Early 1970's RCA portable.
 

Hi, I recently got a small basic RCA color TV from the 1970s and I'd like to have more information about it. It has a CTC-53S hybrid chassis. I have seen posts about CTC-53 but nothing about the CTC-53S.

The TV has a "Made In Canada" sticker under it but I guess it was just assembled or even partially assembled here.

I bougght this set as it reminded me a bit the B&W RCA "Townsman Series" set I had when I was a kid! (see the attached picture).

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3881/...e7b80526e7.jpg
RCA 19" Color TV by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3907/...854ed3d6be.jpg
19" RCA TV set by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3906/...2bc997b09d.jpg
RCA 19" Color TV by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3921/...2e8b655fc3.jpg
RCA 19" Color TV by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3836/...596f127ca5.jpg
RCA 19" Color TV by PhilR2, on Flickr

Small video I made of it with my cell phone:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/33723086@N02/14852118624/


It doesn't work perfectly and would probably need some restoration but I'm not familiar with this kind of job. The picture is clear but sometimes distorted (mostly at the top of the screen). Looks better in reality than on that capture I made with my cell phone...
This set isn't an instant-on but the tubes remain lit with the switch set at off. I'm wondering if there's a simple way to defeat that and what was the purpose of doing this!

What is the source of the video? If it is from a VCR tape, the bend at the top of the screen is fairly typical for an earlier set. As VCRs became more popular, sets were designed to better deal with the inherent horizontal instability of the VCRs.
jr

Those sets had a really good picture when working correctly.

Nice set.
Not all sets that had 'instant on' (or any of the other names for it) were labeled as being so equipped...However instant on by definition keeps the tubes lit, so unless this set uses series string tube heater wiring and has a separate set of contacts in the power switch that are stuck on, you have an instant on set. Many instant on sets had a Vacation Switch or some such (not to be confused with the service switch) that would disable the instant on (preventing the tubes from glowing after power off)....If yours lacks that switch there are two options to kill the instant on: re-wire the power switch to eliminate the instant on, or unplug/turn off a power strip the set is plugged into after/in lieu of turning the set off with it's power switch.

Very nice !!

The source I used was a Channel Master digital converter.

I said it wasn't an "Instant On" as the picture doesn't appear immediately as it did on my the solid-state Sylvania GT-Matic I used to have (this one had a pilot on the picture tube).

I don't think the filament on the picture tube remains lit on the RCA. If it does, it still far from being an "Instant-On". But because the other tubes are pre-heated, the set takes about the same time to turn on as a regular transistorized set with a CRT.

I dunno why they called those beasts "Portable".... "Luggable" would be more like it...

There are different kinds of 'instant on' wiring depending on the year and maker. Most tube/hybrid instant on sets ran the heaters at ~half voltage when the set was turned off....There would still be warm up time, but it would be much shorter and would be called "instant on". I've never seen a set that had instant on where that term was literal, though it would not surprise me if some of the solid-state era sets with that feature left the CRT heater on full blast all the time.

I have some 'instant on' sets (proclaimed to be so in the manual) both tube and hybrid, they keep the tubes lit at half voltage when the set is off, and they have a warm up time (a short one).

It is common practice on this forum to refer to any set that, by design, keeps tube heaters lit to some degree while the set is turned off, as an 'instant on' TV set regardless of actual warm up time.

So maybe it's instant-on then! The image appeared immediately on my 1974 Sylvania Solid State. As soon as I pushed on the volume knob!

I think it's a weird idea to have that on a tube/hybrid chassis. It makes a room heater... I'm wondering if they had better durability on sets that were used daily because the tubes remain lit or if the idea was just to avoid having to wait for the tubes to warm up?

I dont think these sets were instant on. More likely it has a gang
on/off switch that is part bad. I dont have the exact manual but
if I got time I can look at similars before a trip to the Whites Thurs.

IIRC the first instant on was a B&W Westinghouse. It was a 19"
with a black sunscreen & quite impressive at the time.
I remember the commercial for it.
Eliminating the hot-cold cycle was sold as longer tube life BUT
the constant heat baked the PCB's & dried up the sets so much
it shortend the life of the set. Nothin worse than an all tube
instant on set with high miles.
Later solid state sets probably benefited from it, you never see
a bad CRT in a flat chassis Zenith. They also came out with
fast warm-up cathodes. And yes it can be defeated quite easily
most the time.

73 Zeno:smoke:

When I first sat that the tubes remained lit, I thought that there might be something wrong as I didn't think it was an "instant on". The chassis number is CTC-53S.

Let me know what you find about it.

Thanks!

Nice find ! Kinda rare model.
Where in canada are you located, Quebec ?
Id buy it off you ! :D

Were are you located? It seems all this neat stuff pops in the mid west like in the Chicago area in pristine condition.. These things don't exist here in So. Florida anymore.. I get an occasional late 40's early 50's console, or some mid-late 1970s combo or console sets.. Usually something overly BIG that someone is trying to unload..

I believe hes in Quebec Canada. :tresbon:

You guessed that because of my poor English writing?!

You guessed right!

No, I saw the licence plates from your pics on FlickR.

I was going to eventually ask how to defeat it in my flatty, but best to leave it alone I guess.

That's interesting. I'm in northeastern Ohio near Cleveland, and nothing much shows up here either as far as vintage or antique electronics goes. When I moved here almost 15 years ago, I saw a few vintage sets, such as a 1980s RCA 12" portable and, some years later, two console stereos and even a couple large-screen CRT TVs down the road from my apartment. I didn't spot any more old sets until about six months or so ago, when I saw a 24" Westinghouse flat panel TV near the trash barrels in back of the apartment building I live in.

Haven't seen any TVs, radios or such since, except two very large CRT table model sets, one a Magnavox 23", the other a Sony that must have had a 35-36" CRT and that weighed the proverbial ton, being disposed of a week or so ago when two tenants moved out of the building. I almost took the Magnavox until I found out, from the maintenance man who was clearing out the apartments on behalf of the landlord, how much it weighed; the set probably would have caved in my TV stand in the blink of an eye, and so would the Sony. :eek: In fact, I was told the Sony set, with its large CRT and all, probably weighed every bit as much as a small car.

I didn't think about that!

To go off subject, Sorta like here in So. Florida.. Up until a year or 2 ago, there was nothing.. Now I'll see the occasional antique.. They've all mostly been floor models or combo units... Only thing table top that ever pops up are usually 80s sets.. Never anything tube or hybrid that's color..

I HAVE seen a pretty much "instant" instant on set. The RCA vertical SS chassis of the early 1970's, such as CTC 48,58,68 and such. As SOON as you turned the set on, in maybe ONE second--the raster appears. NO warming for HV--since they use a tripler. In fact--you could usually see the end of the degauss action--they were so quick. (this of course is assuming the set had been plugged in for several minutes at least, before being turend on, to give time for the tube to warm up).

How about mine? Is it normal that the tubes stay on on a CTC-53?

Also, do you own a RCA 2000? That's my dream TV! I'm not even sure they ever sold in Canada but I could drive to get one!

Yes--I have TWO RCA2000 sets. Obviously my screenname came from the set. I drove a good ways to get mine too.

I MAY be willing to work out a deal to part with one of them....if you really wanted it..and could come for it.

A "Smart car" probably. I'd be afraid to ride in one of those. They look like I could pick them up and crush them between my hands. A 32" Sony CRT set I handled once, I could barely handle it in a two-person team lift.

I looked at 3 out of 4 manuals for this set. They cover abt 15
varieties of the chassis not including the -S.
They use an autottransformer to step down for filaments with
a separate isolated winding for CRT.
None are instant on, but the -S may be.
I see now way the filaments can light while off unless someone
modified it or the -S has it.
BTW nothing wrong with your english, better than mine & we
have been hear since 1635 !

73 Zeno:smoke:

Thanks for the info.

I'll take the back cover off and try to see what's happening.
I'm pretty sure that the CRT doesn't remain lit but other tubes do.

The earlier models of the CTC53, has low focus voltage CRT. They always seem to lacking in focus clarity. I remember seeing a later model that had the high focus voltage CRT, probably, the last of the run. The picture seemed to be a lot clearer.
IIRC, one VK member, recommended to rejuvenate the CRT, at the lowest setting, even if the CRT has high readings on all guns. :scratch2:

I guess I should have looked more carefully at the back cover before starting this thread. I looked again today and there's a master switch there. And the CRT also remains on but dimly. So it's an instant-on or almost!

I took a few pictures:

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3914/...c7b5e7eac7.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5557/...b6fc888799.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3901/...15270469e7.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3857/...bed4dcb6d8.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3916/...41edf08f18.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3878/...5de765cd7a.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

Something was repaired there...
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3865/...bbd961bc70.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3916/...68ba0c957d.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3887/...e1531321a7.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3864/...0e2fa36b10.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3881/...8a6b16973f.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3911/...f130ccdda0.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3838/...a1b08083ca.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3914/...d49c53c3ef.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3903/...52b24f62d5.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

Here are a few more, sorry some are of poor quality.


https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3907/...b3c7c80734.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5574/...91c26872b0.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5564/...84fd136e42.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5584/...daeff23841.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5586/...bf12d4b5b0.jpg
RCA CTC-53S by PhilR2, on Flickr

Try manhandling a 36" Sony... Yrs Trly did THAT trick-Once. Saw moons, stars, lightnings... That was when I was about 40- 45, before the stroke, before boogerin' up my knee. NOT fun !

Mystery solved.
This chassis is very different than the other CTC53.
All the Sams I have #s' 1201, 1271 & 1452 are nearly
the same. This one is different in the tube compliment,
filament circuit & it has a HV reg tube for starters.
Enuf IMHO to give it its own CTC series. I would guess
its an export only rig so they just put it in the CTC53
family since its "close". Shows why beyond general discussions
you need very complete info on chassis & model.

73 Zeno:smoke:

It involves moving one wire BUT every time you open up
a set you risk an accident. Just like surgery, always some risk.
A knew a girl in HS that went in for wisdom teeth & came
out DEAD..........
BTW the Zeniths & prob. others did it like this.
A filament transformer kept the CRT at low voltage. Its
secondary was in series with a winding on the main power
transformer so when you powered up the voltages added up
for full filaments. Cheap & simple, the way TV's should be.:yes:

73 Zeno:smoke:

I had one of those Westinghouse 19" BW sets, a 1963 attache' model, that was instant on.
I also have a 19" Westinghouse color, 1968 model, also instant on AND has a defeat switch on the back, like your RCA, that "unhooks" rectiifer diode mentioned below.

There is a two-gang on-off switch. One side switches power to the solid-state LV rectifiers, the other side had a rectifier diode across it and switches the series-wired heater string (and CRT filament transformer on the color set) such that when the set was off, only 1/2 cycle of AC is applied to tube heaters, keeping them kind of hot and significantly reducing warm-up time.

BTW - I removed this feature on both sets.

Thanks for the information Zeno!