RCA Dimensia
 

Hi, I Seen This RCA Dimensia at a local thrift store does anyone know anything about these sets? It looked Hi end for the time did not test it out though if it's anything special I wouldn't mind going back and picking it up I'm not really into 80's or 90's sets but would not mind having one. At another thrift store there was a knob tuned color Sanyo only had antenna leads no coaxial jack so I'm guessing maybe late 70's or early 80's probably 19in screen did not test it forgot to take a pic of the Sanyo unfortunately :sigh:

Looks too new to be the real Dimensia that connected to all the external components. I *think* they used the name a few years after they discontinued the interconnecting system. It looks like it is new enough to be a Thomson with the SETUP-AUDIO-VIDEO buttons on the front panel.

That tube looks almost flat!

Thanks for the reply! And I really did not get a good look at the buttons on the front I really should have spent more time to look it over, the screen is curved but for whatever reason the picture makes it look flat although it's a lot flatter than some CRTs so I'm guessing your right. it looked to be in good condition at least! I may make a trip back there tommrow although its 40 minutes away from me so I really don't know if it's worth it for a newer set :scratch2: Are these good sets still even if it is newer or is it something I should avoid?

They are some of the "better" RCA sets. I have the service seminar info on that set, along with the other components. RCA and others made component systems in response to Sony and other component system successes.

I have a 20" Sony component tv, with no internal speakers. It's my daily watcher.

Cheers

The Colortrak 2000's were pretty much Dimensia's from what I've read. I was lucky enough to own two Thomson ones from 1991, and they worked beautifully. Very sharp focus, very good picture tubes.

I'd say if it's cheap enough its worth picking up.

The last statement is very true! These sets are getting fewer and farther between. :sigh:

Get the chassis number starts CTC### its the only
way to tell. Its on the back. I think? its the chassis
just before the CTC175 fiasco abt 1990. Could also be
a CTC169 that IMHO was RCA's best ever.
If its from the 2000's its probably a trash Chinese
built set.

73 Zeno

...

Thanks everyone :) so I guess it sounds like it's definitely worth going back and taking a look at it I think it was $7 so that's probably not too bad. Also does this set have built in speakers? I really only have room for one "newer" set I'm saving the space I have for more vintage sets but like I said before I don't mind one 80's or 90's set I'm just stuck between this or a Sony Trinitron as my aunt had one of those we always used to play Nintendo 64 on there Trinitron even back then at 6 years old I remember it had a really sharp picture. :scratch2:

In early 1990 I purchased RCA's first full stereo TV. This was a Dimensia table model. I also purchased several of the Dimensia components. The TV is long gone but I still have some of the components. The jack panel was extensive and the remote was huge. Posting the jack panel diagram from the original owner's manual which I kept. The RCA you saw is a later later model.
As an aside, RCA discontinued the "Dimensia" name after many associated it with the disease common among seniors.

-Steve D.

Positive it has built in speakers.

If its a CTC140 I would grab it as long as it has a strong jug.
We didnt see many of them.
As far as CTC140 vs Sony I prefer the RCA. Sony pictures are
to me harsh, the RCA has a smoother & more natural pix. Sharpness
the same. All assuming perfect sets.
It probably has built in SPKR's but odds are so so ones. I have a
$4K ham radio that has a crap speaker no better than in a $5
AM only radio. Spend that kinda $$ you can get the $200 matching
SPKR !

73 Zeno:smoke:

It Works!!!
 

Well I'm super happy I made the drive back there! Got there and pulled out the TV only to find out it did not have a power cord luckily its the same kind as a desktop PC uses and I found one on the shelf! The staff was more than happy to help they even got me a extension cord so I could plug it in and not have to carry it halfway across the store to a outlet it came right up really bright snow and on screen display! So I paid the $7.99 for the tv and they helped me load it in my SUV come to find out it must be a very low hours set just looking through the air vents in the back there is hardly any dust and the CRT I would say is like new and only at half brightness and contrast it's VERY bright and clear. Also has great sound from what I can see from the side it has a 3 or 4in midrange with a separate tweeter. Over all very happy with it it works flawlessly only downside is apparently a universal remote is not compatible with it ( at least my directv remote) so I'll have to look into getting a original one. The pics are off ch. 11 it's picking up my VHF modulator with a antenna.

!
 

More pics!

More pics #2

Looks like you lucked out.

I kinda miss my Colortrak 2000 now.

I saw the original pic on FB. Love the set. Great catch.

Nice! And for about 8 bucks how could you go wrong. I miss having a video out on my current tv. Your's has it. and it comes in handy. A daily watcher for sure.
Posting several RCA 1987 catalog photos about your TV. and a photo of what you could have surrounded your Dimensia with if you had really big bucks.
Also just found this remote on e-bay that should operate your set: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-RCA...YAAOSwd0BV7VuW


-Steve D.

Looks like it has a great picture.

Nice, I think, to save it as among the very last products of the "old" RCA, and the top of their line to boot.

GE owned RCA by that point and I think the year was 1988 when GE sold the RCA/GE line to Thomson. I'm pretty sure your set is a CTC140.

:)
 

Thanks for all the info! And the funny thing is when I went in to that thrift store the first trip I was not really even looking for any sets but I always "have" to look at them and this caught my eye as I never seen one like this before I'm glad I did this is the perfect set being Im only going to have one "newer" TV in my collection atleast it's somewhat rare definitely more than a Trinitron would be. I really think the biggest thing I'm surprised by is the great picture it puts out and speakers in this thing they sound great and have a far amount of bass and really good hi's I wonder in a way if they were trying to copy bose being the mid range is somewhat curved to the side and the tweeter is above it also curved farther back some what like a tunnel effect :scratch2:

worked on many of those. Still have parts for them. One of the biggest problems was solder connections around the IF chip, coils in the IF sections, solder connections at the small power supply board diodes, and the driver to horizontal driver. I am still using one of them for a recording monitor. I sold about 6 to 8 complete systems. The weak link was the CD player. Instructing older folks how to use the system was a common task.

Yes, one of the last true RCA chassis.

Remember, GE did NO TV engineering after they closed the Portsmouth Plant and the PC/PM line of sets. All of the TV's coming from the new GE/RCA were Indianapolis/Bloomington products. Same Engineers and Service Seminar folks from RCA then - even the RCA Communicator (TV products) newsletter continued, again from Indiana. It stopped in 1989-ish - that's the last issue Dad had in his stash.

Only after GE sold RCA to Thomson did the focus shift to other (worse) designs.

You know, I know Thomson built RCA's took a nosedive in quality, but I don't think they were that bad overall.

Case in point my 1991 ColorTrak 2000 lasted over 20 years in the hands of various owners before I accidentally broke it. I've also found various Thomson built RCA sets from the 90's that still work, or have minor problems. The CRT's are generally still strong. The only Thomson built RCA I found with a weak CRT was an XL-100 from 1988.

I thought the only real issue the Thomson sets had were the solder joints in that on board tuner they used.

Today, I was a given a 19"/20" RCA-branded CTC146 from the early '90's. It still works; but, the CRT is a little tired. I'm going to adjust the G2 and focus controls and likely give it to the flea market to do with as they please. Frankly, I'm not in the mood to sit on it for the next six months to get $10 for it (and, have me getting more and more pissed off because I can't get $10 for a color TV). The owner of the flea market says he can still move them; so, best for me to let him deal with it. BTW, I think the CTC146 was the last 19" chassis before the CTC175 with the integrated tuner that had issues was introduced. I think the CTC146 was around from about 1987 until '92. There was also a CTC136 that was used in some 19" sets. In fact, my current set is a 19" GE CTC136 from 1989 and I recently gave away a 19" knob-tuned CTC136 from 1987. That's the chassis with the separate MTT tuner module that's also prone to bad solder connections. There was also a CTC130 that was used in lower-to-midline 25" sets from the mid-to-late '80's and I've seen a few higher end 20" sets that used the CTC130 chassis.

If it weren't for those CTC-175-187 sets and the later M134C sets, Dad would have folded right up. They paid a lot of bills.

Coming in a close second were the cheaper Asian sets with either bad flys, bad vertical chips, or bad caps.

Sonys with regulator problems (mX0841/2sc4834's) also made us some money...

IMHO true. The CTC175,6 & 7 CTC185,6 & 7 were average
reliability sets. If it wasnt for the connections & the RF
posts breaking off not may would have failed. Mostly
PS, Hoz & pin problems. Pix wise they were quite good & they
came anywhere from stripped down tuner only to higher end.
And you gotta remember other brands suffered from intermitant
tuners, Sony & MGA for starters. Sony used a combo tuner / IF
that was unrepairable & went from abt $60 up. Many failed & even
Sony couldnt tell us where the connections were. ( this is NOT
the int RF post problem).
Bottom line is cold joints happen to everything & kept us
employed. Even spots like the hoz drive that has a history were
almost never dealt with at the factory level.

73 Zeno:smoke:

Holy crap.

I just noticed that TV has SCART. I would KILL to have a TV with a SCART plug.

:)
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLf1CsxHqFs Here's a video of it the contrast and brightness are set at less then half way and it's still very bright so it definitely has a good CRT! sorry for having the sound turned down it was late at night. Also if your near the Buffalo,NY area your more then welcome to take it if you want it, actually really any collector is welcome to it if they want it :) I do like the set but i'm not attached to it like I am with my 50's and 60's Vintage sets.

Would you be willing to ship. I can pay for shipping to 71913.

I'd keep it just because of its capabilities.

Yeah, your probably better off keeping it. I really have no use for a newer set like that other than to just gather dust. Never really liked that name either. Capabilities can't be much more than the average set. My Digital System 3 has a ton more connections. I did have a console set about 15 years ago made by rca that had a ton of connections. That would be something I might be interested again.

Yah I plan to :) that's why I only said to collectors in my area but not alot of people seem to collect 80's sets yet so if there was someone around me that did I would be ok with letting them have it. But for now it will stay with me tell someone maybe does start a collection of "80's" sets near me and wants it, Or it starts haveing issues or gives up the ghost although I would probably at least try and fix it, hopefully I won't have to worry about that any time soon though as it seems to be working good! :yes:

This TV is arguably the last real high end USA engineered RCA TV ever. A really elegant set and a superb picture. Someone needs to rescue this set.

It's definitely safe for now don't worry and I agree it makes a outstanding picture :) You could say I'm just holding it for the right collector to come along even if it takes 10 years it's worth keeping around for sure!

Hi all-I have posted before regarding my RCA Colortrak 2000. I have two of them, but one made in June 1988 after GE sold to Thompson, has the most connections , with a SCART. Reading this thread, I noticed Gunslinger(fyi, I had a friend whose name is Ensminger, and we called him Gunslinger in our pre/post teens years, lol)...mentioned this: "One of the biggest problems was solder connections around the IF chip, coils in the IF sections, solder connections at the small power supply board diodes, and the driver to horizontal driver."

My June 1988 RCA (and I haven't taken it apart to get the CTC number, sorry) will intermittently, occasionally, just shut off for a couple seconds and then come back on. I know it's a solder connection, or I think that's what it is. My knowledge of tv is nearly nil, but I have some exposure to electronics being that I built a Heathkit walkie -talkie at age 13. Not a tv, but still - I am not shy to dig in and solder something. With high voltages and knowing a little about death is near, unless one discharges volts waiting to kill you, I'm still reluctant to open it up and look at a board that may have a weak solder joint, which I'm capable of repairing. Anyways - I really like these RCA Colortrak 2000. I had a TOL Fisher in 1987, which is long gone, and these are every bit as good in sound and picture.

Here's a link to my sets: https://www.flickr.com/photos/philbarry2/albums

OS X - you did well. I bought mine for about $10 at a thrift (the one with the SCART connection) and it has a pincussion problem, along with the occasional 2-second shutoff and on again. Otherwise, sound and picture remain very good to excellent. I have two external speakers hooked up to that Thompson June 1988 Colortrak 2000 and it sounds absolutely amazing. Separation of sound is so impressive. I don't collect tv's, but I have one other Zenith that has digital channel (manual) input on a panel. But the RCA's have stolen the show, even though Zeniths were always what my dad bought(great sets). Enjoyed reading this thread - thanks for the info, Gunslinger. Maybe I'll peek inside one day and get the CTC number and look at the boards for weak solder joints. I'm wondering if the pincussion effect might be adjustable or became that way due to part age.

CRT HV won't kill you unless you have a heart condition, or decide to grab it with the set on (that may not even be enough to kill you). It is CURRENT (30mA IIRC) not voltage that kills (IIRC the average CRT HV supply is meant to produce a few uA to 1 mA). A good static zap from shuffling across the carpet and touching a doorknob may have more voltage and a large fraction of the charge stored in a CRT (with the set off).

Correct, Electronic M. :-) I was thinking the higher voltage has the potential to kill since V=IR and the body is typical constant resistance, so is it amps or voltage, they're both tied together. And if the tv tube has 20-20K voltage, there's potential for damage. My heart is good, but I would discharge that tv tube before testing my heart. Thanks for the note.