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This is the first one I’ve seen. At first glance, I read color and a resemblance to the Yeou Chromatron.

I was recently sorting my Sam's collection, and it's interesting to see some of the odd sets that never seem to show up. One that stood out was this Delmonico (JVC) from 1967 (set 926, folder 1). At first glance, it looks like a run of the mill small B&W portable, but it's actually a 19" color set.

Apart from the unusual cabinet layout, it has two HOTs in parallel, a 6BK4 regulator, and a surprising number of transistors in the sound and chroma circuits for 1967.

Has anyone ever actually seen one? The only Delmonico set I've ever seen is a small, B&W portable.
One of my neighbors had a set like that. I never saw one before or since.
It seemed strange at the time, so I asked the owner where it came from? The neighbor, always the bargain hunter, bought it from a Zenith dealer. I don't even remember what was wrong with it, bad tube or something! IDK what happened to it, as they moved out of the area shortly after.

It seems many Japanese import chassis disappeared from attrition, and their small size making them easy to carry to the curb upon failure.

Never seen one. All the early JVC, Delmonico & Nivico
( Nippon Victor Corp) were also B&W. First colors I remember were
hybrids. Most were relabeled as Clovis & another private label I forget.
First SS I saw was a 19" Admiral abt 1974. A much better set
than the compactron Admirals.

73 Zeno:smoke:
LFOD !

I was recently sorting my Sam's collection, and it's interesting to see some of the odd sets that never seem to show up. One that stood out was this Delmonico (JVC) from 1967 (set 926, folder 1). At first glance, it looks like a run of the mill small B&W portable, but it's actually a 19" color set.

Apart from the unusual cabinet layout, it has two HOTs in parallel, a 6BK4 regulator, and a surprising number of transistors in the sound and chroma circuits for 1967.

Has anyone ever actually seen one? The only Delmonico set I've ever seen is a small, B&W portable.
When Allied Radio of Chicago opened retail stores in other areas, Milwaukee was one of their first locations. They seemed to sell a lot of Delmonico products. I don't remember seeing that set there, but I generally went there to buy other items.

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I have seen this Sams before, in my Sams collection, and it is fascinating to me! I remember finding a tube color set in the dump, near my house, very similar to this one, in the early 1970's, I pulled tubes and knobs and scrapped the rest, because the cabinet was broken badly. I am not sure if same model, but looked a lot like this and was color, for sure, could have been! I also recall finding a Panasonic wood cabinet color set, table model / consolette, in the same dump, around the same time, that I hauled home in a wheelbarrow, and was able to get it somewhat working! If only I had known to keep that Panny! I loved checking the dump, once a week, and I would sometimes find an old radio, or HiFi, once a reel to reel stereo recorder! If not too busted up, I'd haul them home, and see what I could do. My younger brother and a couple of our friends, went there looking for toys, bicycle parts, etc., and I was thrilled to pieces, if I found a radio, TV, record player, etc! I'm sure they shook their heads a lot, as I climbed the "pile" to get a treasure!

I picture those sets being sold as lower-end department stores, probably by a greasy-haired salesman who would tell you they were made by RCA Victor. A year later you could tote it all over town trying to find someone willing to fix it for you! It's hard to imagine that JVC producing a very good picture. I've had a couple of their hybrid color models from about '71 & they worked, but weren't anything to get excited about.

I agree, bgadow, it's probably pretty close to the truth! :) For me, at least, I bet there weren't a lot of them around, or sold back then, it's the un-common and "odd-ball" factor, that appeals to me, I'd love to get my hands on one now, I enjoy the un-common sets.

I'm also a big fan of everything oddball & would find it fun to tinker on. Really, from what we know of the Japanese electronics industry back then, it probably was capable of performing quite well at least when new.

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Yup, been there at the time. Hard to service, no local parts, odd ball
tubes, no TA, & not knowing how good it should work. I hated
the Jap tube sets except Panasonics. But now if I saw one of these
I would pay for it but not most others. It would be a ball to work on this now.

73 Zeno:smoke:
LFOD !

Yes, the oddball sets are far more interesting to me than seeing yet another RCA or Zenith with the same chassis I've worked on a million times.

Most techs hated working on anything different because of the extra time needed to learn about it. They were quick to jump to the conclusion that it was junk and would push the owner into scrapping it.

I'm guessing it was a short lived model that wasn't made in large numbers. The dual HOTs seems like a stop gap measure.
They must've sold enough of them to have Sams coverage on them and more than just a servicer.
The tubes look like they were furnished by Matsushita and they possibly didn't make a larger wattage HO tube. The Panasonics used HO tubes like that.