Stack 2 radios for base use..

[mparker]

my lovely wife allows me to keep my my radio gear in the living room as long as its kept neat and tidy.

i just picked up a 2m mobile that i am using as a base.

ive seen photos of stacked bearcat scanners, what about stacking my 2m mobile on top of my scanner? is there something that i can buy, or is it going to have to be custom made.



right now its just setting on top with little rubber feet, but the slightest bump and it tips/falls back.

thanks

 

[zz0468]

Duct tape.

 

[darg]

You want to stack them with a little air between them so that the lower unit still can dissipate heat and that the upper unit with its buddy is not heating it up more when running both at a time.
Since both units are of different size a custom made bracket would be needed.

 

[RadioDaze]

Maybe you could try one of these with a spacer of sorts to make up for the narrower width of the Yaesu:
Desk Mount for Two Base Scanners

 

[mparker]

Maybe you could try one of these with a spacer of sorts to make up for the narrower width of the Yaesu:
Desk Mount for Two Base Scanners

i was looking at that and thinking the same thing with the spacers... but $60 for a piece of sheet metal...

wow, i know the price of metal has gone up... but wow...

i am thinking about duplicating it with some scrap found at maybe a building site or something...

 

[Citywide173]

It depends on how attached you are to your radios in the shape that they are right now. You're already using the mobile mounting brackets for spacing to allow air flow, so the simplest/cheapest way to meet your goal would be to take off the top cover of the Uniden, and mount the Icom bracket directly to the Uniden casing. Takes two to four small machine bolts, washers and nuts, plus about 10 minutes of labor.

If you really want a case similar to the ones sold specifically for the purpose of radio stacking, it's going to have to be custom. Buy a piece of 1/8 inch sheet metal that is 12.3 inches by 6.5 inches and take it to a vocational school with a sheet metal shop. Have it bent so that the stabilizing "feet" are each one inch wide, the first rise is 3.175 inches high, indent of 0.85 inches, and the second rise is 2.06 inches. This will give you a base of 9.2 inches, an opening for the Uniden of 7.2 inches with 0.5 inches below the radio and 0.25 inches above the radio, and an opening of 5.5 inches for the Icom with 0.25 inches below and 0.5 inches above for airflow, maintaining a uniform 0.5 inch distance between the table top and the Uniden, between the radios and above the Icom and the top of the case. Please note that the overall dimensions are slightly larger to accommodate the finished inside dimensions. It shouldn't cost you anywhere near the retail price of the commercially available units.

 

[mparker]

i might give that a try, i have friends that are machinist too i might ask them first... maybe they have some scrap aluminum laying around and really take care of me..

thanks for doing the math on the measurements for me...

 

[RadioDaze]

Okay, here's what you do. Get a few nice pieces of hardwood. Assemble them like the attached diagram, using Ed's measurements. Stain them to match the nice cherry wood or whatever the desk is. Bolt each side piece to the mounting holes of the radios. Done. Happy wife, happy ham.

 

[n5ims]

I use a small (4" x 6" or so) rubber "non-slip" pad that has totally stopped my radio from moving around. The smaller 2m radio has enough weight to grip the rubber pad so it keeps in place unless you pull on the mic too hard. Keep the pad away from the heat sinks though, just to be safe.

 

[mparker]

oohhhh good idea...

i think at the local hardware store they sell "planks" for shelving... i could probably just use one shelf board, and maybe round the front edges with a router...

it would look pretty...

 

[RadioDaze]

Yes, round the top and front other edges. Felt pads on the bottom, unless it slides, then use rubber... but the weight of both radios will probably be enough. The heatsink of the Yaesu remains exposed for cooling. Use spacers on one or the other radio if the combination of wood thicknesses leaves a gap. Find screws that will thread into the radios and are the right length for each to reach from the outside of the wood. Leave an 1/2" or so air gap between the radios

You could get some black plastic computer cable conduit to hide all the wires together into one neat unit.

You could also paint the wood all flat black if you can't get the wood color to your satisfaction.

 

[RadioDaze]

Mike, let me know if you want a PDF of that diagram so you can draw dimensions on it.