"Good evening fellow hams and railfans"
I want to thank you for visiting my blog. Today is the first in a 5 part series how I built my Go Box . Being a ham radio operator who is a railfan has it's perks but has it's share of problems as well. One problem that has plagued me for years is always wanting to be a gear-head, always wanting gear and not always having a place for it. Another problem is a lot of times I am on the go, whether it is watching trains, storm spotting, being over at my lady's house or taking a family member fishing I always wanted to have a radio. Now the easy solution in which I already have is a mobile rig in the van and an HT, but there was something lacking. I wanted something that could be modular and still perform in a manor of a fixed station, but also could be moved easily if I wanted to take a day trip or even a week long trip trackside. With this years events and of course the dreaded pandemic going on I had to add a self- isolation factor in as well. In this blog we are going to cover how I made my Go Box.
The biggest challenge I faced was, do I build it myself? Do I buy a pre-made module such as the Pod Runner? Or do I go hybrid and do a mixture of both? I chose the latter and decided to go hybrid, and since I am a woodworker by trade this would not only allow me to have an excuse to make something custom that I can enjoy but also something that is durable and practical as well. The first step was to find something I could put the radios in, close and lock them up when I am not using them, I saw one of these things at a ham fest a couple of years ago and instantly I found the prefect candidate for the radio storage area of my inter-modular station setup.
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| My Go Box currently with one radio and SWR meter |
Pictured above is the I-portable 2 IP-6-U Available from DX engineering, it boasts a hard plastic case, built in speakers and light. along with 2 circuits for radios and plenty of room for other items. One of the features I like the most is it's almost linear size the cases rough dimensions are 24x24x18 inches making ideal for my purpose. The first of two boxes I am building is going to be the most used one with my VHF/UHF setup in it (this will be covered in another blog) The only two qualms I have with this box are the first is the power cord (input) is not long enough for my taste as I prefer to have a little extra wire should the need to arise to put a connector on and the second is on 2 meters there is a slight whine from the dimmer switch that dims the LED light, however this usually is solvable with a ground wire.
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| My Go-Box with the UHF 90 Degree connector |
If you are looking to get one or two of these I would like to suggest a few parts to get as well. the First part is pick up the DX Engineering bulkhead kits part # DXE-UHF-FDFB-KIT along with a UHF 90 Degree connector part # Amphenol RF 83-1AP UHF Right Angle Coax Adapters 83-1AP-2 to act as a strain relief and prevent the bulkhead from unnecessary wear and damage. This concludes part 1 of the Go Box build. I know that the way I am going is not the cheapest but it is what is going to work for me and hopefully you can find some inspiration out of it as well. Until next time ~73 and Remember God is still in control
