January 6, 2024. Cases and Enclosures
Often an Afterthought! Boy could I add some statements following that one, but will limit your vivid imaginations to Cases and Enclosures.
Here you stand after spending at times months building something only to find you lack a "box" to enclose your new Home-brew Rig. Al Fresco is cool but you have found this abandoned gas station and it is a prefect spot to work IOTA. (Island On the Air.) An empty gas filling location qualifies as an Island, or so you think.
This is where creativity has to get a huge shot of Adrenalin to challenge you to think out of the "box".
Even I am guilty of this, but hopefully have learned to first think about an enclosure (Step #1) and then let this guide how you build the project. Or alternatively you build a prototype get that working and then a second build for the box!
I have used this two unit method and since I build in modules often redeploy those original modules in other projects.
Tri-Band SS HW101 ~ 1/2 Cubic Foot
The above photo is a homebrew box 12X12X6 that was an after thought once I had built a solid state version (40/20/15M) of the Heathkit HW101 employing the actual frequency scheme and components from a HW101. (SSB Filter, Heterodyne Frequencies and even a Ten Tec PTO)
It started life as a three foot square of various boards
Once this is built not the time to think about Boxes
One of the simplest methods is to use 1/2 inch aluminum angle stock for a cage structure and aluminum plate like 1/16 inch available from Amazon for the Front Panel, Back Panel and the Bottom structure. The side facing angle stock provides a convenient surface to install lighter gauge stock and once anchored with 4-40 screws into holes tapped into the aluminum stock it is solid.
Long ago I bought an 18" table top metal break from Harbor Freight for about $23. It costs more now. But using readily available sheet metal stock (Home Depot) and some tooling I made, you can actually bend up a chassis. There are 5 pieces to this chassis including the 4 sides and the top.
The additional tooling was to replace the 18" top bending bar with shorter bars like 4" and 6". The stock to do this can also be found at Home Depot. The key: Noodle First and Bend Second.
A more recent case enclosure build was the sloping panel enclosure for the Triton II Digital Controller.
Accidentally, I bought some really too thin gauge of aluminum plate for use as a front panel. That mistake actually was a boon as I found once you bent it and fastened it to some substantial under-structure it was quite excellent. It cuts easily with tin snips and bent in a wide mouthed bench vise.
The cost was about $7 and a commercial sloping front panel box from Bud or Hammond was about $26 plus shipping. I must confess that I screwed up the mirroring of the second side panel. I did have at one time have two rights versus a left and right. Easy fix.
So cases and enclosures should not be an afterthought like forgetting protection with Mary Jo in the back seat of the 57 VW Beetle. Start with a plan of the final box and then fit the modules into the plan.
73's
Pete N6QW
PS. January 6th today and it was not the FBI who caused the Capital Insurrection -- all paths lead to but one man. If you believe otherwise then you are simply on the wrong side of the facts!
