They're not that scarce...
 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=110696395126

Not my auction, not my win...

A flyback for a CTC-16X series chassis goes for that much? Just how common is the CTC-16X? Perhaps the rarity is in the fact that Thordarson never made a replacement?

I've got a CTC-16 that uses the 113392 flyback, and I paid only 8 bucks for a new one a year ago. :D

Makes you wonder where this hobby is going....


Cheers,

Yes they are.

The fact that no one posted that auction here on VK yet everyone who bid on it is a regular says everything.

I dont post listings of items I plan on acquiring.....

So the bidders are among us?? No real surprise, but how do you tell with all of the munged id's? Were you the seller, or do you have some inside info?

I had it on my watch list, as I have a 115843 NIB that I'm keeping. Now I have a value....

Cheers,

I recognize the feedback numbers. Not affiliated with it in any way.

How may working flyback eating 16s do you think are in the United States? 20-40? if that many? And a new old stock factory fly comes along of course its going to get play. I bet the aftermarket FLY replacement wouldnt get half that.

Try finding one for an earlier chassis, I've been looking for a spare for the CTC-7 for 2 years now...

There was a open box, but supposedly new, FLY 283 that replaces the fly in the CTC7 on fleabay last year that took one bid at 24.99. I presume someone here got it? Seller was in New Jersey, and had a "stinky" GC alignment tool kit I picked up for 31 bucks.

I have an eBay saved search for "Thordarson FLY*" that alerts me. A google alert is another way I snag stuff on fleabay, particularly the B-I-N stuff, as google is faster than eBay at reporting new auctions. It also got me some window glass for my old Honda Civic, listed on fleabay, but didn't hit until 2 days later.

Google can be a Godsend - I've got a book on Google hacks that helps in finding stuff - service lit, photos, obscure parts, and other goodies. I love the "site:" "inurl:" "filetype:" and "Index of/" features in the search. I just wish google had a wildcard search, as it would help in my job immensely.

Heck, it's sometimes easier to find a VK post through google than through the VK search.

Cheers,

Actually, it was around Thanksgiving, 2009. I found my PayPal receipt for the GC Alignment Kit dated the 26th of November, 2009.

Cheers,

Though I am wrong more than I like to admit, I find it hard to believe Thoardarson didn't make a FLY for the 16. Changed a lot of flys on 16 and can't believe all of them were RCA made. BTW, the general consensus of Thoardarson was the were junk in color TV, way to light weight. Phil

I bought a NOS RCA Fly for a CTC 7 on eBay a couple years ago, paid like $50 for it BIN. I figured I better snap it up at that price.

Yes they did, 278.
Are you sure about them being weak? Everything I have read says they were superior to factory RCA.

I leave my HV cages open for the most part now so they run cool. I dont sit close enough to worry about x rays and I dont smoke or have dirty air that will cause a contamination issue. I also am very check cathode current and lower the line voltage to reduce heat.

Thordarson made flys for the 16, and they were superior to RCA. RCA's weak point were always the flybacks, from day 1. They used that same crappy design from the 16 thru the 40. It was the coating they used. If it got the least bit hot, it would start melting. Thordarson used a heavy black rubber coating that did not melt. Back in my service call days (late 70's early 80's) our shop would be humming with flyback replacements, ESPECIALLY in the summer. Not everyone had AC (hard to imagine now) and these sets were daily watchers. Once the Nebraska heat and humidity came up, that was it. I think the repair back then ran $150.00 (which included labor) IIRC the flyback, 6JE6,6DW4,6BK4,3A3,2AV2. We never let the set out of the shop with the original high-voltage sweep tubes. If I never see another CTC-38 again, it will be too soon. LOL!

My experience on Thoardarsons were from the late 60 & early 70s. I do recall hearing their quality was much improved later on. Believe me, the ones I used were as thin as Twiggy.

Thordarson, during it's merge with both Halldorson and Meissner, often repackaged the other's flys and yokes, placing a gold or green part number label on them to denote they didn't produce the part. Once the merge was complete, and all stock depleted, Thordarson parts (pink/red label) were 100% theirs, and I've never seen one go bad. The only 'bad" ones I've seen were new ones with broken ferrites - shipping casualties.

We had a CTC38 that cherried the 6JE6 - it got the tube so hot it sucked in the side, but the flyback (a Thordarson Fly) was good, proven after sweep tube replacements - as mentioned earlier - the oscillator, damper, output and HV rectifier, and a retouch of the efficiency coil.

Triad D-310's (CTC39 chassis) were also rock solid. We preferred them based solely on price, about 6 bucks cheaper in the late 70's/early 80s than a FLY312. RCA 119834's changed drawing numbers somewhere in the 70s, but the design was still the humidity-will-surely-kill-it design from the early 60s. Thordarson and Triad encapsulated their flybacks in RTV or epoxy, and they tended to run a touch warmer than the RCA flys because of this, but they held up just fine. My used-but-good FLY312 came from a gunshot set (we recovered the .32 slug from the CRT), and I got the chassis and convergence board. Now to find a set....CL here is full of BPC "vintage" sets.


Cheers,

They run to hot and the wax leaks out then the moisture gets in and they arc??

Humidity or the combination of heat/humidity is a failure mode for the RCA originals, but so is running with too much Horizontal Output tube current. A combination of both is probably the most common for those we saw - most of which failed in the summer, with the set running 16 hours a day as a babysitter for the kids. We'd get comments on the smell and the amount of smoke.

With our test jig (a old RCA metal cabinet 22" set), we'd pull the chassis, swap the fly, tubes, and give the HV cup a good cleaning. After an adjustment of the horizontal efficiency coil and a couple hours run time, it was back to the customer's house where we cleaned the CRT anode, adjusted the HV, and set focus and check the convergence. The repairs ran just over 150 bucks, with the bulk of the cost being tubes and the fly. Back then, it was flat $24.50 color labor, and no service call charge if the chassis was pulled. We'd do this several times a month. I hated it when Maganvox sets ate flybacks - no jig, so the heavy set got pulled, and I was the proverbial 98 pound weakling back then....

Cheers,

How about Zenith? They seem to have really robust flybacks but super hard to troubleshoot HV problems. The cages are vented on Zenith and the tube isnt stuck in the top of the fly.

Zeniths were solid, I remember replacing only one. It had some ceramic disk caps soldered to the flyback terminals that had shorted, burning a hole in the phenolic board along the side of the fly, and taking out a thin wire coming from the fly. Tube Zenith sets had HV regulator problems, vertical problems, and convergence assemblies that would burn. That and the occasional oddball video problem (negative, ghosting, or lack of contrast) sums it up.

Doug (drh4683) can tell you more about Zenith color sets than I ever could - I was never a "dog" tech when it came to Zeniths, as Dad had his cadre of fellow techs he would consult. It was quite a cooperative spirit in the TV repair business, no competetion, because there was always TOO MUCH work to go around. I remember thinking (as a teenager) that Dad shouldn't help these other shops, as they were the competition. Dad set me straight, pointing out all the help he received - loaner service literature, loaner chassis' for parts, repair tips, and even troubleshooting assistance for no more than a thanks, or perhaps a cup of coffee. About the only taboo was bad-mouthing the other shops, as the "fellowship" was tight. If a shop failed, it was because the owner invested in too much new equipment, or hired incompetent or arrogant techs. Lots and lots of good guys in the business back then - honest, giving, and funny. I learned a lot about electronics and even more about life from those characters, and they are still dear friends, even into their 70s.

Cheers,

Here is a picture of a Thordarson 278 flyback. My brother in law found this poor roundie in the trash a couple days ago. The chassis looks like it could be saved but the cabinet is rusted and the crt went to air. This is the first time I have seen a replacement fly for this chassis. The other two 16's I have in the collection have the original rca flybacks and they are working fine.
Ed

Metal cabinet sets are semi-rare. In your shoes I'd try sand blasting the rust off, and repainting the cabinet. It may take a while, but replacement CRTs can be obtained. Heck I even have a spare round color CRT.

Sets like that are worth saveing even if it takes some elbow grease.

Tom C.

I agree, I would try and save it. Does the crt look like it has been abused or just leaked? Im curious because I see too many 21s going to air and wonder where they are leaking.

Been looking for a reason to save this set so semi-rare is good enough..Thank you..This set was living in a bar. Not only is it rusted but also there is a lot of cigarette smoke damage. { That is why it is still in the car } My friends are into old cars so I will check and see if one of them has a sand blaster. The base on the CRT was loose but I do not see any damage to the neck. Over the years I have seen many round 21" CRT'S go to air. A guess is the nipple at the end of the neck gives out and the air leaks in through there. No problem with finding a good CRT. There are three of them in the closet in the other room. Normal people put clothes in the closet but not me. :yes:
Ed

I remember having an RCA Flyback of the upsidedown 3A3 era go up in smoke while the chassis was on my bench for an audio problem. Much to my surprise, the customer was okay with the whole saga.
I used a lot of aftermarket flybacks and I don't have any memory of even one failing later on.
RCA did not have an exclusive franchise for flyback meltdown.

I guess they MUST be scarce now... I wouldn't have thought it would bring more than $10. I used to have boxes of replacement FBTs, and couldn't sell them at all. I wound up selling the whole lot (100+) for about $60 on eBay, and it included CTC-4, Motorola 19" CBS-tube, and many RCA roundie ones. That was only a few years ago too. The were too heavy to ship, so I met the buyer 1/2 way and he paid for gas.

Charles

I remember the days of constantly cleaning the cigarette dust out of the electronics when they still allowed smoking in clubs out here. NASTY! Let it bake in the hot car then get in there and hot box it. I cant believe anyone still smokes, it just baffles me. Cell phones seem to be the preferred modern addictive carcinogenic choice.

That is one set that would get a very good cleaning before it came in the house. Almost as bad as roaches.

Still worth saving though.

Ya know, there's a guy looking for one of those on the ETF classifieds. It's been up since 2010.


"WANTED - Horiz output transfromer for a Motorola 19CT1. THANKS. Chip, 304 268 7754, thomaschip1 at aol dot com (10/21/10)"

Chip is a member here, btw.