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122690	130430	Hello everyone! Thank you for joining me for my presentation about the Ostwerk initiative here at Defcon 28 Safe Mode.
130430	135730	I would like to thank you all for giving me an opportunity to show you the presentation I put together.
135930	140550	And if you have a passing interest in amateur radio, I hope you find it interesting.
141150	148090	A quick heads up, most talks or presentations like this are usually an expert lecturing about a topic they are very familiar with
148090	150310	to an interested audience.
150790	156350	This is kind of the opposite, where today I'm an amateur radio enthusiast presenting more of a concept
156990	159430	to people who know much more than I do.
159430	164550	A concept that's very fluid and open to change right now depending on community input.
164810	166850	Alright, let's begin!
170540	176580	Please keep in mind that this is my first Defcon, so this is a learning experience especially for me.
176580	181960	If you have any questions during this presentation, feel free to ask them in the appropriate moderated channel
181960	184040	in the Defcon Discord server.
184300	191700	And at the end, I hope to have, not necessarily a Q&A, but more of like a moderated roundtable style discussion
191700	195980	about your thoughts about this project, its strengths, and what it needs.
195980	200120	And I've never been part of something like that before, so I'm interested to see how this goes.
203930	207710	I'm willing to take a gamble that many of you know what a lightsaber is.
207710	212130	For those that don't, it's basically a laser sword from a popular movie franchise.
212690	220670	In the stories, with rare exceptions, if you wanted a lightsaber of your own, you had to build it to your own exacting specifications.
220950	227430	So where the switches are, the way it fits in your hand, the weight and the balance, it's all perfectly attuned to the builder.
227790	230770	Well, what if Ham Radio could have their own version of the lightsaber?
235580	243820	Right off the bat, what I hope to accomplish with this presentation is a way to simplify and encourage the planning and construction of amateur radio kits.
244060	248520	If that doesn't interest you, then you are free to duck out now.
248640	252360	It won't hurt my feelings. I understand your time is valuable.
252500	257260	And we'll both be happier if you were spending your time by doing something that interests you.
257260	261300	So, to those of you who already have an enthusiasm for amateur radio,
261300	266140	you're probably not going to learn anything brand new, but I want to keep some of the principles here in mind
266140	272180	when you're Elmering a new ham that wants a radio of their own.
272680	280040	Alright, enter the Open Source Tactical Wireless Emergency Radio Kit, or TWRK, or TWRKstation.
280040	286680	A TWRK is a custom kit built by a radio enthusiast to operate in times of an off-grid situation.
287020	292100	So you can build one for relaying voice messages into or out of a disaster zone,
292100	297300	or you can set up a data network node, or keep track of contacts during a contest,
297620	300340	or you can administer a TWRKstation Parliament.
300340	308400	Each kit is custom-built by the owner to be dependable, not just for casual use, but especially for emergency situations as well.
308620	312300	And it's my hope that this presentation motivates you to create a TWRKstation of your own,
312300	315180	or assist someone in the creation of their own TWRKstation.
320930	324590	I'd now like to walk you through a sample TWRKstation.
324590	329550	It is a voice TWRKstation that I built that has data capabilities on board.
329550	338810	It can't broadcast or receive data, but you could use the computer on board for contest logging or local networking.
341370	349630	This TWRKstation is sealed up in a durable plastic case, and it's extremely water-resistant and dust-proof with the lids closed.
349630	356410	There's no external access ports, so you have to open the kit if you want to charge it or hook up the antenna.
358690	361050	Here it is open but undeployed.
361230	366050	The keyboard, the microphone, and the mouse kind of float around in there loose.
366110	370770	The switches and thumbscrews in there do a good job of keeping them from sliding around,
370770	375630	but I still would like to add some kind of cushioning in there to avoid rattle damage.
378120	385820	So flipping that blank panel that was in the lower part over, you'll see that there is a remote faceplate for an ID4100.
386440	391120	Also under that panel is the fuse box and the cables that feed into the Raspberry Pi.
391140	399340	And the lower left is the power controller, which switches automatically between external power and the lead-acid batteries that are on board.
399820	405560	And then on the right are the pass-throughs that pass through the microphone.
405560	410280	There's pass-throughs that go for the USB and the audio cable into the Raspberry Pi.
410500	415560	And there is USB ports that are not pass-throughs, they're just charging ports.
419720	424740	The top left of the panel has the power controls and the power display.
424740	433100	The switches engage the battery, the red one does, and then the black switch below selects between the main battery and the on-board backup.
433680	440720	There's a power display that shows the voltage and amperage used by the kit, so it's easy to estimate the remaining power at current use.
445520	447980	And here's the fully deployed torque station.
448080	458240	Just to let you guys know, the monitor on the right is being powered off of AC power that goes to a USB-C cable, so it's not being powered off the kit right now.
459000	470460	That would be pretty trivial to do, I just need to find a reliable USB hub that is powered enough to keep all the hardware on-board powered up.
472460	478500	So my prototype kit is done, for the most part, but it's actually not.
478500	482320	The kit has a few issues. For one thing, it's really heavy.
482320	489160	I want a long battery life, and sealed lead-acid batteries are cheap, but the kit can't be carried for more than a minute or two.
489560	493580	The radio I have is a decent radio, but I want to switch over to HF bands.
494200	498540	The kit has a big clunky antenna switch that I'm not going to use very often.
499080	502900	And I discovered some new power pole mounts I want to incorporate into the design.
502900	516400	So now I know what to improve. I can budget to get new batteries and a compatible charger, ditch the auxiliary battery in favor of bringing a solar panel, and upgrade the radio to an HF radio.
516560	521660	I'll also need to design up a new mounting panel for all of these new parts.
523480	528720	So that was version one of the kit, and some of the challenges that I'll need to overcome.
528720	540080	Now, after I go over the three pillars of the AUSTORC initiative, I'll demonstrate the operation of the upgraded TORC station at the end of the video, which may give some of you ideas for the kit you may want to build.
544320	548060	The AUSTORC initiative has three pillars that I think would make it successful.
548060	551140	One is enthusiasm for the construction of TORC stations.
551300	559760	A second pillar is the online platform torcbench.org, where TORC station constructors, or TORCsmiths, can compare notes.
559760	563000	And the third pillar is the TORCsmith Code of Conduct.
563080	565360	And let's get into these in detail.
570880	573800	First off is the kit open source.
573800	581660	Are there schematics or diagrams or a bill of materials available online somewhere so that I can build my own copy of the kit and put my own spin on it?
582400	584720	Second, the kit should be tactical.
584820	588960	It should be constructed to work with other TORC stations in the event of an emergency.
589280	592120	The kit should also have some degree of durability.
592120	597840	Just think about how many tears you're going to roll down your cheeks if the kit fell off a table or a tailgate.
598620	600620	The kit should be wireless.
601020	610860	Six hours of operation is a good ballpark, and more is always better, but more means either more weight or more cost, so balance your options carefully.
614660	617960	The kit can be used for emergencies or everyday use.
617960	622920	If you plan on using your kit every day, be aware of heat buildup and have proper ventilation.
623160	626260	Or better yet, just invest in a dedicated base station maybe.
626940	631820	The guideline is actually a pretty loose one, and it was added mostly because the acronym needed a vowel.
633200	635760	Next, the kit should have a radio in it.
636680	649020	Usually a mobile rig, a 12-volt kind of mobile rig, but it's encouraged to throw a cheap HT or other kind of walkie-talkie style radio into a power or utility kit just to have one on hand just in case.
650780	655880	The final guideline is that everything is conveniently located into one single package.
656160	663940	The kit has everything it needs built in by the owner, and delicate components should fold into the kit for protection during transport.
668000	672860	Alright, now let's get into the major types of Torque Stations you might see.
672960	678720	These are by no means all-encompassing, but should act as a starting point when designing a Torque Station.
679380	683860	First off is the Voice Torque, a very common, easy-to-make kit.
683860	690100	It can be made from a used radio and a sealed lead-acid battery in some kind of durable case.
690400	693540	It's accessible for get-on-the-air and tech licenses.
694700	703100	Second up is the Data Kit, and those are similar to the Voice Kits, but they have some kind of computer on board to take advantage of digital radio modes.
703340	708000	The computer can be a Raspberry Pi, or a laptop, or a Surface tablet, whatever.
708040	712780	Just some way to decode digital information and to get it out onto the air.
714420	720340	SATCOM kits are designed for satellite interfacing, and they're usually paired with a special antenna.
721420	730420	And there's CW, HF, or Weak Signal Kits, and you want to be considerate of the Weak Signal Kits because they're pretty sensitive to the EMF noise.
735080	739560	Those are some of the main types of kits that you're probably going to interact with or build.
739560	744420	And let's take a look at some of the Support Kit ideas, some of the Advanced Level Kits.
744960	749500	The Auxiliary Power Kits supply power to your Torque Stations.
749500	756020	You also need to think of a way to replenish power if there's no grid. Solar is a pretty popular option.
756820	763560	Next up, Antenna Kits provide masts, feed line, and the antennas necessary for broadcast and reception.
764120	769540	Some kits are as simple as a spool of wire, and others have complex folding mechanisms.
771600	779140	Troubleshooter Kits are stocked with all the tools, adapters, duct tape, zip ties, everything you need to keep everyone on the air and happy.
779500	782220	And remember to always thank your troubleshooter.
783740	791080	And if a Torque Station Parliament gets too cumbersome, someone can step up as Net Ops to take care of the administrative side of things during a crisis.
791700	801080	They can act as one point of contact and direct the appointment of a Power Comp Troller to oversee the power consumption in a multi-day grid down situation.
801620	804800	So lots of coordination options available if you'd like.
808430	811150	Finally, we have a few rare Torque Stations.
811610	815170	These are a couple Torque Stations that you won't see in the wild that often.
815530	817010	First off is the Llama.
817010	821090	Big and heavy, the Llama is for the person that overpacks for every trip.
821170	824330	It tries to do too much and doesn't tend to do anything very well.
824730	826710	The rarest type of kit is the Mi...
827970	830350	Alright, so those were the Torque Stations.
830350	834330	Let's move on to Pillar 2, or the online platform.
834330	837050	This is kind of the weakest Pillar for me.
837050	840750	I am not a web expert at all.
840750	846290	I have a lot of ideas based on stuff that I've seen online, but I don't really have a way to implement them.
846290	849230	So this is where I'm going to need the most help.
849230	852070	But here are some of the ideas that I've got.
855980	859680	The website should have a link to their own forums, hopefully.
859680	863720	A place people can submit photos and designs to be featured in the gallery.
863720	867950	A place where people new to the hobby can stop in and have any questions answered.
870040	874460	The website will also have a feature similar to PC Part Picker.
874460	878010	Where you can pick out and design your own Torque Station.
878360	881960	And have it tell you approximately how much power you'll need.
882580	887080	The website will also hopefully feature a regional map.
887080	890880	That assists Torquesmiths to find each other.
890880	895560	And maybe display power levels and capabilities of a particular registered region.
895560	898580	So if you want to compete against nearby towns.
898580	903620	As to who's got the most power standing by in the event of an emergency, that would be kind of fun.
905180	909080	One additional item would be a portal where student radio groups could
909080	912920	design an ideal Torque Station and find a place to get help with
912920	916700	fundraiser or grant writing or sponsorships.
918540	920880	A few more website ideas.
920880	925740	Again, I have no idea how to implement these, so this is all wishful thinking right now.
925940	928940	The website might have a Torcathlon information.
928940	930920	And I'll discuss what that is later.
931920	937100	The site would have not just a kit builder, but a kit panel builder.
937100	940020	Where people could design custom panel for their kits.
940580	944620	Drag and drop pre-sized holes or pre-sized cutouts.
944620	947060	For parts that they know they want in their kit.
947540	952680	In the same vein, the site could have a makerspace locator where torquesmiths could find a local makerspace
953140	957400	to help with tools or 3D printing or laser cutting.
957400	959840	Anything for constructing Torque Stations.
960480	966200	Maybe we could make some arrangements for partnerships or sponsorships or discounts or something.
968080	972700	Finally, the site could have an online marketplace where you could buy patches,
972700	976800	stickers, small custom trinkets that could make your kit stand out.
976800	981900	You won't be able to buy Torque Stations because that defeats the purpose of the whole initiative.
982060	984880	If you want a Torque Station, you have to build one yourself.
988270	992590	The third and final pillar is one that I'm sure people will gloss over.
992590	994890	The Torquesmith Code of Conduct.
994890	1000470	Just a handful of principles that I hope people will live by if they want to build their own Torque Station.
1003450	1005470	A good Torquesmith is courteous.
1005470	1009130	If you build your Torque Station properly, it should attract a little attention from people
1009130	1011470	who may have a passing interest in our hobby.
1011830	1016750	So be ready to be peppered with a few questions every once in a while when you're using your Torque Station.
1018250	1020390	A good Torquesmith is competent.
1020550	1024250	A Torque Station is built to the exacting specifications of its creator,
1024250	1026990	and any shortcomings of the kit lie with the builder.
1027250	1032790	So know how to operate your kit, and know about how much power you have left at all times in an off-grid situation.
1032790	1036410	Also know how to budget your remaining power responsibly.
1037670	1041390	A good Torquesmith values their community, both online and offline.
1041550	1044370	Ideally, you would know a couple nearby Torque Station owners,
1044370	1049850	and agree on a schedule to make contact should the worst happen in a grid-down situation.
1050210	1055010	Also see what you can do in a disaster to supply comfort and relief to those negatively affected.
1058880	1061760	A Torquesmith values their own personal honor.
1061760	1063600	They would never cheat a contest,
1063600	1066640	and would never reveal the contents of the mystery box.
1067900	1069740	A Torquesmith shows their work.
1069860	1073760	There are people out there who are interested in seeing what you've made. I know I am.
1073920	1076980	What makes your kit special? How does it fit into your lifestyle?
1078260	1081900	Finally, a Torquesmith knows that there's always room for improvement,
1081900	1086400	whether it's cheaper components, or farther range, a better battery life, whatever.
1086440	1091600	A Torquesmith knows that their kit is never finished, and it's just a jumping-off point for better things.
1098940	1102020	So those were the three main pillars of the
1102020	1105660	Ost-Torque initiative, and here are some
1105660	1109780	bonus slides at the end. I'm going to go over something I came up with
1109780	1113700	called the Torqueathlon, and then we'll take a tour of a Torque Station
1113700	1115900	that I built, a Llama Class.
1118890	1122990	So what if there was a competition where teams could show off their ingenuity and hustle?
1122990	1127190	Basically a small course is set up with obstacles to climb over or struggle through
1127770	1131030	that would resemble maybe a post-disaster situation
1131030	1135370	and teams of Torque Station owners would try to race against the clock to carry their stations
1135370	1139290	any way they want through the course, and then when they get to the finish line
1139290	1143950	they use them to relay some traffic through a remote judging station at the end.
1144850	1147330	Costumes and theme teams are encouraged, and
1147430	1152210	a reminder should go out beforehand saying that public intoxication of all types is frowned upon.
1158060	1160080	Alright, so here is
1160080	1164300	my latest kit. There's a little red patch on the top
1164300	1167660	where I adhere a suction cup antenna.
1168460	1171460	There's about four latches on the kit that keeps the kit
1173340	1177240	airtight, watertight, dustproof.
1178640	1180200	I still don't have a decent
1180200	1183540	solution to keep everything from sliding around.
1183740	1187820	I've got the keyboard here, and
1187820	1190180	I've got the
1192200	1194400	microphone to uncoil.
1200280	1204940	Check for product shifting during transport. Everything looks good.
1210470	1213450	I'll get ready to mount the software radio
1213450	1217330	antenna. Just onto the lid, onto that red square of
1217330	1221010	vinyl that I put on there, because the suction cup doesn't adhere to the coarse
1221010	1225150	plastic of the kit. So I need something smooth
1225150	1227450	to stick the suction cup onto.
1228610	1232970	A little GPS antenna, a little USB GPS antenna that sticks to a metal
1234110	1236830	clip for locking the kit shut.
1237650	1240630	Antenna connector, I'll get that screwed on.
1251080	1254220	Alright, let's get ready to hook up the external power.
1254480	1259320	I've got my Shanktronics power brigand supplying all the power I need for the kit.
1260400	1262640	Turn it on, and I can see the display on the
1262640	1270200	kit turns on. Alright, let's get the Raspberry
1270200	1274240	Pi fired up. I've got the power switch there next to the passthrough
1274240	1277680	for the USB and the audio for the Raspberry Pi.
1278680	1282180	I've got the dual monitors hooked up, and oh well, I've got
1282180	1286240	this USB switch was powered on, or the
1286240	1288380	USB hub there was powered on.
1290260	1294680	So now that the computer's booted up, I'm just going to control it with the Logitech keyboard here.
1300220	1303060	I'll fire up my FL rig.
1309700	1313140	And I'm going to boot up my radio data software
1313140	1316300	package, WSJTX.
1323790	1325970	And unfortunately, the kit
1327210	1329730	is not cooperating with me.
1330850	1336270	The radio's receiving, but it's not putting audio from the radio into the Raspberry Pi.
1336270	1339390	And that's a problem I really need to troubleshoot here.
1344790	1348790	Moving along, I can fire up GQRX
1349710	1353130	which I have pre-programmed to decode
1353130	1356530	the local classical radio station.
1358650	1362270	But the cool thing about the SDR is that
1362270	1366310	I can program any channel I want to
1366310	1370730	into here, any channel that the SDR is able to decode.
1373120	1376060	Alright, now for the moment you've all been waiting for,
1376200	1378880	a closer look into the
1378880	1383360	Snaccess panel. So we remove the panel
1384540	1388340	and inside we have an array of snacks.
1388340	1392260	We have a post-snack treat,
1392260	1396520	we have some crunchy snacks,
1396520	1398940	we have some sweet snacks,
1399940	1403640	and we also have some more salty snacks.
1403640	1407600	And then all the snacks get tucked right back away into the Snaccess
1407600	1411660	compartment. And we
1411660	1415720	replace the Snaccess panel. I hope to incorporate some kind of magnets
1415720	1419620	or maybe 3D print a latching solution for it
1419620	1423640	sometime in the near future. Alright, let's power
1423640	1427400	down the kit. I'll log off the Raspberry Pi
1427400	1431740	and then flip off the power switch here.
1434680	1437960	That terminates power to the monitors and the Pi.
1441690	1443510	Turn off the radio.
1445750	1448690	And then disconnect the battery. We've been
1448690	1452630	running off battery power this whole time. Battery power
1452630	1456510	disconnected and as a safety measure I'm going to turn it from battery power to
1456510	1460430	external power. So in case the switch gets bumped
1460430	1464210	for some reason it doesn't drain the battery.
1464210	1468090	And for those of you who are interested, here is
1468790	1472290	a kind of a blocky wiring diagram for how
1472290	1476190	the kit works. I've got the two ports, a solar port for power
1476190	1480890	input and a 12 volt port for external power input.
1481150	1484370	And then the 12 solar goes into the PowerWorks
1484370	1488270	solar charge controller and then that charges the battery. And then I have the big
1488270	1492210	red battery cutoff switch and then that goes down to a selector switch
1492210	1496310	that selects between the battery and the external power. And then that feeds into the fuse
1496310	1500310	block. And then the fuse block shoots out the 12 volt leads
1500310	1504290	to all of the hardware in there that runs off of 12 volts.
1505230	1508450	Alright, you've made it to the end of the pre-recorded portion.
1508470	1512150	If you're still interested, you're welcome to visit the website twerkbench.org
1512150	1516330	to see what we have so far. And if you want to voice in the direction this project
1516330	1520250	goes, you can join the Discord community by visiting our Discord
1520250	1524770	server online. The link there is on our website at twerkbench.org
1525650	1528410	And I'm going to do a live Q&A now and hopefully
1528770	1532730	a demo if my equipment cooperates to round up my presentation time.
1532890	1536090	So please stick around and we can hopefully have a moderated discussion
1536090	1540390	where we can share ideas and where this initiative should go moving
1540390	1552950	forward. Cool, so we have Swiss Ninja here
1552950	1557290	and I'm live on video feed and I think he's ready to give us a nice demo.
1557290	1559990	Before you start though, I do have a starting question.
1560990	1565170	Is there any sort of mod or thing you've made that you've tried to make and just
1565170	1569110	messed up so bad that you just said, nope, this is going in the trash, I have to start over?
1570690	1573050	No, but leading right up to this
1573050	1577030	presentation, the audio input
1577030	1581210	that goes from my HF transceiver to the Raspberry Pi
1581890	1584990	won't detect the audio signal. Like, I know that the audio signal exists
1584990	1587950	but it's not going into the Pi. I wanted to show off
1589030	1592450	a couple data modes that would be able to be received on the Raspberry Pi
1593110	1595850	but that won't be in today's presentation.
1597870	1600810	I was curious if anyone had any quick
1600810	1604890	questions or anything that maybe I didn't cover in the video
1604890	1609050	or any suggestions, because it looks like
1609050	1613650	the chat topics are a little empty right now. Did anyone have anything to ask or add?
1617290	1619810	So, I'm curious if anyone
1619810	1622890	does anyone have any experience with working with a volunteer
1623590	1626310	software team or web development team?
1626310	1632090	Because a big part of the initiative here is the website
1632090	1635010	and the website we have right now is very basic
1635710	1639910	and I'm learning web stuff as I go along, but I wouldn't mind supercharging it
1639910	1644270	with a couple team members. Has anyone worked with a volunteer team
1644270	1647110	in the past to get something like this done?
1653990	1657570	I'm not aware of any personally. I mean, I'm curious
1657570	1662110	are you also releasing all these plans and open source stuff on something like GitHub as well?
1662550	1665790	Oh, absolutely, yes. So, I hope that other people can join
1665790	1669770	in and, like I said, copy plans, like they can take a look at
1669770	1673570	the Twerkstation I built. That's kind of what this stemmed from, was
1674150	1677570	I saw kits online and I would say that, oh, those are so awesome
1677570	1680530	but I could never have one of those and then
1681330	1685790	one day I decided to put a kit
1685790	1689530	together for my father at the behest of my mom.
1689530	1692970	She was curious how we could all get together in the event of an emergency
1693650	1697130	and I said, oh, well, ham radio, and I wanted to get an all-in-one solution
1697690	1700350	that they could use after getting their ham radio licenses
1701410	1705810	to get on the air with me in the event of a grid down situation
1705810	1710230	and so I would see the kits online
1710230	1713850	and I would say, oh, those are awesome and then I decided to just build one myself and it was
1713850	1717710	surprisingly easy and I just want to let people know that
1717710	1722130	I want to remove the barrier to entry to making kits
1722130	1726030	for themselves, like a big one is
1726030	1730030	the panel of the kit, like, I can actually start moving stuff
1730030	1734050	around here, like being able to laser cut, I have a laser cutter
1734050	1737950	in my garage and being able to laser cut a panel whenever I need a new one is
1738130	1741970	a huge blessing, but I want other people to be able to have that access
1741970	1745970	too, like to nearby maker spaces, places where they would be able
1745970	1750410	to download plans for a panel and then be able to
1750410	1754030	have them cut out, so that would
1754030	1757490	probably be a portion of the website would be being able to coordinate people
1759990	1762050	to be able to make their own
1762050	1765770	things, or this panel that the radio is inset in is 3D printed.
1765890	1770050	I've got my own 3D printer. I know a lot of people, that's a barrier to entry, they don't have
1770050	1773910	their own. I'd like to be able to connect people that
1773910	1777810	want to have their own inset panel mount things like I've made
1778410	1781290	or that they've designed their own. I want to connect them with
1782210	1784790	online resources to be able to get them printed out.
1787050	1789770	Cool, we do have a couple of questions here from the audience.
1790250	1793450	One is, what if you need more room for snacks? I'm assuming
1793450	1797450	there's going to be some sort of snack expander box or something like that.
1797910	1801650	Yeah, there's always... you can get extra kits to put extra
1801650	1805530	snacks in. You can always sacrifice extra battery power, get a smaller
1805530	1809770	radio. Right now, this design of
1809770	1813650	the 3D inset panel for my radio face is
1813650	1817530	just kind of basically a prototype. There's a lot of wasted space around the edges
1817530	1821410	you can see, so it still needs refinement. I hope to
1821410	1825410	post the plan files online so that people can
1825410	1829290	download and print them. Actually, this panel itself is on Thingiverse.
1829450	1833530	If you Google or if you use the search for JiguG90
1834130	1837550	it should pop up as one of the
1837550	1841490	3D printable items. And then I also hope
1841490	1845330	to have sticker templates. I like the industrial style of stickers
1845330	1849430	so that's my kit. Some people might have something less colorful or more
1849430	1853370	colorful, more informative, maybe more minimalist.
1853490	1857410	So I hope to have vector files online available for stickers
1857410	1859470	if you want to download them yourself.
1861090	1864910	Great, that's great to hear. Some more questions coming in here.
1864910	1869590	What type or brand of case do you use in this kit?
1870270	1873270	This is a Harbor Freight Apache
1873270	1876370	case. I hope to put a...
1877490	1881490	I've done some upgrades to the kit and I hope to have a completed bill of materials
1881490	1885850	done once my presentation... I've been prepping for the presentation here for a
1885850	1889790	while and I hope to have a completed bill of materials done. But the case
1889790	1893810	itself is an Apache Harbor Freight case.
1893810	1897810	They're very affordable. They're very similar
1897810	1901330	to Pelican cases. They come with a foam block
1901330	1904330	that you can pick apart inside for
1906110	1909170	cushioning parts. I took the foam out so that I had greater
1909170	1913470	airflow through the kit. And I guess here
1913470	1917470	as a Defcon exclusive, I usually don't show off
1917470	1921370	the inside of my kits, especially when they're under construction. But if there's
1921370	1925450	interest, I'd like to show off kind of what's inside the kit. Normally
1926270	1929030	I would have thumbscrews on the side
1929030	1932470	that I would undo, but I haven't gotten around to those yet.
1932530	1937110	I'll remove the SNAXS panel. And the wires
1937110	1941450	are still kind of a mess. I've got a
1941450	1945850	battery, a lithium iron phosphate battery that I just put in the kit last week.
1945850	1949250	I have a USB hub that comes out of a Raspberry Pi
1949250	1953190	underneath. And I need a better solution, maybe some kind of little shelf to
1953190	1956930	build in here to separate everything out so there's better airflow. And then the radio here is in the
1956930	1959870	back. I have an RTL-SDR
1961090	1964910	software radio that goes into the Raspberry Pi. And of course
1964910	1968250	I have the SNAXS off to the side and a fuse block
1968850	1971450	that the 12 volts come off of.
1975210	1978810	Cool, we've got a question about maybe using magnets
1979490	1983330	to hold down the panel on the keyboard, like the
1983330	1987590	Rayworth magnets. Is that something you've looked at? Yeah, that
1987590	1991630	would not be a bad idea at all. The keyboard has
1991750	1995490	a weird kind of curve to the back, so I would have put like a Velcro or something maybe
1995490	1998390	on there that would snap down.
1999450	2003550	But magnets would be a good idea too. I just need a way to either epoxy
2003550	2007610	or anchor the magnet to the keyboard or maybe to the box and then maybe
2007610	2011670	put a plate on the back of the keyboard. See, these are all great ideas that you could
2011670	2015450	post to the Twerkstation Discord or
2015450	2017670	the forums if we ever get them up and running.
2019170	2023530	Absolutely, absolutely. A question here in the chat about have you considered using
2023530	2027110	solar for power? And maybe there might be some interference with that.
2027610	2031550	Oh, so that was another thing that was brought up in our
2031550	2035630	Discord chat a few days ago was someone had a
2035630	2039710	question about solar controllers and noises and if anyone
2039710	2042810	had experience with expensive versus cheap ones.
2042810	2046490	I actually have a solar panel on the way. It's going to be here
2046490	2050730	tomorrow. Someone posted a bargain
2050730	2055590	online for one of them and I snatched up a nice folding one.
2057110	2058710	But yeah, so I
2058710	2062890	had a couple batteries in my version 1 of the kit so that I'd have a lot
2062890	2066610	of power. And in this version 2, you saw the one
2066610	2070950	lithium-ion phosphate battery in the back that was about
2072150	2074190	1,500 mAh
2074190	2078950	and I labeled the switch with 1,400 mAh
2080370	2082850	and then I have the switch labeled 1,400 mAh
2082850	2086150	so that I have a little cushion left over.
2088420	2091660	I'd love a 1,500 mAh battery.
2092560	2096440	Yeah, that would be great. A question here about
2096440	2100360	you mentioned no selling jerk benches, but
2100360	2102500	what about individual parts?
2104200	2108360	I would like to have in the Bill of Materials links to parts that
2108360	2112580	people use. Or when I built my computer
2112740	2115940	a few years ago, the PC part picker website
2115940	2119840	would continually scan other websites
2120580	2124360	would scour for prices and tell you who had the lower price
2124360	2128380	and if there were any sales going on. Ideally there would be some kind of functionality
2128380	2131720	that's like very, very, very far down the road, but
2133200	2136220	for parts, ideally I would just put my
2136220	2139980	Amazon links for where I got all the parts. Basically all the parts of the kit.
2139980	2144340	What kind of kicked off the kit plan design was this red kill switch that I
2144340	2147880	installed. I've always loved these growing up and
2148840	2151980	being able to buy them by a 5-pack
2151980	2156280	was incredible. I love being able to buy stuff
2156280	2160480	like that online. These power connectors
2160480	2164740	are 3D printed. Those were made by... I found them on Thingiverse.
2166600	2168320	Most of the stuff I was able to
2168320	2172400	source online, which I wouldn't have been able to do about
2172400	2175980	10 years ago. So being able to source stuff online is a great
2176740	2178880	benefit to the ham radio hobby.
2181120	2184300	Great. A question from Twitch. What are the
2184300	2188020	temps inside the case when everything is powered on and running?
2189480	2191660	It depends. I haven't
2192500	2195940	used a heavy duty cycle. I can't imagine it's very warm
2195940	2198520	with just the Raspberry Pi running.
2200420	2203900	If I was broadcasting a lot with the radio, the temps might get
2203900	2208320	pretty warm. I thought about putting active cooling in. I've got empty space up here
2208320	2212200	above the display panel. If I wanted to put a couple case fans
2212200	2216200	up here just to move air through, I could move some of the air slots around.
2216340	2219820	So this is basically the prototype version of this panel.
2219960	2223860	It's made out of MDF wood that I spray painted black. I hope to
2224380	2228160	source a plastic panel from the local plastic store.
2228460	2232360	They make a nice textured plastic, a black textured
2232360	2236200	plastic that I think will look really sharp. But it's going to be
2236200	2240220	more expensive than the MDF. I want to make sure that the layout is done before I get the
2240820	2242540	final panel cut.
2244920	2249640	Yeah, great. That sounds pretty awesome. We've got a question here
2249640	2253600	about when it comes to selecting components, what part do you
2253600	2257600	suggest that people don't skimp out on when it comes to parts and what parts do you think people
2257600	2259940	can maybe buy the cheaper version of?
2261580	2265600	That is a very good question. And that's actually part of the reason I kicked off
2265600	2269760	the Ostwerk initiative was to help answer that question for me so that I'd
2269760	2273800	be able to select parts for my kits. I know
2273920	2277840	a lot of people out there have bought parts and they know what works
2277840	2282180	and what doesn't. This is a learning experience for me, but it's kind of an expensive one.
2282400	2285680	So before I pull the trigger on an expensive solar charge
2285680	2289700	controller, which I imagine if you want
2289700	2293540	low noise like on the HF bands, you'd probably want
2295200	2298280	you probably don't want to skimp on your charging controller.
2299820	2302420	I've noticed a little bit of noise running the Pi.
2302420	2306220	I don't know if I'm going to be able to shield that, if I'd be able to build a little shielded
2306220	2310120	shelf maybe around the Pi where airflow could go
2310120	2314440	but RF noise can't. So there's
2314440	2318300	lots of ideas for improving the kit and they can always be improved, but I
2318300	2322500	don't have any suggestions right off the bat. But I would imagine
2322500	2326280	probably your charging controller, especially if you use expensive batteries
2326900	2328900	or... and that's another thing you want to consider
2330000	2334140	when picking parts is make sure your charging chemistries are compatible.
2334160	2337780	When I made the first version of this kit, I used lead acid batteries
2338520	2342100	and then they were super heavy, but I had to upgrade to...
2342100	2345940	well, I didn't have to upgrade, but I wanted to upgrade to lithium iron phosphate batteries, which are
2345940	2350080	lighter, a lot more expensive, but they also use a different
2350080	2354120	charging chemistry. I can't use the lead acid charging system that I had in the
2354120	2358180	old kit in this new kit, so I had to budget for a new charging
2358180	2362860	system for the kit that was compatible with the lithium iron phosphate batteries.
2367230	2368830	Great, yeah, there's a couple comments here
2368830	2372850	on Twitch. One person talks about, you know, if you don't want to take a charge
2372850	2377110	controller, taking a lot of space, maybe have a different
2377630	2380870	torque station that's like a power module, you know, a power type
2380870	2383850	torque station that does all that just in its own separate box.
2385510	2387750	Yeah, that was an idea, like one of the power
2387750	2391890	torque stations, like I want to have a power interface kit so people
2391890	2395630	would be able to tap into different
2396430	2399950	powers or different, like electric vehicles or
2399950	2404010	solar, wind, water, like a kit that would be able to
2404010	2407350	convert a variety of voltages down to the kit voltage.
2407950	2411950	And so, yeah, that's something for people to consider whether they want
2411950	2416070	to build it into their kit or whether they want to carry an external kit
2416070	2419830	that would house that functionality. But the kits would
2419830	2424130	hopefully be compatible not only with each other, but with other
2424130	2425890	torque stations as well.
2427730	2431670	Yeah, I've also started to see a rise in popularity of the, you know,
2431670	2435710	battery generators, quote unquote, where it's just basically a battery box with a bunch of power
2435710	2439830	distribution that you can now buy off the shelf, which is kind of nice for like,
2439830	2442910	hey, I just need power and I need lithium power and off-grid.
2443530	2447490	We've got a question... yeah, go ahead. Oh, no, I was going to say, yeah, those are great.
2447970	2451630	Yeah, I have not splurged on one yet, but
2451630	2456010	hopefully soon. A question here, could you talk a bit more about the antennas
2456010	2459590	and or connectors you use for the antennas that hook up to this kit?
2460890	2463730	Yeah, I use just the standard
2464870	2467810	UHF antenna connector.
2469070	2472590	Actually, it's probably easier if I just took off my nanoVNA here.
2473510	2476130	So this is a nanoVNA I have
2476130	2480010	kind of velcroed to the kit. It's used as an antenna analyzer
2480010	2483150	and I use this type of connector.
2485190	2487710	I'm going to embarrass myself here, PL259
2487710	2491610	or SO238, or 239, I mean.
2492710	2496130	But it's just this standard type of antenna connector and then
2496650	2500030	I have a box around here with different adapter connectors
2500030	2504450	for the antenna. But the antenna that I like to use right now
2504450	2508140	is I got from my brother a
2509470	2512530	B&W AP10A. I don't have the whip
2512530	2516390	on it right now. There's a whip that extends off the top that I can raise
2516390	2520530	and lower. And it also has a tunable loading coil that
2520530	2524030	I can adjust for the HF frequencies to get a better
2524850	2527590	reception or better broadcast on those frequencies.
2528370	2532030	But that just has the same type of screw that screws on to the
2534750	2537070	kit there, the bulkhead connector.
2540620	2542600	Very nice. You can always just say
2542600	2544580	UHF connector and you're good.
2545360	2550560	I think SO is socket and PL is plug, I think is what it is.
2552080	2555040	So I think that's all we have for questions right now
2555040	2558520	on the chat. Is there anything else you guys want to show or talk about?
2563020	2566280	No, just curious if anyone has thought of any
2566280	2570920	like if this has inspired anyone to make their own kit or if anyone has any
2570920	2574580	ideas. Actually, here's an idea. So for in-person
2574580	2578900	the Ham Radio Village, what if we
2578900	2582940	could maybe start a fundraiser to make three or four
2582940	2586980	torque stations for a get on the air station. And then at the end, give them
2586980	2591340	out to school groups. So we'd have like a fundraiser
2591340	2595080	kind of thing to make the stations. And then after they're used
2595080	2598860	for people to get on the air, they can just be donated out.
2598860	2601040	Would that be something people are interested in?
2602800	2606900	Yeah, definitely something to take the pulse on. I was just completely off the
2606900	2610700	top of my head and you could have potentially even prior to DEF CON
2610700	2614400	said, okay, well, build your best torque station and come
2614400	2618800	join the competition. Yeah, that could be part of the
2618800	2622640	torque-cath-a-lon maybe if that ever takes off.
2623520	2626700	I mean, it's not DEF CON if there's no soldering irons involved.
2628520	2630620	Maybe build one within
2630620	2633560	like an hour to the competition or something maybe.
2636610	2640650	Cool. Well, thank you for putting this presentation together and hanging
2640650	2643370	out and chatting with us. I thought this was pretty awesome.
2643710	2648050	We even got a comment in the chat. Someone says it's very inspiring. So that's great to hear.
2648190	2652670	Thank you for coming. I thank you all for joining me and thank you to the staff for
2652670	2653670	putting this on.