Rca victor solid state new vista
- Thread starter Darrelltarte
- Start date
Darrelltarte
Member
The record player turns, but it isn't strong. Most likely the ilder wheel turning hard. The stereo needs some contact cleaner, but it works great 
Darrelltarte
Member
I have a question. Since this stereo playes very well, & shows no signs of bad caps, do y'all think it would last till I'm out of school for the summer? We get out around may I think. The tv playes well too, I've checked the tubes, & they are all doing great. The picture isn't the best, but it playes my old nes With its original rf modulator (I think it's gone bad) The reason I want to wait is cause I want to work on this full time, & not try to cram in on my busy schedule with school. Thank you all c: also, does anyone know what SAMs diagrams go to the tv & stereo?
JURB
Super Member
It has a tape input c: & I found a warranty card inside
That is not the warranty for the TV, that is for the warranty for a new CRT replaced in 1979. Actually if it came from a couple of rebuilders it could be still good now. Some of them used replacement guns with ceramic cathodes. That is like milspec. If it is working today and producing a good picture, it is probably a ceramic cathode. Don't get me wrong, this is not like a coffee cup in the back of the TV, this is a coating on the cathode element. this is what fails when a CRT gets weak, and that is usually because it is flaking off due to thermal reasons. the ceramic ones are not so prone to do that. So if you can see a picture on that thing since 1979, you are doing pretty damngood. Over 30 years.
Thing is, if you intend to run this TV, there are some things need to be addressed. If it is a CTC25 chassis or similar it uses a shun t regulator for the high voltage, since you cannot get the flybacks anymore this must be addressed. I recommend changing the drive components just a bit to put out less current and to readjust the circuit that runs the 6BK4 tube to less current. Performance will be a bit less, but it will last longer. Also, check inside the HV cage for wax. When that wax starts melting out the flyback that is the beginning of the end. Even in the best of shape, after a few years of use the wax was apparent on the floor of the HV cage.
But you might have a molded flyback which should last longer. Pics would be nice. Also, if that HV cage is made the way I think it is, don't put it back together until we talk about that.
For now, if it works just don't take it apart. Concentrate on the audio, and just don't run the TV for now. Save that for a rainy day or whatever.
Darrelltarte
Member
yeh that wattage sounds about right. It's about 10 or 15 more watts with the remote. That's what it said on the back.do you think it would be best to replace the picture tube?
Darrelltarte
Member
Also, the tint knob for the tv isn't moving. Idk if it's stuck or what. I'll post some more pictures later on today.
JURB
Super Member
Replace the picture tube ? Well if you got a time machine maybe. I have no idea where to get one these days.
If you can get one though, if you're a tinkerer you'll love the setup procedure. the actual changing of the tube is dangerous, and I mean keep the kids and pets out of the room dangerous, but the setup not so much of you're halfway careful. you got purity, then convergence, then purity again and check convergence, greyscale high and low.
Some LPS2 will free up that tint control. Then to tweak your color oscillator you pull the burst tube and adjust the coil until the color drifts in tint, has no bars. (like a "barber pole", was a common symptom when the oscillator lost sync)
What a trip into the past. I get to dredge up all my useless knowledge.
If you can get one though, if you're a tinkerer you'll love the setup procedure. the actual changing of the tube is dangerous, and I mean keep the kids and pets out of the room dangerous, but the setup not so much of you're halfway careful. you got purity, then convergence, then purity again and check convergence, greyscale high and low.
Some LPS2 will free up that tint control. Then to tweak your color oscillator you pull the burst tube and adjust the coil until the color drifts in tint, has no bars. (like a "barber pole", was a common symptom when the oscillator lost sync)
What a trip into the past. I get to dredge up all my useless knowledge.
Darrelltarte
Member
Yeh Id rather not have to replace it, if I even can find another picture tube. I wish I did have a time machine lol. I can get the picture kinda good but it always bleeds out a maximum brightness & gets really burry till there is no picture. Or at least with my nes it does. I think I got that fixed though. But once I hit reset on the game the picture comes back. But it hasn't done that for a while I had it on for about an hour yesterday (with supervision of course) & it plays well, but i won't turn it back on till Its safe too.
JURB
Super Member
If you are saying that it intermittently gets brighter and brighter and blooms out, you have a bad gripplett on the color board. It is important to fix that becasue it was a cause of alot of burnt up flybacks. Opening the back, there is a board to the right of the chassis nearby the HV cage. (black box). Look at the corner of that board and you see that it makes a ground connection there. That connection goes bad and causes (eventually) the flyback to go bad.
Also, an inspection of the flyback might be in order, but check that connection first. The HV cage must also be absolutely installed correctly or it can cause flyback failure. If it works, it works for now.
If you decide to get into the HV cage, the scrw is right in front of you, loosen that and it slides up and then pivots back revealing the HV rectifier (3A3) tube which is mounted upside down and connects to the top of the flyback. That is what is critical, when you put that hting back together there cannot be any gap between the flyback and the top cap of that tube or it will burn the flyback.
Alot of melted wax on the inside of that cage is a bad sign, but not the end of the world. Even when these things were a few years old there was a couple drops of wax, but that was the insulator and when that is gone, that is not good. But then for one, this is not going to be your main TV and have alot of hours put on it.
If you can get a CRT great, I can tell you how to set it up. Problem is so many plastic parts have deteriorated by now and you will be gluing things. If you just want to get rid of the "green around the gills" we used to call it, or the "cataract", that is a very dangerous procedure. When that plate is removed from the screen of the CRT it becomes nearly a deadly weapon.
I have seen CRTs implode, and while you might think imploding is OK, it is not because all those chards of glass bounce off each other and go flying whichever way.
Actually that unit has a big strap to mount the CRT, you want that on there if you remove the protective glass. As tight as possible. In fact it would be better if you used a power banding machine and made it REALLY tight. there was a scheme like that called "kimcode" I believe that was used instead of the face glass for implosion protection. Because the front glass is curved, the pressure from the clamp equalizes the atmospheric pressure. Eventually all CRTs were "kimcode" but the name was dropped.
Anyway, if the TV runs maybe just not run it much except to show off once in a while and get to how the stereo works.
Also, an inspection of the flyback might be in order, but check that connection first. The HV cage must also be absolutely installed correctly or it can cause flyback failure. If it works, it works for now.
If you decide to get into the HV cage, the scrw is right in front of you, loosen that and it slides up and then pivots back revealing the HV rectifier (3A3) tube which is mounted upside down and connects to the top of the flyback. That is what is critical, when you put that hting back together there cannot be any gap between the flyback and the top cap of that tube or it will burn the flyback.
Alot of melted wax on the inside of that cage is a bad sign, but not the end of the world. Even when these things were a few years old there was a couple drops of wax, but that was the insulator and when that is gone, that is not good. But then for one, this is not going to be your main TV and have alot of hours put on it.
If you can get a CRT great, I can tell you how to set it up. Problem is so many plastic parts have deteriorated by now and you will be gluing things. If you just want to get rid of the "green around the gills" we used to call it, or the "cataract", that is a very dangerous procedure. When that plate is removed from the screen of the CRT it becomes nearly a deadly weapon.
I have seen CRTs implode, and while you might think imploding is OK, it is not because all those chards of glass bounce off each other and go flying whichever way.
Actually that unit has a big strap to mount the CRT, you want that on there if you remove the protective glass. As tight as possible. In fact it would be better if you used a power banding machine and made it REALLY tight. there was a scheme like that called "kimcode" I believe that was used instead of the face glass for implosion protection. Because the front glass is curved, the pressure from the clamp equalizes the atmospheric pressure. Eventually all CRTs were "kimcode" but the name was dropped.
Anyway, if the TV runs maybe just not run it much except to show off once in a while and get to how the stereo works.
Darrelltarte
Member
Yeh I don't think that imploding is okay,because of the glass that gets everywhere. I've never seen one implod. & yeh your right about not it being my main tv, I love old stereos & such, but I also love my flatscreens too lol.But I'll probably mostly play the stereo but I haven't had the chance to clean the tubes yet, I just brushed them off, but there is still some dust on the tubes & some of the other components.
Darrelltarte
Member
This idea just popped in my head: if I was to carefully take out that crt, & get a small flatscreen,to replace that crt, how do you think it look? This just an idea lol but it just came up in my head, like I could get a wall mount, & instead of mounting it on a wall, I can maybe find one that will mount on the floor of the console, but the problem I would have is that all the ports would be inside the console. & another is the viewing angle.
Darrelltarte
Member
But I want to get the stereo right before I worry about the tv. That flatscreen thing was something (if I even do it) I'd do when the stereo is playing like it's supposed too. It's playing really great now, it just needs some cleaning.
Darrelltarte
Member
Darrelltarte
Member
Darrelltarte
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Darrelltarte
Member
I thought it was lol I wasn't sure. & thank you
JURB
Super Member
If you can get a picture of the flyback a little zoomed out so I can see the whole thing I could say for more sure, but it looks like that wax is not all that bad.
That blooming or whatever is a concern though. It could be the connection I mentioned, and that is easily checkable by just trying to lift up the corner of that board. If it moves it needs to be resoldered. Otherwise, these things used to have a picture get bigger and bigger with higher brightness when the 3A3 high voltage rectifier got weak. There is actually a solid state replacement for those tubes. Finding one is another story. Also, if you use the solid state replacement, when you shut it off do not turn it back on for at least a minute or two.
Replacing the TV with a newer model is nice, but destroys all intrinsic value of the piece of course. Like a Chevy with a Ford engine in it. (why anyone ever did that is beyond me) A company I used to work for did it all the time. People had these old tube sets and there was a guy who came in and put a new TV in. When possible we connected the stereo amp to the TV for better sound, most of them were stereo by then.
I doubt your unit does that but I could be wrong. The one we had which was close had a speaker switch on the power button of the TV and used the stock TV chassis audio circuit. I am pretty sure yours is a bit newer, so I really don't know.
But really, how is the stereo ? Give that the full inspection. You said it sounds good I think, is the FM working well ? And the TT, well those things can be weird. Some had a self weighted cart in them, which actually played quite well. The one we had, the cart was replacable with an Astatic 353D, which was one of the best sounding ceramic carts I ever heard. that was the era when ceramic carts were getting better, lower tracking force, higher compliance and better frequency response. All the major players were doing it, Zenith and Magnavox for example. And Packard Bell made a couple that were really kickass which may have had magnetic carts in them.
As late as maybe 2006, people paid good money to have old consoles fixed. I walked into work (good money job) and they give me a console stereo to work on. At first, I was like "Are you kidding me ?". Then I found out they had cleared a $350 estimate. Well I tried to give them their money's worth. And some of these things take alot of work. The customers seemed happy.
I really kinda wonder what happened. When I was young, we kids would lay on the floor watching TV. It was great. Floor model. We had three channels and had to discuss what to watch, now there are three hundred channels and nothing is on. Orwell said less is more, but it seems that now, more is less.
But I an going to say one thing about that CTC25 TV you got there. Once you get the tint control unsiezed and adjusted correctly, if you watch an episode of Star Trek from back then, Spock is green and everyone else isn't. That is because the color decoder was accurate and did not have "flesh correction".
That blooming or whatever is a concern though. It could be the connection I mentioned, and that is easily checkable by just trying to lift up the corner of that board. If it moves it needs to be resoldered. Otherwise, these things used to have a picture get bigger and bigger with higher brightness when the 3A3 high voltage rectifier got weak. There is actually a solid state replacement for those tubes. Finding one is another story. Also, if you use the solid state replacement, when you shut it off do not turn it back on for at least a minute or two.
Replacing the TV with a newer model is nice, but destroys all intrinsic value of the piece of course. Like a Chevy with a Ford engine in it. (why anyone ever did that is beyond me) A company I used to work for did it all the time. People had these old tube sets and there was a guy who came in and put a new TV in. When possible we connected the stereo amp to the TV for better sound, most of them were stereo by then.
I doubt your unit does that but I could be wrong. The one we had which was close had a speaker switch on the power button of the TV and used the stock TV chassis audio circuit. I am pretty sure yours is a bit newer, so I really don't know.
But really, how is the stereo ? Give that the full inspection. You said it sounds good I think, is the FM working well ? And the TT, well those things can be weird. Some had a self weighted cart in them, which actually played quite well. The one we had, the cart was replacable with an Astatic 353D, which was one of the best sounding ceramic carts I ever heard. that was the era when ceramic carts were getting better, lower tracking force, higher compliance and better frequency response. All the major players were doing it, Zenith and Magnavox for example. And Packard Bell made a couple that were really kickass which may have had magnetic carts in them.
As late as maybe 2006, people paid good money to have old consoles fixed. I walked into work (good money job) and they give me a console stereo to work on. At first, I was like "Are you kidding me ?". Then I found out they had cleared a $350 estimate. Well I tried to give them their money's worth. And some of these things take alot of work. The customers seemed happy.
I really kinda wonder what happened. When I was young, we kids would lay on the floor watching TV. It was great. Floor model. We had three channels and had to discuss what to watch, now there are three hundred channels and nothing is on. Orwell said less is more, but it seems that now, more is less.
But I an going to say one thing about that CTC25 TV you got there. Once you get the tint control unsiezed and adjusted correctly, if you watch an episode of Star Trek from back then, Spock is green and everyone else isn't. That is because the color decoder was accurate and did not have "flesh correction".
