r c a victor ctc 16x model hg-769
 

hi guys, im in the process of restoring and fixing my families color tv from when i was a kid. looking forward in getting to know you, thanks, Bruce Long Island, N Y

Welcome to the club! Hope you have countless hours to waste on the internet... this place is addicting!

Welcome to AK! I too have a CTC-16 roundie I've partially restored, among other less consequential sets.

You'll have fun, for sure - if you need help, just place a post in the Early Color or Tech forum - there's a ga-jillion years of bona-fide experience here!

Cheers,

Welcome to VK Bruce :wave: It's great that you've hung onto that set all these years.

And, a big welcome to VK from me!:banana:
Bill Cahill

Welcome to VK!

Nice Model with big speakers. Are you outfitting it with a stereo amplifier to take input from a set-top box. In 1978, I had a CTC16XL in a GG-643W. It made watching SNL a treat! The tuner was nearly as good as our Zenith.
I learned many things on that set to make a vintage RCA perform studio-perfect. For one thing, the convergence is easy and without compromise on a roundie! I also performed a complete IF and color stage re-alignment for kicks, tho it did not need it. But beware of the short HV rectifier, notably the 3A3C's, as these could kill your flyback. ...Good luck

Welcome to VK.

Your RCA Victor console brought back memories for me, as I knew a kid in my hometown whose parents had a set almost exactly like yours -- except for the cabinet (theirs was, IIRC, in a blonde or maple cabinet -- not sure anymore, too long ago) and I think their set had a 23" rectangular CRT. These sets were made when RCA was RCA, an American television/audio/stereo manufacturer located in New Jersey. Yours should last a long time, although until now I was not aware of the flyback problems certain 3A3C HV rectifier tubes can cause. Also, be careful when inserting or removing tubes from their sockets in these sets. Most of the set is on at least two PC boards, which become brittle over time and can break if too much pressure is put, say, on a tube socket. I speak from experience, as I had a Sears Silvertone color set in the 1970s (RCA CTC-12 clone) that was ruined when the video output tube socket broke out of the video amp PC board. :no:

What a nice-looking console. Good luck with your restoration!

Howdy and welcome, Bruce.
Just a little heads up about a near-universal problem with that chassis. At the far right end of the chroma board there are two ground stakes. They will go open and kill the heaters on the two 6GU7s. Always re-flow those two joints as a matter of course. This applies to the CTC-15, 16, 17, and 25 chassis.

If those tubes' heaters go cold, what happens is this- their plates go 'waay positive which drives the CRT control grids positive (since they're direct-coupled). The CRT beam current goes into avalanche which lugs the HV supply down, which can kill the 3A3 and possibly the flyback if the set is left to run in that condition. The symptom of this happening is- the picture will bloom badly and slowly fade to black.
Bill(oc)

Bruce,
Bill (OC) imparts a wise truth here. There are also brown insulated wires on top of the PC board to jump across to the 6GU7 pair that often corrode due to the concentrated heat on the PC board, also causing loss of heater supply. These chassis were RCA "New Vista"at their best.
Dave 63
Antenna Rabbit

Welcome, Bruce! What year is that set, and what condition is the CRT in?

RCA products weren't made in New Jersey. They were made in Indianapolis, Indiana. Camden, NJ was their corporate and mailing address.

Hi Bruce,
Welcome to VK. I'm on Long Island, too. I have a 1967 Zenith roundie, a 1964 Magnavox black and white stereo theatre, and tomorrow, I'm going to pick up a 1964 Magnavox color roundie stereo theatre. Best of luck with your project!!:thmbsp:

rca combo
 

Just wanted to thank all who were helpful with this project, the original post was from June 2011, but have gotten responses recently and wanted to show the finished product. Put a new 21fbp22 and had a couple of caps and resistors changed, and cleaned up the cabinet with furniture restorer and varnish. My parents bought the set in December of 1965 for $729, end of year clearance, it was cheaper , too ,because it was the floor model. It has the ctc16E chassis and a solid state tuner and amp. You guys are great, thanks again