|
I found I could not obtain
a reasonably cheap, ready-made enclosure for this project so I set
about making my own. I was lucky enough to have purchased several
large sheets of 3mm thick aluminium at an amateur radio "flea
market" a few years ago and so I decided to make an enclosure
based on a design used for my 5.7GHz system (described
elsewhere on this website).
|
This photo above
shows the various modules, and other hardware making up the
complete system, laid out on a sheet of aluminium that was
to form the base plate of the enclosure. Each module was laid
in its approximate final position and the sheet of aluminium
was then trimmed to a suitable size. The lid of the box was
made to a similar size, but 6mm wider and longer on both edges
so that it would rest on the edges of the four box sides.
The sides of the
enclosure were cut to be just a few millimetres higher than
the PA, shown here on the right hand side of the photo above.
|
|
Shown
on the right is the box, almost completed. It measures 31cm
x 26cm x 12.5cm. The sides, baseplate and lid are all held
together by a simple framework made of aluminium angle stock
with sides 15mmx15mm. All the holes needed for various switches,
the meter, connectors, etc, were pre-drilled before the box
was assembled.
|
 |
|
This is the finished
product... note the heatsink for the Power Amplifier. It is
held by the same bolts that clamp the PA to the side of the
enclosure. A continuous layer of thermal transfer compound
was applied to the flat face of the heatsink and to the PA
base before they were finally fixed to the box.
|
|
The whole enclosure
was given two coats of silver hammer finish paint and the
front panel labelling done with a Brother P-Touch 300 labeller,
using clear tape. This labeller is easy to use and gives very
acceptable results. The labels are extremely hard wearing.
The actual transverter
system is now described in more detail on the following pages.
The various modules seen in the enclosure above are all essential
parts of the 15 watt portable transverter. However they may
be used individually in other transverter systems, with little
or no modification.
|
|
