Thoughts/Info on this 1979 Colortrak - Videokarma.org TV - Video

Greg B. · #1 05-19-2008, 08:15 PM

This 20" RCA Colortrak was the last TV my parents ever bought. I remember helping them pick it out and was able to convince them to spring the extra money for a Colortrak instead of a XL-100 and then to spring for the new-fangled pushbutton tuner -- in '79 it was very cool.

It worked well for the time they had it. There was a design flaw in it though. The digital control in the tuner did not remember the last channel it was tuned to, so every time you turned it on it went to channel 4, a real PITA.

By the early/mid 80s illness had taken my mom and my dad moved on, so the TV went to my older brother. He used it for a while but it now just sits in his basement. AFAIK it still works.

Is it worth keeping/refurbing? The picture attached is not the actual set but rather one I found on the net, but ours looks exactly the same except it has the block letter RCA logo instead of the retro "Nipper" one this has (which I think makes ours a year earlier; perhaps it's a '78).

Anyinfo appreciated. Thanks!

radiotvnut · #2 05-19-2008, 08:48 PM

If it still works and has a good picture, I'd keep it. I have seen many RCA's from this time period with weak or shorted CRT's. Even if that turns out to be the case with yours; you can probably find a 19" CRT cheap if you check around. Those sets may not have all the features of the newer sets; but, they are much better built, last longer, and are often easier to service than the modern stuff. When working right, those RCA's produce a picture that's as good or better than today's CRT sets. I have an '80 model 19" XL100 that blows most of the newer, cheaper sets out of the water. I would like to know what chassis is in yours. It will be stamped on the rear of the chassis as CTC-xx. RCA used many different chassis in the same style cabinet during that time period.

Chad Hauris · #3 05-19-2008, 09:27 PM

This is one of the last delta gun RCA sets...I have a very similar model (with the Nipper logo) and it works great.

zenith2134 · #4 05-19-2008, 09:48 PM

I have probably the same 1980 RCA which radiotvnut has and I concur, they are built for the ages. This one looks really neat, I've always enjoyed the futuristic cabinet style on these sets. I'd get it, if only for the sentimentality aspect. Perhaps you could add some sort of battery backup so the tuner remembers the last channel. I wouldn't know where to start though honestly. Interesting if that was indeed a design flaw, since my XL100 has full channel memory and even remembers the lineup after being unplugged

zenith2134 · #5 05-19-2008, 09:50 PM

Now I remember-- I picked up a ctc-89 a while back that was a delta gun, a '77 IIRC, and it forgot channel lineup too once shutdown. Food for thought. Had a weak Blue gun I think but still usable.

ablethevoice · #6 05-19-2008, 09:55 PM

Don't those RCA's have color gun adjustments right on the rear of the set? Many of the TV's I took in for repair usually only needed the guns adjusted. Some TVs you had to open to get to the pots, some had them poking through the rear of the cabinet.

zenith2134 · #7 05-20-2008, 09:54 AM

Mostly every RCA I've seen from the 60s til the 80s has the gun bias and drives located at the rear, and yes thats all they need a lot of time.

sampson159 · #8 05-20-2008, 02:00 PM

those are great sets! i still have one out in the garage.not a remote set. i have hauled it around for over 25 years. nice,crisp picture and easy set to repair. that one is a keeper!!!!

rcaman · #9 05-21-2008, 09:24 PM

i also have one just like it with a brand new rca picture tube in it. i havent turned it on in about 4 or 5 years. but i am keeping the tv as it has a great picture. the only thing is the triplers you have to use rca triplers in them as the replaements wont work they have no dc return in them it will get you high voltage but no picture. i have a beautiful rca console with a new tube in it that needs a tripler but i dont have one to install in it. steve