Recently picked up a used Pelican 1660 for free.  It is completely empty, no foam or anything but absolutely nothing wrong with it and it has a good seal and valve.  Originally contained a mobile computer setup but it was all obsolete and therefore recycled.  The guts of the PC were mounted in this plexiglass drop-in in the base, even had a water-cooled CPU.  The monitor was mounted to a piece of plexiglass that mounted to the inside of the lid utilizing what appears to be preexisting threaded holes.  The case's seal was not compromised at all with that setup, it was actually really neat.

I've been going nuts trying to figure out what to use this case for and I think I want to make it my new "shack in a box."  Currently I have my FT-450D and FT-2500M(plus two Astrons(35 and a 10), versa tuner II, swr/watt meter, signalink, dummy load) all sitting on the right side of my L-shaped desk.  That was my solder/electronics project area and I'd like to have that space back.  So my thoughts for this case were to mount all that stuff in it, with a few storage compartments for odds and ends(programming cables, an HT or two, etc) and maybe also mount a small form factor/micro PC in there with the screen inside the lid so I could do digital/SDR/chirp from the box as well.  Just connect to power and antennas to get on the air and when I'm not in the mood for radio time I can simply close the lid and wheel it out of the way.

Not even sure where to begin on how I would mount all that stuff securely while still having it look decent and have everything be easily accessible.  Velcro mounting stuff is probably too risky because if it the velcro or its adhesive ever failed, it could result in something falling down within the case and even a short drop probably isn't healthy for something like an HF radio.  Also thought about having battery-power in the case but a battery with enough capacity to run all that would get heavy and consume too much space inside I'd imagine.

Thoughts?  Suggestions?  Am I about to embark on an adventure that's going to be too much of a PITA to be worth it?

Here's one I did with a smaller Pelican case -

The original hinge pins on the case were driven out, and replaced with removable "safety linch pins", which allow the top of the case to be removed while the radio is in use:


The bottom of the case has a tilt bail:


The radio is mounted to an aluminum sub-base, which in turn is fastened to the bottom of the Pelican case with a bunch of rubber isolation mounts:


I fastened another case to it, for carrying accessories - Doesn't need to be shock- or crush-proof, so I went cheap on it:


Shown with another one I did for a Yaesu dual-bander:

None of your photos are working for me.

ETA:  Opening them in a new tab did the trick.  My case is huge, so I have a lot of space to work with.  The radios will likely mount face-up so when I open the lid and look down they're right there ready to be used.  My vision of this setup has both radios, the signalink, the tuner, the swr/wattmeter all face up and level with each other.  The inside of the lid will have a small flat-panel screen and a pair of external speakers, one for each radio.  Along the inside of one of the sides of the base I'll have a panel for connections.  Each radio has a coax jumper to the underside of the connection panel, and antenna feedlines connect to the top of the connection panel.  There is also an outlet that I can plug an extension cord in to in order to power the box.  Remove the power and feedlines, lid closes normally, box is completely sealed.

ETA2:  Whipped up a rough draft of how it would look.  It's in bitmap editor so use your imagination.

The faces of the radios, tuner, meter, and signalink would all be flush mounted in some sort of big faceplate.  Below that faceplate would be the cabling, power supplies, and mini pc.  On the right side of that faceplate would be my connections panel where I can provide power, antenna feedlines, and I doubt I'd need USB connectivity to the radios since there would already be a PC there so maybe just spare ports for charging devices or no USB ports at all.  What I need to figure out is how to mount everything in such a way that most of that stuff is presented flush with whatever I use as the "faceplate" you see when you open the lid and look down at the base.

Inside of the lid would be a panel mounted to it, either wood or plexiglass, and to that I'd mount an ext speaker for each radio and a monitor for the mini pc.  Cabling would be routed down to the base via one of those engine harness covers in to the base to connect to everything.

The goal here is to do all this without modifying the case in such a way that it is no longer water/weatherproof.  It should still fully maintain it's sealing capability.  I'd also like to be able to easily pull up the 'faceplate', with or without the radios attached to it, and the power supplies/pc stay in the base.  This would allow me to easily access everything in there, or store stuff under it, etc.

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The EMCOMM BOX Thread

ETA: PS. the Moar you add the Moar it weighs and the less likely you are to 'deploy' it.

My MTMSpud 7 box with 1 HF rig, a little tuner, a PS and Dual-Bander weighed over 35#  it no longer exist (once I actually tried to tote it around for ARES)

Big boxes look cool, but in can suck in real life. YMMV FWIW

ETA2:



equals this:

I'm expecting this case to have a bit of weight to it.  It has a built in retractable pull handle and wheels so mobility isn't a huge concern, will probably need a second pair of hands getting it in/out of the truck when/if I ever take it to a field day or something but it's honestly more of a mobile shack-in-the-box for around the house, have my setup neatly set up in a case I can wheel around as needed and toss in the bed of the truck if I ever need to bring it out somewhere.

That emcomm box is exactly what I'm wanting to do, but I've got a much larger case to work with and I'd like the 'guts' to be drop-in or at least have a faceplate that tidies it up and can be easily removed to access the radios/cabling/etc.

You are only limited by your imagination and supplies available to you!  I started building a case and changed course multiple times due to ideas sparking in my brain.
Money may also limit you...

Bill

My plan is to design a drop-in unit that contains all the equipment, cabling, cover/faceplate and connection plate.  It will have short handles on the top so it can be lifted out of the pelican case if ever needed.  The base of that drop-in would be a piece of plywood or plexiglass/lexan cut to fit in the bottom of the case, and from that baseplate I would build up the mounts needed to keep the two power supplies and pc from moving around, and some sort of assembly to mount the radios and accessories up towards the top of the case facing up.  Then I'd take another cut-to-fit piece of material, cut holes for the faces of the radios/accessories, and use that to top off this drop-in unit so it looks nice and clean.  To that faceplate I'd mount the  handles.

Probably easier said than done, though.

This is what mine looked like before I tore it apart to put the radio and tuner back in my truck

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Nice! That's very similar to what I'll do. Only difference is I'll have one of those logitech wireless kbs with the mousepad that I can stash in the case when not in use, and both radios/tuner/meter will be mounted face-up in the case with a plywood or plexiglass 'faceplate' covering all the open space around them to clean up the look and hide the two power supplies and pc in the bottom of the case. That's why I'll be doing two external speakers up by the monitor, otherwise radio audio would be muffled by that faceplate material. I was thinking thin plywood with that carbon-fiber wrap over it. That sure would look slick.

Unfortunately neither radio going in this case has a remote faceplate to run it like you have yours. Only my ft-8800r can do that and it's in my truck.

be careful about enclosing plexiglass over it, the heat has to get out or stuff may over heat. Air needs to circulate around the radio .

all that in the pic  fits in the case including the wireless keyboard,wireless mouse,  signal link  ( sits behind mouse pad not in pic ) mouse pad, and a hard screen cover that goes over the surface 3 in case something gets loose in transport so it does not damage the screen.

everything is held in with industrial type velcro. It was a bitch to get out.

The case is a Rigid case from home depot.

Already planned on having a couple high-airflow Corsair 120mm case fans in there running off one of the power supplies.  Having a temp widget on the desktop of the minipc will give me a general idea of what my inside temps are, so if CPU starts running hot I know I have a heat problem in the case.  With a pair of those fans I don't think it'll be an issue, though.

I did that (almost) with the shallow Rigid Box and my 7100.  Pretty much copied what George did just never got excited about it enough to post pics here (or take any for that matter).

Here is a link to what he did KJ6VU 7100 go box

My control head is on bench, the box lays open underneath so it can get lots of fresh air.

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https://danpassaro.com/2015/02/21/shack-in-a-can-a-25mm-ammo-can/



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eta:  If I had to do it over again (and I might ) I'll use a Pelican 1430, maybe the 1440.  The 25mm ammo can has a middle section that intrudes on the interior space.

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Icom IC-7200, Samlex SEC-1223BBM power supply, LDG IT-100 tuner.  All fitted into an SKB i-series 2217-8 case.

May be operated in the case:

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Or the tray may be removed and placed on a table or desk:

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May be operated from A/C or 12vdc.  Wiring for input from a big AGM battery, or solar power supply:

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The Samlex SEC-1223BBM power supply will instantly switch from A/C power to 12vdc backup battery, which
connects to the loose Powerpole pigtail in the photo above.

Storage for manuals, fuses, adapters, pencils, message pads, 24 hr clock, small LED flashlight, other necessary items.

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I used an SKB case, rather than Pelican, as SKB had the exact size I needed for this project.

I'm liking all the small field kits.  Will need to whip up one of those after my big shack box is done.  Gives me an excuse to buy an ft-891.

I have an FT-891

I would advise against it.

Using it with a tuner is a massive pain in the ass as changing the power output is deep in menus. ( same with an amp) It does have a tuner menu function button but it only works with auto tuners with a data cable to the radio. It doesnt work with a manual tuner.

Mine has an AGC clicking noise in the headset jack that is very annoying. I had to send mine in after the receiver failed ( diode in receiver section failed and the repair tech claimed he did not hear any AGC clicking on the head phone jack, yet when I got it back it was still there.

I hate mine. Do yourself a favor and get something else. I would sell it but dont want to sell someone else a crappy radio