New To Forum With CTC-5 Question - Videokarma.org TV - Video

Indian Head · #1 02-20-2005, 06:57 PM

Hi

I recently discovered your site and hope someone can help me with this question. We have a CTC5 (Westcott - Super) which could stand a cleaning inside the glass that covers the picture tube. I know many of the TV's of the era had removable glass to facilitate easy periodic cleaning. I cannot figure out how to remove the gold frame that surrounds the glass, but it appears upon examination that if the frame were removed, the glass could then be removed from the front. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance and happy to have found you.

***Kamakiri*** · #2 02-20-2005, 08:17 PM

Welcome aboard

Kinda tricky, but there are metal prong clips that hold the gold frame surround in place. Pop those off and it should come free. BUT when you get ready to pop the final clips be sure that somebody is there to catch the glass

Indian Head · #3 02-20-2005, 10:24 PM

Thanks for the info...that's what I was hoping to hear...however, looking at the set I do not understand how to pop the clips out. Is there some sort of recommended procedure on how to handle these clips and are there any precautions to take to keep from harming the cabinet or the glass while doing so?

Thanks again!

Steve K · #4 02-20-2005, 10:52 PM

It has been a while since I had my 5 safety glass off but if I remember you have to remove the pencil box under the screen and using a small screwdriver pull two little hooks down that unlock the bezel. The bezel then comes off. You will see some clips on the sides of the glass that have to be removed from the inside of the cabinet. Like Tim said, make sure someone holds onto the glass!

Steve

Indian Head · #5 02-22-2005, 10:03 PM

Thanks Steve & Tim. You guys were dead-on. We removed the glass and both that glass and the front of the picture tube were so smoked up and clouded that you could barely see through them. I guess the original owners of the set were Mr. & Mrs. Nick O. Teen. After all, didn't EVERYONE smoke in the 50's? Anyway, it now looks like we put in a new picture tube. The brightenss is up and the color looks vivid (it was kind of pastel before the cleaning). Thanks again!

I do have another question (I'm sure many more will pop up). Although the set works very good, I always like to have service info available. A couple of weeks ago I got on the Sams Photofax site and put in the model number from the back cover (21CT7857) and Sam's set # 353-11 came up. I almost ordered it there and then. But in the meanwhile, I took the back off to see if the picture tube frame came off from the inside (for the glasss cleaning project). While looking around, I saw someone had written in pencil "Sams 358-9" on the high voltage box. I put this number into the Sam's web site and came up with the model # 21CD7859, which was a Deluxe set.

Stenciled on the chassis are the following: CTC5D, RVAL4, 2746506. The serial number stamped into the chassis is: A4457632. This is the exact same number that is on a tag that is stapled to the inside of the cabinet. That tag appears factory.

I guess the question is: Is this a Super or Deluxe chassis? I know of some service men who, years ago, would have, let's say, a set on-hand with a burned-out picture tube and they'd get in a set with a bad chassis, and would swap things around to make a set work again. I don't know...hope someone out there will. Perhaps none of this means anything. But then, what about the "Sams 358-9" written inside, and the stenciled CTC5D? Thanks once again in advance.

John

Steve K · #6 02-22-2005, 10:25 PM

Hi John:

You chassis is the Super not the deluxe so the Sams is the 358-9.

Your set is the Wescott I believe. Check Steve Dichter's site for a picture of it.

Steve

Sandy G · #7 02-22-2005, 10:35 PM

The CTC-5 is about the most MISERABLE of all the color televisions !! Save yrself untold agony & despair, good sir, & send it IMMEDIATELY to me !! I know a trick to make them much less Evil, & I promise to love it 'n' pet it, 'n' call it George...Unless you've already named it "Irving" or "Monroe" or something. <Grin> Seriously, NICE SET ! Very Nice set !! -Sandy G.

#8 02-23-2005, 01:36 PM

But will you hug it and squeeze it? Sheddup rabbit.

Anthony

Steve D. · #9 02-23-2005, 04:12 PM

John,

Welcome to the forum.

As Steve K. mentioned, I have the RCA CTC-5 brochure posted on my web page. It contains your Westcott model.

http://community.webtv.net/stevetek/StevesCT100

Scroll down the page to the CTC-5 section.

-Steve

Indian Head · #10 02-23-2005, 10:11 PM

LOL Sandy! I appreciate your generous offer to unburden me of the CTC-5. Maybe when the Coyote finally gets the Roadrunner...

Thanks for your help Steves D, and K. Steve D, I'm familiar with your fantastic site (would love to have a working CT-100 someday), and yes, this set is definitely a Westcott.

But my confusion is based on confilicting information found on different parts of the set. The model number on the back panel corresponds as expected to the Westcott model that it is, 21CT7857.

Go to the SAM'S website and type in the Westcott model number 21CT7857. According to the site, the correct Photofact for that model is number is 353-11. So far, so good.

YET, after opening the back cover, I find, handwritten on the high voltage box, "SAMS 358-9." While on the SAM'S site, if you type in that number 358-9, the first corresponding model number that comes up is 21CD7895. Now, according to the info I initially found on Ed Reitan's site, that particular model number corresponds to the Whitby, a Deluxe model, NOT the Super series Westcott. The following applicable model numbers overwhelmingly seem to be for Deluxe models. Way down on the list is generically, CTC-5, among others, but nowhere on that list is the model number for the Wescott.

So we have indications pointing to different models, unless I'm missing something. Why would someone write a SAM'S number for a Deluxe model on a Super chassis? Is there any way I can determine the difference between a Super and Deluxe chassis in a cursory visual inspection? Does the "CTC5D" stamped on the chassis mean anything in particular? Would either SAM'S sheet be applicable for my set?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not all excited that this might be some "rare and desirable" variant on the CTC-5. I am very happy with this set and its performance as a humble Super. :-) I just want to make certain that I will be getting the proper schematic for it, especially in the unlikely event that some undocumented substitution may have been made. My suspicion is increasingly that some repairman who may have serviced this set (too many times?) wrote that number as a quick reference for himself, and that was the closest SAM'S set he had on hand.

If pictures of anything inside the set will help with proper identification. I can post them.

Thanks again everyone for your generosity in sharing info.

John

Steve D. · #11 02-23-2005, 10:59 PM

John,

The CTC-5D stamped on the chassis indicates a Super series chassis. The Super chassis has on the lower back of the chassis 2 pots: A killer threshold control and a vertical centering control.

The Deluxe chassis has 3 pots on the lower part of the chassis: A combo AGC threshold/control, a vertical centering control and at the far right,
a matrix balance control.

I don't know why the Sam's Deluxe chassis folder # was written on the inside. The differences between the Super and Deluxe chassis were significant. Especially in the chroma section.

Perhaps you can post a picture of your Westcott in operation.

-Steve

Steve K · #12 02-23-2005, 11:48 PM

John:

Steve is correct on the differences between the super and deluxe chassis. Another quick way to tell what chassis you have is to look at the area of the chassis just beneath the picture tube socket. The deluxe chassis has a vertical circuit board with three 10 watt resistors on it.

The Super chassis had the codes: CTC5,CTC5A,CTC5B,CTC5C,CTC5D and CTC5E, the Deluxe chassis are the CTC5N,CTC5P,CTC5R,CTC5T,CTC5U,CTC5W,CTC5AA, and CTC5BB.

Steve K

bgadow · #13 02-24-2005, 09:44 PM

I have a Whitby (deluxe) and the sams, 358-9. The Whitby is on the cover.

My vote is that the repairman had #358 and that was "good enough" for what he was doing. Maybe he never looked to see if there was another file.

Either way, a great set. Finnicky but those boys at RCA knew what they were doing.

Indian Head · #14 02-24-2005, 10:31 PM

Thanks guys.

This is definitely a Super, and I appreciate the help to properly identify it. I agree that some repairman was probably trying to make his job easier with what he had, never knowing the confusion it could possibly cause.

The wealth of information on this board is truly impressive.

We'll try to post a picture of the Westcott in operation this weekend.

John

yagosaga · #15 02-25-2005, 05:30 AM

Hi folks, I have created a web page for the ctc-5. Yet it is not linked with the others. The original web page is in German, but I translated it into English. Please can you visit this page and give me feedback, comments and corrections for my English is not very well.

http://bs.cyty.com/menschen/e-etzold...rca/ctc5_e.htm

The German page should only contain very general information but I wish to extend the content of the English page and feed it with all the information I can get. All comments are wellcome. Corrections of the English text (grammar, word) please PM. A link to AK is obligatorily of course.