RCA Roundie Test Jig Resto - Videokarma.org TV - Video

miniman82 · #1 01-15-2015, 04:52 PM

Finally got one of these things, only took 3 years of searching!
I'm going to restore it, this thread will document the process.

sampson159 · #2 01-15-2015, 09:05 PM

i love this!cant wait for your resto posts

Findm-Keepm · #3 01-16-2015, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miniman82

Finally got one of these things, only took 3 years of searching!
I'm going to restore it, this thread will document the process.

Local, or eBay find?

Electronic M · #4 01-16-2015, 10:57 AM

This should be one of the easiest restos you ever do, Nick. Just clean it up, and provided the paint is good, and none of the few parts that are in it are bad you should be home free.

No CTC-2 IF headaches, no prototype chassis that has no documentation and loose hanging leads, no problem...

miniman82 · #5 01-16-2015, 11:38 AM

You'd think it to be easy, but honestly it needs a lot of work. The cabinet has bad paint and some rust issues, so blasting and repainting/powdercoating is likely on the table. That and the CRT may be bad, I'm not sure what to make of the test results yet. The emission needle creeps lower and lower like there's leakage between elements or something, and the cutoff adjustment doesn't exactly work like it should either. Might be gassey I'm not sure, only way to know for certain is to put HV on it and see what happens.

stromberg6 · #6 01-16-2015, 04:28 PM

Great score Nick!

Hope you have all extension cables, too, but I know cables can be made. I have a CTC-11 metal cabinet with a so-so FB that will be converted to a jig (no chassis came with it), but will wait for warmer weather here in the northeast to do the work in my garage.
Kevin

ChrisW6ATV · #7 01-16-2015, 11:28 PM

Very nice find. I see that the HV meter has the newer-style RCA logo, so it must have been replaced once.

Nothing could be better as a roundie chassis test jig than another real roundie!

miniman82 · #8 01-17-2015, 01:13 AM

Saw that too, I think it was either replaced or installed later if it didn't originally have one.

DaveWM · #9 01-17-2015, 05:29 AM

I have that same jig, but not meter installed, my guess is it was added.

Findm-Keepm · #10 01-19-2015, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miniman82

Saw that too, I think it was either replaced or installed later if it didn't originally have one.

The meter was an accessory to the rectangular jig. RCA also made a portable jig with an hv meter installed. Both the later rectangular jig and the portable came along in 1970, and had a cable set for the CTC40. Additional cables and accessories were needed for CTC2X and CTC3X chassis, and both matured until the ColorTrak chassis. We had both, and used only the rectangular jig. The lil' blue portable was sold to a kid right out of tech school, sometime after 1980.

Findm-Keepm · #11 01-19-2015, 02:20 PM

...and i have a 13A100 HV exension cable, NIB if you need it. All my other adapters are for the rectangular jig.

oldtvman · #12 01-17-2015, 01:59 PM

It's a test jig can't be much to restore.

Steve D. · #13 01-17-2015, 10:54 PM

Found this on the internet. No meter indicated. Notice the multi-color logo found on consumer sets below the screen on this version.

-Steve D.

colorfixer · #14 01-17-2015, 04:43 PM

there could be a lot more to these things than you'd think:
-HV monitoring
-convergence/geometry boards
-tuner?

Curious, why would the CRT be weak? Unless they used seconds for test tubes...

Kevin Kuehn · #15 01-17-2015, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colorfixer

Curious, why would the CRT be weak? Unless they used seconds for test tubes...

Back in the day a jig could of ran many hours a week in a busy shop.