My setup and some explanations of what I did and why.
Starting at the top of the pile, the speakers and mixer that I feed everything into. I *highly* recommend finding a multi-channel mixer and a set of computer speakers or a small amp and speakers to feed with it. It allows a ton of flexibility and sounds SO much better than internal speakers. The main gotcha is the cost of all the cables and connectors...they really start to add up.
The whole desk is made with 3/4" plywood so that it is plenty strong enough for all the load on it. I forgot to put casters on the desk, that would be one thing I'd do differently to do it all again. This sucker is not easy to move.
The dimensions of the desk are 60" W x 48" deep and is roughly kitchen counter height. The depth of the desk is the main attribute to point out. If you have the room for the depth, just plain do it. The depth gives you the ability to allow clearance behind your shelving for all your cable runs and allows you to move the shelving easily fore and aft to do work on the desk. Of course it also allows plenty of room to use the desk as a work table etc. This is my desk/radio desk/project bench/soldering station.
The shelving unit is free standing and has 8 nylon furniture glides on the bottom of it so it can be much more easily slid around while overhauling the wiring job.
There is roughly a full foot of free space behind the shelving before the desk meets the wall. Again to allow reaching back there for running cables. If you are the type who can't take looking at cables hanging, simply put a thin sheet of wood that can be removed across the back of the shelving unit to hide the cables from sight. I move things around so often it just doesn't bother me.
In the top of the desktop behind the shelving I cut multiple 2" holesaw holes to allow routing power cabling from the back left side from the DC and battery supplies under and to the far left rear of the desk.
Along the middle at the far back of the desk I cut a slot with 2" holesaw at either end and about 28" long or so. This is where all my RF lines go, my ground and all the coax and feeders. Makes moving cables or fishing new ones very easy.
The rear of the desk is fully open and in my case my passthrough panel for all my cables from inside to outside is through the wall under the desk.
On the left side is a standard Home Depot three drawer kitchen cabinet for general storage. I'm a big guy so the height of the desk works well for me...this may be too high for many and you'll need a chair that adjusts high enough to fit you.
Out of sight, the full width of the desk about a foot off the ground there is a very heavily reinforced shelf that runs the full width of the desk. I ran three strips of hardwood on edge along the bottom of this shelf, I can pretty much stand on it. This is the home for my 50A DC supply and the battery backup system I have. It also serves as general storage area as well. Due to the depth of the desk, it is well out of the way of my legs and feet.
Because of the height of the desk, the undermount keyboard arm is really perfect. I don't have to keep the top of the desk clear to use the mouse and keyboard if I have a project going. It slides in and out of the way when not in use too and is well higher than my knees thanks to the overall height of the desk.
In the center of the desk visible at the foot of my monitor is a white button. This is a pinball/video game momentary switch that I just drilled into the desktop. This is one of my station PTT switches for the various radios I have. I also have a foot switch in parallel with it. This gives me the option of the button with a hand free or a foot if I'm typing or working on something while I'm talking.
The foot switch is also wired into a Dow-key relay which happens to mute all my shack audio out of the mixer so when I TX using the foot switch it will mute all the background noise, my computer/music/scanners/HF/repeaters etc. that I generally have going at the same time.
The shelving unit itself is no magic, but I did go look up the largest radio or amp that I'd likely own and pre-dimensioned the cutouts to fit that gear. The very bottom left cubby where the TS-2000 is sitting as an example would fit with room for ventilation, the full sized FT-2000 yaesu rig or a TS-940.
The lower right cubby where the AL-80B amp sits doesn't show well in the pic, but I used a 3" holesaw and punched clear ventilation ports for the air intake and exhaust on the sides of the amp chassis.
One of my happier accidents is the top center shelf where the audio processor strip is. That shelf is removable where the others are fixed in place. As you can see it is very handy to undermount radios. Much easier to pull the shelf and mount the brackets that way. Undermounting mobiles saves a lot of space for other gear and makes them easy to see and use.
The boom mic was a hamfest special on the boom which was missing its base. To fix that and to better position the mic for the most flexibility, I used a simple piece of galvanized pipe threaded nipple about 14" long or so with a threaded flange to mount it to the desk. Raising up the pivot point of this mic allows it to easily clear things like the top of an opened laptop, bench power supply, soldering station etc..which frequently wind up underneath that mic on the left side.
Missing from the pic is a clamp on swing-arm cheap Ikea lamp that I clamp to the very top shelf on the left side. The room lighting is o.k. but doing any detail work, it's very handy to have a nice bright light for the work.
The only other note is that all of my power, the power strips, UPS unit, DC supply and all power routing for cables are along the far left side of the desk. Keeping audio, power and RF all routed as separately as you can manage is very helpful in cutting down noise and RFI issues in general. Many induced noise and RFI issues can be fixed very well with just a foot or so of distance between components.
My desk is ugly. Finishing it is not anything I care about but is easily done with plywood if one so chooses. The surface as you can see is a mess. This is from soldering things, solvents etc etc. Almost any finish I put on it will get chewed up anyway so it's just as easy to leave it bare wood. I may give it a sanding and put something like butcher's wax on it eventually just to seal it a bit more from the nastier stains.
I hope some of these ideas help for someone trying to figure out their own desk.
Starting at the top of the pile, the speakers and mixer that I feed everything into. I *highly* recommend finding a multi-channel mixer and a set of computer speakers or a small amp and speakers to feed with it. It allows a ton of flexibility and sounds SO much better than internal speakers. The main gotcha is the cost of all the cables and connectors...they really start to add up.
The whole desk is made with 3/4" plywood so that it is plenty strong enough for all the load on it. I forgot to put casters on the desk, that would be one thing I'd do differently to do it all again. This sucker is not easy to move.
The dimensions of the desk are 60" W x 48" deep and is roughly kitchen counter height. The depth of the desk is the main attribute to point out. If you have the room for the depth, just plain do it. The depth gives you the ability to allow clearance behind your shelving for all your cable runs and allows you to move the shelving easily fore and aft to do work on the desk. Of course it also allows plenty of room to use the desk as a work table etc. This is my desk/radio desk/project bench/soldering station.
The shelving unit is free standing and has 8 nylon furniture glides on the bottom of it so it can be much more easily slid around while overhauling the wiring job.
There is roughly a full foot of free space behind the shelving before the desk meets the wall. Again to allow reaching back there for running cables. If you are the type who can't take looking at cables hanging, simply put a thin sheet of wood that can be removed across the back of the shelving unit to hide the cables from sight. I move things around so often it just doesn't bother me.
In the top of the desktop behind the shelving I cut multiple 2" holesaw holes to allow routing power cabling from the back left side from the DC and battery supplies under and to the far left rear of the desk.
Along the middle at the far back of the desk I cut a slot with 2" holesaw at either end and about 28" long or so. This is where all my RF lines go, my ground and all the coax and feeders. Makes moving cables or fishing new ones very easy.
The rear of the desk is fully open and in my case my passthrough panel for all my cables from inside to outside is through the wall under the desk.
On the left side is a standard Home Depot three drawer kitchen cabinet for general storage. I'm a big guy so the height of the desk works well for me...this may be too high for many and you'll need a chair that adjusts high enough to fit you.
Out of sight, the full width of the desk about a foot off the ground there is a very heavily reinforced shelf that runs the full width of the desk. I ran three strips of hardwood on edge along the bottom of this shelf, I can pretty much stand on it. This is the home for my 50A DC supply and the battery backup system I have. It also serves as general storage area as well. Due to the depth of the desk, it is well out of the way of my legs and feet.
Because of the height of the desk, the undermount keyboard arm is really perfect. I don't have to keep the top of the desk clear to use the mouse and keyboard if I have a project going. It slides in and out of the way when not in use too and is well higher than my knees thanks to the overall height of the desk.
In the center of the desk visible at the foot of my monitor is a white button. This is a pinball/video game momentary switch that I just drilled into the desktop. This is one of my station PTT switches for the various radios I have. I also have a foot switch in parallel with it. This gives me the option of the button with a hand free or a foot if I'm typing or working on something while I'm talking.
The foot switch is also wired into a Dow-key relay which happens to mute all my shack audio out of the mixer so when I TX using the foot switch it will mute all the background noise, my computer/music/scanners/HF/repeaters etc. that I generally have going at the same time.
The shelving unit itself is no magic, but I did go look up the largest radio or amp that I'd likely own and pre-dimensioned the cutouts to fit that gear. The very bottom left cubby where the TS-2000 is sitting as an example would fit with room for ventilation, the full sized FT-2000 yaesu rig or a TS-940.
The lower right cubby where the AL-80B amp sits doesn't show well in the pic, but I used a 3" holesaw and punched clear ventilation ports for the air intake and exhaust on the sides of the amp chassis.
One of my happier accidents is the top center shelf where the audio processor strip is. That shelf is removable where the others are fixed in place. As you can see it is very handy to undermount radios. Much easier to pull the shelf and mount the brackets that way. Undermounting mobiles saves a lot of space for other gear and makes them easy to see and use.
The boom mic was a hamfest special on the boom which was missing its base. To fix that and to better position the mic for the most flexibility, I used a simple piece of galvanized pipe threaded nipple about 14" long or so with a threaded flange to mount it to the desk. Raising up the pivot point of this mic allows it to easily clear things like the top of an opened laptop, bench power supply, soldering station etc..which frequently wind up underneath that mic on the left side.
Missing from the pic is a clamp on swing-arm cheap Ikea lamp that I clamp to the very top shelf on the left side. The room lighting is o.k. but doing any detail work, it's very handy to have a nice bright light for the work.
The only other note is that all of my power, the power strips, UPS unit, DC supply and all power routing for cables are along the far left side of the desk. Keeping audio, power and RF all routed as separately as you can manage is very helpful in cutting down noise and RFI issues in general. Many induced noise and RFI issues can be fixed very well with just a foot or so of distance between components.
My desk is ugly. Finishing it is not anything I care about but is easily done with plywood if one so chooses. The surface as you can see is a mess. This is from soldering things, solvents etc etc. Almost any finish I put on it will get chewed up anyway so it's just as easy to leave it bare wood. I may give it a sanding and put something like butcher's wax on it eventually just to seal it a bit more from the nastier stains.
I hope some of these ideas help for someone trying to figure out their own desk.
