Here's a breadboard technique that might help others.? When my uBITX transceiver kit arrived I had no ideas for a case, so I mounted the board on a piece of plywood and used 1/8-inch clear plastic as front and rear panels for controls and connectors.? I've used this "breadboard" technique for other projects because it lets me rearrange control locations, ensure clearances between components, jacks, heatsinks, etc.? I don't ruin a nice front panel if I need to add an extra pushbutton or switch. After I learned about the W0EB and N5IB RadI2Cino (Rad I2C ino) project, and received a board and parts kit, I needed more room for the replacement board and a larger LCD. The wooden base let me glue a section of plywood on the front (see photo) and move the front panel forward by about 4 cm. I got more space, quickly added an extra pushbutton, and drilled holes to mount the LCD.? Now I can decide of how I want to proceed with a complete package for the transceiver and I'll have a template for holes and cut-outs.? But I might make a few minor changes before then.
I did almost the same with my Bitx40 except I used scrap PCB for front and back panels. Also flipped the board mount standoffs upside down, so a screw holds the standoff to the Bitx40 and the threaded part of the standoff can sink into holes drilled into the wooden board to hold the Bix40 in place.? Unless you turn everything upside down, don't do that.
On Thu, Jun 28, 2018 at 08:52 am, Jon Titus, KZ1G wrote:
Here's a breadboard technique that might help others.? When my uBITX transceiver kit arrived I had no ideas for a case, so I mounted the board on a piece of plywood and used 1/8-inch clear plastic as front and rear panels for controls and connectors.? I've used this "breadboard" technique for other projects because it lets me rearrange control locations, ensure clearances between components, jacks, heatsinks, etc.? I don't ruin a nice front panel if I need to add an extra pushbutton or switch. After I learned about the W0EB and N5IB RadI2Cino (Rad I2C ino) project, and received a board and parts kit, I needed more room for the replacement board and a larger LCD. The wooden base let me glue a section of plywood on the front (see photo) and move the front panel forward by about 4 cm. I got more space, quickly added an extra pushbutton, and drilled holes to mount the LCD.? Now I can decide of how I want to proceed with a complete package for the transceiver and I'll have a template for holes and cut-outs.? But I might make a few minor changes before then.
On Thursday, June 28, 2018, 11:53:05 AM EDT, Jon Titus, KZ1G <tituskz1g@...> wrote:
Here's a breadboard technique that might help others.? When my uBITX transceiver kit arrived I had no ideas for a case, so I mounted the board on a piece of plywood and used 1/8-inch clear plastic as front and rear panels for controls and connectors.? I've used this "breadboard" technique for other projects because it lets me rearrange control locations, ensure clearances between components, jacks, heatsinks, etc.? I don't ruin a nice front panel if I need to add an extra pushbutton or switch. After I learned about the W0EB and N5IB RadI2Cino (Rad I2C ino) project, and received a board and parts kit, I needed more room for the replacement board and a larger LCD. The wooden base let me glue a section of plywood on the front (see photo) and move the front panel forward by about 4 cm. I got more space, quickly added an extra pushbutton, and drilled holes to mount the LCD.? Now I can decide of how I want to proceed with a complete package for the transceiver and I'll have a template for holes and cut-outs.? But I might make a few minor changes before then.
These are great ideas. I saw another post where they used an old cutting board (plastic instead of wood). I'm just getting ready to do my builds (I have both r3 and r4 kits) here soon so these are all helpful tips.?
I used a plastic cutting board and some pieces of single sided copper clad board mounted with "L" brackets as a temporary "enclosure" to mount the board and controls ?so that I can play with mods and figure out what controls and switches I really need,?before I start cutting and drilling a permanent enclosure.? This photo is a about a week or two old as I already have my 2.8" Nextion Display attached and mounted.?
I learned my lesson with the BITX40, I packaged it a little too early and ended up struggling a bit to find space to add extra switches to take advantage of new features as more software mods appeared.
Very nice, Jack.? Have you described your setup?? I'm interested in the type of display and processor board, and the software. -- Jon Titus, KZ1G Herriman, UT USA
I haven't experienced any noise problems.? I still must shorten some wires and think about a final mounting arrangement. -- Jon Titus, KZ1G Herriman, UT USA
The photo is of a 5" touch screen (resistive) display (7" is an option) and the processor is the Teensy 3.6. Al (AC8GY) and I are working to finish the JackAl board for everything. I posted a desciption of the JackAl features a few days ago. The AGC (both audio and IF) requires a "non-standard" attachment to the board, but everything else works through the existing connectors. We hope t have the Beta boards going out next week.
Jack, W8TEE
On Friday, June 29, 2018, 12:51:38 PM EDT, Jon Titus, KZ1G <tituskz1g@...> wrote:
Very nice, Jack.? Have you described your setup?? I'm interested in the type of display and processor board, and the software. -- Jon Titus, KZ1G Herriman, UT USA
