RCA 21CT55 B8802897 is Alive!

[Tomcomm]

I've got this 21in roundie in 1965 from a newspaper want ad, for $50 I think. It didn't work but I got it running with a few tube changes. Picture looked good on the 21AXP22 metal but was was very dim. I exchanged it at the CRT re builder for the brightest rebuilt he had, a 21FBP22 glass for $45. He told me the "FB" meant Full-Bright", what did I know? When I started the conversion from metal to glass, I decided to cut-up the cabinet and mount the chassis vertical so I could get to the under side much easier. This was no big deal since it was never going into the house and would reside in my garage TV repair workshop.This B88002897 proved to be the highest serial and last discovered 21CT55 with CTC2B chassis on a list of only 15 known to still exist!Anyway, I got it working this week after 38 years of storage. I'm using external video since the tuner/video IF isn't passing chroma yet. The 21FBP22 sure is bright, no problem with room lights. The reds are closer to CT-100 then most TV I've seen. I've got a 3in Pilot and a Norelco projector TV that I intend to get working next.
I am truely grateful for the interest that John Folson, Pete Dexnis and Ed Reitian took in this reactivation project. I only wish I didn't destroy the cabinet, but that's life. I'm not a restoration person. In 1957, I installed a 346ci Olds V8 engine in my 1954 Healey roadster. Then in 1964 and 2000 I reworked the car's frontend to resemble a Cobra roadster and installed a 418ci Olds V8. I now I have over 400hp in a 2500# car that is a drastic improvement over the original. These modifications made it virtually impossible to restore the Healey to its original configuration even if I wanted to, much to the disappointment of the Healey restorers. This RCA 21CT55 reactivation is history repeating itself 50 years latter. I hope the restoration members of this forum are more tolerant of my efforts to restore and possibly improve the performance of this classic color TV then the restoration members of the Healey car clubs. I hope this explains where I'm coming from, thanks.....Tom

[zenithfan1]

Great job getting 'er going again. Do you plan to restore it to original?
Mark

[bgadow]

Awesome picture, and great story! Glad you came on and shared!

[stromberg6]

I congratulate you on your great success! Back around 1975, I saw an ad in a magazine by RCA that featured a 21CT55 that had supposedly been bought new by a family, and had been under contract with RCA Service Co. since. The ad showed a screen shot of a macaw, and told of the "updating" of the TV with a new CRT (presumably a 21FB), the idea being that they can keep your RCA TV going forever, IF you have a service contract. Don't know which mag it was in, but it made an impression.
I have yet to see a 21CT55 in operation, but we do have that CT-100 in the museum in Windsor, CT. Fired it up last Sat night for our holiday party using a "Cinderella" DVD. The CTC-2 and 2B are incredible chassis!
Kevin

[radio63]

Originally Posted by stromberg6

Back around 1975, I saw an ad in a magazine by RCA that featured a 21CT55 that had supposedly been bought new by a family, and had been under contract with RCA Service Co. since. The ad showed a screen shot of a macaw, and told of the "updating" of the TV with a new CRT (presumably a 21FB), the idea being that they can keep your RCA TV going forever, IF you have a service contract. Don't know which mag it was in, but it made an impression.
Kevin

I recall that ad. I was in Jr. High and thought that was the neatest thing I had ever seen. I could not remember exactly what model it was but I remember the colorful macaw. If I recall properly, there was an older lady (the owner) standing next to the TV. I think it was either in Time or U. S. News or something like that. It was in a class where they had us read from magazines or periodicals for part of the class, must have been english or literature or something like that. I thought that I would like to have a set like that sometime and many years later, I do!

Gilbert

[kx250rider]

Wait a minute... What's with that horizontal cabinet with upright chassis ???????

I am assuming that it was some sort of custom built-in, or something? Is there any RCA model number on the cabinet (other than 21CT55), or is that a custom cabinet, or a Clubman series?

When I first glanced at your avatar photo of the set, I thought it was a CTC-4. Then I saw that it's a 2B.

Charles

[Tomcomm]

It's a 21CT55 with a CTC2B chassis for sure. I cut up the cabinet so I could mount the chassis vertical. I used the removable top as the base and cut the front panel's lower control portion off and mounted it to the front panel side. I explained all this in my thread's introduction, please read it. Attached is my original 1960's concept drawing and some recent detail pics.....Tom

[bkharris]

Thanx for posting the detailed photos...since this set is more rare than a CT-100 I am glad to see it operational in any configuration..Great picture on the set btw

[vintagecollect]

...

[fsjonsey]

At least you kept it! Forty years ago, who knew how rare these would be.

[bgadow]

I have long been impressed by the engineers who developed these sets; I think they would be impressed by the experiments still taking place with them. I wouldn't want everyone to do this with their 21CT55, but I'm glad you can.

[Sandy G]

I think you must be some sort of a mad genius..And that's meant as a compliment...But I think most of us in the Olde TV hobby are about a half-bubble or so off center anyway, at least...(grin)

[old_tv_nut]

One other thing - the picture quality with a converter box (especially for prime time stuff broadcast in HD) should be excellent - the converter boxes usually have fairly wideband chroma, feeding the wideband digital R-Y and B-Y into a chroma modulator.

[Tomcomm]

I'm using a Canon S-40 with 4Mpixel and 3X optical zoom. My photo processing program is Ulead PhotoImpact SE which I've used for years. I intend to checkout the suggestions of " old_tv_nut " but have tried just about every combination already. Maybe there's a silver bullet in there somewhere? I even tried my wife's 7Mpixel Olympus with 18X zoom, no better.

Presently I'm attempting a precision dynamic conversion on the CTC2B which feature separate vertical and horizontal coils on the three magnetic assemblies. Uses 9 pots and 3 trimcaps which should reduce the interaction of horz and vert during optimization. So far I've come close but not good enough. Its really driving me crazy going round n round, getting nowhere.

[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by Tomcomm

I even tried my wife's 7Mpixel Olympus with 18X zoom, no better.

Now that doesn't seem right - you should be able to get a reasonable result with one of these two cameras - hope your experimenting bears fruit.