{"id":29999,"date":"2018-01-07T11:28:41","date_gmt":"2018-01-07T15:28:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=29999"},"modified":"2018-01-07T11:28:41","modified_gmt":"2018-01-07T15:28:41","slug":"the-minerva-tropic-master-a-portable-wwii-era-morale-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/the-minerva-tropic-master-a-portable-wwii-era-morale-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"The Minerva Tropic Master: a portable WWII era morale radio"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>If you’re a regular here on the SWLing Post<\/em>, you’ve no doubt discovered that I’m a fan of vintage radios.<\/p>\n

Lately, I’ve been attempting to let go of some of my vintage gear to give my favorite rigs proper shelf space and dedicated antenna time. To keep temptation at bay when I visit flea markets or hamfests (like Hamvention<\/a> and the one in Shelby, NC)<\/a>\u00a0I now focus on WWII era radios; specifically “morale” radios that were used for troop entertainment. I’ve two morale sets: the\u00a0Scott Marine Radio Model SLRM<\/a>\u00a0(technically, a commercial version of a Navy set) and the Minerva Tropic Master.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I purchased this Minerva set off of eBay a couple years ago. I got it for $50 or $60, if memory serves (the seller originally wanted $180 + shipping!). He claimed it worked, but after I asked him a few questions prior to making an offer and learned that “working” meant the speaker prodeced a noise and the backlight worked. I made a low offer and he accepted.<\/p>\n

Last year, I took Minerva over to my buddy, mentor and boat anchor doctor, Charlie (W4MEC). Charlie discovered the radio had many issues and several poorly implemented repairs. Still, in a few short weeks, when parts arrived he brought the girl back to life.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

With front cover closed.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Tropic Master is a portable eight tube receiver that covers both the AM broadcast band and shortwave bands from 5.5-18 MHz. It can be powered by AC or DC. It was “tropicalized” to withstand extreme heat and humidity. The internal speaker produces mellow, full-fidelity audio and the volume can be increased to room-filling.<\/p>\n

To give you a taste, this morning I tuned the Tropic Master to my in-house AM transmitter<\/a>\u00a0on 1570 kHz which was being fed audio from The UK 1940s Radio Station<\/a>\u00a0(my favorite Internet radio station). This particular clip features Jay Lawrence’s excellent show, From Stateside<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n