Case Study: A Radio Kit That Kept Failing Its Connector
Re-layout of a field communication case: battery isolation, coiled cable channels and a connector-clear carrier, on an existing shell.
A fleet of field radio kits returned from deployment with damaged connectors, although no housing had been cracked.
Customer requirement
Protect a transceiver, two handsets, four batteries, a mast and a cable set in one case, for repeated movement.
Equipment dimensions
The mast determined internal length; the coiled cable determined the depth split.
Protection requirements
No load on any connector, no battery-to-connector contact, dust exclusion at the closure.
Case selection
An 8-series shell with a 4.5 mm wall and a long-edge latch pattern.
Interior design
Transceiver carried on its chassis with all ports clear; batteries in individual pockets, terminals up.
Foam solution
CNC base with a pluck-foam lid layer so the accessory set could be reconfigured between deployments.
Customisation
Olive drab shell, identification plate, and a document pocket for the kit list.
Production
Forty-five days from approved drawing.
Packaging
Palletised to the customer existing rack pitch.
Delivery
FOB Shenzhen.
What came out of it
- The connector damage was caused by a battery rolling into the port panel inside a shared cavity, not by an impact.
- Isolating the batteries in their own pockets resolved it at the cost of the foam, with no change to the shell or the programme.
Client names, order values and programme details are withheld where the customer requires it. The dimensions and construction described here are the ones we produced to.