Altoids Projects

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16 September 2012 | by Sverre LA3ZA | Share | | Leave a Comment (1)

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I like to build small electronics projects and like many others I have found the small Altoids tins to be excellent enclosures.

These tins are inexpensive, well shielded, easy to work with, and least but not least they enable you to make experimental circuits that are sturdy enough that they can be reused later.

Pictured here is a collection of projects I have built over the years with the hope that they may inspire others.

To the left:

AVR Butterfly morse keyer (KD1JV)
AVR Butterfly Digital SWR / Power Meter for low power transmitters (KD1JV). Actually this project was built in the slightly larger Whitman’s tin.

In the middle:

50 MHz to 14 MHz receive converter (WA3ENK) with a low-noise preamplifier
Pixie II QRPP transceiver for 30 m

To the right:

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In the next picture there are some more projects:

SM6LKM’s 4053 HCMOS converter from 137 kHz to 20 meter band.
A 50 MHz test oscillator for testing 6 m receivers
A switch mode power supply that converts 15 Volts into 4.5 and 30 Volts for a WWII miniature Sweetheartshortwave receiver. Design inspired by SM0VPO/G4VVJ’s practical voltage converter.

Here are some resources with tips:

Maxim Tutorial 946: Disposable Metal Boxes Make Excellent Shielded Enclosures (via Dangerous Prototypes)
Getting Started – Top 10 Small and Fun Electronics Projects – DIY Electronics
Curiously Hackable: 8 Awesome Altoids Tin Hacks
Altoids tin prototyping board (Make blog)

Added 17. September: Several of the comments on the page at Dangerous Prototypes are concerned with the difficulty of finding Altoids tins in many places of the world. That goes for Norway also. I have been lucky enough to have a job that allows me to travel to the US from time to time and then I have bought some. Ideas for local alternatives are needed!

Sverre Holm, LA3ZA, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Norway. Contact him at [email protected].

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