RCA Lyceum Colortrac

[andyc3]

Originally Posted by jwicks

hey would you be able to provide and electronic file version of the manual in PDF or Word doc?

I have a manual for CT2000 model USA1986T. I'll scan it and send the PDF it to list members who email me so I can send via reply.

Andy Colb

[AlwaysLyceum]

I would love that! Sweet!

[nasadowsk]

Weren't some of RCA's ColorTrak TV sets full I/Q demod sets? As were some Panasonics back in the 70's/80's (quadracolor?)

[kx250rider]

Originally Posted by nasadowsk

Weren't some of RCA's ColorTrak TV sets full I/Q demod sets? As were some Panasonics back in the 70's/80's (quadracolor?)

I am pretty sure it was the CTC-101, and maybe the CTC-120. Ed (Colortel) knows the answer, so maybe he'll weigh in.

I wasn't aware of the Panasonics! I remember them having good color, but they had pale white face CRTs that I didnt' like for lack of contrast. I'll sift through some Sams for Panasonics and see if I can find details.

Charles

[kx250rider]

I'll look around for a Dimensia manual, I think I saw one at a TV shop in West LA.

The KX "PROFEEL" component TV series was Sony's flagship line in 1981, and I think up to '83. They came in 3.7" (KX-4200), 12" (KX-1211HG), 19" (KX-1901), and 25" (KX-2501). The monitor was just the monitor, and you could get two versions of matchin tuner boxes for it (VTX1000R and VTX-1100R). Also, you could get all kinds of factory accessories for it including MPX box (sets were stereo-ready but not full stereo), matching stands, and 4 or 5 versions of matching speakers. They were probably among the best TVs ever made, and most are still working. Sadly, the bigger ones are worthless. Saw a free one on CraigsList yesterday....

I put a post here about them a couple months ago:

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=63735

I have a 19" and a 25" that I'd let go of for a nominal price, to a good home.

Charles

[AlwaysLyceum]

Originally Posted by Kaye-Halbert TV

I'll look around for a Dimensia manual, I think I saw one at a TV shop in West LA.

I hope there's some out there. PDF, anything. That'd be awesome!

I like those Sony TVs. Where they considered Trinitrons, or is this a whole different category?

[andy]

KX-1211HG, KX-1901/1901A, KX-2501, KV-20XBR, KX-1311CR, KV-2011CD, KV-25XBR all had the large multi pin RGB inputs.

[kx250rider]

Originally Posted by andy

KX-1211HG, KX-1901/1901A, KX-2501, KV-20XBR, KX-1311CR, KV-2011CD, KV-25XBR all had the large multi pin RGB inputs.

you forgot KV-25DXR in your list , but I forgot that the others you mentioned also had that RGB socket... Was the 1311CR the bone-white one that looked like a computer monitor?

Charles

[andy]

Here's a 1311CR. I like this set because it has a fine dot pitch CRT. I also have a 2011CR which is identical to the 20XBR, but with a finer dot pitch CRT and a white cabinet like the 1311CR. The XXXXCR sets seem to be TVs that could also be used as (CGA) computer monitors. I've seen Sony computer monitors that looked like the 1311CR, without the tuner.

You could use a DVD player with the RGB input as long as it's an analog RGB input on the TV. Finding a DVD player with an RGB output is tough, but not impossible. Component video is different even though the jacks are red green and blue. I don't know what the enable input does. You would have to figure out what type of sync signal the TV needs for RGB. It's probably either composite sync through a sync jack, or sync on green.

[AlwaysLyceum]

Here's a question:

Why do the RCA Lyceum TVs/Colortrak 2000 only go up to channel 53? I have older sets (i.e. the Zenith System 3 w/ Space Phone) that go up to 99. This is one thing that has always confused me.

[AlwaysLyceum]

Also, there are 2 coax on the TVs, UHF and VHF. When I use a splitter, and hook both UHF and VHF up to cable, I get all the normal cable channels (up to ch. 53, or course), and when I switch the TV to norm (I think), I get a couple UHF channels on random numbers, in the teens and 20s.

[andy]

Trinitron is the name Sony gave to their color CRT technology. With very few exceptions, all Sony color CRT TVs are Trinitrons.

It was common for early cable ready tuners to only get some of the cable channels. 53 was actually pretty good for 1985. Many only went to 36. 99 and 125 became more common as time went on.

Most of the cable channels fill in the large gap between VHF 13 and UHF 14. Cable channle 65 is on about the same frequency as UHF 14, so even an old TV will receive cable channels 65 and up on UHF.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by andy

Most of the cable channels fill in the large gap between VHF 13 and UHF 14. Cable channle 65 is on about the same frequency as UHF 14, so even an old TV will receive cable channels 65 and up on UHF.

Until June 12 last year, this was true. However, since all TV is digital these days, you won't see anything on an unmodified TV set on any channel if you are using an antenna. I don't see how the set's own UHF tuner would work, either, unless you're talking about receiving analog low-power or translator stations--and even those will be required to convert to DTV shortly. Analog TV in the US is definitely on the way out (as it will be in Canada in 2012). We will have to use alternate signal sources, such as VCRs, DVD players, or DTV ATSC->NTSC boxes to test old TVs; this will work, of course, but it's not the same as watching actual OTA TV stations and changing channels using the set's own tuner. IMHO, this takes a lot of the fun out of watching vintage and antique TVs, but that's the way it is in this age of digital everything.

[dr.ido]

Looking at the diagram of the RGB connectors indicates that that it is a TTL input (the color on/off and enable connector pretty much guarantees it). Definitely intended for videotext/caption decoders, OSD, etc. Unfortunately this input is pretty useless, TTL RGB limited to 8 colors.

[RetroHacker]

It is definitely possible to hook an analog RGB signal to a digital TTL monitor and get full color picture. You just have to modify the TTL monitor. It's not that hard, I've done it before. All you need to do is trace the inputs from the back of the set. They should lead into a logic chip of some sort, I forget what chip was used in the monitors I have hacked, but it's a 74 series. Basically, this chip is a buffer or gate between the signal input and the video amplifiers. Cut some tracks and jumper around it, and feed the signal into the video amp - and viola! Analog color picture. I've got an IBM CGA monitor at home that I hacked like this to work on a Commodore Amiga. It works great!

-Ian