Daily Rants

gilLigan’s island radio

I found a gem at a local estate sale. It seems the best deals at an Estate Sale are the ones that do not have any major advertisement. I’m talking about a sale put on by the family members and not a paid crew that follows a strict procedure based on how many days they are going to be selling.

This particular estate sale was a couple of miles from our home. The seller was very motivated in selling what was left of the families belongings. I purchased several radios and the Packard Bell AR-851 “Gilligan’s Island” model was a cool score.

You can find out more details on this particular radio by checking this site

The older radio to the left may look cooler but it doesn’t have the history as the one on the right.

One interesting note between the radio seen on the show and mine is the handle and antenna is missing. It turns out the prop team on the show added both the handle and antenna. Being this an A.M. radio model an antenna is not needed since F.M. wasn’t an option.

The big joke is the professor was able to recharge the radio batteries using coconut shells and he couldn’t figure out how to plug the hole on the boat. That’s some classic shit right there. LOL!!

Circa 1966, American actors, left to right, Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr. (1918-1990) and Russell Johnson attempt to use a homemade CB radio to contact civilization in a still from the television comedy show ‘Gilligan’s Island’. (Photo by CBS/Getty Images)

This is the original radio used on the Gilligan’s Island series that debuted in 1964.

The antenna and handle were added by the props department