The Vintage DVD set is not currently available. The entire 7 hour production is downloadable for $9.95 at this link • view trailer of the 7 hour collection

BROADCAST PIONEERS

 

The Museum of Magnetic Sound Recording has been granted permission to display photos from the Jim Rankin Antique Radio Collection. 

 

 

 

Radio DJ

Jim worked as a DJ and Program Director in Texas and Louisiana.  Jim began his radio career in Taylor, Texas at KTAE when he was 19 (photo left) .  He then worked for KWBC in Navasota, Texas.  Jim also worked as a Program Director for Bryan-College Station's WTAW, one of the oldest continually run radio stations in service in central Texas.  WTAW stands for Watch The Aggies Win. WTAW is credited with being one of the first stations in the nation to cover a live football game in real time. Prior to the current News-Talk radio format, WTAW, then 1150 AM, was a Country and Western radio station, which was housed in Bryan, Texas close to the Triangle Bowling alley in the Old College area of the city.   WTAW had Jim go to program a new station in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Jim worked for Austin, Texas' KOKE (story right - click on the story for a larger view). Jim comments "It was a very successful promotion for the Dodge dealership, but not an entirely pleasant experience for me. During the time I was dangling there, we had high winds, some guys with a hacksaw who wanted to cut the cable that held the car aloft, and a couple of girls who tried to climb the crane to get into the car with me. The police foiled both invading parties. These were the 'fun' days of radio."

KOKE bought a radio station in Shreveport, Louisiana KJOE and had him program that station as well.  He also worked at KVET/KASE inAustin.

Jim was Operations Manager for KENR Houston, Texas

On Jim's 30th birthday, his wife bought Jim an old 1937 Zenith radio that is the radio seen in the Walton's TV show.  It has 12 tubes and is known as the "tombstone" radio because of its shape.

Jim now has approximately 600 vintage radios.  We are displaying a variety of those radios including their before and after restoration photos. 

View video of Jim's comments about the collection

---

The Jim Rankin Radio Collection

Jim Rankin ( left) with a portion of his 600+ radio collection.  The large radio in front of Jim is the 1937 Zenith Model 12-S-232 (below), also known as the "Waltons Radio" (seen right)

---

Click on the photos to view a larger image
1932 Silvertone Model 1154 Grandfather Clock Radio	1934 Philco Model 45 Butterfly
1937 Arvin Model 518 Phantom Baby	1940 Zenith Model 10H571 'Spinet'
1941 Majestic Model IS49 Melody Cruiser	1946 Crosley Model 63TA 'Victory'
1946 Sonora model RQU-222	1949 Coca Cola Cooler radio
1950 Westinghouse model 502	1954 Arvin model 840T
A few  more radios from Jim Rankin's collection

The Broadcast Section is a project of the Museum of Magnetic Sound Recording

© 2013 MultiMedia Museum • Museum of Magnetic Sound Recording

Home • Manufacturers Menu Tour our collection!  We offer seven hours of 50 video segments via download about our reel to reel tape recorder and microphone collection and the history of magnetic recording available at this link. ORDER THE VIDEO FILES ON LINE - was 14.95  NOW only $9.95 There are 50 QuickTime H264 854 X 480 files in this download.  Play on MAC OS or Windows Media Player While most content deals with the history and manufacturers of the reel to reel tape recorder, or tape deck, we cover many aspects of magnetic recording. We provide 48 hours during which to download the files. After that the file access will expire.  Once the files are downloaded they are yours to keep. © 2018 Museum of Magnetic Sound Recording  •  Webmaster • All pictures and content on this web site are the property of the Theophilus family,the Museum of Magnetic Sound Recording and reel2reeltexas.com • Photos of items in our collection are available for sale. We do NOT provide copies of ads, nor photos from other sources! All photo work is billed at studio rates and a deposit is required.