Portable Radio Scanning Go Kit - August 2020

[pb_lonny]

Recently I have been looking at change / improving my “Portable Radio Scanning Go Kit”. Until now I have used a few different cases and bags, some have worked really well, others have not been as great. What I enjoy is the challenge of trying different options, the experience I get from this allows me to continue improving my cases, hopefully finally finding the ultimate setup which works for me.

I was out doing some shopping recently when I called passed my local Supercheap Auto store, here I found this new case for $24.95, I decided to replace my previous case as I found it was not working as well as I would have liked. My plan being to use my previous case for my work tools and use this new case for my radio scanning go kit.

I started off at home by sitting UBCD396XT and other pieces of my radio scanning kit on the foam to see how they would all fit best. After this I cut the foam to suit and pulled out the required sections. Using this foam I decided that to fit in the most amount of radio gear, after trying a few different layouts, I decided to keep the foam around my UBCD396XT but remove all the foam from the right hand side of the case to give me enough space for:
- UBCD396XT
- 3 x aerials (these live under the UBCD396XT)
- AC charger
- Ear phones
- Programming cable (including USB to serial adaptor)
- Note book and pen
- Spare AA batteries
This layout is about the most efficient use of the space that I could do.

Overall, I am very pleased with how well this case has come out, I am able to carry and store my UBCD396XT, notebook, pens, spare batteries and ear phones and aerials, everything I need for portable sessions. It is also small enough to fit in my back pack. For under $25 it provides a great level of protection. Using the foam means that each item has a home and that they are well protected, it is also much lighter than my previous cases, meaning I will carry it with me more often. It really wins on the price v size v quality scale.

While this case was designed for radio scanning, the same ideas could be used for amateur radio, radio dxing or any other radio storage need.

Photos: Portable Radio Scanning Go Kit - August 2020

 

[mmckenna]

While this case was designed for radio scanning, the same ideas could be used for amateur radio, radio dxing or any other radio storage need.

Here in the United States, there is a retailer called Harbor Freight that sells identical cases with a different sticker on the front.

I bought one a while back and have it mounted on the rear rack of my son's off road buggy. Inside I mounted a Motorola GM300 VHF mobile radio. I put two water proof connectors on the side. One is a 4 pin connector for power and chassis ground and the other is a 10 pin connector for the microphone and speaker connection. A BNC connector handles the antenna.
For the price, they are good cases. Pelican makes nice stuff, but I didn't want to spend that much on a Pelican case and then drill holes in it. It's been out on the trails a few times, a lot of dust, some water/mud/snow, and it's held up well.
You can see it on the rear rack, just above the fuel can:


Looks like it would be a good case for what you are doing.

I always look forward to seeing what you've done. Thanks for posting.

 

[pb_lonny]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[jeepsandradios]

I noticed Sunday that Harbor Freight sells them in Sand and Orange in addition to black. I only use Pelican for my work stuff but have a few from Harbor Freight for my personal gear and its a good option for the price. I plan to grab a sand and an orange next week for a small radio cache i have..