Some Chinese company (http://en.wikivisual.com/index.php/TCL_Corporation) has been making RCA TV's since 2004.

This explains to me the severe dip in quality. 90's RCA's made by Thomson tend to still be working when I find them, but the newest RCA CRT sets I've seen had signs of a weak CRT while still sitting on the store shelves.

Most all of the newer RCA TV's I find have bad flybacks and / or weak CRT's. I just recently trashed a 20" RCA truflat TV/DVD combo with a toasted CRT. I also just replaced the flyback in a 2006 32" RCA DTV. I am not impressed with the modern RCA, to say the least.

I still see many '80's and '90's era RCA's with simple problems and the CRT's are usually still good. The CTC203 was probably the last semi-decent RCA chassis. I've fixed many of those by simply resoldering a coil in the horizontal circuit. I've seen some of the larger screen 203's with bad flybacks; but, the flybacks can be bought for a reasonable price.

I would not buy a new RCA TV, PERIOD! In fact, there's not much out there on the new market that I would consider, except maybe Sanyo. And some people wonder why I keep using these older TV's from the '70's and '80's....

Definitely concur with both of you, I've seen them half dead on the shelves myself, with retrace lines ect, sad. You're right radiotvnut, Thomson built RCAs held up at least decently. We have a Sanyo from '01 with a hundred million hours and it still works fine. It's the newest set in the house and probably will remain that way, when it goes an old set will take its place {a '75 RCA is waiting in line behind it} It is so sad what happened to what was once the greatest name in television.

Wonder what will happen to RCA name now that it is owned by Audiovox.

Most all of the newer RCA TV's I find have bad flybacks and / or weak CRT's. I just recently trashed a 20" RCA truflat TV/DVD combo with a toasted CRT. I also just replaced the flyback in a 2006 32" RCA DTV. I am not impressed with the modern RCA, to say the least.

I still see many '80's and '90's era RCA's with simple problems and the CRT's are usually still good. The CTC203 was probably the last semi-decent RCA chassis. I've fixed many of those by simply resoldering a coil in the horizontal circuit. I've seen some of the larger screen 203's with bad flybacks; but, the flybacks can be bought for a reasonable price.

I would not buy a new RCA TV, PERIOD! In fact, there's not much out there on the new market that I would consider, except maybe Sanyo. And some people wonder why I keep using these older TV's from the '70's and '80's....

I agree with you! :thmbsp: I think when my Sony 32" Trinitron CRT goes out, I had it since 1999, I will get a used CRT instead of the newer sets.

We have a 32" CRT RCA thats at least 15 years old, still works fine. It was repaired probably 8 years ago, bad solder joints on the tuner board. Other than that, its never been touched. I guess that says something about the previous build quality.

Are they down the road from the maker of my "Zenith" TV tuner and my "Westinghouse" LCD monitor? :)

And probably the same plant that my "RCA" clock radio is from, lol, you know whats kinda sad. I have a "SONY" Home theater system (minus the SONY 36" XBR set that had a small necular meltdown and has been replaced my a '68 Zenith console that I love), is that even the stereo and DVD player are made in China. I mean I thought that the Japanese are proud of there name and intended to build thier products in said country instead of outsourcing as well to make a buck. Because im sure that if that Sony was built in Japan where it was supposed to be it wouldn't be having all the cold soldor joint failures in the PS to begin with. RCA's name is still cool to look at plastered over a Funai, but it's sad when it doesn't mean anything anymore. I mean come on. I would rather see the name go away off these cheaply made sets than have the name disgrased even worse by having these sets blow up in the next 3 to 6 months and have someone not keen on the knowladge to know that that's not really an RCA instead of saying, "well im not buying another RCA product again". I mean come on! RCA has and will always be an american icon that has brought so much to this country! When I hear "RCA" I think of the RCA that meant RCA, not some silver painted cube that has no better enginuity than the shoes I wear.

Sorry, just had to vent

The previous quality of RCA was right up there with the best, if not the best as far as TVs were concerned. That doesn't mean they got the best pictures though....

Everything I encounter these days is built in China, I'm not sure if thats good or bad. Remember, when solid state took over the Hifi world names like Pioneer and Yamaha were looked down upon. Most people in this country would only buy American-built cars, TVs, stereos, appliances, etc. Things are just about reversed nowadays....and I don't have a problem with that per-se, BUT where's the quality? A lot of standards have gone way down.

The Chinese are capable of making good quality electronics (and they do), but that's not where the market is. My IBM Thinkpad was made in China, and it's as solid as anything I could ask for. If anything, China is the new Japan. Japan seems to be having a lot of the same problems the US did not too long ago.

David Sarnoff & Gene McDonald are prolly spinning in their graves....

David Sarnoff & Gene McDonald are prolly spinning in their graves....

Yep... I'd bet money on it.....

Wonder what will happen to RCA name now that it is owned by Audiovox.

Hell, RCA became meaningless a little after GE raped and pillaged it... :thumbsdn:

RCA is no longer operated by Thomson so the Thomson-made sets ceased. It was handed over to TCL Corporation on 2004 with sets made by TCL in China since 2004.

RCA is no longer operated by Thomson so the Thomson-made sets ceased. It was handed over to TCL Corporation on 2004 with sets made by TCL in China since 2004.

That's pretty much what I pointed out...

Well we still have a 60 or 70 foot high NIPPER (RCA dog) sitting on top of a building outside of Albany NY, which will probably outlast whoever now owns RCA.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/carljohnson/1531413177/

I mean I thought that the Japanese are proud of there name and intended to build their products in said country instead of outsourcing as well to make a buck. Because im sure that if that Sony was built in Japan where it was supposed to be it wouldn't be having all the cold solder joint failures in the PS to begin with.
I agree with you about poor quality control in non-Japan-made Sony TV's, since I have worked with many Japanese Sony CRT monitors made right up to the year 2000 that were all well-built, though even those can have cap failures when they get warm in an enclosed cabinet. Sony, Panasonic and other Japanese companies have made many products outside Japan since at least 1980 that I know of, primarily low-cost items like small radios back then. My 1980 Sony AM and AM/FM pocket radios (ICF-3860, TR-3230 I think) are made in Taiwan.

Panasonic was an unusual company in the VCR business because all standalone VCR units were Made in Japan (23 years) since the beginning, 1977, all the way to 2000. It was definitely beyond the manufacturer's average time-frame to switch production to a different country. Panasonic, one time, marketed with this slogan "Made in Japan: Quality of Japanese engineering," and stamped this onto every new Panasonic VCR boxes from 1998 to 2000. Unfortunately, it was a failure and misled by Panasonic because VCRs are already cheaply-made by now after 1991, they no longer last very long, and quite a number of people complained how poorly constructed they were, so Panasonic abandons marketing "Made in Japan" from now on.

Panasonic also made portable CD players in Japan for a very long time (1987-2005), despite their low cost and throwaway designs. Compare with Sony (with their Discmans), only up till 1992.

Panasonic still makes products in Japan but now only on a limited basis. Excluding higher-end digital cameras and camcorders, the last one was a Blu-Ray player, which ended production in Japan on February 2008. There are no Made in Japan Panasonic products as of now for the North American market since February 2008.

How sad that is. Im not knocking new products and technology, I mean I love it! (Especially if it can work along with our vintage sets). But when the technology breaks down on a rapid rate due to poor quality control issues, that's where I think it just plain sucks.

I bought my newest VCR on newyears eve, 12-31-99, a Panasonic. I still recall the box proudly proclaimed "Made In Japan" in big letters. I filled out the little warranty card inside and it had a place where you could check off the reasons you selected this model, including "Made in Japan" so I made sure to check it. Guess not enough folks did! But then, that was a $130 vcr then at WallyWorld and the current price is what, a hundred bucks less? It is a good machine, anyway. I also had a Japanese made Panasonic cordless phone that was just a few months newer and was amazing. A great performer and extremely durable. The new models are from China or other countries.

I noticed some time ago that Sanyo sets are built in Mexico. I wondered if they were completely built there or just assembled there from Chinese parts.

Bill R

We bought our last VCR around that same time. A Sony HiFi stereo model with 19 micron head VHS. It was an SLV series. I'm not sure where that one was built, but it still works somewhere, and I used to record a heck of lot with that deck.

The one it replaced was a circa-1991 Sony 4 Head Hifi stereo that retailed for an embarrisingly high figure back then. My dad bought it and we used the hell outta that one too. He still has it but the heads are going south. :thumbsdn: That one was most certainly built in Japan.

We bought our last VCR around that same time. A Sony HiFi stereo model with 19 micron head VHS. It was an SLV series. I'm not sure where that one was built, but it still works somewhere, and I used to record a heck of lot with that deck.
Made in Malaysia.

The one it replaced was a circa-1991 Sony 4 Head Hifi stereo that retailed for an embarrisingly high figure back then. My dad bought it and we used the hell outta that one too. He still has it but the heads are going south. :thumbsdn: That one was most certainly built in Japan.
Yep, Made in Japan. However Sony VCRs from that era weren't so ultra reliable as gears break off often over the years.

I agree with you about poor quality control in non-Japan-made Sony TV's.

Most Sony sets sold on the European market from the late 70s to the late 80s were entirely designed, engineered and made in the UK, their Trinitron CRTs were also British, the chipsets and most of the resistors, capacitors and transistors were Philips and the speakers were either British Goodmans or Italian Faital units

but they were nice sets, they used standard European parts and a rather simple, straightforward design (for Sony standards) and were easy and cheap to fix, the British Trinitron tubes seemed to last too,

Nope. CRT made in China. Worked on one of these about a month ago with a bad flyback. (Fsssst, pop snap). Back cabinet boasts "Made in Mexico". Set was from 2005 and was a 27".


I noticed some time ago that Sanyo sets are built in Mexico. I wondered if they were completely built there or just assembled there from Chinese parts.

Bill R