Transport Your Radio

I have been planning a spring/summer trip to the mountains and have been contemplating my operating plan. That would include not only the radios, antennas, power sources, etc..., but also how will I get the equipment there efficiently and in one piece. My research has led to a couple of solutions.

First of all, how do I carry my KX3? I will need to put the radio in a backpack, so a hardsided suitacase or Pelican case is not a good solution. As looked around there doesn't appear to be any ready made carriers for the radio. Of course there are many soft sided solutions, but I don't like those very much because that don't really protect the radio, they only help you carry it. I was cruising Ebay the other day and came across the Sigg Aluminum Box Maxi.

The box is strong enough to protect the radio, but it has no cushion on the inside to keep the radio from moving side to side. I have the built in paddles on my KX3 and you do want them getting jammed agains the wall of the box. So I went to get some left over padding that I have from a pelican case that I have and viola.

The padding keeps the radio firmly in place, the box can be latched firmly shut and is easily backpackable. I think I have exactly what I need.

I also plan to take an FT-817 as a backup. The solution is much easier for the 817. Power Port makes a nice, padded pouch for the 817 that gives it plenty of cushion to ride comfortably in a backpack.

Here you see the FT817 fits snugly in the pouch which zips up to make the radio packable.

There is a pocket on the front of the pouch to stow cords or cables.

So I think I can move on to the next issue.