My Newest Comms Center
- Thread starter phillydjdan
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You know what they say...if it looks stupid but it works, it ain't stupid!
RFI-EMI-GUY
Member
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- Dec 22, 2013
- Messages
- 7,255
Put in a small split system and get your window back!
Very nice work Dan. That's a lot of work you did and certainly you are happy with the results. I did something similar a few years a go at my house moving the shack from an upstairs room to downstairs office. New paint, carpet, added more electric, new desk, re-route 12 runs of coax, a lot of work. Enjoy your new shack.
FIRE321FIGHTER1985
Member
Looks great. Very well done.
- Those Mini-Splits are great. They are popular here in the desert for our garages and casita's, I will likely get one for my garage if we stay in this house. They are quiet, efficient and not too expensive as well as pretty simple to install.
- Great idea on the coat rack for cables! I wish I had thought of that, I had a couple of these I sent to the S.A. that would have been perfect! Maybe they might still be available in the thrift store so I could buy them back...
- Also, great idea on the above-desk outlet. That is going to be SO useful!
- You might want to consider for a future enhancement of putting rack rails on the entire cubby in the corner and use server shelves for stuff that doesn't have mounting. That would allow a lot of possibilities for servers, radios etc. and you could use vented or solid panels to fill in the blanks.
- I do like that 4x2 desk stack, I might be copying that if my woodworker friend is up to it.
Very nice setup! What materials did you use too make the radio shelf below the gang charger?I finally got a chance to turn my dated finished basement into my mancave/office/comms center and I felt like sharing the project with everyone.
First task was to rip out the old bar and bar back and remove the dated paneling down to the studs:
View attachment 94778View attachment 94779
Then I was tasked with running electrical so that all the equipment could be powered without putting a strain on any other circuits. Turns out, the previous owners took an outlet out in the dining room and installed an in-wall A/C unit, but instead of moving the wire, they ran a new wire to a new outlet a couple of feet away. I was wondering why I had a breaker that seemingly didn't control anything, and I discovered why! So instead of running a whole new feed, I simply pulled that wire down from the wall above and completed the circuit as desired (and up to code, of course). I then began installing new, updated paneling and ceiling tiles, and also replaced old recessed can lights with new, dimmable LED lights:
View attachment 94782
Then came the task of ripping out the old floor tile and installing new. I opted for peel & stick tile, as it is easier to install for a DIY guy. The new desk was delivered right in time as I was finishing the walls and building the "data center" in the corner:
View attachment 94781
Once everything was built I began the process of moving the equipment from my old office upstairs down to my new office. Most of that work only took about a day, and finishing touches took another day or two. This is pretty much the finished product. The desktop radio rack still needs a coat of paint and the ceiling tile cut above the data center for the cabling, but it's probably 99% done at this point. I am very happy with the finished result. Total cost was around $1500 all in with materials (which also were purchased to update the rest of the room for a play area for my daughter). The outlets in my area are configured so that the wall switch turns on all the desktop equipment minus the chargers.
Features include:
Dual band WIFI router
GMRS repeater constructed from 2 Motorola CDM mobiles
Feed radio rack with 2 Motorola XTL mobiles, 3 Kenwood TK-8180 mobiles and 2 Uniden scanners
4 Feed servers
DJ audio amplifier/speaker system
Desktop radio rack with 2 Motorola XPR mobiles, Uniden Scanner, Motorola APX mobile, 2 Motorola XTL mobiles and 2 Kenwood NX mobiles
6 bay Motorola gang charger with adapter cups for APX and XPR portables
Programming laptop
Desktop PC
Everyday laptop
TV connected to rooftop antenna for OTA stations
DJ console to interface with DJ software
Oh, and I kept the Budweiser mini-fridge for drinks
View attachment 94791View attachment 94790View attachment 94792View attachment 94789
danesgs
Member
Wow....like Whoa and wowa....too cool!
Very well done - what a transformation! Great comms center. Thanks for sharing!
phillydjdan
Member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2011
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- 2,075
A piece of pine board and 3 2U rack mount brackets from Alberta Radio Supply. It wasn't that complicated to build, just a top and 2 sides and strategically placed rack mount rails
Nice work. That looks like a lot of fun in a good space. When the wife and I moved in, we had a wet bar. After a while I tore it out and it would later become a computer work station.
Also the coat hook idea is a good one for storing cables. I've take a different route over the years and have been using mini binder clips at the USB or COM side of the cable. (Not pinching the cable. They can float freely along the cable. I attach a little key ID ring with the radio model(s) written on the tag and they I hang the cable by the binder clip to one of a number of cup hooks on the wall. The solution expresses the radio nerd in me quite well.
Also the coat hook idea is a good one for storing cables. I've take a different route over the years and have been using mini binder clips at the USB or COM side of the cable. (Not pinching the cable. They can float freely along the cable. I attach a little key ID ring with the radio model(s) written on the tag and they I hang the cable by the binder clip to one of a number of cup hooks on the wall. The solution expresses the radio nerd in me quite well.
GregOH
Member
Very nice!!!
very very nice
oldradioguy2010
Member
Nothing like an aging DJ.
But I did not give up the beer.
Some things never change
DW
So. Val
But I did not give up the beer.
Some things never change
DW
So. Val
firetaz834
Member
Very nice setup, very impresive
ecollins11
Member
Very Nice setup.
Very cool project, and great finish. Makes for an awesome shack!
Is the stuff in the "IT Closet" on roll-out shelves? If not, how easy/hard do you find it to work on stuff?
Ditto on the above-desk outlet; I'll be doing a revamp of my shack this winter; I'm seriously tempted to install a couple of old-work boxes with outlets about 30" off the floor (above desktop height).
Used to use a cable rack for my programming cables; found that dust would get in the connectors so I started keeping each cable in it's own VHS tape box on the bookshelf. Can't claim ownership of that idea, either; I learned that trick from the guys at Hall Electronics (former GE shop) in Columbus.
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