Proper Ham Shack?

[N8ETQ]

  Careful with that VAX, Eugene...

[Opcom]

I want your VAX. (as heard on mp3)

Can there ever be a 'standard' of any kind for a proper ham shack? Too many kinds of shacks.

messy haywired looking ones,
ones in corners of workshops,
dirty ones,
saftey-minded ones
unsafe firetrap ones
immaculate W1AW style ones,
in the boudoir,
in the garage,
hidden in furniture or closets.
sharing a room with the XYL's hobbies


How about these properties for a proper ham shack:
-no bad connections, all soldered not crimped
-little/no leaking RF
-little/no radiated harmonics
-high efficiency for the technology employed
-station waveforms monitor
-decent power meter
-ability to record audio reception
-station ID timer / stopwatch / time indicator (for the long winded)
-high voltages out of the way or covered
-pet safety (no bare connections or entry/sticking paws into equipment)
-well-marked "main power switch"
-low distortion audio amp and speaker +headphones for reception
-every wire on a screw-terminal / barrier strip having a soldered lug
-lockwashers on all ground terminal screws and balun/tuner wing nuts etc.
-adequate cooling, even over-adequate (heat kills slowly)
-protection against unauthorized use
-cooling not able to be easily blocked (poor cat, not allowed on the perforated cover. Besides this they kindly deposit hair and dander through the holes)
-visibility of all controls and indicators
-position not easily damaged by spills; spills can't run into gear
-racks that are bottom heavy or bolted to wall by angle iron
-racks bolted together,electrically bonded
-large ground strap(s) to real earth ground(s)
-If metal building, grounded by external rod(s).
-racks elevated from floor if subject to water during heavy rain. /\ strip of angle iron works well.
-balanced feed should have large knife switch gnd-operate on exterior in weatherproof box.
-lightning resistant feed-in
-instant-on emergency lighting
-UPS for the small stuff or PC type stuff
-emergency generator, automatic preferred.
-solar panel, MPPT charger, and 100AH+ worth of 12VDC if appropriate.
-telephone and internet
-optional phone patch and or digital methods (PSK etc)
-If important software is used, large computer screen(s).
-HVAC with TX dissipation taken into account. How many BTU is 1KW?
-toilet, sink, shower, coffee pot, small fridge/MRE locker
-large well-lit workbench that is not the operating position
-ESD mat or surface & magnifier or microscope
-"parts/junk shelves" sturdy and bolted to wall
-well organized spares cabinet
-fire cabinet for chemicals solvents etc.
-shack door/access connected to home security system.
-organized tool chest with good tools
-recycle bins/cans for copper and aluminum waste.
-Liner/bag in the trash can protects can against hazardous residue.
-fasteners sorted ferrous and non ferrous, metric and english
-loose parts sorted in bins or shelving
-fire extinguisher in obvious place

This isn't my shack. It's a list of good or positive things any so-called proper shack could use.

[N8ETQ]

/Dan

[KB2WIG]

" small fridge/MRE locker  " I got the refer; why  would one lock up MREs?


klc

[ka4koe]

I can't find tools, so I started the neatification process last night.....

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

A good AllSteel or Steelcase tanker desk is a must, but they are a PITA to get behind or under for running cables. I use mine for the mixing console, which won't be getting moved around.

I went to commercial grade tables back in the 90s and never looked back. They have one out-of-the-way drawer for essential goodies, the rest is just good, useable space. The one with the Clegg gear has a top similar to Formica while the other has the older rubber-linoleum. Think the most I paid for one was $35.

Of course, all the free space beneath attracts more stuff, like dummy loads, old Super Pros, etc etc. In other words, it's nowhere as neat right now as the photos would lead you to believe.

[W3RSW]

Very nice, but I have to wonder, are shacks for hams or cats?
Seems to be no less than secondary on far too many ham's minds.  

How many have actually had a child or cat electrocuted by your equipment?  Are there any real cases out there? 
And please, don't whip out the safety or sensitivity cops, just researched facts, stats or real cases.

Curmudgeoneous emongus XXIII.

[W1ATR]

Very nice, but I have to wonder, are shacks for hams or cats?
Seems to be no less than secondary on far too many ham's minds. 

How many have actually had a child or cat electrocuted by your equipment?  Are there any real cases out there? 
And please, don't whip out the safety or sensitivity cops, just researched facts, stats or real cases.

Curmudgeoneous emongus XXIII.

What? You never heard the saying " No kids, no lids, no cats, no space cadets, no phonetics fanatics, no school bus riders." 

[KA3EKH]

What happened when you decide to knock down the building and then move the transmitter, In this case killing this Harris MW-5 was a benefit to society. At the time had three MW-5 that I took care of but this one was a real pig. Never sounded right, always broke down on weekends and holidays and was in a rat hole snake infested building. Big thing in the last couple years has been removing analog television transmitters and recycling them for scrap being they are completely useless, have a friend up north that tells me at a couple mountain top sites where he has radio transmitters the TV people have just disassembled and in two cases pushed the old transmitters down the side of the mountain and laughed about it.

[KB2WIG]

don't forget

[Opcom]

Very nice, but I have to wonder, are shacks for hams or cats?
Seems to be no less than secondary on far too many ham's minds.  

How many have actually had a child or cat electrocuted by your equipment?  Are there any real cases out there? 
And please, don't whip out the safety or sensitivity cops, just researched facts, stats or real cases.

Curmudgeoneous emongus XXIII.

Shacks are for hams.
Cats are for hams and/or the XYL/family.
Dogs at least equally, judging by the avatars.
Nice people often like animals.

electrocution:
A favorite cat of mine was behind a row of cabinets against the wall snooping or playing back there and somehow pulled a wire loose and/or chewed it. There was a barrier strip with 120VAC, 350VDC, and 600VDC making up a loose cable of individual wires.
Carbon, my tomcat, was electrocuted and almost killed. I was a child, it was my bedroom lab, and I was traumatized because it was my fault that my innocent friend, Carbon the cat, almost died. After that incident, the cables were rerun from one cabinet to the other by making a hole in the adjacent cabinet sides so the wires and connections were not accessible  from one to the other.

other hazards:
Old Kitty used to occasionally sleep on an old PC on a desk that a dot matrix printer was on. This was 20 years ago.
The printer was shared (operated by that old PC before the days of windows networking). It was in the next room, away from my computer, but anyway we all shared that printer. One day apparently O. Kitty's tail was lying on/into the printer.
Dot matrix printers have a stepper motor and pulley with a toothed belt carrying the print head back and forth, in case it is not clear what happened. Old Kitty had a permanent kink in the tip of her tail from an unannounced print job.

[Opcom]

Let's not let the topic fade on a sad example about safety. Those two cats lived well and healthy lives and the people of the house cherished them their whole long lives, all was good.

 _/\/\/\/\_

Here's some fresh MRE humor. (rimshot)

About MREs:

" small fridge/MRE locker  " I got the refer; why  would one lock up MREs?


klc

Q. How do you tell if an MRE serving is gone bad?
A. It's puffed up or bloated from gas.

Q. How can you tell if the dog has eaten an MRE?
A. It's puffed up or bloated from gas.

Q. How do you tell if an MRE is good?
A. Define good.

Q. Where is the "use by" date on an MRE?
A. There intentionally isn't legible one, but people always try to decode the lot number after taking just one bite.

Q. How do you tell if an MRE is edible?
A. Define edible.

Q. How can you tell if an MRE is unfit for consumption?
A. It says "Meal, Ready to Eat" on it.

Q. Why are MREs kept locked in a locker?
A. Because a locked cabinet diverts a burglar from other things and he won't steal the MREs when he does get in.



_/\/\/\/\_


About this Proper Ham Shack business:
Why not everyone vote your favorite station pic and state why?
There's a ham shack for every taste here. 8-)

Give some time for more folks to post their pictures?

[W7TFO]

I once saw a guy eating the crackers from an MRE .

I told him: "You fool, don't eat those!  They are to make a fire to heat the rest of the crap before you eat it."

Burp.

He did set one on fire and was amazed it burned just fine.

73DG

[Opcom]

The crackers in Today's MREs are delicious vegetable flavored ones. I love them. The challenge is getting them from the vacuum-tight plastifoil pack without breaking them. When is the last time you ate an MRE? Today's are very tasty compared to those of the 1990's (which are still edible although lower in nutrition due to passage of time).

[W7TFO]

Been 20 years since...Don't miss 'em a bit .

73DG