Question for the AK braintrust:

I now have four color sets (three big ones) from 1967-1969. I am leaving them plugged in at all times. I know this is costing me on the electric bill. They are all plugged into surge protector strips which can easily be switched off.

Is it harmful to cut power to these old sets? Should I be leaving them plugged in to live current at all times?

Thanks for your help!

Carl

The only thing that could be harmful is if the set has a "instant on" feature. If you can see tubes glowing when the set is off, it has this standby feature, in which case its using power all the time. This is bad for the tubes and especially the CRT. Leaving them on all the time wears them out.

Other sets that don't have standby power don't use power when they're off, so there is no need to unplug them. However, i have mine on a remote switch and power strips so i can turn them off when I go on vacation.

Thanks,

So bottom line, if the sets are not instant-on, it makes absolutely no difference to their "well-being" if they are left plugged in to live current or not, when not using?

correct.

Of course, if you're having a lightening storm or something, i would definitely unplug them from the wall. Same goes if you're on vacation.

And if you do have any sets with instant-on, unplug them anyways when not in use or put them on a switch. it will save the tubes and CRT.

Ok, thanks again!

From experience dont leave the sets in the instant-on position as I lost the green gun on my magnavox combo. I could shoot it with my B&K and as long as the set was actually operating the tube remained good but after it went idle with the tubes warm it began to sink eventually turning into a K+G1 short that couldnt be removed. Given the availability of older triad pix tubes I would lean on keeping the heater time down to just operating only besides a set running in "standby" is going to pull around 100 watts or slightly less and at 0.08 cents per kilowatt hour it starts to add up.

109

From experience dont leave the sets in the instant-on position as I lost the green gun on my magnavox combo. I could shoot it with my B&K and as long as the set was actually operating the tube remained good but after it went idle with the tubes warm it began to sink eventually turning into a K+G1 short that couldnt be removed. Given the availability of older triad pix tubes I would lean on keeping the heater time down to just operating only besides a set running in "standby" is going to pull around 100 watts or slightly less and at 0.08 cents per kilowatt hour it starts to add up.
Leaving the set plugged in without the instant-on feature wont hurt a thing provided the noise filter cap across the AC line is good and the incoming line itself is fused. If its not fused consider adding one just to be on the safe side.
109

I unplug about everything. We have thunderboomers & lightning around here-CAN BE all year- & it's cheap insurance. Maybe its because I got zapped in 2000 & lost a beloved Yammy CA-2010,a B&O TT, a Panasonic CT-3311, a 2.75" color set, & some other stuff... Fool me once, shame on You. Fool me twice, Shame on Me...And every oncet in a while, good ol' TVA will send a voltage spike just to see who's payin' attention. Not supposed to hurt yr stuff, but...

I usually leave my TVs and radios unplugged or on switched outlets, mainly in case there's a line bypass cap that lets go or something else decides to go south. I'd rather be in the room if a component lets loose. It's probably overkill, but I like to know that electronics of that vintage are completely unpowered when I'm not around.

Jim

Yeah, you oughta see if there is a line cap unswitched across the line (there probably is). If there's power on it all the time, you should definitely replace it with a modern line capacitor if you are going to leave the set plugged in.

I agree that instant on's are a bad idea. Most can be shut off with a switch. If not, disable it.

Oh, and I like the power strip idea. I do that too. It saves cycles on the probably unobtainable power switch.

John

ALSO, watch out for RCA CTC-15 & 16 on-off switches... If original, they can fail in the middle of the night, arc, and set the whole TV on fire! If they have a phenolic back on the switch, they could be the recalled ones. The replacements were all-metal with a small phenolic piece around each terminal on the rear.

Charles

Indeed....when I was in Jr. High, we lived in PA, about 27 air miles east of PGH. Our house was so high on this hill that I could receive CJOM-FM Windsor, Ont/Detroit 24/7 365 with a pull-out antenna. WRCT-FM PGH was then only 10 watts....could get it in stereo at this house with an in-attic yagi. This place was DX-heaven.
Needless to say, lightning hit our house and yard fairly often. One time it blew up TVs, radios, melted the gutter and blew foil-based wallpaper in one of the bathrooms right off the wall. Would have been nice to have had everything on surge protectors.




I unplug about everything. We have thunderboomers & lightning around here-CAN BE all year- & it's cheap insurance. Maybe its because I got zapped in 2000 & lost a beloved Yammy CA-2010,a B&O TT, a Panasonic CT-3311, a 2.75" color set, & some other stuff... Fool me once, shame on You. Fool me twice, Shame on Me...And every oncet in a while, good ol' TVA will send a voltage spike just to see who's payin' attention. Not supposed to hurt yr stuff, but...

ALSO, watch out for RCA CTC-15 & 16 on-off switches... If original, they can fail in the middle of the night, arc, and set the whole TV on fire! If they have a phenolic back on the switch, they could be the recalled ones. The replacements were all-metal with a small phenolic piece around each terminal on the rear.

Charles


Phew, i think I have the replacement switch on my 16. I had no clue about faulty switches. Man i woud havev crapped myself in tears If that set caught fire.

I know on later model RCA consoles (like CTC-68) they used a microswitch on the back of the volume control for the push-pull on off switch...they really should have used something more substantial like that on the CTC-16's. I have seen a lot of cases of power switch failure in the older kind of volume/power switch...usually it ends up failing in the open position on the ones I have seen. I don't think these kind of swithces were really up to the high current draw of these kinds of sets.

I have several sets which were dead on arrival and the switch was to blame. Probably helped to get them cheap/free. My CTC-12 was one example; I suspect that was what retired it. Replacing the switch was no easy task-for one, somebody had glued the knob on; secondly, it uses a very long extension. I finally found something that worked. My Zenith 25MC30 roundie also had a dead switch. Easy to bypass on those sets as there is a plug on the chassis that you can jumper. To save the switches, one trick is to leave the switch in the on position and use a switched outlet. If you've ever taken one of those switches apart you know that there sure isn't much to them. A wonder some of them last as long as they do.