[CQ-Contest] RE: Contesting from the basement

[Charlie and Janet Ross]

Jim,

Opinions from a single-op, little pistol...

We moved to a new-to-us house last year.  The shack's a work in progress.

  -  Are your walls sheetrock or just framed or even less?

Blueboard/skimcoat over framed walls with fiberglass insulation.  Suspended ceiling; fiberglass above it as well.

  -  How do you get your cables in from the outside - and how do you keep them neat?

Underground conduit run from the woods to a crawlspace under my sunroom.  Conduit suspended from sunroom floor and penetrates *through* the concrete (that was a job-and-a-half, but the sunroom blocked the wood).  Terminates in steel box.  All active lines go through gas discharge surge arrestors.  From there, they run inside the walls to the shack (about 8 feet).  In the shack, there's currently a rat's nest; I'll install Panduit-style plastic raceways later this year.

  -  What do you use for operating position furniture?

Currently homebrew and leftovers.  I plan to build custom furniture with laminate tops in the future, using prefab cabinet units for much of it.

The room (which is also my home office) is laid out with desk surfaces in a "U" configuration on three walls and bookshelves on the fourth.

I also have a seven-foot equipment rack.  Allows stacking of a lot of stuff in a small space.  Pushed against the wall (45-degree angle at one corner of the "U"), but on casters to allow access to the back.

  -  What kind of floor covering should we install?

Carpet here.

  -  What kind of lighting should we use?

Here: for a 12 x 12 room, 4 recessed pots, 65W incandescent bulbs, on a dimmer.

  -  How many outlets do we really need [110 and 240]?

I have a couple of plugmolds in the waiting... even that won't be enough.  But since each computer has a surge strip, it will do.  To me, the important thing is the number of circuits.  Currently, the room is on a single 110 circuit.  I ultimately plan 2x110 and 1x220.

  -  What about heat/AC?

Here: A/C in the winter; heat in the summer!  :-)  

Nothing yet--I used a space heater this winter.  The incandescents and the equipment provide a lot of heat, and the wall insulation helps a ton (and keeps down the noise).  Will probably put in baseboard someday.  House has central air, but not the basement.  Another "someday."  For now: a fan.

Like many of the other posts--I do wish I had windows.  (My wife got the extra bedroom, with the nice windows, for HER office.)  The next-best thing is to put some effort into aesthetics.  I spend lots of time here, so it's important.  Currently, the walls are painted white.  BO-ring, even with framed maps, certificates, etc.  We bought wallpaper that complements the carpet and that's the next thing to go up.  My wife has been very supportive of making this a really nice space.

Finally--in a basement, make sure you check the radon count, preferably with two canisters in different places.  E.G., if part of the basement is finished and part not, check both.  If there's a problem, have it fixed before you spend lots of time there.

--Charlie, NC1N