Videokarma.org

Go Back   Videokarma.org TV - Video - Vintage Television & Radio Forums > Early Color Television

We appreciate your help

in keeping this site going.
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #121  
Old 11-12-2005, 12:27 PM
andy andy is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 4,004
---

Last edited by andy; 12-07-2021 at 02:28 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #122  
Old 11-12-2005, 01:50 PM
Jeffhs's Avatar
Jeffhs Jeffhs is offline
<----Zenith C845
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Fairport Harbor, Ohio (near Lake Erie)
Posts: 4,035
I don't know whether I was just lucky or what, but my RCA CTC-185, bought new six years ago, still works great; excellent picture on cable, and still has the original CRT. The color controls are rock-stable as well (I haven't had to readjust them in months). Only had one repair done on this set to date; that was for an RF port that snapped off the tuner PC board about two or three months after I purchased the TV. The tech who repaired the set also told me the jungle IC had some sort of problem, but if it does it wasn't then and is not now noticeable in the picture at this point--at least I don't see it.

BTW, what type of color control circuitry did the later RCAs use after ColorTrak? I understand their newest CRT sets have a system they call Advanced Color-View, but I am interested in the color control systems used in RCA sets made from 1999 until ACV came in. Was the pre-ACV system a spinoff of or a modified version of ColorTrak? Whatever it is, as I said above, even the pre-Advanced Color View system was great, as I haven't had to adjust the onscreen color controls on my set in months, maybe closer to a year as I write this. Just turn the set on, get the channel I want, and enjoy the show. No more fiddling with color controls that won't stay put. Now, if only the programming on the major networks was better than it is (!), I'd really enjoy watching TV. Oh well. That's why I have a DVD player and a VCR. When there's nothing interesting on regular TV, I just put in a DVD (from Netflix) or one of my old VHS tapes of any one of many older (1950s-'70s and certain '80s-'90s) programs.

My RCA set works great with both DVD and VCR as well. Some day I'll break down and get a new square-corner flat-screen TV, but as long as my RCA works as well as it does, I intend to keep it until it dies, or until the picture gets so dim I can't see it. My barber just bought a new Philips 20" square-corner stereo TV for his shop; it replaced a 22-year-old Philco color set (with detented UHF tuning; that set must have been closer to 30 or more years old). The CRT in the Philco must have been getting dim for some time, as he tells me it eventually became so dark the picture was unwatchable. I don't think the Philips is a Philips-Magnavox, as the molded-in nameplate at the base of the CRT mask just says Philips. Which reminds me. Are Philips TVs any better or worse than Philips-Magnavox, or are they basically the same set, with the same reliability issues and other problems as when Philips took over Magnavox in the late '80s or '90s? I was very sorry to see Magnavox quality go downhill as it did once Philips got hold of it , as this was for years my second-favorite brand of TV, next to Zenith. Never owned a Magnavox TV myself, but I have relatives who had a Maggie 3-way console for many years and had good service from it. I would love to have a similar Maggie or Zenith console (I like the looks of those older cabinets as well), but I simply don't have the room anymore since I moved to a small apartment from a three-bedroom house with a basement late in 1999.
__________________
Jeff, WB8NHV

Collecting, restoring and enjoying vintage Zenith radios since 2002

Zenith. Gone, but not forgotten.
Reply With Quote
  #123  
Old 11-12-2005, 05:44 PM
andy andy is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 4,004
---

Last edited by andy; 12-07-2021 at 02:28 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #124  
Old 01-25-2008, 04:53 PM
radiotvnut's Avatar
radiotvnut radiotvnut is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Meridian, MS
Posts: 6,018
I know it's been awhile since anyone brought this up; but, I need to submit an entry. This may not actually be the worst; but, those '80's Panasonic/Quasar "Dynacrap" sets rank pretty high on my "hate" list.

I used to find these during the '90's. Most of them had bad flybacks, weak CRT's, and 10,237 bad solder connections. The most common flyback to go bad in these was the TLF14423F used in 25" sets that were often sold under the GE brand.

The TV shop gave me a nice looking '86 15" Quasar with remote and A/V jacks. The flyback was blown apart and the HOT was shorted. Since the CRT was still good (miracle), I decided to order a generic flyback. Got the set going with no OSD and many obvious loose connections. It seems like the more I soldered on it, the worse it got. The PC board was really cooked in the power supply area. I then realized that the tuner was not receiving several channels. I finally got enough and pulled the chassis for spare parts and tossed the rest! This set reminded me why I hated Quasar/Panasonic sets of the '80's.

Note to self: The next Quasar that comes in with a bad flyback, just throw it in the dumpster!
Reply With Quote
  #125  
Old 01-25-2008, 06:24 PM
MRX37 MRX37 is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,558
Zenith TV's 25" to 27" made in the 1990's

I think we all know this, but the CRT's in these TV's are junk. They'd last for maybe two years tops.

Brand new RCA flat screen CRT standard definition TV's

Color bleeding right there in the store.
Reply With Quote
Audiokarma
  #126  
Old 01-25-2008, 06:57 PM
radiotvnut's Avatar
radiotvnut radiotvnut is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Meridian, MS
Posts: 6,018
Quote:
Originally Posted by MRX37 View Post
Zenith TV's 25" to 27" made in the 1990's

I think we all know this, but the CRT's in these TV's are junk. They'd last for maybe two years tops.

Brand new RCA flat screen CRT standard definition TV's

Color bleeding right there in the store.
...And the flybacks don't last in the newer RCA's.

Another one on the top of my list are Durabrand sets. I've never seen one with a decent picture.
Reply With Quote
  #127  
Old 01-25-2008, 11:48 PM
zenith2134's Avatar
zenith2134 zenith2134 is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: NYC
Posts: 2,539
MRX37 you are so right about the Flat tube RCA's.. My friend has a 2001 model with built-in dvd player and he asked me to ''come and check out his tv's settings." I adjusted as much as I could, but the only way to get rid of the bleeding was to turn everything down so much that it looked terrible. He said he rarely even watches it!
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:06 PM.



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
©Copyright 2012 VideoKarma.org, All rights reserved.