Building the shack, Part 1: (The Design)

 

                

"People who follow the crowd usually get no further than the crowd" ~unknown 

          

            I often joke that I at one point had the smallest radio station setup ever know to ham radio, it was a  borrowed Yeasu VX-170 that I could hit about 3 repeaters within the area. It served me well for a few months until I was able to obtain my FT-8800 and the equipment list began to grow from there. I wanted a shack but with limited funds, time, and competing space with family (both sound and Physical boundaries) designing it would be a challenge to say the least.  One of the major things I had to consider was the available space I had to dedicate to building a radio room.  As I soon figured out I didn't have much room for a massive radio shack but I did have room for two smaller radio rooms/ studios. The main radio room has to currently share space with my woodworking shop and special design had to go into my desk design to limit dust getting on the equipment, it sets in a 6 foot by 12 foot  corner and at the end of the 12' section is where my coax comes into and it provides a isolated area away from my family to work late night/ early morning DX. However having it located in an outbuilding has it drawbacks and one of the major ones is heating it in the winter months. This is Why I am designing  what I call my snowbird station. Basically it is nothing more than my 2 meter go-box and a small dual band base antenna clipped to the side of the house providing me a  warm space to work local nets during the colder months.      

                The shack above would be my dream shack, it is 12' x 18' has a great bay window, dust free area and plenty of loft storage but would set me back about 8,000 bucks not including wiring and finishing. Not having the budget to get it my second alternative was to  come up with a design for my two shacks, however both of my shacks need to be intermodal so that if I acquired my dream space or ever had to move I would not wind up starting from square one and possibly not having a station for months or even years on end. As you may know from my Go-box posts I was designing something I could pack up and roll with on a whim. If you want to read more about my Go-Box you can find it here. 

The above picture shows the first setup of my desk with my go box installed, I decided to build my own desk as it gives me the flexibility of putting the radios where it works best for me. One of the elements I put into designing the shack was that I wanted a happy space where I could de-compress after a long day or just relax and enjoy my hobby. To achieve this I chose Sherwin William's #6788 Capri for the walls and Ice cube white #6252  for the ceiling The desk is painted in Cyberspace grey #7076 and trimmed with golden oak oak trim. The ultimate goal is to Move the woodshop to a better building more suited for woodworking and turning this into my radio room/man shed, however once again if things don't work out or if I get my dream space I still am able to box up the shack in a few hours and be back on the air in a day or two. 

For the snow shack I still am having trouble coming up with a design for it that allows me to enjoy the hobby without disturbing the rest of the family and I will post about it in a later blog. As of this writing I am planning on going to the Dayton hamfest and cleaning up and prepping the space for use. There is plenty to do and I hope with this blog I inspired you to design or re-design your radio room. Until next time take care and remember God is still in control. ~73