Ct-100
Encyclopedia
For the Bajaj motorcycle, see Bajaj CT 100
Introduced in April 1954 the RCA
CT-100 was the second all-electronic consumer color television
set in the USA, preceeded by the Westinghouse
H840CK15
by a few weeks. The color picture tube
measured 15 inches diagonally. The viewable picture was just 11½ inches wide. The sets were made at RCA's plant in Bloomington, Indiana
. The sets cost $1000, half the price of a new low-end automobile. By the end of 1954, RCA released an improved color TV with a 21-inch picture tube.
The CT-100, which had 36 vacuum tube
s in its CTC-2 chassis (known as "Merrill" to the marketing department) was one of the most complicated devices sold to the general public.
The introduction of the CT-100 coincided with the start of NBC
's "Living Color" Saturday evening programming and the first appearance of the NBC Peacock logo. An animated black-and-white peacock would appear on the screen. As it started spreading its color tailfeathers, NBC programming would announce "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC". Early NBC Living Color programs included An Evening With Fred Astaire
.
The CT-100 was created in 1954, before the Peacock existed.
RCA CT-100 sets are extremely sought-after by electronics collectors and restorers, with restorers often spending thousands of dollars to obtain or repair a set.
It is believed that RCA only made 4000 CT-100 receivers. Around 100 survive, but only 30 are restored and working. The Early Television Museum
in Hilliard, Ohio
has a restored and working set on display, as does the American Museum of Radio And Electricity
in Bellingham, Washington
. One reason for the rarity of surviving sets is that the cathode ray tube (the 15GP22) that was used in the CT-100 was notorious for its glass-to-metal seals breaking down, causing the tube to lose its vacuum. It is extremely rare to find tubes that still work. The 15G was a glass tube, but its high voltage connection is a metal ring between the face of the tube and the glass bell. This is where the leakage occurs.
Bajaj CT 100
Bajaj CT 100 is a 100 cm³ motorcycle built by Bajaj Auto. It delivers fuel economy exceeding 95 km/l .-Features:...
Introduced in April 1954 the RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
CT-100 was the second all-electronic consumer color television
Color television
Color television is part of the history of television, the technology of television and practices associated with television's transmission of moving images in color video....
set in the USA, preceeded by the Westinghouse
Westinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...
H840CK15
Westinghouse H840CK15
The Westinghouse H840CK15 was the first consumer all-electronic color television set sold in the USA in March 1954, beating the RCA Victor CT-100 to market by only a few weeks....
by a few weeks. The color picture tube
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
measured 15 inches diagonally. The viewable picture was just 11½ inches wide. The sets were made at RCA's plant in Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
. The sets cost $1000, half the price of a new low-end automobile. By the end of 1954, RCA released an improved color TV with a 21-inch picture tube.
The CT-100, which had 36 vacuum tube
Vacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
s in its CTC-2 chassis (known as "Merrill" to the marketing department) was one of the most complicated devices sold to the general public.
The introduction of the CT-100 coincided with the start of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's "Living Color" Saturday evening programming and the first appearance of the NBC Peacock logo. An animated black-and-white peacock would appear on the screen. As it started spreading its color tailfeathers, NBC programming would announce "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC". Early NBC Living Color programs included An Evening With Fred Astaire
An Evening With Fred Astaire
An Evening with Fred Astaire is a one-hour live television special starring Fred Astaire, broadcast on NBC on October 17, 1958. It was highly successful, winning nine Emmy awards and spawning three further specials, and technically innovative, as it was one of the first major television shows to be...
.
The CT-100 was created in 1954, before the Peacock existed.
RCA CT-100 sets are extremely sought-after by electronics collectors and restorers, with restorers often spending thousands of dollars to obtain or repair a set.
It is believed that RCA only made 4000 CT-100 receivers. Around 100 survive, but only 30 are restored and working. The Early Television Museum
Early Television Museum
The Early Television Museum is a museum of early television receiver sets. It is located in Hilliard, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, USA.The museum has over 150 TV sets including mechanical TVs from the 1920s and 30s; pre-war British sets from 1936-39; pre-war American sets from 1939-41; post-war...
in Hilliard, Ohio
Hilliard, Ohio
Hilliard is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 28,435 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hilliard is located at . It is bordered on the east by Upper Arlington, on the north by Dublin, on the south by Galloway and Columbus, and to the west lies open farmland...
has a restored and working set on display, as does the American Museum of Radio And Electricity
American Museum of Radio and Electricity
The American Museum of Radio and Electricity is an interactive museum located in Bellingham, Washington, which offers educational experiences for audiences of all ages through galleries and public programs that illustrate the development and use of electricity, radio and the related inventions that...
in Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
. One reason for the rarity of surviving sets is that the cathode ray tube (the 15GP22) that was used in the CT-100 was notorious for its glass-to-metal seals breaking down, causing the tube to lose its vacuum. It is extremely rare to find tubes that still work. The 15G was a glass tube, but its high voltage connection is a metal ring between the face of the tube and the glass bell. This is where the leakage occurs.