well, i got it downstairs! :banana:

https://i.imgur.com/ankW5nV.jpg

I still have to go through the entire setup/ convergence with it, but it's in it's final location.

You can REALLY see that it has an set of LEDs for the channel number indicator. :p

I probably have a weak damper, It's still the Original tube that came with the set, and I'm surprised it still works at all.

The HOT and HV rect have been replaced already.
I am seeing some changes in width and focus as i turn brightness up and down , so I will see what a new damper does.

there were 2 choices for HOTs in this set.

https://i.imgur.com/M0UzLQc.jpg

it came with an original GE 6JS6A which looked very tired, I have a 6HF5 in it now that someone claimed tested at %98.

which i have been running for 3-4 months now.

just on a lark, I put the old tube back in, it came on for 40 sec, shorted out, and blew the breaker, new tube back in and working, YUP, tube was worn out!

Yeah, that's the only thing I can think of that can be doing it off the top of my head, weak damper, slight changes in horizontal width and focus when brightness is changed, but vert stays almost the same.
This set, like all RCA types up to the CTC-16 line has damper power pulled from the secondary vert output xfomer, at the vertical centering POT, (400v in this set ).
The fact that I see almost no change in vertical height, and the fact that the damper is as old as the set makes me very suspect of it.

:thumbsdn:
Well rats...
tried to do a basic convergence on it and found a broken coil, the core is broken in 3 pieces, and the paper tube is ripped, someone made a big mess of it, I DID find a replacement.

edit

well
pics do say a lot
https://i.imgur.com/d2JYqXT.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/msdSFRu.jpg

And I did confirm that HV does drop down when brightness is turned up, even with the cap off the shunt regulator.

What I don't get with this silly GE clone is, it all seems virtually identical to the CTC-15/16 with only minor differences except for the horizontal circuit, which is quite different, not sure why this was done, copyright/patent issues?
If so, why not for other areas of the set?

Maybe just a matter of timing. When you need to sell sets, go with what you've got.

https://i.imgur.com/qb5up6h.jpg

all 5 of my vintage sets on the same feed! :D

I'm now ready for the savage cold front that is headed here next week, that is, if the power does not go out :(

What is the white one on the left?

stromberg carlson x-21 "m4b"

was in horrid shape when i got it

https://i.imgur.com/DzWYsx1.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/LeBQKOI.jpg

left in a barn to rot, 1/3 of the wood was ruined on it

EDIT--
I did my best with 2 weeks of scraping, sanding, wood-filling, priming and painting and replacing rotted bits to get it to look ad best as I could, it is a shame they let it go like that.

BUT,, If i ever find someone selling a cabinet like one of these... and I have the $$$ !
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthoped...lson-132744289
but the chances are VERY unlikely :(

Well, the new damper did not help at all with the problem, HV still changes a lot when I adjust brightness , HOT is new, damper is new HV rect is new, I am going to replace the shunt regulator , but I doubt it will fix anything, I will most likely have iti pull it apart and replace the 1.5 meg resistors in the HV regulator circuit that many say is a problem in these sets, I did NOT have to mess with that in my RCA CTC-16XL, but obviously GE uses crappy parts. The most annoying thing is as the HV drifts, so does the focus.

OK, now I'm curious.
using the CTC-16-XL schematic as reference.

https://i.imgur.com/VgMbCbL.jpg

the HV Rect circuit is the same as the CTC-15/GE except for one thing,

the red X es are the resistors i intend to replace to try to get HV regulation stable.

the circles are the difference in the 15- > 16
in the 16, the 1 k ohm resistor off the shunt cathode goes directly to the bias point (390v), in the 15, its tied to the same source as the damper, which goes up to the green wire in the vert output transformer, which has an indirect link to the bias point via the centering pot, etc.
any clue why they changed this for the 16?

Could R134, the voltage dependent resistor, be causing the trouble? It could affect the grid bias on the shunt regulator and hence the HV to the CRT.

that VDR is not in the CTC-15/GE clone, i only used the 16 as reference in relation to the way they power the cathode of the shunt regulator.

this is the 15/ge
https://i.imgur.com/ODgSryy.jpg

as i said, I'm replacing the 1k on the cathode and the 2 "matched" 1.5m with 1%

This is just pure speculation here, as I still do not fully understand how the HV regulator works on this, but after looking at the CTC-15/GE &16(which is almost identical ) , I seem to have a general understanding.
The 6bk4A/B/C regulates by shunting power via the cathode through a 1k resistor to what ever the damper gets it's bias from, SAMs does not say what wattage, I assume to be 1W.
The grid of the 6bk4A/B/C is tied to a 1.5 meg resistor voltage divider ( matched pair) , one to the HV control pot & coupling cap to cathode. ( very low suspect ).
The other resistor is hooked to the FBT winding that goes to the Horz yoke windings, thus there is strong pulses there, this ALSO goes up to the RGB drives, and later video output, and so on, therefore, if these resistors are out of tol, especially the pair of 1.5 meg, it would explain the odd behavior seen when changing brightness, and why I have seen people say to pay attention to those resistors in particular.

I would not have thought it was so hard to get 1.5meg resistors @ 1w, :(
this was the only ones that Mouser had that I did not have to buy in lots of 100. :O
588-OM1555E-R58
getting 5 of them, should not be too hard to find a good match from that, especially when these are of a higher tol than what is in there now.