[hpsdr] Pand-oragami-Lego-mania

[Ben Hall]

Hello Eric and gang!

I think you're on the right path here.  What good is a fantastic, 
all-in-one case when it may only meet the requirements of a few people here?

Since the production run will be low, the cost of the case will be high. 
  That's no good.

Eric Ellison wrote:
> Each HPSDR product must have enough appeal and quantity to merit the EXTREME
> difficulty of production, inventory cost, etc. UNLESS someone can do
> 'one-offs' economically. 
> 
> My concept of a sub-chassis here, might have enough appeal, to HPSDR
> Project(s) owners to merit 'mass' production. 

Absolutely!  The more I think about the variety of intents for the 
HPSDR, more I think that there is no such thing as an "all in one" case.

BUT, a basic building block, a la the six-slot bezel plus perhaps a 
bottom plate (or an integrated six-slot bezel with the bottom plate) 
should be basic enough that it can be incorporated into any sort of 
larger enclosure an HPSDR user may want.

> (Ok Guys don't laugh, I gave graphics my best shot with non-state of the art
> tools. Circa drafting tables.)

No laughing here!  Most of my projects start out as sketches that look a 
lot worse than that!


> It is just a custom stamped 6 slot Benzel that I can mount over a rough
> opening in any case larger than the benzel and with enough volume to hold
> Atlas+Boards.

This should be very easy to produce too.

> The benzel could even be 'fancied up' with custom finishes,
> Logos, thickness for tapping, etc. That would make it more attractive for a
> front mounted instrument case, for example.

Or, it could be left plain to allow the end user to apply a finish of 
their desire.

> Resist the temptation to make
> the plate larger for switches, leds etc. I plan to mount them in whatever
> boat anchor I slap the benzel onto.

Let me throw out an idea.  One way to make the bezel a little more 
user-friendly would be to size it such that it could drop right onto the 
front of a Ten-Tec BK-959 case that seems to be a nice size to enclose 
an HPSDR.  If you wanted to mount the bezel to something else, it will 
still work, as the front panel of the BK-959 is nothing more than a 
rectangular piece of aluminum that's about 5.5 inches high by 9 inches 
or so wide.

> It would be nice to have custom made blank covers, however I can form these
> out of readily available PC slot covers, or use the 'snap in' spring type
> blanks. These blank covers constitute just another product which has an off
> the shelf equivalent.

Blank covers should be very easy - just little peices of aluminum with 
perhaps a pem-nut on each end to secure them.

> Taking the 'product' idea a step further we could have a somewhat ugly mount
> for the Atlas Board, which might have multipurpose drill holes, which would
> allow it to be used as intra-board shields, top cover, bottom cover or even
> back cover. Obviously however, we don't want to 'box' the cards up too
> tightly. They are pretty tight as-is. Accurately drilling holes for mounting
> and adjusting is always a 'pain for me' having them perfectly spaced would
> be a blessing!

That shouldn't increase cost much at all.

> Here is just a rough concept sketch:
> 
> http://www.hamsdr.com/personaldirectory.aspx?id=516

Now that's hot!  I like that a lot.  You could either use that as the 
enclosure, or use that as a sub-enclousure.

This weekend I'm working on assembling an Atlas and a Pinocchio 
extender.  This week and next weekend I hope to get both of those put 
into SolidWorks so we'll have a solid model to start working on getting 
a case design into the computer and back out as a PDF 3D photo that all 
can look at and comment on.

-- 
Thanks and 73,
Ben, KD5BYB


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