CT-100News & Notices12-14-2004
A second stem that had failed during an attempt to resurrect the lost process RCA used to rebuild the 15GP22 has been received by the manufacturer for study. We are awaiting further word. 12-05-2004 The 101st known Merrill was discovered recently in the Eli Buk collection of Technology and Invention located in Manhattan. A number of potential additions to the Living CT-100 list are in the process of being verified. I expect to visit again later this month to photograph this set and to retrieve cabinet and chassis serial numbers. There is also a CBS field sequential color monitor from 1952 in his collection. This particular Grey Research monitor can be traced back to use in the CBS studios in Manhattan. 11-30-2004 There is new restoration information about a surviving RCA Model 5, the preproduction CT-100 used to view the January 1, 1954, Rose Bowl parade. Check the Model 5 page, click here . 10-04-2004 The cracked stem noted our August 30 entry below has arrived at the manufacturer and has been inspected. However, it has subsequently disappeared and is believed to have accidentally been discarded in a trash collection. Oh well, not a major hindrance. Bruce continues to arrange a conference call between them and Scotty, hopefully by next week. Thanks to Dave Corbett who pointed out misdirection in the August 30 notice -- it was not a 15GP22 that failed the attempt. Only the now missing simulated gun and a beyond-rebuilding 15GP22 bottle were in play. 09-25-2004 Craig has his 'mostly' operational CT-100 [B8001338] up for grabs on ebay. 5722503800 08-30-2004 A cracked stem from a failed attempt to rebuild a 15GP22 is at the stem manufacturer. Arrangements for a conference call are being made this week. 07-18-2004 The Living CT-100 list hits 100! It took us five years to achive this milestone. For the 100th CT-100 story, click here . 07-14-2004 Unfortunately, the second attempt to attach a new stem, with its dummy delta gun, to a 15GP22 neck was a full and immediate failure. The stem cracked early in the process. There will be an attempt to get the stem manufacturer and the rebuilder into a huddle for some serious brainstorming. 06-08-2004 June 6, 2004 marked almost 53 years since the CBS-Columbia Model 12CC2 color television set last received signals in accordance with the 1951 CBS Color system. For more: click here . 05-10/29-2004 From an earlier post, "An attempt to evacuate a 15GP22 last month was not without incident. Early in the process the stem, which had been successfully attached to a 50-year-old neck, shattered. Why is still under investigation...." There is speculation that the stem shattered because of stress inflicted when the dummy gun was spot welded to all twenty stem leads. A new dummy gun will have perhaps only three welded leads. Seculatively, this should allow an unstressed stem to be attached to the 15GP22 neck so the investigation of a procedure to sucessfully draw a vacuum can continue. [As of May 29, a new dummy gun was fabricated and is in the hands of Scotty, the rebuilder in Iowa. Expect his next attempt to create a vacuum in this old 15G dud mule to take place by the second week of June.] 05-09-2004 Here's the preliminary release of a new Tidbits IV bit about the 2004 showing of 1951 CBS field-sequential color at the Early Television Convention, held at the Early Television Museum in Hilliard, Ohio, April 24th and 25th. (click here) . 05-03-2004 There are four known 1953 Model 5 'Rose Bowl' color sets. Check the latest status of these rare sets in Tidbits IV (click here) . 04-26-2004 History was made at the second annual Early Television Foundation convention held in Columbus, Ohio when the original 1951 CBS color standard was brought to life after a 53-year hiatus. This screen shot of a restored 1951 studio monitor taken with my cell phone camera was emailed seconds after being shot Sunday. More and better pictures photographed by Phil Dudley are in the pipeline and will be posted when we receive them from Phil on CD via snail mail. --Pete Low-quality screen shot of a restored 1951 Gray Research CBS-color monitor pictures Dorothy in Ruby Slippers from a "The Wizard of Oz" DVD. 04-04/09-2004 Operational CT-100 on ebay; from the the Living CT-100 list. CTC-2 chassis B8003798. Includes the functional 15GP22. Ebay number 3285398121 [This set will be shipped from its current home in Madison, Wisconsin to a museum in France. This will be the fourth CT-100 in Europe and the second operational: Ingo in Germany (operational); Wilkinson in Great Britain; and Marco in Italy are the other caretakers. With apologies to George Gershwin, "An American in Paris" is the new owner.] ["I intend to operate the CT-100 via a variety of PAL & SECAM sources transcoded into NTSC 3.58 by a digital standards converter and a low power (50 mW) NTSC transmitter operating on the VHF low channels (3-5). I already have about 10 NTSC TVs operating just fine from this setup, and anticipate no particular problems with the CT-100." Jerome] 03-22 to 03-25 2004 All this week we commemorate the brilliant dawn of color television. Fifty-years-ago on March 25, RCA in Bloomington, Indiana began its production run of the CT-100. Follow a weeklong salute by the mainstream media and others beginning March 22 [click below link(s)] San Francisco Chronicle The QVC Network broadcast on Thursday night featured shots of RCA's operational CT-100.
pldexnis@att.net
05-18-2003
Bench restoration of a CTC-2 is simplified when
[5-22-2002 update: I have received info on one of the sets. Terry Wise in Wisconsin reports that his newly acquired Merrill has a good 15GP22 and has a reasonable, albeit poorly converged, picture in spite of having to jumper three open peaking coils. His first test of the 15GP22, while still on his truck, can be seen with a screen shot added May 23.] [click here] 05-01/02/11-2002 One of the seventeen operational CT-100s on the Living CT-100 list is up for auction on ebay. It's worth following the optional link to pictures of the set in operation. The digital images are excellent representations of an operational Merrill. Ebay number 1099094055. Saga update: 5-11-02 The auction missed the reserve by 1k (pick-up price) and so CT-100 980/B8000619 is still on the market. Look for it to appear on ebay again for a 3-day auction with the same reserve. (05-13-02 Ebay number 2103411727) . Here's another update to an existing Tidbits I page. A new link at the bottom of that page briefly examines the colorimetry story from a professional point of view... to reach the 05-02-2002 update, click here . 04-16-2002 This month another two Merrills on the Living CT-100 list have been brought back to life. The total number of fully operational CT-100s now stands at seventeen. Also, expect new news in the coming months about the 15GP22 rebuild effort as this long-term process gains momentum. And next, the Steve's Dichter and Kissinger have teamed to repair chassis B8002407, so we hope to add the eighteenth set soon.... And finally, happy boirthday [sic] to my brother Dave, who did so much to help me survive the last nineteen years. 04-07-2002 Sometimes existing pages are updated without fanfare. Here are two examples: A close-up of another cabinet serial number has been added to this page. [click here] This 2-page link is prompted by an exciting new paper discovery generously provided by Steve Restelli. A new link at the bottom of the first page updates the story of RCA's never-produced 19-inch version of the 15GP22. [click here] 03-17-2002 First, birthday greetings to Rob Stephens, one of many generous contributors to this and other vintage television sites, who reports that both he and his Westinghouse H840CK15 entered this world 48-years ago this month! (You win that round, Rob; I was 14 when my CT-100 first saw the light of day... Pete :) Secondly, you haven't been seeing many updates recently -- there are reasons, here's one: click here 02-25-2002 A developmental tricolor picture tube that preceeded the 15GP22 -- the RCA C-73599 -- is on ebay. The condition is unverified although it currently seems to be under vacuum. Well worth watching... ebay number 1077824958. Winning bid: $835. 02-01-2002 There's an interesting CT-100 item on ebay (1069070120), an ID tag from the original carton housing an early production run Merrill with CTC-2 chassis B8000991. [I bid the minimum 5 bucks, but if you really want it, another $0.50 will outbid me.] This is one of two newly discovered CT-100s added to the Living CT-100 list -- the 58th and this one, the 59th listed. Thanks to Steve Dichter for alerting me to this auction. Here's a bit of the history of B8000991 from its current owner in a Tidbits II link. 1-21-2002 A comprehensive new museum for early television technology has opened its doors... click here for a short report. 1-13-2002 [24January2002 update: Just received word that the Westinghouse H840CK15 has been sold to a collector in Texas.][21January2002 update: The CT-100 is awaiting first refusal with a number of collectors in the queue.][Just received word that the Merrill was not refused and will go to a collector in Indianapolis.] A number of vintage television sets, both prewar, postwar, and early color are being sold by a collector. An operational CT-100 including a good 15GP22 is one of the early color items for sale. The price of the Merrill has been set at $3750. 1-1-2002 On this day 48-years ago, the first-ever network-delivered NTSC color program broadcast to 200 of the now legendary RCA model 5 color television receivers at about 30 locations across the country (only three Model 5 sets are known to have survived; there is one on the West Coast, one in the central US, and this one on the East Coast). RCA Model 5 Here is a 10-second video clip from a color film record of the 1954 parade. The clip is from the CBS program Sunday Morning "Almanac" segment commemorating the beginning of CT-100 production in RCA's Bloomington, Indiana plant on March 25, 1954. The CBS broadcast from which this clip was recorded was seen on March 25, 2001. The file is quite large for this site -- nearly 3 megabytes -- so it may not be retained for too long a time. FYI: It is a recording of an over-the-air broadcast from WCBS channel 2 in New York. 12-22-2001 A 15GP22 that tests good for emission is up for private sale. This tube is on the west coast. If not sold privately, its long-time owner will place it on ebay early next year. Interested collectors can email me for additional information.[ sale imminent 12-24-01. (1-1-2002: We now expect the transaction to be completed by the latter half of January 2002)(The 15GP22 arrived in fine shape 1-25-02 as reported by the new owner in Texas.) ] --Pete Based upon the Living CT-100 list, a 2-digit cabinet serial number is a rarity. Here's a new picture of one added to a Tidbits I link . 12-15-2001 Much goes on behind the scenes. But rarely do we find a confluence of independent restorations like this to report -- the second successful restoration of a CT-100 in just five days. This restoration moved so quickly (it was first powered just a dozen days ago after years in storage) its story has not yet been added to the Information Exchange page. The current owner, Steve Kissinger, bought his Merrill (whose pictures are still in snail-mail transit to me here in New Jersey) for $30 in 1976. Another 2002 Rose Bowl Parade Party is in the works… 12-13-2001 A picture of the newest restored and operational CT-100 is now posted on Gary's information exchange page. The green and blue channels (the color matrix and 12BH7-based RGB video amplifier boards) still display some minor distortion issues, while the red channel developes a clear picrure when driving any one of the 15GP22 guns. Jump directly to Gary's page . 11-03-2001 I gotta share this one, even before it plays out. THE_SET@worldnet.att.net Subject: CT-100 Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2001 14:16:55 -0800 Pete, I am sick. I had no idea that anyone was interested in these old tubes. I make color film analyzers and had the old stock from Hazeltine when they discontinued production. There were six of those old 15 inch CRT's, but since there were no more analyzers in the world using the tubes, we chucked them to make room. Regards, Ric What's the chance that serendipity will rescue a pallet of 15GP22s from a dusty warehouse somewhere? I've always believed it would. This email shows it can happen and probably will. (6 Nov 01 update: Just missed these by a couple of years! The six 15GP22's had their vacuum broken, then were sent to a Los Angeles landfill sometime in 1997 in their original RCA cartons. Tidbits II has more of the story. Navigate there using link in entry below. We'll keep looking for a pallet with the next batch of 15G's.) 10-27-2001 Let's face it, there are more people who'd like to own a Merrill than there are Merrills to own. Stories on this site that document how and where collectors acquire Merrills are popular. All are unique. Here's one that's also very creative. [click here] 10-20-2001 In the spirit of returning to normal and getting on with our lives, here's a hitherto unknown Merrill owner who has come forward to fill the fifty-second slot in the Living CT-100 list. John's set remains in storage where it has languished for the last 12 years. To quote him, "It's in the rear of the storage unit and the last thing I would reach if I emptied the place." There are no plans to retrieve the Merrill at this time, but it was fully operational when placed in storage in 1989. We also recently received word of another Westinghouse H840CK15 -- the type in the collections of Rob Stephens and Steve McVoy, among others -- and hope to bring further word of that also. 09-13 to 28-2001 Further progress on the restoration of VHF television broadcast signals from New York City. [click here] 09-11-2001 Kyrie 09-05-2001 A new entry has been added to the record of sets we know to exist. Although not normally reason enough to warrant a "news & notices" update, this Merrill is only the second one in Europe on our list -- Mike's in the United Kingdom and now Marco's in Italy. He's had the Merrill four years, and his collection also includes three early Zenith NTSC color sets as well as examples from Europe. Marco joins me and the other Merrill owners who need a 15GP22. 323 is the cabinet serial number; more information will be posted as it becomes available. (09-07-2001 update. All three cabinet serial numbers match, making this a factory-original CT-100 cabinet. Marco's CTC-2 chassis serial number falls midway between high and low numbers already on record.) 08-15-2001 A CT-100 recently acquired by Steve McVoy has been added to the totes on the information exchange page. The cabinet serial number, 602, comes within just three integers of matching another one on record, number 605. A miss, however, is as good as a mile, so we're still looking for a duplicate serial number to circumstantially confirm the five-sets-of-1000 theory . The chassis serial number falls within existing limits and so we maintain those boundaries. The number of known CT-100s is approaching the half-century mark, with 13 of the sets fully operational. A new Tidbits II page rounds-up some early tricolor CRTs that used a flange to conduct the ultor voltage. The page also has a link to a short video; I want to test the suitability of the site as a server of short, descriptive videos. In a pre-post test, WebTV wouldn't launch (play) this standard avi file, although it worked fine on all Windows operating systems. As always, comments are welcome. 08-04-2001 Tidbits II has just been launched. Find it back on the Restoration Menu page. Or click here . 07-08-2001 A Merrill in fine cosmetic condition has just been discovered. Although the condition of its 15GP22 is not yet known, this set will be restored to full operation. Its absolute condition and serial numbers will be available in about 30 days. This set has been added to the Living CT-100 list. Our collection of CT-100 chassis and cabinet serial numbers begins to paint a picture of CT-100 production that lies somewhere between the conservative 1000-built camp and what I have called the Folklore 5000 figure. S/Ns continue to be received, but the number will never be more than a tiny fraction of the total assigned back in 1954. Perhaps our insight will be more circumstantial than a statistical certainty. Update from the new owner of the 'ebay' CT-100, cabinet serial number 772. Pete. Picked up the set today from Harry. CRT is ok. Has not been recapped. No height or horizontal sync. Has vertical sync. Sound OK. And speaking of cabinet serial numbers, they will probably not be significant contributors to the quest for production figure assessment. There is however always an interesting tidbit to be had. For some Pete speculation, click here . For the latest CT-100 stats, check the information exchange page. CT-100 owner Fred Hoffmann has been added to the page. He has a website that chronicles his restoration; read his interesting CT-100 story there. There's a direct link to Fred's site on the information exchange page. To jump there, click here . 06-25-2001 Two more hitherto unknown Merrills have been added to the list of survivors. The first set has been in Texas since new, and its serial number falls within the existing limits. It has an interesting history and will soon be one of the first entries in the new Tidbits II page. The 15GP22 from this set is being checked for vacuum and filament continuity. The second Merrill was just bought through ebay (June 21 entry, below). Its new owner will contribute the serial numbers (cabinet, chassis) to our data base as soon as the set is picked up from Harry. If you haven't checked, it has a good 15GP22, but partially operational CTC-2 chassis. The winning bid of $3310.00 was received 35 seconds before close of auction. Another bid just 12 seconds shy and $51 short of winning suggests that, with more time, the Merrill would have gone for more. 06-24-2001 In the past year, many of you have contributed to Tidbits, a catch-all page for "...anything related to vintage color tv." Tidbits has been my fun page, something to fill with speculation, to share email, to announce discovery of a model 5, to share CT-100 stories, to use as a soapbox, to hear from two others who also recall the actual sequential color broadcasts of 1951, and much, much more. It quickly became the largest page on this site with the greatest number of links by far. Today I made the last update to Tidbits. A new Tidbits, Tidbits II, will follow, and I sincerely wish to thank all of you who read the page and particularly those of you who contributed insight, materials, and enthusiasm to the history, preservation, and hobby of early color television. Click here for Tidbits I , or its final update . -- Pete Deksnis 06-21-2001 Here's your chance! Harry Poster has a good 15GP22 nestled inside a partially operational CT-100 on ebay. Sale scheduled for another four days. Auction number is 1158291344. 06-17-2001 A second operational CT-100 has been added to our list in as many days; information on today's set includes the chassis serial number. Although we have accumulated fewer than a dozen chassis numbers [the "B" number on the chassis rear -- mine, for example, is B8000173, the lowest thus far (06-22-2001 update. Four additional numbers have been added to our data base, which has extended both the high and low limits; the lowest chassis number now belongs to an operational CT-100 with chassis serial number B8000162.) ]. None indicates a production quantity of CT-100s that matches the RCA press release figures. At least, not so far. Click on the link in the 06-16-2001 entry below for top-level stats. 06-16-2001 Although months have passed since the last set was added, the ebb and flow of discovery nevertheless continues. A double six-pack of CT-100s are now known to be fully operational. This is an amazing figure, because it means that over one-third of all CT-100s known to this site are in working order. Even though there's nothing about our data-gathering process that is statistically scientific, it quite satisfying to know that so many early NTSC color sets are being preserved in an operational state. You can see the stats on the information exchange page here . 04-12-2001 Slow but certain, for the latest on the 15GP22 rebuild quest, click here . 03-28-2001 One of the few surviving, operational CT-100 vintage color television sets has been graciously donated to a museum -- where a reflection of the history and excitement of early color television can be enjoyed and experienced by many. Here are excerpts from e-mail THE_SET recently received from the participants. Pete, I have decided to donate my CT-100 (cabinet s/n 788) to the Bellingham Antique Radio Museum. It is located in Bellingham Washington and has a very fine website that can be seen at [www.antique-radio.org]. We have become the proud owner of Jim Fries' CT-100 Set. In the event that you are able to get the picture tube rebuilt we would certainly want to have this done. We will be continuing to keep this set in operation here at the Museum. --Jonathan Winter, Bellingham Antique Radio Museum. 03-23-2001 Check out "CBS News Sunday Morning" this Sunday, March 25, 2001. March is the month CT-100 color receivers began rolling off the Bloomington production line. Here's an excerpt from an e-mail THE_SET received at 8 pm Friday, March 23, 2001. We're not the only people who remember vintage color. "I work for CBS and this Sunday on CBS News Sunday Morning we are going to talk about the first RCA color TV in 1954. The producers are looking for a working model or at least one that is intact to use as a prop on the show." Read the complete exchange. 03-20-2001 Steve just received a third Dage studio monitor. Click here to update an earlier entry (02-21-2001, below) regarding the added chassis. 03-06-2001 The latest information on Steve's Zenith "clone" 15GP22 has arrived with a picture. As so often happens, this tube held an unexpected surprise. Read the details on Steve's info exchange page, or jump directly to the story by clicking here . 02-21-2001 Steve McVoy successfully acquired the final Dage 650A -- this one was without a 15GP22 but included an unexpected addition; see it here . There's an update on the first two monitors here . 02-15-2001 The CT-100 mentioned in the 1-22-2001 entry below can be seen here . 02-13-2001 There are twenty-eight 15GP22 duds in the rebuild queue as of today. Bruce is still waiting to learn the cost of buttons; the manufacturer's response is due next week. The 02-05-2001 entry is still valid. 02-05-2001 As you no doubt know, we are trying to rebuild the 15GP22. In that effort, we must now develop a list of rebuild candidates. These numbers will determine actual rebuild costs. To that end, if you or someone you know can benefit from the 15GP22 rebuild process, please let us know through our e-mail link on the (yellow) MAINPAGE. Thanks. --Pete 02-03-2001 (1) Those of you who own a CT-100 know that I've been bugging collectors for serial numbers that appear on the back of their SET's lid and cabinet. As is my practice, the master list will not be published, although many individual contributors to this site allow their serial numbers to be known; mine for example is 605. What I've just learned is that a third cabinet part, a wooden insert found just under the metal flip-down door, also contains an impression of the cabinet serial number. Apparently the cabinets were not entirely mass produced and so required parts to be fitted. At one stage of the manufacturing process, these parts became one unit with a matching number. So for those of you who haven't yet moved your Merrill to access the rear, the front of your set will also disclose that little bit of color television history. (2) It's certainly a slow, slow process, the rebuilding of a nearly 50 year old picture tube that hasn't been made for just about that long. Right now, we're awaiting a quote from the button manufacturer. Since the handful of stems we will use is miniscule in comparison to an order they would prefer to receive, we're not their highest priority. Keep tuned... we'll get there. 01-22-2001 (1) A third Dage 650A has been located and negotiations for that 1954 15GP22-based studio monitor are underway. Although also without the 15G, if successfully acquired, it will nicely increase the odds of restoration. (2) Since this page languished for two months without news or notice, I'd like to flesh out this entry with some future news. In 1954 the RCA Service Company (six years before I first worked for them) photographed the installation of a 15GP22 in a CT-100. Those photos appear, probably among other places, in the first-edition / first-printing of an RCA Victor Television Service Clinic for principles of color television and technical features of the CT-100. We plan to photograph the installation of a NEW never used, okay: NIB, 15GP22 in an operational Merrill for this website. What's new? It'll be in color, or course, and we plan to document the critical processes shooting Hi8 video, and make snippets available as MPEGs as bandwidth permits. The set involved is already listed in the Living CT-100 list, although not as operational. (3) And speaking of the Living CT-100 list, today three more OPERATIONAL sets have been added bringing the total of known fully operational sets to 10. A number of other Merrills are already partially operational, and a few more are very close to glowing again. And finally, you can see the current condition of Dage 650A on Steve McVoy's site, and there's a link to a fuzzy and depressing shot of the second Dage below as "yoke assembly." 11-16/18-2000 A 15GP22 that was sold recently on ebay (see 11-07-2000 below) we now know came from a vintage closed-circuit color monitor, the Dage Model 650A. There is additional equipment that includes another monitor with a second 15GP22 (sadly, with its neck snapped off at the still-installed yoke assembly ). There is also a remote-camera control unit. All these items were to have been scrapped, but are now safely in the hands of a collector. We do not have information on the whereabouts of 15GP22 s/n IL 6599. [ Received 11-18-00: "The 15GP22 is also in the hands of a collector, who is hoping that someday it can be rebuilt." ] 11-07-2000 FYI -- There is a 15GP22 up for auction [491655363] on Ebay; it is scheduled to end November 9, 2000. Experience suggests white getter flash may be visible. I have emailed the seller asking for the serial number since the label appears to be still attached. [ The seller reports the serial number as IL 6599. This would be the machine-printed serial number and not a later number hand-stamped in black ink. --Pete ] [Final bid: $102.50] 10-20-2000 Go directly to TIDBITS for this extraordinary vintage color television report. 10-01-2000 After a summer hiatus, the 15GP22 rebuild process is again under active development . 9-14-2000 H840CK15 Sale Cancelled Just received e-mail that the current owner has decided to keep the Westinghouse. Original news clip below... 8-22-2000 Occasionally, a vintage color television set that qualifies for inclusion on this site becomes available. A rare 15GP22-based set that preceded the RCA CT-100 to market -- the vintage Westinghouse H840CK15 -- is to be offered on e-bay. If you are a collector who is interested in acquiring this historical milestone and overseeing its preservation, respond through this site to contact the current owner before this set is put up for auction.
|