Re: [Flexradio] What to do with the break-out box?

[Joe - AB1DO]

Eric,   I thought I'd take you up on your challenge. I have mounted my D-44 interface kit in a 2*1.5 inch plastic box which exactly fits the card ( www.hamsdr.com/dnld.aspx?id=43 ). I obtained several of these small boxes from my dentist, who receives them regularly from the dental lab she uses. Anyway, it took me about a half hour with only a dremel to install the kit. The card is attached to the box with the mounting screws of the DB15 connector, which also receive the srews of the D-44 interface cable, which you can just see at the bottom of the photo.   To expand on the results with the kit are, I use two 1ft cables to connect it to the SDR-1000 (grey cables at top of photo). Both the speaker out and the mic in are connected to various inputs and outputs of the Behringer UB802 mixer I use. This enables me to use the mixer's mic preamp and headphone amp. On the kit board, the only grounds connected are to the spkr output. If I connect the microphone directly to the mic input, I also need to connect the interface's mic ground. To delete all hum (not noticible on SSB, but definitly on AM or FM), I found I needed to connect the DB15 connector shell to the SDR-1000's ground connector (you can just see this at the bottom left of the photo), which in turn is connected to my station ground. In this setup, the interface kit performs just beautifully.   It may be relevant to mention that as an ARES member, I have recently moved to running my station full time on battery power (no linear here), except for the PC (still need an inverter), employing 2 AGM batteries, which are alternatively used and charged.   Just for the record, I have absolutely no connection with the dental lab.   73 de Joe, AB1DO ----- Original Message ----- From: ecellison To: 'Joe - AB1DO' ; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 17:56 Subject: RE: [Flexradio] What to do with the break-out box? Joe   Thanks, we all enjoyed producing it! Actually perhaps we could reform the breakout box as an ‘enclosure’ for the D-44 kit. I’ll give give away a free d-44 interface to anyone who comes up with an ‘enclosure’ method which does not need a machine shop to create!   Thanks again Eric – AA4SW     From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Joe - AB1DO Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 11:42 AM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] What to do with the break-out box?   Hi all,   First, the D44 interface kit works a charm. Nice advantage other than getting rid of the rats nest of cables is that the good old Radio Shack audio cables seat much better in the SDR's connectors than do those from Hosa, which are prone to falling out. Thanks to all for putting this kit together.   Now, what to do with the break-out box? Mine is currently an interesting looking paper weight. I guess you could also modify the inside to give "easier" access to selected X2 connections, such as PTT and the like. I've also seen the suggestion of an anchor for a small boat. Any other ideas?   73 de Joe, AB1DO