[Jeffhs]

Color TV certainly has come a long way since the Stromberg-Carlson K-1, from the 15GP22 round screen to the 21AXP/CYP22 round, to 21- and 23" rectangular, to 12-, 16- and 19-inch portables, to today's flat screens.

Color had to start somewhere, though, and I guess the S/C K-1 (and RCA's own CT-100) were right at that starting point. I don't think there are many of those K-1s in existence today; the one being discussed here could well be the only such set left, so I'd hang on to it and get it working as well as possible.

The number of tubes used in the S/C K-1 is astounding. Thirty-three signal tubes, multiple HV (ultor) and low-voltage (B+) rectifiers . . . I guess multi-section/function tubes hadn't yet been invented when this TV was new, so each tube had its own unique function. I am also sure this set must have cost a small fortune, being one of the first color sets made (aside from RCA's CT-100), so there probably were not many K-1s in use in the US. After all, color TV itself was in its infancy when this set was new, and b&w sets were . . . well, not rare, but not as common as they were to become later in the 1950s and sixties until small-screen color portables and large-screen color consoles from RCA and Zenith appeared.

Again, hold on to that S/C K-1. It is truly one of a kind, and we will likely never see another color TV like it.