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  #1  
Old 11-14-2008, 12:36 AM
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CTC5 Special

After a long and drawn out restoration, my CTC 5 "Special" is finally ready for it's official unveiling.

I picked up the set last November from a very nice lady who lives just outside of Detroit. She was liquidating what was left of her father's TV shop items. The TV was actually used by he and his family until the early 1980's. It has the optional base to make it look like a console model rather than the table top set that it really is.

From what I can tell it still has the original RCA 21AXP22 crt as I can see the code date on it of Dec. of 1956. The tube was a little slow to come around, but it made a great recovery and seems strong on all guns now.

The actual restoration was pretty straight forward with no real surprises, but for me the most difficult part was figuring out the correct methods of setting it all up after the restoration work was finished. Lucky for me I had the RCA set up and servicing manual that spells it all out. And it's a good thing I had that manual because the CTC 5 is very different from the more modern later sets that I'm used to working with.

Trying to set up the color temperature was the first obstacle. And directly related to that was the difficulty I had with the brightness and contrast controls. They seemed to interact with each other. I just couldn't get it right no matter how hard I tried. I decided to take a break and pushed the project off to the side until I saw the article posted by Bryan (bgadow) recently regarding that very problem. I made the recommended modifications and it worked like a charm. The brightness now controls brightness and the contrast controls the contrast, the way it's supposed to work. And with that I was also able to get a handle on the color temperature set up as well.

The only other sticking point was the convergence. It's very different again from the more modern sets and takes some real patience and good old yankee enginuity. I've spent a lot of time working with the convergence and it's not perfect, but it's quite acceptable as it now sits.

I've taken some screen shots. They're not the best, but can at least give you an idea of what the "Special" color receivers are capable of doing.

Bob
Attached Images
File Type: jpg DSCN3543.JPG (89.9 KB, 158 views)
File Type: jpg Copy of DSCN3534.JPG (69.5 KB, 126 views)
File Type: jpg Copy of DSCN3559.JPG (54.7 KB, 163 views)
File Type: jpg Copy of DSCN3594.JPG (57.8 KB, 141 views)
File Type: jpg Copy (2) of DSCN3573.JPG (79.1 KB, 133 views)

Last edited by Ampico-kid; 11-14-2008 at 08:27 AM. Reason: Add a picture
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Old 11-14-2008, 01:06 AM
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Hey that looks great!!! Kudos to setting up that set too, I heard the early ones are a major bare too.. That cabinet looks good too!
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Old 11-14-2008, 02:25 AM
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Hi Bob,
As all your restorations have been, another fantastic job! All i can say is WOW!
-Tony
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Old 11-14-2008, 05:45 AM
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Glorious Lollipop Color...(grin) That set says in a low, steady voice that there HASN'T been all that much REAL progress made in color TV since the Fifties, in a lot of ways...
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Old 11-14-2008, 07:10 AM
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I can't get over the vivid color these early TV's projected. It's a knockout.
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Old 11-14-2008, 10:07 AM
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great job bob , another fine restoration you have done
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Old 11-14-2008, 10:17 AM
ihmeyers ihmeyers is offline
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'Kid, You did a fantastic job. The set is beautiful. You're a very lucky guy to have one i such great shape. Enjoy watching it!
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Old 11-14-2008, 10:33 AM
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nice set.good to see reds that are red.beautiful color and it really looks great!!!!thanks for sharing it with us.
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Old 11-14-2008, 10:43 AM
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See yourself on Color TV!
 
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Great job! That set is lucky to have you.
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Old 11-14-2008, 11:38 AM
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simply stunning!
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Old 11-14-2008, 12:51 PM
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Those convergence controls are really aggravating. I'm guessing that someone must make a special driver that will work better than just a small screwdriver on those shafts-the driver keeps falling off while trying to adjust things. Mine has drifted quite bit since the last time I ran it through the setup; that convergence system is prone to drifting with line voltage.

This does really encourage me to get mine in tip-top shape.
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Old 11-14-2008, 02:33 PM
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WOW! You did it again Bob! Beautiful job!!!
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Old 11-14-2008, 06:02 PM
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Smile

SUPER! Excellent picture! The 21AX looks spectacular. As I have said before, there is NOTHING wrong with a Special chassis. It allowed many more to afford color when it was new, and as the pictures show, it is a wonderful piece of engineering history. May you enjoy many hours of viewing pleasure!
Kevin
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Old 11-14-2008, 06:39 PM
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Give ya fiddy dollah for it...(grin)
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Old 11-14-2008, 09:12 PM
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Oh, come on! How'd you Photoshop those old pictures on the front of that set?
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