Here are a few photos of project enclosures made for the Ten Tec amateur radio receiver kits, model T1056. A Radio Shack enclosure is used, with an aluminum front panel and plastic cabinet.
Basically, the process involves soldering components onto the printed circuit board and then measuring the completed board before laying out the hole pattern and drilling the front panel. No drilling is required on the plastic case. The height of holes for controls depends on the stand-off supports you use. The supports are also available at Radio Shack.
If you keep the control potentiometers soldered directly to the PC board, then the holes are all aligned and the spacing is set by the printed circuit board. Or, instead of soldering the pots to the board you can use jumper wires to locate the controls wherever you want on your panel. I decided to keep all the pots soldered directly to the board, except for the main tuning controls.
Measure twice before drilling. Mark the panel and use a sharp center-punch on each hole centerline. The center-punch helps keep the drill bit in the correct location when cutting the holes. After center-punching, I drilled small pilot holes before drilling the final larger holes.
After all the drilling is done, make a trial fit-up of all switches, jacks, indicator light and control panel to cabinet. After you are satisfied that all the parts fit properly, then disassemble completely. Wash the panel with liquid soap to remove any dirt or oil.
Completely rinse and dry (I use a hair drier).
Only after the panel is completely clean and dry, then finish with two light coats of spray paint. Allow the panel to air-dry overnight (or longer) before handling to avoid fingerprints.
After the panel is dry, then you can mount the speaker to the panel using two-part epoxy adhesive.
After the speaker is installed, reassemble all the parts. You can then attach pressure adhesive rubber feet to the cabinet. The rubber feet give the radio a solid support and prevent it from sliding around your operating table when you adjust the controls. The yellow radio works on the 40 meter ham band.
You can also paint the plastic cabinet. Be sure to wash and dry it before painting. Allow the cabinet to completely dry before assembling. Attach the rubber feet to the cabinet after the paint is thoroughly dry. The gray radio is a 20m receiver.
There are other packaging options. Ten Tec sells several all-aluminum cabinets that also make nice enclosures.
73 de NG9D
