Skyd
Member
So my interest in all thing RF has been re-kindled as of late. What started as simply hooking up my scanner antenna again has turned into a GMRS license, 2 new HT's, studying for my General ham license, and now......deciding i need a proper RF station/shack.
The space needed to meet a few requirements:
1. I can somewhat easily run coax to it
2. It's in a spot where I will ACTUALLY use it - i.e. not in my 1890's era basement.
3. It's gotta be minimal work/renovations to get up and running.
So all of this has led me to a small closet, 24" deep and 42" wide that's mostly just a junk collector. I never finished the inside of the closet when I did the 2nd story renovations years back. So right now it's open stud partly, with attic above it. Prime conditions for running coax. I currently have a small desk just outside the closet which means I can feasably use my laptop at the desk and be within reach of all my radio geek stuff.
1st things first. What I plan to use the shack for - I'd like to setup some ham equipment, a GMRS radio, and eventually a few scanners. External speakers will be added as well over time. I don't have any interest in running high power amplifiers at the moment, and if I ever do it likely will have progressed beyond a tiny closet setup anyway.
So maybe 100w max on the ham side, and 25-50w on the GMRS side.
Planned antennas - 1 or 2 scanner antennas probably discone or something like an OmniX. 1 Antenna for GMRS (maybe UHF/VHF in conjuction with ham? IDK, need to read more). 1 antenna for HF if possible.
So that's 2-4 coaxes coming into the closet.
So here are some questions that some of you may be able to help with or give me some ideas.
1st - Running the coax into the room, is there an issue with having the 2-4 cables run bundled together?
2nd - How much, if any, space should I give the coax away from 110v wiring?
3rd - How much power will I need in there? I know this is a loaded question, pun intended, but just thought I'd get some points of reference. I'd prefer to just tap into my bedroom wiring and add a few outlets. It's a 15amp breaker and I don't run much in my room off it other than a TV and Nintendo Switch, phone charger, and none of it very often. I MIGHT be able to run a new line and breaker, seems silly for just that closet and it would require some fancy wall fishing but I have room in my panel.
Bonus question - I'm going to build the "desk" top out of particle board but would like to finish the top of it with something. Should be reasonably durable for sliding equipment around occasionally, and writing on, etc. Epoxy maybe, some kind of 1/8" hardboard, something else?
Any other tips or ideas anyone has, or can point me towards for putting together this little mini shack is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
The space needed to meet a few requirements:
1. I can somewhat easily run coax to it
2. It's in a spot where I will ACTUALLY use it - i.e. not in my 1890's era basement.
3. It's gotta be minimal work/renovations to get up and running.
So all of this has led me to a small closet, 24" deep and 42" wide that's mostly just a junk collector. I never finished the inside of the closet when I did the 2nd story renovations years back. So right now it's open stud partly, with attic above it. Prime conditions for running coax. I currently have a small desk just outside the closet which means I can feasably use my laptop at the desk and be within reach of all my radio geek stuff.
1st things first. What I plan to use the shack for - I'd like to setup some ham equipment, a GMRS radio, and eventually a few scanners. External speakers will be added as well over time. I don't have any interest in running high power amplifiers at the moment, and if I ever do it likely will have progressed beyond a tiny closet setup anyway.
So maybe 100w max on the ham side, and 25-50w on the GMRS side.
Planned antennas - 1 or 2 scanner antennas probably discone or something like an OmniX. 1 Antenna for GMRS (maybe UHF/VHF in conjuction with ham? IDK, need to read more). 1 antenna for HF if possible.
So that's 2-4 coaxes coming into the closet.
So here are some questions that some of you may be able to help with or give me some ideas.
1st - Running the coax into the room, is there an issue with having the 2-4 cables run bundled together?
2nd - How much, if any, space should I give the coax away from 110v wiring?
3rd - How much power will I need in there? I know this is a loaded question, pun intended, but just thought I'd get some points of reference. I'd prefer to just tap into my bedroom wiring and add a few outlets. It's a 15amp breaker and I don't run much in my room off it other than a TV and Nintendo Switch, phone charger, and none of it very often. I MIGHT be able to run a new line and breaker, seems silly for just that closet and it would require some fancy wall fishing but I have room in my panel.
Bonus question - I'm going to build the "desk" top out of particle board but would like to finish the top of it with something. Should be reasonably durable for sliding equipment around occasionally, and writing on, etc. Epoxy maybe, some kind of 1/8" hardboard, something else?
Any other tips or ideas anyone has, or can point me towards for putting together this little mini shack is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.