Paradise Valley Lodge RCA roundie and fireplace

[old_tv_nut]

This postcard I just purchased shows a room at the Paradise Balley Lodge in Mt/ Pocono, PA.

I am amazed what a good job the photographer did on capturing the TV picture, the fire, and the room lighting with good exposure and color balance. Often postcards have the TV truned on, but the picture all washed out.

Can anyone identify the RCA chassis or model?

Bonus: any idea who is shown on the TV?

[Electronic M]

Looks like a CTC16.

[jr_tech]

I have difficulty telling a CTC16 from a CTC20 without seeing the chassis, so I would guess that it might be either.

jr

[tom franco]

Rca ctc 16ab chassis just worked on 1

[old_tv_nut]

Thanks - do you know what model year that was?

[Pete Deksnis]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

This postcard I just purchased shows a room at the Paradise Balley Lodge in Mt/ Pocono, PA.

I am amazed what a good job the photographer did on capturing the TV picture, the fire, and the room lighting with good exposure and color balance.

Been looking at that picture for 15 minutes. Here's what I say:

(1) The closest flame in the fireplace is three times taller than it is wide. It is also smeared. It takes a time-exposure to capture a flickering flame like that. Also, why is that first flame so oddly shaped? Especially with the shape of the large log there on the floor. Hold that thought.

(2) That great image on the CTC16 is, I believe real. But since the log flame is necessarily time-exposed, there's no way that non-smeared TV picture is also a time exposure.

(3) So, what the heck went on there? Possibly the TV picture was photographed at another time and 'striped' in to the photograph somewhere along the way.

There are a multitude of variations too. The fire was stripped in along with the screen shot. This makes some sense because an 'Open' fireplace is promoted in the text, and so a front-and-center happy flame is necessary. Perhaps also that the screen shot was exposed first with all the lights off. I kind of doubt it though because they would probably have to throw black cloth over the outside windows.

Doubt we'll ever know for certain.

Pete

[old_tv_nut]

Yep, definitely not your typical "one snap and done" postcard. The fact that the color balance is right for the room light (undoubtedly tungsten), the TV screen, and the outside light also argues for multiple shots stripped in. Note the light leaking onto the ceiling from the window is only a bit bluer than the light circles on the ceiling from the lamps.

Hmmm. Wonder if the photog was sophisticated enough to put blue bulbs in the lamps?

Note there is additional light falling on the near bed.

Edit: I also think the TV image is real. There appears to be a reflection to the right of the woman's head of the lamp in the right corner of the room, which argues that the photo was taken complete as you see it (but that doesn't explain why her image isn't blurred by motion).

[old_tv_nut]

Doing a lttle searching on line, Ektachrome with ISO 160 would have been available. This could shoot the TV picture at roughly f/4 to f/5.6 (maybe up to f/8) and 1/8 second to 1/2 second (maybe up to 1 second).

[etype2]

Her image looks blurred to me. The bright spot looks like a reflection from the lamp. The flat surface of the crt gives that kind of reflection. We are looking at a a very low resolution image here.

[Pete Deksnis]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

Note there is additional light falling on the near bed.

I think it's a white pad on the near bed.

I'm having a tough time with that reflection being caused by either lamp. They don't line up in my view. Can somebody call Richard Feynman; maybe he can interpret the angles.

Pete

[old_tv_nut]

My CTC-5 and a table lamp are in similar positions and it has a similar reflection.

[NewVista]

Her hairdo is 1965

[DavGoodlin]

Even if the set were older, it would still need a UHF tuner. The 4 "local" channels from Penobscot Mtn to the west were all UHF and one VHF-12 from Binghamton NY.

Electric utility PP&L was a heavy promoter of electric heat up through the 1970s, hence the baseboard radiator.