My First Roundie
 

Got my first roundie today - an RCA GF631M, probably late 1964, 21FJP22 CRT. There's a TV shop that is closing in Virginia Beach, and I got the TV from them - 25 dollars. They even threw in a NOS degaussing Globar that was taped to the CRT face. The model tag in intact on the back. Haven't plugged it up yet. While there, I saw a professional studio photo of the same set - turns out some production company used it as a prop. I'm not sure what the production was - movie, TV or print, but I'll be looking. It's got the wrong legs - mine are squarish and they should be round.

I hauled away two other TV's in the same lot, a FREE :D 19" Setchell Carlson BW Console(ette?) and a luggable 19" Dumont BW portable for 5 dollars (I offered 10, he talked me down to 5).:thmbsp:

So now I guess my 6BK4 quotient is at a "1" - funny thing is, short of a CRT or flyback, I have nearly every part for this set in NOS condition, just waitin' to be used...

Pics and update promised soon. Cheers!

Wow are you lucky. I live in Suffolk Va. and I had to get my roundie shipped from New Jersey. I hope you get it running, they are great sets.

Uh, looks like my new roundie is a 1965, per RCA's Knob directory.

For everyone's benefit, I posted the RCA 62-66 knob directory here:
http://www.mebeep.com/pix/RCAKnobsCTV6266.PDF

Due to bandwidth restrictions, I'll keep it there until my limit is up. Feel free to post it on any website, no credit needed. I'll scan my other directories later - B/W, Color (rectangular) - and post them to the appropriate Forum.

Cheers

Compucat - It was Cox TV in Va Beach. Bill Davenport is selling out - do you know him?

Cheers

That would be a CTC-15 or 16 chassis, wouldn't it?

Dumont-First with the finest in television.:yes:

Yep - CTC-16E - per Sams. Haven't checked my RCA lit. Had to leave the set alone til tomorrow - I have other obligations.

Obligations - noun, plural. Everything that gets between one and his/her favorite things to do.

Cheers

No I don't know Bill Davenport. The last time I worked for a TV repair shop was in 1988. I was at All Brands Electronics in Portsmouth. It was owned by Cameron Pitts who is now on the Portsmouth City Council. I had to leave it as a profession because I could'nt make a living at it. I now use my repair knowledge to collect and restore sets in my collection.

Congrats on finding your first round color set. :thmbsp:
The ctc16 chassis displays a really good picture and it is worth restoring. This screen shot is a ctc16xl chassis.
Ed

Yea, the late 80's were a tough time - I painfully remember the old GE AA/AB/AC/EC chassis sets, the Zenith System 3 sets with the bad 9-160 sweep modules (and all the variants, -02,-03,-04, etc), the Korean sets (and Sharp!) with the bad flybacks. Thank God for the VCRs - belt kit and idler tire jobs kept us from starving.

Cheers

:worthless

The Eighties were terrible in many ways but what killed the TV repair business was the widespread adoption of the "disposable mentality" If a set cost anything at all to repair, it went to the dump and was replaced. Long gone are the days were you would have a set repaired for ten to fifteen years before replacement. We collector types are the only ones who still hold to this idea. I actually get a little distressed wondering if I will be able to keep my Zenith roundie working thirty years from now.

I do remember the Korean sets. It seemed like every Samsung that came through the door had a bad flyback. The GEs at that time had their problems but I liked them. They were good performers and had attractive cabinet styles. One thing I did like, however, was that you would still get to work on a tube set once in a while. I hear current TV repair shops won't even look at them.

:angry:

I have always held the belief that large appliances, well no... pretty much anything, should be repaired, not replaced, unless a tree falls on it. Even then I'd probably see if I could make it work, to have around as a backup.

An update to my CTC-16 roundie. I finally got a chance to spend an hour (a WHOLE hour!) looking it over yesterday. Looks 100% complete, but it seems my flyback may be toast. Big ol' wad o' wax between the cores, and the HV cage was missing the screws, a clue that somebody else came to the same conclusion. CRT checks good with the B&K 470 - took longer to find the 21" adapter for it than to test it. I've attached photos - I'll apologize for the lousy focus, kinda cramped quarters in the storage room at Dad's shop, and tough to get any clearance for a good camera shot.

Notice in the picture of the back - I have the wrong legs. Gonna have to find the round legs. Dad may have a few in his 30-year stash of parts..

I'll have time this week to fire it off and do some preliminary tests (slow turn on with a variac, B+ checks, and some cosmetic checks). I'll post updates and possibly a cry for help if needed. Til then, here's the pix:

Semper 6GH8's!

Very nice set. My first roundie was a CTC-16 like yours in a chineese cabinet. it worked after I brought it up on a variac, but I've got a growing cataract problem and the need for new power supply caps. Like many of my sets, Its waiting for whenever I get some spare time.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...6&d=1159758469
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...7&d=1159758469

---