rca victor ctc16 available

Well there ya are, just shows to go you, there's always an exception.

Obviously this must've been expensive to produce as evidenced by their application on such a high end set.

Mrs Drysdale was a tramp, and she was always hitting me with wire hangers (which actually I kinda liked) LOL

Anthony

[drh4683]

Here is the phono section. Its got a stereo phone jack and the 45 spindel is still there!

[drh4683]

the tuner. Always like the transistor symbol rca put on their tuners to indentify "solid state". I was surprised to hear both channels working, even on FM stereo! I think the radio got more use than the tv, which is a good thing!

[drh4683]

heres the back. If you can see, this set has the gold on the edges of the woodwork. I remember seeing lots of these cabinets in various homes when I was a little kid. However, they were stereo consoles. First time I saw a tv type like this. I told the shop to fix it up, as they offered it as perfect working order before I got it. so, this set will be added to my collection. Its a remote set and has a rare cabinet. Even though not too many like it, it needs a spot in the collection like captainmoody said.

[Steve Hoffman]

That giant set needs a good home!

[Steve Hoffman]

Originally posted by Steve D.
Anthony,
In response to your eariler reply. "No push button sets until the 70's." RCA actually produced in 1958 the "Worthington" CTC-7 model 21RC899. This was the very top of the line (make that expensive) remote control set. The best part is that all the remote buttons were duplicated on the set itself. No knobs to be found. This included channel, volume, fine tuning, color and hue. All electronic either from the remote or on the set. This was a limited late production CTC-7 model and sold for $1200. a tidy sum in 1958. Mrs. Drysdale after getting out of her pushbutton equipped 1958 Chrysler Imperial would find the "Worthington" right at home in her living room. The set can be seen on Ed Reitan's site on his CTC-7 page.

On this page:

http://www.novia.net/%7Eereitan/Gall...7_Gallery.html

[Eric H]

Hallicrafters had pushbutton tuning in 1948 http://www.vintagetvsets.com/halli.htm

Bendix also had a pushbutton tuner around 1949, probably others too. They were mechanical in nature of course, no digital back then.

[Steve D.]

Absolutely Eric,
There were mechanical pushbuttons on radios both home and automobiles starting in the 30's as well as on some pre-war tv tuners. Also motorized tuning on radios and tv also from the 30's into at least the 50's. I liked those old "Wonderbar" radio tuners on the GM cars. Buick even had a button on the floor like a dimmer switch that let you tune the radio with your foot. But I guess that's for another Forum.

[Steve Hoffman]

Steve D., you look totally at home behind this camera!

From http://community.webtv.net/stevetek/StevesCT100

[Jeffhs]

That 1958 RCA CTC7 may well have been the first color TV with no knobs or dials on the front panel, but one must bear in mind that functions such as volume up/down, hue, color level, contrast, etc. were being adjusted by potentiometers driven by electric motors, which in turn operated on command from a tube-powered (and also quite complicated) remote receiver, by the control buttons themselves on the front of the set or by commands from the remote. The VHF tuner also was driven by a rather noisy motor (as in all power-tuning schemes of that era), and only changed channels up or down (no favorite-channel or scan functions, as all TVs made in the last ten years or so offer as standard equipment).

Today's pushbutton color sets, which are the rule rather than the exception these days (except for those cheap 5" monochrome portables with AM and FM radio one can get in a drug store or discount store for under $30, which still use continuous tuners), OTOH, carry out the commands from the remote or from the front panel buttons completely electronically; there are no motors to be found anywhere in these sets.

Note as well that RCA's G2000 limited-edition color console had completely electronic VHF tuning, which eliminated the detented tuner (and that annoying clunk-clunk noise it made when it was rotated by hand or by a power-tuning motor). However, the G2000 still had one small, very quiet motor driving the UHF tuner, so this one didn't quite do away with mechanical power tuning.

That particular version of the CTC7 must have been extremely expensive (in 1958 dollars; I hate to think what such a set would cost in today's money), meaning that only the very well-to-do could afford it; but then again, color TV was always very expensive through the '60s, '70s and even the '80s. One could not touch a color television in 1965, for example, for less than $800-1,000.

All of which reminds me. That white French Provincial RCA three-way console a lot of us here on AK do not seem to like (because of the cabinet style) is being sold for $550, which is close to what the set might have cost new. Is it really ethical to try to sell something like that (the set must be 35 years old or more) for a price so close to what it might have sold for when it was new? Go figure.

[Jeffhs]

That 1958 RCA CTC7 may well have been the first color TV with no knobs or dials on the front panel, but one must bear in mind that functions such as volume up/down, hue, color level, contrast, etc. were being adjusted by potentiometers driven by electric motors, which in turn operated on command from a tube-powered (and also quite complicated) remote receiver, by the control buttons themselves on the front of the set or by commands from the remote. The VHF tuner also was driven by a rather noisy motor (as in all power-tuning schemes of that era), and only changed channels up or down (no favorite-channel or scan functions, as all TVs made in the last ten years or so offer as standard equipment).

Today's pushbutton color sets, which are the rule rather than the exception these days (except for those cheap 5" monochrome portables with AM and FM radio one can get in a drug store or discount store for under $30, which still use continuous tuners), OTOH, carry out the commands from the remote or from the front panel buttons completely electronically; there are no motors to be found anywhere in these sets.

Note as well that RCA's G2000 limited-edition color console had completely electronic VHF tuning, which eliminated the detented tuner (and that annoying clunk-clunk noise it made when it was rotated by hand or by a power-tuning motor). However, the G2000 still had one small, very quiet motor driving the UHF tuner, so this one didn't quite do away with mechanical power tuning.

That particular version of the CTC7 must have been extremely expensive (in 1958 dollars; I hate to think what such a set would cost in today's money), meaning that only the very well-to-do could afford it; but then again, color TV was always very expensive through the '60s, '70s and even the '80s. One could not touch a color television in 1965, for example, for less than $800-1,000.

All of which reminds me. That white French Provincial RCA three-way console a lot of us here on AK do not seem to like (because of the cabinet style) is being sold for $550, which is close to what the set might have cost new. Is it really ethical to try to sell something like that (the set must be 35 years old or more) for a price so close to what it might have sold for when it was new? Go figure.

[Steve D.]

Jeff,
There is a collector here in Los Angeles that has one of those "Worthington" CTC-7 sets. It is in near mint condition. The remote, when not in use, sits in it's own velvet lined compartment that tilts down on the upper left hand corner. You're right, the remote section on its own requires a very complicated series of circuits, motors, servos and at least 14 additional tubes! As for cost of color sets, RCA broke the $500. barrier with the CTC-5 "Special" $495. in 1956-57. Sorry, I guess this thread kind of drifted from that CTC-16.

[jstout66]

I have an RCA promo film on DVD of that Worthington CTC-7. Quite an interesting presentation. Would love to have that set!!

[Steve D.]

I also have that DVD. It is interesting but RCA sure could have jazzed it up a bit. The narration sounds like one of those high school science films.
I wonder if the original print was in color?

[Jeffhs]

drh4683 (Doug Harland),

RCA was not the only company to put a transistor symbol on the slide-rule dial of the AM/FM radio tuner of its 3-way entertainment centers. H. H. Scott had a symbol of a FET (field-effect transistor) on the dials of some if its high-end FM tuners of the 1960s, such as the LT-112B Stereomaster receiver. This receiver saw much use as a broadcast monitor in FM radio stations of the '60s as well.

BTW, the record on the turntable in that RCA set gives away the console's vintage. The Monkees were a popular rock group from about 1965 to 1968 or so, so this unit was new anywhere from 35 to 38 years ago.