[Elecraft] Case for XG2

[Matt Zilmer]

This might work and allows you to have some fun building your own
enclosure.

Get some PCB material and build a box.  Plan the whole thing with a
drawing that fits the XG2, then cut out the pieces with a nibbling
tool or a band saw or whatever.  Clean up the cut edges with a file.

Drill out the BNC hole to size on the one end piece, and any bottom
mounting holes.  Solder the inside joints at the corners, for long
sides and the shorter one with the BNC hole.

Mount the XG2 however you've planned and make sure it's secure. Secure
the BNC nut and washer.

Solder the top and hole-less end pieces together at the inside joint.
Get some brass finger stock and carefully plan how to place it on the
top assembly so that it carries through to the bottom assembly and
provides a good shield.  Once you have it placed, tack solder the
finger stock to the top assembly in a couple places and try it for
fit.  You might have to adjust it a little, but get it right before
soldering down the whole strip on each face.

The finger stock on the top part allows you to remove it, but also
provides a reasonable carry-through of the RF shielding from bottom to
top.

Make the box big enough that removing the XG2, or getting to its power
and band switches is easy for you.  You also want to make it large
enough that you can easily remove the XG2 (to change the battery). Use
a fairly high wattage solder gun (100W) to solder the joints.  The
joints don't have to be a continuous bead of solder, but that's your
choice.

Whatever you choose, good luck.  I used the above approach to shield
the XG2 here and it seems to work fine.  It's a good rainy-day
project...

73,
matt W6NIA
K3 #24

On Fri, 29 Oct 2010 23:17:40 +0000, you wrote:

>Thank you for a very concise reply. If I were to put some kind of sheildng in the case like aluminum tape or something like it. Would that work? 
>
>What would you like to see for something like this?
>
>Always learning sonething cool from this list -
>Dave W8FGU
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Scott Ellington <sdelling at facstaff.wisc.edu>
>Sender: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
>Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2010 18:02:08 
>To: <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
>Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Case for XG2
>
>That's correct.  To measure MDS you have to reduce the XG2 signal with an external attenuator to around -140 dBm. Leakage from the XG2 into the receiver by radiation may make that impossible.  This also depends on how well the receiver itself is shielded, as well as how well the cables to it are filtered, etc.  
>
>One easy way to tell if you have a leakage problem is to actually listen to the receiver as you increase the attenuation.  The signal should quite abruptly drop below the noise and become completely inaudible.
>
>I found that with the K3, the leakage from the unshielded XG2 was too high, though it worked fine with another transceiver.  This, of course, is no shortcoming of the K3;  that other transceiver outweighs it about 6 to 1.
>
>Scott  K9MA
>
>
>
>On Oct 29, 2010, at 5:46 PM, Matt Zilmer wrote:
>
>> Probably because polycarbonate is a ineffective shield against stray
>> RF exiting the XG2 by radiation rather than conduction.
>
>Scott Ellington
>Madison, Wisconsin
>USA
>
>
>
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