Captainmoody, when you mentioned the problems those early RCAs had with circuit boards becoming brittle over time from heat, it reminded me of a similar set (marketed by Silvertone in the early Sixties, with the RCA CTC12 chassis) I owned over 30 years ago. The set worked well for me until 1973, then I had to replace a tube (a 6GH8 video output) and--wouldn't you know it (darn it!)--the socket broke out of the board and clunked to the bottom of the set.
(OT now, but it sort of ties in with the foregoing)-- RCA's newer sets (at least the CTC185 chassis) seem to have the same problem. I bought one of these sets in late 1999 (RCA XL-100, CTC185A7 chassis); although it works well on cable and has a beautiful picture, I have had to have it repaired twice for the same problem: the RF connector to which the antenna or cable connects breaks off the tuner PC board if you put the least little bit of pressure on it.
The technician who repaired my set told me this is a weak point in the design of this chassis; I hope this issue has been addressed and corrected in the newer models.