Since I’ve had a lot of comments and few dozen questions about “the box”, I decided to post this. Here are some pictures of what I was using at field day. This case is a Gator Powered Rolling 6 Rack Unit (GRR-6PL-US ) that I and WKSK used to use for remote broadcasts and ball games. “Powered” meaning there is an AC power strip in the bottom of the case. After years on the road, the broadcast crew (including me) wore it out. The pull handle was broken and the tread on the wheels had worn off, so we bought a new one, a 4RU model. I asked the owner of the station what he was going to do with it, he said take it to the landfill one of these days, so I hauled it off for him… straight to my shack! I called up the Gator case company and asked about a new handle and wheels. They sent free of charge. I was kind of shocked the just asked for my address and never my credit card. They really back their products; most have a lifetime warranty.
I bought a couple of Middle Atlantic Products UTR1, 1 Rack Unit vented shelves ($20 each) and mounted the power supply and radio to them. I removed the feet from the Astron SS-25 and used the screw holes since they lined up perfectly and I secured that to the shelf with the existing screws. I used the hardware that came with the FT-857D to mount it to the shelf. Most everything else is Velcroed down and can removed easily if needed. The LDG FT Meter is a nice addition to any FT-857. The LED lights came from the automotive section at Wal-Mart for about $18. The 1RU vents were about $5 each from some Amazon. The external speaker was part of an old Motorola car phone installation.
On the back, there is an aluminum patch panel for antenna connections. This panel came out of a decommissioned server cabinet. I just drilled the holes and mounted the UHF feed-throughs to it. The vented panel came from a controller box that was used on a capacitor rolling machine from United Chemi-Con/Sprague Electric; free of charge. I mounted a small 2 port RS-232 to USB adapter for rig control and PTT/CW keying, an external SoundBlaster Audigy that is connected to a homebrewed soundcard adapter for the digital modes, and USB hub to connect all of that together. Anderson PowerPoles are used for all DC connections and they are all brought back to a RigRunner 4005.
This is still a work a progress. Wheel this baby to the site, peel off the covers, give it power and an antenna, maybe a computer for any digital modes, and you’re ready to roll. Down through the years, I wanted to keep my portable system nice and new, but it became a pain to hook everything together when I wanted to operate. This unit protects your investment and it can be ready to operate in literally seconds. More stickers will be added later.
