RE: the unofficial home of the dumas dauntless
Hi Whitewolf,
The scratch built case should not interfere with the stock case. It shouldn’t have to be defaced to remove the electronics, just careful planning. The internal electronics were installed in the plastic case similarly to how they will be installed in the scratch built case. All the mounting posts will appear in the wood box but will be small fixed wood blocks with predrilled holes as required for mounting. The original plastic case should hopefully remain in good condition after the electronics are removed.
If I read correctly, one of the cool features of the Robbe F14 is that the entire back plate comes off so that the user can buy & install upgrades for the radio without soldering. It is set up for plug/play & customize using switches & modules already available from Robbe. With that said, it should not be too difficult transplanting most of the electronics in a custom box.
The material itself is just preference. Most people don’t mind using the standard radio, but there are a handful of people that do custom make their own radio/case so it is not too uncommon. It is just another facet of this great hobby that might be cool to one day explore. In my opinion, a mahogany & mother of pearl radio would be a good final touch to complete the project.
I will set up a separate build log on the subject when the time comes.
-Rich.