Yet Another KX2 "VFO A" Tuning Knob by SirJon

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

A common complaint about the KX2 radio is that its VFO A tuning knob is on the smallish side. (Of course the entire radio is small, so it is expected.) Several Thingiverse contributors have offered designs to overcome this short-coming of a truly outstanding QRP rig. Unfortunately, and in just my opinion, most of these designs fall short in 1 of these 4 areas:
I couldn't get them to fit my VFO's shaft, being either too large or too small. Without the CAD file, it took lots of tweaking in my slicer to get a good fit.
They don't match the aesthetic of the other knobs on the radio
The design was hard to print, requiring scaffolding, etc.
Didn't have a tactile feel that I liked.
So here is my design; attempting to make the best looking KX2 knob that I could. It uses openSCAD, and the source is included. This allows you to customize it yourself using openSCAD on your computer, or use the Thingiverse Customizer.
I've also included a small test part that allows you to quickly determine whether the knob will fit on your radio without taking the time to print the entire knob. Differences in printers, plastic, slicers, extrusion settings, etc. make it impossible for a "one size fits all" setting for the "ShaftDiameter" variable. Whether you print the actual knob or the test shaft is determined by the "Knob_or_Test" variable at the top of the openSCAD file.
You can find this knob for sale at https://stores.ebay.com/N0WL-Radio if you don't have the means or desire to print your own.