hey all. ive got a 89 or 90 rca xl100 (i think thats what they called it) console tv. the tube...and set..still look amaxing and has some insanely true color. however..its an rf input only and the tuner has issues...has for 10 years. for a while a good slap helped, then i resorted to reaching inside and flexing the tuner module on the board. im not sure if its a bad solder joint or what...but i dont want to invest in a new tv right now since i have satellite and lack hd programming. i think the thing has a schematic taped to the side of the unit. id lilke to possibly, run either composite ot s-video directly in to it...but i dont understand the schematic that well. does anyone here think they could help me if i got a schematic put online? i seriously dont need a tuner anymore but i dont know what kind of video it outputs or anything. thanks.

What's the chassis number? Should be located on the rear cover sticker or a sticker on the chassis and will begin with "CTC". You probably need to unsolder the tuner from the PC board and remove the tuner covers. Then, resolder all the ground connections and any other connections that don't look right.

quite honestly..i'm sure the tuner could probably be easily fixed...i just don't wanna mess with it. there's more ground solder connections in those things than carters got liver pills.

mostly what it's doing is it's not holding frequency apparently. the picture will look normal till it warms up...then it starts getting sound bars in it...you know...when you get an audio carrier in your video signal. sometimes it will hang there for about five minutes, getting worse..then the picture goes wavy...and it starts losing sync and color till you're looking at a very wavy, rolling screen (similar to the old analog cable scrambling, but worse) and horrible noise.

SOMETIMES, when I turn the thing on, it'll be off frequency...black and white fuzzy picture that's stable, but absolutely no sound.

I'd rather just, abandon the tuner, disconnect it's video output and run the svideo/composite directly in to the unit.

there is a chasis number inside the unit...I will be home in about 15 to 20 minutes and probably in about an hour, i'll have the number.

my other option was purchasing a new TV, but, like i said, i don't have HD, I don't really want HD...and i do not want to spend the money on a new set.

also...if i pull the chasis out of this...where exactly do I discharge the flyback? I'm used to working on video monitors in arcade games which has PLENTY of metal to ground to discharge.....but this thing looks like it's got a lot of plastic inside...although i'm pretty sure I can ground to the wire running around the tube...

i just hate flybacks...i got bit by one once...and i take no chances.

It's a CTC156/157 series. I was mistaken thinking there was some form of schematic...there's just a component layout with parts list.

Those RCA's and that particular tuner were problem plagued.

If you do decide to keep the tuner and fix it, here's some more troubleshooting info.

Cheers,