Home shack/desk ideas

[IdleMonitor]

So I'm renovating my basement in the next few months and gonna have me my corner.

Need ideas for the corner desk area where laptop and radios etc will be.

Starting with entry ways into the house for cables.

My desk area needs shelves or something that I can mount my cb's. I have 3 mobiles 2 of which I want to be able to mount at the desk 1 will be in the mobile. Next is spot for portable scanner (1 436HP) that's used as a base hooked to the amp and antenna thats outside (1 discone right now highest point works quite well in its place).
Will also looking at placement for my SDR that I'd like to hook up to listen to HF/AM/FM/SSB etc. Also spot to mount my flight radar device.

1 portable scanner . 2 mobile CBs, SDR, Flightradar device, laptop, printer.
1 CB antenna outside on roof (Sirio Tornado), 1 scanner discone antenna for sure possibly 2 (1 for sdr 1 for scanner) or 1 800 mhz directional for scanner along with 1 discone I do already have the correct diplexer/duplexer I need to split the signals from the discone and a seperate 800 mhz antenna. HF end fed antenna for SDR.

You get the picture. If I need a stridsburg antenna distributer at some point I will get one.

I'd like to hear your suggestions on how I can make this little corner work for me and stay clean. (Cable distribution etc).

 

[GlobalNorth]

Cable management into a room: CableManagement

Entrance panels: EntrancePanels

 

[IdleMonitor]

These parts I've already researched.

The next thing I'm looking for is desk options. I have radios that are mobiles I use for the base. Looking for mounting options.

Cable management into a room: CableManagement

Entrance panels: EntrancePanels

 

[chief21]

Do yourself a favor and plan for adequate cable access behind your radios.

 

[N9JIG]

Having built a wide variety of shacks in my time I have a couple or 12 ideas:

1) Use a desk with casters, sliders or otherwise able to be moved to access the backside of the radios easily. This would allow you to properly dress the wiring and accessories.

2) A standing desk will allow you to alter the height to both use the radios and work on them.

3) The desk has to be sturdy enough to support the entire weight.

4) Leave enough cable to be able to move the desk in whatever directions it may. For a standing desk this is important!

5) Try to make it so that it is as self-contained as possible. Limit the cables entering and leaving the desk. Things like a good power strip (to keep the system with a single power cable) and a receiver multicoupler (to limit coax runs to the desk) can keep the cable numbers down. If there are multiple network devices use a switch to have a single Ethernet cable supply the desk.

6) Consider a cabinet or other enclosure to contain wiring and accessories that do not need to be accessed regularly.

7) Consider one of those Home Depot/Lowes/Menards workbenches for your shack instead of a more traditional office desk. These workbenches are sturdy, come with casters and cranks (to adjust the height) and look pretty good. The surface is usually finished wood or laminate so work well as a desk. They come in a variety of sizes as well.

8) Don't put the printer on the desk if you can avoid it. Consider how often you interact with it. I have a WiFi printer, it lives in the laundry room since we print to it a couple times a month, no need to take up valuable space on something you don't use often, especially if it can easily be placed elsewhere.

9) Get one or two under-desk wire-management racks from Ikea or The Container Store. These keep wires from hanging down and getting caught by your feet and out of sight.

10) Think about mounting the SDR etc. under the desk or otherwise out of the way. Since they usually do not have controls they really do not need to be front and center.

11) Watch out for heat sources. Power supplies especially can get warm if not downright hot so don't bury them in wires. Use one of those racks in Item 9 for them perhaps to keep them well ventilated and away from wires that could be damaged by heat.

12) Have the antenna coax access come in under the desk. Also consider a patch panel if you have multiple antennas. This would allow you to run jumpers of whatever length you need to get to the desk and allow enough tail to move the desk. While this might reduce the efficiency of the antenna a bit it does make for a cleaner installation.