I finally got my CTC16 The "Crafton" model GG601W working with the correct tinted safety lens! (got this set at an estate sale in Berwyn IL on 3-2-02 for $20 in with horrible cateracts) Thanks to Charlie, I got a replacement smoked safety lens for this set. Looks 100% original again and is working like new. The new lens has a gasket around it so this set is set up like a 21FBP22 now. My own fault, I broke the original lens during cateract removal. The PVA cooled down too fast as I was pulling the lens off and it bonded back once I had the lens 1/2 way off and I pulled just a bit too much and it snapped on me! Made sure I never do that again. I really hate caterac surgery, very nervous because you want the best results and no accidents!
All done now the way it should be.

screen shot. Picture is stunning on this set like any good working RCA. (showing channel 11, WTTW chicago. Finally got the rotor antenna installed too!)

Heres what it looked like before I put the correct lens on it. (still has its original RCA crt) I never liked looking at this set with the CRT like this.

Very nice picture. Does the quality rival newerish sets of today? It looks it from the pic you took. :thmbsp:

Awesome job! That's one nice looking set! And it looks like the picture is perfect too. Great work!

Never done cataract surgery before, but I understand the concept - heat the bonding agent, separate safety glass, clean, reassemble. One thing I was wondering about though - how 'structuraly sound' is the picture tube with the safety glass removed? Obviously they put the glass on there for a reason, and I know that it generally has something to do with implosion protection. Most of the tubes I've worked with have "Integral Implosion Protection" - i.e. that metal rimband around the outside of the tube. Having never gotten lucky enough to find a roundie color set to work on, I've not seen how the tube mounts into the set, but do the round tubes have such a band? I know the real old round sets (electrostatic B&W) just had a naked glass tube sitting in some sort of a rubber gasket or mount - what about on a round color set? Does the tube have a band with mounting bolts, or is it also a bare glass tube, hence the need for the safety sheild? In other words, is the only thing stopping the tube from going *fwooomph!* the safety glass, or is that just stuck there as an added layer of protection from things thrown at the TV, little kids, etc. I once read about someone trying to cut the rimband off a modern 27" tube for some purpose, and the tube imploded almost instantly. These things can't be that volitile, can they? Of course, it makes sense, seeming as though the inside of a picture tube is a total vacuum, so logically the outside forces would constantly be trying to crush it. I've seen modern tubes that had been broken apart before, and that glass is much thinker than I'd have thought.

Just some idle thoughts, I'm just curious how stable picture tubes are. I mostly collect computers, although I also have gotten heavily into televisions, hi-fi's and radios. Between all the computer terminals, television sets, radio tubes and the like, I'm beginning to wonder if it's such a good idea to collect this much of a vacuum together in one small house...

Yeah, I'm sure it is. Keep the balance of the earth and all... I'm going to go out and scour the shops for a color roundie again...

-Ian

Douggles, that set is beyond freaking awesome! Screw the whole "Hi Def HDTV Digital" malarkey. With a picture like that, who NEEDS Hi Definition??

Amen !! What Veg said, in spades !!-Sandy G.

Nice job on the set Doug.
I didn't know that the safety glass was tinted on some of the CRTs. It makes the CRT fit in better with the cabinet, and keeps it from standing out when the set is turned off.

Amen and amen, that's a first-rate restoration. Awesome.

....One thing I was wondering about though - how 'structuraly sound' is the picture tube with the safety glass removed? Obviously they put the glass on there for a reason...

...in other words, is the only thing stopping the tube from going *fwooomph!* the safety glass, or is that just stuck there as an added layer of protection from things thrown at the TV, little kids, etc...

...Just some idle thoughts, I'm just curious how stable picture tubes are.

*I've* always wandered about that re bonded safety glass as well. Here in the UK they never had production colour (you can tell I'm a Brit!) roundie picture tubes, but I've been present at and assisted in a fair few TV tube implosions in my nefarious past, and it's surprisingly hard to bust one, unless you crush the neck. Certainly, it took my mate a fairly large THWACK with a ballpein hammer to smash the tube on a 14 inch monitor, and another time, another mate (who literally DID go psycho in the end!) threw a breezeblock from above his head straight through a mid-70s 24 inch telly, but that was VERY stupid...

On topic though - that colour roundie's picture is very good indeed! I keep looking at my modern(ish) 1995 Sony and, while it's not THAT old, it's fairly old for a modern telly. The picture's still excellent, and I see no need to upgrade to widescreen or plasma/LCD until it totally dies. Don't want to tempt fate with that comment though...

What a beautiful set! Great job on the restoration, now go enjoy! :banana:

:yippy: :yippy: :yippy: :yippy: :yippy: :yippy:
Guess who's getting a FREE COLOR roundie...this week???

Guess who's getting a FREE COLOR roundie...this week

Must be Doug since it's his freakin thread! :yes:

BTW Doug, that came out really great! :thmbsp: Glad the stuff worked out for you! The picture on that set looks really crisp! Did you need to make many repairs to the chassis? Which gasket worked better for you... the rubber one or the plastic one?

Guess who's getting a FREE COLOR roundie...this week???
Me?
Hmm, probably not. Damn. I don't know - I give up.
Wait! Wait a minute, I think I got it!
asynchronousman?
Naw - that's too obvious. C'mon - tell us, the suspense is killing me!

-Ian

It's a Truetone 21"

Her sister joins the household next month...

OK, I'll stop typing big :D

>>>I didn't know that the safety glass was tinted on some of the CRTs. It makes the CRT fit in better with the cabinet, and keeps it from standing out when the set is turned off.>>

Probably the latter was the reason, to increase contrast when in brighter lighting conditions. That's all they could do back then besides boosting the brightness of the pic tubes...until they started coming out with phosphor dots with dark or black surrounding them to increase contrast.

FANTASTIC job Doug!!! Your sets always turn out so nice! I'm having some problems with my CTC-16, and I just e-mailed you for some advice. I don't know why EVERY set I get likes to SASS me with intermiitant problems. It's enough to drive me crazier than I am! LOL!