just BLURRING with increased brightness (pic stays pretty much the right size), it's probably a gassy, weak CRT. Depending how bad, you can either add a brightener or even rejuvenate it. I wouldn't rejuvenate it though, unless/until you're willing & ready to have it rebuilt. Usually rejuvenating a 21" roundie is fine for about a year, but there's always a good chance that you'll kill it on the spot.

Do you have a high voltage probe? If so, measure the HV and see if it's dropping off when the picture blooms. It should drop slightly, but stay over 20KV or so. MY ADVICE: DO NOT INCREASE the HV adjustment!!!!!! Every time I've done that, the flyback has failed on me within a month, even if I'm just turning it up to where it's supposed to be!!!!! If the HV is low, leave it. If it's high, turn it down to 21KV.

Charles

Shawn,

Agreeing with most of the others, I say it's an OK price, and definitely a great price if it's a set you want. That wouldn't happen to the the set that was on the Los Angeles Craigslist a few weeks back, would it? I almost called, but I stopped myself :nono:

As Carmine points out, the combo units are a bit harder to sell due to size, but I personally like them. There was a TV repair shop in Culver City, CA, named Don's TV. It was a single family house with backyard that was converted to commercial property. In the backyard, they had at least 50 huge roundie combo sets. At the time, I hated to see them out in the rain, but they weren't worth a plugged nickel at the time.

Charles


Hey Charles, No this set I found in the San Fran craigslist, I drove 150 miles from my house to get it, and it was worth every mile.. I just wish I could figure out this pic posting thing to show you guys the set!

Hey Charles, No this set I found in the San Fran craigslist, I drove 150 miles from my house to get it, and it was worth every mile.. I just wish I could figure out this pic posting thing to show you guys the set!

The easiest way is to have an account with photobucket.com . Once you upload photos to your Photobucket page (best is to make them small files; 400x600 or so,) there will be 3 addresses in boxes under each of your photos. One if them is an [img] address. Right click and copy that one, and then paste it here in the posting box along with your message. When you submit the post, there it is! (plenty of room for mistakes, so be patient)...

Charles