(Click on picture for high resolution image)

The Col-R-Tel was designed to be put in front of a ten inch black and white TV set to convert it to color. It has a large plastic wheel with one segment containing each of the three primary colors. The wheel is turned by a small electric motor. A chassis is mounted on the rear of the TV set, and connections are made to various places inside the set.

These converters produce a reasonably good color picture, but would only work with very small screen sets. They were made in the mid 50s.

If you own a Col-R-Tel, please notify us so we can add it to our Early Color Database.

This unit was donated by Dick Carr of Warren, New Jersey.  Click here for a 1956 article, for the instruction manual, for an article from Technician Circuit Digest, or for an ad for the Col-R-Tel in Farm Journal.

Dave Sica interviewed Dick, and produced this video (high speed connection required):