My first blog so I guess as station engineer a low down on the recent shack re-fit is appropriate.

The original shack was starting to get tired and as more and more equipment found its way to the operating positions it was getting a little cramped.

I’ve been thinking about a re-fit for a while now but with work, DIY in the house and a whole bag of other stuff it took a place on the back burner for a while.

The Icom sponsored 7700’s got me into thinking about a complete re-vamp to complement the new set up. I spoke to Jo my XYL about what to do and she said that a new floor and glass desks would give a modern contemporary look.

Jo said that if I wanted her help it was now or never, well this was Easter bank holiday and rip out time ! First the rigs, computer’s, controller’s and wiring. Then the desk’s, chairs etc came out and it all looked like a war zone. It takes ages to put it together but no time at all to wreck it !

A quick trip to the local DIY store and armed with laminate flooring and wire netting the re-build was about to get under way.

First the floor, team effort here, Jo doing the laying PZ on the chop saw. As shown in the pic’s the floor went down nicely but having to move heavy Acom amp’s and a storage heater around is’nt easy ! Eventually all done and looking good.

Next job was the wire netting, this was stapled onto the walls and ceiling to form a wire shield to reduce RF in the shack mainly from the lower aerial in the stack . This was quite tricky as it came on roll’s like wall paper and had a mind of it’s own !

It’s starting to look good, now for the desks, some nice glass units were sourced that would give the contemporary look that Jo was looking for and the extra space that Iwas looking for. Unfortunately they were flat packed but we managed to work it out pretty quickly and without any problem’s they were sorted and put in position ready for the kit.

The radio’s and controls at both operating positions were installed along with all the other cables and stuff to make a contest station fly. I think it looks pretty cool with a more open feel to the shack and much more space.

So there it is, this is how we spent Easter in Eastertown. ( Eastertown is the address of G6PZ )

Paul G6PZ