Make an awesome Go-box for your radio

Why do you need a Go-box? If you've operate from temporary location, you may have noticed how much time is spent getting everything packed up ready, then setting up, and packing up again when it's time to leave. A Go-box can help solve this problem!

A go-box is a box containing all of your mandatory radio equipment, pre-connected, preferably with batteries. It's a complete shack in a box, just lift the lid, connect an antenna and you're on the air.

They are obviously are a little bigger and heavier than a radio on it's own. But, who ever carries just a radio? Also, this reduces the risk of forgetting something. 

So whats the catch? Go-box solutions can be expensive, and although available, there are not that many on the market. 

On this page I'm going to share how I went about creating a professional Go-box with a lot of help from Radioset-Go

My Go-box example is based on the brilliant Radioset-go box website run by Hanz W1JSB: https://radioset-go.com/prestashop/index.php.

Hanz normally offers full kits or completed retro-fit builds of his RadioSet-Go boxes. He'll even make customized version based on your own particular needs. These are the best on the market, high performance, well designed and robust.

I purchased a reduced set of 'key' parts from Hanz which included the facia, fittings, but excluded the wires, box and batteries.

Now, to be clear, I would strongly recommend buying the completed product, or the full kit of parts from Hanz. These products are of a very high standard and well worth the investment.

The complexity and time required to wire up a Go-box without the full kit can be underestimated. The need for screened cable terminations and good soldering skills is essential. So buy the full kit is you are not confident with these things.

I however, am a glutton for punishment and decided to save a couple of bucks and wire this up myself.

I emailed Hanz at Radioset-Go and asked if he could provide a scaled down kit of parts to help reduce costs. I had to source some parts locally to complete the build. Here are the items required:

Standard Elecraft KX3 and PX3 side plates have to be installed before mounting to the new pannel. My aftermarket side plates were just too big. Aftermarket side plates and heat sinks were removed and the KX3 and PX3 was put back to its standard configuration.

Before starting, I covered the fascia with low-tack masking tape. This helped prevent damage during construction. I peeled away sections of tape as I fitted each item.

The first stage is to dry fit the KX3 and PX3 to the facia panel. Using the mounting bar provided, I marked the mounting holes, drilled and deburred. Accuracy is very important here. I did allow some play to accommodate my poor drilling. This appeared to work well.

Tip: The seating height of the equipment is important, this requires a little care to get flush with the facia. The Radioset-Go mounting bars provided in the kit were pre-marked with the correct height for the holes.

Once done, I loose fitted the metal mounting bars to the radio and pan-adapter. I offered the radio and pan-adapter up to the facia and mark out the holes. Again, drilled, deburred. Then fitted all of this this to the facia.

At this stage I had the radio's firmly fitted to the facia.

Using great care, and the correct tools, I mounted all the fittings to the facia panel.

The fans are mounted in different directions to encourage an air flow, across the radio heat-sink. Everything else is straightforward enough. I left fitting the standoffs out at this stage to avoid damage.

I now had all the harware fitted to the facia panel.

There are a lot of wires. Terminating all of these cables will take time. Most terminations are for screened cables, so you'll need to learn how to do this properly if you're not sure.

There are essentially four wiring systems to consider :     

• Power
• Cooling 
• Signal connections
• Audio

I used a Li-Ion battery solution for my go box. This battery comes pre-fitted with short circuit protection, power and charging leads, they are easily available, the form factor works well. Most importantly these batteries have simple charging requirements, my battery was supplied with it's own charger.

The front panel has a switch to simply change between external and internal power. There is a separate charging port which can remain plugged in if you want to do this.

There is a problem with this battery pack, it has an LED fitted which stays on all of the time. I would recommend very carefully disconnecting this LED to prevent premature discharge of your battery.

The fascia is mounted to the box using six standoffs which are provided in the kit. These are held in place using M3 screws, these could be easily substituted for M3 thumb screws if needed.

I just love this shack in a box. I can grab this Go-box and just get going. Perfect for field days, temporary locations, and special events. Before the KX3 Go-box  setting up the KX3 could be daunting. Loosing all those KX3 wires is a dream. I now enjoy this radio much more in this improved, simpler configuration. 

Wiring all this up was not a small job and it took some time to complete this. However, it was worth the effort.

I am very happy with this project, I have great shack in a box which turns heads and just looks darn cool.

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