In parts 1 of this series, I looked at two possible locations in my home to set up my amateur radio operating room. I considered requirements in six categories, and identified my top two priorities. Namely, I wanted short and easily managed feed lines, and second, I wanted good grounding.
In part 2, I went a bit deeper into the grounding requirements. I determined that the types of antennas I will be using will let me get away with a compromise in RF grounding, but I will still need good DC grounding for safety.
This turned out to be timely information, since my wife decided that one of my proposed locations, the ground floor bedroom, was going to be turned into a home gym. This left me with only one option. My hamshack would need to go into the spare bedroom on the second floor.
While I would have liked to have built out a good RF ground system, this second story location made it impossible due to distance. Still, the second story location has a number of benefits. There is a large window in an ideal location for feedline passthrough. I will be able to easily run short feedlines to the antennas I will deploy. It also has a nice view to the antenna area, so I’ll be able to visually inspect this part of the system from the comfort of my shack following wind storms and other weather events. It is also located directly above the mains power panel on the ground level of my home, so I should be able to easily pull some dedicated lines straight up into the shack.
Like everything else in this hobby, XYL approval of the shack plan also comes down to a compromise. I weighed my options, made a plan, checked that the plan was feasible, and then went for it.
