CTC-40 on Denver CL

[AUdubon5425]

No affiliation, thought someone may be interested. It looks like a CTC-40 combo unit (63" long) in real nice shape.

http://denver.craigslist.org/fuo/956325523.html

[MRX37]

That'd be a nightmare to haul home... I anticipate a lot of posts that go something like "Oh I would take it but I don't have the room!"

[Tony V]

This is like the one i got from Bryan except it has the next version CTC 40 that has the flip down door instead of the CTC 38? type bezel used on the first ones. The stereo in these are the best as far as performance for this era console models. I wish i could find a replacement CTC40 chassis for the one i have as mine had a major power supply failure.
-Tony

[zenith2134]

Isn't the CTC40 the 'New Vista' meaning it uses Nuvistors for the front end audio? If so, I'm not surprised it sounds good. Is it a hybrid or totally SS?

[radiotvnut]

The CTC40 is fully solid state except for the HV rectifier tube. The early versions said "New Vista Color Solid State" on the front. I'm 99.99% sure that the stereo portion is 100% SS. I think RCA stereo's were SS by '65 or '66.

[Tony V]

The stereo in mine is 100% solid state. It uses those oddball woofers that look like giant 6x9's. I've picked up stations on FM that i cant on any other FM tuner i have in the house. The tv in mine says New Vista Color at the top and solid state between the vhf and uhf tuner dials. Its solid state except for the hv rectifier tube.
-Tony

[AUdubon5425]

This is a 1970 model - I've been looking for one in the Lundberg cabinet (swiveled on legs.) I have a friend in Denver who would probably go get it for me, but I have no idea when I could retrieve it or where I'd put a 5-foot-3 piece of furniture!

[bgadow]

If I had the room I would have kept the one Tony has. Both the radio and tv could really pull in the stations, and I never tried it with a real antenna. This was an important set in the history of RCA. I notice that most of these that show up are combos.

[RCAkid]

I have contacted the owner of this set and offered to pick it up if they can hold it until mid to late January.

I have been looking for a "40" and this would be a neat one to have and it is within 8-10 hours driving distance....can anyone say road trip?

Anyway, I hope they will hang on to it for me. I am not thrilled about sending the money first to get them to hang on to it but I do understand.

My CTC-21 has the solid state stereo chassis with the oval subs and it really does pack a wollop of sound especially since I changed out the caps in the amplifier section. Still need to change the caps feeding the speakers themselves and in the p/s but I have never had to put an external antenna on this stereo and it picks up tons of stations.

The furniture style kinda matches my CTC-21 too. I do hope that I can make it mine!

[radiotvnut]

A little OT; but, I recently repaired a '70 lower end RCA console for an older man. Even though it was a lower end unit, it's tuner (AM and FM) was very sensitive. All this time I thought Zenith was the only ones who could make a sensitive tuner.

My '67 CTC25 combo uses a 100% SS stereo with those large oval woofers. The stereo is dead and the TV has a bad flyback. I have a new fly but have not installed it yet. I'm sure both the TV and stereo will be excellent performers when I get it going. RCA did make some quality stuff in those days!

[zenith2134]

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that RCA had massive research facilities at the time. It was/is damn impressive how well Zenith competed with the RCA empire when it came to color tv, though.

[RCAkid]

Ahh, those were the days when companies produced high quality stuff (yes there was plenty of junk too) but the real thing is that the public demanded/expected high quality and that was what was delivered or companies failed. Zenith was hell bent on being the best they could be and it was impressive what they accomplished. The sheer bulldog tenacity to do what they believed in....that's pretty rare especially today.

Whether it was the moniker of "His Master's Voice" of RCA to illustrate the quality and clarity or "The Quality Goes In Before the Name Goes On" of Zenith. It was always known that Zenith and RCA names like DuMont and many other names stood for something. People took pride in what they designed and built and there was the human element to everything.

The machine/computer age has done wonders but it has left many things very cold and unfeeling. Instead of a hand crafted natural wooden cabinet built by an artist, things are injection molded and stamped out and there is little of no love and craftsmanship in much of anything these days.

I know this is OT for this thread but the fact of the matter is that pieces like the CTC-40 and so many other tv's and radios of the past while perhaps higher maintenance on the whole were designed to last a lifetime instead of a 3-5 year average for a modern product.

This is one reason I treasure these sets and do my best to rescue them. That and I just love em!

Anyway, didn't mean to rant....just passionate about this stuff.

[RCAkid]

Going up to Denver this weekend to bring her home.

Can hardly wait to get her in the van. Another one saved...well soon to be.

Will post pics when I get back.

Roy