[CQ-Contest] Rig placement and ergonomics

[Jim Smith]

Hi John,

I see lots of stations with:
Keyboard on the desk
Radio behind the keyboard
Monitor on top of the radio.

To tune the radio, as I often have to do, being a little pistol, you 
have to lean forward, reach over the keyboard and fiddle the knobs.  As 
you have discovered, this can be a real pain.  i.e. poor ergonomics. 
Probably not much of an issue, though, if all you do is run.

To look at the monitor you have to take your eyes off the keyboard 
(that's right, I don't touch type but I can log 3-4 cw Qs per minute, 
sometimes 5) and tilt your head back a bit, thus putting a strain on 
your neck - another pain.

My station:
The op position is an L-shaped secretarial desk as was common in the 
days of typewriters.  One part of the L is the main desk surface with a 
height of 28-1/2".  The other part is called the "return".  It is 1-1/2" 
below the main desk surface.  This is where the typewriter used to be 
placed.

So, my keyboard sits on the return which puts it at a better height for 
typing than the typical desk height.  The main desk surface is to my right.

The radio sits on the main desk surface to my right and is positioned in 
such a way that the radio is pretty well facing me and when I rest my 
right forearm on the main desk surface the tuning knob is about 3" away 
from my hand.   So all I have to do to reach it is pivot my arm slightly 
to the right using my elbow as the pivot point.  I don't even have to 
look at the radio to do this.

The monitor, and to me this is really important, sits BEHIND (not on) 
the return and the bottom edge of the screen is about 2-3" BELOW the 
surface of the return.  This means that I never have to move my head to 
view either the keyboard or the monitor.  In addition, I find that this 
placement of the monitor results in a very comfortable position for my body.

I can op for 12 or more hours continuously and NEVER get a stiff neck or 
other discomfort, other than the normal stiffness for my age due to 
sitting for long periods.

"And what age is that, pray tell?"  Well, I'm getting sensitive about it 
but I got my ticket in 1953.

I have a second monitor mounted above the first on which I display 
things like DXAtlas, HamCAP, etc.  Looking at it does require raising 
the head but I'm not doing it all the time.

Above the 2nd monitor I have a little scope, a phone patch, an AC VTVM 
and a frequency counter.  Above that I have an audio patch bay.

Here's how this is all supported.

The L shaped desk is shoved right up against two adjoining walls in the 
shack so the outside corner of the desk fits snugly into the inside 
corner of the two walls.

I built an alcove (just like a closet but no door) right behind the 
keyboard.  It's about 22" wide and 36" deep and juts out into the 
basement.  It has adjustable shelves on which I can put all this gear 
(and a place at the bottom for power supplies and big battery) and it 
has a door at the back which gives me access to the back of the monitors 
etc. and makes it easy to move things in and out.  It also provides a 
convenient location for my Rig Runner DC distribution block and PWRGate 
auto switchover between AC and battery operation.

The intent was that the door would normally be closed.  However, I found 
that, as one of the monitors is a CRT type, it got warmer than I liked 
in there so the door is normally open and, in summer time, I add a fan.

I spent quite a bit of time thinking about how I wanted to set up the op 
position and I'm VERY happy with the result.  The only thing I would 
change would be to make the alcove a little wider to accommodate bigger 
monitors.

Regarding your comment about clutter, remember the old design maxim, 
"Form follows function."

Anyway, I don't for a moment suppose that you're going to tear your 
station apart and duplicate this.  I do hope that you found it to be of 
some interest.

73, Jim Smith	VE7FO


John Geiger wrote:
> You can tell that the 10 meter contest has no propagation if I am sending out an email during it.
> 
> Let me preface this question by saying that I don't want to computer control the rig.  I have tried that before with a TS-B2000 and didn't like it.  I say this because I am sure that it would be the answer many would reply with.
> 
> Here is my situation.  On Thanksgiving day I hurt my right shoulder (I am right handed) and as it was getting better I reinjured it last weekend in the 160 contest by excessive tuning of the VFO dial.  The shack is set up on a computer center, and the rig is on the second shelf, right at eye level. This means I have to raise my arm to tune the VFO dial, and the excessive raising last weekend reirritated my shoulder.  This past week I would just use my left hand to tune the VFO and push buttons instead, but that was getting awkward, especially with the 10 meter contest coming up.
> 
> Today I broke down and moved the rig to the desktop instead, so I don't have to raise my arm to turn the dial.  I really don't like it here as it looks a little more cluttered now with the rig, laptop, keyer paddles, and rotor control.  Plus is it closer to the line of fire when my 6 year old daughter is throwing things around the house.  However, this will have to do for now.
> 
> Now here is my question:  Have others found that having the rig slightly lower than you is easier on the arms or shoulders over the long run than having to raise your arm to tune the rig?  I was hoping to eventually move it back to its original place, but if I run the risk of straining the shoulder more having it there, I might have to learn to live with it where it is.  
> 
> What has your experience taught you about rig placement?  Maybe there is a doctor or orthopeadist on the list who knows something about ergonomics and injury prevention.  I am using a Yaesu FT857D so I guess I could eventually remote mount the faceplate at a lower level and put the body of the rig where it used to be.
> 
> Talk about a bummer way to start the 10 meter contest weekend.
> 
> 73s John AA5JG  
> 
> 
>       
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