Crowd-Sourced Project

3/22/2017

Post Contains Affiliate Links

N3VEM wants you (yes, you!) to help design a project!
Many of you are probably already aware of the idea of "crowd-sourcing." For those of you that aren't familiar with it, Google defines crowd-sourcing as "the practice of obtaining information or input into a task or project by enlisting the services of a large number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically via the Internet."

So, why am I talking about crowd-sourcing? Here's why:

Did I lose you yet?
I hope not, because I'm finally ready to get to the point. One of the pieces of equipment that my work revolves around comes in these boxes. Recently, we had one that went bad, and it was getting scrapped. After pulling out the proprietary bits, I was left with this box that was just too cool to get rid of. My mind was instantly racing with radio-related ideas to use this for. For some reason, as I was brainstorming, it dawned on me that this could make a fun "community" activity - with the community in question being anyone who happens to stumble on my corner of the Internet, who also has even the slightest interest in, or curiosity about, ham radio.

So, what exactly is the activity? If you haven't figured it out yet, I want us to collectively brainstorm / design / build a project around this box. The brainstorming and designing will be the community effort. The building part will be me, probably exclusively, but a couple of you live close, so I might request to bring in some help if the ideas get too wild :-)

So, with introductions out of the way, I'm going to start with ground rules, then the project constraints, and what we have to work with. Since I am the ultimate builder, and probably the sole financial resource for this project, I will proudly hold the right to change/clarify the ground rules and/or scope at any time I feel it is necessary, and will also hold final go or no-go decisions on anything that involves my personal financial input. With that being said, I will strive to stick to the crowd-sourced intent, and will try to give details and reasons if I veer from that at any point.

Ground Rules

No idea is a stupid idea
disagreements and discussion are encouraged, but if you get trollish about it, you'll be removed from participation - this is meant to be fun!
If you think something "must" be part of the project, convince the rest of the crowd to agree with you (and also convince them to fund it if it is something pricey!)

Scope

This will be pretty loose as far as project scopes go, but here's the current scope/constraints. This should be interesting, because we're starting with a box, and working backwards, instead of the other way around:

The end product must be ham radio centric
The end product should fit 100% within this box for storage and transportation. Things that need to be taken out of the box and "deployed" for use are okay.
This box is a Seahorse Model SE-300. (P.S. as far as this type of case goes, the Seahorse cases are very reasonably priced!) Inside dimensions of the bottom are approximately 9.5"x7.4"x3". Inside dimensions of the lid are approximately 9.5"x7.4"x1"
The parts remaining in the box from it's previous life can either be re-used, modified, completely removed, or replaced, unless otherwise noted
The box contains a 12v 6000mAh LiFePO4 battery (and charger). Preferably, this should be the power source, if the end product requires power.
The mounting bracket that holds the battery is also the ground plane for a 900MHz antenna that was used in this box's prior life (I have no particular attachment to it, but wanted to let you know that it's there)
The box has the following bulkhead connectors that, in the past, interfaced equipment in the box to the outside world: (2) RJ45 Jacks, (1) DB9 male, (1) USB, (1) coaxial power connector currently used to connect the battery charger
Box "display" panel has a 2amp fuse/holder, voltage meter, power switch (switched power from the internal battery), and some holes that previously had LED's shining through them.
The lid of the box has a panel and door, making a storage compartment in the lid.
Drilling holes / screwing things into the box / panels is okay
Frugality is important. This doesn't mean things have to be cheap, but any cost has to have an associated benefit (I may ask to be "sold" on ideas if they seem pricey)
I prefer to reuse / recycle things wherever possible, but will buy parts if suitable things can't be found to re-purpose
I have, or have access to, most tools that could conceivably be needed. I am willing to beg/borrow/ask for help for anything I would need to use that I don't have, or don't have experience with (I don't own an Oscilloscope, or Spectrum Analyzer - yet)

Here are some pictures to help stimulate all those creative juices out there! (As a note - excuse my bad photo-editing. I had to hide some proprietary markings. As the project moves forward I'll paint over those if the panels get re-used.)

Now, as a member of the "crowd" here is the first assignment. Using the form below, submit your ideas for:

The name of the project (as we learned from Amazon and Monster a name doesn't have to reflect what the thing actually is, so we might as well come up with that first - it will be easier to share what we're working on if we have something to call it!
A short description giving a high-level idea for a project. The key here is short - we'll get into details once a project is picked - for now, just stick to ideas like "VHF/UHF go kit", "Flux Capacitor Module", "QRP station", or "Dilithium Crystal Power Box".

After ideas have have been gathered, we'll take a vote! Feel free to discuss and/or ask questions in the comments or on social media, but the final list of things to vote on will be compiled from the submitted forms.

Lastly, be sure to share this with everyone you know! A crowd-sourced project is more fun and more exciting the larger the crowd gets! We'll keep the suggestion pool open for about a week before I make the list and put it out for a vote!

Suggestions Now Closed!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! The time for submitting ideas has closed, but you can you use the links below to see where the group is in the project, and add your input!

Continue to Part 2

3 Comments

Richard Clem link

3/22/2017 21:48:43

For some reason, it won't accept my "project name idea". Here's the actual idea:

Radio receiver and audio recorder which can simultaneously tune and record many (or possibly all) frequencies in the AM broadcast band (530-1700 kHz, and possibly some longwave aviation beacon frequencies) for use during the 2017 eclipse. The box could be deployed in the path of totality, turned on before the eclipse, and turned off after the eclipse, to allow listening to the band at a leisurely pace after the event. Since AM stations are at known locations, this would allow a very good picture of how the eclipse affected MW propagation.

Vance - N3VEM

3/22/2017 22:25:42

Thanks for the idea - that's a pretty cool one! I found a problem with the actual form so I just combined the name and idea boxes- I added this idea to my list already though!

PHILIP E SHIDELER, KC5PS

3/24/2017 16:52:42

HF go-kit. bitx40 or ubitx(80-10) QRP SSB and CW. Available in a couple months(ubitx). Not sure of the price at this time. bitx40 is $54, comes from India, post paid. Several good mods out there already. Has been a very fun project for me, so far.

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ham radio Projects and musings from a (Relatively) new operator