Whats your Work-Bench/lab look like? Post some pictures of your Lab.

[bd139]

I'm slightly envious of people who seem to have enough space. This is my little poke hole in the corner of the living room. You know you have very little space when you start buying right angle IEC cables so you can get your kit closer to the wall

The computer sits behind the bench and there's a cupboard full of piles of other TEA goodness in the hall.

[ChrisLX200]

I'm slightly envious of people who seem to have enough space. This is my little poke hole in the corner of the living room. You know you have very little space when you start buying right angle IEC cables so you can get your kit closer to the wall

The computer sits behind the bench and there's a cupboard full of piles of other TEA goodness in the hall.

Some nice kit packed in there though. It seems to be a common British problem - our houses and grounds are usually small. I think you could put some shelves above the work area  so there are possibilities :-)

ChrisH

[bd139]

Working on that already. I've got a growing collection of VTVMs and Flukes waiting to be put on it the shelf when it exists

[ChrisLX200]

That Ayoue 474++ de-soldering station that arrived today, well it didn't take long to 'take it apart' :-)  Something I saw in a vid on YouTube suggested the exhaust air was just vented into the inside of the box - and there's not even a fan to vent the insides, nor even any holes that would allow natural air circulation through convection. So I made a cannister which I will fill with activated charcoal filter material (if it ever turns up in the post), machined from 3" diameter 10g alloy tube and fitted with turned caps for the ends. The bottom cap I left three milled tabs for hold down screws, matching holes were drilled and tapped into the bottom of the case. Hose connectors were turned from hex brass rod and a length of 3/8" silicone tube was used to connect the pump to the cannister, and again from there to outside the case. Not sure where in the case I'll vent to but likely I'll make use of the covered unused hole in the front face as that saves me drilling another. I haven't powered it up yet again but I'm hoping the cannister might also knock the edge off the noise too..

ChrisH

[rdl]

I'm slightly envious of people who seem to have enough space. This is my little poke hole in the corner of the living room.

I know what you mean. I had my stuff set up in a closet for many years. Fortunately, it was a pretty big closet. Eventually the drawbacks of working in a closet motivated a move out to a corner in the bedroom.

[JustSquareEnough]

I know it wasn't ideal, but excellent use of a closet. Do you remember what kind of lamp that was?

[rdl]

Do you remember what kind of lamp that was?

I still have it. It was made by Aven, but I don't think they sell it any more. It uses a 55 watt fluorescent tube and almost every structural part is metal. It's the most solid and sturdy clamp on lamp I've ever seen.

I moved it with everything else into the bedroom, but since installing the LED shoplights I don't really have much need for it there anymore. I'm sure I'll find some use for it though.

[mspec]

This is mine, its my happy place when I have time out of my normal day.

[neo]

If messy workbenches deserve applause then i do believe i need a medal.

Yes i actually work in that.

[eugenenine]

My bench is 21" x 21" and I sit the soldering box on top when I need to solder.

[djos]

My bench is 21" x 21" and I sit the soldering box on top when I need to solder.

It's that an Amiga 2000 mainboard?

[eugenenine]

Yes.  D1 and D2 traces between the 68k and and the memory buffers were ate by the battery leaking.  Jumper across those but still have a green screen at power up.

[djos]

Yes.  D1 and D2 traces between the 68k and and the memory buffers were ate by the battery leaking.  Jumper across those but still have a green screen at power up.

Thought I recognised it, I have one sitting on my repair pile too with the same damage- the Rom and CPU socket both need replacing too.

[eugenenine]

I always regretted selling my 500 back in the 90's and found this 2000 local on craigslist last summer and someday I'll get it working again.

[ChrisLX200]

Anyone got any good ideas regarding [mains] power distribution? I have a small workspace but still need a lot of plug sockets. Currently I have 34 sockets derived from a variety of 4 and 6-way extentions - not a happy or particularly safe situation as I always seem to need yet another and usually in a place where the lead won't stretch to! Must be something better available?

ChrisH

[cdev]

This idea is not power management so much as power strip management.. 


For what its worth, Ikea sells a wire management device "Signum" which attaches to the bottom of a desk or shelf which holds messy cables (and/or power strips. Combined with nylon cable ties it will safely hold at least four power strips with their associated wall warts, etc. up off the floor and out of harms way. 

Its not a solution, though, more of a kludge.  Relatively cheap, though, ($12 in the US) and in my experience quite durable in terms of longevity through moves and insertions, removals of cables..

[AF6LJ]

If messy workbenches deserve applause then i do believe i need a medal.

Yes i actually work in that.

WoW

[cdev]

Your picture reminds me of my memories of what the living quarters of a friend who worked in an electronics surplus shop on New York's "Radio Row" was like- He lived in the basement of the store. This was in the 1970s, when I was a youngster.

If messy workbenches deserve applause then i do believe i need a medal.

Yes i actually work in that.

[neo]

If messy workbenches deserve applause then i do believe i need a medal.

Yes i actually work in that.

WoW

All i need (in terms of physical space), a chair, someplace for my feet to go and tables, that blue chair is surrounded on all sides except the rear by them. So by that definition not only do i work in it, i actually make effective use of it mess and all.

[AF6LJ]

If messy workbenches deserve applause then i do believe i need a medal.

Yes i actually work in that.

WoW

All i need (in terms of physical space), a chair, someplace for my feet to go and tables, that blue chair is surrounded on all sides except the rear by them. So by that definition not only do i work in it, i actually make effective use of it mess and all.

I once had a workspace in a two by two meter room, you couldn't do anything without it looking a bomb went off in there.

[SeanB]

This idea is not power management so much as power strip management.. 


For what its worth, Ikea sells a wire management device "Signum" which attaches to the bottom of a desk or shelf which holds messy cables (and/or power strips. Combined with nylon cable ties it will safely hold at least four power strips with their associated wall warts, etc. up off the floor and out of harms way. 

Its not a solution, though, more of a kludge.  Relatively cheap, though, ($12 in the US) and in my experience quite durable in terms of longevity through moves and insertions, removals of cables..

Another option is wire cable trays, which serve a similar purpose, and which can also act as a nice tray to hold power strips. just use cable ties to hold the strips down and to manage cables.

[neo]

If messy workbenches deserve applause then i do believe i need a medal.

Yes i actually work in that.

WoW

All i need (in terms of physical space), a chair, someplace for my feet to go and tables, that blue chair is surrounded on all sides except the rear by them. So by that definition not only do i work in it, i actually make effective use of it mess and all.

I once had a workspace in a two by two meter room, you couldn't do anything without it looking a bomb went off in there.

I have 6 cubic feet with a little extra, i filled almost all of that with tables and the tables with multimeters.

[AF6LJ]

If messy workbenches deserve applause then i do believe i need a medal.

Yes i actually work in that.

WoW

All i need (in terms of physical space), a chair, someplace for my feet to go and tables, that blue chair is surrounded on all sides except the rear by them. So by that definition not only do i work in it, i actually make effective use of it mess and all.

I once had a workspace in a two by two meter room, you couldn't do anything without it looking a bomb went off in there.

I have 6 cubic feet with a little extra, i filled also all of that with tables and the tables with multimeters.

Between the Amateur Radio addiction, and the Test Equipment addiction I am running out of space.

[djos]

I always regretted selling my 500 back in the 90's and found this 2000 local on craigslist last summer and someday I'll get it working again.

Same, although a few years ago I found one on Gumtree (Aus equiv of CL) with a monitor for about what I sold my A500 for in the late 90's.

[eugenenine]

I always regretted selling my 500 back in the 90's and found this 2000 local on craigslist last summer and someday I'll get it working again.

Same, although a few years ago I found one on Gumtree (Aus equiv of CL) with a monitor for about what I sold my A500 for in the late 90's.

 

I found a 500 with hdd one town over last summer but they wanted $500 for it.

Between the Amateur Radio addiction, and the Test Equipment addiction I am running out of space.

hmm, lets see I have my Amiga retrocomputing, HP calculator stuff, soldering, test equipment, ham stuff and reloading stuff all squeezed in my closet   I think I need less hobbies