The IF tubes and a few others are supposed to have shields....I recommend finding some shields before messing with it too much.

I must STRONGLY agree about the shields. My CTC4 is extremely fussy about some of them being grounded well OR I get weird diagonal lines or loud humming.

John H.

Roger that. Most of them are in a separate box that the set came with

It has to be something simple, since it worked 8 months ago. I'd agree with what Andy and Electronic M said.... Put the shields back. Also, I wouldn't attempt an alignment. They NEVER go out of alignment on their own, unless it's a component failure or someone in the past has been screwing around, and 9 times out of 10, it was somebody that got happy with a set of Radio Shack "diddle sticks". I was also reading some earlier posts. I wouldn't worry too much about the caps. If it was a repair tech that had it in the past, I'd assume it's been re-capped. Maybe I missed it in a prior post, but have you looked yet to verify? I also wouldn't worry too much about the tube conversion job. It looks like it was done long ago, and if it wasn't done right, those problems would have surfaced eons ago. It will be something so simple, you'll probably smack yourself on the head when you figure it out. :)

What generator setup would you be using for an alignment?

I have two very original and crispy CTC16 chassis' I must repair for a combo owner, so I will be looking at this issue for sure.

Usually the adjacent sound reject adjustment (before the first IF) and sound reject (at the third IF stages need to be dialed in first.
Not sure of a CTC4 swizzy, but start there - it could be all you need to tweak.

I can do alignments Dave, I have a full setup here and I'm only a state away from you. Just did a CTC-9 not long ago.

I'm not clear on the restoration status of this set. Did the previous owner do some minimal "make it work" repair years ago? Did he do a full restoration? Something in between?

If the original electrolytics have not been replaced -- or at least checked! -- I would not feel safe running this set for prolonged periods.

Forget alignment for the moment. TVs don't un-align themselves by sitting around. Install a full set of tube shields and see if they help.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

The previous owner was a TV repairman. I was told he would fix the set if anything was acting up with it. He never did a full restoration, he just kept the set alive. I can see some wax caps that are still on the boards and in other places visible on the top side of the chassis.

Putting shields on the tubes helped a whole lot. There is still some interference with the color picture but not the B&W picture. Colors are off in some settings and text is difficult to make out. I used my CTC-7 for a picture comparison (hope you dont mind me riding your coattails with that panther lamp Phil! :D). Please ignore the moire effect on the 4 that isnt visible under normal vision nor is it that distorted looking. There is still some beat frequency but that's about it for interference.

Looks like you've gone from 90 to 95% there, unless you want to recap the set.

Seems like I might have to recap to ensure its longevity.

Seems like the color was up too far in those shots, but it's tough to get representational shots off the screen. Make sure you test all the tubes too, mine had a pair of 6Cl6's that tested nearly dead but it still worked.

Hey, the more panthers the better!

That picture stands up pretty nicely against the CTC-7. This set is already working so well, I'd be inclined to use a light hand with further work. Do what you think necessary to make it safe & enjoyable to play, but don't disturb things (convergence & alignment, for instance) unnecessarily.

Phil Nelson

I'm going to replace all filter caps, all electrolytics, and out of tolerance resistors. Going to sub the two 6CL6 in the color circuit to see if I get any difference in my light blue colors not really showing up.

With my CTC4 what I did was replace every wax and 'lytic cap before applying power even once. Too much irreplaceable stuff in there to risk a shorted paper cap taking it out. Then I ended up replacing a few brown dip caps (installed in the 70s I'd guess) as well.