Rare Hallicrafters CTC4 clone resurrected from the dead.
 

Several years ago Bryan Tennyson discovered what was thought to be a CTC4 Director set. It was found in a leaky shed in Meridian Mississippi. According to what Bryan told me it had been sitting in this wet shed deteriorating for more than 30 years. It was offered to me for the cost of shipping it to Milwaukee. When I received the set, Ed Reitan informed me that it was a very rare Hallicrafters CTC4 clone and that it was only the second one known to exist.

The set was in the worst state of deterioration I have ever seen. It was literally falling apart and disintegrating. But due to the rarity of the set, the massive amount of work needed to restore this set, was warranted.

I have nicknamed this set the "Lazerus" Hallicrafter because it has literally been resurrected from the dead.

Because of the immense amount of work it took to restore this set, the story of it's restoration is far too voluminous to present in any forum such as VK. The entire story is told on my web site and can be accessed via this link.

http://antiquetvguy.com/Web%20Pages/...-21CK801M.html

There are currently 49 full resolution photos posted on my web site, with still more to come. I hope you will find the story of the restoration of this set enjoyable, entertaining and enlightening.

I will leave you with a teaser of just two photographs to peak your interest. A before photo of the set in the condition I received it, and an after photo of the completely restored set.

OOOhhh......me likey!

:banana::banana:

Wow. Just "Wow". (grin)

Wow! What a beauty and I enjoyed your write up!

Hats off to you! That is the most intricate, and significant restoration (and might I say ACCURATE), that I've ever seen, and I've been a TV collector and historian for over 30 years. I can't wait to hear Ed's praises on this too! I'm sure he's very impressed with that accuracy. I had a "new cabinet" made once for a GE 15" color set 15CL100, and it was somewhat close to correct, but NOT a true rebuild of the exact cabinet. I can't even imagine the dedication it would take to do something that big....

Charles

Very nice work, Bob

An inspiring tale. Crumbled cabinet, fire, mud daubers -- something for everyone!

In these basket-case stories, it's alway interesting how many components can be salvaged. Some people might have taken one look at that chassis and left it for dead. You replaced many things, but a number of the original components survived and are still working well.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

Wao, this is just too much. It's the only TV resto i've ever read that rises to the lump-in-throat, tear of eye that's reserved for a vintage aircraft's or steam locomotive's restoration and remaiden.

:rockon:

Hey I have another TV in that condition if you want it :). Fresh out of a leaky basement, back rotted off, all that good stuff. I don't think it's rare though.

Seriously, though, nice work.

now this is the definitive way to restore something.amazing account of the process and a must read for us all.once again,the master at his craft!

That is one nice nut......

Hello Bob!

Very impressive work, especially the woodwork. I have visited almost your whole website this afternoon :thmbsp:

What was the condition of the mains and the flyback transformer when you started restoring the set?

Greetings Josef

Extraordinary!! :yes: Great info about the restoration on your website, too.
Thanks for sharing!
Kevin

That must have been pretty close to the "Tail-End" of Hallicrafters' TV exploits...They, and National, another "Old Line" radio company, got in on the post-war TV boom...National didn't fare too well, but Hallicrafters kept it going into the early color era.

Flyback is a replacement, and works very well and it runs nice and cool. I believe the original flyback design was not very good because many CTC4 chassis have replacement flybacks.

The power transformer is likely a replacement also. The positioning of the lead wires from the transformer do not look the way they would look if it was a factory original transformer. Power transformer was very rusty, but I cleaned off all the rust and repainted it with black enamel.

Happy that you enjoyed my web site which is still a work in progress.

Thanks Phill,
You are correct. Even a basket case can be made to function again if you have the patients and desire to address all the issues one at a time. It also helps to have a diverse set of skills and friends that can help you when there is something you need to farm out. IE: the creation of a replica back on a CNC router table, or somebody in the electroplating business. My skill level in electronics is at best hobbiest level. Many of the guys here are certainly light years ahead of me when it comes to electronic theory, but even a guy like myself, can get buy with the help of the rest of the community, for which I am humbly greatful.

A heartfelt thank you for all the kind comments from all of you. It is humbling to say the least when you get compliments from people who understand this area of electronics so much better than I do. But the neet thing is that the process of understanding this stuff is an evolutionary process. And little by little I pick something up from you guys that helps me through the more difficult issues. The great part about this community of tv nuts is that we are helping to pass along our skill set to others.

Thanks and thanks again!!!:thmbsp:

Wow Bob, that is just amazing work, even the inside looks factory original!

You basically built a cabinet from scratch!
Have you asked Ed Reitan what number is stamped into his cabinet (where the 2 is on yours) If you have the number two set made it's unlikely there were many produced.

The photos speak for themselves. What a set!!

Ya Done Good !!

You should be very proud of your work, Bob! That Halli received the best of care in your ER!

Even the Hallicrafters book don't show the 21" TV... You know more than chuck Dachis !

Hats of to you BOB nice work.

Amazing,just amazing...congratulations!!

Kudo`s # 24 amazing project.

Wow. Just wow. :)

How's the alignment holding up? I should probably go through it again at some point, that first go around was kinda weird. Picture looks pretty good for now though, I'm impressed!

Dead today, alive again tonight.
 

I wanted to check the HV setting this morning. And while adjusting the HV control (burried above the power transformer) the raster suddenly went dead. Sound but no picture. I fiddled and fiddled with no luck finding the problem.. So....disconnect everything, unbolt the chassis, and drag the chassis downstairs to the basement lab.

IN the process of trying to find the no-raster problem I discovered that all my B+ voltages were running to high. And upon investigation, I discovered that I screwed up. Not very unusual, I screw up all the time.:yes:

I found that I have the B+ dropping resister wired improperly. I will fix that tomorrow. So I put the input AC on my variac and brought the line voltage down to 100vac which is now giving me the correct B+ So then I figured that with the B+ at 350 where it belongs I should reset the HV pot again. In so doing my hand bumped the end of the delay line and VIOLA I had my video back. There was a bad solder joint where the delay line lead is soldered to the terminal strip. Somebody had just tack soldered the lead on the terminal lug and the lead was never hooked through the hole in the lug.

So tomorrow I will address the issue with the B+ dropping resistor and put the chassis back in the cabinet and hopefully, I will be done for good this time.

Wow, Bob. That restoration about tops the cake. I'm very humbled by your level of dedication, patients, and attention to detail. :yes:

Hallicrafters is a mysterious company. I have had several radios (home radios; not ham sets), which have non-existent model numbers in any Hallicrafters lit. Someplace I also have a Hallicrafters 9" color TV with built-in VCR; made in the 90s or so. It's really a Funai, but I kept it from the trash due to the badge.

Charles

Absolutely first class work. Outstanding. Don

Absolutely fabulous work, Bob! I'm proud to call you a fellow Wisconsinite!

-Clark

Wow! That is perhaps the most impressive level of craftsmanship I've ever seen go into a TV restoration.

Seeing the before picture it is amazing that there was enough left to make back into a complete TV set (even with all the newly fabricated parts).

I'm also surprised that the original necked CRT didn't have the phosphor blown off; how do you think that would come to be?

Could have been cracked to begin with, then fallen off. That's the same way rebuilders do it- crack the glass, then twist off the gun. We just did a 15GP22 that way at Bob's house not long ago, it's unnerving but works just fine. Turns out the gun structure diffuses the incoming air, so the phosphor isn't in any danger.

Bob's Latest CT4
 

Another "Bob-Restore" that continues to amaze us all! Your previous 21ct55 was hard to beat but this one was much more challenging. So what's next? Speaking of 21CT55s, mine needs a reproduction pencil-box and control door. Think you can fab this from scratch? If so, send me your bid......just kidding. Tom

Now thats what I call a 'ground up' restoration! :yes: Fantastic transformation Bob, I take my hat off, a real credit to you. :)
Cheers
Glen

It's a 21AXP, it could have been down to air before it got necked.

Bob, I never dreamed this set could be saved and that is the most AMAZING restoration I've ever seen on any piece of electronics.

Hallicrafters RCA CTC-4 Clone
 

Unbelievably awesome, Bob!! You have every right to be proud of this!!!

Looks great!