RCA CTC-11 Restoration - Videokarma.org TV - Video

wcarroll · #1 09-26-2006, 03:06 PM

Hi all,
Here is a picture of my next restoration project, a CTC-11 "Wakeley":

My basic plan is to first restore the power supply and to also replace any other electrolytic or paper capactors found. I notice that many of the caps are "modern" film-type that resemble orange drops except they are dark purple in color. Are these generally OK to leave alone?

I've already checked all of the tubes and replaced those that were weak or that were substituted with the wrong types. The set is working now with a decent black and white picture. Color is barely working only in the lower half of the picture, so I'm sure the purity and convergence adjustments are way off. I need to purchase a dot generator...

I have a SAMS for this set, but I'd really like to find a source for the RCA factory service manual. Would anyone know where to find one?

This will be my first vintage color set, so I'm sure I can use any tips or tricks that anyone can offer.

Wes

Sandy G · #2 09-26-2006, 03:30 PM

Saving another old veteran- Good for you !! Hope to see glorious "Lollipop color" pics from it on here shortly...

bgadow · #3 09-26-2006, 04:14 PM

Those maroon caps are usually okay, though a bad one will pop up once in awhile. I would leave them alone unless a specific problem raises its head. I have an -11 and it was fairly straightforward to get running.

My favorite book for working on these was put out, if I remember right, by TAB books and is by Carl Babcoke-the RCA Color TV Service Manual. It starts off with the CTC-12 but is still useful for this set, as is the older RCA Color Pict-O-Guide. Both are readily available on the net.

Good luck!

stromberg6 · #4 09-26-2006, 04:21 PM

Hi Wes: Looks great! I believe RCA went to all mylar caps starting with late production CTC-7 chassis, someone correct me if I am wrong. The wax caps would heat up and drip on to the -Y output sockets, causing color flashing. I would re-cap the power supply, and replace any other 'lytics that may be lurking in the chassis. Then bring the AC up slowly with a variac, and see what you have before going after the mylars. You may be pleasantly surprised.
BTW, I hope to finish the re-cap of my CTC-4 this week. Then on to the crt swap, etc. Hope to have it finished in time to watch old color Christmas specials.
GOOD LUCK with your "11"!
Kevin G.

stereofisher · #5 09-27-2006, 09:37 PM

I fixed up a CTC 10 which look just like yours except in had a piece of glass on it to protect the face of the picture tube. I had a Fisher 400 back then too!!! That set had great color after I replaced the caps in the high voltage section and all the tubes in that section too.

It was a freeby. Everyone was going to square screen TVs back then. Ran the Fisher with it. Hooked up the RCA in glorious mono and ran it through four speakers!! Had a Pnasonic 8 track recorder to make tapes for my frat brothers and a Sony reel to reel for me. Great seeing your pic. Cool that it works after all these years. Would love to have a roundie but we have no room. Down to 2 systems. Wife factor. Her system is wired throughout the house and my Vintage Pioneer QX 8000 is in the livingroom and a Pioneer QX 4000 is in my shop. Nice to finally have bench. No more diningroom table

Good luck with her

eric

blue_lateral · #6 09-28-2006, 04:16 AM

I think the purpledrops are fine. I would leave them unless you have a specific problem.

Cool set!

John

wcarroll · #7 09-28-2006, 01:38 PM

Thanks for all of the encouragement. I plan to remove the chassis this weekend to get started...

Quote:

My favorite book for working on these was put out, if I remember right, by TAB books and is by Carl Babcoke-the RCA Color TV Service Manual.

Hard to believe, but my local public library actually had a copy of this on the shelf. Just finished studying the first chapter on all of the setup adjustments such as convergence, purity, etc. Very good explanations of these settings. Thanks bgadow! BTW, it is TAB book #496.

Eric, My set has the safety glass in front of the CRT too. Hard to see in the picture.

I'll leave the purple caps alone for now and concentrate on the electrolytics first. I think I saw a few molded paper caps in there, so I'll replace those too. Watch for some updated pics (and likely many more questions as I go along).

Wes

wcarroll · #8 09-30-2006, 06:49 PM

Got the CTC11 chassis out and on the bench. Everything looks pretty good. Pretty much untouched except for some previous work on the "C1" electrolytic can. It was wrapped with lots of gooey electrical tape... Took the tape off and found the cardboard tube has split open sort of like a can of pillsbury biscuits.

Then found an old Sprague Atom cap piggy-backed to C1 from behind. Not very pretty repair work.

There are also several Sprague caps that sort of resemble orange drops, but have a flat, chalky look to them. Do these tend to be reliable?

The inrush limiter is broken, which is not surprising. I'll replace it with a CL80 or similar unit.

I am still temped to go ahead and replace the purple film caps and the other orange caps along with the electrolytics. Still thinking about what to do. I'd prefer not to disturb any circuits that require any kind of alignment.

See attached pics.

rcaman · #9 09-30-2006, 09:21 PM

look on the ac input and make sure there is not a black beauty there if it is change it. my ctc 10 had some verticle issues untill i changed all the orange drop caps on the verticle board then all was good. steve

reeferman · #10 10-01-2006, 06:53 PM

NICE Fisher!! Is it a 500? (it is definitely not a 400).

Carmine · #11 10-01-2006, 08:34 PM

Pardon my hijack, but are those Fisher stereos anything special? I have one that was given to me years ago. It's in great shape, and I know it works, but there isn't anyhting on the radio I care about.

wcarroll · #12 10-01-2006, 09:24 PM

Quote:

NICE Fisher!! Is it a 500? (it is definitely not a 400).

Thanks, the Fisher is an 800C. Same as the 500C, but with AM and FM bands. The 500C is FM only. Very nice sound from this one after it was restored!

wcarroll · #13 10-17-2006, 10:05 PM

I've made a bit of progress on the CTC11 chassis. Almost done replacing all of the electrolytic caps and also changed out two black beauty paper caps. One was across the AC input as rcaman suggested to change. For the multi-section cans, I decided to replace these with individual caps and some terminal strips. It is a very tight space to mount these between the chassis top and the IF assembly! But, with some careful planning it looks like they will all go in OK. The original cans definately needed changing as there were signs of leaking electrolyte. Plus, one of the 160uf caps had already been swapped along the way... the replacement cap had a 1969 date code.

I would like to bench test the chassis to be sure the power supply voltages are good before returning it to the cabinet. Will removing the horizontal output tube completely disable the high voltage section for testing purposes?

All of the controls will be cleaned with deoxit. Should I attempt to clean the tuner or leave it alone?

Thanks,
Wes

blue_lateral · #14 10-17-2006, 10:29 PM

Yes, removing the horiz output will disable the HV. The voltages you measure on the PS will probably be a little high, because the horiz, HV and CRT draw quite a bit of current.

For alignment and so on, you can load the PS with a 2000 ohm 100 watt resistor. Probably not necessary for this though.

Dunno about the tuner. Is it strips or wafer switches?

Phil Nelson · #15 10-18-2006, 02:22 AM

Hey, man, thanks for blazing a trail. I'm about to start on my CTC-11. Just finished an RCA 630TS and now there's space on the workbench for the first time in months (so I'm a slow worker -- just shoot me :-).

I would normally replace all the electrolytics, but some of those in the parts list have odd values (160uf?), at least from my mostly-old-radio background. Can you recommend a supplier who has everything you need, or did you order whatnots from various people and combine (wiring in parallel, whatever) to come up with the right values? I'm used to fudging upward to some extent in radio projects, but I don't want to go too far afield, since this is my first color TV project.

Re cleaning with DeOxit, my tuner is a tad crunchy, although stable once you settle on a channel. I was planning on giving it a spritz along with everything else.

The inrush limiter on mine must be functional. The set takes a w-h-i-l-e to warm up, just like my pedestal Predicta, which uses a similar component.

If you run across any spares (ha-ha, I know) I am missing the channel selector knobs and one of the little brown knobs in the bottom row. Oh, and the dinky fine tuner knob above the channel selector.

Keep those tips & photos coming, and let me know if you run into any special gotchas.

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