Where Things Get Built at ACØC

Shack Work Bench

The workbench is stocked with 30+ year old HP gear for the most part.  It's reliable and works just as it's supposed too.  No significant operational bugs and no manufacturing shortcuts taken. They do  need a bit of maintenance from time to time but it's a joy to use professional gear on the bench, even if it's ancient.  

I have picked up an entry level modern scope and spectrum analyzer with the thought that vintage HP or Tek units are  very complicated and service, when needed, would easily be beyond my ability to repair (or calibrate).  I had the case off the Tek 2232 scope - and it was packed with tons of circuitry!    

Antenna Building Work Bench

Re-tasked in the latest version, this desk started out as a cocktail table in it's earlier life.  It was used as a work bench at a prior QTH and moved to the garage when we moved to the country.  It's taken 2 years to get the bench uncovered and the garage organized, but at long last, the bench has taken on it's new roll as the center of antenna construction with good success.

Four shelves contain 24 plastic boxes hold tools of various types.  A bench mounted vice holds the element with various tools at the ready.  A multiple outlet strip runs along the front of the bench, and the wood trim over the top keeps metal bits from falling into the outlet connectors - including bits of solder.  

All sides of the bench serve as mounts for tools.  

Lighting is provided by an overhead fluorescent and this dining room reject lamp now integrated into the new improved workbench.

In order to keep tools from getting "lost" on the workbench in the middle of a project, there's a magnetic strip mounted on one of the shelf fronts (shown below) which provide a handy place to stick the tools you are using at the moment.  The trick is to remember to put the tool there, instead of dropping it on the bench top!

Shown below right is an element being reworked for a 15m beam build.  

To the left of the work bench are additional shelves with an array of hardware helping to cut down on the frustration hunt for just the right screw or clamp.  

Now if I can just keep it organized like this going forward!!!