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In late October 2005 the decision was made to convert a basement bedroom to a new radio room. The two-month construction project involved completely gutting the existing room back to the concrete walls, framing in a large closet area and then installing new insulation and drywall. Next came new paint and then carpeting. Given the stud framing on the outside wall, the decision was made to surface mount conduit for all services. To meet the power requirements for the new room, 30 feet of #2 TECK cable was run from the existing 200 amp panel box to a brand new 100 amp panel box in the radio room. To eliminate the need for surge suppression power bars, both panel boxes were equipped with SYCOM suppression units which protect the entire distribution system. With the services installed, the desk was fabricated and the
slow methodical process of bringing the radio room back to life began. This
purpose built space was now starting to look like the new home for VE7BZ.
What follows is a series of images that chronicle most of the construction
process after the drywall was completed. |
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 Joe getting started with the electrical work |
 One box for each of the 8 (110v) circuits, plus one for 220v, one for CAT5 and one for cable & telephone. In total 11 boxes |
 The conduit work is complete |
 From the 200 amp main panel 30' of #2 TECK cable goes to the new 100 amp panel in the radio room |
 Outlet in the new closet for printers plus 2 conduits for battery backup and USB cables |
 The complete layout |
 The two conduits are boxed for esthetics |
 Having the right tools for the job really helps |
 Ready for furniture. The room is 9' x 12' |
 All the electrical and woodwork is complete |
 Ground (#3 AWG) from the panel to the station ground bus |
 Surge suppression is installed on both the 200 amp main and 100 amp sub panel |
 Setting up the framework of the desk |
 New closet space prior to doors beginning hung |
This ends the construction phase. The next images showcase the completed radio room |
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 The finished product with a 4' x 7' desktop |
 Hello radio! |
 The three 19" Samsung LCD panels are mounted on a common support made by www.mediamounts.com |
  A closer look at the LCD panel hardware. The 1/4" steel base provides ample support for the panels
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 The Protec KVM (keyboard-video-mouse) switch makes working with three computers a breeze |
 To keep all the coax off the desktop, an 8-poistion COMTEK coax switch is used |
 The 4 closet doors slide to allow for plenty of easy access to storage |
 All the VHF radios are mounted vertically on the edge of the desk |
 The 200 amp battery battery backup system is mounted in the closet |
 The Xantrex 40 amp smart charger unit is mounted under the desktop |
 Yes.... I too have plenty of cables 
 Back-to-back 3" LB's (one on each side of the concrete wall are joined together by conduit) for cable entry |
The back of the installation |
 All the cables enter the shack via a 4" conduit and the HF-related coax is routed directly to the COMTEK switch |
 Cable routing and switching for the radios to the antenna tuner and the amp |
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Last modified
December 25, 2005
by Paul B. Peters,
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