Gilligan's Island Radio
Most people don't realize that the Gilligan's Island radio used on the series wasn't the original radio chosen for the show. Not much is known about this first radio, but after consideration, they went with the Packard Bell that is seen on all of the episodes. The white radio used doesn't have a serial or model number inside the chassis, but sources say that the radio is an AR-851 Packard Bell model made in Japan. The handle and antenna were added by the prop department, as it is just an AM 8 transistor radio. (No external antenna is needed for AM radios). Looking at the show, it seems as if they used two radios during the series, as one is white and the other one looks beige. The radio is pretty nifty and has two battery holders that is seen in the episode where the castaways were trying to recharge the batteries using coconut shells and sea water. The unit uses 4 D cell batteries.

Steve makes a radio from a 3D printer!
Rich makes a replica radio!!!

Transmitter used in Episode #4 (Good Night, Sweet Skipper) Found!
The transmitter is a "Hallicrafters S-40A". The "transmitter" is actually a short-wave receiver and not a transmitter as depicted on the show. The first picture is from the episode and the picture below is the real deal. The prop department painted it gray.
Brought to you by Michael Sohnly



Original Pilot Episode Radio Found!
This is a rather unique prop in that it never appeared on screen and was never used in the series. This is in fact the very first radio used by the cast and was only seen in early pre-production publicity stills. I ve attached a photo of the publicity still as well as a close up of the radio. I ve provided a photo of the radio (one black and white the other color) as it is today but considering its age, it s in not too bad a condition.

The radio is a Magnavox Celestial model FM-97, and is a four band, battery operated transistor radio with dual telescoping antennas. In my opinion, it would have made a better radio that the Packard Bell as it has AM, FM and two bands of Short wave. There is another version of the Magnavox similar to the FM-97 and is called the Magnavox Constellation model FM-95/FM-96 and is a three band radio that looks exactly like the FM-97 except the grill work is silver rather than black and has only three bands rather than four.

So if you re ever asked what the FIRST radio used by the cast was, you can now tell them! (Michael Sohnly)


Tongo's Tape Recorder Info