Alpha Lantern Testing

Revised Alpha Lantern

The newly crafted clear plastic Alpha Lantern cover has eliminated the signal attenuation problem the old ABS cover had.

Although not water resistance (still needs a cover in foul weather), packaging makes it very convenient to carry about and run on the fly with its built-in battery.

A future mode to be made needs to address the small black plastic push button on the back which turns the unit off. Currently it is too short to work. I glued several cardboard hole punches to the button to make it long enough to reach the CHIP reset button. Ken

1 Like

lol on the ā€œhackā€ there @kenbarbi "now let me think what I can use to extend thatā€¦ Ahh I know!.. "
:slight_smile:

As far as ā€œAlthough not water resistanceā€ would it be as easy as having a rubber deal?

Can I purchase this anywhere yet?

Iā€™ve thought about putting a rubber gasket between the layers of the case and encapsulating the USB power plug on the back in silicon, but the unit needs ventilation/cooling as the CHIP and SDR run warm/hot. Sealing the USB plug would make it very difficult to open the Lantern to perform maintenance. Putting a kitchen utility container over the whole assembly gives me the weather proofing I need at home without reducing signal levels with the new clear cover. It allows the Lantern to be mobile. Ken

(My picture of the old Alpha Lantern under cover)