About
Former Law Enforcement Professional and current IT Professional who is passionate about Amateur (Ham) Radio, plays guitar, and collects US Military Items from the 1870 to 1920 time period.
All feedback (366)
- humanheadbrooklyn (1130)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseQuick payment! Thanks! A++
- *****- Feedback left by buyer.Past yearVerified purchaseThank you for an easy, pleasant transaction. Excellent buyer. A++++++.
- rose.empire (6816)- Feedback left by buyer.Past yearVerified purchaseGood buyer, prompt payment, valued customer, highly recommended.
- greenlight_electronics (7536)- Feedback left by buyer.More than a year agoVerified purchaseQuick response, fast payment. Perfect! Thank you from Greenlight Electronics
- xianc_92- Feedback left by buyer.More than a year agoVerified purchaseThank you for an easy, pleasant transaction. Excellent buyer. A++++++.
- arrowmarketplace (1119)- Feedback left by buyer.More than a year agoVerified purchaseAn exceptionally first-rate buyer!
Reviews (6)
Gator Cases GRB4U 4 Space Rack Bag
Mar 15, 2018
Great for Amateur Radio
As a musician, I’m familiar with the Gator Case from the perspective of live music equipment. In this case, I drew inspiration from a fellow Amateur Radio Operator, (Ham Radio,) as a means for rack mounting amateur radio equipment for use in the field.
Amateur Radio is NOT CB Radio! It is much more involved, and technical. It’s not just a hobby, but a service as Amateur Radio is part of the Emergency Management Plans for cities, counties, state and federal government agencies. Much of what we do requires the ability to work from the field before, during, or after a disaster.
High end amateur radio equipment can be expensive, and carrying the radios, and related equipment separately caries the risk of damage, not to mention the time it takes to set up and start operating.
What I have done, is taken an all band, multi-mode, HF, VHF, and UHF Radio, in this case, a Yaesu FT-897D Transceiver, and rack mounted it, along with the power supply, power distribution unit, and other features in a single GRB-4U Gator Case. This radio is used not only for local communications but is capable of national and world-wide communications. While the power supply would require a standard 110-volt electrical source, other features have been incorporated for use of other “off-grid” power sources, such as battery, generator, solar, etc.
Not only does this the Gator Case provide excellent protection for my equipment, it makes it easy to set up in the field! Simply plug in the antennas, power option, microphone, and laptop computer, and go to work!
Some advice: The Gator Case comes in several sizes. Take good measurements of your equipment including the related mounting brackets to make sure you are ordering the correct size to meet your needs. Do this BEFORE you buy. Too big is often better than too small.
While the Gator Case is marketed primarily to the Live Music field, I believe the company is missing out on a sales opportunity by not marketing the Gator Case specifically to the Amateur Radio Community.
Dec 07, 2011
External Mic Jack, Focal Zoom, Great Quality Picture. Great Value Camera!
I had a specific need for a camera that had the capability to use an external microphone as well as the internal mic. The Kodak Pocket Zi8 128 Mb Camcorder is the only camera in its class that has that capability. All others use an external microphone only. The fact that this camera has focal zoom as opposed to digital zoon is also a plus. I observed the picture quality greatly exceeded my expectations, and found the ease of use to be excellent. The controls and setup software was very intuitive, and easy to figure out. I also like the feature of the self contained USB connection which can be used instead of an external cable. If I had to come up with something on the down side, I would have to mention that the internal mic is very susceptible to any amount of wind buffeting and interference. All in all, I’m very happy with the Kodak Pocket Zi8!
Mar 15, 2018
Good for Vehicle, but Not for Rack Mounting
I ordered this bracket with the intent of “rack mounting” my Yaesu FT-987D in a Gator Case. As this bracket was not specifically designed for this type of application, it was not at all suited to my needs. It may be very good for mounting under the dashboard of a vehicle where the top to bottom space is not an issue, but for mounting in a tight space with limited vertical room, it will not work.
Another consideration is if your FT-897D incorporates the optional Antenna Tuner. This bracket is a Yaesu Product, designed to accommodate the Yaesu FC-30 Tuner. The LDG AT-897 Tuner mounts to the radio differently than the FC-30, thus the parts included with the mounting bracket do not work with the LDG Tuner. To work around this, I installed ¼ inch, black nylon stand offs between the tuner and the radio, thus allowing the needed space to accommodate the bracket parts to be installed between the tuner and the radio.
Finally, adding the actual bracket by connecting it to the bracket parts adds about 2 to 3 inches between the top of the radio to the intended mounting surface. The height dimension of the radio is already over 3 inches, (3.15 inches to be exact,) so adding an additional 2 to 3 inches above the top is considerable if you’re working with a small space.
While the Yaesu MMB-80 Mounting Bracket for the FT-897D is a good quality product designed to work for its specific intended purpose, along with specific Yaesu manufactured aftermarket options, this is your bracket. However, it may not be well suited for any other mounting purpose. Unless you plan on mounting your FT-897D under your dashboard, or under an open shelf, you might want to consider other options.