W1 stand

[Dave Van Wallaghen]

I put up a quick web site over the last couple of days, so here is a link to some pics of the boxes I made for the W1 and AF1. I'll add some explanation when I get time.

http://w8fgu.home.comcast.net/enclosures.html

If anybody has any questions, feel free to email me.

73,
Dave W8FGU

-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Van Wallaghen [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 1:33 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

> -----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
>
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