2013-08-29 Equipping a Home Workshop
Activities of an Electronics Workshop
Troubleshooting radio equipment
Classes
Kitbuilding
Homebrewing
Equipment Ideas for an Electronics Workshop
Safety Equipment - Glasses, Gloves, First Aid Kit
Common tools, screwdriver set per bench, small plier set per bench, wire strippers, Harbor Freight
soldering irons, Edsyn Loner 951SX refurb (from EAE Sales https://www.eaesales.com/index.php ), or Hakko fx-888, solder, liquid flux,
benches
variable power supplies
multimeter 2 harbor freight per bench, plus one high perf for shop
oscilloscope 1 for shop
spectrum analyzer - Would the one in a service monitor be good enough even though not a high performance "laboratory grade"?
digital scope, Rigol DS-1102E for inexpensive scope or DS1104Z-S, or DS-2102 for a one with a finer display resolution.
service monitor to tune radios duplexers - Amtronix refurb/calibrated, 100 w input, HP8924C, http://www.amtronix.com/
Amtronix SW2012N Return Loss Bridge Kit
MVC007, CGA/EGA/MDA/YUV to VGA Industrial Converter Unit Displays HP8924C service monitor on TV screen http://www.moncotech.com/cnc.php
one good set of test equipment plus one inexpensive set for each bench
signal generators AF/RF
RF Generator, battery operated portable, Nigel showed an Elecraft Portable Sig Gen XG3, http://www.elecraft.com/XG3/xg3.htm
magnifier lamp on bench
Stereo Boom Microscope 10X
Area for storage of kits
panavise, table clamp, Circuit board jaws
hot air rework station, inexpensive
vacuum desoldering, electric operated, or pneumatic
electrostatic mats, large for each area
grounding system per bench
power strip in cabinets
Drop cords from ceiling
Antenna analyzer, MFJ
bird power meter with slugs
dummy load small, large
Vector Network Analyzer DG8SAQ VNWA 3 - 3E, Low Cost 1.3 GHz Vector Network Analyzer, http://sdr-kits.net/VNWA3_Description.html
computer and display,tower vs laptop, rackmount, server
camera, web or HD macro for front TV or projector display
whiteboard, on wheels and/or mounted to wall
Ethernet switch for Raspberry experimentation
serial port breakout
plastic carpet protector near bench
surface mount capability
Group Suggestions - things to build:
Frequency Generator
60 MHZ Frequency Counter
Build your own Oscilloscope
Digital (Digi) Interface kits (Computer sound card to Radio interface)
APRS I-Gate
Raspberry PI projects
Mobile heads up display for D-STAR
Satellite projects (CubeSat , etc.)
PIC Controller Projects
Antenna Projects (Build Antennas; Satellite, J-Pole, Colinear, Walking Stick, 5/8 wave 70 cm and 2 m Antenna’s, etc.)
Power Supplies (Build from scratch and how to modify your Computer Power Supplies for bench use)
Software Defined Radios (SDR’s) (modifying USB TV Dongles, build your own SDR kits, etc.)
Antenna Tuner (Build your own, theory of operation)
HF Triplexer (June, 2010 QST) also good DIY HF beam article (Sept, 2002 QST)
Alternative Power Systems (Solar, Wind, Alternative Fuels Generator (Propane, Natural Gas, Alcohol, Wood Gasifier, Etc.) Proper conditioning of alternative power systems (UPS’s, power conditioners, Etc.), Energy Storage
2-Meter pre amp kits
Rig Runner Power Pole’s
DIY Rotors, Controllers, Satellite trackers, etc.
Input from Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB:
I have a couple of other kit suggestions as well. One kit that I have found very useful is the Deluxe Tenna Dipper. We built them as a group here, and it made Field Day antenna setup go a lot faster. With one of these in the hands of most of our stations, the tuning and tweaking of the antennas went fast. Here is a link: http://www.qrpkits.com/deluxetennadipper.html
A good kit for first-time builders is the Ten-Tec regenerative receiver kit. It is relatively easy to build and you end up with a cute little general coverage receiver. http://www.tentec.com/products/Regenerative-4%252dBand-SWL-Receiver-%252d-Model-1054.html
If you are equipping a ///, you will want a scope, maybe a vacuum desoldering station for easier error correction or repairs, as well as a few soldering stations for those that do not have them. A few of those $3 Harbor Freight special multimeters come in handy, too for training purposes. They are cheap, effective, and not a huge loss if lost or broken. A signal generator, a good general coverage receiver, and a good dummyload/wattmeter is helpful as well for testing once projects are completed. A few outlet strips help as well as some lighted magnifiers that can mount to the tables. Let me know if I can be of help for a group kit building experience for DARA!
73, Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB
Kit Building Editor, CQ Magazine