Under construction…

Nearly 4 years have passed since we remodeled HB9ZZ. At that time, in early 2011, we emptied the shack and painted the walls and the floor. The furniture was replaced by home-made shelves and a large table, mounted directly on the wall, with a shelf above the table. Over time, the desire for another arrangement of the equipment and a corresponding modification of the shelf emerged. In addition, other pressing topics (cabling, power supply) had been resolved only temporarily. Reason enough to take another go in 2015!

At the beginning of June 2015 we cleared the shack and replaced the old tabletop, which had suffered water damage, with a new, sealed plate with rounded edges and corners. The shelf above the table was replaced too: the new, larger and more stable shelf was mounted higher. Now the computer screens fit under it and heavier equipment such as the power amplifier can be stored on the shelf. As a consequence, the equipment is no longer scattered on the table and the workplace becomes more compact and less cluttered. Cable ducts help to keep the table and the shelf clear. While this sounds like a marginal task, 5 people were working for an entire day to make it happen. In sunny weather and sweltering heat we wrestled with the cable channels (extremely tough opponents!) and with the shack wall which resisted our attempts to drill holes into it quite clearly. One power drill and several drill bits met their premature demise until all holes were prepared, but the end result is quite presentable.

But this is only the first step - many other improvements will follow, e.g. the cabling and wiring will be renewed and simplified and the illumination will be improved. In addition to those major changes there are also many less conspicuous changes, some of which have been implemented with great attention to detail, such as the new PTT footswitch by Aldo HB9EXQ.