Peregrine Radar Payload Box Assembly

Bill of Materials

A complete bill of materials for the payload box is available in this Google Sheet, embedded below.

Some parts are custom made. See the Custom Parts page for suggestions on how to build these yourself or source them from reliable vendors.

Assembly instructions

Preparing enclosure halves

The payload box is a clamshell-style design with two interlocking halves. The “upper” half contains the SDR. The “lower” half holds the Raspberry Pi. Sandwiched between the two halves is the “payload divider” PCB, which houses some sensors and provides for external connections.

Starting with the Pi Shell:

1. Place 4x M2.5 heat inserts into the four mounting holes at the bottom of the box.
2. Place 2x M2.5 heat inserts into the two front panel mounting holes on the front of the box.

Continuing with the SDR Shell:

3. Place 4x M2.5 heat inserts into the four holes in the tabs sticking up, to accept bolts from the outside to connect the two shells together.

Copper foil wrapping

Print out the cutout templates TODO LINK. The first two pages are the cutout templates for the copper foil wrapping on the top and bottom of the enclosure.

Spread a layer of adhesive-backed copper out on a cutting-safe surface (such as a sacrificial piece of wood) and use some masking tape to hold it down. Tape the cutout template on top. Use an X-Acto knife (or similar) to cut:

1. A small “X” across each of the external bolt holes (to allow a bolt to go through – no need to try to cut out the circle itself)
2. The internal cutout for the heatsink
3. The exterior outline of the entire piece.

If you’re not sure which lines to cut, take a moment to see how the paper folds around the 3D printed pieces. Your goal is to fully cover the exterior.

Carefully peel away the adhesive from part of the copper foil and start pasting it onto the 3D printed piece. It’s easier to do this bit by bit, rather than pulling the entire backing off at once.

Repeat with the other half of the enclosure.