1967 RCA Home Theater analysis by Shango

[electra225]

I know a couple of our members own such a set as this. Shango bought a couple identical sets lately and is doing a resurrection/restoration on this one. The other set has a necked picture tube. I thought somebody might enjoy this video. It is an hour long, but well worth watching if you have the time. Shango is great working on this old stuff. He has no fear of high voltage which gives me pause, since I'm terrified of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iPF-4rSIqc

[TC Chris]

He has no fear of high voltage which gives me pause, since I'm terrified of it.

Sometimes fear is a very good thing. I have tried to remain fearful of the tablesaw, because it makes me pay attention. A distant relative once explained why e preferred a tablesaw to a radial arm saw: "I value my digits." The tablesaw can eat those, too, not to mention your belly, if you've seen a kickback. High voltage is another thing to respect.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

I know Bill has one of these, but in a different cabinet style. His TV is missing. We have wondered what chassis it took and this video pretty much confirms that it is a CTC 25. I believe that chassis is still fairly plentiful, so a retrofit to back to original is not totally out out of the question. I thought he might enjoy watching this video.

I should get over my intense fear of high voltage. I think it started when I was a kid. Grandpa would grab a spark plug wire on a car or something then ask me for my hand. Of course, I was barefooted and a good ground. He didn't do it to be mean, but I have more than a healthy fear of high voltage. I also need to find a high voltage probe to check high voltage and to safely discharge a picture tube so I can work safely. Shango takes short cuts, but says "don't try this at home". I thoroughly enjoy his videos and find them informative.

[William]

I do have one, it was my Grandparents on my Mom's side. It's called the Brandywine, it's in a maple cabinet and I'm listening to Christmas records on it as I write this. For those that are following this thread check out a thread that Dave, Motorola Minion, posted awhile back. It's about 4-5 back and it's titled "Brandywine". It shows what mine looks like. I have the brochure; it was listed as next to the TOTL. The TV chassis were the same, the difference was in the stereo with the TOTL having more power and different speakers. TV remote was available on all of the deluxe Mark 1 chassis.

Bill

[hermitcrab]

RCA and their CTC chassis ... I believe the set I got from Bill has a CTC-28A chassis ...not sure how the numbering system works? were later numbers improvements over the earlier model chassis? I watched that video ... it is in rough shape , but with a almost new Picture tube it would be a shame not to restore that unit... shango never shows any interest of doing restorations

[electra225]

All I can add to the RCA chassis numbers is that monochrome chassis are KCSxxx, and the color chassis are CTCxxx. The TV guys use the chassis numbers to obtain service information and to date the instrument. Subsequent numbers indicate design revisions, usually, but not always for the best.

[Firedome]

I believe in '66 the chassis would be a CTC-21. We have a blonde cabinet 1961 CTC-11 in our living room and love it.

[William]

Yes, it is a CTC21 chassis.

Bill

[Motorola minion]

Being an RCA thread, I can offer some RCA color chassis number information up to 1970.

CTC2 was RCA's first color TV chassis for 1953, numbers went sequentially up as models changed over the years.
CTC3 (CT100) 1954 was the first to use what became the standard 21" round color CRT but very rare
CTC4-5-7-9-10-11-12-15-16 were the next 10 years of RCA sets using the 21" round color CRT. Truly collector faves!
CTC17 used first rectangular color tube 23" on the legacy 4-PC board tube chassis Later versions CTC21-25-28-30-35
CTC19 used first rectangular color tube 18" on a smaller 2-PC board tube chassis. Later version CTC27
CTC20 was a reverse-fitted CTC19 to use up 21" round color CRTs. Mag, Zenith, Philco introduced similar
roundy models as "loss leader" entry-level color
CTC22 was first 14" truly portable color set using a lightweight chassis, later versions using 18" CRT CTC36-53 huge favorites of motels.
CTC24 was first rectangular color tube 23" on a smaller 2-PC board tube chassis. Later version CTC31-38
CTC40 was first all-transistor color console but tube and hybrid solid state versions were still made years later. The "40" was in the famous but rare 1969 RCA "2000" model, basis for the Accu-color, XL-100 and colortrak

[Firedome]

That's an interesting RCA timeline!
My folks always had an RCA but were quite late to color TV, 1971-ish, an Early American RCA console.
That was after I'd left for college, so missed having color as a kid, but am making it up now by having the
color TV I wanted them to get while I was in Elem. school - my motto is it's never to late to have a happy childhood!

I should point out that this Beautiful Blonde 1961 CTC-11 in our living room, and it's total restoration, is courtesy of our own Dave MM. It's nice to have a true TV guru in our midst, vintage TV is above my pay-grade for sure! One nice thing about old TVs: most of the NOS tubes are cheap!

[electra225]

Thank you for that timeline, Dave. Now, how about the black and white chassis, the KCS models. Do they have timelines like the color sets had?

[Motorola minion]

The monochrome sets all used that designation until they were discontinued in the early 80s. Many numbers were skipped, so beware trying to guess. Its always stamped somewhere on the metal chassis.

RCA's BW chassis were pretty interesting overall though some variations were on the cheap side.

The early model 621TS (7" crt) and larger 630TS (10" crt) were the ones with 30 tubes, think used KCS-26

Scaled down were various models using a slightly less tube count was KCS-28, for 1947-49 models.

When the time KCS-74 was out in 1952, 21" crt was the most popular.

Portable sets in metal cabinets with 9" and 14" CRTs appeared in 1955, 1957's KCS-102 was a very popular model that had a power transformer, but next year a similar looking KCS-109 was series-wired, reconfigured for much harder to access bad parts. This is when RCA should have been marketing very small TV to Japan YET - CEO Sarnoff only wanted to be paid to license technology, so the rest is history. Color was very much a priority at this time.

KCS136 - one of the last all-tube console models that produced a crisp sharp picture, discontinued in 1968.

KCS 152 (?) - first all-transistor portable 1966, and very easy to repair if it even needs it. pic below

KCS 171 was a 19" portable that was popular in 1970 due to price mainly.

KCS 202 was a 15" portable from 1972 that was one of the last to offer remote control, it had about 6 tubes(?). Popular in hospitals, etc.

[Motorola minion]

Here is a video link library to some RCA favorites.

Mr. Doug Harland is 20 years my junior, yet he is THE authority on these.

CTC19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkUZI9xIHZ8 I absolutely love that shutoff noise at the end

CTC31 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWqgQ4-uyN4 This is the same model that Elvis shot!

CTC36 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo9_C3MAw_M Not a sharp picture but a pretty color from this low-focus voltage CRT. I worked on a TON of these motel models, literally!

[electra225]

You say the KCS-109 was more difficult to service than the 102? I have a 102 and it looks pretty bad to service. I don't see how you get to the underside of the chassis without removing the picture tube.

[Motorola minion]

You say the KCS-109 was more difficult to service than the 102? I have a 102 and it looks pretty bad to service. I don't see how you get to the underside of the chassis without removing the picture tube.

The KCS 102 was in 14" size in a louvered aluminum cabinet, had a transformer and a hand wired chassis. I have seen several and they are easy to recap because you slide the cabinet off and the chassis underside is accessible on all sides without having to remove it the other way, which is also possible. That way you need to pull the yoke, ion trap and HV lead off the CRT while trying to slide the chassis back and out of the cabinet. Sales for 1957 MY must have been good so it was time to really make some money, expand product line of portables and cut some big corners!

The KCS 109 was the next generation of portable in a popular line of "flight line,https://www.bing.com/images/search?view ... t=0&sim=11
in a similar package but very different inside. Series-heater, now PC board, with a metal shield over the soldered side, makes a recap much harder. This PC board is also turned 90 degrees to the metal pan chassis, making tube replacement very hard as you literally cannot see the tube sockets.

[Motorola minion]

You say the KCS-109 was more difficult to service than the 102? I have a 102 and it looks pretty bad to service. I don't see how you get to the underside of the chassis without removing the picture tube.

KCS102 ad.jpg (56.51 KiB) Viewed 57726 times

That is somewhat true, see attached ad. The KCS 102 was in 14" size in a louvered aluminum cabinet, had a transformer and a hand wired chassis. I have seen several and they are easy to recap when you slide the cabinet off with set on its face. The CRT is attached to the chassis, but underside is accessible on all sides without having to pull it off the CRT. The conventional way, just taking the back cover off, you need to pull the yoke, ion trap and HV lead off the CRT while trying to slide the chassis back and out of the cabinet. Sales for 1957 must have been good so it was time to really make some money, expand product line of portables and cut some big corners!

The KCS 109 was the next generation of portable in a popular line of "flight line, in three sizes of the same chassis.
Series-heater, now PC board, with a metal shield over the soldered side, makes a recap much harder. Of course RCA double down on those lousy black caps that mount vertically on a PC board, so you MUST desolder them! No snip and clip from top of PC board, which is turned 90 degrees to the metal pan chassis, making tube replacement very hard as you literally cannot see the tube sockets.

[Motorola minion]

I think Shango himself would be reluctant to recap one of these KCS109 models.

KCS109 ad.jpg (64.18 KiB) Viewed 57724 times

[electra225]

Thanks, Dave. So, to remove the chassis and picture tube from the KCS 102 chassis set, you would remove the trim around the mask, take the bolts out of the bottom, tip the whole thing up on the picture tube end, then pull the cabinet up and off the assembly? I'm assuming there is some type of fitting that holds the chassis and tube together. Where can I find factory service information for this chassis?

[Motorola minion]

Yes, something like that. See Sams set 396 for teh KCS 102. These are very easy but the later sets, were a royal PITA.

[electra225]

Thanks, Dave. I'll get the Sams then take it from there. The ST is first, but I'd like to get this going again. I need to check the CRT first. I see the cabinets came with two-tone paint. This one is all tan, kinda plain. It could stand a re-paint and a new handle. I see many of them are broken.

I see that Garnet Red and black is one of the color combinations. It would be neat to repaint this 1957 TV set in 1957 Buick colors in rememberence of my friend Art. That was his favorite color combination for a '57 Buick, his favorite car.