RCA

Explore RCA vintage audio equipment in the Vintage Technology Archive.

Unknown

• 10001C — RCA 10001C, the MI-10001C ribbon-velocity unidirectional microphone. A thin record: polar-pattern and response figures from a period reference entry.
• 11850-C — RCA 11850-C lacquer cutting head — ±2 dB from 30–10,000 cps, 15-ohm nominal, heated and thermostatted. The heart of the 73-B recorder.
• 44-BX — RCA 44-BX ribbon velocity microphone — bidirectional figure-eight, 50/250 ohm taps, the chrome-grille icon of the broadcast studio.
• VKT-650 — RCA VKT-650 VHS Hi-Fi VCR, reviewed in 1984 by High Fidelity and Audio. One-year/eight-event timer, on-screen programming, $1,295.

Other Models

• 70-C1 — RCA 70-C1 (1945) transcription turntable — NBC broadcast pedigree, switchable NAB lateral equalizer, flat above 500 Hz. Scarce, undocumented, collectible.
• 76-B2 — RCA 76-B2 Consolette — 1941 broadcast speech-input console for FM/AM/TV, 15,000-cycle response, two studios plus six remote lines.
• CA-10 — RCA CA-10 — undocumented in the archive. No verified specs, year, or price; what's missing and how owners can help fill it in.
• MI-4856 — RCA MI-4856 lateral pickup head — a broadcast turntable cartridge of the mid-1940s, sold as a component and hunted through trade-paper classifieds.
• MI-4875 — RCA MI-4875 universal pickup — lateral and vertical playback, ±2 db 50–10,000 cycles, diamond stylus at one-ounce pressure. The head that made the Type 70-C1 turntable worth buying.
• MI-4887 — RCA MI-4887 magnetic recording head for the 72-C lathe — ±2 dB, 50–10,000 cycles, 15-ohm compensator, NBC's 1941 upgrade.
• RC-5200P — RCA RC-5200P (1997): the basic launch-window DVD player that beat laserdisc on picture and tracked CD dropouts better than most CD decks.
• TP-15 — RCA TP-15 universal multiplexer (1955), the optical hub of RCA film chains routing 16mm, 35mm and slides into color or mono TV cameras.
• TP-66 — RCA TP-66 16mm telecine projector — the film-chain workhorse of local TV, with field-modifiable cueing and a soft-driven sound drum engineers had to strobe.
• WHP-101 — RCA WHP-101 cordless RF headphones, a mid-'90s home-theater accessory that survives mainly in dealer closeout pages and enthusiast system lists.