Many thanks to Don (W7SSB) who writes:

Thought you’d get a kick out of these products I used for ham radio in the field.

Out in the field you can protect not only your computer but your rig from the sun.

There are many models and they fold flat for easy handling.

Also you can get from a camping store a POTA party shelter for about $50 .

Great for a cheap portable ham shack . Keeps out of the sun and weather .

Room for a table, chair and cooler. What more do you need?

Have fun !

Don W7SSB

Thanks so much for the tip, Don!

It’s ironic you send this now as I’ve been looking at an inexpensive pop-up shade tent to protect my radios from the snow, sun and sand when doing portable operations. This $12 model (Amazon affiliate link) has been in my Amazon cart for about a week:

It’s made to protect a sun-bather’s head from the sun or protect a small pet. I think my gear could easily fit inside on a tabletop or ground and there’s even a small ceiling window (designed so people can look at their phones while sun bathing?!?) that I think would work brilliantly as a spot to place an LED light to illuminate the inside of the tent.

While I don’t think I’d use this a lot, it would be awfully handy when there’s no shelter from direct sunlight. It should keep a radio from over heating.

Also, recently I was operating outdoors with blowing snow–temps were well below freezing, but when snow landed on the transceiver, the chassis was warm enough to melt it. It started to get downright wet on top. A small pop-up like this would have come in handy.

Readers: Do you use pop-up shade products? Feel free to comment with your experience and share models you’ve used.