Setup: January 2023

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TJX400

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It's a new year, so I figure it's an appropriate time to post my most recent setup configuration. This will be a bit of a lengthy post, I'm going to add captions to each photo I attach to help explain what's setup, and why I've configured it in that way. You can click each photo to view it in the full resolution in a new tab.

Main setup photo
Photo without labels, and 24/7 programs shown on the radio PC.

Alright, this photo is a front view, and I've edited it and labeled the major parts of the setup. We'll go from top to bottom here.
The top two monitors are twin Acer monitors, 1080p. The top-left monitor is connected to the Dell OptiPlex "radio computer" which is housed on top of the left Alex drawer. This PC runs ProScan, SDRTrunk, a Broadcastify player, and FlightRadar24 24/7/365.
The top-right monitor is connected to the gaming PC as a secondary monitor, I usually have Spotify, YouTube, TV, etc. on this monitor while I do other tasks or while I'm gaming.
The bottom monitor is a QHD Samsung CRG9, a beast of a monitor. It's awesome to play games on, and helps with productivity - since there's so much more screen space to work with. There's only one downside, which is that it's super heavy. Other than that, it's an awesome monitor.
To the left of the CRG9 is my phone, which is being held by a phone mount that double's as a wireless charger via magsafe.

Below the monitors are 2 mobile scanners, and one commercial radio. A BCD996P2, SDS200, and a Harris XG100M. The 996 scans Henrico County Fire/EMS, which is fed into ProScan on the radio PC, which is then sent to Broadcastify.

The SDS200 is connected to a second ProScan window via ethernet. Both of those scanners' audio is sent out of the radio PC via different VoiceMeeter VBAN streams to my gaming PC. This way, I can control each radio's volume from my gaming PC when I'm listening to them.

The XG100M is sending it's audio straight into my gaming PC with an audio connector I fabricated. I did this so I'd be able to send it's audio into my headphones/speakers instead of having to keep an ear out for it with the stock speaker only. It sounds equally as good as the 996 and SDS with a bit of active noise removal.

Lastly, on the far left are 2 Motorola APX radios. The impact green radio is an APX6000XE in 7/800MHz. The black one is an APX8000XE with V/U/7/8. They both sit on Impres chargers that are powered by a desk-clamped outlet/USB hub.

TJJ_0234.png

This is the view under my desk. I take cable management pretty seriously as you can see. There are only a few things mounted on the underside. The most notable piece of tech under here is my gaming PC. Leaving it on top of the desk made the entire setup appear unbalanced, so I have put it in a bracket which is mounted with 4 screws under the desk. This helps tremendously with hiding cables, and makes the topside of the setup look significantly more balanced.
Next, the Scarlett Solo. This audio interface drove my previous microphone (Rode Procaster), but since my Shure MV7's audio is able to be run through USB, I didn't really need it for the microphone side of things. I am using it to drive my Sony WH1000XM4s, which are not pictured here, but are usually connected via a 1/4" audio connector and a coiled cable.
At the very edge are 2 knobs. The left-hand knob controls my A1 (headphone) output's volume level in Voicemeeter. It makes it much easier to adjust the volume as opposed to having to open the Voicemeeter application every time. The knob on the right-hand side is wired directly to my Logitech Z333 speaker set, and controls their volume.
I also keep a headphone hook mounted next to the Scarlett Solo to keep my headphones off of my desk when they're not in use.

TJJ_0224.png
TJJ_0225.png

Lastly, the Elgato StreamDeck. This may be my favorite non-radio part of my setup. For those not familiar, this device is essentially a keyboard with little LCD screens inside of the buttons. You can assign them to do a ton of different tasks. It's mainly marketed towards streamers to use for video overlays and transitions.

The right side's top row shows the buttons I have assigned for radio audio control. I installed a VoiceMeeter plugin to the StreamDeck, which allows you to control certain variables within the VoiceMeeter software from the Stream Deck. The top row is dedicated to mute/unmute buttons for all of the radio feeds I'm monitoring with my headphones/speakers. The icon will change to black/white when muted. The middle row's outer buttons control steps of the master radio volume, and the middle-most button is a "mute override" which, when pressed, will mute/unmute all radio feeds in my headphones/speakers.
The bottom row has media controls and buttons to turn my headphones/speakers on and off when pressed.

The desk top is an 8 foot butcherblock countertop from Home Depot, supported by 2 Ikea Alex drawers with furniture feet on the tops of the drawers. The purpose of the furniture feet is to raise the desk up a few more inches. I'm taller than 6', so my chair is at the max height, and I need some additional leg room!

It's taken an insane amount of work, time, and money to get this setup as I had imagined when I first came up with the idea for it. However, I am more than proud of the end product.

Please leave comments/questions/ideas that you have, I'm always looking for ways to improve my workflows and the setup in general!
 
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N9JIG

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Nice and balanced for sure!

Have you considered replacing one of the Alex drawers with an open frame to hold the PC within it?

One nice thing about the standoffs between the desk and drawer sets is it provides a stash-space for desk stuff to keep the from cluttering the desktop.

When I bought speakers for the computer and for my mixer I made sure to get them with headphone jacks and volume controls, this makes it way easier to connect them and adjust the volume. I suppose you could assign a couple buttons on the StreamDeck for volume as well.
 

ncarpenter

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I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that you maybe sim LSPDFR dispatching? If so, that second screen on the streamdeck - that's an amazing idea. 😅
 

ka1njl

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Wow! That is neat, functional and just plain gorgeous. It must be fun just to be in that environment while you are enjoying your hobby. Since I am always looking to improve my own space I can see myself stealing adapting many of your ideas in my own shack. :)
 

TJX400

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Nice and balanced for sure!

Have you considered replacing one of the Alex drawers with an open frame to hold the PC within it?
I had not, however that's a pretty good idea. I'll have to look around and see if I can find any that share similar dimensions to the Alex drawers.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that you maybe sim LSPDFR dispatching? If so, that second screen on the streamdeck - that's an amazing idea. 😅
Not specifially; but I had the idea and figured it was worth testing out a "tone console". However, myself and other friends in the public safety field are talking about getting into that kind of thing so it may end up being used for that purpose!

Love this and I have been dragging my ass to grab an old Optiflex for my Broadcastify streams.
I think I paid a total of $80 for mine with taxes and shipping included. It's slow as all getout but gets the job done and hosts 7 feeds 24/7/365. I really can't complain, it's worked fantastically for what I need it to do.

Wow! That is neat, functional and just plain gorgeous. It must be fun just to be in that environment while you are enjoying your hobby. Since I am always looking to improve my own space I can see myself stealing adapting many of your ideas in my own shack. :)
Thanks for the kind words! If you have spare time, some of my inspiration for the setup came from a YouTube series named "Setup Wars". Really assisted me in finding ideas for how to set all of my stuff up.
 

CanesFan95

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Not only a real nice setup, but those captions are totally cooltacular ! :cool:
 

tunnelmot

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Nice. I have been looking at the Elgatos for the exact same purpose. Any tips? Interfacing tricks?

edit: what are you using for graphics?
 
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cmjonesinc

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I had never heard of the Stream Deck until now but it looks super useful for my pc setup as well. I've got one on the way now. That's a super clean setup @TJX400 thanks for sharing and adding all the details.
 

TJX400

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Nice. I have been looking at the Elgatos for the exact same purpose. Any tips? Interfacing tricks?

edit: what are you using for graphics?
Everything is relatively straightforward with the VoiceMeeter plugin. The only way I was able to make a button mute all of the radio busses, was to send each bus output to A5, then set up a VBAN stream back from the gaming PC to the gaming PC with A5 going into virtual input #3. This way I can set a hotkey to mute virtual input #3 and it mutes all of the radios, while keeping control over each individual bus with their own mute buttons.

Also, to answer your second question - I use Photoshop to edit/add graphics to all of my photos after color correcting them and adjusting lighting in Lightroom Classic.
 
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