Here's one more that I brought back from that TV shop in SC, a 19" RCA XL-color hybrid set from '74. When turned on, it comes up with a full, sharp raster. After a few seconds, it loses vertical deflection. When changing channels, the vertical will act like it wants to fill out and then it goes back to a horizontal line. So far, the only thing I have learned about this set is that it has an HV shutdown circuit that disables the vertical circuit when the HV goes too high. This set looks similar to the older models with the 18V low focus voltage CRT; but, this one uses a tripler HV supply with a 19V high focus voltage CRT. This looks like it would be a decent set once it's fixed.

http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/ff341/radiotvnut/2010_1117RCA0001.jpg

http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/ff341/radiotvnut/2010_1117RCA0002.jpg

Love it.

Been after an RCA of this age for a very long time...they don't seem to be all that common in my area.

I have a 1974 RCA as well, but I believe it's a different chassis. Glad to hear yours was working decently when you got it. Mine wasn't even turning on.

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Cool you took it! The crt in that tested as new, full emissions at 4 volts. Notice the hacked in transistor on the sweep board above the horizontal coil? We were trying to figure out what that was all about.

I wanted that one so bad, just no room. The roundies just have to take priority sometimes.

Cool set!

Back in late 79/early 1980, the leftover production circuit boards for those last-gasp-tube RCA's were bought up by PTS, the tuner rebuild folks. They sold them in their satellite stores as surplus. Dad bought a bunch at the PTS loaction here in Norfolk. I must have pulled parts for Dad a million times from those boards! Seems PTS and RCA were both in Indianapolis, so PTS got a lot of RCA's production surplus - tuners, parts, you name it.

Thanks for the stroll down memory lane!

Cheers,

My first curb side color TV back in '85 was (I'm guessing) a CTC-53 chassis. Looked just like this but with a HV rectifier. It always had vertical issues. My sister convinced me to loan it to her for a '86 Bears Super Bowl party. It came back with no vertical sweep and an open vertical transformer. Luckily I found a very similar set, again curb side just a couple of years ago. But it too has vertical issues, mainly poor linearity and sync.

I have a stack of -53's, most of them came from JCFitz...and I have one very clean one that has, yep, vertical problems. No matter what I do, it needs constant touch-up. Must be one more cap (or resistor?) that I have overlooked. I don't think I've ever seen one of these 19v sets in person-a real easy one to mistake for solid state.

A reminder, I have a lot of NOS RCA small parts from the 70s. If anyone finds they need a coil, transistor, whatever, get me a part number and I'll look it up.

IIRC, the only other CTC63 that I've owned was a remote controlled version of this set. That was about 15 years ago and it too had vertical problems, which I never fixed. I never had the original remote; but, a Zenith clicker remote would operate it. Otherwise, every other tube color portable by RCA has been the 18V low focus CRT types. I think by '74, RCA was really pushing the solid state XL100 and these last tube sets were a lower priced alternative to the solid state sets and a way for RCA to use up their remaining tube parts. Also, I think '74 was the last year for a tube type RCA TV. BTW, I think that remote set I had was badged "AccuColor", while this one is an "XL-color". I think that means "XtendedLife Color" while "XL100" meant "XtendedLife100%solid state".

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on that set. look at the resistor by the horizontal osc. tube 5gh8a see how big it is. it has been replaced and someone has replaced a transistor. those resistors right around the horiz osc. tube socket will drift in value as they get cooked by the heat. look there for your problem i fixed a few of those years and years ago. good luck. steve

see your vert out tube is below the horiz osc. lots of heat there

Hey!!! I used to have a set like this one!!! Mine was a CTC63XF. It have a built-in 75 OHM Input, ACM and, AFT. I have seen CTC 51, CTC53, and, CTC55. and they all have softy low-voltage focus CRT,s in them. The CTC63 have the "Powerful" 19VCTP22. It was a Sharper CRT that have the higher voltage focus that mounted upsidedown in the set. Because of that, the HV Cap was toward to the bottom of the set.BTW, the CTC63s were dated back to 1972,s. I have a servce manual in my collection that the book says so. I think it covers both CTC63XE and CTC63XF.

So, in my opinion the CTC63 looks like the top of the line set to me.

Oh, BTW I just look at the picture of the CTC63 Notice the HV line runs from the Tripler to the side of the chassis heading to the bottom of the set. All models have the Blue Gun facing the bottom of the set.

I have just remembered about the "Powerful" 19VCTP22 Picture tube screen have the Black Matrix.

I also seen 19VCTP22 on a Motorola set.

I have a stack of -53's, most of them came from JCFitz...and I have one very clean one that has, yep, vertical problems. No matter what I do, it needs constant touch-up. Must be one more cap (or resistor?) that I have overlooked. I don't think I've ever seen one of these 19v sets in person-a real easy one to mistake for solid state.

A reminder, I have a lot of NOS RCA small parts from the 70s. If anyone finds they need a coil, transistor, whatever, get me a part number and I'll look it up.

I used to get a ton of those CTC53s Bryan. I don't know if there was a motel or what around here that used them. Same with those GE sets I gave you.Changed value resistors are very common on those RCAs and even the mylar caps fail sometimes.I always had a ton of vertical and horizontal problems.

Changed value resistors are very common on those RCAs and even the mylar caps fail sometimes. I always had a ton of vertical and horizontal problems.

Ah, yes, the infamous 180K and 220K resistors that would jump up in value = crappy sync/vertical shrink after warmup. We kept a good stock of those. You can even see some of the resistors in the pic, alongside the Vertical tube.


Cheers,

Looking at this set, the design is very similar to the earlier CTC22 (1968 or so). The first Photofact that I find for a CTC 63 dates to 1972. It seems that RCA went through a lot of chassis numbers in a very short time (40+ in 4 years)....can anybody sketch in a little history here? Perhaps the transition to solid state was "one transistor at a time" ?
just curious,
jr

Wasn't the CTC25 from '66-'67 the first color chassis that had a solid state audio output stage? Then the CTC38 from the late '60's had a solid state IF section as well as the slightly updated CTC39 which was made through '74. The CTC40 was the first mass produced solid state RCA color chassis from '69-'70. There was also the "2000" model that used, IIRC, a CTC47 chassis. Then, the CTC44 came out in '70-'71, which was similar to the CTC40 except the '44 used a tripler instead of a HV rectifier tube. I think the CTC44 and the CTC47 (2000 set) were similar as far as the basic chassis goes. I think the first modular upright XL100 chassis was the CTC46 from late '71-early '72. There were a couple of solid state modular 19" sets from the early '70's that used the CTC49 and CTC59 chassis. I saw one of these early SS 19" sets that still carried the "trans-vista" badge (pre-XL100). There were several versions of the 25" XL100 upright modular chassis in the CTC46, 48, 58, 68, and 78 series that were made from around '71-'77. The CTC68 seems to be the most common 25" XL100 chassis and was used from roughly '73-'76. The CTC71 chassis was the most common 19" XL100 chassis from the mid '70's and is one I'd like to find again as those sets had a very sharp picture. The CTC74 (19") and CTC81 (25") came out in '76 and were used in the first colortrak sets. Starting in '77, RCA phased out the upright style modular chassis and replaced it with an inferior horizontal modular chassis that were in the CTC8x and CTC9x series. The very last modular chassis / delta gun CRT RCA sets were made in 1980. After that, all RCA chassis were single board designs with inline CRT's. Speaking of inline CRT's, RCA actually made some 15V, 17V, and 19V sets dating back to the early '70's that used an inline CRT. So, that's what I've picked up over the years regarding RCA TV's. And, yes, it's very confusing.

So, that's what I've picked up over the years regarding RCA TV's. And, yes, it's very confusing.

Indeed ! quite confusing... Thanks for the "RCA Secret Decoder Ring". :thmbsp:
looking through the Photofact index, it appears that they skipped a few numbers between 22 and 63 as well. CTCs 23,26,29,32,33,34,37,45,57 and 61 seem to be missing... strange :scratch2:
jr

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CTC72 was a small screen XL100 chassis too (MA_ series modules), with a bonded yoke CRT. It was the very first XL100 I ever junked as a kid - HV went through the roof and cleanly circumsised the neck of the CRT.

Cheers,

From my '74 RCA product manual:

New for '74:
CTC-62A: 15" & 17" XL100
CTC-58A: S-Line console, replaced CTC-48
CTC-64/68A/68H: 25" console, XL100
CTC-66: hybrid 19"
CTC-71: 19", replaced CTC-60

Continued from '73:
CTC-39: 25" S-Line console
CTC-51/51X: 15" S-Line
CTC-52X: 17" S-Line
CTC-53/53X: 18"
CTC-63X: hybrid 19" S-Line

Hey Folks!!

I just got out my Service Manual for RCA CTC63 The book have dated back in 1972. It only covers both CTC63XE and CTC63XF so, here are the pictures