View Single Post
Old 03-11-2015, 10:22 PM   #7
NN5I
Carl, nn5i
 
NN5I's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Posts: 1,441
Default

A box made of 1/16" aircraft-grade plywood (or less expensive plywood, but I think only aircraft-grade is available at 1/16"), glued at the top and bottom corners to 1/4" square spruce strips (use T-88 structural adhesive for super-strength), would be very lightweight. The shelf could be built in, the same way. Front and rear covers could be similar, with lightweight brass piano hinge on one edge and a simple latch on the other. You could have rectangular openings in the front for the radios' faces, and round holes at the back for the various cables, fan, etc. Materials cost would be somewhere around $150, which seems like a lot until you consider the already-expended cost of the radios etc. And it would be strong, light, durable, and generally classy. I have a couple half-sheets of 1/16" 5-ply aircraft-grade mahogany-faced plywood that I've saved for years for just such projects. It's gorgeous stuff.

Quote:
Originally Posted by N3LYT View Post
... A 5 HP power supply seems a bit of over kill ...
Huh? Where'd that come from? Examining every other post in the thread, I don't find anyone suggesting (or even mentioning) a 5-HP power supply. Five HP is not quite 3.75 KW, and a 5 HP engine can run a generator of perhaps 3 KW if the generator is very efficient -- which doesn't seem excessive for a station anyway, especially if you want to run an air conditioner too.
__________________
-- Carl
NN5I is offline   Reply With Quote