Hello Folks,

Salvaged this 19" 1986 RCA Colortrak from the crusher this weekend. I have been looking for a 80's style RCA TV to match my 1982 RCA Selectavision VCR with no luck in till this weekend. Kijiji is just ridiculous someone wanted me to pay them $50 for a 80's RCA XL 100 which i think is way too much for what there worth now in todays plastic world. It's a good CRT and knowing i saved $50 is even better :) I don't know if this is when RCA started going down hill or not, the CRT was made in the USA and was assembled at the RCA Plant in Prescott, Ontario in June 1986 that once employed 1200 employee's. From what i read business and financial conditions led to RCA's takeover by GE in 1986.

Great save! That's a nice set. I don't think it was RCA quality that caused their downfall, but eroding profits caused by cheap imports being dumped in North America, and they took a huge loss on the Videodisc fiasco in the early/mid 80's.

From what I have read...the CED debacle was more responsible that anything else. They gambled on it.... like Sony did on the trinitron, having nearly lost their own shirt on the Chromatron. But the trinitron DID become a success---and made Sony into a bigger player than RCA...(despite the FACT ...that trinitron tubes do NOT last all that long and CANNOT be rejuved), and the CED FLOPPED...after RCA put Millions into it...trying to "iron out the bugs" and gain it's acceptance..and Failed.

A fine set. Surprising thing is the pre-set type tuner. By
then they were rare, full RAT took over.
As far as a quality downfall goes IMHO there never was one.
The CTC 175-176-185-186 all had the same problem BUT
the rest of the set was good. Things went to hell when Thompson
ended the old RCA chassii & sold Chinees sets. Looking back
now RCA never put out a "bad" chassis I can think of. Like
EVERYONE else each chassis has its weak points. Good that
they did, it put many steaks on my table !
Bottom line is RCA put out quality sets through the Solid State
era with few bumps along the road.......

73 Zeno:smoke:

OOPS
I forgot the TX81-82 & 825. But I dont consider them
RCA's. If you saw one you would NEVER say "thats an RCA".
They ran real nice BUT they were a PIA to fix. I hated them.
IIRC someone here was with RCA. I would love to the history
behind this chassis. I remember a seminar & the trainer called
it a one world TV or some other nonsense along those lines.

73 Zeno:smoke:

I just tossed one of those TX82 13" sets in the trash without even removing the back cover. IIRC, there is one transistor (TP15 board location) that would fail and cause a dead set. Otherwise, they were a pain in the butt. Also, the filter capacitor in these sets will hold a charge that will shock the crap out of you.

Concerning the set here, it looks like a motel TV. I've seen some motel TV's just like this and some had built in AM/FM radios.

I think I've seen a couple of GE-branded lower end CTC130 consoles from '87 or so that still had a single knob varactor tuner. I have a 19" GE CTC136 from '87 that uses a standard two-knob rotary tuner.

IIRC, there is one transistor (TP15 board location) that would fail and cause a dead set.

I'm not seeing this in the service manual (TX82T). The closest label to that is TP12. Are you referring to the standby switch transistor?

and the CED FLOPPED...after RCA put Millions into it...trying to "iron out the bugs" and gain it's acceptance..and Failed.

It was about $600 million they blew on that thing.

From what I have read...the CED debacle was more responsible that anything else. They gambled on it.... like Sony did on the trinitron, having nearly lost their own shirt on the Chromatron. But the trinitron DID become a success---and made Sony into a bigger player than RCA...(despite the FACT ...that trinitron tubes do NOT last all that long and CANNOT be rejuved), and the CED FLOPPED...after RCA put Millions into it...trying to "iron out the bugs" and gain it's acceptance..and Failed.

I had a great-aunt (now deceased) who owned a Sony Trinitron 12" portable for some 20 years (she bought the set new in the '70s, IIRC). The set worked amazingly well all that time, and had its original CRT when the TV finally quit some time in the early 1990s.

Unless this was a fluke, I think it speaks well for the CRTs in '60s-'70s vintage Sony TVs. I wonder, however, why you say the Trinitron CRTs cannot be rejuvenated. The only thing I can think of is the CRTs in those televisions used a non-standard base or perhaps the filament voltage was some oddball value like 2.35 volts. Since those Sony TVs only had one tube (the CRT) besides the HV rectifier, the rest of the set being solid state, I would think the tube would have a low-voltage filament powered by a small transformer.

The electron emitting surface on the cathode was a bit thin on the trinitrons, and when it wore to the point of needing a rejuvenation there was simply no good surface underneath to use...So rejuvs could burn all the cathode material (which was already used up anyway) off...That is what I gleaned from previous threads on the matter...For someone that types rather long posts that often are about the same 3-10 things you sure don't seem to read much...

I'm not seeing this in the service manual (TX82T). The closest label to that is TP12. Are you referring to the standby switch transistor?
Thats the one. Seems everyone went bad, the PCB would be
cooked under it. Even with the updated OEM they would go.
The set was just a pain to work on. Strange circuits, bad layout,
lots of odd ball parts, dumb ass parts labeling that was as bad
as NAP's 4 digit foolishness. And as said you always got bit by that
damn filter can ! I dont miss them like most sets. But I give credit
where due. They had a nice pix & good CRT's & FBT's.

73 Zeno:smoke:

The electron emitting surface on the cathode was a bit thin on the trinitrons, and when it wore to the point of needing a rejuvenation there was simply no good surface underneath to use...So rejuvs could burn all the cathode material (which was already used up anyway) off...That is what I gleaned from previous threads on the matter...For someone that types rather long posts that often are about the same 3-10 things you sure don't seem to read much...
!00% I never rejuved a Sony that held up. Would last a day or
the H-K would short. Odd thing is the green was almost always
good. This held for all Sonys from the first through the 80's at
least. After that we saw more H-K shorts always the blue, than
low E. BTW they did use 6.3 filaments.

73 Zeno:smoke:

Years ago, someone gave me a 19" Sony from the early '80's (woodgrain plastic cabinet, pushbutton varactor tuner) that had a very bright, sharp green picture with no red or blue in the least. The green gun tested very strong, while the red and blue wouldn't even move the meter (even with the filament voltage cranked up). Rejuvenation did nothing. It really ticked me off because the set was in great shape, other than the CRT. I ended up dumping it after I got tired of looking for a good CRT.