Scotty's Funk Werks

  Executive Summary :  Yeah, I promised we'd finished beating this radio carrier dead horse. Don't despair, the next entry will be a pretty slick little equitorial tracking head for your satellite antenna that works on the very light and hikeable Buddy Stick Pro tripod.  Or many other things. But today it's radio carrier again.  I'll keep it short and share a just a few words about how the carrier worked for Winter Field Day.   Bottom line: The carrier worked really well, everything else, not so much. WFD I'll be honest.  I don't operate Winter Field Day to score points.  It's cold.  But every year I use it to stress test whatever portable ops projects I've developed over the year.  If it works in winter, it's probably good to go.  A possible exception is hot, rainy weather, but let's leave that for next month at ZF. The carrier was tested a lot this summer and performed as it should.  But for this winter, I wanted to backpack ...

Executive Summary (don't you feel important?) The Radio Carrier dead horse gets its final beating with this Quickie KX Carrier.   This post shows how quickly an effective system can be built from scrap Kydex and an off-the-shelf PALS-equivalent panel. The Nearly Universal Radio Carrier Final Chapter - A Kydex Quickie for KX-style Radios The blog last discussed the possibility of some "cheats" to make a radio carrier project cheaper or quicker. This is a proof-of-concept zero to done "Kydex Quickie" project.  It took about two hours.  Might be a way for you to decide if a "shack-in-the-pack" is silly or super. Some people don't keep their garage full of scrap metal or metal-working tools.  I shouldn't.   My scrap metal shelf was made using a jig saw, a drill and a file.  But some people don't have even those, or don't want to fiddle with metal. Can we use scrap Kydex instead?  Short answer is a qualified YES! Look below. The left picture...

  Executive Summary (you know why we do this by now....) 1) There will be separate sections with build details for the carrier board, the load-bearing shelf, and the adjustable bracket; and 2) "Cheats" - easier ways to make a carrier if you have fewer radios, less time, or more (but not much more) money - are imbedded in each build section. 3) You'll be relieved to know that this entry is pretty dry and mostly devoid of failed attempts at humor.....  😂 Radio Carrier Part 2 - Build Tips and Shortcuts for the Nearly Universal Radio Carrier Unlikely you would want to build the carrier I did .  E ven I didn't want to. The point was to show possibilities, so that if you wanted to try one, you didn't have to start from scratch.   The build is simpler if you don't need to accommodate multiple radios or orientations. The Carrier Board My carrier board is made from Kydex.  Kydex is readily available, easily cut, weather resistant, available in a variety of sizes, c...

Executive Summary If you're still reading this blog, clearly you have no regard for productive use of your time, so, really, do we need an Executive Summary to help you manage it? Still, old habits are hard to break, and you may have just jumped in, so here we go.  In this post, I will: 1) Explain why a Shack in a Pack; and 2) Provide an overview of its functionality   WTF? (What's That For?)  A Nearly Universal Radio Carrier for Almost Any Pack AKA "Shack In a Pack" Why a Shack in a Pack? Thanks for asking. There's no right or wrong way to operate a portable radio station.  You should do what works for you.  Fit for purpose.  Your use case.  Or cases. Some people pride themselves on having a modular system with everything in neatly identified cases that can be mixed or matched as needed.  They may enjoy the process of packing, setting up and tearing down. I don't.  For me, it's heading out for the day, radio and lunch tucked in a ruck, with ...

Executive Summary (I'm still trying not to waste your time😎) 1) I'll grind through the design considerations for the bag; then 2) There will be a light touch step-by-step discussion of building the bag; and finally 3) There will be some lessons learned in use, and improvements for Rev.1. Isn't She Lovely....Papa's Got A Brand New Bag - Part 2 This time, with apologies to Stevie Wonder, of course. Having established that I need a custom antenna bag, I did what any sane person does when confronted by a similar set of circumstances.  Plan A - I tried to find someone else to do the job for free. I hoped a dinner gift card or a couple of tickets to something might free up the skill set I needed.  But there's an old saying about if you hope in one hand, and do something else in the other, see which fills up first..... On to plan B. DIY is cool.  I'll become a Maker, and learn to do it myself. About three months passed while I watched You Tube videos, bought an inexpe...

Executive Summary (because we don't want to waste your time) 1) A brief history of my history with antenna bags 2) A review of a great, inexpensive waist pack that works for shorter antennas 3) A review of a pair of inexpensive, purpose-built military surplus antenna bags, good for antennas with elements 17" long or shorter And lots of pictures, like this. The Details KA9 Papa .  Papa's got a brand new bag. Sorry, couldn't help myself. I digressed and bad punned in the first para.  Great start. In my defense, I offer the following.  Imagine if you will, ala Rod Serling, a General Electric 8 transistor radio, bought for the Cuban missile crisis, stored in a dirt-floored crawl space with 20 gallons of water and a box of canned goods. Smuggled upstairs after the crisis by junior to listen to James Brown after school, hidden under a pillow while he toiled with algebra.  Good times.  RIP JB. Anyone that says a radio isn't a time machine doesn't get it. If you lo...