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Please note that I have dis-assembled this ComCage unit. I have purchased modern, new equipment and have placed them in an attractive, small, self contained cabinet. New script and pictures may possibly be posted soon.
This ComCage unit is in the transportation mode. The black poles seen standing vertically are the twenty, thirty and forty meter ”hamsticks”, the collapsible center support pole, the ”Outbacker Stealth Plus” mobile vertical antenna and the two collapsible end support poles. The metal unit seen attached to the ComCage back is used to hold the CW practice key and keyer. This practice station is used by viewers who are interested in practicing CW (morse code).
This ComCage unit is set up for use with the twenty meter wire dipole. You see here the collapsible, twenty feet high when extended, fiberglass end support poles (one pole is seen on each end of the ComCage). These end support poles are anchored to the swivable (left to right or right to left and up and down) bottom support PVC type tubes by a bungee cord. The PVC anchor tubes swivel into the ComCage when they are not needed.
The Center support PVC tube for the collapsible, fiberglass thirty three feet high when extended, center dipole support pole is seen anchored in the upright position. This central PVC tube also swivels 180 degrees.
This ComCage unit is set up for use with the attached Outbacker “Stealth Plus” vertical antenna and counterpoise ( seen to the right of the CW key). The hamstick dipole antennas and the twenty meter wire dipole antenna are not used in this mode of use.
This photo shows the ComCage unit along with the neat KID’S CLUB display and the CW practice station. I am once again reminding readers that I am searching for participants ( ideally chairpeople) for this project, which includes KID’S CLUB and ComCage. I have been working on this project alone for well over twelve years now and it is no fun to work on a project alone.
Shown here is the “ComCage” excitement set up at a small city Boys and Girls Club. Shown here is the ComCage unit with the portable morse code practice station. It warmed my heart to see the youngsters’ excitement, enthusiasm and “cool” comments.
Please forgive the appearance of this prototype “ComCage” unit. It is very large, heavy and unattractive. Future “ComCage” units would be made of attractive wood-perhaps stained, polyurethane laminated pine. Future “ComCage” units would be perhaps one third the size of the prototype unit you see in these photos. It is neat because it is self contained, rugged, and can be easily driven to, wheeled in place and used anywhere. Since everything is in the unit, minimal set up is needed. It contains the amateur radio equipment I previously used in a spare bedroom at home. I am now able to listen and operate anywhere in the house. I usually have it placed to my left as I sit at the end of the couch in the living room-tv room. I am now able to be with my family as they watch television and still operate my amateur radio. While operating at home, I use an outside vertical antenna on top of the garage. Since I use headphones and operate cw only, the family cannot hear this amateur radio station. The equipment is firmly fastened into position by heavy duty cable ties. The equipment inside this amateur radio “cage” will not move when the amateur radio “cage” is moved.
This cage could be assembled by hospital staff who are amateur radio operators. It could be kept at the hospital and used in the event of a communication emergency. Amateur radio is unique in that it is the only practical communication service that is totally self contained- i.e. it does not have to rely on telephone, internet, cable lines, electrical power lines or cell phone towers. Perhaps you can recall the tragedy that occurred at the New Orleans hospital during and after the hurricane Katrina disaster. FCC regulations permit the use of amateur radio equipment by unlicensed operators during a communications emergency.
The VA hospital system personnel operates an amateur radio “net” on 14.287 mhz every Monday through Friday for Veterans Affairs hospital amateur radio station operators to congregate and discuss items of current interest. My dream is to see other hospital systems, including children’s hospitals, across the country participate in “Hospital Happenings”. These are regularly scheduled nets on the amateur radio bands in which the children’s hospital’s Comcage users discuss anything of interest to them. The participants would be required to identify themselves by first names only to fulfill health care privacy regulations.
I have recently learned of an amateur radio station (high frequency plus very high frequency) in place in a hospital in Southeastern Minnesota. They have it stored on the premises for emergency communications use.
Another possible benefit of these amateur radio “cages” available in hospitals is that interested patients could use these units to listen to amateur radio conversations worldwide. The patients would not be able to transmit over the air unless an amateur radio licensee is available to supervise the use of this equipment. The microphone and cw key could be kept in a locked hospital storage unit until they are needed.
I still remember the cw contact I made in my teenage years with the Antarctic McMurdo station scientist. I will remember that contact until the day I die- it was so thrilling to hear that weak morse signal coming back at me through the Aether. I have not tried moonbounce communication, in which a cw signal is bounced off the moon to reach another amateur radio operator, but I imagine how thrilling that mode of communication would be. There is also the thrill of talking to one of the amateur radio operators who is working on the US Space Station as an astronaut.
This prototype amateur radio cage consists of ( future units will contain smaller, lighter equipment) :
1. twenty meter,thirty meter and forty meter “hamstick” type dipole antennas with two 20 feet high when extended fiberglass end supports and one thirty three feet high when extended fiberglass center support, collapsible for storage, fiberglass supports (the black tubes you see standing vertically in the photo). There are also several bungee cord fasteners. Also with the unit is a twenty meter wire dipole antenna and an “Outbacker Stealth Plus” mobile type vertical antenna to use with a counterpoise.
2. Yaesu FT 707 model amateur radio transmitter plus receiver (transceiver). Also in the unit is a Ten Tec Scout model amateur radio transceiver.
3. West Mountain Radio DSP noise cancelling unit
4. external speaker with two canvas pouches- holding paper, pens and other miscellaneous gear
5. two sets of headphones- two people can listen at the same time
6. automatic antenna tuner
7. ANC 4 external noise eliminator
8. four band audio equalizer to compensate for my hearing loss
9. The removable, horizontal board running across the front of this box has my iambic cw key attached. I typically operate cw ( morse code) with this horizontal board placed across my lap while I am on the living room sofa. The CW key you see in these photos is a Shurr model Profi precision iambic key and is seen protected by the plastic tupperware box. The CW key you see in these photos is attached to the ComCage top support brace by one of the bolts and an extra nut that is also used to support the Ten Tec Scout transceiver to the top brace of the ComCage unit.
10. Both 110 volt electrical power supply and the twelve volt lawn mower tractor battery connected in parallel to the thirty amp/hour gel cell batteries is also in the unit – to allow for power from either the enclosed twelve volt batteries (six to eight hour operating time), or the electrical outlet can be used for power. I have a DPDT toggle switch mounted on one of the vertical wooden posts on the “cage”. Upward positioning of this switch operates the twelve volt battery bank through the positive and negative posts on the ac power supply to the equipment, the middle position is battery off, and the downward toggle switch position activates the battery charger-conditioner to the battery bank. When disposable income appears, I plan on purchasing the rollable, flexible twelve volt solar power cell bank sold by the Power Port Store ( to charge the battery bank during and after battery use).
11. Battery charger-conditioner is in the unit.
12. A collapsible comfortable fabric lawn chair is attached to the back of the unit by a bungee cord.
Future units will be made of stained, pine wood with the following equipment inside the cage:
a. Yaesu FT 897D transceiver with the internal AC power supply and attached automatic antenna tuner. This radio will be sitting on top of a centrally located, small, square, stained pine box which encases and hides the lawn tractor battery. The radio will be fastened to the small box by a hidden, heavy duty nylon cable tie.
b. Lawn mower tractor twelve volt battery.
c. One MFJ thirty three feet high when extended, three and a half feet high when collapsed, fiberglass antenna support mast inside a two inch in diameter, three feet high PVC support-transport tube inside the ComCage.
d. Two forty meter hamstick antennas and two twenty meter hamstick antennas to be used in the dipole configuration with the MFJ dipole mount made for this purpose. These antennas will be stored inside the other two inch in diameter, three feet high, painted PVC support-transport tube inside the ham radio cage.
e. A two meter J-pole antenna will be extended-attached to one of these PVC support-transport tubes for two meter amateur radio use.
f. Two pairs of headphones for private listening.
g. Clear Speech brand DSP external speaker.
The future ComCages will be attractive, very small and light-yet self contained and on wheels for portability use anywhere for casual or emergency operating.
I hope that you will also read the “KID’S CLUB” post. I am thinking that perhaps this “ComCage” unit should be another option for each “KID’S CLUB” unit in hospitals and Ronald McDonald Homes. The young patients should be given a choice of ‘KID’S CLUB” units or “ComCage” to take home.The “ComCage” unit contains both an amateur radio transmitter and an amateur radio receiver (“transceiver”). The users of these units would have all the equipment needed to “get on the air” and talk to people after they have passed their amateur radio exams. There would still be all the CW functionality of the “KID’S CLUB” units with the added advantage of the twenty and forty meter antennas in the cage along with the collapsible support post for these antennas.
The users could take the “ComCage” units home (or the KID’S CLUB” units ) from the hospital after a monetary deposit is made with the hospital or Ronald McDonald Home staff, the users could enjoy the units at home and either return the units to the hospital for a return of their deposits, or purchase the units, thus having all the equipment needed to enjoy their new amateur radio licenses when they come in the mail. These users would not be able to “get on the air” until they obtain their amateur radio license or are supervised by a licensee. They could still use the receiver parts, or the cw practice aspects of the units until the licenses are obtained.
Future amateur radio cages will be much smaller and lighter and more attractive than this prototype unit you read about and see here.
