[Boatanchors] Rare Minerva Tropic Master On Display!

[Duane Fischer, W8DBF]

Coming very soon to the HCI web site near you, in the 'Hallicrafters Wanna Be'
section, a feature about the Minerva Tropic Master WW2 morale receiver. I can
hear the collective sound of "Huh?" out there. Yes, the old blind dude has good
ears. I can hear a flea break wind at a thousand meters with a punk rock band
playing. 	
	
Fred Osterman, among others, discredited the MTM as being a morale receiver. He
was wrong. I have the actual original fact sheet that came with the Minerva
Tropic Master, not a copy, the original dated June 19, 1945. As far as we know,
this is the only one still known to exist. Probably worth more than the rx!   	
	
This sheet says, "Manufactured for the United States Army and Navy by the
Minerva Corporation of America". Proof positive it was indeed a WW2 morale
receiver.	

	It was released for sale to the general public at the end of June 1945. It sold
for $75. A rather hefty price for a radio in those years!  	
	
Lynn Brock, N0ALO has completed his authentic restoration of the built like a
Tank cabinet, complete with "MINERVA TROPIC MASTER" being silk screened back on
the drop down front door. The paint is not a gray crinkle, as most of us
thought. Lynn discovered it contains some blue. Hence he mixed the proper paint
to refinish the steel cabinet as it looked when it was brand new. The MCA decal
in the lower left of the front door is also new. Keith Kupec had a reproduction
made and it is a beauty!	
	
Today I gently slid the completely electrically refurbished receiver back into
the beautiful cabinet and secured it with the four thumb screws. 	
	
The HCI web site will show a front view of the refinished cabinet, a close up of
the decal, a three quarter front and side shot showing the ventilation louvers
and a shot of the front panel with the front door dropped down.  	
	
Included will be a copy of the fact sheet and some interesting specifications on
the several variations on the receiver.	
	
If any of you MTM owners need the five electrical restoration articles run by
Popular Electronics in 1995 or an original schematic, please contact me. I can
supply you with copies of either or both.    	
	
This is a fun and fascinating receiver. Those of you who have the HCI SWL
Monitor Certificate, (still available and shown on the web site), will notice a
border formed by twelve short-wave QSL cards. I heard all of these stations on
the MTM in 1961-1962. 	
	
Thanks for reading this and thank you for visiting the HCI web site to see more
about the piece of history on display there. Hopefully Colonel Fred will have it
up by the end of the weekend.	
	
Duane W8DBF (WPE8CXO 1961)	
dfischer@usol.com