Today we bring you a beautiful 3D printed case from Adrian Cattell, M6YPA. Here are the pictures. See below for Adrian’s description of the case, and how it came to be. Thanks for sharing, Adrian!
Update: This case is now available for purchase from Dave, KE0KHA. Click Here to go to his site and get one of these cases. He also sells IK8YFW’s case and an enlarged version of the M6YPA case. Check it out!
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“My name is Adrian Cattell
“I’m a foundation licence holder in Northampton England who is currently studying for my Intermediate licence. I was asked by a friend Chris Andrews 2E0UKH to make a box for a project that he has purchased online.
“The BITX40 arrived and we did some testing to ensure that everything worked before we continued. Let’s be honest: A 40 meter radio for under £60 seemed too good to be true. But I was very pleasantly surprised when it came. The quality looked very good for the money, and most importantly it worked very well.
“I met Chris at our radio club KDARS, and we put the radio to the test on the club antenna. We worked straight into Germany with a fantastic report. Remembering this was on a radio tapped together inside a lunch box we were very happy! We had another contact or two, then we packed the kit up and I took it home to get to work making the enclosure.
“I’m not a maths genius or very good with calculations, so i got to work with my ruler and vernier gauge. I used 123D Design to come up with the box pictured. I first made just a plain fronted box with the display sticking out but thought a bezel would look a lot better. I made one up (first in black) just to test measurements and then went on to print a silver one. It really enhanced the design and looked so much better than the black bezel did.
“The microphone isn’t my design. I found it on Thingsverse and decided it was just fine for the job. I don’t know who originally made it, but a personal thanks from me should you ever read this.
“I changed out the on/off potentiometer for one with a standard splined shaft, and the bnc antenna socket was swapped out for an SO-239 fitting for easier connection without adaptors.
“I had many requests all around the world asking me to make them but with a print time of 10-12 hours, I thought it would be better to share the files so that others can print their own. They can be printed quicker, but then the quality is compromised. Hopefully whoever wants one will know someone with a printer or own one themselves.
“I really hope those that have downloaded the files find them very helpful and useful. Please post your pictures on the BITX40 Facebook group.
“I would like to wish everyone a happy new year (a little late, I know!) and may we have many more years of fun with radio!
“73 with world peace & love M6YPA Adrian.”
You may also notice that big giant heat sink. It is for future upgrades. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to comment below!