Category: Cases

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Another nice build – we do like the speaker grill!

Nelson KG7GYS has built his µBITx into “a box I had bought for some project over a decade ago and never got around to using”.

He ordered a speaker grill from Amazon for about US$2.50. He decided, like many of us, to use a pot with switch from his junk box in order to have a standard size shaft (it came out of an old Radio Shack CB set).  The knobs are from an old Henry Tempo One (Yaesu FT-200). The speaker is from his junk box, as is the 12vdc fan.

We all want to know what the heck all that test gear does!

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A 3.5″ screen for digital modes/ rig control on the front panel

Vince, N2AIE,  worked Tom VE3THR and Bill NG1P tonight on 7.277 out of his QTH in Cedar Rapids IA.  These were his first uBitx contacts with other uBitx and bitx40 rigs.

Vince has loaded (after some angst) the KD8CEC firmware, and has the rig interfaced with Ham Radio Deluxe (in both directions).  His rig also has a 3.5in touchscreen Raspberry pi for digital modes built in on the right hand side of the front panel as illustrated above.

Take a look at the rear panel of his rather attractive build:

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A very nice looking build in a metal case

Joel, N6ALT, has declared that he “is done with his µBITx”.   And we can see why!   This is  a very nice build in a very classy case.

After three attempts at different enclosures, he settled on this one from China. https://www.ebay.com/itm/123008133070?ViewItem=&item=123008133070

The PTT switch is mounted in the pen housing on a small piece of perf board.

It is built very well and super light. Only 4 screws hold the whole thing together yet it is very strong and rigid. Very ingenious.

The radio weighs 2 pounds. Joel did not leave the display mounted to the main board as it would make the display not centred and too low on the front panel. He built a short flat extension cable out of a female and male header.

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Metal case from Sunil VU3SUA (InKits India)

Sunil VU3SUA who is an active BITX20 list constructor has a business (Inkits) selling enclosures and electronic components for the Indian domestic and international market.  Sunil is now shipping his µBITx case.  This is a high quality metal case that is available in several colours: Maroon, Black, DA Grey, Siemens Grey, and Blue.

As you can see this is a very professional looking case.  The case will be  in high demand initially and is, therefore, only available on pre order.

Sunil’s website says that the first batch of pre order bookings has now ended and shipping has started (15th March 2018).   

We should see reviews of this product shortly on the BITX20 list.

Bookings for the Second Batch of pre order booking open now.  The shipping of second batch will start by end of March or Starting from 1st April 2018.

The universal case for the µBITx costs  US$34.99 with worldwide shipping via India Post costing US$20.    For a DHL  courier service there is an additional charge of  US$15.

Orders will be shipped in order of bookings.

For international orders from https://amateurradiokits.in/

For Indian domestic orders, go to http://inkits.in

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PC Switch Box Case

KP1JBW has a great memory.  He remembered a post for the BITx40 that covered using cheap surplus PC switch boxes for cases.

He says “this one was perfect and cost only $4 from an electronic surplus store. My radio literally just arrived this afternoon so I quickly ran out to find a case.”

KP1JBW will add a plate on the back to cover the cutouts for centronics connectors that came with the case.

The original center switch hole is where the display naturally sits when plugged directly into the board. I will end up popping the front plate onto the mill to get a clean and square hole. This case is steel so I might end up going for something down the road that’s lighter. For the price along with a massive selector switch, wire, and a decent set of knurled machine screws, I cannot complain. I bought a larger case for $6 when I need to start looking at upgrades.

Joe KD2NFC made a smart comment about the challenges of wiring up all those cables to the Arduino Nano – there simply won’t be enough ports!

John AD5YE commented that these boxes were either serial or parallel distribution switches.  They take a serial port computer output (6 to 20 wires), or a parallel port (usually 20 wires) and transfer this to 4 different receiving ports. The most common use was to connect one computer to several different printers. They were quite common in computers before the advent of USB and (lately) wifi.

He suggests finding one nowadays at a decent price is a rarity. A few years back, they were very common and very cheap.  However, they make excellent radio cases though one usually has to redo the front and back parts.  John has several with double-sided PCB added as faceplates. In addition to the cases, you usually ends up with a 12P4T switch (which is fine for switching filter banks), and lots of #28 wire.

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Extron case

There has been a bit of discussion on the list about Extron cases.  These are aluminium cases that can be found with a search on eBay that come with other componentry that may be useful for a uBITx builder.

Vince Vielhaber KA8CSH found one that was big enough for a Bitx and would be a good fit. The BITx40 fits quite comfortably in it (after moving the power supply), but the only way the uBITx will fit is if the raduino is detached.  As you can see in the attached pics, it has plenty of BNCs for other projects and a power supply. Being 12v and 5v, the 7805 on the raduino could potentially be eliminated (provided, of course, the supply puts out over 1 amp).

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Lowering the height of the uBITx

Sajeesh VU3PSZ  felt that the height of his case could be reduced further as there was lots of space to spare.

He soldered a separate connector below the PCB and straightened the leads on the Raduino board so that it plugs in horizontally underneath the main board.   This saves around half an inch in the required height of the enclosure.

Reference #1      Reference #2
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A nicely presented Hammond 1402 case

Dave WI6R shows off his Hammond 1402DV (V for Vented since the heat sinks are inside).

It’s tight with the Volume Control mounted in between the display and the extrusion. So the PCB is mounted as close as you can get to the right side extrusion, then mark for the display and pot, with the encoder centered between the display and right side.

Dave used his own connectors for Mic, Headphones and Paddle and a Power Pole power connection on the rear panel.  On the far left is the stock BNC antenna connector.

There was room to later mount a USB cable as show.   Dave thinks he should have centred the Power Pole connector with the USB rear panel connection, but that’s what happens when you add things in later …

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You’ve got mail: a mailbox enclosure

Scott K2CAJ  was looking for a suitable metal case for his uBITX and ended up wandering down the mailboxes section of the local Lowes (a large hardware supplier to the domestic market in the US).

“They had a slim upright letterbox, the Gibraltar City Classic, for under $13.  The letterbox has a recessed back panel that limits the interior thickness to 2.5″, but all you have to do is pop the panel it off and turn it around, and you get the full 3″ of space. I added some rubber feet and used some scrap metal to hold the jacks and knobs on the same side as the board. The front lid neatly flips open to reveal the goods”, Scott said.

These cases are available in bronze and black, without any “US MAIL” detail on them.  There is a snap-on plastic fleur-de-lis if you want it, but beyond that it’s just a case.

Scott says “Now I can tell people that I got my uBITX in the mail, wah wah wahhhhh….”