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DistantSignal
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Shack Update:
On Monday the carpenter arrives. We found out that the wall behind my shack is about 6 inches to accommodate the dryer vent and pipes for the laundry room on the other side. What I presumed to be firestops are most likely just extra support for the cabinets on the other side.
His plan is to cut the drywall on the office side and put in a 3 or 4 inch PVC pipe inside the wall with a 90 below the desk level for the coax runs. He might use a pair of 2 inch pipes instead once he gets a better look inside. These pipes will go into the attic a few inches above the insulation level.
Then the coax will go in. I will have about 20 in total, about half of which I will use right away and the others will be left in place for future use. He will then seal the pipes with appropriate bug & fire-retardant stuff and restore the wall and paint.
Over the next week I will put in the antennas as time and heat allows (It is June in Arizona after all...) I am an early riser so I can plan on getting up there before the sun rises and put in 2 or 3 antennas a day. Since they are going in an attic I don't need extravagant mounting (think Zip-Ties on rafter beams...). I need to place them away from the AC blower and off the walkways but there is plenty of room.
Once this is done I can restore the radio cabinets. I totally stripped them and reimagined the layouts, inside and out. I cleaned up the wiring and set one up as all Uniden scanners and another for the 8500 and other radios.
Pics when it is all done!
On Monday the carpenter arrives. We found out that the wall behind my shack is about 6 inches to accommodate the dryer vent and pipes for the laundry room on the other side. What I presumed to be firestops are most likely just extra support for the cabinets on the other side.
His plan is to cut the drywall on the office side and put in a 3 or 4 inch PVC pipe inside the wall with a 90 below the desk level for the coax runs. He might use a pair of 2 inch pipes instead once he gets a better look inside. These pipes will go into the attic a few inches above the insulation level.
Then the coax will go in. I will have about 20 in total, about half of which I will use right away and the others will be left in place for future use. He will then seal the pipes with appropriate bug & fire-retardant stuff and restore the wall and paint.
Over the next week I will put in the antennas as time and heat allows (It is June in Arizona after all...) I am an early riser so I can plan on getting up there before the sun rises and put in 2 or 3 antennas a day. Since they are going in an attic I don't need extravagant mounting (think Zip-Ties on rafter beams...). I need to place them away from the AC blower and off the walkways but there is plenty of room.
Once this is done I can restore the radio cabinets. I totally stripped them and reimagined the layouts, inside and out. I cleaned up the wiring and set one up as all Uniden scanners and another for the 8500 and other radios.
Pics when it is all done!
Airplanes
Hey Rich I found a model you may not have in your collection.
Hey Rich I found a model you may not have in your collection.
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joeuser
The Wretched
Cool setup!
Well, I have 4 radios mostly dedicated to searching the Mil Air bands, one each for railroads, civil air and CloseCall, a couple for Low-band searching, one or two for monitoring trunked data signals, and a couple for local public safety and business stuff.
Having a radio dedicated to a specific task allows me to use the best for the job. For example, while I have 10 BCT15/X's, I have found that they vary in sensitivity on certain bands. Once I figure out which one worked best on those bands I assigned it to that task.
I do the same for antennas, although that is still evolving. I was able to get a couple up in the attic before the heat got bad, the rest are going to have to wait until this winter when it gets down to the 70's... The low was 94 last night, you can only imagine how hot it would be in the attic this time of year here, even at night.
I have been banned from buying any more airplane models. I have a few on display in the guest room, but most are stored and the boss wants me to sell them. She won't let me display them in the rest of the house...
Considering the stuff she does let me do and buy I am not complaining.
Next time I get out to Phoenix Rich I would love to come over and see the set-up. Was there this last weekend, but had baptism of my grandson and lots of family stuff going on (temp 115 on Saturday, as you well know). When get back out there, will contact you. Quite an amazing set-up that you have out there.
joeuser
The Wretched
Good to know I had the right idea! I assign my scanners to specific tasks just like that. I have a wayward 15x doing band scoping / close calling - as it seems to work fine even though you can't monitor anything above 29 MHz during regular scanning...
As for models... So far she has just looked at the last batch of Rawclliffe Star Trek models I got & asked why some of them looked like others, my FASA minatures... It was... tricky but I made it through it!
Wish my setup was as Pro looking as yours but functionality first, form later! Sexy Shack!
As for models... So far she has just looked at the last batch of Rawclliffe Star Trek models I got & asked why some of them looked like others, my FASA minatures... It was... tricky but I made it through it!
Wish my setup was as Pro looking as yours but functionality first, form later! Sexy Shack!
Over the years I have had many versions of my shack so I figured out the functionality factor. I then had plenty of time to research, find, purchase and assemble to form part...
scannersnstuff
Active Member
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- Mar 31, 2006
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- 1,920
Rich, on the amateur radio, third in from left on the portable stand, is that a maldol antenna ?. could you provide the model number. if so do
you like it ?. once again, your shack is amazing.
you like it ?. once again, your shack is amazing.
Yes, it is a Maldol MH-511, 6M/2M/440 antenna. It works pretty well on 2M and 440 but I haven't had much experience on 6M.
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scottyhetzel
Member
Rich, are those middle Atlantic racks with shelfs modified for din openings?..
Also would love to see a pic of the power supply your running to it.... A digital volt meter would be a nice touch to see your supply.
Also would love to see a pic of the power supply your running to it.... A digital volt meter would be a nice touch to see your supply.
The racks are from NorthComm (Radio Specific Power Supplies).They are cut out to fit standard JottoDesk faceplates. Each radio has the correct faceplate.
The power supplies are Astron SRM25's, each cabinet has one in the rack. The left cabinet the PS is behind the Kenwood TMD-700 and the right cabinet the PS is behind the HP-1.
I have been thinking about a volt meter and current meter set and if I find one I like I might invest in a couple sets.
The power supplies are Astron SRM25's, each cabinet has one in the rack. The left cabinet the PS is behind the Kenwood TMD-700 and the right cabinet the PS is behind the HP-1.
I have been thinking about a volt meter and current meter set and if I find one I like I might invest in a couple sets.
scannersnstuff
Active Member
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- Mar 31, 2006
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thank's rich. enjoy the shack.
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