RCA CTC-7 Found! - Info Needed...
 

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to this forum but I think I've brought a neat find that I'd like to share in hopes of getting some information back! I was lucky enough to stumble upon an RCA 21-CD-8865U "Anderson" with a CTC-7D chassis at a local estate this week. The elderly couple had a collection of DVD's larger than most people could hope to amass in a lifetime. Obviously they got hooked on television early with this color RCA.

http://people.msoe.edu/~tillichn/ctc/IMG_2973.JPG

Let me start off by saying that I know little about vintage TV's but I've been collecting antique radios since 1996. I've been meaning to get a vintage TV up and running before '09 and when I saw this one was an early color set, I couldn't resist!

http://people.msoe.edu/~tillichn/ctc/IMG_2975.JPG

After looking over the set, I've found some good and some bad.

The good: besides one ding in the front, the cabinet is in pretty good shape. Also, the tube, which is a 21CYP22A LF12312 looks very clean with no noticeable irregularities in the phosphors. Being that the neck is stamped with the RCA Colorama logo I wonder if it was replaced at one time. Furthermore, the chassis is very clean and besides some dust it doesn't look like it's ever seen any repairs. The serial is B8160291 and the chassis is stamped with CTC7D, 7451L1, RVP 274.

Now for the bad: someone clipped another fuse over the original fuse on the chassis, which is blown. To make matters worse, there are some drips of wax coming out of the top of the power transformer. While I haven't cleaned up the chassis or checked any of the tubes, I'm hoping that this problem is nothing more than some short and bad tubes... which is probably what sent this set into the basement in the first place. The flyback looks okay and I see no other damage... but the sky is the limit with TV problems... hence why I rarely work on them.

Which brings me to the part where I ask for some help: when exactly was this set made and how can I go about finding schematics? I see someone posted CTC-7 schematic downloads on this forum some years back but the link is now dead. Does anybody have a copy they could send me? Without schematics I think I am pretty much lost. Thanks in advance!

Great find!

Shame someone jumped the fuse. You'll want to look for a sams photofact. These pretty much give all of the service information necessary to work on them.

You can pull the leads of the power transformer and check the windings with a high resolution ohm meter to make sure the transformer is still alive. If not, there is probably someone here with a parts chassis that can help you. Hell, if I can get a power tranny for a 1963 packard bell roundie, the ctc-7 shouldn't be too hard to get :D

At minimum you should replace all of the main power supply electrolytic capacitors before even attempting to operate the set. A shorted cap would have caused the main fuse to blow in the first place. Also pull the chassis and remove the high voltage cage (big tall metal cage with holes in it) and look at the condition of the flyback transformer. If you see a big puddle of wax, chances are its a gonner.

The colorama is a rebuilt tube. Colorama was RCA's designation for a rebuilt tube, Hi-lite was for a brand new tube. You might want to check the CRT emission too to make sure its still usable.

If you're in the southern california area, particularly San diego county I would be glad to help you with the set. The more of these we can preserve and restore now, the better

Hi, welcome to AK.
I have that exact same model, "Mr Anderson" as I call mine. it's a 1958 model.

Yours is considerably cleaner than mine!

Mine drips wax from the transformer also but the transformer works fine so I think it's just the nature of the beast, the wax is soft and it's on it's side hence it drips after 50 years.

Homina ! Homina ! Homina !

Check your Private Messages, I sent you a link to the service manual.

Eric, thanks for the schematic. Err... actually 50 page service manual - RCA definitely wasn't leaving techs in the dark on these sets!

Thanks Again!

P.S. Filter caps will definitely be in order before power-up. Hopefully I can check tube emissions on my Eico tube tester... it has the TV socket extension but I don't recall too many tubes being in the manual, especially color tubes. I'll be heading home from college next weekend so I will grab my tube tester and update in a week.

WOW!! Lucky enough to find the deluxe chassis set, enjoy the beautiful technicolor picture on that thing when she's all ready to go. And also, welcome to the forum and good luck with that gorgeous set!!

Do you have the screw-in legs that it should be resting on?

Dave A

Hush, dammitt ! I was fixin' to concoct a cock'n'bull story about how there was Absolutely No Way It Could Ever Work w/o the legs, & try to big-deal him into sending it to me... Curses, Foiled Again !! (grin)

Sandy,

I did this query only in the memory of my sainted grandmother Gertrude who was given the same set for Christmas that year by my dad and siblings.

I spent many hours up close to this set as an 8 year old with my feet under the set gathering x-rays similar to the shoe fitting viewer at my Johnson Shoes dealer that my mom brought me to trying to kill me.

Sorry for your conniving loss, but the legs live on for the sake of history and for my early interest in color tv. Still going 50 years later.

Grinning too,

Dave A

Either way that set is a FABULOUS candidate for restoration! Great find, good luck with on your newfound journey...

No. They weren't on or anywhere around the set when I picked it up. I didn't know it originally had legs until I spotted the sockets in my rear view mirror. I was going to return to the estate sale the following day but I had classes all afternoon - so no luck there!

I suppose I could turn some new legs on the lathe if I feel ambitious enough.

Sandy,

I did this query only in the memory of my sainted grandmother Gertrude who was given the same set for Christmas that year by my dad and siblings.

I spent many hours up close to this set as an 8 year old with my feet under the set gathering x-rays similar to the shoe fitting viewer at my Johnson Shoes dealer that my mom brought me to trying to kill me.

Sorry for your conniving loss, but the legs live on for the sake of history and for my early interest in color tv. Still going 50 years later.

Grinning too,

Dave A[/QUOTE]

That's OK- I've tried the Larcenous/Wheedle 'n' Cajole method on several folks here, trying to wrest treasures away from 'em...Never has worked...They always see right thru me...Guess I'd starve if I ever became a Sneak Thief/Artiste De Conne' for real...Your story sounds better than the one I was gonna lay on him...NOBODY'S stupid enuff to believe a TV wouldn't work unless you had the Legs screwed in...Well, I take that back...I know some folks who ARE that stupid...Unfortunately, none of 'em have 1955 RCA color sets...

A very nice find! A tough TV to start with, maybe, but just look at it like a really high-end radio. That fuse doesn't worry me too much-often they would leave the old one in place and clip the new one on top, to save time. That's assuming the new fuse is the correct rating.

Here's a link, courtesy Ed Reitan's site, to a catalog picture of the "Anderson".

http://www.novia.net/~ereitan/Galler...nderson300.gif

Notice the legs are not very long. These brass tipped legs are available in most Home Depot type stores and can be stained any finish. There is some ventilation through the bottom of the cabinet so you might want to install legs before warming the set up.

Good luck with the restoration.
-Steve D.