[Jeffhs]

I just looked at some of the pictures of the CTC5; I must say, it looks like it must have been great TV in its day.

I was wondering, though, about the CRT in the CTC5. I see it is a 21-inch round tube. Until now, I didn't know round CRTs were made any larger than 19 inches. Was the CTC5 one of the only (or perhaps the only) early color TVs to use a 21" tube?

One thing which is worth noting is the 21" round CRT used in this TV (21AXP22) is very difficult to find these days (as I am sure has been noted at least once), so it is very important to be extremely careful with the original tube. If the original is damaged in any way, the rest of the TV will be useless, as I don't think the 21AXP22 is available anymore, except maybe in a junker. Even at that, the size of such a CRT, and that the 21AXP22 is so difficult to find, demands the tube be handled very carefully so as to avoid any (and I mean any) damage to it.

The only solution if the tube is damaged, of course, is to replace it with a similar tube (if such even exists; there may not be any substitutes available for the 21AXP22); the problem with that approach is the substitute will destroy the authenticity of the TV, so if anyone decides to replace a 21AXP22 with any other CRT, please, don't mention anything to anyone about the substitution; there are people who would be very annoyed if they ever heard any other CRT than a 21AXP22 was used in an RCA CTC5 color TV. Some collectors are very fussy about these things, sometimes to ridiculous extremes.


BTW, the Early Television Foundation is fortunate to have a CTC5 in its collection of rare old color televisions, as I am sure this model is very difficult (if not impossible) to find. The only RCA "Super" TV I ever saw in my life was a 1950s set, with a round CRT, in a mahogany cabinet; it belonged to relatives of mine, now deceased, who lived in a rural area of northern Ohio.