New Operating Station Design for K9ZW

I’m busy working on a new operating station design for my operating console.

The layout is far from ideal, and evolved rather than was planned.

Though it is working OK, the “piled-up” style makes even minor maintenance troublesome. A recent RFI in the shack took way too long to track down, mostly due to evolved rather than planned cable layout.

I’m also planning to finally get my 6m amp in the shack, ready to go.

Physically the operating desk has a lot of limitations, ones I will need to live with for another couple years at least.

For those that haven’t followed my operating desk is as far away from my antennas in the house as could be possible, and in a cool but immaculately finished room that had been intended to be a wine cellar of sorts. Other sporting supplies, stored items and our meagerly few dozen bottles of plonk take up a fair bit of space.

Presently the station is on an electrical worker’s factory desk, which I will continue to adapt to suit the station needs.

I’ve sketched an “under table shelf” that will become home for quite a bit of gear that does not need to be in line-of-sight once started.

As my main radio is the Flex-Radio Flex-5000A SDR Software Defined Radio, computer integration is critical. Presently I have two 20 inch widescreen LCD screens in a side-by-side configuration. I’ve like to add a third wall-mounted screen to host the rotor control program, the SWR/Power meter control program, perhaps a DX Cluster display and eventually Amp & Antenna Switch control programs.

Hopefully by the end of September I’ll have some sketches or photos to put up.

73

Steve
K9ZW