The Oily Krafter Ham Radio Portable Battery Box
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2024
- In this project we demonstrate how to build a portable battery box with a ham radio inside.
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Link to pdf document with full descriptions and quantities:
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Supplies List (the links listed below for Amazon are affiliate links. If you purchase from these links we will receive a small commission).
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Tools Used for Build:
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I like this design! Having the fuse block on the lid right next to the switches and accessories is smart
Thank you for your feedback.
Thank you for the video. When drilling through plastic or vinyl, run your drill in reverse for a nice clean hole. It will drill through using the back side of the teeth on the bit. I use this method when I need to make holes through siding. It makes a nice clean hole every time.
Thank you for watching our video! We appreciate the tip!!! We will have to try that!!!! Hope you have a great day!
That’s awesome I like that you put a ham radio in the ammo box. Very nice setup.
Thank you for watching the video! We're glad that you liked it!
Thoroughly enjoyed the video, I use the clear sealants on any outside plug, works great and also easy to peel off if/when needed
Thank you.
Don’t watch this video! Once you start making your first one, you’ll see the mistakes you made and build another. Once that happens, you’ll will then buy another box because someone else gave you an idea to try and now you’ll be up to three battery boxes!
Thanks for posting this. Trying to learn how to make accurate cuts with the Dremel, and how to make plastic cuts cleaner. 73’s
I have built some larger battery boxes since then. I love using the Dremel to make the cuts. It is a lot cleaner than using a saw or other type of cutters.
@@theoilykrafter Rather than using a messy rotary saw try using a plastic cutting blade to remove the plastic with heat. I recommend doing it outdoors or in a negative pressure enclosure. My old Dremel plastic-cutter/wood-burner/soldering-iron (not a great soldering iron) can melt the plastic and do nice clean cuts! A nichrome element on a foam cutter can do the same job too!
Great video and you are blessed to have a wife as a videographer. 😊
Thank you for watching our video and the kind words!
really enjoyed this video. Showing your challenges and mistakes, subsequent corrections, was very genuine and I learned alot as a complete rookie. I don't see the video in your collection for the solar charging video you mention at the end.
Thank you for watching our video and for the kind words! Glad the information helped you! Due to several health issues, Greg had cancer surgery and Judy broke her foot, the last 6 months of 2021 didn't go as planned! We still have plans to get the solar video finished and uploaded this year! Thanks again for watching!
@@theoilykrafter wishing you all the best and speedy recoveries all around
I enjoyed the video and now have a project for the long Canadian winter, when charging my r/c lipo batteries the charger is specific for that battery type, you should check into that because lipos are charge specific.
Than you for watching our video! I will make sure Greg checks that. Appreciate the information!
Thanks.
Your video inspires me to make my own.
Thank you for watching our video! We're glad you were inspired!
Great Job on the build. Hams are always great at making mistakes, and that's how we learn. I will say, as an avid builder of everything from Hot Spots to boxes, brand tools make a challenge less cumbersome. We all love Harbor Freight, but my preference will always be the better tool, does a better job. Klein, Teng or Dorman rivet tool etc. But you did amazing.
Thank you for watching our video! We appreciate your comment and input! We'll have to look into finding those brands, I've (Judy) have never heard of those! Hope you have a great day!
@@theoilykrafter yeah, its crazy that the good tools are kind of a secret to most folks, once you get into a trade you discover how crap a lot of consumer products are.
You do realize using the word "but" negates everything in front of it... hi hi.
Could have used a hot glue gun to improve water resistances. Also an Ethernet jumper for the hand mic. Great build. And definitely gave me new ideas for another go box. Thank you.
Thank you for watching our video and for the suggestions! We'll keep them in mind for future projects!
I really like this video. It is very informative.
Thank you for watching!!!
Very nice radio/battery go box
Thank you for watching the video. We appreciate you taking time to leave us feedback.
Sealing your box will turn that lifepo battery into a bomb. It produseces gas, it needs ventilation. 2) Your wires need to be striped slightly more. 3) Turn the spade terminals so that the flat is in the sane plane as the Jaws. 4) As to the pop rivets not popping...it because the plastic box is too soft and lets the pop end pull through. You can use rivets that come with sized washers to spread out the pull force and properly pop off.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for your comments. Lead acid batteries definitely do off gassing. I have heard that you do not want to charge lifepo batteries in a closed environment.
I did the same thing my OCD kick in and got some black bolts just long enough to fit the washer and lock washer and nuts.
Thank you for watching our video! We appreciate the comment!
Nicely done 🤙
Thank you for watching our video! We appreciate our viewer! Hope you have a wonderful day!
Very nice build sir
Thank you for compliment! We appreciate you taking the time to watch our video! Have a great week!
You can also use a deburring tool to clean up the ruff edges from drilling the holes...👍🤠
Thank you for watching our video! Thanks for the suggestion!
Thanks! A great video!
Thank you
A center punch is not important for drilling thermo plastics but it is way easier to ensure a center punch is lined up to your markings than a drill bit.
Second tip. Take a piece of scrap wood and mark the hole pattern on that and drill it out then align that to the box. Use copious masking tape to hold it down then drill through the wood into the box. The scrap wood should be thick enough that it guides the drill bit into remaining vertical. The result is no more ruined boxes because you go through scrap wood until the holes are to spec.
Thank you for watching our video and for the tips! We appreciate our viewers. Will have to keep the tips handy for a future project!
@@theoilykrafter absolutely, and thank you! I have lots of neat tricks I learned working at a job shop that ran all sorts of machinery.
I really appreciate your video and it inspired me to come up with my version of a radio and power go box. Not done yet...
Clever! I like it.
Thank you
First: a fantastic video. The box is very neatly done and you inspired me to make one for my gear (thinking about POTA season).
I just wanted to say that I always wondered what would be on after "Fun with Flags, presented by Sheldon Cooper".
73
Thank you and good luck on your next project\build.
Nice idea 👍
Thank you.
5:50 - well placed
Thank you for watching our video! We appreciate our viewers!
Nice work but...for safety you should always have an inline fuse coming off the positive battery post before going to any component. In your case if the master switch developed a short, the inline fuse would pop protecting the battery as the rest of the box is protected by the fuse block past the master switch.
Thank you for watching! I will pass this info to Greg and see if he has updated the box. I know he had plans to make a few minor changes after we published the video.
Greg. That was a good video. It held some much needed information for a build I have been designing. The radio will be part of my second design and you provided food for thought on that.
The setup you have is sadly not waterproof. But it is about as close as one can get to it. At the very least it is weather proof and provides protection to the internals. I am curious to find out if the top lid strength was compromised with the Ryobi cutting. It seemed like such could weaken it. That aside, it was a great build to watch. Look forward to the charge controller addition in your future vids.
KO4EMH
Thank you for the comments. I do need to come back and add the solar charge controller to this build. I had intended to do that by now but unfortunately I have had some health issues.
Hoping you get better soon.
@@barrykelly2722 Thank you for the well wishes! He is recovering very well!
Need to use a washer under the rivet to give it something to expand against...👍🤠
Thank you for watching our video! We will have to check into that!
I use a step up bit makes the holes cleaner.
Thank you for watching! At this time, we do not have one of those bits! We will have to look into getting one! Thanks for the tip!
Turn the hole saw upside down to mark where the pilot hole will go...👍🤠
Thank you for watching our video! Thank you for the suggestion!
Awesome video but can't resist some humor. That drill looks like a bazooka!
It is a rather large drill. I have used it for every project in the last several years. The reliability and ability to not have to worry about a power cord makes it a really great choice.
The box came out looking pretty good...anything you'd either add or change after a little use?👍🎙🇺🇲
Thank you for watching our video! We haven't really done much with it since we made it. We had a few health issues that stole our time away from doing a lot of things after we made this video!
Nice build, the only thing is you have to make sure the solar charger your using is for a that type battery. I don’t think that one covers lifepo4
Thank you for watching! Thank you for the suggestion! We’ll double check that! Have a great day!
Get yourself a set of transfer punches. Will give you perfect centre marks.
Thanks for the tip.
Nice video! Excellent go box build! Your wife is a saint for videoing the build for you. Just a few comments. (Sorry) I think a step bit would do a better job on the hole drilling. I didn't understand the need to use rivets?? My last observation and comment is, The plastic ammo box has no ground plain... I have the same radio that you used. Its putting out around 18 to 20 watts. The SWR, has to be very high???? I'm not even sure that the ABREE, antenna can take that kind of transmit power??? They are designed for handhelds putting out maybe 7 watts max. I make repeaters out of metal ammo cans for the SWR problems. Or, you can run a coax to an outside base station antenna for better SWR and grater range. Just my thoughts. I did enjoy the video.
I agree on the step bit. I didn't own one at the time but I have one now I used on another project. It is much easier to use. I definitely would not use rivets again. I would use #4/40 screws to hold the mount in place. My Lexien radio transmits on either 4W at low power or 10W at high power.
What about heat build up operating with the lid closed? Nice video.
Thank you for watching! We are still in testing with heat build up inside the box at this time. A short test last Friday went well, there wasn’t much heat. We’ll continue testing it!!
@@theoilykrafter Try running for a net an hour FM full duty cycle at 20 (all that antenna could handle) watts. That should warm things up.
@@forgetyourlife Thank you for watching! I will pass this info to Greg and see if he has updated the box. I know he had plans to make a few minor changes after we published the video.
For that first plate. I would have drilled the holes for the four corner screws. Dropped the screws in and then taken the bit out of the hole saw.
I agree. Now I would use #4/40 screws with a nut to hold it in place.
Hello,
your idea is very good, but it would be better to put it in a box that complies with IP67 Standards. Just put the antenna output outside.
Thank you for making the video content and for your effort. Greetings from Turkey.
Good suggestion. This was my very first attempt at making a battery box with ham radio included.
The cooling fan is sucking out the air or blowing in? I'm confused about the direction it should be on my go box.
Cooling fan should be removing the hot air out of the go box.
Great built good for shtf/ grid down
Thank you for watching our video and for the kind words!
Just curious, but are you directly charging the battery through one of the sets of banana posts?
Thank you for watching our video! We appreciate our viewers/subscribers! Yes he does!
I'm sorry dude, but you made me chuckles using your ratcheting crimping tool upside down. You use that tool like a hand brake on a bicycle. Try it, you'll love it.
Thanks for the tip. That was my first time using the tool and tried using it the other direction and was having trouble getting the rivet in the right position.
Looks like a great project but i have 2 concerns.
1) The radio will produce heat. If you operate with the box closed isn't venting a problem?
2) Seeing that you are using a Plastic amo box don't you need a ground plain for your antenna? I wonder what your SWR is.
I didn't have any heat problems because the radio is only 10 watts and as with most radios it is not 100% transmit. The SWR that I had was 1.3 to 1
Very Nice build! Where did you get the box?
Thank you for watching our video! We box came from a store called Harbor Freight.
If you add a washer to your rivets they will hold better ,
Thank you for watching our video! We appreciate the suggestion! We'll keep that in mind the next time we use rivets!
What solar panels do you use to charge this
Unfortunately in the video I didn't add in the charge controller. But I will use the Harbor Freight moncrystalline 100 watt panels.
Not a bad build but as far as waterproofing goes there is very little everywhere there is a hole there should be silicon where the component comes in contact with the plastic...why would you be in the rain anyway. Additionally, I would use a radio with a remote control head for more control of the radio. Just personal preferences. I like the layout. Maybe instead of 2 banana plug receptacles have 1 and 1 set for anderson powerpoles.
I agree. I am thinking about changing out one set of the banana plugs to powerpoles. Probably a double set of them.
No. The box should not be water tight. Lifepo batteries produces gas. Water tight = bomb. Do your homework b4 you give bad advice.
Only Suggestion I would give It label the Amazon links in the description with labels its easier to click on the link the viewer wants and also helps not make kt confusing when you see a similar link listed over 20 of them without labels ended up click on the same link dozen times because I couldn't see the difference between them and was kinda frustrating not hard to make label being you can copy and paste the Amazon title for the item then put the link and makes separating the links easier being there Is the option for 5000 Characters for the description
Thank you for the suggestion.
@@theoilykrafter no problem at all thank you for Listening to what I had to say I appreciate your time and your reply
Those rivits are to big , a smaller one is all you need and a backup washer but nice box
Thank you. If I would to build another one I would use #4/40 screws and nuts to hold it in place.
The orientation of the radio needs to go the other way mate, so the radio is read facing away from the lid! Also use dome nuts on the bolts that you have used for the radio bracket.
I am confused about your comment on the orientation of the radio. I definitely would not use rivets again. I would use #4/40 machine screws instead.
You can’t use the solar charge controller from harbor freight. They are not a lithium compatible charge controller. I tried it. Almost ruined my lithium battery.
I agree. You must check to make sure that your charge controller is compatible with the battery type that you are using.
Great video 48:18
Thank you.
@@theoilykrafter your very welcome
Good box for Power distribution. I don't like radio installation. 73 de iw7ebb luke
Thank you for watching! We appreciate your input. We understand that it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea! Hope the video gave you some ideas on how to build one of your own!! Have a great day!
Have you figured out yet that you forgot the MASTER FUSE between the off and on switch and as close to the positive post of the battery as you can get it? 9 out of 10 builders forget the Master Fuse. Also a Rubber boot that should go over the positive post of the battery to prevent the fire that will happen if something metal comes loose and shorts to the positive post. Safety First!
Thank you for your suggest.
Swivel knife works better.
For cutting the holes in the top ?
@@theoilykrafter cleaning up
Geez- watching you mess with rivets was painful. Just use traditional screws and be done with it. ;-)
I agree the rivets were very painful. Not sure that I would use them again.
That battery is junk! I bought 4-only ONE worked. I returned them all!
Thank you for watching! I’m sorry that the batteries you received didn’t work for you!! So far, the one we received has worked well for us.
I've bought 4 of the same battery and they all work terrific! Good job Oily Krafter.
@@amham48 thank you for watching! Glad you had a good experience with your purchase!