Charlie said:
Is this one that needs the H drive transformer and the coil in the base
circuit to H out resoldered?
I have the 19" version of the CTC185. Only had one problem with it
since I purchased it new almost seven years ago--the RF port snapped
off the tuner PCB. The tech who repaired the set (in my home)
resoldered the ground points around the tuner as well, which were a
major source of trouble in all RCA (Thomson) televisions with on-board
tuners. After the repair, however, my set has worked flawlessly on
cable the last six years or so (I had the repair done only a couple of
months after purchasing the set).
Why would the large-screen sets (25-27") using the same chassis as my
19" TV have so much more trouble with other things besides the tuner,
such as the flyback and power supply? I have a friend who owns an RCA
TV with a 25" CRT; he has apparently had no problems with it in perhaps
five years, despite the TV having fallen off a table a couple of years
ago and having been moved some 15 miles about a year and a half ago. I
don't know, however, if his TV has the CTC 185 chassis or not. It may
not (probably doesn't), considering his has the Guide Plus+ on-screen
program guide; my CTC185 doesn't have it either.
The Guide Plus+ feature seemed to me at its introduction, and still
seems to me today, to have been a feature included only in high-end
RCA/Thomson TVs; I don't think it lasted all that long, however, as I
haven't seen it in any of RCA's new sets, either its SDTV models or any
of its remaining flat-tube CRT sets and certainly not in recent RCA
high-definition FPs. Was Guide Plus+ just a glitzy flash-in-the-pan
feature RCA included in their sets just as a selling point for a couple
of model years? I would think so, since most digital cable services
such as Time Warner, et al. now include an on-screen program guide and
a flip bar (in their cable boxes; I don't know if this is available
with the company's HD service which connects directly to a HD FP set)
that shows the name and channel number of the station you are watching,
and a listing of channels and programs by time, channel, etc. With a
feature like this already available in the cable box, there is no need
for an on-screen channel guide in the TV itself.
Jeff Strieble, WB8NHV (email addy not shown to deter spammers)
Fairport Harbor, Ohio USA
