Can you please identify this RCA object ?
 

:) Hi guys ,

In the bunch of TV repair parts I recently obtained is this object . It is some type of plastic , just a pinch under 12" long and has the RCA logo on it as well as an RCA part number which appears to be 4419 .

Anyone know what this is and what it is used for in the repair of TVs ?

PS , it has a small plastic protrusion at one end , presumably to keep it from rolling off of the workbench ?

Any and all info will be welcome and appreciated .

I just wonder if that item is what was known as a "Tuning Wand". It had one end that was magnetic and another that was brass or another metal that was non-magnetic. I asked and read about them, but never had one or thought that they were that long.
You placed it next to a coil to determine if it needed adjustment.
I have a Hybrid Zenith color set, where the tint range was off and I didn't have a schematic handy so I tried putting a screw driver or a brass bolt next to all the coils in the color circuit until I found the one that made the difference in the tint range. Tweaked it and everything is fine

Hi Dieseljeep ,

I should have specified that this item is 100% plastic , no metal and is transparent . It feels like it could be the same type of plastic as "plexiglass" is made from but that's just a guess on my part .

So far , my best guess of it's intended purpose is to lightly tap tubes while the set is in operation , looking for (vibration sensitive) defective tubes , but again , that's just a guess on my part and a search of RCA 4419 has returned nothing .

I seem to recall some early color sets having a high voltage defeat of some kind when the back was removed (or the HV enclosure opened?), not only an AC power defeat. Could this be something used to defeat the defeat when servicing a chassis?

I can tell you it definitely is not a tuning wand.

Can you post a closeup of the other end?

In just a minute or two I'll have those shots ...

Three views of the other end
 

:) Here you are , three views of the little plastic nub on the other end of the device . So far , it has kept the device from rolling off of the bench , but whether that's it's intended purpose is as much a mystery to me as the device's actual purpose is .

That sure looks like it's meant to engage with a rotary control - maybe a pot that is at a dangerously high potential.

Or maybe I was thinking of it backwards and it is used to disable the high voltage?

Somehow I can't see it as anything but an insulated tool for prodding energized equipment.

RCA used a LOT of PCBs that could go intermittent from tube heat...Prodding the boards under power could aid in troubleshooting.

The only RCA sets I know of and have seen with HV interlocks (the CTC-4 and 21CT55) would not be defeated by that rod.

Helpful to know. But this still seems to have too particular a shape to be a simple poking stick. Why would you even bother to put that key-like piece on it?

Maybe it's a percussive maintenance tool.

It's a wand....Are you a good witch...or a bad witch?

Gotta admit , I'm kinda surprised that no one here knows for certain exactly what this (tool ?) is used for . Being that this is the #1 TV collector's site , and the device is clearly marked RCA , I figured one of you hard core TV enthusiasts would have known what it is . Who knows , RCA made a lot more than just TVs , maybe it's for adjusting a RADAR set or some other type of high power transmitting apparatus that has nothing to do with TV sets , although being found in the contents of a TV repair shop it's use as a TV repair tool seems the most likely possible purpose for it .

Oh well , so now that I've stumped the experts , I guess it'll go back in the tube caddy where it was found , maybe someone in the future will find some useful purpose for it , or know it's designed for purpose ......

Maybe it's an adjustment tool for the pots inside the pencil box area of the CTC5. They were dual pots, the rear one adjusted with a small screwdriver, the front one with a some kind of special tool. Looks like that item would do it.

:) Hi Dieseljeep ,

Again , my bad , I should have included it's diameter , this thing is pretty close to Dime sized in it's diameter dimension , and so it would have to be a huge pot indeed for this to be an adjustment tool for .

Just a confounded mystery ......