A New Beginning – Goals For The Kansas Radio Shack

One advantage of the move to Kansas will be the opportunity to redesign and implement a new shack layout. I don’t have a clear picture of what I want it to look like, so I am going to start with making a list of what I want to be able to accomplish in the shack. This will be a basement shack… a big basement. I’ve never lived in a house that had a basement and I’m looking forward to the possibilities.

What I want to accomplish in the Kansas Shack:
– HF phone and CW operation; 80m-10m
– HF digital modes (PSK-31, RTTY, PACTOR III)
– Computer logging
– 2m FM base station
– APRS weather station, interfaced with a dedicated 2m transceiver
– Online weather page, showing current weather conditions
– Separate, organized workbench

There are a number of tall trees to the north of the house that will support some different wire antenna options. My plan is to start out with a RadioWavz 246′ End Fed Zep. We’ll see how that works. Maybe try a loop before winter comes. Another challenge will be getting the feedline into the basement.