7 Things When Building Your Ham Radio Shack

I have installed two major ham shack builds over the years. One was a DISASTER! This is what I learned when designing my new ham radio shack.
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[@stargazer7644]

Thank you for translating "trunking" as conduit. I was really scratching my head.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

No worries!

[@g0fvt]

I have done many "pro" installations in my working life, I would route network cables in separate cable trays from coaxes. It was weirdly rewarding to take pride in doing a neat job and of course a better presentation for customers. (Mostly emergency services). Of course these installations do not change for many years at a time. The same inflexibility as you say is basically a PITA in an experimenters environment. Redoing my shack recently, the desk is supported at the wall, so no gap behind, so have used a hole saw to make a few large cable access points through it. FWIW apart from QRO amplifiers most ham gear is low current so I use mostly IEC sockets across the back of the desk, a damn sight smaller than chunky 13a stuff. You are absolutely right to keep it flexible. Another stupid mistake I have fallen into is to have too many radios on the desk at once, too easy to turn the shack into an unusable museum. Better to keep the other rigs elsewhere and put them on the desk only when you want to use them.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Oh yes, tthe unusable museum scenario! Hmmm. Good point.

[@DonzLockz]

haha, you crack me up Callum because I can relate to those same issues. Since I relocated my home office I did a temp setup and that was 5yrs ago. lol. I need to pull everything are relocated equipment to the garage and start fresh to accommodate a new shack. Great tip and thanks for sharing.👍🤓

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Yes OK, good luck!

[@mikes6844]

Great tips Callum, my main mistake is I installed underground pipe to route coax's in my extension, pipe not big enough! Indoor trunking replace with cable tray. Sounds posh but its 'L' shaped MDF, allows me to trace/replace cables. I'm yet to install a water proof outside wall box/patch panel for coax feed to antennas. They all come direct which is limiting. 73 de M0AZE Mike

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Oh hell, sorry about the underground pipe. Mine is 4-inches. Seems about right. Currently 11 cables (most not used!)

[@jessmith8837]

I watch your videos with my ham of a husband and we were wondering if you ride a motorcycle. We have a theory that hams ride bikes. As he does, and a bunch in his ham group do too. Also we love your set up, and the guitars are beautiful.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

HAHA! Yes, I was a biker. I hung up my hat though.. GT750, Z900, GPZ900 and a FatBoy

[@andreVE4BK]

Great insight Cal! I’ll try to make contact from the Amberley Museum’s Ham Radio station (GB2CPM) tomorrow morning !

[@johnharrison5703]

Must be great to have a shack like that. I have to take the rig out the box, run coax and pack away when finished. Biggest problem is motivation to set up for a quick hour on the air knowing you have to pack away again after.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Oh my! Sorry about that John.. Have you not got a cupboard you can open and leave it there..?

[@edk4590]

Like the hair cut Cal, looking sharp just like the grass cutting at the farm. Excellent tips on on setting up the shack mate. As well as keeping the Putrer clean. 👍

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Yes, extreme sharp at the moment! Lighting a bit harsh. Already changed that!

[@GarethHowell]

For cable management I use the clips used for external rain gutters. They have a semi-circular profile and I screw some of those to the wall at about 60cm intervals. Then just drape cable over them.

[@MW6PNW]

We’re having the whole of our downstairs re-done and the builders are in making the changes we required and modernising everything. New water pipes, electrics windows/doors the lot. From doing a lot of research from other hams I’ve had installed my own consumer unit with no more than a double socket running from each trip at the con. unit. I’ve rebuilt my desk/workstation and I had already thought o out having to move it to get behind so it’s on lockable wheel’s. My coax runs used to come through the wall about 2ft up but one of the builders said why not put it above head height , that way all cables/coax’s coming in from outside are not trip or catch hazards so that’s what I’m planning to do. Across the side walkway to the house I’m planning on putting an old banister (vertical) to put the coax’s and earth cables across at around 10ft high. Not planning on using trunking but I’ve made a “J” shaped shelf to run cables along the inside wall behind the desk so everything is easy to access. Can’t wait for the builders to put the new roof on and skim my walls so I can get back in there and get re-setup. Good advice as always from you sir and I hope my contribution will help others as well. Good luck with next door. de MW6PNW

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Nice one Paul. You are ahead of the game!

[@James_Bowie]

Are you able to install an internal door between Units F2 and F3?

[@DXCommanderHQ]

We could BUT doors take up valuable internal real-estate :)

[@RusselTait]

Top tip, make the front edge of the work top 10 - 20mm lower than the back edge. That way if you accidentally spill any liquids, they will run off the front and not backwards under your equipment.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Nice idea! Alternatively, keep your drinks WELL away from your arm! :)

[@geoffmcwiggan2814]

That’s why rack gear is so good. As long as the cabinet has very good caster wheels , it’s a breeze. Can pull it away from the the wall , do whatever you have to and push it back again. Brilliant 👍🇦🇺🥃

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Great point!

[@N1IA-4]

Great tips! I did a rebuild a couple of years ago and after much thought, went with a business-sized conference room table. Plenty of depth for the radios and getting behind stuff. Space underneath too. It's worked out quite well, and the table was pretty cheap but heavy. You can never have enough depth! And anyone reading this....don't even THINK about using a computer desk if you're heavy into this hobby. It'll frustrate you to death.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Good point!

[@kareytodd8054]

Here is a tip that might be helpful when building your next ham shack. Setup a location grid like your shack will have 4 walls, so label them north, south, east & west, then from the floor to the ceiling designate letters of the alphabet. Then when you run cables you label both ends of the cable using label cable ties. Put the source and destination on both ends of the cable. You can even get color label cable ties and designate one color for antenna cables, another color for power cables...etc. I worked for IBM for 23 years and we used a similar system to label cables in the data center. When a piece of equipment fails or needs to be relocated it helps if all the cables are labeled. You don't want to pull the power plug on the wrong equipment and cause a outage at a inopportune moment. Keeping your cables tighty and labeled also helps with air circulation.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Well, hopefull I don't need a new shack anytime and tbh, for the 10/11 or so cables I have (and most would have) it shouldn't take too long to work out which one is which :)

[@WhatsUpWithSix]

Do you have a link for those sound absorption panels? I have tried several with poor luck so I am looking for ones that actually work. :) Thanks!

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Yes.. I say it in the first 30 seconds on this video.. And you can hear the difference between then and now when I record down at the factory.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/roHRXqN3itucrJIsi=hstALPx6T9H2NGHS

[@MINI-4X4-RADIO]

What would you recommend for station grounding when you have to install shack upstairs..??

[@DXCommanderHQ]

To be frank, if you ground your coax outside that should be fine. BUT I can only tell you what I do.. 1st floor, 2nd floor or 10th floor :) Also depends on antenna I suppose but for 99% of us, it probably doesn't matter.

[@MINI-4X4-RADIO]

@@DXCommanderHQ Cheers... I guess I will suck it and see :)

[@Thomas-ZET]

Glad I spent time in Abington so I can understand what the hell trunking, bonnet and torch’s are, good ideas and working on a new radio cave, will be putting a 4” PVC pipe out to my antenna farm, great videos

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Right on! That's what we did.

[@erving-n1ecc230]

Great Info, Hopefully will be doing upgrades to my shack later this year. Will keep this video under my favorites for future when I start my project.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Awesome. Good luck!

[@lambrettadave7]

I seam to remember you doing a video of a installation in your car, is there any chance you can put the video back on. Thanks

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Ah interesting.. That was about a 6-prt series.. I can pop them up.. Give me a week..

[@lambrettadave7]

@@DXCommanderHQ I am right in saying that you installed it into a Merc e class. PS what was the antenna mount that you used. Thanks

[@edcozart9916]

How did miss this 1 Callum always good stuff and ever point was a good one cheers W9US

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Fabulous!

[@russellwatkinson]

Entertaining as always :-)

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Thanks again!

[@K5YVY]

Great tips Callum✅

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Thanks 👍

[@dannyhebenton9326]

Now that is a cave Cal. Outstanding work 👏 👌 👍

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Thanks 👍

[@mm3nrx]

I keep RF, DC and AC apart when I loom the wires...saves hassle and it was the way I was taught.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

ANd why not, for sure!

[@konayasai]

I don't fancy leaving a huge gap behind my bench for things to fall off, so what I did was saw a dent in it for getting plugs through.

[@stevegriffin9552]

Good morning Calum some great tips. The way I have my desk is I can pull it out easily and work on my equipment. My desk is nearly 30 years old but it still works for me. It's always great to get new tips though. Like the coax and the connectors. Thanks for the video always good to hear from you and have a great weekend. WD5ENH Steve

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Fantastic - nice to hear from you again Steve!

[@ellenfromnowon]

I can't play radio at home but learned the hard way early in the pandemic not to have tables attached to walls with no gaps. Cables were a disaster until I ripped it all out, now the tables are on wheels and it's happy days

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Wheels! Yeah.

[@martinpe9tig]

Cal my experience cables are always to short on one side.... can't get it to work somehow

[@ianxfs]

All good tips 👍🏻…and with those extension leads you can fit the large clamp-on type 31 ferrites for good measure and cover multiple feeds in on go 😀

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Right on Ian!

[@BrokenSignal]

Another awesome video! I find I'm constantly changing things around, no way I could ever use conduit.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

You and me both!

[@gaptastic]

Thanks for the video. We'll see if I can wake up that early, but will try. Kisses

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Good night

[@debbiecurtis4021]

Are you in the UK? I'm in Birmingham. Looking to meet up with other Hams. I'm studying alone for Foundation. I don't have equipment yet.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Oh heck Debbie!! You need to email me and I can guide you and find you people that will assist! Email qrz at m0mcx dot co dot uk. PS - I am about to start a video series on Foundation. First one should be out this week...

[@GH0ST369]

A computer network tech taught me to colour code and label all your cabels on both ends once and forget about it.

[@apartmentamaturen2dbi176]

Hey Cal God Bless You and best of Luck with the added storage space. Hope all is well? Mike N2dbi NY (your a.d.h.d. Friend.. lol

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Yeah thanks!

[@Professzore]

Oh, yeah... Messi & Peloni. Good to mention. Do you have any further (let me say, long-term) experience with their products? I've read both terrible and fantastic reviews about them. 7 mil would be awesome, as minimal invasion on the wall/structure is a top priority. 100 W, all HF, including 160 m, external (feed-point) tuning. Any ideas/suggestions? Thanks in advance! 73 de HA5CST

[@Professzore]

Forgot the length: 25-30, or a maximum of 40 m... Cheers!

[@DXCommanderHQ]

The 7mm is quite similar in construction to the SSB El;ectronics Aircell 7 however the jacket seems slightly better (for me). I have run a 36m section of it for holiday use. It was fine. And the connectors are actually very nice.

[@Professzore]

@@DXCommanderHQ Thank you very much, Cal! We have some sort of selection here. A lot of RG58 from different suppliers, some RG213, and a few others, all (way) over 10 mm in diameter. I"ll make a try. Cheers!

[@johnpawlicki1184]

It's ugly but I have "installed" my desktop computer tower backward. All of the cool connectors are then on the "front". Good video. Thanks.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Brilliant idea!!

[@echo-hotel]

What is trunking?

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Elephants have them

[@debbiecurtis4021]

Flexible plastic sheathing for electrical cables, such as you might see in a Portacabin when it's not possible to put wires within the walls.

[@glennstevenson6242]

I just chuck it all in the corner and turn it on.

[@Lee_Adamson_OCF]

I put eye bolts in the ceiling and run cables across the ceiling and down the walls (or down whereever), and fasten it up with velcro straps. Ugly as sin, but damned convenient.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

I mean, if you don't mind the look (and actually that could actually be quite cool, then WAY TO GO!

[@TonyBlews]

on access to hardware... I was called out to my boss's other business to find out why the PC that ran the MOT system was overheating and shutting down after 2 mins. It was mounted on a trolley, so I thought it would be easy to access. Wrong. The power and network cable had been bolted to the wall and glued to the trolley. I had to replace about 30m of power and ethernet, then make sure we wouldnt have this issue again by adding plugs/sockets and some leeway in the final cable run. If you think a bit of dust is bad, I had to take the PC out to the car park and blow the solid cake of congealed exhaust particles out of the computer with an air line. It was full. and someone called the emergency services, thinking we were on fire.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

WOW!

[@wblue74]

Callum, I know it's not radio related, but we want to you play them drums.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

I do.. every Thursday eve.. The band WILL eventually live-stream to here.. Stay tuned! :)

[@99Victor]

As a new ham.er. I would have liked to see a more visual.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

I make a LOT of videos.. Sometimes running a ton of B roll takes more time than the video. Sorry about that. But there's plenty videos on my channel for you to have fun with.

[@brianfields4479]

Hiya cal, great video as usual, and boy what a shack. This will give you a laugh then, my shack is just over a couple feet square, bedroom cupboard with the door removed, as seen on qrz I think, one coax underground to 2 ants , 20 second hand coax plugs for a quid years ago, and still having great fun with the hobby, and this week more dx on cw and ssb than I can shake a stick at, and boy can I shake my stick hi my qrz log shows how well the bands are this week. My shack is so small, I can't get the vacuum In there I have to use a straw And some deep breaths hi. Keep up the great work, you are a very lucky guy, all the best zl3xdj

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Sttraw and a deep breath! Brilliant.. You know, small spaces are actually sometimes easier! Good work.

[@w8lvradio]

Label BOTH ENDS of EVERY wire and cord, as you build your station up. Don't even think of going back and doing it "later". 73 DE W8LV BILL

[@raghubabupeeriga7478]

You should have showed more about the shack place than simply concentrating camera on the subject i mean you this is my suggestion sir thank you.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

The "place"..? Do it anywhere you like.

[@W8VHS]

Thank you Sir. 73. W8VHS

[@Ray_M0MXN]

Top Tips 😁

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Thanks! 😃

[@CharlesHarpolek4vud]

to beware--- do not arrange your radios so you cannot get behind them, pulling them out means you have to use longer cables and lots of confusion. Do not bring your wires through bear hole in the wall-- you get a lightning strike electricity comes down through that round and likely would burn your wall and maybe your house. Do you like coil extension cables extra electric wire because the coil as an inductor you don't wanna create spare inductors lying around in different places. This is too short.

[@jackK5FIT]

Every time, and I do mean EVERY time, I think I have my shack just like I want it I sit and begin to think. You know what happens then. I HAVE to make a change. Undo something that works fine the way it is to maybe make it different or easier to maintain. I don't think a shack is ever finished and I think I like it that way. Jack K5FIT

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Yeah Jack, I think you and me the same!

[@mewrongwayKOCXF]

👍

[@richarde735]

are you abandoning F3 or just adding F2 damn that’s a lot of dust! looks like a clothes dryer lint screen. I use the leaf blower… I take the pc tower outside and blow all the crap out.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

HAHA - we are keeping both.

[@stephane153]

"let me go through the 8 things..." might need to update the video title to "8 Things When..." 😉

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Actually, I think it was 9! Or was it 6? More than 5 anyway!

[@mikemcdonald5147]

what is trunking? must be an English word compared to American word. ok I googled it LOL cable raceway or cord hider or cable management. Lots of different words for the same thing LOL

[@BlueCubAdventures]

I counted 3 tips, you said 8 and your title says 7 :)

[@DXCommanderHQ]

There was actually 8...! :)

[@winstonchurchill6506]

Oh shack tips i thought you said shacklick doing a curry doh

[@DXCommanderHQ]

HAHAHA

[@ashifabedin]

tip 1..have lot of money

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Or take up golf, fishing, shooting, yachting.. of wait. Hobbies cost money. I remember now.

[@allenperrone2022]

Are you in the UK? I'm in Birmingham. Looking to meet up with other Hams. I'm studying alone for Foundation. I don't have equipment yet.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Yes, I'm in Solihull! Drop me an email. See if you can work that out :)