Ctc-7aa
 

Greetings,

I have been in on and off negotiations with a local collector (mainly vintage hi-fi) to buy his RCA CTC-7A roundie set. Today, I got a chance to look it over for the first time. It's in a cramped, dimly lit storage room with barely enough room to turn around. I took a few lousy photos with a flashlight and my cell phone which are posted below. It's unusual in that it's in a tabletop steel cabinet with a fake wood grain photo finish. The chassis is stamped CTC-7AA. I couldn't find the model number. The back is missing (he thinks he may have it somewhere) and the cabinet is filled with boxed tubes and what looked like the SAMS for the set. My visit was unplanned, so I didn't have my CRT tester with me so I don't know the status of the 21CYP22 which appears to be original.

Of course, now that I get to see it he's having second thoughts about selling it because "these are going to be worth a lot some day" :sigh:
Still, I think he may come to his senses and sell it to me. This would be my first color roundie, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

-Clark

how much was that camera that takes old 1940's Alfred Hitchcock murder mystery movie pictures? And where can I get one?

I have one of those metal cabinet CTC-7's but its in much worse shape than what you have there. My CRT one open filament (too bad as the others tested very well). hope you get it.

Offer him $200, see if he pops for it.

Doncha jes LOVE IT when sellers start gettin' "Cold Feet" ?!?

I believe the CTC-7AA is the late production Abington 21-CD-872-5,
Mahogany Grain Finish CTC7AA, 1958. Hope you can shed some real light on this set and get the owner to part with it. If he does, have him do a search for the back.

-Steve D.

Yah, cash talks. But I wouldn't phone him back right away. which only reinforces his idea that it's a treasure.

If you know it's been sitting there quite a while, wait at least a week, maybe two, and then show up with cash in hand and a big smile on your face.

Phil Nelson

It could also be the 21CD8712 Meredith. Source: RCA field service guide.
Phil, the last thing I would do is to go in with cash in hand and a big smile. I'd say here is my cash money offer, take it or leave it, and give him my phone number if he doesn't bite. If he has a wife flash the cash around her.
IsthmusTV, good luck.
Phil

Thanks for all the feedback. I've known this guy for years and the set has been there a very long time. I'll wait a few weeks and see what happens. He said that he might be interested in a trade. Of course, what he's mainly interested in is tube-type hi fi gear of which I have none. I think showing up with the cash may be a good strategy.

What I'd really like is to be able to test the CRT. If it's shot, I think I would walk away or make him a low ball offer.

Stay tuned!

-Clark

This set looks to be in nice condition. The painted woodgrain cabinets seem very durable as long as they're kept out of damp storage areas.

I do think the best way to get this TV, would be to show up with a tube hi-fi, or some juicy audio tubes. So keep your eyes open for those items, and then show up and offer to trade.

If I did not love the cabinet styling of my 65' philco roundy I'd offer it to you.

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the thought. Since we're so close distance wise, I'm sure that we'll exchange something along I 94 one of these days :thmbsp:

My guess is that I will eventually procure the CTC-7 from this guy.

-Clark

Well, I got my Christmas present early-- I got my first color roundie :banana: Yesterday, I got a call from the HI-FI dealer asking if I still wanted the set. He said he needed the room, and that I had to take it "as is" but for $100. I said, sure! Turns out that he just got another RCA roundie, also in a metal cabinet, but this one has the blond paint job. I saw it in the back of a freight elevator but I couldn't get close enough to ID it.

So, I was able to test the 21CYP22 before taking it and it woke right up with good emissions from all three guns:banana: It came with many NOS tubes and the RCA service manual. So far, he has not found the back. It is now home sitting on my dining room table. Things look pretty good overall, but I did find one troubling thing: A large quantity of grayish-white goo has oozed out of the power transformer (see photos). It's weird, I've never seen this color substance come out of a PTX before. It's still quite runny, more like grease than tar. Anyone seen this before? Seller thinks it was stored in hot conditions at some point. So, one of the first things to check is the health of the transformer.

I'll pull the chassis this weekend and post some more photos soon. I'm glad that I waited him out!

-Clark

Here's another shot of the goo accumulated at the bottom of the cabinet.

Great to see another one saved from destruction!:banana: I'm going to start on the second restoration of my blonde Anderson CTC-7B after the holidays. It's my first rounde that was bought after my stint in the Army in 1971. :D