[Microwave] Silly Homebrew Question

[Dr. Gerald N. Johnson, electrical engineer]

The small steel boxes, plated or not (might want to apply a coat of
Krylon after soldering to keep the unplated boxes from rusting) can
work. Steel doesn't grab the heat away from the soldering point like
brass, copper, or aluminum so can be easier to solder if clean. There
are other possibilities. Many projects are built in the diecast aluminum
boxes, by cutting a piece of unetched PC board material to fit inside
the lid then holding it in place with the coax connectors and power feed
through capacitor, and maybe a bolt or two. Then the circuit is built
over that relatively easy to solder surface and the rest of the box is
used as a shield and protective cover.

You can cut PC board into strips and solder up a box. You can buy strips
of thin brass at the hobby shop to make box sides with brass sheet for
the circuit surface or that PC board material. You can solder together.
You can look for long screws to hold an assembly together made up of a
ring of brass or aluminum strips on edge with to covers of brass,
aluminum or PC board with the screws going all the way through. I've
seen many a picture of brass boxes with brass nuts soldered inside the
corners to allow screwing on covers. I have soldered many and broken
most of the nuts loose.

Then one can get exotic and start with a brick of solid aluminum and
apply the milling machine to carve the recesses for circuitry in any
pattern needed. Much expensive commercial equipment is built that way.
Its sturdy, not necessarily light, and quite expensive for materials and
the work.

73, Jerry, K0CQ

-- 
Entire content copyright Dr. Gerald N. Johnson, electrical engineer.
Reproduction by permission only.