Many thanks to Cameron (KO6BYB), for sharing the following article about his portable field radio kit, which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post.
Elecraft KX2 Field Kit
by Cameron (KO6BYB)
I wanted to share a tiny KX2 kit I made to fit the Seahorse SE56 (QRPer affiliate link) case. Just upgraded to my General and finally got the HF transceiver of my dreams. Haven’t made it out to the field since I got it last weekend, but I had some spare time (that I should have been sleeping) and whipped this up. Fits basically a whole station in the case:
Components:
- Seahorse SE56 watertight case
- Elecraft KX2
- KXPD2 paddles
- Microphone
- KXBT2 Battery
- AX2 antenna + 40m extender
- Ground wire
- Pen
If you’re only going to do CW, maybe there’s something clever to put in the place of the mic, but I am still working on my Morse. Slowly but surely.
Inserts can be downloaded on Thingiverse:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7010681
Very nice! I’ll be looking into this.
Very nicely kitted out…but ditch the microphone….your CW will improve and you’ll have room for snacks
Snacks or a good pad of paper rolled up. Definitely feel like I’m missing a way to record QSOs. I’ve gotta focus on just getting on the air before I get too picky on CW vs SSB.
Everything fits so precisely. The inserts are brilliant. Everything is well thought out.
I also love the orange color – makes you feel like you are a downed aircraft radio operator using an emergency radio set.
Cameron
Nice job!
I have been using a Seahorse case along with the original insert design by SA2CLC for over a year now and I love it. This is a great case as it is compact yet it makes the KX2 pretty much “bomb-proof” during transport and it fits into a backpack without taking up too much extra space.
I suggest checking out the K6ARK mini-mic as it is a fraction of the size of the Elecraft hand mic and it will free up some space in the Seahorse case. You can 3D print your own mic housing and buy the rest of the parts (jack, switch and electret mic elements) on Amazon.
Congratulations on getting your General Class license and have fun with your KX2.
72 de VE3WMB