Scotty's Funk Werks

Executive Summary I am embarrassed to list this as a project. The truth of the matter is, I'm simply a shameless opportunist. All I've done is screw something on something else in a way that wasn't originally intended.  As you review the details you will realize that I screwed up. Twice. Read on. The Background GM0EUL, Peter, makes a great mount for his Academy paddles. That mount is designed for Elecraft radios. This is a picture of Peter‘s mount and the Academy paddles. This is a picture of Peter‘s mount and key installed, as intended, on my Elecraft KX-2 for handheld operation.  As you can see, the paddle mount uses its two 4-40 thumb screws to attach the mount to the front panel of the KX-2. It’s not immediately obvious why or how this would translate to the IC 705, but better lucky than smart.  Serendipity is a wonderful thing. The Backstory I fell down this rabbit hole when I needed a way to prop up the 705 while on vacation, having forgotten what I typically use. I...

Executive Summary If you're a fan of handheld QRP cw rigs, you may envy Elecraft owners' ability to mount Elecraft paddles directly to an Elecraft radio. I do. But I often use GM0EUL Academy paddles on my KX2 and KX3 because Peter has developed a paddle mount with two axes of motion  This is a big advantage over the KX fixed mount.  And an especially big advantage if you operate the KX2 as a handheld - a favorite vacation mode for me. But for a number of reasons, the QMX often gets the call, either as a primary or backup rig. And I'd like to use the Academy paddles mounted to it. So what to do? I solved this problem with my (tr)uSDX by drilling and tapping holes in a side panel so that I could directly attach the panel mount to the cabinet. You can see that HERE.  Intermingling of the Species...The tr(u)SDX Gets an Academy! But if you've built a QMX, you know how packed the cabinet is.  It might be possible to drill and tap the cabinet, but I was looking for a simple...

Executive Summary I’ve been a fan of both the (tr)uSDX and the GM0EUL Academy key for a long time. I'm especially fond of Peter's mounting bracket.  The bracket provides two more axes of adjustment than the fixed orientation of a standard Elecraft mounted key. In any environment, and especially for handheld operation, this flexibility makes operation of the paddles ergonomically dreamy. When custom orange and blue Academy paddles in my school colors ( GO  I L L I N I ) arrived, a thought came along with them.  That paddle might easily mount and work well with the SDX. And it did.  In about 45 minutes. And this shows generically how useful Peter's paddles and mount might be on any small QRP rig.  I'm looking for my QMX as soon as I'm done here! 😊 The Plan If there wasn't interference in the SDX where I wanted to mount the key, I'd be in the high clover. I used a 2 mm hex wrench to remove the four hex head screws from the lower side panel of the SDX.  That...