BitX40… Questions, questions, and more questions

I’m looking for some advice. I have a BitX40 on the way. It’s been shipped, but it probably won’t get here before Christmas. (It’s last tracking point was Nov. 9 near Mumbai via post.) I’m going to make an enclosure for it from some 1/4″ x 6″ oak from Lowe’s (US DIY and contractor chain for anyone who doesn’t know) and line it with either copper or aluminum foil, or a mix of the two. I’m planning a 6″ x 7″ x 3″ box with a folding lid. The lid may eventually have an Arduino frequency counter and maybe get to a DDS VFO embedded into it. I also plan on putting a cooling fan in the box. Now, on to the questions…

1. If I add a fan, what’s a good way to deal with the microphone? Change to a 3.5mm jack and get a stand mic? I don’t want the electret picking up fan noise.
2. How do I mount that tiny mic into a box anyway? I just had an idea about a counter-sunk hole and some kind of plastic clip, but I don’t know…
3. When I get a frequency counter set up (I’m a General, not Extra yet, so I don’t have free reign, and I want to stay legal), where would I clip it in? On the antenna leads to the board, or somewhere else?
4. If I do the DDS VFO, how can I switch side bands, since some bands are upper, some are lower?
5. I saw somewhere that I had to mod the board to use the DDS header, but I can’t find the info anymore. Is that the case? What has to be modified?
6. When I finally learn Morse, how can I do CW on this radio? I know I can do a tone over SSB, but is that really the same?
7. What’s the best way to go about setting this up for digital modes, doing things like WSPR or APRS?

I’m sure I have more questions, but this is what I’ve got for now…

Thanks in advance for the responses! I hope to learn lots.

submitted by /u/Giric
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