Any one here will still use the C.R.T tv's for every day wathcing tv?

[Fritze-AR]

I still use a last-gasp Panasonic CRT-based HDTV monitor (26"), that I recently fitted into an old gutted GE TV cabinet with a lifting front door (purchased at rummage sale)> I no longer have Sat TV, so had to dig out an old HD receiver since the set lacks a internal digital (ATSC) tuner. Picture is as good as purchased new 6 years ago.

[vintagecollect]

I still play my avatar set monthly, my chromacolor weekly for news. My used HD set is my daily watcher, very easy on the eyes.

[mhardy6647]

Our daily driver is a ca. 1986 Toshiba 27" CRT that was a hand me down from my parents.
In our bedroom, we have a Montgomery Wards (!?!) "Signature 2000" (NEC OEM, I believe) 12-ish inch CRT that I bought in 1989 when we moved to Milpitas, CA.

Both sets have cheap-jack (Zenith) OTA DTV tuners/converters on them that I bought when I had to -- and use bow-tie arrays in our deep-suburban fringe location.

Can you tell that my wife and I are not really what you'd call "big TV fans"?

That said... I would love to have a fully functional RCA CTC-15 or CTC-16 console... someday.

[DavGoodlin]

The CTC-15 and 16 were the last good RCA roundies. The CTC20 roundie was RCA's way of using up leftover 21FJP22's, but it had only two printed circuits versus the earlier four board chassis (CTC 9,10,11, 12, 15, 16) I had a CTC16E and CTC16XL when I was in high school. They were lost during numerous relocations after college. The CTC15 combo I worked on in '84 is gone, so I was told last month.
Still, it was not unusual to see those gems still in regular use 30 years ago. I rescued two ctc11 TRADE-INS when I worked delivering for an RCA dealer. I still have one of the CTC11 RCA's, A blonde upright, that finally needs a re-capping. It was also not rare to see them going to flea markets and thrift stores then, since a new color 19" was $350+. The owners remembered what a novelty they were, so they were almost NEVER at the curb during spring-fall big-item cleanups. I did get many of the later 25" and 25V sets, chromacolor, XL-100s etc at curbs, making the standard repairs and then selling them for 100-150 while in college.
Finally, roundies are recognized for the treasures they really are!

[dewdude]

I've got a console xl100 from 1989 I got from the parents. My sister took it when she moved, but gave it back because it had issues locking on to channels.

I lived with it because I didn't feel like pulling the chassis out. Then one day, nice pop and all the blue is gone. So I pulled the chasis, resoldered the tuner connections, replaced the blown gun transistor. Tv was fine...for a while. Red gun transistor died and tuner kept acting up.

I did manage to find a compatible tuner in an old VCR and replaced all the color drive transistors and replaced a few caps. Its been holding channel 3 quite solid for a few years now and the color transistors are holding up.

I do plan on replacing this thing in the next year or so. Its been a good TV, hate to get rid of it.

[miniman82]

Parents still use the Trinitron I gave them in the apartment wing of the house, nice set with s uper bright pic.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by dewdude

I do plan on replacing this thing in the next year or so. Its been a good TV, hate to get rid of it.

If you have room in your house (basement, rec room, etc.) for this set, and it still works well (it should, IMHO, after all the work you put into it), why not keep it and use it with a DVD player? You will need an external RF modulator to use most DVDs with older TVs, but if the modulator has a switch on the back to select channel 3 or 4 (most of them do), just put it on 3, hook up the RF output cable to the VHF antenna terminals of your TV, and you're good to go.

[wa2ise]

I'm still using this as my HDTV, a computer monitor driven by a Samsung ATSC box in an old RCA CTC19 cabinet (the chassis long gone). Changed the display from letterbox to cropped 4:3 for a bigger picture, albeit with the sides lopped off.

[timmy]

rca ctc197 15 years old this month repaired 2 times over 15 years fly, cap, resistor thats it 36 inch crt bright as the day it was bought. nothing like crt but some people swear by the flat screens.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by wa2ise

I'm still using this as my HDTV, a computer monitor driven by a Samsung ATSC box in an old RCA CTC19 cabinet (the chassis long gone). Changed the display from letterbox to cropped 4:3 for a bigger picture, albeit with the sides lopped off.

I like how you were able to fit the monitor into that cabinet -- looks like a factory job. It also looks as if you now have HDTV with stereo sound, as I saw what looks like two computer speakers at either side of the monitor (if your Samsung converter supports it, which I think it does -- most DTV boxes are built for stereo).

BTW, what happened to the CTC19 chassis -- flyback or CRT failure, lightning damage, etc.? Just curious.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by timmy

rca ctc197 15 years old this month repaired 2 times over 15 years fly, cap, resistor thats it 36 inch crt bright as the day it was bought. nothing like crt but some people swear by the flat screens.

I have a Zenith Sentry 2 19" TV, 16 years old, still works like a champ with no repairs whatsoever. It's now in storage, however, since I bought an RCA CTC185 (see below). Don't want to get rid of the Zenith unless push comes to shove, as it was a birthday present to me on my 39th birthday in 1995; it has sentimental value to me, even though the gray paint on the cabinet is starting to flake off.

My RCA CTC185 19" table set is also in storage since I finally broke down and bought a flat panel this past August, but it works very well for its age (twelve years). Had two repairs done on the RCA within a year of each other, both for the same problem (broken antenna connector), but wouldn't you know it, neither repair was covered under the manufacturer's warranty. Other than that, however, the RCA set worked very well on cable until the day I retired it. I am keeping this set as well, since it still works as well as the day I bought it; nice bright sharp picture, same as your CTC197. I don't know what brand of CRT RCA used in the CTC1xx series but whatever it is, it must be pretty good, as mine has lasted as long as the set itself and has shown no signs whatsoever of weakening -- and this TV saw a lot of use before I got the flat set.

[timmy]

well rca i think was bought by a japan company in the 90s and there crts seem to be better then usa so it has got to be japanese crts that were put in at some point for the reason they work and last so long.i wonder if japan would take on making new 21fbp22s or xp, fj crts, so we can keep our vintage roundies going for another 45 years or longer since there crts are better, that would be great, and at a cheap price.

[jstout66]

RCA was owned by Thomson, a French Company until Thomson sold it to some Chinese company about 5 years ago. I don't think any sets, or CRTS have been built in
Japan in years. Even they farmed it out to China. Even the latter Sony Trinitrons didn't even have a Trinitron tube. Most of the last CRT sets used Orion tubes.
I still haven't gone the flat panel route yet. I have a 32" JVC in the livingroom. A 24" Toshiba in the office, and a 19" Zenith (1981) in the bedroom. If/when the JVC conks, I WILL get a flat panel (probably an LCD or LED) to replace it. That 32" JVC weighs a ton, and I will never lift anything that heavy again. It's worse than a console. lol!

[timmy]

yes those big tube tvs are very heavy like this 36 inch rca i have. the last time i repaired it i didnt move it but rather just turned it around to get to the back and even that was a task.but it still works great, just that this ctc197 was known for flybacks and a 2kv cap which i have a new spare fly and cap for when it may happen again.

[jstout66]

HA! You have better repair skills than me. If that 32" broke I would have to take it in, as I am lacking in repairs on "new" stuff, and I know the repir shops left in my area would give one the stink eye, if one were to bring in anything over 5 years old.
I'm not really a fan of the LED/LCD. I think the pix looks good on every plasma I've seen tho... but wonder how heavy they are?
My neighbor got a new Panasonic 3D TV and I thought the picture was horrible. I was polite tho, cause it seems all the "yung uns" think they are so fantastic.
One thing tho... I LOVE my LCD computer monitor. I would never ever EVER go back to a CRT for my computer. My desk is cluttered enough as it is!