[Boatanchors] Noelle and cigar box rigs

[Kludge]

Talking with Noelle on the phone has been absent from my life for the past
few months.  Heck, as a rule, she’s not usually even up to talking on the
computer (IM or email) so I spend a lot of time in worry mode sending
messages etc of encouragement but not hearing back.  So talking with her on
the phone for two hours Thursday afternoon and three Friday night/Saturday
morning was an absolute treat.  She sounds better than she has for a long
time, although her new med load has her a bit loopy.  (Okay, so she was on
occasion a little before meds but so was I and the meds I’m on now don’t
help. :-) )  Anyway, that did a lot for my mood as well in a very positive
way which my state case manager noticed right off after the first call when
she stopped by Friday.  

 

My local tobacconist (who really isn’t so local but rather is in Honolulu)
sells cigar boxes for $1 for paper covered ones, $3 for wooden ones and $10
for the really big ones.  I picked up two wooden ones of interest but I also
got one of the really big ones.  It is made of unfinished Honduran Mahogany
– I mean *really* unfinished! – and, along with the lid on top, has a cool
door at the bottom of the front.  In the meantime, the larger of the two
smaller wooden boxes has a slide up piece at the top of the front while the
smaller one is made of heavier than usual wood.  I originally thought to
finish the rough box but decided against it.  There is a certain rugged
individuality to it that I like.  They had more interesting cigar boxes but
they’re cash only and I didn’t have any more cash in hand.  Since I was in
the neighborhood to order my new glasses, I’ll be sure to have many much
more paper folding cash stuff when I go back.  

 

Something I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while is putting rigs inside
cigar boxes.  While I had though I would have to stack boxes then still have
to remove the tubes to close the boxes, I seem to have lucked out in getting
boxes large enough to do these things plus put away things like the key,
phones, antenna wire etc.  The tubes may have to be horizontal but that’s
not a big deal.  They have a number of sliding top boxes which generally I
don’t favor but I may take another look since they have ample depth for a
rig.  They would have to be assembled side by side to work but, on thinking
about it, there’s nothing really wrong with that and I can knock out sides
if I want to have larger boxes.  The first method could be kind of cool
since each box would have a stage which could be isolated from the next by a
layer of foil or something between them plus I could separate them in case I
wanted to create a different stage or something without disturbing the rest.

 

While I’m thinking about it, last time I was at Goodwill I saw a rather nice
small wooden suitcase that would have held a rig rather nicely.  When I went
back (same day, after I kicked myself for not buying it), it was gone.  Oh,
well.  I don’t want to make one of the parasets that are so popular and “in”
in some circles but rather just a simple suitcase rig with a VFO and uses
subminis where they’d be useful with larger tubes where they’re needed.  If
I want to stay strictly 1930s, the subminis will have to go but I may be
able to squeeze in some acorns instead.  They would all be under the panel
rather than sticking up where they have to be removed when the lid’s closed.
If I use a design I’ve used before, the larger bottom part would be the top
and the top would sit on the table as a desk thingie.  The bottom would move
forward as it opens so it sits on the top (which somehow sounds backwards
but is quite clear in my mind) so the whole thing doesn’t tip over backwards
but rather is relatively stable.  

 

So much fun, so few toys 
 

 

Best regards,

 

Michael, WH7HG ex-K3MXO, ex-KN3MXO, WPE3ARS, BL01xh ex-Mensa A&P PP BGI 

I am me.  I’m the only one who’s qualified.

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Hiki Nô!