My Go Box

US Army M2A1 – Steel 50 Caliber Ammunition Storage Can Xiegu X1M Pro – 5 Watt QRP Radio Xiegu XPA20 – 20 watt Amplifier Xiegu Filter – CW and SSB audio filter LDG Z100 – Antenna tuner Jetstream JTW2HF – SWR Power Meter 3 watt Audio Amplifier and high clarity weather resistant speaker USB interface to X1M – based on the CP2102 chip – Icom IC-718 control protocol Windcamp AP-8 – 8-socket Anderson Powerpole Power Strip 12V Power is externally supplied. The Xiegu audio filter is for “sharpening up” the pass band for CW. Alternatively, it can be used for clarify SSB voice . Center frequency is adjustable from 400 to 1100 Hz, with a bandwidth from 60 to 1800 Hz.

Rig Control Logging PC

• Raspberry Pi 3
• 32gb flash
• 240gb HDD
• 4 USB Ports
• 1 HDMI Port
• 1 Ethernet Port
• 1 Audio Jack
• 7 inch Raspberry Pi touch-screen
• Airtight Aluminum Enclosure
• Raspbian OS
• GRig Rig Control Software (modified)

The Setup 

I don’t usually use the XPA20 Amplifier, only if I have to in critical situations. Otherwise, I stick with QRP operations. To tune the antenna, I set the rig to CW and press the tune button on the Z100 antenna tuner. If the amplifier is on, the tuner won’t activate the amp but merely bypasses it and the X1M only uses 5 watts.

The X1M has its own constant voltage regulator module in the go box which prevents the fluctuating load of the XPA20 from modulating the 12v input of the X1M.

The battery control box atop the battery is a heavily filtered buck up-converter to regulate the output voltage to 12.6V regardless of the battery pack’s voltage level. The system will shut down if the battery voltage falls below the battery’s minimum specified load voltage.

The battery box shown is from an old Panasonic telephone PBX and has three bridged 7 Ah led acid batteries with protection diodes and fuses. The original built-in charging circuit is used to charge the three batteries.

SteveS September 17, 2017