So I picked up an Ic-705.

Now I want to put it in a go box. I was going to get a cage, and a cover, and a tilt stand, etc and then figured a GoBox would be better protected and make it complete with everything needed to operate, just grab and go.

I bought an Apache ( harbor freight ) Pelican case knockoff and started laying it out. I was planning on screwing and bolting everything in from the bottom of the case, but the idea of putting holes in a waterproof box seemed not ideal. While I have no intention of operating in the rain if not inside a tent or shelter, I do travel by kayak to go camping and would really like to keep the water proof integrity. I know air can use rubber washers and silicon to seal it, and I could put the whole box in a dry bag, but It would really suck if I ruined this radio by it getting wet inside the box.

So I am searching for ideas to keep the waterproof integrity. Right now I have some stuff mounted with heavy duty ( 20 pound ) double sided tape. I cleaned both the box and the mounts with alcohol let it dry and stuck them together and it seems sturdy enough, but with temp changes especially the heat and summer sun, I wonder if the tape will let loose and the radio and other gear get damaged from floating inside the case.

Anybody have any ideas on a bomb proof way to mount the gear and ensure water proof integrity and the gear won’t come undone inside the case?

Making brackets that have a slight interference fit with edges that "bite" the plastic is one way.

Industrial hot glue works.  Not the shit tier crafting stuff.

Also, look in to plastic welding with a soldering iron.

Or some combination of the above.

I have a couple old pelican cases for this purpose also, but haven't gotten around to building the box yet.  Interested to see what you come up with.

The radio is on a Camera Z Tilt type head, so it can rotate up out of the box.

oops

I made a small antenna attachment and mounted it to another Z Tilt camera head so that the antenna mount can swing up and off the the side of the case. This is for an MFJ-1899T multiband loaded QRP vertical.





I am planning on motorizing these tripod heads, so when the lid is opened, the power turns on, the motors turn on and it deploys the equipment. I will call it the Transformer GoBox.

The Z-tilt camera head for the antenna mount is inspired.

I have an antenna bracket that I got from Windcamp which is OK except that even with a lockwasher the attachment frequently tends to loosen rather than being rigidly fixed in place.

I like the 'transformer' idea, but it would be even better if you could somehow make the radio transform into an IC-7610 or something when you open the case lid.

As someone who has built an uncountable number of such cases for Uncle Sam, here's my experience:

SKB offers these (also available on Amazon). These are easy to use. They come with O-ring seal-screws for the part that penetrates the case. That and a dab of RTV will cover you for most eventualities, but it does involves holes. They are easier to use than anything involving adhesive, though.

Pelican offers these. You have to use adhesive which is a PITA and if you are not careful it sometimes doesn't work. Pelican offers some really excellent advice on adhesive, I strongly suggest you take it, especially if you are looking to glue in some homebrew panel mounting blocks onto your cheap, no-name Amazon case. All of these cases are made of slippery stuff and have mold release compound all over them. The Pelican recommended adhesives work really well.

Perhaps the best and easiest approach is to use the little known brand Seahorse. They make some excellent cases that are not terribly expensive and that have molded in ledges inside of the bottom O-ring that are expressly designed to accept panels. You can buy pre-cut panel blanks from them, too. I've used these extensively with great success.

Great info thanks.

For the 7100 in an ammo can that I have I made side rails that bolted the radio below the tuner below the mounting plate that holds the RPi and IO cards. The rails were a snug fit side-side and top-bottom of the ammo can. They were 3D printed ASA with TPU bumpers.

Maybe a similar idea for the pelican case? Bolt everything to something (kydex?) and make it such that the mounting something is snug is all 6 degrees of freedom when the lid is latched.

Maybe get a 1/8" thick aluminum plate, mount the radio, etc. to it, and then put the entire unit into the box. That way you can also remove everything from the box for servicing or reconfiguration.

You can also cut holes in the aluminum plate to lighten it.

Not exactly the same as what you are looking to do with the pelican case - but I built go boxes using a HDPE sheets from Amazon, as well as a large lifepo battery, in an ammo can for my Kenwood radios:

FWIW, KL0S has an IC-705 go box construction article in the new June 2022 issue of QST, pages 61 - 63.

Evidently the project uses a manufactured part (available from Chinese sellers on eBay) that holds the radio within a panel, and that panel was mounted in the box.

(I have not read the complete article yet, rather I saw it during a quick scan of the new issue online. ARRL members can access QST issues online at arrl.org.)

Although it was expensive as hell, I went with a full Peovi cage and the SideKX Lexan cover.

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Might consider mounting the IC-705 to the lid of the case, and then separating the lid from the bottom during use.

Here's something similar I did with a Yaesu dual-bander:

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Separated from the bottom:
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I used a punch to drive out the original hinge pins in the Pelican case, and replaced them with pull pins - Makes it easy to separate or mate the two sides of the case. Here's a shot of the bottom of the case, with the pull puns:

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The soft bag attached to the bottom of the case holds a 13.8VDC power supply, cables and other radio accessories.

I did not know there was a full Peovi cage.

I will have to look at that

You have to contact them and ask for it.  I may have $300 in the cage.  Crazy, I know but I love the little radio and want to make sure that it’s with me for a long time.

I would build a deck that sits flush with the top of the case bottom, and then put tubing handles on either side of the deck tall enough to just touch the inside of the lid when it is closed. Have 4 posts underneath the deck to keep it spaced off the bottom.  When the case is closed, the deck will be fully supported, top and bottom.  And the handles can be used to lift the deck out for maintenance.  Maybe put some adhesive foam weatherstripping in the lid where the handles will make contact.

Then it's just a matter of mounting the radio in a hole cut in the deck so it can be operated comfortably with the box sitting on a desk.  You could mount a cooling fan, battery, USB, chargers, voltage indicators, solar charge controller and bulkhead antenna and microphone connectors to the deck and conceal the connections underneath.  

Then the lid can be used for storing cables, an HT, and if the case is big enough, a wire antenna and a folding solar panel.

Well here is my semi-finished GoBox for HF/ VHF/ UHF

At some point I will add some switches and USB charging.

I went with the transformers theme, I like the way the gear gets popped up to use either for a sitting position or a standing position.

Here are the pics:

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The Microsoft Surface Tablet is used for digital modes and logging needs no cables attached ( use the IC-705 Wi-Fi ) and can be taken off the box and the stand pops out for placement on a table. I made the coil used for the vertical antenna. The telescopic whip is from a WolfRiver TIA. In the box I keep an MFJ-1899 QRP vertical for digital modes and various clip on radials. I also fabricated the aluminum antenna mount. The external battery mounted in the box is a 9 ahr LiFePo4 and when connected charges the radio internal battery, charges and powers the Surface Tablet, and charges a USB Bluetooth keyboard that is also there but the Logitech keyboard fit so nicely in the box, I decided to use that and have a full size keyboard. I also put together a 40m and 80m QRPGuys endfed antenna which is more efficient than the vertical.

Built this for remote camping via kayak and other camping. The box is heavier than I expected so this is not for backpacking by any stretch. The radio is a pleasure to use, but not sure it was worth the price tag. The entire thing can be taken apart very easily. One of the things I plan to do is to modify the tuner, which I chose for matching range and size, and take the BNC connectors and put them on the sides to get them off the front.

I enjoy making stuff and this was no exception.

That is very nice, and well thought out.

Thanks!

That is awesome. I want a 705 just for portable digital modes.

Very cool!

Now that is a cool GoBox!

Impressive work, Mach.