Vintage 1968 RCA Victor CTC-27 color TV

[whiskeyify]

I found an old zenith space command by the curb the other day, in very nice condition. I pulled the back off and adjusted the focus and screen control and got it working quite well. needs some clean-up inside.

[RedPortiaOne]

nice old vintage tv. we had one like this when i was a boy. sure is a fry cry from the computer tablets of 2011 lol. great old memories

[DesiluTrek]

The well-working speaker catches a football player shouting the F word at 0:59!

[cheese2507]

My grandparents have one of those sitting out in a barn. What would it take to make it work do you reckon?

[ultrazippyjet]

I love old TV's but, believe it or not I feel the "Roundies" have a better picture quality.

[GTAMYSTERIES46]

Great Video! My grandma has this t.v. and gave it to me. I put in my mom's living room and when my g-ma comes over we watch the old t.v. My g-ma is crazy. she says that the technology of television was better in the 60's than it is nowdays.

[YuTubeOO]

Wow it takes a while for it to come on

[123demaio]

Purity and convergance look good

[ayeshasanakhan]

I want to have a TV like that can anybody please give such TVs.

Please.

[hondolespaul]

People used to throw away TVs like these by the dozen almost 20 years ago. Now, they are few and far between. Your best bet would be to go to estate sales in your area. There is a chance that grandma or grandpa had one in their basement, attic or garage.

[MTLTV1765]

@ayeshasanakhan

You'll need a DTV converter box for that TV to have any use, since there are no more analog channels, unless you live close to the Canadian border. That way, you can pick up Canadian stations.

[billaggio]

wow! what a nice picture

[commoncourse]

twenty years ago brought my set to local repair shop for estimate. Rcvd $250 estimate. Learned later from a TV tech friend of mine that the SOB was unscrupulous, that all he did was re-solder a faulty circuit board ground and if he were honest would've billed just one hour labor. So we went back to the him and called him on it. Naturally he tried to save face and denied any wrong doing. Anyway, I strong armed him out of 250 bucks cash and threw my set through his front window. cowboy justice

[HDXFH]

i have a 1979 general portable color TV and it works just like the day it was purchased

[mpc516]

While these are nice to look at for nostalgic purposes, these TVs simply can't compare with the quality of today's Samsung TVs.

[sideslide23]

Um I think that the televison is broken. lol

[joebradio]

maybe it was coincidence, but I noticed at 1:25 a vintage TV on the screen of a vintage TV !!!

[sapbeast]

The color is so wonderful... I wish I had one of these. Really, I see modern LCDs with that horrible de-noise algorithm that muddies up standard definition and it makes me want to stab my eyes out.

[Manimal347]

Let's not valorize. I grew up around late 70's and early 80's turret-tuner sets, and they usually had pretty bad color. Also, my Sharp Linytron is blurry enough, predating comb filters and all, that I can't see much difference in resolution or color between VHS SP and RF-in from a console or DVD player. In fact, it's so bad that it camoflauges many of the issues of VHS EP. Sadly, this TV wasn't the worst of the early 80's; Korean-made B&Ws were only okay for the garage or kitchen.

[drh4683]

Your account shows you are only 20 years old?

Also, I have some 60's zenith and RCA sets that would make you reconsider your opinion on bad color. Granted the cameras and transmitting equipment was different then, the the receivers that are still here today are nothing different from what they were then. The picture quality is excellent with deep saturated color on a properly aligned zenith or rca.

[Manimal347]

Correct, and lots of my friends parents owned the older wood grain console solid state sets of the mid 70's through early 80's. They'd be second ones for the Nintendo and kids cartoons. To be honest, they were a pretty common sight until about five years ago, and I still know a few people with them given I live in a college town. I stand by my thoughts that most are very blurry and are/were impossible to dial a good color on. Trintrons were the best, but still

[Manimal347]

just on par with a late-model CRT. Perhaps Zenith and RCA sets were better in the sixties, but I find it odd that recievers would get _worse_ in a time when they were still expensive US and or Japanese made items. Admittedly, these sets weren't young and some had issues like weak picture tubes, but I'd rather go watch a dying Korean or Chinese set than many of these, honestly. At least they don't overscan newstickers and cut off station logos with their tube curvature.

[lrd9999]

Many of my friends color sets I remember from the '60, '70s and '80s looked bad; I remember being tempted to complain of the F'd up color giving me a headache.I suspect that it was mostly maintenance, adjustment and reception. The tube sets needed work once or twice a year. Owners needed to be constantly reminded of their prized possession so they turned the color adj. to un-natural levels. And before cable and/or digital, getting decent reception took diligence. Some owners just didn't bother.

[lrd9999]

The first TVs I recall as having clear pictures without much fuss were solid state B&W sets from the late '70s and the digital tuning color sets from the '80s (with cable). I believe most of the older sets on YouTube, including the one in this video, are maintained much better that the average for those years. Even the mediocre sets today offer something close to perfection for as long as they work; then it's anyone's guess if they'll ever work again. At least that's not a problem with this set.

[davenwin1973]

I remember watching TV on some of the older TV's, and back then, the picture was sized just right for most programs. As time went on, TV evolved, and the width changed that resulted in these TV's not handling a properly sized picture. My current TV from 2004 with DTV box doesn't show the entire picture either. Even with it in letterbox (as in widescreen), it doesn't show the picture on the sides. At least TV's then were made to last. Can't say the same thing about today's TV's.

[Teflon65]

I remember waiting for TV sets to warm up, as late as the mid-seventies, and beyond. Depends on how old your set was, of course.

[Manimal347]

Well, depends upon how you quantify warm-up time. I've never owned a tubed TV, but older solid state sets could take a good twenty seconds before their CRT displayed a decent picture. I guess that's not long though when a tubed amplifier circuit takes a minute or longer before the plates get warm enough to reproduce noise.

[lrd9999]

Manimal347: My 21 year old GE takes forever to get a picture; of course the sound comes on instantly. The all tube sets didn't necessarily take any longer; it depended on the tubes that took the longest. Some of the sets before 1974 kept the cathodes glowing 24-7 and came on instantly. Convenient, but not very efficient.

[bigmattw1975]

40 years old and still going.Great!

[guimbadriver]

hey are this tv set hybrid? transistors tubes and ICs working in the circuit?

[lrd9999]

I believe just about any set from '66 on was effectively a hybrid, since the FCC mandated UHF tuner was usually solid state.

[123demaio]

rca came out first with the rare earth square crt. this set used about 300watts and emitted a fair amount of radiation from the 6bk4c tube that never went bad

[123demaio]

the set is 40 years old. does it have the original flyback in it. are the b+ caps original??

[drh4683]

This TV is 100% original. Even the 6GH8's are original! Flyback is like new yet, no melted wax or signs of overheating. Caps are all good yet. Its a true survivor.

[Manimal347]

Well, you do need to replace the electrolytics and paper/wax capacitors. Some might still test within the ballpark of their ratings, but any that still work are a liability at this point. Sorry, but unlike most electronic parts, using stock capacitors isn't something to be proud of, especially when the yellow Mallory axial-lead caps look quaint enough to blend in.

Your set looks _great_ in this Youtube video, but I suspect it has visual flaws that new caps will fix.

[drh4683]

This set does not have any paper/wax caps. RCA did away with those after the CTC-11 in 1961. Original lytics, ESR tests perfect on every one. 40 years later and still good, hacking up the perfect originality of this TV is not something I will do unless its a must. Actually, its very very rare that filter lytics are bad in these late 60's RCA sets. The component quality is excellent. The set only gets used a few times a month. They are only original once......

[Manimal347]

Oh, okay. I was thinking of Zenith and guitar amps, so I pictured a point-to-point rat's nest full of obsolete and leaky capacitors. Electrolytics aren't such an issue, and if they really test within specification, you're bloody damned lucky but I guess they should stay given how much labor is involved in removing them from their circuit boards.

[VideoloverFan2008]

Why You Didn't Use Cable Please Tell Me?

[drh4683]

Because I didn't want to.

[southparklover10155]

it takes a long time to turn on

[drh4683]

Tube type TV's take about 30-45 seconds to turn on.

[FRANKIESHANOWSKIY2K0]

they were only usefull for one thing and

and one thing only glorified kids console games monitors in thier bedrooms the vid was ok but the abundant channel hopping was not needed at all but if you want to get the full digi tv experience get an ws or an hd tv instead of you old grannies tv sets 20/10

from

frankie smales

(frankie smales movie and tv review uk)

[owmyanus]

Some people just like vintage TV sets. I know I do.

I like the new stuff, yes. But the vintage TV's are what eventually brought these new Plasma's and LCD's into the world.

[henry6517]

You need the digital convertor with that tv, or suscribe to tv cable or satelite after Feb 17, 2009 or it will be blank.

[brealmsys]

...I'm sure he knows that. :) Most of us do by now. Thanks though...

[SpeakerPolice]

The color on that set is AMAZING, almost like Technicolor. It just 'pops' off the screen. Gorgeous. Is this an all-tube set? Also, it's hard to tell from the video, but is the channel indicator a nixie??

[drh4683]

Thank you. This is a mostly ALL tube TV, some solid state but very little. The set has such a great picture when seen in person. RCA sets from the 60's really had a great color picture. The channel indicator is a rotary drum with a back lite. It would be cool if it were a nixie tube, but I dont think those were ever used on TV sets of this vintage.

[brealmsys]

Super cool set, man...I've been looking for any old tube TV to restore, not so easy to find...or I'm too picky, that's probably it :)

[mobilene]

I grew up with a 1967 RCA B/W console... this style of channel-number display above the knob is distinctively RCA.

[poussecafe3]

Will someone explain what cataracts are in r

espect of a tv receiver.

[fullautofire]

looks like you have a 60 cycle humbar going on.

[drh4683]

not the TV. Its the digital camera frame rate and the TV frame rate not in sync.

[musicman0150]

Very nice video. I remember seeing a TV like this when I was very young. Most of these sets were found in hotel and motel rooms back in the 70s. I'm so glad you have one of these. I think it is definately a historical vintage TV. I wish I had one like this myself. :)

[Trance88]

Must be a tube tv because of the length it takes to come on. Nice set!

[rarerequest]

holly shit amazing dude

[bellydancer1970]

i can smell this tv when it gets hot.

[craig1974]

Is that the one that had bad cataracts?

[drh4683]

No, this set is all original. Never had to pull the crt. Every so often an rca shows up with no signs of cataracts.

[craig1974]

Yeah, but you had a similar set on Picturetrail that had bad cataracts which you fixed.

[craig1974]

Opps that was the 1966 RCA which had cataract problems. Not the 1968.

[eyeh8cbs]

Too bad there doesn't appear to be anything on to watch!

[speedyc395]

It has a beautiful picture!