It is the Museum of Broadcast Equipment and it is located in Kilgore, Texas. There seemed a time when old and abandoned equipment that gave way to the new technological advances just ended up heading toward a local landfill or stashed in a garage or basement somewhere. Now, in Kilgore, the past truly comes alive with vintage equipment that, of course, has a story to tell with every piece.
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The now legendary 1949 Dumont Telecruiser[/caption]
The museum is in a storefront in downtown Kilgore that used to be a car dealership. The museum officially opened in September and has been going strong ever since. For those who want to know how broadcasts were made the "old school" way, the museum offers everything from cameras to audio equipment to a 1949 Dumont Telecruiser that took to the streets to bring a story alive as a mobile broadcast unit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtD1bOduXqU
Currently, they have over 70 vintage cameras along with telecine equipment, video and waveform monitors, equipment switchers, distribution amps, audio equipment of all types and so much more. The museum was started by Chuck Conrad who is a radio station owner as well as a lifelong collector. When he bought the Telecruiser, he thought it time that his collection had a real home where it could be enjoyed by everyone.
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This is an original GE Black and White Orthicon Camera. It was in Dallas at the end of November 1963 and was a pool camera used during the transfer of Lee Harvey Oswald and it was there when Jack Ruby murdered Oswald during the transfer.[/caption]
The center pieces of the museum are the vintage television cameras and Conrad said it took about two years to complete the museum.
