Sears Color TV 15gp22 clone

[John Folsom]

Yes indeed, Sears (Silvertone) did field a 15" set in 1954. I do not know how many of these sets were made, but this set and the spare set of chassis I have were production sets. I also do not know if the sets were sold to the public, or just for display in the stores.

The set is a unique design, not a CT100 "clone". The small chassis on the side of the cabinet is the color processing circuitry, and the main power supply (not pictured) is a separate chassis mounted below the main chassis at the bottom of the cabinet. All the static and dynamic convergence controls are accessible from the front of the set, which makes it handy for set-up.

The set perform pretty well, though the hue control has a very limited range. I don't think Sears fielded another color set until the 1960s. I contacted the corporate historian at Sears about the set, and they were clueless.

[Steve D.]

John,

Thanks for supplying the photos of the 15" Sears-Silvertone color set. I might be wrong here, but it seems hard to imagine that Sears,not a manufacturer of tv sets, invested the money to design and build a unique color chassis for a pilot run. As you mention, it is not a CT-100 clone, nor is it a Sparton, Stromberg-Carlson or Westinghouse clone. Certainly, several other companies produced 15" color receivers in early '54. So John, perhaps you, Steve McVoy or Ed Reitan can determine who built and supplied this chassis to Sears.

Thanks,

Steve D.