HB-1B Go Box

Started by vwflyer, November 24, 2016, 10:02:11 PM

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vwflyer

I wanted a bullet proof go box for my HB-1B. A way I could throw it into whatever car I was driving, or take camping, boating, traveling, or wherever. I wanted it to be small and transportable and have everything I need inside of the one box. The one-size fits all approach always ends in compromises and this is no exception. This is what I've finally gotten assembled.

Pelican 1150 case.
HB-1B
Sotabeams EFHW Tuner

Usually I have the AC charger in top space but when camping or for SOTA I can replace it with an external battery pack for more runtime off grid.

Under the tuner is a QRP Guys paddle, earbuds, 3ft of RG-174, power cable for external battery, small bungees.

Under the radio is 50ft of paracord, s-clips, EFHW linked wire for 20, 30, 40 meters.







vwflyer

I wanted one multi band antenna inside the box. I will make up an antenna for other bands soon but that will have to go on winder outside of the box. Or I might just cut the 20 meter length at the 17 meter mark and add just one more link to this wire. The Sotabeams tuner doesn't do 15 meters so for the moment there's no point in making an EFHW for that band.

I wind the wire on my hand for winderless tangle free wire that fits inside the box.

I bought the s-clips, ferrules, and bullet connectors on eBay for cheap. The 22 awg wire is from Sotabeams as is the paracord.

It doesn't seem to need a counterpoise to get the SWR down to nothing on the HB-1B's SRW indicator. I've made contacts with this by pulling my car over on the side of the road and pulling the wire through low branches and bushes just over my head. It's goes up and comes down in under 5 minutes.

gil

Very nice! Thanks for posting.  Too often I see go-boxes way too big, heavy and current-hungry. This is a perfect example of what can be done with QRP gear. When making a GO box you need to think about "go where?" and "go how?" This box is for anywhere, any way you want...

Gil.

Sent from my A1-830 using Tapatalk


vwflyer

The pictures are here ya'll. Sorry bout dat.

vwflyer

QuoteThis box is for anywhere, any way you want...

Thanks Gil. This is what I was shooting for. Glad to hear that you think I've succeeded.

The biggest compromise is that I can't fit a wire winder in it and both the AC charger for the internal battery and an external battery pack but I was really tryin to make it as small as I could and still offer sufficient protection. Winding the wire on my hand seems to work pretty well and I'm getting a small 11 volt Lipo battery that I hope will fit with the AC charger so I think it's a worthwhile sacrifice overall.

gil

You might want to get a trap from Sotabeams to make a 40/20/10m wire which might also work on 15m...

Gil

vwflyer

Good suggestion Gil. I saw those traps on their website. If I put another order in with them I think I'll get a couple of those and play with them.

cockpitbob

Nicely done!
I need to do something like that.  I've got that, plus too many little extras scattered in 2 boxes.  I need to get the minimum required into one box that's always ready.

Look into mason's string(braided, not twisted).  It's 100lb test, comes in dayglow colors for good visibility and is dirt cheap at Home Depot.  I'ts much smaller than 550 cord but plenty strong.  It's thin enough that you'll want it on some kind of spool/winder.

Also, I use a 63' piece of 22awg insulated wire for most of my EFHW antenna work.  It's resonant on 40/20/15.  I use a PAR type transformer so I can instantly switch between bands without changing/adjusting anything.

vwflyer

#8
Thanks Bob!
I'll definitely look into the rope. I've often though about buying a Par EndFedz but $85 for a piece of wire and transformer is fine for people who don't have the time to build their own but for someone like me who likes to spend evenings building things I've never been able to justify spending the money. I've also thought about building my own. Perhaps I will one of these day.

One of the things I like about linked antennas is that I don't have to deploy all 66 feet of it if I just want to work 20 meters. That's why I make my linked antennas with s-clips instead of permanent strain reliefs. Sometimes I have to set up in very restricted spaces and it's a struggle to just get 20 meters operational. I want to stick to wire antennas because there is no way I'm taking a buddipole or magloop in the Cessna 206 when I'm telling the pax that they have to limit their luggage to 20 lbs each.

Here is one of the places I operated from during a trip to Baja California.

vwflyer

photos from last post are now visible.  :)

gil

What about those two right below "California?"

Gil

vwflyer

Oh thoooose photos...? They're nothing. Actually, they're the same photos. I just tried inserting them another way, using the insert image option above. I obviously don't know what I'm doing when it comes to using forums. Don't tell anybody else, but this is the only online forum I frequent.  :-X

gil

Ah, yes, I see the code. To be inserted they need to have a full real URL. that means your photos need to be hosted somewhere on a server and you insert the link to them...

Gil.