Introducing Project TouCans!

I've alluded to Project TouCans over the last several posts, but I've yet to introduce it. Today is the day!

Project TouCans is the new, very compact, packaging of the RockMite 20 with an attached TunaTopper amplifier suspended in a halfwave dipole antenna. Here's the design drawing Diaze and I made

In short, both components are suspended from the top of a pineapple can. The tuna-sized can the Tuna Topper shipped in is flipped over and used as a rain cover and antenna mounting structure. The antenna is mounted to the red and black banana plug binding posts at the top of the assembly. You saw a picture of the latest incarnation of TouCans in yesterdays post. Here's the original—and more colorful—project in its first incarnation

The Ethernet port is the same one used by the Rockmite in the Flying Rockmite—for that matter, the radio is also the same one used in the most recent flying Rockmite. The first coil of Ethernet cable is attached to the pineapple can using electrical tape.

Here's a look at the original board spacing:

The boards are now spaced about a quarter of an inch further apart.

This is the Rockmite seen from the bottom of the tuna can which was cut open and left open to provide a cooling air mass for the amp's FET. (It was also left open out of sheer laziness and eagerness to try out the radio and amp.)

All RF connections are made with twisted pair throughout.

You've been reading about our learning moments with Project ToucCans for the last few days, so I won't repeat those details here. Suffice to say that the rig is getting better every day, and we're making more QSOs per day than ever before from our home station!

A few more images:

Project TouCans QSL card:

That's the rig hanging from the antenna slightly out of focus on the right hand edge of the image.

The calls and spots from Project TouCans—located in our San Francisco backyard—thus far:

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