This thing has blue and green drive pots, R G and B screen pots, and a single pot for the Kine bias. Can anybody give me a quick and dirty list of what to do in order to set this thing up right, assuming I'm just starting from scratch? Lots of caps replaced, a few resistors, a few new tubes, rotten thermistor, and these pots fiddled with and cleaned during testing so I will have to start from the beginning. Plus it had a brightener on it which I am believe may not be needed now that the set has been gone thru completely, especially that crapped-out thermistor. Anyway I'd like to go thru it first with the brightener off and see if indeed it is not needed, if it is then I'll do the setup again with it. Or if this setup has been posted on another thread can you point me to it? I knew a little better how to do it on my ctc-15 since it had the kine switch instead of the pot. thanks!

Does the ctc-10 have service switch? can't remember if it does or not.
What I do if it has the switch is...

turn down all screen controls all the way
set service switch to Service
advance each screen control until a line is barely seen for each color.
If some screen controls won't produce line even all the way up, adjust the Kine bias higher till you can get a dim, just visible line for each color.

If there is no service switch I just turn the channel to snow and adjust the screen controls to make a neutral white colored snow. Turn the brightness up then all the way and make sure the CRT isn't overloading with retrace lines. If it is, turn the screen controls down till retrace lines disappear.

Then to adjust the drive controls I just turn the set to a picture, turn down the color all the way, and adjust drives so that the picture is an even black and white with no color tint to it.

From my schematic set published by electronic technician magazine... I think this is real RCA service literature, just some of it is missing. This is for an 11, but it has the same set of controls as the 10 (at least in these schematics).

1) Set service switch in service position

2) Set kine bias and all screens to minimum (ccw)

3) Adjust red green and blue screens to point where beams just cut off
Note: increase kine bias only as required to support weakest screen adjustment

4) Reset service switch to normal

5) Adjust green and blue video drive for black and white picture
white raster (9300k)


There is also a "long version" of this mentioned. The only real difference is you are just making a dim line when you set the screens rather than just cutting off the beams.

They also mention that if you have a replacement crt, and it happens to be one that green is the weakest phosphor rather than red, you should exchange the red and green cathode leads so the controls become "blue drive" and "red drive" and green runs wide open instead of red.

John

Edit: Chad, youre faster than I am :D

Since it sounds like R drive is hardwired to full-on (correct?), does this mean I should start with the B and G drive pots also set to full on? And then for good b/w tinting I adjust them down if necessary?
This tube is a rebuild from way back when so I will see how the green and red compare on it as far as a possible drive control swap.
I had to do that screen down-adjsut on my ctc-16 because of the retrace lines also...
thanks!

Yeah, I think you start with the drives wide open. Red is hardwired highest.

John

ok thanks, that's what I needed.
Frenchy

Set is pretty much finished now as far as the innards, now I have to refinish the top (water stains but intact) and fix a few small chunks out of the top edge. The horizontal crookedness sort of just fixed itself one night but I reflowed the solder points on the horiz board just in case.
I just don't see the need for the brightener, I set the guns up according to above instructions and the kine pot is only turned up about 25% of it's travel and then I had to back down on the guns a little so when brightness is turned to 100% it doesn't overdo it and start to bloom on a white raster or get retrace lines. Other than that this thing is bright and tests great, boy oh boy was I worried when I first pulled off the back and found that stupid brightener! Bunch of other stuff was wrong with the set so I can see where they thought what the hell, put one on.
Anybody got an extra "COLOR" label that goes below the pic tube? At least I assume that's what the label said, goes next to the 'New Vista'. Appx 4" x 3/8". Some kid musta peeled it off 40 years ago. thanks

Here's a screen pic of the set with the little remote control sitting on top that works now. I had to turn the brightness way down to take the pic or else is washed out.
Was assisted by a couple of antique radio newsgroup guys with the vertical bending in the picture, turned out to be the selinium rectifier pack in the horiz. sync section going bad. Also fixed the solder joint broken at the HV anode cup, was causing arcing. Have it converged well enough now and all bugs seem out of it.
The remote is by far the coolest thing about this one, if it didn't have it I probably would have passed on this monster of a cabinet. Now I have to figure out where to put it 8 ()
Frenchy

Now I have to figure out where to put it
FrenchyPut it in my living room... :D

Put at my place, it looks great ! I like that cabient and the picture seems really clean.

Wow, we do have some vintage color tv adjusters for R.G.B. gray scale adjusting. we also would add a bit more red in fringe area ? On new sets this would be the warm setting. We would always notice more red in a local city broadcasting & less in the fringe area. This was what I was told by a man of that era when I first got started. Don't know if this was a delay in the color decoder or what. They just always said to do it.....

Since computer monitors let you pick which 'temperature' you prefer, I suppose these old tvs could be the same if owners wanted, customize it a little rather than worrying about how perfect it is dialed in according to specs. Personally I like my monitors at work and home set at the 6500 end rather than the colder 9300, easier to look at 10 hours a day.

Nice Picture!

John

Since computer monitors let you pick which 'temperature' you prefer, I suppose these old tvs could be the same if owners wanted, customize it a little rather than worrying about how perfect it is dialed in according to specs. Personally I like my monitors at work and home set at the 6500 end rather than the colder 9300, easier to look at 10 hours a day.
This is the way calibrators want them now .....We would try in the old days to to get 6500, but like now the would come from the factory colder. Don't forget the true phosphor ah hope I got the spelling right, earley color picture tubes had true earth red phosphor , lator more of a orange for synthetic. This would make a change in the hue.