shack

My "Shack"
Ring out the old; ring in the new.

Taking The Plunge*	HF/160 through 10 meter (TS-440SAT)*	Antennas*	"Porky" the computer*
Scanner (Bearcat 250)	Short-wave (Icom PCR-100)**	2 Meter kenwood TS-711a	11 Meter CB Radio (Console 5)*
Assorted Gear	Radio Shack HTX-200	Going Mobile	FRS and other toys

The photo above shows my nice new shack, in my nice new apartment. There are a couple of additions to my gear, and I feel overwhelmed by the amount of space and comfort that I now operate in. The main piece of new gear is my Kenwood TS-711a 2 meter transceiver. This is hooked into a new, more powerful version of Porky the computer, along with my PCR-100 receiver, and my Kenwood Ts-440 HF transceiver. Porky is a pretty old and slow computer, by today's standards, but has more than enough power control three different radios, the Kenwoods, and the Icom. The TS-440 uses my Cliff Dweller antenna, while the TS-711a uses a small dipole. The Icom still uses the old 30 foot random length wire. Also new is my little Radio Shack HTX-200, a micro sized 2 meter HT. The rather plain looking analog clock up on the wall, is a radio controlled unit that sets itself according to a signal transmitted by the US Bureau of Standards atomic clocks. It is accurate to

some obscenely small fraction of a second.
    Porky is one of five computers I keep in this area. This is because my ham shack takes up about a fourth of the large bedroom which I have transformed into a library. It is the kind of room I have wanted since I was child. Book cases line three of the walls, while my ham gear occupies the fourth. A roll top desk sits off in the the corner, along with a drafting table. The center of the room is taken up with a leather recliner, a study table, and a small sofa. The room's lockable, windowless closet, is where I keep my gun safe. Porky's companions are Timuk2, which is my most powerful machine, my general purpose computer, and the one I use to browse the web, Junior (Unix), and Linus (Linux) which are set up on my library table, and Chief, which is my Windows 2000 Server. These computers are connected to each other, and to the computers in the other rooms, by a 24 port programmable hub.
    Placing the antennas was a bit tricky, but fortunately, I have a balcony. A grill, a table, and a set of chairs fill the balcony, along with an awning, and a selection of plants. Hidden among these trappings are my CB antenna, my 2 meter antenna, and part of the random length wire that I use for the Icom. I do hope to get a set of EH antennas built soon, which should give startling performance, and take up less room.
    After months of being restricted to the higher frequencies, I am still not legally permitted to use my main radio, but have found it to be an excellent short-wave receiver. The HF radio operates off of a single 42 amp power supply, which is more that sufficient, while the 2 meter, and the Shortwave can be plugged directly into the wall. The Kenwood never draws more than 17-20 amps, even when transmitting. The little Azden probably draws less than 10, when I hook it up in the house. Neither requires more than an amp or so, when receiving. My other radios require no special power supply, and are simply plugged into a strip.

The whole outfit was previously set up in the corner of the dining room of my old place, right next to a window, overlooking a very busy street. There were a pair of desks, along with a hutch, and some shelves to contain everything. This is the area I had used as my computer and Internet workstation, and it continued to perform this function. My main computer of the time, bigguy, was in this area, as well as Porky, my ham controller, and computer. The picture below, shows my old station, as it was before my move, and my acquisition of the Kenwood 711. Porky is out of sight, though his monitor may be seen off to the right of the photo. Bigguy can barely be seen, to the lower left. Also hidden, are the PCR-100, and the power supply that runs everything. My little 2 meter rig sat atop my CB base. It is interesting to note that the 2 meter FM unit, which puts out 50 watts, and covers a 4 mhz wide band in 5 khz steps (800 channels), is dwarfed by a CB radio which puts out 4 watts, and covers 40 channels over a band scarcely 1 mhz in width.
This area contained much of my computer gear. There is a scanner and printer, just out of the range of the photo, and my server is off the the far right (also outside the photo). The laptop sits on the corner of the desk, though it is rarely used, except for when I work out of my home. I really do not care much for laptops, and would not have one, if my job did not require it. All in all, it was a very comfortable area to work and play in, though I was quite happy to get a place where I could assign it a bit more space.