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Old 05-12-2018, 03:43 PM
RetroHacker RetroHacker is offline
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Rca ctc-5?

Going through some sets here, and checking them out. This one is an RCA tube type tabletop, dirty, a little rough, but looks decent enough. I get sound and smoke, but no HV. Don't really have time to dig into it just right now, but it's somewhat promising, at least the horizontal tube isn't red plating.

Can't make out the numbers stamped on the chassis, and the label is missing from the back of the set. Seems to be CTC-5 something, but that second digit is just gone or was never stamped clearly to begin with. Anyone recognize it?

https://i.imgur.com/lhXVncv.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/9Qmk07x.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/nuQaG1h.jpg

-Ian
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Old 05-12-2018, 05:56 PM
El Predicta El Predicta is offline
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Probably 3, as in ctc 53.
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Old 05-12-2018, 08:19 PM
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Jeffhs Jeffhs is offline
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I agree. The set shown here probably has a CTC-53 chassis. The CTC-5 was a very early RCA chassis, from what I understand and have read and seen of it. Most portable TVs made in the '50s were almost certainly black and white; I don't recall ever seeing portable color TVs until the 1960s, at the earliest. Another giveaway that the portable RCA shown in this post is likely, almost certainly, from the '60s is the block RCA logo on the cabinet, as this logo was used by RCA on its televisions and radios from 1968 on. If this set were in fact a CTC-5, it would have had RCA's original round logo on the cabinet. RCA Victor TVs and radios from the '50s also had the words "RCA Victor" as a script plastic logotype on their cabinets. Also, I don't think the CTC-5 chassis had a UHF tuner.

BTW, if your TV is smoking, there is something else very seriously wrong with it besides no second-anode voltage. I wouldn't plug it in again before checking things like the filter capacitors in the power supply; if these are in any way defective or failing, they could (probably will) damage or destroy the power transformer. Also, if there is no second-anode voltage, the horizontal oscillator or output stage (or the flyback) is not operating. Again, I wouldn't operate this TV until the high voltage issue is resolved. If this set has a power transformer, it could be damaged or destroyed if there is no grid drive on the horizontal output tube (as would occur if the horizontal oscillator stops). The horizontal output stage operates on grid-leak bias; if the bias voltage is missing, the HO tube's plate current will go sky-high and will overload the TV's power transformer. If the power supply is not fused, or if the fuse has been bypassed/replaced with an overrated fuse (!), the transformer will burn out in short order.
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Last edited by Jeffhs; 05-12-2018 at 08:37 PM.
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Old 05-12-2018, 09:59 PM
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bgadow bgadow is offline
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That's it, a 53. I've had a bunch of them & have one good example now that I really like. They are NOT the greatest thing RCA ever sold, that's for sure. They use a low focus voltage crt that gives a somewhat softer look. They are prone to bad caps & resistors, in my experience, probably because the chassis design tends to "bake" the components. The early XL-100 was a huge upgrade. But, as I said, I do like them even with the shortcomings.
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Old 05-13-2018, 11:18 AM
dieseljeep dieseljeep is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bgadow View Post
That's it, a 53. I've had a bunch of them & have one good example now that I really like. They are NOT the greatest thing RCA ever sold, that's for sure. They use a low focus voltage crt that gives a somewhat softer look. They are prone to bad caps & resistors, in my experience, probably because the chassis design tends to "bake" the components. The early XL-100 was a huge upgrade. But, as I said, I do like them even with the shortcomings.
It could easily be a 14" CTC51K as well. I have two of them. One works OK, but has that soft picture. The other one, some hack messed the up the IF board.
I also have a CTC53, which is the 18" LV focus model. Same soft picture.
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