Elecraft

W1 stand

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Tom AK2B

W1 stand

I own most of the Elecraft Mini Kits and up until now I haven't found any
need to put them in an enclosure. However, since I've built the W1 Power
Meter - that has changed. The W1 is just too awkward to use as it is. Every
time I used it I would look for a convenient place to lean it. Even then, it
would somehow end up landing on one scary place or another.
In my apartment there is a metal picture stand that is vertical and slanted
back a little for easy viewing. Hmm, it was a little too big for the W1
since it was designed for a size 8 X 5 print. I went to Staples and found
what they call a "slanted sign holder" 3.5" X 5" (Model 69401SUS (I couldn't
find this number in their on-line store)). On the store receipt it said the
SKU was 079916015552). Anyway it's made of clear Plexiglas and although a
little too wide, makes for a fairly decent stand for the W1. If you mount
the W1 so that the battery case bottoms out it will make the stand a little
sturdier. Actually, I mounted mine a little too high and used rubber feet
mounted on the bottom of the battery case. I used threaded plastic
stand-offs at the top and another next to the left bnc connector since the
bottom hole is too close to the angle of the stand. You might want to add
extra weight to the base.
Although this is not a perfect solution, it works for me.

Tom, AK2B

Oh, and as usual, the W1 is of excellent quality, simple to build and
accurate. Par for Elecraft!

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wd4lst

Re: W1 stand

Tom,
That is an interesting idea.
I just ordered a W1 myself. after I get it working as designed, I am thinking of mounting the RF connectors and sense transformer in a Pomona or Hammond enclosure, and bringing the sigs to the board via iso bnc connectors. Looking at the schematic, I will probably tap at the R1/C1 and R2/C2 connection, leaving R1 and R2 with the transformer side.
There is ample room to play.
-Pete
wd4lst

>
> From: "Tom Hall" <[hidden email]>
> Date: 2007/03/06 Tue AM 08:03:07 CST
> To: <[hidden email]>
> Subject: [Elecraft] W1 stand
>
> I own most of the Elecraft Mini Kits and up until now I haven't found any
> need to put them in an enclosure. However, since I've built the W1 Power
> Meter - that has changed. The W1 is just too awkward to use as it is. Every
> time I used it I would look for a convenient place to lean it. Even then, it
> would somehow end up landing on one scary place or another.
> In my apartment there is a metal picture stand that is vertical and slanted
> back a little for easy viewing. Hmm, it was a little too big for the W1
> since it was designed for a size 8 X 5 print. I went to Staples and found
> what they call a "slanted sign holder" 3.5" X 5" (Model 69401SUS (I couldn't
> find this number in their on-line store)). On the store receipt it said the
> SKU was 079916015552). Anyway it's made of clear Plexiglas and although a
> little too wide, makes for a fairly decent stand for the W1. If you mount
> the W1 so that the battery case bottoms out it will make the stand a little
> sturdier. Actually, I mounted mine a little too high and used rubber feet
> mounted on the bottom of the battery case. I used threaded plastic
> stand-offs at the top and another next to the left bnc connector since the
> bottom hole is too close to the angle of the stand. You might want to add
> extra weight to the base.
> Although this is not a perfect solution, it works for me.
>
> Tom, AK2B
>
> Oh, and as usual, the W1 is of excellent quality, simple to build and
> accurate. Par for Elecraft!
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
>

Pete Axson
WD4LST
17901 NE 18th Ave
Citra, FL 32113

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johnny-52

Re: W1 stand

Hi Group,

As I mentioned in this mail reflector, W1 is a piece of good handy tool and
most likely to be used under outdoor portable condition. A customised
enclosure is a need. If any of you have any idea about such an enclosure,
please post it in this reflector so that we can share your brilliant ideas

TNX & 73

Johnny Siu VR2XMC

From: <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>, <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] W1 stand
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 9:03:02 -0600

Tom,
That is an interesting idea.
I just ordered a W1 myself. after I get it working as designed, I am
thinking of mounting the RF connectors and sense transformer in a Pomona or
Hammond enclosure, and bringing the sigs to the board via iso bnc
connectors. Looking at the schematic, I will probably tap at the R1/C1 and
R2/C2 connection, leaving R1 and R2 with the transformer side.
There is ample room to play.
-Pete
wd4lst

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Dave Van Wallaghen

RE: W1 stand

Hi all,

I made a custom enclosure for my W1 and AF1 out of Lexan that I picked up at Home Depot. I purchased some IPS Weld-On 3 and some soft plastic glue backed feet from TAP Plastics www.tapplastics.com . The Weld-On 3 is a solvent that when applied to clean joints of acrylic, plastic and in my case Lexan, welds the joint together. This was my first time in dealing with acrylic plastic construction and I found a couple of instructional videos on the Tap website that explained how to construct and "weld" projects together.

I ordered the straight through BNC connectors for my W1 and mounted them and the battery holder on the back of the board. I also obtained a round pushbutton switch from an old computer and mounted it to the side of the battery case, flush with the side of my box and wired it to the power pads on the PCB.

I designed the box so that it was split in half in that the top and bottom of the box had an opposing side panel welded to it with the ends welded to the top (in an L fashion). The PCB is mounted to the top with standoffs. I then used 4 2-D fasteners and 4-40 screws from Elecraft to secure the halves to each other (maintaining the fine Elecraft tradition). If I had drilled the holes correctly for the 2-D fasteners, I would have to only remove 4 screws in order to gain access or replace the battery; instead I have to remove 6 screws ;-)

I did the AF1 first as a first test of my skills. I made many mistakes in constructing the first version but learned enough to build an entire second enclosure. It is not perfect (the PCB is slightly offset in the enclosure), but it is sufficient for my needs at the moment and does not slide around on the desk.

The W1 was a little more challenging in that the measurement tolerances for fitting the PCB inside the enclosure left very little room for error. But, I managed to get it put together the first shot with only a few small cosmetic things I would change. I did construct a small tilt stand out of Lexan for the W1. It has about 15 degrees of tilt. I mounted the soft plastic feet to the stand and to the W1 so that when it is cradled in the stand it is very tough to move. Not sure how it would work out in the field, but seems pretty sturdy on my desk.

I cut all of the Lexan on my table saw or a small band saw. I also drilled all of the holes with my drill press. There are special saw blades and drill bits for doing this kind of work but are somewhat expensive. I was able to get a pretty smooth edge using a higher density toothed saw blade (plywood blade) although there is a warning of melting the edges with some blades. It is imperative that the edges to be welded are smooth and free of gaps. Same caveats apply to drill bits as well. There is also a way of getting professional looking final edges by using a map gas torch along the edge in question. I have yet to try that. For my purposes, they look ok.

I have pictures that I can post. I'm trying to get a personal web site up in the next couple of days. I will post the address here and get some more detailed pictures of the enclosures if anyone is interested.

Have fun & 73,

Dave W8FGU

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email] [mailto:elecraft-
> [hidden email]] On Behalf Of Siu Johnny
> Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 10:33 AM
> To: [hidden email]; [hidden email]; [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] W1 stand
>
> Hi Group,
>
> As I mentioned in this mail reflector, W1 is a piece of good handy tool
> and
> most likely to be used under outdoor portable condition. A customised
> enclosure is a need. If any of you have any idea about such an enclosure,
> please post it in this reflector so that we can share your brilliant ideas
>
> TNX & 73
>
> Johnny Siu VR2XMC
>
>
> From: <[hidden email]>
> To: <[hidden email]>, <[hidden email]>
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] W1 stand
> Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 9:03:02 -0600
>
> Tom,
> That is an interesting idea.
> I just ordered a W1 myself. after I get it working as designed, I am
> thinking of mounting the RF connectors and sense transformer in a Pomona
> or
> Hammond enclosure, and bringing the sigs to the board via iso bnc
> connectors. Looking at the schematic, I will probably tap at the R1/C1 and
> R2/C2 connection, leaving R1 and R2 with the transformer side.
> There is ample room to play.
> -Pete
> wd4lst
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Hotmail Extra Storage讓你獲得10MB 額外儲存空間，請即申請！
> http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=zh-hk
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com

Bill Johnson-10

RE: W1 stand

I am interested... I have some other projects that plastic would be great to use, esp. to see leds.

Bill

K9YEQ
K2 #35; K2/100 #5279 (Under construction), KX1 #35

Fish Creek, WI 54212

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Dave Van Wallaghen
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 12:33 PM
To: [hidden email]; 'Siu Johnny'
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] W1 stand

Hi all,

I made a custom enclosure for my W1 and AF1 out of Lexan that I picked up at Home Depot. I purchased some IPS Weld-On 3 and some soft plastic glue backed feet from TAP Plastics www.tapplastics.com . The Weld-On 3 is a solvent that when applied to clean joints of acrylic, plastic and in my case Lexan, welds the joint together. This was my first time in dealing with acrylic plastic construction and I found a couple of instructional videos on the Tap website that explained how to construct and "weld" projects together.

I ordered the straight through BNC connectors for my W1 and mounted them and the battery holder on the back of the board. I also obtained a round pushbutton switch from an old computer and mounted it to the side of the battery case, flush with the side of my box and wired it to the power pads on the PCB.

I designed the box so that it was split in half in that the top and bottom of the box had an opposing side panel welded to it with the ends welded to the top (in an L fashion). The PCB is mounted to the top with standoffs. I then used 4 2-D fasteners and 4-40 screws from Elecraft to secure the halves to each other (maintaining the fine Elecraft tradition). If I had drilled the holes correctly for the 2-D fasteners, I would have to only remove 4 screws in order to gain access or replace the battery; instead I have to remove 6 screws ;-)

I did the AF1 first as a first test of my skills. I made many mistakes in constructing the first version but learned enough to build an entire second enclosure. It is not perfect (the PCB is slightly offset in the enclosure), but it is sufficient for my needs at the moment and does not slide around on the desk.

The W1 was a little more challenging in that the measurement tolerances for fitting the PCB inside the enclosure left very little room for error. But, I managed to get it put together the first shot with only a few small cosmetic things I would change. I did construct a small tilt stand out of Lexan for the W1. It has about 15 degrees of tilt. I mounted the soft plastic feet to the stand and to the W1 so that when it is cradled in the stand it is very tough to move. Not sure how it would work out in the field, but seems pretty sturdy on my desk.

I cut all of the Lexan on my table saw or a small band saw. I also drilled all of the holes with my drill press. There are special saw blades and drill bits for doing this kind of work but are somewhat expensive. I was able to get a pretty smooth edge using a higher density toothed saw blade (plywood blade) although there is a warning of melting the edges with some blades. It is imperative that the edges to be welded are smooth and free of gaps. Same caveats apply to drill bits as well. There is also a way of getting professional looking final edges by using a map gas torch along the edge in question. I have yet to try that. For my purposes, they look ok.

I have pictures that I can post. I'm trying to get a personal web site up in the next couple of days. I will post the address here and get some more detailed pictures of the enclosures if anyone is interested.

Have fun & 73,

Dave W8FGU

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