Rca Tk-41

[julianburke]

This was an all tube color camera just like the TK11/31 B&W camera which was a workhorse in the industry for all of the '50's and '60's. Their problems were well known and most of the time an easy fix. Tubes are also forgiving under critical moments unlike transistors. These cameras were built to be serviced and easy access to all componets was engineered in an overkill design.

TK42's were designed with plug in modules with a lot of germanium transistors which by todays' standards are terrible. The edge connectors on the boards also gave some trouble. Current surges in supply power were common and seemed to bother the '42 whereas the '41 was not as succeptable. Any engineer who worked these cameras will pretty much tell you the same thing. However the '41 was bothered by heat buildup so the later ones had a blower system inside them. The TK60 B&W had a chimney on top of it for good reason.