= Site Map
= About us
= Air Checks
= Border Blasters
= Contact
= Donations
= Guestbook Museum
= Guestbook Ogden's
= Ogden's Radio School 
= KTRB Index
= Links
= Museum Index
= Musical Montages Index
= Beginning of Commercial Radio
= News Clippings
= Ogden's Radio School
= Obituaries
= Stations in market
= Videos & Photo Gallery
What's  new           
= SHURE Unidyne Model 55 Series
= Drake-Chenault Sydicated Music
= Nevada BombTest rattles Modesto
= KTRB-FM Antenna Installed
= Listener Writes Cal Purviance
= Newman-Gustine Station
= Mr. Microphone Man Part 10
= Vehicle Wrapping advertising
= Commercial Side of Broadcasting
= Titanic Influences Wireless Radio
= Radio Legend Paul Harvey Dies
= Delivering the news
= On-the-air "goofs"
= Time Marches on for KTUR / KCEY
= The Microphone Man Part 9
= KCEY Turlock building new home
= Forrest Gump Movie Music Montage
= Good Morning Vietnam Montage
= Antique Radio Swap meet
= Funny Signs
= Area Radio Stations Logos 
= KMPH & KTRB Modesto Are History
= Pirate Radio Essex DJ Paul Peters
= Voice of America at sea
= Radio Caroline Pirate Radio
= Re-creating ball games
= Fred C. Beyer Story
= American Graffiti Music
= Stations Logos & Print Ads
= KGU reports attack on Pearl
= Radio reports from Pearl Harbor
= Radio Jingles
= News via teletype machines
Flashback           
= KTRB Index
= Radio tower topples
= Old Time Radio Moments
= KDJK  Dream come true
= KBEE The dawn of a new age
= Air Checks
= Maddox Brothers and Rose
= Chester Smith dies




Greetings from the
Modesto Radio Museum
Impromptu, profoundly uncomfortable, awkward
and totally unpredictable hilarious situations live on-air .

Tallest Wooden RadioTower in the world located in Poland.
Honolulu station reports Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941.
Anyone who worked in radio or TV stations prior to the computer and satellite era,  which began in the early '80s,  will remember how the news they delivered on the air reached them.  The main source was by teleprinters connected to telephones lines being fed by a news gathering companies including United Press which later became United Press International (UPI).
Can you help? Do you have something that we could use ?  Photos, recordings, news articles?  We only need copies of what you have. You retain the originals.  Click here for more information. 

Guestbooks - After you have had a chance to look around our website we would appreciate you taking a few minutes to sign our Guestbook and leave us your comments.

(1) Museum guestbook
(2) Ogden's Radio School guestbook.
Check us out on  "facebook".  Click here.
Visitors since 11-10-2005
Modesto, CA  95355

Commercial radio and television is a business.  One of the things people don't understand about broadcasting is: “How does the money come in?”   They don't seem to connect the fact that they hear commercials on the air and that those spot announcements are paid for by the advertiser.  Seems simple enough...but so many people I've come to know over the years...when they found out I was in the radio or TV business...don't seem to know how this works.
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Radio jingles are those short, catchy musical interludes that tell you the name of the station, the program you’re listening to, identify news networks and other on-the-air features.   Radio jingles can be traced back to 1923, around the same time commercial radio began in the United States. General Mills' "Wheaties" was the world’s first singing commercial. "Have You Tried Wheaties?", was first released on the Christmas Eve of 1926
In 1958 the first  European “pirate” broadcaster to begin  broadcasting from international waters was Radio Mercur. Established by a group of Danish businessmen the station transmitted  from a small ship anchored off Copenhagen, Denmark.  Radio Mercur's success  led to other groups starting similar ventures  including Radio Nord in 1960 anchored off Stockholm, Sweden.  Radio Veronica in 1960 began broadcasting in Dutch from an old light ship anchored off the Dutch coast and Radio Caroline off the Essex, England coast. 
In April of 1951,the United States Coast Guard Cutter Courier, a 338-foot, 5,500 ton vessel,  was acquired as part of a joint operation between the United States State Department and the United States Coast Guard to become a mobile transmitting facility for the U.S. Information Agency's "Voice of America" program. The operation was designed to provide a ship-borne radio relay station to transmit Voice of America programs behind the "Iron Curtain."

Memorabilia from the Bill Bates years  ( 1933 - 1969 ) at KTRB Modesto.  Teletype machines, QSL Cards, "ham radio"  and more.
This photo of the original studios of KTRB Modesto, and the mobile business trailer of KMPH on Norwegian Ave. in Modesto, CA show both businesses are vacant and the property has been up for sale for over a year.  This photo was taken on Oct. 16, 2010. 
These microphone replicas were actually one channel radio receivers  (1360 KFIV of course) used as promotional items given to advertisers who purchased a minimum numbers of spots  (commercial ads) on the station.



During the Pappas Family ownership of KTRB Modesto, remote broadcasts emanated from this portable studio on wheels built to resemble a portable radio. 
Paul Harvey Aurandt,  better known as Paul Harvey died February 28, 2009 at the age of 90.
In the decades since her demise, the RMS Titanic has inspired countless books and several notable films while continuing to make headlines. The sinking of the Titanic Influenced Wireless Radio.
In the early days advertising on vehicles was limited to a small amount of numbers and letters laboriously painted by hand on each vehicle.  The practice was not very popular and was expensive, not to mention the damage done to the resale value of the vehicle  Today's technology has made the practice much easier and more attractive.
The President of the Modesto Radio Museum since it's inception in 2004 died Sunday January 23, 2011 after a long illness. Warren C. (Cal) Purviance was 90 years old when he passed away at the Alexander Cohen Hospice House in Hughson.  Our sincere condolences to Betty and his family.
(More >)
2004 Photo
Part 10 added Feb. 18, 2011
Can You  Help ?
   Voice of America at sea on USGC Courier 
Greetings
Museum President Cal Purviance Dies
Index
KTRB AM Towers Toppled in 1979     
Promotions
Radio Bloopers
Time Marches on at KTUR-KCEY-KMIX
Commercial radio and television is a business
Honolulu station reports Pearl attack
Tallest Wooden Tower  
Titanic influences wireless radio 
SHURE Model 55 Series
Teletype machines delivered the news
  Guestbooks
Drake-Chenault Music
Commercial Broadcast Stations in Modesto Market
KTRB Property History
Radio Caroline & The British  "Pirates"
Vehicle Wrapping Advertising
Computers and satellites propel broadcasting
Paul Harvey Dies
Broadcasting Equipment
KTRB Modesto Memorabilia
Nevada Atomic Blast Test Rattles Modesto
Saturday, February 26, 2011

A proposal to establish a non-commercial community-based radio station serving Newman, Gustine and the surrounding West Side has gained approval from the Federal Communications Commission. Now, those leading the proposal have three years to get the station on the air to meet the terms of the FCC construction permit to operate on 90.7 MHz in the FM band.   (More >)
Community radio station gets green light
Radio Jingles 
Modern technology has catapulted the way broadcast stations deliver their programs.   Anyone who worked in radio or TV stations prior to the computer and satellite era,  which began in the early '80s,  will remember how the news they delivered on-the-air reached them.   In the "old days" the news,  gathered by reporters around the world, was fed to radio stations around the country primarily by telephone data and voice lines  (teletype machines and voice networks.).  Many stations were affiliated with a major network like NBC, CBS, ABC, & Mutual, to name a few, which was delivered by a newsreaders over network lines.    Additionally,  stations received news via teletype networks including United Press and Associated Press. (See "News delivered by teletype systems")  and local news copy which was prepared and delivered from local their stations.  Today,  satellites have become the transport method and computers the source greatly assisting  the newsreaders delivering the news on-the-air.
Nevada Atomic Blast Test Rattles Modesto as reported by United Press on June 4, 1953. Cal Purviance read the news report on KTRB at 430 AM on the morning of June 4, 1953.  The Nevada Test Site was the primary testing location of American nuclear devices; 126 tests were conducted elsewhere (many at the Pacific Proving Grounds in the Marshall Islands). On July 17, 1962 the last atmospheric test detonation occurred at the Nevada Test Site. Underground testing continued until September 23, 1992.
The digital era started in the early 80's leading the way to the digital revolution which has completely taken over the broadcasting and telecasting industry today. Here are few photos of some of the equipment used by broadcasters beginning in the 30's through the 80's.
In 1979 the original 3 KTRB AM towers on Norwegian Ave. were topplrf.  The towers were erected in 1942 constructed of sections of well casing pipes brought from the Bakersfield oil fields. A modified pile driver hoisted the well casing pipe sections as they were welded.
When station operators chose what format to air on the FM stations beginning in the 60's,  one of the objectives was to not compete with AM stations and be able to run the FM stations inexpensively. There wasn't the revenue from FM to support a "live" presentation with another staff of announcers. The result was the birth of automated equipment and the pre-recorded, syndicated format business.
The Shure Unidyne Video Story produced by the Microphone Man Gary Avey. It is the story of one of the most iconic “made In the USA”microphones. The Unidyne was built to address problems created by feedback, background noise, and reverberation. Shure engineer Benjamin Bauer is credited with being the driving force behind the creation of the first Unidyne microphone.