"Lean-to" homebrew stand for Elecraft's KX1

New stand for my KX1 (rubber feet to be added), courtesy of KR1ST

Using a QRP radio like Elecraft’s KX1 is a lot of fun.

But for use at the shack, I’ve found that the flat radio either has to be right under my nose to see the tuning read-out, or it needs a stand.

Which is where Alex Krist, KR1ST, and his FT-817 stand come in.

He cleverly crafted it from a plastic  CD/DVD case. I stumbled across his project during a Google search one evening as I searched for what I vaguely recalled was a CD-case stand for the KX1.

I came across Alex’s stand early in the search, and it seemed a natural for adapting to the KX1. I searched no further.

You could also envision trying this with an HB-1 or the Hendricks PFR-3.

You can see how Alex built his stand here. But to save you an extra mouse click, here’s the project as I worked it this afternoon (in about 15 minutes). Oh yes, thanks go to son Wes for sacrificing a CD case.

The case in question must be one in which you can remove the piece that actually grabs the CD or DVD. The skinny, two-piece cover-and-back cases won’t do the trick for this project.

Step 1: Separate the center piece from the cover itself. And yes, I did get a bit ahead of myself here. I began scoring the center piece before I thought of grabbing my camera to document this.

Step 2: With a box knife and a metal ruler, score the center piece. Don't press down too hard. You're not trying to cut through the plastic in one pass. Make several passes with the knife, repeating the move often enough so you begin to hear the tiny cracks as the plastic begins to weaken. Mind any lip on the edges, which also have to be cut. Once you begin to hear those cracks, and have cut through any lip on the edge of the center piece, gently work the plastic back and forth until it separates. If the strip you've just cut has tabs on it, they must be removed as well. That's easily done with a pair of pliers. Alex recommends needle-nose pliers for this bit of minor surgery.

Step 3: Turn the hinged cover upside down; for this project, the bottom becomes the top and the top becomes the bottom. Take the narrow strip you've cut from the center piece and set it into what is now the base of the cover, the half with no tabs along its sides. Bring the "lid" down on top of the strip. Then slide the top of the strip until it rests against the tabs in the top.

Here's another view of the top of the insert resting against the tabs.

Once you’ve gotten this together, you can finish it off with rubber feet on the bottom.

As you work the tuning knob and buttons on your KX1, you’ll notice a bit of give in the stand. But it holds up under the pressure!

I find that the stand makes my KX1′s display a bit more visible at a comfortable operating distance while sitting at a desk.