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  #1  
Old 03-16-2019, 05:04 PM
amglow amglow is offline
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1967 RCA stereo/tv with CTC21AC chassis

I’ve worked on old audio equipment before, but never a television. Lately, i’ve been looking into the possibility of obtaining an older color tv to wrap my head around and give it a go. There haven’t been too many prospects in my area. Today, however, I found this beautiful RCA stereo/ tv. I was told in an RCA group that this is the New Vista “Caulfield” model HH-856 from 1967, with the CTC21AC tv chassis.

I would like the get the opinion of the experts here as to the quality and capabilities of this tv chassis. Is it worth pursuing? Is it a solid peformer once restored, or does it have any known issues? Is it a tube or solid state chassis? Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.
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Old 03-16-2019, 06:37 PM
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AlanInSitges AlanInSitges is offline
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I'm sure some of the many RCA experts will chime in, but in the meantime, that's a sweet set. It's tube-type, with a chassis that evolved from a long line of RCAs. Parts and help should be easy to find. Without knowing what's wrong with it (or if the CRT is any good), it's hard to say what it's worth. In the ballpark of "not much" though, huge consoles are not desirable in general.

You'll need to remove the cataract on the CRT if it's good, which is a pain in the ass but a pretty interesting process.

The stereo system in there is solid state, with some really powerful amplifiers - it'll have germanium output transistors making something like 300 "good old days" watts. It'll also have a pretty complex speaker system with a couple of 15" or 11"x14" ovals and if I recall correctly some horns. They sound pretty good.

Here is a brochure with your set in it from 1967, courtesy of drh4683: http://www.mediafire.com/file/4xztom...re+%281%29.pdf

Here is another thread here on VK about the same set: http://videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=270425

Long story short, if you like the cabinet and the CRT isn't a dud, I'd be all over it.

Last edited by AlanInSitges; 03-16-2019 at 06:42 PM.
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Old 03-16-2019, 07:00 PM
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Electronic M Electronic M is offline
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Tv should be tube. I had a tube CTC-20 roundy that I still regret selling. Never owned a CTC-21, but IIRC some here have a quite favorable opinion of it.
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Old 03-16-2019, 09:18 PM
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mr_rye89 mr_rye89 is offline
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I have one in the Early American console shown here:

http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=270425

I think its worthy of a resto job if the picture tube is still good. This TV is mostly tubes, with some transistors, diodes, and an IC (used in the audio section) The convergence rectifiers will likely need replacement though.
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Old 03-16-2019, 09:30 PM
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mr_rye89 mr_rye89 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AlanInSitges View Post
The stereo system in there is solid state, with some really powerful amplifiers - it'll have germanium output transistors making something like 300 "good old days" watts. It'll also have a pretty complex speaker system with a couple of 15" or 11"x14" ovals and if I recall correctly some horns. They sound pretty good.
.
The stereo amps in these are >20WPC, 300 watts is the power consumption of the whole set. Your right about the speakers. 15" ovals, 5"? midranges 2" tweeters, 6db crossovers, very efficient speakers though. The stereo section in this console sounds real good though. I plugged my Nak BX300 cassette deck in and played some tunes on it
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Old 03-17-2019, 10:06 AM
dieseljeep dieseljeep is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Electronic M View Post
Tv should be tube. I had a tube CTC-20 roundy that I still regret selling. Never owned a CTC-21, but IIRC some here have a quite favorable opinion of it.
The CTC20 was designed to use up the left-over roundie cabinets, bezels, etc. It was designed after the CTC19,24. Two stage IF and seven 6GH8's.
The CTC21 is similar to the CTC25, but a slightly different color circuit.
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Old 03-17-2019, 01:34 PM
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zeno zeno is offline
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There are a few soft spots in these sets.
If it is high mileage they can really get dried up. tube sockets often
go bad from the heat. Watch the flyback. A little wax drip is usually OK
but they went bad a lot, actually melting down & burning. If mine I
would change ALL the 6GH8's at once to NOS brand name tubes.
That will eliminate most the little intermittents that can drive you up a
wall. 'GH8's have a habit of not working in some circuits but OK in
others. The also test good when bad & bad when good much more
than normal. DONT trust them !
Not to worry about CRT. Even if its bad it is probably easier to find
than a new flyback.
When done the set can give an excellent pix. I also recommend a
muffin fan to suck the heat out of the HV area. You will get enuf to
heat a few rooms
Enjoy your new aircraft carrier !

73 Zeno
LFOD !
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Old 03-18-2019, 10:05 AM
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I would agree this was the last of RCA's best tube chassis. CTC17-21-25-28-30-35

I had the guts of a CTC21 (non-remote but power-tuner from a customer's combo that was fitted with a new set) I fitted that beautiful escutcheon into a vacated RCA cabinet along with a good 25AP22 hi-lite CRT.

IT looked so awesome, we used it for a summer of cable-binge-watching when in tech school, I sold it when we got another Zenith after selling the last one for rent. That tells you how good it was.
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Old 03-28-2019, 10:00 PM
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KentTeffeteller KentTeffeteller is offline
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Seconded. RCA Victor's last good tube chassis. Generally pretty reliable. Zeno's advice holds true. Dealt with all the above issues on this chassis when they got 6-7 years old in the shop (I worked as the grunt technician in the shop who did radio/phono/tape/B&W TV/Older Color TV and combos. These in nice order, with a good CRT, were nice sets, RCA at peak.
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Old 10-22-2022, 11:06 AM
aaropressdiy aaropressdiy is offline
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Thanks for the helpful posts!

I just picked up a similar model, the RCA Victor Mark I Deluxe in the Vislanda cabinet, and I have been wondering some of the same things about restoring it. It has a CTC21AC chassis and as far as I can tell, the tube is not original—it’s a C25AX22/C25AP22A Colorama which, from what I’ve read elsewhere, was a rebuild. Elsewhere there is a marking that indicates the original picture tube was a 25AP22. Unfortunately, none of this matters because the tube stem is broken. I’m hoping replacement tubes aren’t too difficult to find yet.

I’m looking for a schematic and have so far come up empty…
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Old 10-22-2022, 01:53 PM
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zeno zeno is offline
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Chassis is in Sams. #883-3
Try to find an original printing. Very hi Q printing. Sams gets too much & its just a crappy PDF or Zerox.
CRT should be no problem, lots of subs.

BTW since its your 1st set take it slow & do it one stage at a time.
DONT do a mass re-cap & expect it to work !

73 Zeno
LFOD !
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  #12  
Old 10-22-2022, 08:39 PM
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damen damen is offline
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Sams 881-3
Attached Images
File Type: jpg HH848 003.jpg (78.4 KB, 40 views)

Last edited by damen; 10-22-2022 at 08:43 PM. Reason: add
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  #13  
Old 10-23-2022, 02:32 PM
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For future reference you can look up most TVs service info here: https://www.samswebsite.com/ Don't buy it there unless you can't find an original paper copy elsewhere....The website sells low quality scans and or photocopies of the literature for usually 4X what a good original copy goes for on eBay, etc...Why pay more for less legibility. IIRC the radiohistory website that has a large magazine archive has a Beitmans most often needed for free...Beitmans is less comprehensive than Sam's but fine for common sets.

CRTs are obtainable used and sometimes NOS. Your set uses a old measure CRT. In 1968 the us federal government passed a bill to force CRT makers to change their size designation from bulb diagonal to viewable area diagonal so a 1966 25XP22 would be made in 1969 as a 23VXP22. Delta Gun console CRTs pretty much were all interchangable as long as the screen was the same size. So any 25" non-V type or any 23V CRT should fit and work. Undesirable common/cheap1970s solid state consoles like Zenith Chromacolor IIs and RCA XL-100s (that name stuck around well past the 70s into inline gun CRT era) are a great, often free for the asking, source of replacement tubes for older consoles. In 1970 Zenith introduced the Chromacolor Black-Matrix CRT which was along with the Trinitron one of the 2 advancements that transitioned CRTs from 50s tech to 80s tech....Black matrix tubes will noticably improve picture quality and are a worth while upgrade on 60s sets. Zenith Chromacolor tubes tend to be the most immortal color tubes out there...most still test like new and the weak ones still seem to produce a much brighter picture than they have any right to for any given tester reading.
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  #14  
Old 10-24-2022, 01:44 AM
aaropressdiy aaropressdiy is offline
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Thanks, everyone.

I figured I wasn’t the only one who wanted to avoid paying for PDFs with bad photocopy quality. Beitman didn’t have it, but I found an original copy on eBay. The reason I hadn’t found it before is I had searched too specifically, for “CTC21AC” and not just “CTC21.” What is the distinction between the characters after the number (i.e., the “AC” in my unit)?

Yes, this will be my first television, but my third radio. I’m finishing a 1929 Sears & Roebuck Model 91 before I start this RCA, and I also have a Philco 47-1230 that one of my thesis committee members gave me.

Thanks for the detailed response on tubes. I had read about the “viewable size” designation, but I didn’t know about the degree of interchangeability. Ideally I’d like to find a tube that is as close to original as possible, but I’ll happily settle for a replacement that has better picture quality or a reputation for immortality.
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Old 10-24-2022, 10:19 AM
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The various letters after the chassis number indicate variations of the basic chassis to specific applications. Console sets manual or remote, combination sets with or without remote, and all sets that have doors that close over the screen because they included jewel lights to indicate power is on.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg plain talk CTC 21 001.jpg (90.8 KB, 24 views)
File Type: jpg plain talk CTC 21 003.jpg (100.6 KB, 23 views)
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