For years, television was only viewed in black & white.  It wasn't until 1954 that color sets were available in stores.  And even then, they were very expensive.  The first color sets were around a thousand dollars, so only the very well-off were able to afford such a luxury.  A thousand dollars was a lot of coin in '54... especially considering the amount of programming that was broadcast in color (which was very little).  Prices came down some in the late 50's, but color TV was still somewhat expensive for most people.

The first color sets had rounded 15 inch picture tubes.  Shortly after, 19 inch models were out, but only for a very short period of time.  By the end of 1955, all color sets used a round 21" color tube, and this became the standard for several years.

I took the picture tube to Video Display Corp. in Dallas to be rebuilt.  They did a fantastic job and I am very greatful to them!  It's difficult to find anyone to rebuild these old round color tubes.  This set now plays like new and I watch it on a regular basis.

This 1959 RCA is a current project.  I have changed the main caps so far and some of the tubes.  Still need to go through some of the caps on the verticle and sound boards.  The original 21CYP22A picture tube has good emissions.  Once I get all of the kinks out of the chassis, I'll start working on the top of the cabinet.

Even though this set is far from being finished, it still puts out a decent picture.  At least I have something to work with here.  At this point, it can only get better!

This set was given to me by a friend here in Texas.  It plays, but it has a weak picture tube and needs some work on the chassis. 

This Philco is somewhat rare.  By the late 60's, all color TV's had the newer rectangular picture tubes like we know today.  It is believed that Philco (and a few others) continued to put out a few round screen sets because they still had a large stock of the round 21" color tubes.  These sets were sold at a much lower price.  For the most part, no one wanted to buy a set with the round screen anymore, but there were probably a few customers out there that were looking to get a bargain on a full size color set. 

Also, this round color set is a "hybrid" meaning that it has both vacuum tubes and transistors.  Both tuners, the IF strip, the video amp, and AGC are solid state.  All of the circuits that follow are tubes.  Hybrid sets were very common in rectangular color sets, but this is the first example I have seen of one in a round set.

Unfortunately, the CRT in this set is dead.  I have a spare that I plan to install soon.  It is likely that some capacitors will need changing as well.

I found this early-60's RCA in Lumberton, Texas, about 30 miles from me.  It has the plain metal box cabinet, which would have made this one of the less expensive sets.  Although it's just a metal cabinet, it looks pretty nice with the gold trim.  Unfortunately, it is missing a few knobs.

When I got the set, it had a bad short in it somewhere causing the circuit breaker to trip.  It turned out only needing a rectifier diode changed, which probably cost me less that a buck.  After that, the set came to life!

For the most part, this set makes a good sharp picture.  Unfortunately, the picture tube in it has an extremely weak blue gun.  I have a spare rebuilt picture tube that I can install if I decide to do so.