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Rockmite RJ45 Moves Inside

 After losing the negative power lead while transporting the radio that's supposed to be ultra-easy to transport, (I'm trying to develop a type of ham radio akin to free-running, but anyway), it became apparent the RJ45 connector needed to move inside the radio case sooner rather than later.

Here's the broken power lead:



Yes, produce is an important part of amateur radio around here.


The initial idea was to use a dremel to cut notch the box for the RJ45 connector, but there wasn't a shaft for the cutting blade. The next idea was to use a hacksaw, but well, there wasn't a blade for the hacksaw. But! The maker space I work in, Noisebridge, did have a pair of tin shears! Oh My Goodness! It was so easy! It was like cutting paper. 


There were a few issues entirely of my own creation. I forgot I had the box of spiffy matching nylon spacers in my backpack, so the first prototype wound up with mismatched metal spacers:


(Notice how the wall of the box is simply folded down after making the necessary snips.

Upon arriving back home I realized I'd had the spacers all along, and used them:


The screw on the left is intentionally loose. The holes were not precision drilled so it takes a little bit of play to get everyting to work out. The slop in the screw allows that to happen.

I'll need to drill two more holes. The RJ45 connector is a little too stiff for this to easily be a two screw operation.


Here's a video walkthrough:



To answer the question posed at the end of the video, Utah could in fact hear the radio with the new RJ45 connector.





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