Here are the other two sets I got from the TV shop today. The first is a 19" GE EC chassis motel set from 1980 and the second one is an early '80's RCA XL100 (the date is faded on that one). The GE lights up and has snow; but, the tuner appears to be non functional and the LED readout barely lights up. It uses a one knob varactor tuner with an LED readout. It still has part of the metal stand bolted on the underside from it's motel days. I really wish that this set had the newer PC chassis or the older YA or YC chassis. I never cared for the EC chassis. They were always a PITA to service, at least for me.

The second set is an RCA XL100. I suspect it has a shorted CRT as it comes on very bright blue and then shuts down. I have not opened it up; but, it looks to have a single board chassis. Probably something like a CTC108.

My mother had a fit when I brought these old sets home. "You'll never be able to sell those old turn knob sets." I told her that I didn't plan to sell the GE B&W (other thread) and we'd just see what happens with the color sets. My flea market firend has gotten pretty good at selling older TV lately. I think some people are finally figuring out that these older sets are better and that new CRT sets of any quality are getting hard to find. They'll now come near paying $40 for a good turn knob set rather than paying $500+ for a flatscreen. Also, in this bad economy, many people don't have big bucks to lay on the counter for a modern TV.

I'll probably have a nice GE after I solder every connection in there! I was troubleshooting the tuner control assembly when, suddenly, a picture appeared! I can tap around on the assembly and it does all sorts of crazy junk. I'm going to clean the selector switch contacts, resolder the connections on the tuner control board, and clean the control IC pins and it's socket. Maybe that will solve my tuning problem. The set still has a fairly good picture when I can get it to stay on a channel long enough.

I'm starting to remember how bad I hated this chassis. Did anyone else out there hate it or am I the only one? I'd still take this chassis over what is currently on the market.

that rca looks like it has the ctc 97 chassis in it. never seen many shorted tubes in any rca set. steve

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Those are the ones where almost every connection is bad, right? Bummer, but like you say, it'll probably be fine after a lot of messing with.

If the RCA is a ctc 97, it should be a good performer....I replaced a few large caps in my power supply and cleaned out all of the modular connections...its been playing nicely but has a slight issue with the delay line.

Who cares about selling em.....These sets last and last. I'd just use em and enjoy em! The early 80s sets have become my favorite since they are plentiful, look great, and are generally easy to work on.

that rca looks like it has the ctc 97 chassis in it. never seen many shorted tubes in any rca set. steve

I opened it up today and it has a CTC108 chassis. The CRT checked fine; so, I checked the B+ to the video output circuit - only around 100 volts. I found a 30 uf, 250 volt electrolytic cap in the B+ line to the video output stage that was defective. Replaced that and tuned it to a station and the horizontal goes so far off frequency that it causes the set to shut down and buzz. I resoldered a whold bunch of crappy connections; but, that did not help. I don't plan on digging too deep in this set. I may just keep it for a spare tube for my CTC97.