A New Electronics Workbench and More Continued.

A New Computer Table, A Proper Stereo System, and expanded Parts Storage.

Behind the Door Parts Storage.

Another loose end that needed to be tied up was the behind the door storage. The original, left, consisted of a cubbyhole unit from Target which held the cardboard box medium sized parts containers. Another similar unit is shown under the wall mounted bench in the right picture and more of the containers are shown under the free standing bench. These pictures are repeated from the previous page for your convenience.

This was the temporary solution to the storage problem. The small parts storage had been moved to the swing out storage. The Target cabinet from under the bench was moved to sit on top of the one that was already there and another one from another room was placed on top of that. This was not satisfactory because the double width boxes could only be accommodated by removing one of the partitions. That often forced them to be placed out of alphabetical order. A set of shelves, as opposed to the cubbyholes was constructed.

The shelves are built from plywood with solid oak edging. The edging along the front of each shelf also is reinforcement. Each shelf is also fastened to the back with wood screws. Two screws were run through the back near the top and into a wall stud to make sure it won't fall over.

New Signal Generator Stand.

The old signal generator stand is seen at left. The new one, right, became necessary after I bought an HP 3570A network analyzer and its required companion a 3320B frequency synthesizer. The GR unit oscillator is almost never used and the HP 608 is rarely used. I could do without the GR and move the 608 down a bit because the 3570A is frequently used. Two more drawers have been added at the bottom for much needed storage. The GR is shown stored at the bottom of the rack on top of an FM generator which is in turn on top of another 3570A which is a parts donor unit. I had to buy two to get enough parts to make one working network analyzer. The Heathkit signal tracer that is sitting on top of the 606 is plugged into the headphone output so I can listen to the beats with the crystal calibrator through a speaker.

Also I have found a parts donor 606 and replaced the modulation meter. As you can see it now looks like a respectable HP 606B as it should.

New Computer Desk.

Previously the computer was sitting on two tables, as shown below, that had been fastened together to keep them from wandering apart and dumping the monitor and keyboard on the floor.

To the left of the CPU you see a mixer, sequencer, and speakers, the other one is hidden by the CPU, which have to go somewhere else. Also the extra scanner which is to the right of the combination printer scanner has to go away. The big blue rack is also a goner. This means I am dismantling my recording studio. The crucial components will be stored in the room so if they are needed they can be taken out and kluged together for use.

The 8 track digital tape recorder, sound module and mixer will be stored in 3 specially designed drawers in the computer desk. A fourth drawer has been set aside to hold connecting cables and believe me there are a lot of them.

The pictures above were taken in August of 2010. The one at right was taken in November of 2013. The wall-mounted shelves were extended all the way to the wall. The ham radio desk was moved from under the east window to under the south window. Its contents have changed a bit in the last three years. Some of the contents of the rack are stored in the left hand drawers of the computer desk and some are now on the shelves. Some of this is temporary while things are being worked out. If you want to use a magnifying glass you may be able to identify some items that were formerly in the rack that are now on the shelves. The right-hand drawers were designed with tube storage in mind but over time who knows what will be stored in them?

Stereo Rack.

March 10, 2014.

One more thing is complete. The old signal generator stand has been repurposed to be the new stereo rack. Holes have been drilled in the insides of the sides between existing shelves for shelf pins. Four new shelves were made and shelf pins purchased. The stereo rack is on casters to make changing connections on the back easier. Top to bottom is an Audio-Technica AT-LP120 turntable with conventional and USB outputs. A Sony TA-4650 FET Integrated Amplifier. More about this below. A Sony CD/DVD/MP3 player. A dbx 266XL Compressor/noise gate. A home brew mixer. A Radio Shack reversible cassette deck. A graphic equalizer. And on the bottom two Executone vacuum tube 70 volt line amplifiers. The Sony integrated amplifier was given to me as non working. I didn't realize that it was an FET amplifier. I didn't examine the front with my magnifying glasses. I unknowingly replaced the outputs with complementary BJTs. To my surprise in retrospect it worked. In fact it continued to work for about 2 years. Then the transistors blew out and after being replaced immediately blew again. It was at this time that I came into possession of the Executone amplifiers. I disconnected power from the power amplifier section of the Sony. It has preamp outputs which I connected to the input of the two Executones and everything worked fine. The Sony now serves only as a preamp. Someday I will replace it with a home brew preamp based on tubes. Information about the two 70 volt line amplifiers can be found at this location.

The Homestretch.

The DaVinci Table.

The next item to be completed was the table for the DaVinci closed circuit TV system. The drop-leaf on the right holds a tube manual which is magnified and presented in negative form on the screen. The drop-leaf permits the table which is on casters to be rolled out of the way when not in use.

South-East Corner Table.

Next was the corner table with storage underneath. This one is not on casters. That gives me a place to put the Atwater-Kent model 20 and the Zenith Transoceanic which were formerly on the ham radio desk. You may be wondering about my use of an RCA dog in connection with an Atwater-Kent radio. The horn speaker is an RCA so the dog is appropriate. I haven't had any luck in finding an Atwater-Kent speaker for the model 20. And what is that item below on the left? Why it's a trash container. So often these items are orphans. I decided that if one was necessary it should have a home. To the right you see a cassette lazy Suzan, a portable CCTV unit in its carrying case, and below them a Boonton 250A RX meter. The DaVinci table rolls between the corner table and the computer desk as shown below.

Putting it all Together.

On the left you see the corner table and DaVinci table. The latter with its drop-leaf folded down rolls neatly between the computer table and corner table and still gives access to the radios and trash container as well as the cassette lazy Suzan.

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On the right you can see the ham radio desk which is now, for the first time in several years, clear for use. All I need is to do a little tower climbing to repair a broken connection and then I can actually get on the air. Sue wants me to rebuild the ham radio desk because it doesn't match. It was built with Burch faced plywood with iron on edge banding and finished with clear oil based poly something-or-other. That was the first woodworking project I did when I started the hobby back in 2006. I guess I will do what SWMBO wants and while I am at it I will go up another story for the placement of more equipment.

New Ham Radio Desk and Wrap-up.

First row left: Who doesn't like a sunset picture.

First row right: Sue says I should put more pictures of myself on the web. So here is one of me standing next to the as yet unoccupied ham radio desk.

Second row left: A posed picture of how it will look if I ever get my antenna fixed.

Second row right: looking into south-west corner of room showing ham radio desk, two bookcases, and the swing out closet storage (closed).

Third row left: Looking into north-west corner showing test cable rack, tool chest, behind the door parts storage, the third bookcase, and part of workbench.

Third row right: Looking into north-east corner showing the rest of the workbench, signal generator stand, equipment rack, kitty cat calendar, and the left set of speakers. Fourth row left: Looking east-south-east showing stereo, corner cabinet, DaVinci table, and left end of computer desk.

Fourth row right: Looking into south-east corner showing DaVinci table, computer desk, and the left end of the ham radio desk.

This is where I came in.

This time it really is, really The End This Time.

This page last updated July 30, 2014.

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