Westinghouse H664K17 Color set or no?

[Eric H]

Someone wrote me and said they had a Westinghouse H664K17 TV and that it says it's a color TV on it. The Sams for this is a 154-15 so if it's color it's early.

I suspect it just has one of those Color Adapter sockets on it but since I can't find a picture of a Sams anywhere I can't be sure.

I think the 154-15 was published long before 1954 though.

Edit, I see the 154 series was published in 1951 so it's no doubt a B&W TV with a color adapter socket on it.

[hposter]

He also sent me info, but included a photo, so I could see it wasn't color...

[Eric H]

I got the photo too, not color but it probably has the color adapter socket on the back.

[Rod Beauvex]

What is a "color adapter socket?"

[Eric H]

It was to allow the existing B&W set to receive the incompatible CBS Color broadcasts. The system was never used so the sockets weren't needed.

You will find them on quite a few sets from 1951 or so.

Some of the Admirals have been found with the socket installed but the wiring not connected.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by Rod Beauvex

What is a "color adapter socket?"

To elaborate on eric's response there were two types of devices that plugged into those sockets. There were scan rate converters(CBS field sequential used significantly different horizontal and vertical deflection frequencies) which were a box with a switch that would switch caps, resistors, etc. into the circuit to change the time constants of the deflection circuits so that they would lock to CBS field sequential and display it in black and white. There were also color converters that would let the set work in full color by adding the color transparency wheel that when spun in front of a monochrome CRT in synch with field sequential fields would appear as color to the viewer.


CBS Field sequential was transmitted in this country and was actually standardized for commercial broadcast by the NTSC for some time though some some of Sarnoff's cronies in the guberment blocked the production of color sets through some flimsy excuse about the Korean war until their technology and rabble rousing caused the NTSC to decertify incompatible field sequential in favor of what we now know as the NTSC compatible color broadcast standard.
The details of the history I just summed up are fascinating to read about....For instance field sequential was impractical for big screens and Du Mont demonstrated this before the government beautifully by equipping one of their 30" monochrome 'Royal Sovereign' models with a 60" color wheel. The motor required to drive it was so big it blew the fuse in the court room where the demonstration was held plunging it into darkness....

[David Roper]

Du Mont never attempted a color wheel demonstration with a Royal Sovereign.



Notice it says "dimensional model". In other words, it is a mock-up to demonstrate scale--period. Unless you believe they cut a hole in the floor for the bottom of the wheel.

That's not to say there isn't an element of truth in that story; actually it's a true story full-stop but for one important detail: Du Mont made their demonstration, complete with its fully intended consequences, on a 20" set. The 30" tube didn't yet exist.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by David Roper

Du Mont never attempted a color wheel demonstration with a Royal Sovereign.



Notice it says "dimensional model". In other words, it is a mock-up to demonstrate scale--period. Unless you believe they cut a hole in the floor for the bottom of the wheel.

That's not to say there isn't an element of truth in that story; actually it's a true story full-stop but for one important detail: Du Mont made their demonstration, complete with its fully intended consequences, on a 20" set. The 30" tube didn't yet exist.

Perhaps the color TV history site I read that on is wrong...

[dtvmcdonald]

The story about the Korean War I read ... and somebody at the 2013
ETF convention agreed ... was that CBS was delighted that it was killed off.
Remember that their 15HP22 was better than the 15GP22.

I was looking at the picture of a projection LED-DLP set a few days ago ...
a 2 inch projected image. This thing was designed for up to say
a 20 inch image, so 2 inches is BRIGHT! (We are going to in fact focus
it down to a 0.5mm picture ... yes, 1/2 millimeter ... that will be really bright,
we're going to make bacteria unhappy in a TV created pattern).

And of course its field sequential, at some unknown (to me) rate. At that
brightness the rainbows were really awful looking even looking at static picture,
let alone fast moving ones.

Doug McDonald

[Eric H]

Originally Posted by David Roper

Du Mont never attempted a color wheel demonstration with a Royal Sovereign.
Du Mont made their demonstration, complete with its fully intended consequences, on a 20" set. The 30" tube didn't yet exist.

Then what's that set he's standing next to? Looks like a RS to me?
It also says 30" on the sign.

[David Roper]

You can lead a horse to water....

[Eric H]

Originally Posted by David Roper

You can lead a horse to water....

Meaning?
Perhaps I don't understand what you were saying above?

Edit, perhaps you mean that the above picture wasn't an actual demonstration but only a mock up, I got that, but it seemed you were saying that it wasn't a 30" set in the picture.

[Eric H]

BTW, the set in the first post is up for grabs in the classifieds.
Not mine but I'll put you in touch if interested.