Rca Ctc-15

[cork]

Charlie,

How is this for what was going on with the hot flyback--internal arcing short in the winding that goes down in resistance as the thing heats. The power soaked up in the short causes the HV to drop; the shunt requlator in turn tries to stabilize the HV by lowering its current, as you noted. Your mention of the hot spot on HV sort of cinches it. You need an IR non-contact thermometer as well as a non-radioshack VOM. Both Simpson 260's and Triplett 630s use a battery of the 15 to 22 volt size on the hi resistance ranges. They work great for testing all kinds of semiconductors.

Corky

[Charlie]

Hey Cork...

That sounds like a pretty damn good analysis! Yeah that HV regulator cathode current was dropping down gradually as the flyback was heating up gradually. I knew the two had to be related, but wasn't quite sure how. Your theory fits like a glove! Thanks!

Well, have to admit... both of my multimeters are from the Shack. I've had one of them for several years, and the other I got recently. Usually, if i'm in a hurry and need something quick, I'll go there because it's less than three miles away. So far, i've been pleased with these.

I actually do have a Triplett 630 that I got from one of the old WW2 tankers I used to work on. I hardly use it because it already has one crack in the Bakelite case from someone being rough with it. It works great, but I need to buy some more leads for it. Also have a Heathkit IM5228 VTVM, but, it seems I always grab the RS meters... i suppose because they're smaller and easier to grab.

BTW... how is your roundie coming along?

[cork]

Charlie,

The 630 is definitely worth saniitizing if it doesn't have a broken front panel. The old 630s had a 6KV range on them, which was plenty useful for working on old 7 inch ES tube sets. I can send you a new 630 case if you want to fix that one up. Triplet is still very much around and can help with parts. The only thing bad about the 630's was the plastic meter face which, in dry climates, could get enough charge to drag the meter needle just about anywhere on the scale. You have to be careful to discharge them with your breath when they will not zero or are aking wierd.

The roundie is coming along. I had to finish up the Halllicrafters T54 first; it could soak up as much time as you want, correcting all its many little probs. I posted a test pattern for it a while ago on "EArly B and W..". It will be kind of a pleasure to get back to RCA stuff. It seems like RCA, in the early days, had things way better worked out.

[Charlie]

Hey guys,

I came up with a neat idea that I wanted to share with yall.

How many times have you guys had sets with "raised" lettering on the front and the paint was all worn away? If the lettering is all worn away, it really takes away from the appearance. I've had sets like this a bunch, and once I tried using one of those paint pens you find at the craft store... but ended up making a mess because I'd get more paint on the letters than needed.

This morning I was noticing that the raised letters on this 15's faceplate were completely rubbed off. At first I thought I'd try some masking tape with paint on it, then figured it would be a mess. Later, it occurred to me to use a cotton swab. I took some silver spray paint and sprayed it in the bottom of a paper cup... just enough to dip the swab in. Then, I lightly dabbed it on the lettering. It worked great! Dab it very lightly... if you use too much pressure, it will squeeze too much paint from the swab and run down in the cracks of the letter making it look messy. I found this to be much easier than a paint pen, and you can use stuff you probably already have at home.

I've included some photos below. Sorry the focus is a bit off... time to buy a new camera. Looks like one of them will need a second coat, but it still came out pretty good. I'll do my Halolight next cause it has the SYLVANIA letters on the front that need some white on them.

Perhaps someone has thought of this before, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Does really good for detailing those raised letters and giving the front of your set a fresh look.

[Charlie]

RCA emblem by the speaker...

[Charlie]

Finally got all of the body work completed this evening! Now that all of the refinishing is done, I feel a lot better! (I was changing the rear brakes on the car in between varnish coatings) If other duties don't keep me from it, I'll start putting it all back together tomorrow. I almost started to tonight, but figure it needs to dry overnight.

[Charlie]

After several long days, this CTC15 is now in one piece! And what's ever better... it works! Hell, it's time for a beer!

It kinda took me a while to get the purity good. It's still off just a hair on the left side, but overall it will pass. Ya'll are gonna love this... I don't have a degaussing coil, so, I use my soldering gun to degauss the screen. It actually works better than I thought it would!

I was really impressed with the convergence. It came out far better than my Curtis Mathes.

As of now, it still has the original lytics in it, and they seem to be performing quite well. For now, I think I will leave them in there. No use in fixing it if it ain't broke. Also, the only tubes I have changed are the HV tubes.

So far, my only dillema is trying to figure out where i'm gonna put it. In order for it to come in the house, something has to go!