[Elecraft] K-Line mounting

[Rick WA6NHC]

The question depends on how the rig travels on lousy roads.  For most of 
the roads in the US, you'll want a semi-rigid mount but soft enough that 
a hard bounce won't jar anything loose.  If your travel include off 
pavement, it will be the same, only beefier.  Padding between the 
station elements should also be considered.

The second side of that is if you pad and strap, what do you have to do 
to make it operable with adequate cooling?  Ideally, it should be able 
to travel in a ready to use configuration (no covers to remove etc).

The final issue is to make the appearance pleasing to your YL to keep 
the ambient noise level low.  ;o)

With that in mind, a dedicated cabinet (close the door when not in use, 
or under the dinette etc), with semi-rigid foam (from a craft shop) 
under/between the rig(s) then soft adjustable straps over the top 
(left-right/front-back) to keep pieces from launching on a bounce would 
seem the best overall.  (A small net would seem ideal.)  A small 
computer grade fan keeps the air moving without excessive drain on the 
energy budget.  Heat bad.

Remember that the entire K line can be controlled via a computer 
(laptop, built-in tiny 'puter) so actual physical access is not required 
after power on so mounting locations is only limited by your 
imagination.  With a small computer at the radio site (for remote 
control) near the living room TV in could also be part of a media center 
as well as allowing wifi control of the rig(s). Neither requires a lot 
of computing power, so a mini-atx in a small box is plenty and takes 
little room (12 watts of energy for the budget).

You're only limited by space, your traveling companion(s) and 
imagination.  Try to think out of the box, fun things can happen.

73,
Rick wa6nhc