Color converter on ebay

[Bill R]

Thought someone might be interested in this. It looks to also include the electronics, and the color wheel.

ebay item number is 260152811794

Bill R

[bkasindorf]

We are picking it up this weekend, anyone know how to hook it up? Or a good set to use? I have general instructions and was thinking about a 630-ts or an 8ts30.
-Barry

[David Roper]

You really couldn't pick more suitable vintage sets than either of those.

[spartanmanor]

That thing is wild. How did it work?

Link included for ease of navigation: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...0%3D%26fvi%3D1

[bkasindorf]

It is a color wheel. There is a wheel inside with each of the 3 colors in separate windows on the wheel. It synchronizes the spin of the wheel so the right color is over the CRT when that color's intensity is on the screen. I assume this was a way to adapt an already owned B+W TV to be able to receive color. It didn't sell well.
-Barry

[Dave A]

Barry,

You have picked up one of the best oddities of the early television era. Color for $200 instead of $1000...in 1956!

There is a very good thread on Col-R-Tel from a flurry of activity on this model in 2006. Several owners tell their tales of this curiosity. There are others if you just search Col-R-Tel.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/sho...ight=col-r-tel

You can find some photos of my set in operation and on the last entry you can find the owners manual and schematic. You will need this to wire it to any set. There are two different wiring schemes for a cathode fed or grid fed CRT.

You will find that the drive belt has gone bad if not split and laying on the bottom. The motor runs hot no matter what you do. I remember another thread that lists a subsitute motor from Grainger. Be very careful when you dis-assemble the drive hub. It has three stainless steel spring wire brushes that may have gone bad and are screw mounted in to the fiber hub directly. One of mine has recently cracked to a bare end tip instead of the curved wire. I shut mine down until I can find the wire to fashion new ones so it does not scratch the commutator. Even when in good condition, the brushes and commutators need to be cleaned otherwise the pix will get noisy.

But you have only won half the battle. You have to find a good set to connect it to. You are looking at finding the best combination of a useable set and bright CRT's. The best set to use will be a set that passes the full video bandwidth including the color information because the Col-R-Tel picks up its information at the CRT. No color information there...no Col-R-Tel color. I tried RCA. No good. Bandwidth was ok through the tuner but slashed to B&W at the video amps. I ended up with a Philco which does the trick.

It's probably easier to get a CTC-4 working than a Col-R-Tel but much more satisfying. There are only about 23 of us. Good luck and keep us up to date.

Dave A

[cbenham]

Originally Posted by Dave A

"Barry, It's probably easier to get a CTC-4 working than a Col-R-Tel but much more satisfying. There are only about 23 of us. Good luck and keep us up to date. Dave A"

I will agree that it was easier to make a CTC-5 work again that it is restoring the Col-R-Tel I've had since 1960, now registered with the ETF, a 100-2, s/n 383. I began restoring it and a 12 inch Philco 50T in August, 2006, and I'm almost finished, just a few electronic fixes plus the TV cabinet and wheel housing finish to restore.

What a long strange journey it has been. If I were starting out again, I'd try to find a 12 inch set with video feeding the CRT cathode instead of the Philco with it on the grid. The Col-R-Tel instructions say it will work with both types, but I *think* it makes better pictures on a cathode fed set. Just my opinion.

I had to replace the printed circuit switch with one supplied by another ETF member, and I made new brushes with used, but gold plated wire video drum brushes from a decomissioned broadcast VCR. Not pretty but they work well.

I had to find a belt and THAT was a trip. I finally got a hint late last year from an ETF member that a 6 inch diameter X 3/16 inch O Ring from McMaster Carr
would work, and it does, although with all the testing and adjusting I've done for more than 12 months, I've worn out 3 of them. They were only about $4 each so that's not too bad.

You have to remember when this system was first sold in 1956,there were only a few hours of color broadcast a week, so the amount of use the mechanical parts got then is far less than it would be now.

And, yes, the motor runs very hot!!! I may be the source of the Grainger motor replacement comment. I bought two and they both work fine and don't run as hot as the original Howard Industries motor Col-R-Tel used. Details available for anyone interested.

A really important point is to install a good aluminized CRT with a *clear* face plate instead of filter glass which drops the brightness by 30%. I got a 12KP4
with good emission and it does make up for the 90% loss of light due to the very dense color filters in the wheel. In an original Col-R-Tel operations note
they recommend operating the set with no more than one light on in the room!

This screen shot was taken with the source in 'pause' with a digital camera in "moonlight mode" which adds the light of several frames together. No other corrections were made.

[John Folsom]

bkasindorf ,
Send me a message with your email address, and I will send you a scan of the Col-R-Tel schematic.

Here is our heroine Dorothy on my Col-R-Tel, eperating on a 12" Magnavox. This set is grid fed. Not a great photo, it looks better in person.

[fujifrontier]

too bad no video

[bkasindorf]

I have learned a lot. Get Darryl's box, it is a lot easier :-).

And a cathode fed CRT, not an RCA the video bandwidth is not enough if you are trying to make the original electronics work, use a Granger motor, use an O ring for a belt. Wow, a lot of information for something this obscure.

Thanks
-Barry