Need ideas on how to make a somewhat high tech electronics work area & room

T&E Engineer

I recently purchased my first home a couple of months ago but it is small at <1K sq'. So I purchased a 12'x36' (actually 12'x28' with a 12'x8' wooded porch) backyard office and having the electrical put in (240 vac / 120 vac). Afterwards it will be finished with insulation, sheetrock, flooring, 240 vac heating/cooling unit, etc.
Playhouse model: http://oldhickorybuildings.com/products.php#playhouse

Anyway at the backend I will want·to put in·some·folding tables (other ideas?)·for an electronics workbench area for my Parallax projects (and it move out of the bedroom). I have my internet cable modem line run in as well as 2 lines of digital Directv for HD. At the front end I will put in a 50" big screen TV·and couch·from my living room (and replace my living room couch and TV). Other than a refridgerator and maybe a microwave, I'm·not sure what·to do with all the space to make it into "my·space". (12'x28' = ·336 sq'). I like high tech gadgets and was thinking of a internet wireless webcam (no computer needed kind) but don't know how I would really use it. I do like the idea of a Parallax RFID for the front door. How hard is it do build them into a door?

There will not be any plumbing brought in (as this would really be $$$). But I need to know where I can go (website or something) to get ideas on what else can be done with this room. My town is rural with not many stores in this area other than a Super Walmart and Lowes. Best Buy, Target, Circuit City is about an hour and a half away.

Ideas please.

Thanks!

Franklin

The RFID and work bench are food ideas but I would make the bench sturdy and attached to the wall with plenty of storage. Why the couch and TV? expecting to get kicked out of the house alot? [noparse];)[/noparse]

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- Stephen

SRLM

Don't forget mechanical tools. I especially like having a drill press handy, and lots of raw materials for when I need them (1/2" aluminum angle iron, styrene, wood). If you are making this a permanent workshop, then I'd drop the folding table idea and go with something more permanent. Something as simple as a couple of tall drawer units with a think board between them will make a nice desktop. Also, you may want throw in a couple of wires between the workshop and the house (while you are installing the electricity) so that you can build house wide electronics projects later (Project 1: An electronic dinner bell, it has a button in the kitchen and a buzzer in your workshop.).

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

Here are some random thoughts:

• I'd recommend a smaller TV. In a space that compact, you're going to be sitting awfully close to a 50-incher.
• Folding banquet tables make good sit-down workbenches. That's all I had for years. But get the heavy-duty kind with Masonite or Formica tops, not the cheap plastic ones like Costco sells.
• A sturdy standup-height workbench with a heavy-duty vise is essential.
• Pegboards and cupboards for storage are always nice to have.
• The wirewall! Dedicate a good 6 to 8 feet of wallspace to hang wires and cables.
• Paint the floor a color that makes it easy to spot the tiny things you're going to be dropping on it. Light tan works well, and doesn't show the dirt you'll be tracking in.
• Get lots of parts cabinets with little drawers in them for components.
• If you use a lot of surface-mount stuff, the little rectangular snap-lid containers used by bead-hobby folks work great for passives and they fit in the little cabinet drawers.
• Buy one of those thermal labeling guns for drawers and whatnot. You'll wonder how you ever did without it.
• Flexible lighting is important. Make sure you can dim the lights above your computer monitor selectively. A magnifying lamp at your assembly station is handy to have, too.
• Build a shelf on the back of your electronics bench to keep test equipment raised a foot or more.
• Outlet strips with a master switch are handy at night when you retire. You can turn off all your gear and not worry about having left something on. Put your computer on a different circuit, though, and get a UPS for it.
• Spend some money on a good quality, comfortable, armless desk chair on casters.
• With all that valuable equipment, a burglar alarm with motion sensors could save you a lot of anguish. I was robbed once. It's no fun, even with good insurance. (Oh, yeah, make sure your homeowner's policy covers outbuildings and their contents.)
• Now, do you still have room for a TV?

-Phil

T&amp;E Engineer

Franklin,

I was originally going to finish my basement but too much work would have to be done (dirt floors - excavating, etc.) so I decided to go with the big shed idea and have it finished. I want to make it as nice as indoors of my house. It is currently 12 feet away from my basement door with access to the house. The couch and TV is for relaxing that's all - keep the silence out while working on projects too (since I will be working away from the front where the TV is). Just an idea. My wife has her sun room in the house and this is my area. I watch Directv alot so I thought it would be good to have in the room. Is the bench and storage something I can buy at lowes or does it have to be custom built by the contractors that will do the flooring and walls, etc.?

SRLM,

Since I also have about 300 sq' in the basement (unfinished), I have plenty of storage nearby with lots of space and workbench area there for craftsmanship type work. There are "lots" of electrical outlets (every 3 feet or so) above (~ 4' maybe) the table area for the project work. The remaining area of the room has normal height lower level spaced outlets (<2' from the floor). I would still like the idea of a table (L or U shape) in the 12' backspace area of the room. I have so many Nuts and Volts issues and just parts, trays, etc. Perhaps buy some electronic equipment (real power supplies, O-scope, etc.). What about static electricity? I was thinking about lamenate flooring due to it being·more·rugged but unaware if it·ESD is an issue.

I like the dinner bell idea too! Ideas like this and computerized stuff is what I am looking for as long as it is practical. I will have a wireless phone with intercom beeping / voice in the room. However, I like the idea of seeing eachother in the house and this room, if it is realistic and practical.

More good ideas please.

Thanks!

T&amp;E Engineer

Phil,

I saw your post after I posted last.

Phil said...
[*]I'd recommend a smaller TV. In a space that compact, you're going to be sitting awfully close to a 50-incher.[*]I have the 50" TV now in my living room only about 10-15' away from where I sit now. In the "room" it will be much further away - plus there is the couch.
[*]Folding banquet tables make good sit-down workbenches. That's all I had for years. But get the heavy-duty kind with Masonite or Formica tops, not the cheap plastic ones like Costco sells.[*]I like the idea of the heavy duty kind as long as I can buy them at Lowes (or the contractors can make them and have them look good).
[*]A sturdy standup-height workbench with a heavy-duty vise is essential.[*]I never had a vice before - Perhaps this can go on the heavy duty wooden table in my basement nearby for that type of work. However, a lighter one for soldering would be good for the "room".
[*]Pegboards and cupboards for storage are always nice to have.[*]What would I use the pegboards for? Perhaps this is more appropriate in the unfinished basement (which already has some plank shelving and heavy duty wooden table - more for woodworking I would guess)
[*]The wirewall! Dedicate a good 6 to 8 feet of wallspace to hang wires and cables.[*]I don't have any cables other than on my old multi-meter. Perhaps for electronics equipment that I might buy.
[*]Paint the floor a color that makes it easy to spot the tiny things you're going to be dropping on it. Light tan works well, and doesn't show the dirt you'll be tracking in.[*]I don't like the idea of painting the floor as I want it to look as good as the main house. But tracking dirt may be an issue since it is separated from the house (perhaps a welcome mat to wipe my feet).
[*]Get lots of parts cabinets with little drawers in them for components.[*]I have a couple of them I got from Super Walmart but could probably use a couple more. I have a box on the floor now with just junk (cables, wall transformers, old parts, etc.) that needs to be sorted and stored.
[*]If you use a lot of surface-mount stuff, the little rectangular snap-lid containers used by bead-hobby folks work great for passives and they fit in the little cabinet drawers.[*]My wife does bead jewelry so I can probably use that idea for surface mount components (mainly FETs at the moment). As well as the part cabinents too.
[*]Buy one of those thermal labeling guns for drawers and whatnot. You'll wonder how you ever did without it.[*]Yes - Yes - Yes (great idea!)
[*]Flexible lighting is important. Make sure you can dim the lights above your computer monitor selectively. A magnifying lamp at your assembly station is handy to have, too.[*]I told the electrician that I will need lots of light in my workbench area so we will probably have some florescents put in (or maybe recessed). Thinking about a drop ceiling too for any cable runs after the walls are up too.
[*]Build a shelf on the back of your electronics bench to keep test equipment raised a foot or more.[*]I was thinking about getting some shelves put in - but for electronics equipment that makes good sense!
[*]Outlet strips with a master switch are handy at night when you retire. You can turn off all your gear and not worry about having left something on. Put your computer on a different circuit, though, and get a UPS for it.[*]Since I will have lots of outlets above the table, the electrician did not like the idea of outlet strips (long metal ones). I like the idea about the "master" switch and a UPS is a good idea too.
[*]Spend some money on a good quality, comfortable, armless desk chair on casters.[*]I have a good $150 computer chair I bought from my local Office Depot with the caster wheels that I will use.
[*]With all that valuable equipment, a burglar alarm with motion sensors could save you a lot of anguish. I was robbed once. It's no fun, even with good insurance. (Oh, yeah, make sure your homeowner's policy covers outbuildings and their contents.)[*]I already thought about adding this toom to my home owners insurance. I was thinking of using a motion sensor security light on the front porch too.
[*]Now, do you still have room for a TV? [*]Yes - I like TV too much not to have it in there.

At work, we have professional ESD lab tables with the upper electonic equipment shelf and foot shelf (for UPS). These are over $1K. Is this the "right" approach or have something made or bought from Lowes?
I·may also do some consulting work for an LED sign company and need this type of semi-professional environment to have room for the indoor/outdoor displays.
Thanks again!

kwinn

Only 2 suggestions to add.
1 - Run a plastic pipe (the semi rigid type used for well systems - 1.5 to 2" diameter) between the house and shop when you run the electrical connection. Now you can pull any cables (TV, internet, phone, intercom, etc.) you want to run between the house and shop any time you want. You can put a vacuum cleaner on one end and feed string from the other end to fish cables through (I usually leave a sturdy string twice the length of the pipe in place so I can pull a cable whenever I want).
2 - Split the shop in two. An area at the back with your electronics (clean) work area and TV/couch etc., and a front area for mechanical (dirty) work. This will also keep the heating cooling bills down since you only need to heat or cool the area you are working in.

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

Ditto to the pipe idea! You never know what's going to come along that requires a cable you haven't already run. Continuous tubing works the best, since there aren't any joints to hang up on when you're fishing a new cable through. Also, before you fill in the trench all the way, bury a length of brightly-colored plastic surveyor's tape about a foot above the cabling/pipe. That way, years down the road, when the cabling route has been forgotten, anyone digging in the area will get a warning not to dig further.

-Phil

Timothy D. Swieter

Phil -

You recommended a chair without arms, what is the reasoning behind this? My guess is that if the chair had arms it may catch cables and such hanging on the work bench.

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Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, uOLED-IOC, eProto for SunSPOT, BitScope
www.tdswieter.com

SRLM

My headphone jack is just to the left of my chair (with arms), so whenever I have the headphones on and I turn, the cord always gets caught in the arm. It's a nuisance, but not enough to require fixing...

T&amp;E Engineer

I like all the ideas but the extra conduit will not be one piece - many turns from my basement to 2 feet under ground that runs 20 feet or so to the office shed and then back up. I believe the electrician is finished with his conduit running and already have 2 lines for Directv HD and 1 line for cable (internet modem). My computer chair I will use has small rounded down arms that should not get in the way. One thing I will do is have the workers build or buy a 12' wall to wall countertop (in an L or U shape to come out somewhat - with an over hanging upper shelve for equipment (with holes for power).

Thanks for the great ideas. The electrician is coming back Tuesday morning to finish wiring the outlets, cut the hole and mount the Kenmore air heating/cooling unit and get the inspection done by my electric company Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday. Then he will start on insulation and so on to sheetrock, etc..

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

Timothy,

My reasoning for not having arms on the chair is that it's easier to use a keyboard without chair arms to interfere with your elbows. (This is why so-called "stenographer" or "secretary" chairs never have arms.) You can also get closer to the worktable without arms bumping into it. But I have to say that SRLM's observation about wires getting tangled in the arms is compelling enough by itself to avoid them.

-Phil

SRLM

I looked in the computer labs at my college, and none of the chairs there have arms... is it better ergonomics, or just plain penny pinching? I might just try taking the arms off and see what happens.

kwinn

Two comments again.
The plastic well pipe I suggested is flexible enough to bend in about an 18" radius and comes in a 300 foot roll so in most cases no joints are required, and by using a vacuum cleaner to pull a string through first a joint would not cause problems anyway.
Chairs with handles tend to catch on cables, do not always fit under the bench or desk, and need to be pulled back further from the bench to get into or out of. Not problems if you have lots of room, but every chair I have ever used has ended up with no handles, whether it started that way or not.