CBS 205

Early Color Television

CBS 205C2

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CBS Model 205C2 with "360" sound system, which was used in this set (and in top of the line B&W and hi-fi consoles of the time) It has a twin speaker 360 degree sound pattern. Made in 1954, and used the CBS 19VP22 picture tube. Our set has a pecan finish. It was also made in mahogany and blonde. The set was made in the C1 model, without doors, and the C2 model, with doors. The cabinet was designed by Paul McCobb.

Based on the serial numbers of surviving sets, we estimate that around 2000 were made. Many of the surviving sets have 21 inch CRTs. We understand that there was a factory kit for converting the set, but at least one of the 21 inch conversions involved a home made cutout of the mask to fit the larger tube.

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(Courtesy of Steve Dichter and Ed Ellers)

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The main chassis

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Power supply chassis

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The CRT assembly. Our tube had the nipple smashed some time ago and will have to be rebuilt

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Removable CRT neck protector

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Parts removed from modified 205s

Bob Dobush found this box at an auction in north Ohio and donated it to the museum. The conversion kit was to replace the original 19VP22 with a 21 inch CRT. Here are instruction for doing the conversion.

Inside were a removable CRT neck protector, with a note explaining that it allowed adjusting the CRT without removing the back. Also inside were 3 plastic insulating rings removed from the original 19VP22 tubes, and three inserts for yokes.

We don't know what new parts the box contained. It is too small to have contained a new mask or funnel-shaped CRT shield. We suspect that the modification of the 205 used the original mask and shield, since a 21 inch tube will fit in the cabinet with those parts.

Steve Dichter suggested that there might have been a second box with the funnel-shaped insulator that the 21AXP22 used, and possibly a new mask, though whether the modification included a new mask is questionable. A visitor to the museum who worked on 205s in the 50s recalls that the original mask was retained in the conversion - the customer had bought a 19 inch set, so installing a 21 inch tube with a 19 inch viewing area would have been sufficient.

Of the 3 surviving 205s that have 21 inch tubes, one has the tube installed with the original mask and one has the original mask hand cut to make a larger opening. We don't have information on the third set.

James Cozart wrote:

The kit came in two boxes, with the larger one being made in two parts. The small one is what you have, although I don't remember ours being as tall as yours.

The large box was an RCA CRT with a CBS label pasted over the RCA one. On top of the CRT box was a second box, exactly the same width and length as the CRT box, that was fiberglass reinforced paper taped to the top of the CRT box. That box was maybe 6 to 10 inches tall. It included a plastic jacket for the CRT and a new CRT mask that was slightly oversize to be trimmed after installation to line up exactly on the larger CRT. It was not round, but had squared edges with rounded corners like the CBS original. Apparently, the new face plate curve was slightly different. While I was replacing the CRT in the Admiral, my boss grabbed the non-CRT boxes removed any reusable parts and added them to our inventory and threw the rest away.

I suspect that the new mask was an optional extra to encourage out-of-warranty set owners to repair them.

I know there was a new CRT socket with longer leads, a new yoke (or yoke cover? with leads), new mounting adaptors to insulate the CRT, a new HV lead and a hand full of smaller parts with a several page instruction booklet. I remember the instructions showed a picture of yoke with the cover off and arrows pointing to some parts inside. I think there were also convergence yoke changes, other than simply mounting it upside down.

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