[walterbeers]

Yes, I acquired a CTC2B, which I consider is probably the second most coveted 21 inch roundie among collectors. The model is 21CT55, and it is in really great shape considering it's well over 60 years old. The set was listed on Craigslist and was located in Iowa about 25 miles from me. I was told it originally came from Las Vegas from an estate. My friend Jamie from VK (jstout) found the listing as he new I was interested in trying to restore a very early color set. The seller even agreed to deliver it, so with the help of Jamie and the seller, they brought it over to my house while I was at work. I came home to find quite the surprise. Best of all the set is in really good shape, and I believe it doesn't even have that many hours of use on it. Yes, the top of the cabinet needs to be refinished, but the sides (although scratched) could be touched up and refinished if necessary. Best of all the chassis is mint, almost like it has seen very light use. The CRT was replace about three years after it was new, so probably around 1957. I hooked up my Beltron, and guess what, not only is the CRT under vacuum, it tests .9 on all three guns, although the blue and green are kind of slow warming up. I lowered the filament voltage to 5 volts and for the most part it stayed right at the top of the meter for emission, and has no short indications. Next I looked at the flyback and can't see any burn't spots, so I am hoping that it is good and usable as well. The CRT is a 21AXP22 dated 35-57. (1957). Chassis looks really good, except some rust on the small tube shields and the ballast resistor. The yoke cover of course like most of them is crumbling, but that is to be expected. Metal back and knobs are all there, along with the cord, front bezel and logos, and the wiring inside looks really good, and doesn't seem to be brittle. Right now I'm in "seventh heaven" however it will probably be put on the back burner for a bit until I finish some other projects that I have going on. The problem that I have right now is where to start with this project. Do I bring it up slowly on a variac, or do I pull the chassis and start changing caps, testing tubes, looking for defective parts, and give it a good cleaning up. (60+ years of dust and oxidation). I did find that one of the HV rectifier tubes was cracked, (3A2) but that's no big deal. There is some dirt built up between the safety glass and the mask, but honest, it's just dirty and can be cleaned up. I don't see any signs of infestation, (rodents, bugs, etc). Any input and suggestions from anyone who has worked on and has experience with these old CTC2s, is appreciated. Apparently this model chassis is similar to the sets that used the 15GP22, and was modified to accept the larger 21 inch tube. It's going to be a long project for me, (maybe years), but I hope to see a nice color picture on it someday.