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  #16  
Old 05-20-2014, 08:47 PM
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KentTeffeteller KentTeffeteller is offline
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Two simple words to know from Zenith, ChromaColor II. The best USA Solid State TV Chassis bar none.
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  #17  
Old 05-20-2014, 10:16 PM
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I see at least two mentions of the RCA CTC-68 chassis here, but I worked on several of those in the early 1980s, and I thought they were just average. The two big issues I saw (limitations of the design as opposed to service problems) were: "Edge enhancement" in the video (basically, vertical edges in the picture had boosted contrast compared to other non-edge areas), and less-than-ideal HV regulation (meaning, the size and/or position of objects on the screen changed depending on the overall brightness of the content on the screen as a whole).

Honestly, I saw a lot of both of these problems on many American-brand color TV sets in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as another common issue, bright objects on the screen (such as white lettering) going out of focus if the contrast got set beyond a certain point. I just NEVER seem to have seen those problems on at least one foreign brand of TV set that I will mention when the "Best imported chassis" discussion starts.
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  #18  
Old 05-21-2014, 05:45 AM
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Here's one of my CTC-68s during replacement of a few caps that looked ugly, that ended up fixing my convergence issue. Note that basically, it's almost identical in design to a CTC-53 tube set, with solid state components. In fact, I'd be willing to wager that it WAS adapted from a tube chassis.



Unlike tube RCAs, though, after replacement of a few caps that were blistered, I had no problem getting the convergence spot on and it's been fine since. Best of both worlds IMO. Performance wise, there's nothing that'll blow your mind about the picture, but it's been a good reliable television for me for over a decade.

Japanese TVs to me are much like Japanese cars. They're extremely reliable, and extremely forgettable
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  #19  
Old 05-21-2014, 08:27 AM
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Yes, most import TVs in the vintage era were generic workhorses, lacking character. There are a number of exceptions to this of course.
My opinion, which I'm entitled to.

I don't collect old TVs to use as reference monitors in an editing lab. A little blooming or less-than perfect convergence is not a major criteria for me when collecting old color sets. I have modern stuff for that (CRTs but with tighter tolerances for performance).
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  #20  
Old 05-21-2014, 08:36 AM
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You nailed it right there, and that's primarily the reason I got out of tube color. With the noted exception of roundies, the viewing experience with most (if not all) tube color sets is no different to me than watching any CRT TV.....
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  #21  
Old 05-21-2014, 05:44 PM
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My vote goes for the flat chassis Zeniths, followed up by the Sylvania "Super Sets".
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  #22  
Old 05-21-2014, 10:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamakiri View Post
You nailed it right there, and that's primarily the reason I got out of tube color. With the noted exception of roundies, the viewing experience with most (if not all) tube color sets is no different to me than watching any CRT TV.....
Maybe your opinion of tube color was tainted by that basket case RCA console as well? If Razzies were awarded for TV design, the tube color RCAs with PCBs would be right up there with the 90s Zenith sets, maybe higher up as those Zeniths sometimes had decent jugs from other manufacturers.

Last edited by Jon A.; 05-21-2014 at 10:48 PM.
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  #23  
Old 05-21-2014, 11:03 PM
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It's interesting how everyone has their own preferences - to me a tube colour tv with a rectangular picture tube is the best form of tv out there, I enjoy my tube colour RCA with printed circuit boards more than any other tv
I have owned. I also don't like watching a roundie so much, I miss what's going on in the corners... What I really want to come across is a pristine ctc17.
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  #24  
Old 05-21-2014, 11:17 PM
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Those RCA tube color boards tended to dry to a crisp in short order. Maybe cabinet ventilation was better on some, or different PCB material was used on later examples, no idea really.

Although my flat-chassis Zenith is considered the best of the best in color sets, I'd probably enjoy a Maggie T995 Star System console more.
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  #25  
Old 05-22-2014, 11:35 AM
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I think that's a sort of generalization... my 1968 vintage CTC-38 has circuit boards which look basically like new, and the TV has an awesome picture with all original parts except a few replacement tubes. Sure I will have to change 6GH8s again at some point, but so what, I probably use it 6 or 7 hours per week and at this rate it should last a long while. It gives me a nice warm feeling to look behind it and see all those tubes busy doing their jobs, and then look in front and see myself enjoying 21st century media with very little compromise on such ancient technology.
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  #26  
Old 05-22-2014, 12:10 PM
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That's what I like to do. If something's useful by today's standards, no need to replace it.
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  #27  
Old 05-22-2014, 02:02 PM
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Perhaps a little off base here, but my vote would be for the Tektronix 650 and 670 monitors. High quality, industrial strength construction, excellent convergence, American built but with Sony Trinitron CRT. Best of both worlds IMHO. Saw several of these still in use at transmitter sites that had been left on 24/7 for *years* that still looked good, in the last days of analog transmission.

jr
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  #28  
Old 05-22-2014, 02:57 PM
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A RCA CTC169 has been one of my favorites since they came out. Love the picture when the CRT is good. Power supply caps were a problem as well as the tuners sometimes. I always marveled at the vertical stage in that set.
I personally liked the dreaded Sears "Warwick" solid state once I got used to it. The owner of the shop where I was at the time literally hated those sets!
Also liked the Motorola chassis that used the "JA" panel.
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  #29  
Old 05-22-2014, 06:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zenith26kc20 View Post
A RCA CTC169 has been one of my favorites since they came out. Love the picture when the CRT is good. Power supply caps were a problem as well as the tuners sometimes. I always marveled at the vertical stage in that set.
I personally liked the dreaded Sears "Warwick" solid state once I got used to it. The owner of the shop where I was at the time literally hated those sets!
Also liked the Motorola chassis that used the "JA" panel.
I thought I was the only one that liked the CTC169 ! A little awkward
to work on but always had a killer pix when done. Best modern RCA
by far, if pix is important the best RCA period.
Agree with your boss on the Warwick 19" SS, sorry..........
As for Quasars with the JA I remain neutral. Only saw a few & of course
they both needed JA's.

73 Zeno
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  #30  
Old 05-22-2014, 09:00 PM
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The comment regarding industrial Tektronix monitors reminded me of another great brand-Conrac. My RHB19 Conrac was a studio set with a lot of hours on it. a 1975 model, with a Rockwell branded USA made CRT. Its chassis was built almost like a tube set, all metal construction with high-quality PCBs.
It took a minute for the crt grayscale to finalize, but I personally ran the thing for days on end with no shift in performance. Contrast and chroma gain could be jacked up with no bleeding edges. It also had a cool underscanning feature, which would create a " postage-stamp " sized image on demand. Lost it in hurricane Sandy.

On the other hand, regarding the 'tube heat on printed board' debate, I had a '66 portacolor with all its original tubes, bought from the original owner, who claimed it never needed service. The CRT 11SP22 was real weak in terms of brightness, and a member here shipped me a new one. After installing and aligning it, the set produced a fantastic picture, with the original tubes-on-pcb design. No cold joints on that board, and it ran hotter than most tube stuff I've used.
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