no reason to powr up slowing with the HOT in place. you want to do a full power up to make sure the osc starts and the HOT does not overheat.

what was the HOT cathode current before you ended the test?

It was about 150 mA I heard HV crackel then smoke from thermistor area.

Replaced thermistor and lytics. hot cathode current 214mA hv 24 kv,focus voltage 5 kv boost voltage 1100 v. No color yet . I shook the camera picture is much sharper in person.

how does the crt checkout?

fine tuning adj, check color osc tube/burst amp. Make sure those wires on the top of the chroma board are not corroded. could be the Xtal if the osc is runing way off you will not even see the color bars of a out of sync osc.

try and get that cathode current lower if possible. Flybacks are getting harder to come by. My avitar is a 16XL. If everything is working correctly, You should get a nice sharp color pic when done. :-)

I noticed those 2 brown wires had mean green on the ends. I replaced them when I did the lytcs. The leader will show bars (no color though) and a bright white square. Will keep checking out.

if the bars are not moving you can try adj A16 a little bit but keep track to get it back to where you started in case it does not work. you 1/2 turn either way should be enough. If that does not do it, and you have color bars, I would guess the Xtal is bad. I have had several like that. Of course if you have a scope you could just start looking for the proper wave forms on the chroma board.

Replaced the Xtal. I have color. In the wrong places LOL !!
Merry Christmas to all

Back on the RCA. Went through the color alignment on the sams. It didn't do much. Color bars are all wrong.

It kinda looks like one of the demods isn't working.
If you turn the tint control stop to stop, is there a signifigant shift in the color bars?

Turning the tint I can get the red bar (in my last 2 posts red bar should be yellow) to turn blue.

checked v21 pin 5 253v,pin 6 139v, pin 2 104 ohms to ground
v23 is similar in voltage pin 2 is 157 ohms to ground.

Need a break. Knees dont want to work anymore :no:

Is green missing?
Check your 6GU7s and the little red drop caps that drive them. Also remove the chassis and rock the power resistors around the 6GU7s watching for the pins to move on the bottom of the board.
I can almost guarantee there are cracked or weak solders in that area.
I use the same generator, it sounds like your on the right track