CTC-5 No luminance.

[OS X]

Thanks everyone I'll probably get a new tube socket being there still available. How hard are they to replace? My soldering skills are not all that good yet but I have worked on replaceing caps on a few B&W sets before.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by OS X

Thanks everyone I'll probably get a new tube socket being there still available. How hard are they to replace? My soldering skills are not all that good yet but I have worked on replaceing caps on a few B&W sets before.

Unless you have a 70W+ soldering iron AND good solder sucker (or have mastered the tricky art of using solder wick) don't bother replacing it....You'll just end up lifting the traces and messing it up real bad. Socket removal is not easy with a good iron and sucker, and becomes a royal pain with out both on hand....I only do a socket change when I can no longer clean a socket's contacts, it's gotten too damaged to use, or I've tried everything else to fix an intermittent associated with a tube.

[old_coot88]

Originally Posted by OS X

... The tube socket just crumbled into pieces it was the only tube in the set that already was replaced, being it is the tube directly next to the 5U4's I'm guessing the extra heat did not help it.

If all the lugs are still solidly in place, couldn't you fill in amongst/around them with some silicone?

[miniman82]

You can still get PC mount tube sockets on eBay.

[Electronic M]

I've had sockets where a few pins no longer were in contact with the remaining phenolic....I was still able to plug tubes into them and have the set work fine.
Electricity don't care how good something looks or how complete the mechanics are, as long as the paths it is supposed to follow are conductive and the ones it is not supposed to follow are not conductive, it will keep flowing the same way it has for decades.

Just be careful not to bend the socket contacts when removing and inserting the tube and it should be fine.

[dtvmcdonald]

Another idea, if its not an RF tube, is to install a socket saver in the afflicted socket,
and leave it there forever. That's expensive, but this is a reasonably valuable set.

[andy]

...

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by andy

I agree that it should be fine as it is, but if you do replace the socket, break up the rest of the phenolic and remove one pin at a time. After the pins are out, you can remove the solder and install a new socket.

If you do that be sure the solder terminals match up with the ones of the original that go through the board (i.e. make SURE it fits) before you crunch the old one....Otherwise you may temporarily be SOL.

[Kamakiri]

Welp, he was here yesterday and we tested his tubes. Shunt regulator was dead as a doornail. I think 5 or 6 tested weak. Hooked him up with all new tubes. Hopefully he'll report back in when he makes further progress.

[miniman82]

Originally Posted by Kamakiri

Welp, he was here yesterday and we tested his tubes. Shunt regulator was dead as a doornail. I think 5 or 6 tested weak. Hooked him up with all new tubes. Hopefully he'll report back in when he makes further progress.

Not that it needs a 6BK4 or anything, they struggle to make HV even with it disconnected. Hopefully he checks the HV with a probe to make sure it's not running too low, a 5 with a dead regulator is an unlikely situation.

[Kamakiri]

I was puzzled by that too.....

[OS X]

I'm finishing up recaping a B&W RCA set first, I'm 95% done with that I'm just short 2 caps I forgot to get, once I finish up that I'll get back to the CTC-5

[ChrisW6ATV]

Originally Posted by OS X

I'm just short 2 caps

People have called me "a couple of capacitors short of a whole TV set" myself.

[OS X]

Well bad news with the CTC-5, put all the new tubes in it put everything back toghter powered it up with the variac running it at 115V and got sound and the 6AW8 was glowing so I'm assuming the tube is making contact. But now the big thing is NO HV I let it run for a minute and nothing so I went to get alittle closer to the HV cage to see if I can hear the HV and just as I was going to do so two big flashes came from it talk about a scare! I jumped back and immediately unplugged the set, nothing looks fried and filter caps and transformer where still cool I double checked everything and all the tubes are right and every thing is in place. I'm pretty sure this set hates me! I just even bought a NOS channel selector knob for it I'm into this set for around $500 now with not much to show. At this point I would be willing to trade the CTC-5 for a good working later round screen color set. I like the 5 but it's becoming 1 issue after another Lol

[rca2000]

If I am not mistaken...the 5 has an un-pluggable anode lead...I THINK it plugs into the HV rect socket. MAYBE..that has become loose...and arcs every once in a while. Such would explain BOTH the flashes and the NO hv problem !!