I just picked up the RCA CTC-44 transvista color TV. I am not sure if it works, havent pluggedi t in yet. According to the dates inside the cabinet, and CRT, it appears to date from circa 1970. I can honestly say, I havent managed to come across one of these befeore. Anyone have any info about these sets, or old war stories about the CTC-44? Is it even worth keeping? -Rob

Hi Rob, someone named Tricia wrote me a few days ago about this exact same model, I hadn't gotten around to replying yet.

Would this be the same set?

And yes, it's worth keeping, or at least selling to someone who will restore it.

Excellent find, its worth keeping by all means. I'm not too crazy about the rigged up toggle switch on the control panel. Originally, it had a push bar for the on-off.

Hi Eric! Actually i did get it from Tricia. After a few Emails debating the price, I went to go get it. I like the TV, its kinda unique. -Rob

that takes a heavy crt.those rcs tubes could take a serious jolt to restore.when these are right,then have a nice pleasing quality.i think this may have been the first rca solid state chassis.not too sure about that as we didnt see too many here in columbus.any rca of that vintage is a great find.please post pics of this set as you progress.

Sure will, look forward to tinkering on it. -Rob

It's debatable rather the CTC40 or the G2000 (CTC47, IIRC) was the first SS color RCA. I think the main difference in the 40 and the 44 is that the 40 used a HV rectifier tube while the 44 used a different flyback and quadrupler for the HV.

Oh ok. Are there any other circuit differences besides the Horizontal ouput? Also anyone out there have a copy of the SAMS? My subscription expired. :(

I should have a spare Photofact that I could snailmail to you, if interested send me your address. These sets have their quirks, but they were very well engineered. Strong tuners, though that no longer matters. I like this cabinet-it is strikingly similiar to the GE we had when I was a kid. I'm afraid I can't offer much more advice, as I've never played much with one. Oh, I've got a bunch of NOS RCA parts so if you find something you need post the OEM part number, I just might have it.

Hey everyone, I just fired up the CTC-44. the On-off switch was bad, so I temp fixed it, and the set does come on, but there is absolutely no vertical deflection, just a white solid line!

OK, I will send all my adress info to you via private messgae, and thanks again! -Rob

Yeah, the rigged toggle switch definitely has to go. I am sure I can find something way better than that that will fit. The toggle switch doesnt even work anyway, I had to jump it!

Probably one of those SCR's out. I had pulled one on my CTC-40 and got the same thing.. The 2 SCR transistors are on an aluminum block on tte back right near the FBT. Might be bad..

Check the setup switch, first.

...

I did check the service switch, it checked good. The only thing I am curious about, is that the yoke was real loose, like someone took it off, and hastily put it back on. I hope they didn't damage it. Ill check those transistors, too. Thanks for the advice, all of you, a:yes:s this is strange territory for me.

Oh ok. Are there any other circuit differences besides the Horizontal ouput? Also anyone out there have a copy of the SAMS? My subscription expired. :(

I have it on the CTC-47, which should be the same chassis except for the tuner section. PM me if you like, and I can Xerox it for you and mail it. It's the RCA factory manual :banana:

Charles

If I remember right, the SCR's are high voltage. I remember something about a vertical coupling electrolytic opening up and killing vertical. I'll dig out a sams and take a look. Those were fun sets!

Like Doug said, check the setup switch first.
After that, check for voltage on Q101. It's fed from the 82 volt power supply. There is a 39 ohm, 5 watt resistor that may be open. If it is, suspect Q101. There are 4 other transistors in the vertical. Let me know if you have the collector voltage and I'll go further if need be.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Going to tear into the set this weekend, will let you guys know what I find! I like the layout of the chassis, all of the components look well spread out, and easily accessible.

Oh.. My bad, I meant transistor. Be sure to check solder connections off the vertical transformer. Especially on the terminal strips.. Guess it could be a lytic too. I know it's a different beast but I had a ctc-17 w/ no vertical deflection, turned out to be a bad connection on the terminal strip. Those ceramic heat resistors put off a crapload of heat and the wire coating seems corrosive when it gets hot.

ITS ALIVE!!! I found the 3564 Vertical output transistor defective. It cross referenced to an NTE-162, so off to Fry's I went, and found one! The heat sink grease on the old one was completely dried up and flaking off. so, after I swapped out the transistor with new grease, I turned the TV on, and it came to life. All of the controls needed adjustment of some sort, and the tuner needs a good cleaning, but it works. My next order of business on it is to replace the cheesy on-off switch some one rigged in there, in place of the old one. Another thing about this reciever, I was actually amazed at how tiny the flyback transformer was comapred to the other sets.

Nice job! I've always liked that style of RCA sets with the pull-out control panel drawer. Good to see another one of them alive. :)

Glad you got it going! The reason that flyback is smaller is because that transformer only puts out about 6 or 7 KV, which is then sent to the quadrupler, where the voltage is ramped up to around 25-28 KV.

Way cool! That set looks like it's producing a great picture too!! Well done

Check the setup switch FIRST as it could also be dirty from setting or just plain set in the service position. The 44 was the second SS generation from a CTC40 and was ALL SS to include the HV department. It is a scarce set and certainly worth keeping.

ITS ALIVE!!! I found the 3564 Vertical output transistor defective. It cross referenced to an NTE-162, so off to Fry's I went, and found one! The heat sink grease on the old one was completely dried up and flaking off. so, after I swapped out the transistor with new grease, I turned the TV on, and it came to life. All of the controls needed adjustment of some sort, and the tuner needs a good cleaning, but it works. My next order of business on it is to replace the cheesy on-off switch some one rigged in there, in place of the old one. Another thing about this reciever, I was actually amazed at how tiny the flyback transformer was comapred to the other sets.

That tiny flyback get's vary hot after the set has been on for a couple hours.
I removed the metal cover to the fly cage on my ctc47 and it cool down quite a bit. If you have kids, pets, etc. Make sure you put the back cover on the set before you put it in service.
Also I would check for bad caps and connections in the vertical circuit if the vertical output transistor goes defective again.
Cool set.