[Milsurplus] Homebrew Battery Box for RF10

[Robert Nickels]

I came home from Dayton determined to get some green radios on the air 
for next year.  Top of the pile is the Czech RF10 that I bought from 
Sportsmans Guide, but which came without the slide-on battery pack.  
Inspired by one I saw at Dayton I thought I'd fool around making a 
battery box out of double-sided PC board material (G-10, FR-4 or 
what-have-you).    It came out good enough that I determined it would be 
a keeper, and took some photos that may be of interest to others who 
need a solution for powering their RF10. 

http://picasaweb.google.com/RANickels/RF1002      A few comments to go 
along with the photo captions:

 - I recommend using five brass screws, as brass machines and solders 
easily.  I machined off the tops of four fillister head screws for the 
slide-on studs, and left one intact to use as the 12 volt power 
contact.   I used 8-32 because I had them,  6-32 pan heads should work - 
just make sure your studs will slide easily in and out of the RF-10 case 
latches.

- Layout of the four mounting stud locations is VERY critical, if you 
are off very far you won't be able to slide the box in position.  Drill 
and tap threads for the screws you are using and adjust the height of 
the stud for proper engagement in the latches, and when you can slide 
the assembly on and off easily, solder the studs in place on the back side.

- Locate the center of the +12 volt supply contact spring with the 
assembly in proper position, then isolate a copper pad on both sides.   
The RF10 case is the 12v return.

- I used copper tape to hold the outside box corners in place, 
tack-soldered and checked for squareness, then soldered all the seams.  
If you scrub the copper with steel wool or a Scotchbrite pad and use a 
bit of flux, soldering is quick and easy.  After you solder the fixed 
side piece in place, the box becomes quite rigid.  An easy way to cut 
the copper clad material is  to score each side deeply with a utility 
knife and then break it over a sharp corner.  File the edges smooth and 
square.

-  Use your imagination when it comes to attaching the removable side 
and selecting the type of battery that meets your needs.  I mainly 
wanted to show the construction method using the double sided PCB 
material, which can usually be found at most hamfests for little or nothing.

Good luck and 73,
Bob W9RAN