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So I have heard that a metal enclosure is best as people were having issues with RF getting in.? It looks like a hollowed out ATX power supply may be a tight but possible squeeze.? The question I have is would the vent holes allow a lot of RF in?? There is generally a cutout for a fan.
Does anyone have any other inexpensive suggestions for an enclosure?
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Personally, I like using old printer switch boxes for enclosures.? They are made of fairly heaven gauge steel and can sometimes be found for free.
73 Eric k8ohz
So I have heard that a metal enclosure is best as people were having issues with RF getting in.? It looks like a hollowed out ATX power supply may be a tight but possible squeeze.? The question I have is would the vent holes allow a lot of RF in?? There is generally a cutout for a fan.
Does anyone have any other inexpensive suggestions for an enclosure?
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Yes; those and the serial cable switch boxes. I got quite a few of them a few years back when they were first obsolete at a good price. Lately they have become a lot more expensive.
But they are great enclosures if you can find them. And they all have a 2 or 4 position multi-throw switch and lots of wire as well. FB. Usually one has to invent front and back panels for them, but that is easy with pc board. They are just right for a 2x16 or 4x20 lcd display (or oled) and two knobs. Easy to get intoand out of as well...
Incidentally, don't overlook old serial or printer cables as a source for wire. Lots of it in many colors. Hi.
john
AD5YE
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Hi David, I couldn't find an enclosure the right size, so I made one from single sided PCB, am pretty happy with it: Cheers, Glenn VK3YY.
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On 29.1.2017. 01:42, davidzdeb@... wrote: So I have heard that a metal enclosure is best as people were having
issues with RF getting in. It looks like a hollowed out ATX power
supply may be a tight but possible squeeze. The question I have is
would the vent holes allow a lot of RF in? There is generally a cutout
for a fan. As long as hole is smaller than wavelenght of RF it does not pass RF in. Pedja YT9TP
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Nice job on the PCB case Glenn. If you can build one, why buy a case?
73
Ken VA3ABN
On Sun, Jan 29, 2017 at 4:48 AM, Glenn S <glenn.vk3yy@...> wrote: Hi David, I couldn't find an enclosure the right size, so I made one from single sided PCB, am pretty happy with it: Cheers, Glenn VK3YY.
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I 3D printed mine. There's one on Thingiverse that was designed by one of the other members of the group. Front and back panels are solid, so the openings have to be drilled/cut. I printed out a bezel for the LCD and, after cutting a corresponding opening in the front panel with a 3/16" diameter 2-flute milling cutter (I have a bench top mill), I glued the bezel into the opening with acetone. I still have to drill the rest of the openings and mount the parts. Will post photos when it's all done.
Rich KC8MWG
On Sunday, January 29, 2017 8:02 AM, Ken <chase8043@...> wrote:
Nice job on the PCB case Glenn. If you can build one, why buy a case?
73
Ken VA3ABN
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Considering that the power supply, which uses switching technology that can produce RF energy, is in a metal enclosure is capable of shielding that energy, I would guess that enclosure would also prevent RF energy from getting in.
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Buy a $59 radio and then buy a 3D printer to make a case, that makes me chuckle.? We'd all love to have a 3D printer, but for now I think most of us are looking for more off the shelf or easily fabbed with common tools solutions.
.
I would love to use an old rig case, but they aren't usually available by themselves, they always seem to want to sell them with the chassis and want too much money.? An old HeathKit HW-101, Yaesu FT-101, Tempo One, etc. case would be fun and have tons of room, heck we could probably build an antenna tuner in.
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Plastic seems the cheapest for most, I'm wondering if that thin metal stick on tape used in HVAC would afford RF protection if stuck inside of a plastic enclosure?
.
/Steve, KA0NEB
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I also 3D printed mine. Did only the bottom part of the case and the front panel so far. I used the scad file of that thing Scroll down to the Experimental Area to go to the description of the scad file and how to use it. You can modify the file to get any size of the case you need and every cutout on the front and back panel can be setup in the scad file. So the printed panels already have all the holes for the screen, the potis and the sockets. I will rty continue the printed case soon even though I have issues with my arduino. Have ordered a spare nano and while I wait for it to arrive, I will print the whole case and try to get all the wireing and mounting of all the potis and sockets done. Wil post a picture, after I finished my case.
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I already had the 3D printer - built it myself about four years ago. It's really not difficult, and as for expense, it's one of those projects where you can source the parts yourself and spread the costs out over time. Mine is a Mendel90 with a frame made of 1/2" MDF, liberally painted with polyurethane to keep moisture out. Steppers are Wantai brand, and inexpensively sourced off EBay, as was the Melzi controller board. The single most expensive part was the hot-end, and you can get cheap ones of those as well (though from personal experience I don't recommend it - go with an E3D!). A 3D printer can be dead useful for a lot of things!
Rich KC8MWG
On Sunday, January 29, 2017 9:43 AM, Steve Robertson <bobs_otr@...> wrote:
Buy a $59 radio and then buy a 3D printer to make a case, that makes me chuckle.? We'd all love to have a 3D printer, but for now I think most of us are looking for more off the shelf or easily fabbed with common tools solutions.
.
I would love to use an old rig case, but they aren't usually available by themselves, they always seem to want to sell them with the chassis and want too much money.? An old HeathKit HW-101, Yaesu FT-101, Tempo One, etc. case would be fun and have tons of room, heck we could probably build an antenna tuner in.
.
Plastic seems the cheapest for most, I'm wondering if that thin metal stick on tape used in HVAC would afford RF protection if stuck inside of a plastic enclosure?
.
/Steve, KA0NEB
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I did not buy my 3D-Printer just to print an encloser for the BITX40 ;-) As I already have a printer, I thought I should give it a try for the BITX.
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I understand that most won't buy a 3D printer just to make a case for this project, and that the prices are coming down and eventually about any serious experimenter will own one, but for now it's kind of an exclusive club and when someone posts a question about an enclosure and the reply is to 3D print one, I chuckle.? I can just imagine someone owning a 3D printer and it not occurring to them to use it for this project!
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Not finished yet, but I think it's ok. Knobs have to be printed and sockets for mike and PTT have to be installed. I think, I will shorten the pins of the potis. Otherwise Knobs would be too deep. And I will color the text black.
  
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I know next to nothing about 3D printing, but what would you estimate the case cost to produce? It look very nice!
Jack, W8TEE
From: Helmut OE4HDS <hs@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2017 4:27 PM
Subject: Re: [BITX20] enclosure suggestions
Not finished yet, but I think it's ok. Knobs have to be printed and sockets for mike and PTT have to be installed. I think, I will shorten the pins of the potis. Otherwise Knobs would be too deep. And I will color the text black.
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Sehr gut, Helmut! Was that done in OpenSCAD? I'd be interested in knowing what settings you used for the hole positions, text, etc. - I haven't been able to figure out how to get the "ultimate box maker" add-on to work in OpenSCAD.
Rich KC8MWG
On Monday, January 30, 2017 5:05 PM, Jack Purdum via Groups.Io <econjack@...> wrote:
I know next to nothing about 3D printing, but what would you estimate the case cost to produce? It look very nice!
Jack, W8TEE
From: Helmut OE4HDS <hs@...> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, January 30, 2017 4:27 PM Subject: Re: [BITX20] enclosure suggestions Not finished yet, but I think it's ok. Knobs have to be printed and sockets for mike and PTT have to be installed. I think, I will shorten the pins of the potis. Otherwise Knobs would be too deep. And I will color the text black.
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So I ended gutting an old PC PSU and building an enclosure with it.? I have to be honest, it wasn't worth the effort.? The aluminum was thick and difficult to drill through and I could not get the knobs where I wanted them to be.
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However, I did find isolation supplies for the IRF510, so I was able to mount it to the metal housing of the case with a little heat sink compound.
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For anyone into 3D printing, check this out: . This is what I am using to make the knobs for my Bitx.
One thing I found is, if you are making a knob for a "D"-shaped shaft, the "flat depth" is the amount the flat is LESS than the shaft diameter. So, if you have a 6mm shaft, and the diameter from the flat to the edge is 5mm, then the value for "flat depth" would be ONE (1). Took me a bit to figure that one out. This one has all kinds of possibilities outside the Bitx project, too!
Rich KC8MWG
On Monday, January 30, 2017 5:52 PM, Richard Andrew Knack via Groups.Io <ihc73scout2@...> wrote:
Sehr gut, Helmut! Was that done in OpenSCAD? I'd be interested in knowing what settings you used for the hole positions, text, etc. - I haven't been able to figure out how to get the "ultimate box maker" add-on to work in OpenSCAD.
Rich KC8MWG
On Monday, January 30, 2017 5:05 PM, Jack Purdum via Groups.Io <econjack@...> wrote:
I know next to nothing about 3D printing, but what would you estimate the case cost to produce? It look very nice!
Jack, W8TEE
From: Helmut OE4HDS <hs@...> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, January 30, 2017 4:27 PM Subject: Re: [BITX20] enclosure suggestions Not finished yet, but I think it's ok. Knobs have to be printed and sockets for mike and PTT have to be installed. I think, I will shorten the pins of the potis. Otherwise Knobs would be too deep. And I will color the text black.
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On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 01:48 pm, Jack Purdum wrote: I know next to nothing about 3D printing, but what would you estimate the case cost to produce? It depends on the filament you use and how much you pay for it. I used green PETG and blue PLA. For the PETG I paid €36,- per kg and for the PLA I paid €20,- per kg. That makes about €6.10 for the green parts and about €0.50 for the blue parts. A few cents will be added for the knobs. So if you use cheap PLA for all parts, it should be around €4,- to €5,- for the plastic. I never calculated energy cost, but should be less than €0.50.
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YT9TP - Pedja