General Electric "Roundies"

[Charlie]

Through this past year, we've seen several great examples of round color sets here on AK. It seems that most of them are RCA's, but there are also many other brands in the mix. I've noticed that out of all the round color sets here on AK, there is only ONE example of a General Electric. This would be Rob's color GE with the scene from Star Trek Voyager. Since Rob's is the only General Electric roundie seen here on AK, is it safe to say that GE round color sets were generally junk and didn't last? Or did GE simply not offer many color sets at that time? Were they usually short-lived due to being cheaply made? Was GE devoting most of their time to designing the up-coming PortaColor sets? What is GE's story?

BTW, I think Rob's GE roundie is really cool looking... especially the way the legs are designed. It kinda looks like it can walk around the room!

[Rob]

Charlie,

I am pretty sure this '62 GE has a CTC-11 RCA 'type' chassis in it. It is copper plated though, so may actually have been built by GE.

Funny you mention this set. I was watching it 3 nights in a row this past week to put some time on the electronics. Watched early Star Trek and the one with the Space Station and Commander Cisco. I hadn't turned it on in a year.

I love the legs too. I had to rebuild them, that whole bottom was broken as found but the parts are all original. This set is very deep and still has a bump cover out the back about 4" further out.

Rob

[Rob]

Now compare the above photo to this RCA CTC-11 circa 1962 as well. Note the same controls and control layout except this RCA is configured for ultrasonic remote control.

Rob