My favorite place! Here you will find me prowling the band for DX. Lately I have been working on RTTY and CW chasing everything, as this is a new mode for me. As you saw on the first page all my awards are on SSB only. In the shack we have built a center room console 10'x3' This allows easy access to the rear, where the all important wiring is done. We have two Yaesu 1000 MP's, two Henry 2K Classic X amplifiers, one Henry 3K Classic X and one Henry 2K. This really make jumping from band to band easy with two amplifiers per radio (one on each imput). 220 Icom for packet, 70cm and 2m Icom for local spots and traffic, four computers, one Orian 2800 controller, two TIC Ring controllers, two Tailtwister controllers, three Swan 3k watt meters, Astron 50M power supply, Mirage 160w 2m amp, B&W switch's, Heil head sets, remote switching that enables both radios to share the same head phones and foot switch for contesting, and a partridge and a pair tree.
I'm sure you know the feeling of the hot dead air in the shack, while wearing a tee shirt and shorts during a contest. All the heat created by the equipment, amplifiers and operators in a small room only 11'x12' is handled by a completely independent return vent for just the radio room. This is a 14"x10" inch vent at the top of the wall powered by a 12" 1/3HP blower equivalent to that in a house furnace. This draws the hot air from the room and blows it into the basement. With all four Henry amplifiers running plus op's during a multi-two the room remains the same temperature as the rest of the house. If fresh air is needed just open the window, just be careful not to suck in a near by bird. You can see by the picture that this is a serious way of keeping the shack cool that works. You will also find during long contests that this will help keep you alert, reduce fatigue and and keep you from getting toasty warm and falling a sleep.
© Copyright 2005 K9XD
