David KG5URA has graciously given us detailed insights into the recent buildup of his newest Go-Box for travels. We showed photos this box in December’s blog post, but here are some more descriptions for those that may wish to leverage his ideas into yours.
As an avid and experienced POTA operator, David has refined his setup for portability. In truest principles of NASA engineering, the reduction of “SWaP”, (Size, Weight, and Power), is king as exemplified by David new box. In addition, this box also embraces the KISS principle, “Keep It Simple Stupid”.
David began his portable Go-Box efforts utilizing a popular Gator Box 6U frame holding his Icom IC-7300 and other well fit accessories. He brought this to a few POTA outings but it’s ponderous 50 lb mass made it a chore to lug out of the truck.
“it just became too unwieldly for me to handle”.
“…<this one is> a completely self-contained lightweight (11 lbs.) “grab n go” for rapid use. It only requires an external antenna. I also wanted something that I could take when we travel without taking up much room in the car. “
“Even though I rescaled the original 7300 go box it was intended primarily for POTA and Field Day use. So, I felt that I needed something that I could take more quickly in an emergency or on family trips and I believe that this fills the bill.”
Motivated by an aching back, David streamlined the size of the Go-Box from an 6U (14.25 d x 19 w x 10.5 h) to a 3U (13 d x 8 h x 17 w). Note: “U” is a unit of rack measure representing a single rack panel which is typically 1.75 inches tall within a standard 19″ width rack. This Weight Watchers diet took the total weight down from 50 lbs. to 30 lbs.!
With an eye toward further reduction for a better portable setup and an emergency traveler, David decided to build an even more practical portable Go-Box which would utilizing an Icom IC-705 QRP radio driven into a lightweight HardRock-50 external amp. The HardRock-50 amplifier is a Proper’s popular amp, based on Jim Veatch’s winning ARRL Home Brew Challenge amplifier design. This radio/amp configuration was inherently lighter and smaller than the IC-7300 while demanding less power consumption when outputting 50W vs 100W for the IC-7300. Note: 100W to 50W is a 3dB reduction, which is effectively only 1/2 an S-unit signal drop as observed by a receiver.
Q: Can you describe how it was built and some of the unique features you inserted into this box, based on your experiences with the other one?
A: I wanted a box that would allow me to do a rapid setup using the 705 with its amp. I found one similar on a 705 blog and developed the box after that one.
Q: I see your IC705 is mounted with a UTEBIT stand- is that a hinged support? why did you choose that? There’s something labeled NEEWER- it that part of the UTEBIT or something else?
A: This was the key to installing the radio into the compact box allowing for it to be tilted up for easy viewing instead of having to look down from overhead. I have attached a photo of it with functional information.
Q: Also, I see you are using RF-174(?) smaller coax. where did you buy (or did you assemble them?).
A: All cabling is BNC Male to BNC Male Cable 50ohm BNC Male to Male RG400 RF Coaxial Pigtail Jumper Cable 12″. These were OTS from Amazon.Q: Also, can you describe how light this is (compared to the older version).
A: Total weight lids closed is 11 lbs.
The 7300 box is now 30 lbs. before reconfiguring it from a 50 lb box.Q: What is that black strap (STARRETT) on the Hardrock-50 amp?
A: That’s a steel 6” scale in a sleeve. I use this as a tool to unlatch the red mounting thumb screws as they are in a confined space without room for fingers.Q: Did you hand drill the holes on the side?
A: I used hole saws for all the fittings. I already had the necessary sizes.Q: How are you attaching the amp to the case?
A: The battery and amp are secured with Velcro one on top of the other. The stack height is exactly the inside height of the case.
David mentioned his box design included inspiration from others online.
The use of this Tilted Mount is particularly interesting, innovative, and practical. One fellow online, Tim G4YTD, used this mount to solve an inherent mounting challenge with the IC-705.
“The biggest niggle with the 705 is the inherent instability, and the fact it falls over easier than a drunk on a Saturday night. Searching the forums and user groups, this is the main cause of dissatisfaction with the radio.
Luckily the answer is quite easy to implement, many people, myself included are using a tripod to camera adaptor, there are many around ranging from dirt cheap to eye watering expensive. I opted for a heavy weight anodized aluminum tilting mount from Neewer.” from G4YTD
Perhaps this mount can be applied to other radios as well.
Many thanks to David KG5URA for sharing the details of his successful portable Go-Box (Grab and Go). Well done!