HT holder, follow on to the portable equipment holder

[Jack Crow]

Hi all,
Some photos of a recent project.

As you know from the portable instrument post, I don't like using things that tend to flop over on the workbench.
Hand held radios do nothing but flop over at the slightest excuse.
It gets old fast.
This bracket will hold it in place and upright.

Worked on a 'holder' for my Wouxon hand held radios.
This one mounts to a shelf or wall with two sheet rock screws.

Will work out one for the super popular Beaofeng (sp?) next.
Was given Thanksgiving and the Friday after as days off, then a full weekend to play around.

Anyhow...
Installed the holder in my little space at work.
In service it is fairly reasonable.
Holds the radio in place, and allows me access to the buttons.

It improves the RX audio by using the 'wall' as a sounding board.
Not that HT's with tiny speakers do not have great audio to begin with, but anything is an improvement.

Did not photograph the socket for the hand microphone.
That plugs into the 'right' side of this radio.
There is room there to pull back the dust cover and plug in the microphone.
So you don't have to put your face into the wall to transmit with the thing.
11-22-2017 002.JPG

This is what it looks like empty.
The 'up rights' are to center the unit with it's belt clip.
Notice no expense was spared by using sheet rock screws for the mounting.
11-22-2017 005.JPG

The last photo gives an idea of the gaps and tolerance.
Think I over shot the numbers by about 1.5mm.
Good enough to hold the unit, but not so rigid that it will scrape the finish with removal and replacment.
11-22-2017 006.JPG

May adapt this for the 19mm pipe used on the open frame wire shelving.
That will give me some benefit from using the shelving as an antenna ground plane.
Most people would never think to use a radio as the center feed for a 'dipole', but it works.
Will also adjust the design to fit the Beaofeng (sp) HT that is as common as dirt.

Got a few locals that would be able to make good use of that.

Hope all is well on your end.

Keep it sane
Jack Crow

[Jack Crow]

Hi all,
Follow up to the above.

Made an adapter for the above holder that clamps to the upright pipe in cheap wire frame shelving.
The design for the radio holder stays the same.
What was made was a pipe clamp and attach points to the holder.
They are held together with bolts.
11-25-2017 005.JPG

11-25-2017 008.JPG


That's my excuse.
Be well all.
Jack Crow

[Jack Crow]

Hi all,
Some new ones following the same idea.

The VR-120 is a tiny little receiver.
In the trade we call it a DC to Light radio because of the amazing frequency coverage.
I use it to check for small subtle RF signals used inside other two way radios.

Like most portable equipment it tends to flop over and get in the way on a work bench.
Made this little holder to give it someplace to reside between uses.
11-30-2017 006.JPG

I was able to make this mount a little thinner since I lack a belt clip for the receiver.
11-30-2017 009.JPG

Now this has got to be one of the most popular units in all ham radio service.
They are inexpensive and fairly good performers.
11-30-2017 007.JPG

In this case the unit has it's belt clip, so I use that to stabilize the radio from left to right rocking.
11-30-2017 010.JPG

Also made holders for the Wouxon and a friends TYT DMR radio.

As time permits I will make holders for more types of radios.

One of the things Im working on is common anchor points.
As we face one of these holders, I have 5mm mounting holes 80mm apart.
Fabicrated a backing plate for different requirements.

One fits on a 2U rack mount screw hole spacing. Kinda neat.
The other fits on the wire frame shelf 19mm pipe mount.

May also redesign these things for a pivot mounting style as shown in my write up for the frequency counter and DMM holder.

That is the news of the moment.

Jack Crow aka Radio Mike in VB

[Jack Crow]

Hi all
Quick follow on.

One of the emergency managers suggested a radio mount that would fit in a vehicles cup holder.

The first step was to get dimension.
Seems the information on the Wiki was not real good for US sized cans.

Got a can of Coke from lunch the other day and dragged it home.
Took some measurements and made one that was hollow.

Re worked my 'standard' radio holder to go from a wall / pipe mount to the pivot.

Then worked out the can emulator and adjusted it to fit the pivot.

Kept my 10mm square pattern of screws to attach it all.
Radio holder to the pivot, and can to the pivot.

Facing view.
Here you can see the radio, pivot, and the can simulator.

12-13-2017 001.JPG

Side view.
Here it is with the radio slightly tipped backwards.
12-13-2017 002.JPG

To give the thing some mass and keep it from bouncing around the car, I poured in a cup full of pennies.
If there is any interest I will invest in a bag of 'shot', most likely BB shot.
That would supply a significant amount of mass.

Going to ask one of the locals who use their radio this way in a vehicle.
Let him try this for a few weeks and see what recommendations from real life can be made.

That is the news.
Jack Crow aka Radio Mike