Who Has a Col-R-Tel?

[Steve McVoy]

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

[Dave A]

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

[kx250rider]

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

[tubesrule]

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

Darryl

[Pete Deksnis]

Originally Posted by tubesrule

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

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

[Phil Nelson]

Originally Posted by tubesrule

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

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?

[tubesrule]

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

[cbenham]

Originally Posted by Phil Nelson

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 plastic flap is there to cover the corner of a larger rectangular CRT. The Col-R-Tel included a 'size switch box' so it could be used with large CRT sets.

The box reduces the picture size to that of the wheel window, just slightly larger than a 12 inch round CRT face. The 'red' plastic flap has the same finish as the simulated mahogany wood pattern on the wheel housing.

The wheel is made of very high quality translucent plastic segments which
are held together with a good grade of clear adhesive tape and a staple near
the outer edge where the adjacent segments join.

I have seen 8 different Col-R-Tel systems over the last 45 years and I have never seen any in which this plastic material has faded, or fogged, nor has the clear plastic tape yellowed or it's adhesive dried out.

If anyone from the original Columbia City IN. Col-R-Tel Company is still living
or if the original records of manufacturing materials still exist, knowing what's in them would be agreat find.

Also, having a definitive list of the various models and a description of the differences between them would be good to have. I am aware of three different models at this point: 100-1, 100-2 and 101-2. I don't know if there was a 101-1.

I'm in the process of restoring my Col-R-Tel unit which I bought in 1960. It is mounted on a 12 inch Philco table top set.

I'm looking for a drive belt for it as well. A friend deals with a major supplier of 'O' Rings for the aircraft industry so it's probably a matter of time until I have
one.
Film @ Eleven

Cliff

[old_tv_nut]

Second the thanks for the pix

[tubesrule]

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

[Steve McVoy]

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.

[tubesrule]

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

[John Folsom]

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.

[Eric H]

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

[vintagecollect]

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