I am possibly getting one so I am just wondering. I am hoping it is a '74 because I like that year. Thanks, John

I think it is a '72 (sams 1254). That is from memory, so it could be off. I don't know much about these sets, I never had one.

CTC-54 I believe is right where Adam thinks...I would say around 1971 as far as initial production. It may have stilll been produced in 74, as, for example,the CTC-39 was produced for several model years as it was very popular.
The CTC-54 has electronic varactor tuning and remote control. It has channel up/down control buttons.

I've got some of the RCA Product Technical Manuals from that era which show the entire chassis line-ups for each year, with overviews of product changes for the year. From this I see that the CTC-54 was introduced for the 1972 model year. This looks to be RCA's flagship/featured TV model introduction for that year in fact. Pretty fancy set for that time!
The CTC-54 continued for 1973, but was replaced with the CTC-64 for the 1974 model year. So yours is going to be either a '72 or '73.

By the way Chad, the CTC-39 still shows up as late as the 1974 book; kinda surprising they kept it all the way to the final year of RCA tube sets!

Which reminds me-- on a somewhat related note, the 1974 book also shows a new tube-hybrid 19" color portable chassis, the CTC-66, supplementing the CTC-63 and CTC-55 for color portables in that size. For whatever reason, there are no actual pictures of a CTC-66 set in the book. I'd previously thought the CTC-63 was RCA's last new tube-hybrid color TV chassis introduced. Anyone ever seen a CTC-66? Here's the first paragraph of that section of the 1974 Product Technical Manual:

"The CTC 66 is a hybrid chassis introduced for use in S-Line portable and table model instruments which display a 19-inch diagonal picture. VHF channel selection is accomplished by the KRK 188 tuner, and the KRK 207 provides UHF tuning. The basic chassis layout is different; however, electrically the CTC 66 is very similar to the CTC 63 chassis used in S-Line products."

The CTC-38 and 39 seem to be the most popular RCA color tube type set, they were produced from 68-71 (38) and 71-74 (39). These designs were pretty long in the tooth, using the 6BK4 regulator tube, etc. The 39 is identical to the 38 except the 39 has the "accu-tint (A/T)" circuit and a fail-safe system in the 6BK4 circuit.
There was a 25" rectangular CTC-39 made in 1974 that is identical to a transistorized CTC-48 as far as the cabinet...anyone have one? I have never seen one in person. The 38's and 39 that I have are all the 23" tube.

It seems like the CTC-68 took over the torch so to speak from the 39 as the basic entry level console chassis after the 39 quit being made.

There is an RCA 19V" tube type table model that looks just like an XL-100 and has a tripler in it and a high focus voltage CRT...I think this is the CTC-66? I think someone here has one and these probably have the best picture of any of the RCA tube sets.

I just picked up a 19" 1974 XL100 yesterday. I just posted on mine to see if anyone knew the chassis number, as I'm too lazy at the moment to take the back off. My set says 1974 model year and gives the model number as FS 480W. Am impressed with the picture and love the look, but am not impressed with the cheap-ass slide controls RCA used on this set.

The CTC-38 and 39 seem to be the most popular RCA color tube type set, they were produced from 68-71 (38) and 71-74 (39). These designs were pretty long in the tooth, using the 6BK4 regulator tube, etc. The 39 is identical to the 38 except the 39 has the "accu-tint (A/T)" circuit and a fail-safe system in the 6BK4 circuit.
There was a 25" rectangular CTC-39 made in 1974 that is identical to a transistorized CTC-48 as far as the cabinet...anyone have one? I have never seen one in person. The 38's and 39 that I have are all the 23" tube.

It seems like the CTC-68 took over the torch so to speak from the 39 as the basic entry level console chassis after the 39 quit being made.

There is an RCA 19V" tube type table model that looks just like an XL-100 and has a tripler in it and a high focus voltage CRT...I think this is the CTC-66? I think someone here has one and these probably have the best picture of any of the RCA tube sets.

I've seen a few of the CTC-39 with 25" tube... Not lately though. I think all the ones I saw that way had the tilt-out control box with sliding lock like the CTC-46, rather than the "garage door" panel at the bottom as with the 23" sets. I used to see a lot of broken wires/bad connections in that tilt-out panel!!!!!

Charles

I thought the 6BK4 was just used on the round screen chassis. I remember the CTC-38 as it was in a home entertainment center I loved as a kid. It had the cool looking front panel with just a volume and bright control at the top and a channel bar exposed. It was remote with motors on the color and tint and I am almost certain there was not a 6BK4. I remember seeing the 6BK4 in the round screens and thinking it was scary as I'd arc a screwdriver from it's big tan tubetop connector.

Yes, 6Bk4 was used in all ctc-38's and 39's till they stopped making them in 1974. The last ones might have called it 6EL4A or 6EN4 or something like that but it was the same style tube as the 6BK4. They upgraded the grid/cathode circuit of the 6BK4 circuit in the latest models with varistors and stuff to help give a fail-safe to help prevent a loss of HV regulation. These sets were the last of any, I believe, to use the shunt regulation directly on the HV.

Also the last ones made used a 6MJ6 or 6ME6 horiz output tube which is like a 6JE6C/6LQ6 but has a metal cap which goes through the glass like on a 6BK4, so the cap cannot be twisted off when removing the tube plate lead. Wish they were all like that!

Dumb question-when did RCA finally say goodbye to tubes totally-except for the CRT, of course ?-Sandy G.

Hopefully someone else can confirm, but I think maybe about 1975 overall. RCA had some cheap 9" drug store B&W sets that had 3 or 4 tubes in the mid 70s. That was the same chassis as the miniature wood console novelty set like this photo below... As far as other sets, maybe '73 or so. Probably the last being the 17" & 19" plastic color portables.

Charles

I'd say by 1975 as well. I know the CTC-40 was the first for RCA altho it used the old flyback 3A3 high-voltage tube set up. It's odd, because RCA, Zenith, & Motorola had solid state consoles in 1969/1970 and it seems like they took a step back to "hybrid" sets and then back to solid state. I had a CTC-41 or possibly a 46 from 1971 that had an XL-100 chassis with the plug in modules. I know on early SS sets there were problems to work out concerning high-voltage. It's like they couldn't get it right. As well also, those early SS were expensive to make and had large price-tags. I think RCA was the worse one for having tube chassis in their "cheap" lines. Well after everyone else went Solid State.

I think RCA was the worse one for having tube chassis in their "cheap" lines. Well after everyone else went Solid State.

Possibly RCA wanted to clean out their inventory full of tubes and tube specific parts at the time. They probably figured that they could come out ahead (in terms of money) if they use up all that stuff in manufacturing and distributing more tube TVs than if they just tossed all that inventory out. Also maybe the solid state production lines wern't up to filling the demand for TVs.

MY grandma had a CTC39 she bought around 1974. We inherited it back in 1984 and it sat around for a few years. My brother tossed it about 10 years ago because we needed space and that the VHF didn't work but the UHF did...?

RCA had a newspaper ad in 1974 that they were discontinuing tube type color sets in favor of the XL-100. They may have made tube type b/w sets in 1975 but I think that was the last year for them.

Speaking of "clearing out", this reminds me of the RCA CTC-20... That was basically a CTC-38 that was retro-designed for a 21" round tube to get rid of the huge inventory of front bezels and 21FJP22/19VGRP22s. '68 or '69 I think. They are kinda rare, and I recently found one out front of an apartment building in the trash, and passed it on to a color TV collector out at Edwards AFB. He restored it.

So they were actually selling concurrently the Roundies (CTC-20), 23" tube (CTC-38), and 23" solid-state (CTC-47/G-2000).


***I THINK that last 21" roundie CRT # was 19VGR... Please correct me if wrong. Memory fuzzy this late at night!***

Charles

I was thinking 19vab, but I cant remember either.

John

Speaking of "clearing out", this reminds me of the RCA CTC-20... That was basically a CTC-38 that was retro-designed for a 21" round tube to get rid of the huge inventory of front bezels and 21FJP22/19VGRP22s. '68 or '69 I think. They are kinda rare, and I recently found one out front of an apartment building in the trash, and passed it on to a color TV collector out at Edwards AFB. He restored it.

So they were actually selling concurrently the Roundies (CTC-20), 23" tube (CTC-38), and 23" solid-state (CTC-47/G-2000).


***I THINK that last 21" roundie CRT # was 19VGR... Please correct me if wrong. Memory fuzzy this late at night!***

Charles


A ctc-20 is actually like a CTC-31 (tube type IF) rather than ctc-38 (transistor IF) if I remember correctly... I have a ctc-20 but it has a power supply problem and I haven't got around to further troubleshooting.