My RCA TK42

On July 10, 2014 - TV History

My RCA TK42

Here is another of the professionally shot portraits of a few of my cameras. This TK42 is forty seven years old and was built in 1967. By my count, there are only about 20 of these that have survived.

RCA built the TK42 from 1965 till 1969. Of the 376 made, only 6 were sold to networks and that network was the Canadian Broadcasting Company. The other 370 went to local stations in the US. When the internal lens sticking (overheating) problem became evident, RCA came out with the external lens TK43 in 1967 and built 93 of them between then and 1970. Enjoy and share.

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12 Comments

  1. Joe Mahaney II July 11, 2014

    This is a shot from the original KTIV-TV studios in Sioux City, Iowa!!! Standing behind one of our old TK-42’s… the year was 1976… great fun in those early days!!!

  2. Joe Mahaney II July 11, 2014

    I worked @ KWWL’s sister station KTIV… we used the TK-42 in our old studio until ’77 when we moved into the new studios!!!

  3. Debra Oliver July 11, 2014

    First camera I ever operated. It was back in 1976 at our ABC affiliate here in Pensacola, Florida.

  4. Bob Sewvello July 11, 2014

    I got to see one these cameras at a TV station in Missoula, Montana back in 1976. Wish I still had the photo of me standing behind the camera.

  5. Charles MacDonald July 11, 2014

    Almost looks strange without a butterfly (CBC’s first colour logo) on the side. (like the glass on the right in this page) http://www.cbcshop.ca/ProductDetail.aspx?did=18323&pid=136210

  6. Dennis Degan July 10, 2014

    The first TV station I worked at in 1974 had one TK-42 and one TK-43. They did not match in any way:
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/558126149/
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/557859754/

  7. Fred Schultze July 10, 2014

    Had two TK42s at my first directing job at WAVE-TV in Louisville, 1969. They were so heavy they couldn’t be pedestaled up or down. Just one height. They must not have updated to heavier dutye peds

  8. Scott M Bryant July 10, 2014

    Is this the one you noted on your site as coming from KAAL? I work there now. Of course, nothing or very few things from before 1974 exist in this facility anymore. I peeked in our standalone garage once when the live truck was out. Not much history in there either.

  9. Jarbas Jam Mesquita July 10, 2014

    Beautiful

  10. Gary Walters July 10, 2014

    My first station, KODE-TV, had 2. Took 4 people to lift it on and off the head. Were replaced in 1978 by a couple of TK-46’s.

  11. Jim Young July 10, 2014

    This was camera # 3 when I worked at WBIR-TV in Knoxville and the one we would use a winch lift to put up on a mobile platform in the studio to shoot the “wrasslin'” ring back in the late 70s. It was a beast!

  12. Grant Fletcher July 10, 2014

    We had one of these leftover at a CBS station where I worked years ago, I realize you’ll cringe… but the way it opened I always thought it would be great to gut and make a booze cabinet.