Who Has a Col-R-Tel?
 

With the recent sale of a Col-R-Tel for $4,000, I thought it would be a good idea to add the surviving units to our Color Database:

http://www.earlytelevision.org/color_database.html

Please let me know if you have one, or know where one is.

Thanks

etf@columbus.rr.com

One Col-R-Tel here with me...in need of a drive belt. Working until the belt went last week. Mounted on a Philco 12".

Dave A

There is a collector out in Riverside, CA, who got a set of electronics from me to complete his Col-R-Tel. There is also a Col-R-Tel (wheel & motor but no electronics) in Orange County, CA with a non-collector. Those are the only ones I know of.

Charles

Col-R-Tel shipping box
 

Here are some pictures of a new Col-R-Tel in the box.

Darryl

Thanks for the pictures Darryl. Wish I could time warp back to '58 and place an order.

Second the thanks for the pix

Actually, even though this unit was originally shipped to my back yard in Lansing MI, I got it from Harry Poster a few years ago, so you never know what still might show up!

Darryl

I'm curious about the excess red plastic sticking out the edge of the wheel. Was the wheel made by sticking colored plastic on a clear disc?

The red plastic is just stuck to the back of the housing with some black mastic. (you can see it near the ends) It is not part of the wheel. I have not noticed this before on other Col-R-Tel's, but it appears to just be a mask to block something behind it when you are viewing the wheel in operation. I doubt this was added later as the connectors have never been plugged on to the wheel (no marks), the wires were never soldered and the hardware and brackets are still wrapped, so the unit has never been run.
Does anyone know what this might have been for?

Darryl

Mine has a flap too:

http://www.earlytelevision.org/col-r-tel.html

It covers the controls of the set behind it - just an aesthetic touch.

Thanks Steve! Now I see it poking out on your wheel in that picture. I hadn't noticed these before, but it seemed to just be a mask. Sort of a "loud" color for a mask :-O

Darryl

Darry,
I guess they had a lot of red, green and blue filter material at hand. I think I would have picked the blue material for that application. My Col-R-Tel shows no signs of having a flap, but it was old and very used by the time I acquired it.

Experimental Television Center
 

Has anyone been to this site before or know who's behind it?

http://www.experimentaltvcenter.org/index.html

Video History Project:

http://www.experimentaltvcenter.org/history/index.html

They have an article on the Col-R-Tel:

http://www.experimentaltvcenter.org...p3?id=11&page=1

...

Colordaptors were home made, with some of the parts available from the designer of the unit:

http://www.earlytelevision.org/colordaptor.html

Yours is the third surviving Colordaptor I've heard of.