The CW Mouse "Cover Two"

-

 




If  any of you follow "LIVE" broadcast of American Football you may have heard the announcers refer to a defense scheme called "Cover Two".  It is a defensive setup that uses two deep safeties to protect the two deep halves of the field.   This is what I use to describe the "CW MOUSE COVER" for the QRP LABS QCX Mini and QMX QRP Transceivers.  Why do I call it the "COVER TWO"?  Because it protects the two knobs and two buttons on top of these two QRP radios,

The developer of the CW Mouse Paddle and now this cover asked me to test ride his CW Mouse Cover. There are a few of these covers out within our community but this is the only one I've had an opportunity to use.  I am not able to compare it with any of the others so the opinions I give are strictly based on my use and how it works for me. 





The first thing I observed with my test model was it is made from 3D PLA printed material. (PETG material is available upon request).  My cover is light, very rugged, sturdy and durable.  It is a perfect fit for my unit with the magnets on the back side of the cover that make for a solid tight connection with the metal case of my QCX Mini








The cover converts into a stand for the QCX mini, whether you are operating from home or portable.  It set up perfectly for my early morning POTA activations from a picnic table and the lip of the cover gives plenty of clearance for cables on each side of the rig.

















Some of you may know that I do bicycle tours around the midwestern United States and take along my Ham Radio equipment to operate from time time at campsites and now POTA sites along my route.  On those tours the amount of weight I carry is of the utmost importance.  This tiny CW Mouse Cover is so light it will be perfect for those bike tours.  Even though I carry my QCX Mini minimal setup in a cushioned small school pencil/pen case with foam padding, the additional cover will give added protection to my QCX mini while carrying in my panniers.




For more information about the CW Mouse Cover for the QRP Labs series QCX Mini and QMX click on the link below

CW Mouse


Comments

Post a Comment

What Everyone Else is Reading

There's One Line I Don't Mind Waiting In. "THE GRAY-LINE or GREY-LINE"

-
Image
  Drive Thru Lines, School pick-up Lines, Bank Lines, Grocery Store Lines, Airport Lines and the lists of lines can seem almost endless.  Recently I've come to enjoy standing and waiting in what's called  "THE GRAY-LINE" or "GREY-LINE". Since I'm in the U.S., I'll use the Gray-Line spelling. What is "THE GRAY-LINE"?  For those new to Ham Radio or have not move that far along in their journey of the hobby; it can be defined this way.  "THE GRAY-LINE" is a band around the Earth which separates daylight from darkness.  Propagation along the gray line is very efficient.  The main reason is the D layer of the ionosphere, which absorbs HF signals, disappears rapidly on the sunset side of the gray line and it has not yet built upon the sunrise side.  In the YouTube below Dave Casler explains.  I've worked "The Gray-Line" on many occasions over the years but not in the last few years.  Here it is August 2025 and August is ty...
Read more

The MOST IMPORTANT part of your Ham Station is NOT your RIG!

-
Image
  Over the last few weeks all over the planet Mother Nature has been rearing her ugly head with rounds and rounds of different types of devastating effects of Terrestrial Weather.  For some of us in the Amateur Radio community Space Weather has not been a bed of Roses either. How does this play into my Amateur Radio operating?  It leads me to an ADAGE most of you may have read about in that the MOST IMPORTANT part of your Ham Radio Station is NOT your RIG. IT IS YOUR ANTENNA. I've spent the better part of this summer checking all of my antenna for wear and tear, repairing those that needed and putting each one through their paces on my Nano NVA. Due to unpredictable Terrestrial and Space Weather conditions, my HF operating and Parks on the Air operating have been somewhat diminished during the last few weeks. That has lead me to understand that in the waning period of Solar Cycle 25, I can likely expect the unexpected as we journey on the downside of this cycle.  As ...
Read more

This QRPp Fishing Lure Helped Me Snatch A BIG ONE Working My Greyline

-
Image
  Renowned Golfer Jack Nicklaus made this quote about fishing.  "There are always places to go fishing. For any fisherman there's always a new place, a new horizon".   I equate that quote to my portable Amateur Radio activities. There are always places to go operate Ham Radio.  There are always NEW Parks on the Air, Summits on the Air, Islands on the Air and other places to operate portable and another day or opportunity to make a QSO. During my daily Early Bird Parks on the Air activation on August 13, 2025, I decided to operate QRPp ( less than 1 Watt ) with my QRP Labs QCX 40 Meter Mini with a 9 Volt / 200 mAH battery.  Due to the excessive heat in the Ohio River Valley in Kentucky, U.S.;  I try to get out around dawn to "Beat the Heat" and recently take advantage of the morning greyline over my QTH. I don't operate QRPp often but I looked back at my previous QRPp operating and found I seem to do this when HF band conditions are questionable.  ...
Read more