I built a rockmite 20 from Small Wonder Labs It is a nice simple little radio to build. I bought the accoutrement to go with it. I bought the connector kit so I would not need to search out the jacks and connectors. I bought the Mity Box from American Morse which is a beautiful enclosure for this transceiver. All holes predrilled and it is nicely anodized. I also got the pico keyer chip from Ham Gadgets. But with all projects, you want to show them off.

I am a member of the Tech Shop in Menlo Park. I took the class for the laser cutter a couple of weeks ago. I figured replace the aluminum cover with an acrylic one so people can see the insides. I was removing the cover each time I showed it off anyway.

As with all machines at the techshop, you have to take a safety class. Make sure you understand what the machine is about. Also to make sure you don’t hurt yourself or anyone else when using it.

Well it is one thing to have an instructor watching over you. It is another to use the machine on your own. So the idea is to find something to do and use the machine on your own.

I did. I both cut and engraved an acrylic cover as well and the original cover.

The scary thing about the cover is that I only got 2 shots. The front and the back. I only needed the one side. It is amazing how things work when you RTFM.

I guess once I get checked out on the tormach CNC I’ll be able to make my own enclosures. I can’t anodize them, but I do have access to powder coating equipment.

I have a whole stack of projects. I’ll be writing about my version of these torroid clamps from QRPME. this will give me a chance to place with a techno CNC machine.

Also I have a modified take on a solder pot based on a tip from Doug Hendricks site. This will give me a small project for the lathe.

The techshop is a fun place. Very work the money. I also just saw that for $35 I can get a 3′ x 4′ x 7′ foot space to store all my tools and projects. Might be worth it.

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