KD1JV's TennaDipper compact antenna analyzer, now available in kit form from Four State QRP Group (part of American QRP Club,) is designed to fit comfortably in an Altoids tin or other lidded box. I decided to package mine in a commercial enclosure. The LMB CR-332 was a perfect fit (available from Mouser Electronics as well as other sources). Here are some photos of the finished product:
Front View
Back View
Interior View
Layout Template
To come up with the parts layout on the box, I used a drawing program to create rectangles that represented the box bottom, front and rear. Then I created "parts": rectangles that represented the amount of space needed by each box-mounted component. Using the drawing program, I moved these around until I found a layout I liked, that worked well.
This technique allowed me to work the bugs out of the physical layout before drilling any holes. For instance, I orginally planned to put the antenna connector centered on the rear panel - until I realized this would make changing the battery difficult, if not impossible!
If you wish to reproduce my packaging design, an exact size template file is available at the link below:
Download parts layout template here
