[Electronic M]

Saturday I did something few if anyone could claim doing in the last 5 years. I serviced a 70's TV set in the spot it has sat since new. Whats more I had to deal with RCA's infamously confusing SCR sweep circuit. My friend Greg inherited his grandfather's house some time ago and has kept it very original (only adding more old furnishings to it). In the living room there is a 1973 RCA CTC48 that has sat there since bought new in 1974. IIRC I was told the picture vanished in the late 80's or 90's while tuned to golf (TV got bored and went to sleep lol). I'd been promising I'd get to it for a while and finally hopped in the 78' Lincoln with a load of test gear to get it done.

Symptom was no HV and no breaker trip. Available for reference was a working CTC 68, an RCA booklet on SCR sweep sweep troubleshooting (thanks Zeno!), a sam's for the CTC 68 (twas all chester electronics had from that family of sets). I also had available the complete guts of a non-working CTC-46 set. The RCA book covered the 40, 44, and 47. Procedure was follow the RCA book, find what it called out in sam's then use the sam's as a poor guide (sam's was a similar but not identical chassis) to find it on the chassis. went through every part called out and I tried to check the trippler input with my HV probe with an SS focus diode added to the business end and learned that don't work (IIRC I actually tried that before going into the RCA book) I spent hours going through the RCA book and the only identified part I had not checked by RCA's methods was the trippler. I decided to try the RCA method as a last ditch effort...I had to really guess as their trippler test procedure specified testing a point on a simplified drawing of the fly that did not come close to matching the actual fly....I ended up reconciling that point to B+ boost since it was similar and easy to find. RCA specified measure voltage at the test point (I used boost) with the trippler connected and disconnected. I did that about 800V of the 900V volt boost was disappearing with the trippler connected. Bingo! We harvested another trippler off the CTC-46 chassis, and Greg not wanting to change an original part for a unknown replacement had me test it....I learned I can't test a trippler with a B&K 1077B (or that mine needs work), then tried to test it with the RCA chassis that needed it...With Boost test still hooked up we connected the trippler IN fly lead to (only) the new trippler, and connected DC (chassis ground/brightness limiter) on the new one to chassis hooked a HV probe to the out of the new one and powered the chassis for an instant (it immediately gave all the right voltages) to confirm. With the new trippler proven good it was installed, the set came right to life with full HV and almost full width (may have been an aspect ratio thing).

After ~8 hours of sitting on carpet I was able to go home triumphantly and eat/rest my aching back. It was a unique experience with their Saint Bernard/black bear mix drooling all over and demanding petting regularly and the pungent pet rats next to the TV chewing and eyeballing us suspiciously the whole time. I ended up leaving late and racing home late....Almost ran over my idiot neighbor....I'm zipping along at 10:30pm in winter when it is freezing out and the moron jumps out flailing his arms hollering "slow down I have kids!"...I think, "Dude, they are not in the street presently, you seriously did that just to try and insinuate that you own the road? WTF, man?" Some people need to learn that it is impossible to tell the world to stop being unsafe for their stupid kids, and learn to teach their kids to avoid danger (or keep them indoors)...He could tell every neighbor, think their safe, and find his kid flattened by a pizza delivery truck the next day...All he is doing is annoying people and deluding himself.

Next day for a change of pace I added to my back ache by changing the starter on my GMC...

Anyhow this whole event reminds me of some of the interesting and funny house call stories in 50's TV repair magazines, and makes me wonder...
Many have bought consoles out of their original homes, but how many have serviced them there in this day and age, and for those who've closed up shop long ago how old was the oldest for it's time you serviced on house call back in the day?
I also thought others might have entertaining stories they would like to share.