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RCA home study course materials

Creation: 1950-1962
 Collection
Accession: 2900

Abstract

RCA Institute, Inc. was an electronics school and subsidiary of the RCA Corporation, one of the country's leading manufacturers and vendors of radios, phonographs, televisions, and a wide array of consumer and military electronics products. The school opened in 1909 as the Marconi Institute. This is a small collection of RCA home study lesson booklets for courses in television servicing, radio-television electronics, and electronic fundamentals. The instruction manuals all date to the 1950s.

Dates

  • Creation: 1950-1962

Creator

Extent

1 Linear Foot

Historical Note

RCA Institute, Inc. was an electronics school and subsidiary of the RCA Corporation, one of the country's leading manufacturers and vendors of radios, phonographs, televisions, and a wide array of consumer and military electronics products. The school opened in 1909 as the Marconi Institute.

RCA Institutes's main facility was at 320 West 31st Street in New York City, with additional campuses in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. Home study courses were also available.

Courses of study ran from nine months to two and a half years. The school specialized in basic electronics and electronics technology; computer technology; and courses for radio, television, and air‐conditioning servicing, as well as its traditional courses in amateur radio‐operator skills.

Approximately 30,000 students graduated from the program. In 1973, RCA began gradually closing the school, but continued offering continuing education programs.

Scope and Contents

This is a small collection of RCA home study lesson booklets for courses in television servicing, radio-television electronics, and electronic fundamentals. The instruction manuals all date from the 1950s.

The Television Servicing course consists of forty-three lessons and focuses on the key components that make up a television's functionality, providing installation instructions and troubleshooting information. The Radio-Television Electronics course consists of forty lessons, each covering a theory and an accompanying experiment that practically implements that theory. The Electronic Fundamentals course materials are incomplete, as they only consist of two sections, one on transistors and the other on cathode ray oscilloscopes and high fidelity.

There is a guide called "Color Television Pict-O Guide," written by John R. Meagher, a nationally recognized authority on television servicing. The guide was designed to help television technicians become proficient in troubleshooting and adjusting color receivers. Also included is a product data sheet for Shure magnetic tape recording heads.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Provanance

Gift of Herbert J. Bernstein, 2025.

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
RCA home study course materials
Author:
Laurie Sather
Date:
2025
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
PO Box 3630
Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
302-658-2400