Email by Ron Hyte, KC7WVS on the Go-Box
"Greetings everyone,
I have been asked by several people to put together a list of items that I used for my Kit. I also realize that some of you might have the advantage of ordering stuff through your company for better deals. I have added links to the places I purchased my parts from. Other times I have added links just for pictures of the part.
I should mention that I have been researching for an application that I would like to use for my Grab and go kit. I looked at the ones that were built in the Pelican brief cases of various sizes but they didn't have options to add a TNC or another radio. This is a YouTube video for the one I decided on and was my inspiration. One of the problems he had was space for his speakers. He had to shave the top and bottom down to fit them in. That was not an option I wanted to take, so I modified the spacing of the shelves.
The first Item is the case. There are several companies that make a case like this but they do not compare in quality or durability. This case is called a Gator Pro with 6 units. In the link I sent you, is a 6 Unit case and is what I used. Each unit is about 1.75 inches which figures to be about 10.5 inches inside measurement. The price on this case was $144. This case comes with mounting rails in front but not in back. The company however encloses a coupon good for free rails just like the rails in front. You also get black mounting screws. The new rails nestles in place and all you need to do is drill three holes on each side for three bolts and nuts that are provided..
The surge protector is made by Furman and they have several models available. You will get the best deal with this going on ebay. The model number is Furman M-8Lx.
Right now I did a search for this model and I saw one for $59.95 and another for $49.50, with a “Buy now” option.
The shelves are two different sizes. The rear shelf is a half rack. A half rack is 6” deep. The front shelves are full but that doesn't mean they go all the way back to the rear mounting rails. Ebay has several racks but the best ones go for about $27.00 each on eBay. Some of the cheaper ones go for $15.00 but are heaver.
I got my shelves from Poll sound, located here in town and he let me have them for $17.95 each. That was a special price because of other purchases I had made there. Maybe if you went through your company you could get a better deal also. This is the shelf that I got from Poll audio. This link is just for a picture.
The two speakers I used were MFJ 281 that I got from our local ham store, Communications Products. Please note Bob has closed his store and is now only an internet store but you can go to his house and buy from him. Because I didn't have to pay shipping it was cheaper to get them from him rather the one of the bigger Ham Outlets. Go to his website and call him. He will give you directions how to get to his house.
This is a MFJ link to see what speakers look like.
If you were putting one of these kits with someone else’s money, I would consider using one of the slimmer speakers from Icom like the Sp-10.
I also used a Rigrunner 4005 power strip for power distribution.
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