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#1
02-28-2010, 06:36 PM
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Was the CTC136 a true RCA design?
Today, someone gave me an '88 GE with a CTC136 chassis in it. I don't know exactly when this chassis came out; but, I know I've worked on many of them with the RCA and GE name. It's a single board chassis with a seperate MTTxxx tuner/tuner control module. Those modules developed loose connections just like the older RCA MST/MSC family of tuner and control modules. On my set, the rear label mentions Thomson.
I'd like to know if the 136 was an RCA designed chassis that was carried over after Thomson took over or was it a totally Thomson designed chassis. If this wasn't an RCA designed chassis, I wonder what the last "real" RCA chassis was. 
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#3
02-28-2010, 06:59 PM
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Heck, I think Thomson "took over" design when they shifted from the CTCXXX designations. M134C, ATC113 and others chassis come to mind as definitely not RCA-like. RCA's projo's weren't entirely RCA either. The factory data all looks the same up until about 2002/2003, if that's any measure of when things became Thomsonized.
Fot the portables, the TX series were re-badged sets. Cheers,
__________________
Brian USN RET 22YRS (Avionics/Cal) CET-Consumer Repair and Avionics ('88) "Capacitor Cosmetologist since '79" When fuses go to work, they quit!
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#4
02-28-2010, 09:10 PM
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I did plug it in with no signal and when I turned it on, the volume shot up to maximum. Maybe I'll get lucky and it will be just loose connections in the MTT module. It's a clean set and, IIRC, they had fairly nice pictures.
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#5
02-28-2010, 09:33 PM
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Quote:
         Sorry, but it cost me a really great job at RCA's R&D lab...
__________________
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#6
03-01-2010, 12:18 AM
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Ahh, the famous Thomson RCA/GE blunderset! Yup, tuner solder connections and prob loose connections on the front button circuits, or they could be corroded from liquid, like windex. I worked on a pile of these in the past. That was the most common set coming into the repair shop. Usually the 25" ones and a few 19"ers. The 13" sets seem to be strong and rarely broke down.
__________________
Honey, turn on the tv.. I'm cold!
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#7
03-01-2010, 12:38 AM
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I think you're thinking of the CTC175/76/77/87 sets that came out in '92 or so. Those were the ones that had the tuner as part of the main board and the ground connections would break loose, causing vertical shrinkage and a snowy picture. If the problem was not fixed, the eeprom would be wiped out. It took RCA or Thomson or whoever up until the later runs of the CTC203 to figure out that a seperate tuner would be best. I've also seen a few late production 19" CTC185's with a regular tuner.
This CTC136 uses a seperate MTTxxx tuner / control module that plugs into the main chassis via cables. Like the older RCA MST/MSC modules, they would develop solder cracks around the connectors and wire wrap stakes. I've also seen the MTT module used on some late production CTC120's and I've also seen some CTC136's with regular knob style tuners. The same lady that gave me the CTC136 also gave me a CTC177 with I suspect loose connections and a perfectly working 19" Sanyo. She gave the Sanyo to her 20 something year old son to use; but, he gave it back to her, saying, "I'd just as soon do without a TV rather than watch one of those old type TV's like y'all watch. I'll just save my money and buy a flat panel TV". He'd really have a fit if he saw some of the REALLY OLD stuff that I WATCH!
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#8
03-01-2010, 12:43 AM
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Oh, and I hated those TX series 13" sets. I remember one transistor, TP15, that was a common failure. Otherwise, they were usually a PITA. And, you'd better remember to discharge the main filter cap on those b/c they will hold the full raw B+ charge for a very, very long time and they will knock the crap out of you. I had one a while back that would blow HOT's after a few minutes of use. I finally tossed it because let's face it, it's not worth spending much time or money on a 13" BPC set these days.
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#9
03-01-2010, 10:23 PM
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Quote:
 Cheers,
__________________
Brian USN RET 22YRS (Avionics/Cal) CET-Consumer Repair and Avionics ('88) "Capacitor Cosmetologist since '79" When fuses go to work, they quit!
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#10
03-02-2010, 04:20 PM
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If it's an "original" thomson chassis, it should have a plastic frame (usually dark red) witha row of trimpot holes on the right side.
The original designation for this family of chassis was ICC-something i HATE them! they were nasty to work on and absolutely unreliable, i think they gave us a taste of what was to come 15 years later.
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