They're not that scarce...

[Findm-Keepm]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=110696395126

Not my auction, not my win...

A flyback for a CTC-16X series chassis goes for that much? Just how common is the CTC-16X? Perhaps the rarity is in the fact that Thordarson never made a replacement?

I've got a CTC-16 that uses the 113392 flyback, and I paid only 8 bucks for a new one a year ago.

Makes you wonder where this hobby is going....


Cheers,

[ctc17]

Yes they are.

The fact that no one posted that auction here on VK yet everyone who bid on it is a regular says everything.

I dont post listings of items I plan on acquiring.....

[Findm-Keepm]

So the bidders are among us?? No real surprise, but how do you tell with all of the munged id's? Were you the seller, or do you have some inside info?

I had it on my watch list, as I have a 115843 NIB that I'm keeping. Now I have a value....

Cheers,

[ctc17]

I recognize the feedback numbers. Not affiliated with it in any way.

How may working flyback eating 16s do you think are in the United States? 20-40? if that many? And a new old stock factory fly comes along of course its going to get play. I bet the aftermarket FLY replacement wouldnt get half that.

[miniman82]

Try finding one for an earlier chassis, I've been looking for a spare for the CTC-7 for 2 years now...

[Findm-Keepm]

There was a open box, but supposedly new, FLY 283 that replaces the fly in the CTC7 on fleabay last year that took one bid at 24.99. I presume someone here got it? Seller was in New Jersey, and had a "stinky" GC alignment tool kit I picked up for 31 bucks.

I have an eBay saved search for "Thordarson FLY*" that alerts me. A google alert is another way I snag stuff on fleabay, particularly the B-I-N stuff, as google is faster than eBay at reporting new auctions. It also got me some window glass for my old Honda Civic, listed on fleabay, but didn't hit until 2 days later.

Google can be a Godsend - I've got a book on Google hacks that helps in finding stuff - service lit, photos, obscure parts, and other goodies. I love the "site:" "inurl:" "filetype:" and "Index of/" features in the search. I just wish google had a wildcard search, as it would help in my job immensely.

Heck, it's sometimes easier to find a VK post through google than through the VK search.

Cheers,

[Findm-Keepm]

Originally Posted by Findm-Keepm

There was a open box, but supposedly new, FLY 283 that replaces the fly in the CTC7 on fleabay last year that took one bid at 24.99. I presume someone here got it? Seller was in New Jersey, and had a "stinky" GC alignment tool kit I picked up for 31 bucks.

Actually, it was around Thanksgiving, 2009. I found my PayPal receipt for the GC Alignment Kit dated the 26th of November, 2009.

Cheers,

[reeferman]

Though I am wrong more than I like to admit, I find it hard to believe Thoardarson didn't make a FLY for the 16. Changed a lot of flys on 16 and can't believe all of them were RCA made. BTW, the general consensus of Thoardarson was the were junk in color TV, way to light weight. Phil

[Eric H]

Originally Posted by Findm-Keepm

Actually, it was around Thanksgiving, 2009. I found my PayPal receipt for the GC Alignment Kit dated the 26th of November, 2009.

Cheers,

I bought a NOS RCA Fly for a CTC 7 on eBay a couple years ago, paid like $50 for it BIN. I figured I better snap it up at that price.

[ctc17]

Originally Posted by reeferman

Though I am wrong more than I like to admit, I find it hard to believe Thoardarson didn't make a FLY for the 16. Changed a lot of flys on 16 and can't believe all of them were RCA made. BTW, the general consensus of Thoardarson was the were junk in color TV, way to light weight. Phil

Yes they did, 278.
Are you sure about them being weak? Everything I have read says they were superior to factory RCA.

I leave my HV cages open for the most part now so they run cool. I dont sit close enough to worry about x rays and I dont smoke or have dirty air that will cause a contamination issue. I also am very check cathode current and lower the line voltage to reduce heat.

[jstout66]

Thordarson made flys for the 16, and they were superior to RCA. RCA's weak point were always the flybacks, from day 1. They used that same crappy design from the 16 thru the 40. It was the coating they used. If it got the least bit hot, it would start melting. Thordarson used a heavy black rubber coating that did not melt. Back in my service call days (late 70's early 80's) our shop would be humming with flyback replacements, ESPECIALLY in the summer. Not everyone had AC (hard to imagine now) and these sets were daily watchers. Once the Nebraska heat and humidity came up, that was it. I think the repair back then ran $150.00 (which included labor) IIRC the flyback, 6JE6,6DW4,6BK4,3A3,2AV2. We never let the set out of the shop with the original high-voltage sweep tubes. If I never see another CTC-38 again, it will be too soon. LOL!

[reeferman]

My experience on Thoardarsons were from the late 60 & early 70s. I do recall hearing their quality was much improved later on. Believe me, the ones I used were as thin as Twiggy.

[Findm-Keepm]

Thordarson, during it's merge with both Halldorson and Meissner, often repackaged the other's flys and yokes, placing a gold or green part number label on them to denote they didn't produce the part. Once the merge was complete, and all stock depleted, Thordarson parts (pink/red label) were 100% theirs, and I've never seen one go bad. The only 'bad" ones I've seen were new ones with broken ferrites - shipping casualties.

We had a CTC38 that cherried the 6JE6 - it got the tube so hot it sucked in the side, but the flyback (a Thordarson Fly) was good, proven after sweep tube replacements - as mentioned earlier - the oscillator, damper, output and HV rectifier, and a retouch of the efficiency coil.

Triad D-310's (CTC39 chassis) were also rock solid. We preferred them based solely on price, about 6 bucks cheaper in the late 70's/early 80s than a FLY312. RCA 119834's changed drawing numbers somewhere in the 70s, but the design was still the humidity-will-surely-kill-it design from the early 60s. Thordarson and Triad encapsulated their flybacks in RTV or epoxy, and they tended to run a touch warmer than the RCA flys because of this, but they held up just fine. My used-but-good FLY312 came from a gunshot set (we recovered the .32 slug from the CRT), and I got the chassis and convergence board. Now to find a set....CL here is full of BPC "vintage" sets.


Cheers,

[ctc17]

They run to hot and the wax leaks out then the moisture gets in and they arc??

[Findm-Keepm]

Originally Posted by ctc17

They run to hot and the wax leaks out then the moisture gets in and they arc??

Humidity or the combination of heat/humidity is a failure mode for the RCA originals, but so is running with too much Horizontal Output tube current. A combination of both is probably the most common for those we saw - most of which failed in the summer, with the set running 16 hours a day as a babysitter for the kids. We'd get comments on the smell and the amount of smoke.

With our test jig (a old RCA metal cabinet 22" set), we'd pull the chassis, swap the fly, tubes, and give the HV cup a good cleaning. After an adjustment of the horizontal efficiency coil and a couple hours run time, it was back to the customer's house where we cleaned the CRT anode, adjusted the HV, and set focus and check the convergence. The repairs ran just over 150 bucks, with the bulk of the cost being tubes and the fly. Back then, it was flat $24.50 color labor, and no service call charge if the chassis was pulled. We'd do this several times a month. I hated it when Maganvox sets ate flybacks - no jig, so the heavy set got pulled, and I was the proverbial 98 pound weakling back then....

Cheers,