My first free find on Craigslist, a 36" RCA console TV - Videokarma.org TV - Video

MRX37 · #1 04-07-2008, 10:31 PM

... Made in 1991, and boy has it got some hours on it...

The tube is very tired. So tired that even a slight adjustment of the VG voltage brought on retrace lines, and the picture is still too dim. It also has color bleeding.

Lacking a tube restorer or replacement tube, I will probably gut this TV for its speakers and other electronics.

bgadow · #2 04-07-2008, 10:47 PM

I was given one of those a couple years ago. A monster. Got it off of freecycle, from someone who said the picture kept cutting out. When I got it home I took the back off and found that someone had broken the crt neck. Heartbreaking. When I parted it out I found the crt to be so heavy I could hardly move it...had a heckuva time getting it in the back of my truck by myself. One thing that impressed me about this set was that it seemed to have a lot of the "old" RCA in it, meaning some pride in manufacture.

radiotvnut · #3 04-07-2008, 10:50 PM

What chassis (CTC-xxx) is in it? If you get a CRT tester, get a B&K 467 or later, a Sencore CR70, or a Beltron. At any rate, I wouldn't expect a big success story on rejuvenating that tube. The RCA's that I bumped didn't last that long.

MRX37 · #4 04-07-2008, 10:51 PM

Oh yes, it's a monster. I needed help getting the damn thing to the garage.

I really have no use for it. I just grabbed it to either sell it, or gut it for parts, and with the tube as tired as it is, the latter option looks more promising. It has some nice shielded speakers.

PS: it's a CTC 169

PPS: i don't mess around with restoring tubes. If it's too tired for flyback adjustments to help, it's junk.

rcaman · #5 04-08-2008, 10:35 AM

ctc169 is the best rca ever made. a good bump with a quality crt restorer will bring that tube back up. they were also some of the best crt,s ever made by anyone period. this set wasent that bright when new. but they are a hell of a set. steve

rcaman · #6 04-08-2008, 10:36 AM

that set also cost about 2 grand new. steve

MRX37 · #7 04-08-2008, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcaman

ctc169 is the best rca ever made. a good bump with a quality crt restorer will bring that tube back up. they were also some of the best crt,s ever made by anyone period.

Ummm... I've seen TV's 20 years older that that one, whose CRT's were in much better shape. I have a CTC 121 from 1984 that has a much better picture.

The dim picture is only part of its problems. The picture also has color bleeding, convergence issues around the edges, and a chip in the screen missing. So the tube is junk.

zenith2134 · #8 04-08-2008, 11:25 AM

The 121 was a very solid chassis IMO. I picked up two over the past few years and one had an intermittent red short but I cleared it up and gave it to a friend. They did make great pictures.

MRX37 · #9 04-08-2008, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zenith2134

The 121 was a very solid chassis IMO.

Yep, I believe that. The one that I have, I found sitting in wet gress, it had been raining that day so I'm pretty sure water got inside it. I let it dry overnight, then fired it up and it worked fine.

radiotvnut · #10 04-08-2008, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRX37

Oh yes, it's a monster. I needed help getting the damn thing to the garage.

I really have no use for it. I just grabbed it to either sell it, or gut it for parts, and with the tube as tired as it is, the latter option looks more promising. It has some nice shielded speakers.

PS: it's a CTC 169

PPS: i don't mess around with restoring tubes. If it's too tired for flyback adjustments to help, it's junk.

Make sure to save that chassis if you junk the TV. Like has been said, that was a good chassis. The main things that went bad on them were the electrolytic caps in the regulator circuit and the HOT and it's associated parts.

MRX37 · #11 04-08-2008, 12:35 PM

Um... saving the chassis is out of the question as I don't have the tools, nor the courage to try disconnecting the HV wire from the CRT.

I did save the speakers though. They'll make great computer speakers once I find a box for em.

If it was an older or rarer set I'd save it, but I just don't have the room for such a monster.

rcaman · #12 04-10-2008, 02:16 AM

hi, dont destroy or through away that chassis. i will buy it in a heartbeat. it is no problem pulling the chassis and you are not going to get killed removing the high voltage wire. you can always cut the wire at the suction cup at the tube using insulated cutters and rubber gloves. i have replacement anode caps. thanks steve

MRX37 · #13 04-10-2008, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcaman

hi, dont destroy or through away that chassis. i will buy it in a heartbeat. it is no problem pulling the chassis and you are not going to get killed removing the high voltage wire. you can always cut the wire at the suction cup at the tube using insulated cutters and rubber gloves. i have replacement anode caps. thanks steve

You're 5 hours too late. Garbage truck came and got it. And how would you get the TV from me anyway? You're in Mississippi, and I'm in Michigan. Shipping costs would be insane.

And on another note: I had a friend snip that wire, after the TV had been unplugged for a few days, and the electrical shock knocked him to the floor. Those damn wires bite way too hard for me to risk snipping one.

andy · #14 04-10-2008, 09:18 AM

All you need to remove the HV waire safely is a flat blade screwdriver with a wire connected to the CRT's ground. Just slide the screwdriver under the HV connector and it will discharge itself. Even if you're touching the screwdriver, you won't get a shock since it's grounded. It's a lot safer than just moving a set that heavy!

RetroHacker · #15 04-10-2008, 09:57 AM

If you're going to repair television sets, you're going to have to learn how to discharge a picture tube. It's not hard, nor is it dangerous. And if you do get zapped, remember, it's low current. It'll hurt like hell, but it won't kill you.

Just ground a screwdriver with a cliplead, and slide it under the suction cup. You'll hear a loud ZAP! Do it again, just to be sure. The suction cup is held to the tube with two little metal tabs that go into the hole in the side of the tube. It's a lot like how the top is held on Christmas ornaments. Squeeze the tabs together and rock them out of the hole.

I typically have a "discharge tool" handy. It's just a screwdriver with a length of lamp cord connected to it, and the shaft wrapped in tape. The end of the lamp cord has an aligator clip on it.

And yes, I've been bitten. By a computer terminal that I _thought_ wasn't producing any high voltage. It was. It hurt, made my arm twitch pretty good, and I felt it afterwards for a good hour or so. But, I'm not dead. And now I'm more careful

-Ian