Soft Touch: Cuddling the Elecraft K-1 Transceiver




	Soft Touch: Cuddling the Elecraft K-1 Transceiver
		By Richard Newstead, G3CWI Special to The ARS Sojourner
The K1 is a nice little radio but it is an expensive toy and naturally you'll want to protect it. Cuddling it while walking may be a temporary solution but once the novelty wears off you'll be looking for something better. I went down to a local market and found a plastic food box that was the right size (cost £1.25). A trip to a camping store and I bought a closed cell foam sleeping mat (£3.99). I then called in at an art shop and bought a pot of Copydex PVA glue. A hardware shop supplied me with four self-adhesive hooks (80p each) and I was set. A view from outside the box shows the protective qualities of the enclosure. A bottom view of the box shows how the hooks are used to allow the aerial to be wound up. Note the figure of eight winding method - this ensures a kink-free aerial. Some careful cutting and pasting and the K1 sits snuggly in the middle. The fit is firm but not so firm as to put undue pressure on the controls. The lid is padded and the nooks and crannies are used to house accessories. When the box is closed it is both waterproof and shockproof. In operation, the box supports the K1 at just the right angle for use in a tent or on the ground while retaining some level of protection. All in all a very satisfactory result! Both you and your K1 can sleep comfortably now . . . **** Richard Newstead, G3CWI, an expert outdoorsman and QRP operator, oversees the Adventure Radio Society's European tier. He lives in MacClesfield, UK. G3cwi@tesco.net