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-   -   Workshop dig out (https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=147438)

G4_Pete 15th Jun 2018 8:21 pm

Workshop dig out
 
4 Attachment(s)
This is my workshop under the stairs that had fallen into a junk storage area and not been used for a few years. So today decided to restore it to use. Found a fully restored VHF 71 , forgot I did it and had to do a cap check before powering!! All caps were new. Also found bits of test gear that I had not seen for ages. I eventually got it all cleared and gradually tested things. The only failure was my faithfull Maplin frequency counter that worked for a few mins then wouuld not respond to the selection buttons.
Note there is an extraction fan under the shelf overhang to take out fumes should I solder under the overhang.
Cross connected everything in Dr Who fasion with a lissajous for the final photo.

The challenge now is to keep it tidy and useable.

Pete

mark_in_manc 15th Jun 2018 10:33 pm

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Well done!

I did something similar recently - in fact I cleared a few benches in various places which are set up for different purposes. I'm trying really hard to keep the benches clear all the time - just take out a job onto the bench, work on it, then put it aside. I've made a load more shelves to try to have more 'aside' space, but even if it ends up on the floor, I want a clear bench to inspire me to want to work. Seems to be helping!

The Philpott 15th Jun 2018 10:54 pm

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Funnily enough even though i get hayfever and my other half is asthmatic, rosin fumes don't affect either of us...as far as we can tell

dseymo1 16th Jun 2018 7:05 am

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by mark_in_manc (Post 1052083)
Well done!

I did something similar recently - in fact I cleared a few benches in various places which are set up for different purposes. I'm trying really hard to keep the benches clear all the time - just take out a job onto the bench, work on it, then put it aside. I've made a load more shelves to try to have more 'aside' space, but even if it ends up on the floor, I want a clear bench to inspire me to want to work. Seems to be helping!

Congratulations, Mark...
But what do you do with all the longer-term projects, those awaiting parts or thinking time, those where you are interrupted half-way through etc? Putting them 'aside' always seems to result in missing parts or loss of interest for me.
At present, I have a pressure washer apart on the garden table, an amplifier on my electronics bench, a mixer in the dining room...

Diabolical Artificer 16th Jun 2018 8:52 am

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Blimey Pete, that's very bijoux you must feel like Harry Potter in there : ) Still I bet it does the job and good to see you back at the bench. I'd go nut's if I didn't have somewhere to tinker.

It's a never ending battle Mark, trying to keep the bench and WS clear. I spend a day mucking mine out once in a while till it looks great, then some s*d comes in and chucks stuff everywhere and makes a mess. It's like Jekyl and Hyde.

"Funnily enough..... rosin fumes don't affect either of us" Puts hairs on your chest as they used to say.

Andy.

HamishBoxer 16th Jun 2018 10:29 am

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Great job.

Geoff 555 16th Jun 2018 11:14 am

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Don't mention rosin fumes. Have a large cupboard and made myself very very unpopular, The fire alarm sensor is in the ceiling down the passage, every time I solder something, off it goes.
It has no means of stopping it, it is connected to the fire station.
Move to the living room, need a pee, open door -- oh balls, you can guess.
It is a sad life, can't solder and pee at the same time.
Suggestions on a post card.
Cheers.
Geoff.
I am joking about the pc.

mark_in_manc 16th Jun 2018 11:21 am

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Pee in a bottle? :) Or investigate one of those typically not-very-good cooker hoods with a big bag of activated carbon in them, which don't extract to the outside. Activated carbon is remarkable stuff. I bet you could scavenge a cooker hood for nothing.

usradcoll1 18th Jun 2018 5:44 pm

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by G4_Pete (Post 1052048)
This is my workshop under the stairs that had fallen into a junk storage area and not been used for a few years. So today decided to restore it to use. Found a fully restored VHF 71 , forgot I did it and had to do a cap check before powering!! All caps were new. Also found bits of test gear that I had not seen for ages. I eventually got it all cleared and gradually tested things. The only failure was my faithfull Maplin frequency counter that worked for a few mins then wouuld not respond to the selection buttons.
Note there is an extraction fan under the shelf overhang to take out fumes should I solder under the overhang.
Cross connected everything in Dr Who fasion with a lissajous for the final photo.

The challenge now is to keep it tidy and useable.

Pete

Your last statement about tidy and useable was one challenge I was never able to master. 8-o
That trait seems to be universal in a hobby of this type.

Al (astral highway) 18th Jun 2018 8:31 pm

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by G4_Pete (Post 1052048)
This is my workshop under the stairs that had fallen into a junk storage area and not been used for a few years. So today decided to restore it to use.


Ingenious use of space, Pete, love it!

And also the Lissajous figures, I'm a big fan of them!

Radio Wrangler 18th Jun 2018 8:42 pm

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Isn't it illegal to have a Lissajou figure showing if there is no Theremin accompanying it? Or does that only apply if the figure is rotating? If it stays stationary, then it's art?

David

thermionic 20th Jun 2018 7:07 am

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Great little work space ...... I hope you’re not 6 foot tall😜


SimonT

G4_Pete 20th Jun 2018 8:14 am

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Unfortunately I am just under 6 foot hence the pipe insulation on the first stair step in the photo! However once sitting on the removable bench seat there is plenty of head room.
Pete

tim.norris 20th Jun 2018 4:13 pm

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Great use of space , have just had a tidy under our stairs today , found a murphy a26 ,sobell 516 and an old marconi woody as well ! hopefully moving them on tomorrow , been sat there a while ! is that a Unilab ,made in Blackburn oscilloscope top left ?
regards, Tim, Blackburn, Lancs.

ex seismic 20th Jun 2018 4:21 pm

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Re the smoke alarm, try a rubber kitchen glove or similar over it when you are soldering.

G4_Pete 20th Jun 2018 5:17 pm

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Hi Tim Yes schools Unilab 32.602 to be precise , purchased faulty with one 20p transistor failed!
I keep it because it is protected against ground loops and is quick and simple to set up in the range DC up to a few hundred Khz. Plus its simplicity and reparability appeals to me.
The Tek 2235 on the right hand side is for more serious measurements.
Pete

David Simpson 20th Jun 2018 8:55 pm

Re: Workshop dig out
 
Congratulations Pete. A lovely collection of test equipment. Plus the great Lissajou figures.

Regards, David

Phil G4SPZ 26th Jun 2018 10:56 pm

Re: Workshop dig out
 
There is something nice about a small workspace, and yours looks really nice.

For many years, I operated both my ham station and vintage radio workshop out of an 8' x 6' garden shed. Very cheap to heat in winter too!


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