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Sorry I don't have any first hand knowledge of the RCA CT100 history. I do remember that the CT100 was available in 1953. Poor sales were likey the result of limited color programming and an overly complex design. Philco's Color TV development started well before the CT100 was available so I doubt the engineers learned much.
Philco bought loads of competitive TVs for evaulation and to check for patent infringements. There were ongoing patent conflicts over color in the early 50s between Philco and RCA. You will note some subtle circuit similarities between the RCA and the original 1956 Philco TV123. That was many years before RCA was supplying chassis to everyone else.
Philco was involved in the NTSC standards setting and well along the way with the single gun color (Apple) tube. When Ford took control, it was decided not to make the investment to finish the R&D and put it into production so the technology was sold to Sony.
I recall the Philadelphia RCA distributor had a promotion sometime in 1955-56 providing a free CT100 to service dealers who bought a load (500-1000) of receiving tubes. It put a lot of color sets out and gave dealers some experience. It also cleared out the warehouse to make room for the 21 inch CT660 series.
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