Thursday, September 17, 2009

Cool Case for my K3

i've been looking for a padded case (something soft, not a hard-shell case) i can use to carry around my K3+mic+log book+etc when i go hilltopping and stumbled across what i think is a winner! the $49.50 REI Stratocruiser Carry-On (in "Mallard" or "Sagebrush", ole!). for those who aren't aware of them, REI is a camping/sporting goods store that has some very nice store-brand kit.

the challenge of finding a case for the K3 (for me) has been the physical length of the radio and trying to protect the knobs when its in a case, without having it slide around... when placed in the REI Stratocruiser, the K3 extends forward about 1/2" more than i'd like, but i've found that you can easily zip the whole thing closed and the soft case is pliable enough to fit without putting pressure on the chassis.

here' my K3 in the case, unzipped

here's the same shot with case zipped closed

and here's the case in its upright position


as you can see in the last shot, the main tuner knob pushes slightly against the top flap when the radio is on a hard surface, but actually drops down a bit when you're carrying the rig using either then handle or strap, since gravity helps the K3 to sit a bit lower in the case.

if you look at the second photo above you can see there's a zipped pocket on the top flap... i'm going to put a thin sheet of foam (microcell memory foam) inside the pocket to provide a bit of extra protection to the front panel. i'm also thinking of putting some kind of padding (or perhaps replacing the pulls) of the inside zippers... right now i have the rig "upside down" so that the zippers can't scratch the top of the case, but i'd like to turn it around if possible.

i've been using this case with my K3 for about a week now and i love it... small, lightweight, very sturdy, it goes easily over my shoulder and keeps everything i need to operate well at hand!

you can get more info and purchase the case here:


hoping someone else finds this helpful as well!

73
de Robin (W6RDG)

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