Garage Sale Find - RCA CTC-5

[egrand]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

I STILL think the Nashville area might yield up a few "Ancient" color sets-Maybe even a CT-100...Why ? Well, Nashville was/is "Music City" USA, moreso back in the Fifties than today. There was a lot of wealth there, lots of "Industry" types, people who would want to have the Latest & the Greatest.

Sandy, I bet you're right. And, maybe Memphis too.

When did WSM go color? I know a lot of old country music shows that I used to watch as a kid were produced at WSM. Many of them are being re-run on RFD TV and the tapes look fantastic. Very good color.

[Olorin67]

I had an identical one about 10 years back. Found it on the curb.. Stuck it in my storage locker, then put it on Ebay later when i had to move out of state.

[oldtvman]

I heard that same thing about the Super chassis, but I have never worked on one so I can't be much help. I doubt that Rca would put out a dog in an era when they were trying to show color to the public and create some interest.

[ChrisW6ATV]

Very nice find!

My Super (the same set as yours, but in a blond cabinet) produces nice color, no problem.

[Jon F]

Incredible! I always keep my eyes open around here and never see anything like that find. Nice!

[Olorin67]

I think i read somewhere the color circuits in the super series were cost-reduced somehow compared to the more deluxe models. But I suspect most of the later production RCA color set series pprobably used the same system first used on the CTC5 Super series. Once a company figures out most of the customers didnt notice the difference, the bean counters are able to overrule the engineers...
Plus, its not like RCA had a great deal of competition for color sets in the 50s, and the price of color sets was probably a big deterrent to sales, given the limited color programing at the time. So anything to shave a bit off the price was welcome, I think the Super series were the first color sets under $500 if i recall correctly.

[maxm]

Originally Posted by mstaton

I have that same exact model. It's a Super. Nice to get the owners manual. Would there be a way to get a copy?

I don't have the manual with me right now, I should be able to make a scan next weekend.

Thank you all for the comments, I certainly was surprised to find something like this half a block from me. It was certainly different than an average garage / yard sale. Almost everything they had for sale was old. Her uncle owned a grocery store and she was selling an elaborate old plywood and steel adjustable shelf system from the store - I'm trying to figure out if I have room to set it up in my basement.

[Ampico-kid]

Here are a few screen shots from my CTC5 Aldrich Special Model with the Super Color circuits. This was the least expensive color set RCA had to offer. It's shown sitting on top of it's optional base to make it look like a console. It makes a pretty nice picture by any standard.
Bob

[sampson159]

i dont care how much it cost-thats a tremendous picture!

[holmesuser01]

Originally Posted by egrand

Sandy, I bet you're right. And, maybe Memphis too.

When did WSM go color? I know a lot of old country music shows that I used to watch as a kid were produced at WSM. Many of them are being re-run on RFD TV and the tapes look fantastic. Very good color.

WSM had color in 1954, for sure. I got this from an old WSM film cameraman that taught me well.

When I lived in Nashville, I saw many roundie color sets in people's basements.

[miniman82]

Originally Posted by Olorin67

I suspect most of the later production RCA color set series probably used the same system first used on the CTC5 Super series.

Quite the opposite. Both the 4 and 5 (special chassis) were a once only sort of thing, concerning the circuits. All sets after used the X/Z demod scheme with a trio of drivers one for each color.

[Sandy G]

[QUOTE=egrand;3105700]Sandy, I bet you're right. And, maybe Memphis too.

Yeah, Memphis had a good deal of "Music" there, too, & it was a much bigger place than Nashville was in the Fifties.

[DaveWM]

having a subject like Marilyn helps a LOT 7 year itch was one of my favorites.

[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by miniman82

Quite the opposite. Both the 4 and 5 (special chassis) were a once only sort of thing, concerning the circuits. All sets after used the X/Z demod scheme with a trio of drivers one for each color.

This is correct. The CTC-5 Super chassis had a lot of experiments in cost reduction that were rejected later because they just didn't work that well. High voltage too low, poor luma bandwidth/detail, poor color oscillator/hue stability, no impulse noise immunity; even the sound IF circuit was cost reduced by removing a stage, which made the FM limiting iffy at best. Reading the audio alignment procedure tells the story - first put the audio trap where it should be (but the sound is then too weak), then tune the trap off slightly to bring up the audio to an acceptable level. The later chassis with X/Z demods hit the sweet spot for cost vs. performance and was used with only minor modification for many following chassis.

[DavGoodlin]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

I STILL think the Nashville area might yield up a few "Ancient" color sets-Maybe even a CT-100...Why ? Well, Nashville was/is "Music City" USA, moreso back in the Fifties than today. There was a lot of wealth there, lots of "Industry" types, people who would want to have the Latest & the Greatest.

Super or Special, thats a fine set and congratulations!
I live 5 miles from where all the RCA picture tubes were made, and YOU WOULD THINK these sets would turn up once in a while around here but NOOOOO
Rubbernecking at garage sales, looking in the papers, but I have not seen one in the 25 years Ive lived here.