1971 RCA Console Still Going Strong - Thank You!

[joeseattle70]

I have a 1971 RCA Console TV ("The Capulet"), and it is still going strong, thanks to your help. I had a new tube put in a little over a year ago, and had the convergence board re-soldered, and had diodes/capacitors on it changed out, and the sound transistor changed out too. Works like a champ and use it frequently - the picture is great, and it is SOOOOO much better than these "wonderful" new HDTVs - the colors are rich and the people look like people - not cartoon flesh tones. I hope it still keeps on going! I have it on a "free" converter box from Comcast (am in Seattle) and since the switch to HDTV, it seems to be ok so far. It's a 25" screen and I sure hate it when the widescreen shows are on - why do they have to do that?!?!?!

[Trance88]

Pretty neat! How did you get a new tube for a TV of this age?

[veg-o-matic]

What were you watching that showed the Brown Palace? Best hotel I've ever stayed in.

veg

[zenithfan1]

That's a fine looking tv.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by joeseattle70

I have a 1971 RCA Console TV ("The Capulet"), and it is still going strong, thanks to your help. I had a new tube put in a little over a year ago, and had the convergence board re-soldered, and had diodes/capacitors on it changed out, and the sound transistor changed out too. Works like a champ and use it frequently - the picture is great, and it is SOOOOO much better than these "wonderful" new HDTVs - the colors are rich and the people look like people - not cartoon flesh tones. I hope it still keeps on going! I have it on a "free" converter box from Comcast (am in Seattle) and since the switch to HDTV, it seems to be ok so far. It's a 25" screen and I sure hate it when the widescreen shows are on - why do they have to do that?!?!?!

Your TV is designed for the old NTSC television standard, which was a 4:3 aspect ratio. The new ATSC (digital) system uses a 16:9 aspect ratio, which means a widescreen show viewed on a set designed for the older standard will not fill the screen vertically. There is nothing wrong with your TV; again, it is just a difference in standards.

I'm glad to know your old RCA set, dating back well before Thomson Electronics bought out RCA in the mid-'80s, is still working well after 38 years. It's very difficult to kill those older sets, unlike today's throwaway sets that so often aren't worth repairing after only a couple of years. I personally have an RCA XL-100 CTC185, bought new nine years ago, that is an exception to that rule; it works very well and has had only one repair in all that time (the RF port for cable/antenna snapped off the tuner PC board). Most RCAs of that era and prior (back to the late 1980s) had problems with the onboard tuner's ground points becoming unsoldered, which allowed noise to enter the EEPROM chip and ruin said chip in short order. The technician who repaired my set (in my home; I saw him do the work) also resoldered the grounds around the tuner; as a result, the TV has been working like a charm ever since, and it's used a lot as I have both a DVD player and a VHS videocassette recorder--the latter now used mostly for watching my collection of older TV shows taped some 25 years ago, in addition to a few professionally-recorded tapes. My small but growing DVD collection is mostly older TV series; my newest acquisitions, bought new from Amazon.com, are two box sets of the NBC crime drama Quincy, from 1976-77 and 1978, seasons 1 and two and season 3, which was one of my favorite shows of the time; I watched it nearly every week on NBC and enjoyed it, which is why I eventually got the DVDs. (Those older shows had it all, IMHO, over much of today's network and cable offerings; I am 52 years old and can remember before we had cable [it didn't arrive in my neighborhood at the time until 1982], when TV was a lot more entertaining than much of it is today.)

However, my set has a great picture on cable (Time Warner, which was formerly Comcast; I live in northeastern Ohio near Cleveland), as well as DVD and VHS. The TV still has the original CRT and works amazingly well. I also have a 14-year-old Zenith Sentry 2, also with the original tube, that works very well for its age, although I don't use the latter much these days except to cross-check when my cable goes out.

Speaking of DVD and VHS, I notice you have either a cable box or a VCR, or maybe the latter is a DVD player, on top of your set. I also see that one of those devices is stacked on top of the other. I realize you have them arranged this way probably because of limited space atop the TV, but I'd be concerned about blocking air circulation to the bottom unit.

Enjoy your 1971 RCA. As I always say regarding Zenith TVs, but after reading your post, I am convinced the saying can apply to older RCAs as well, they sure as anything don't make them like that anymore.

[zenith2134]

Great set. Nice!

[Duane]

Beautiful looking set.

As far as the letterbox image is concerned, some converters have a menu system that allows the viewer to change the aspect ratio of the image shown. It's basically a zoom feature, but if you hate the black bars, give it a try.

[rcanewvista]

thats a great looking set! I really like the wire mesh speaker grill, the details to the case are really intricate. did your set originally come with remote?

[AUdubon5425]

Very similar to the set I grew up watching. Congratulations!

[colortrakker]

Thank you for coming to AK to get help restoring that gorgeous set. I'm sure she'll be running for years and years as a testament to the way they used to make 'em. Be proud of a job well done.

[slow_jazz]

Beautiful looking tv....

[joeseattle70]

Good evening - I meant re-build the tube - sorry - not brand new - that would have been optimal.