Useful things for the shack

I've started to work out quickly that there are some useful things to have in the shack:

- Antenna switches. Popular opinion seems to be against them, but they're handy. Do research, and buy accordingly (or buy according to budget and deal with replacement later like me...). 

- Power meter (battery). You need one. Yeah. Especially when the power goes from radio that tells you it needs 15A to two or three radios, each wanting 20A, plus a stack of things all using the same 12v feed (I've got a couple of fans on the radios for cheap cooling, V/UHF power meter and the RF switch that stops me from killing the SDR when I TX.  I also only have a 20A switch mode power supply - it's handy to be able to see how much power you're dragging with your gear on and receiving, and how much you're actually dragging when you're transmitting (where the real drag comes from). I've very quickly determined that I can get away with my 20A power supply whilst I'm running 10 watts. I haven't yet tested doing FT8 whilst using the IC706 to TX and see what that looks like. At the moment though, it's kinda moot - I've been using a deep cycle battery to handle the load as the power meter is a new addition. 

- A power distribution box - like the Waverly Powerpole Kit. This makes distributing power a breeze. You may find that you'll quickly need more than 1, especially as the accessories start to add up. 

- As many Anderson power poles as you can get. You'll still never have enough. If by some miracle you do, can I have some? I'm out again. You should probably buy the correct crimper for these too, and save yourself some grief. I've discovered all kinds of ways of crimping without it, and they've all come loose (and I'm too lazy to solder them). 

- A kill switch. How? Why? You'll read that it's suggested to have a way to kill the power to your shack gear. For me, it's all running on 12-13v and it's over 10 amps, so it's beyond the capacity of a light switch (10A). My solution was a 35A circuit breaker with a single breaker enclosure. It was cheap (especially when Bunnings were tossing out the 35A breakers for $1.75), and  it'll work as a switch. I shouldn't be able to draw 35A with the gear I have currently, and if I  do, something's gone horribly wrong, in which case a circuit breaker is a really, really good idea. A little redundant given the number of fuses floating around, but still. 

- Remote charging. If you run a battery and you have a charger hooked up, it can be an annoyance to kill the charger if it's in a different room (noise, etc). They can add a bit of noise to your signal. I have my battery on the other side of the wall (the garage) with the charger on top. I tried a couple of things - the first was what the signal is like while the charger is running: Bad. The second was to see what would happen if I put a switch in to cut the positive side of the charger: Better but noisy. The only "clean" option was a remote switch to cut the power into the charger. You could have a sparky do this  kind of job, or you could go and buy something  like a Wifi enabled smart plug or a remote controlled power board and use that.  This is a convenience thing more than a necessity. 

- Ferrites. Yes, you need them. Much like Anderson power poles, I'm not sure you can actually own too many. I purchased  a bag of 40 the other day and I run out within an hour. I never made it out of the shack/study. If you have really specific issues such as interference on a specific band caused by something in your home, then you'll be best suited doing some research on specific mixes for that band, and locating a supplier of that. If you're just trying to quieten everything down to a dull roar, you won't need to be quite so specific. 

- Headphones. Do you own a set yet? If not, go buy some. Good ones, not garbage. They seem to be really handy, especially when it's noisy to hear better. Personally, I use "audio monitor" headphones - these are "flat", so there is no "bass boost" or any fairy dust sprinkled on them that makes them "add" anything to an audio signal that appeals to consumers who buy based upon flashy marketing terms. They give you an audio signal how it comes out of the socket. Not everyone's cup of tea, but it's also not interfering with what you're hearing in any way. You don't need to spend a fortune. My Audio-Technicas' are sub $200 and do the job nicely. They're also good for listening to music (the reason I actually own them). 

- A decent toolkit. Not absolutely required, but well worth it as you start to tinker. A temperature controlled soldering iron, decent solder (I still prefer tin/lead resin core blends), some quality fine tipped side cutters/clippers, angled pointy nosed pliers, a decent set of pliers (I'm partial to 1000v rated), some jewelers screwdrivers (small ones), and a couple of "normal" sized screw drivers (my preference is insulated as I do other things that involves working live - though at low voltage). Tools should be treated as an investment. If you buy good ones, you'll likely find you'll get good life out of them. If you buy cheap, you'll buy them often. As a tech with over 20 years experience, every "good" tool I've ever purchased I still have. Every cheap one is long gone. You don't need to go overboard - there's no point spending $100 a tool you'll use a couple of times, when a $20 item can do the same job. You don't want to spend $20 on a tool you'll use often and replace every few months when the $100 tool might last you decades. 

- A handheld or two. A handheld or HT is something you may already start out with. If not, it's worth having one. Some days it's handy to have a reference radio on the desk that isn't connected to the same power or antennas. You can buy cheap Baofengs and the like for <$40. If by some miracle you manage to break it, it's low cost, and most hams won't cry over it. They're by no means "great", but they are handy. Plenty of hams also use them for mobile setups to get audio when tracking satellites and what not. Again, if you drop it or get rained on, it's not a big deal. Really useful too if you're not entirely sure you're hitting a local repeater - set the HT to the receiving frequency and see what happens. Usually when you key a repeater, you'll hear some noise a second or two after you stop transmitting. Still, if you're not sure, having a HT is a quick way to check.  

- Storage and having "Bits". You can never have enough. Smaller storage - drawer based is handy for electronic "bits" that you start to collect. Plugs, sockets, components, screws.. all these things should be kept. You'll need them one day (or in 20 years you'll be asking yourself why you still have them). A box with cables and the like is also pretty handy. Don't throw out anything that you might have a use for (unless it's either cheap to replace, or too big to keep).  If you need a PL259, why not buy 10? Sooner or later you'll need them, and it's usually cheaper to have some spares. You don't need to be a hoarder, but you should be mindful of what you might need in a hurry.  As a young computer tech, I became a cable hoarder (and I still am) - I discovered quickly that $30 printer cables had a cost price of $2, but cost about $10 to ship, and the suppliers needed high minimum orders. I found myself forever coming into possession of cables. All of these cables in the pre-"eBay from China" era were always super expensive in the shops compared to their wholesale value. I've saved literally thousands of dollars over the past 20 odd years by keeping cables that were stupidly expensive to buy new. There's a few (boxes) worth that I've thrown out as they really would never be used again (like parallel printer cables), but those serial cables for various UPSes, EGA extension cables, null modem cables and the power cables have all come in handy over the years. Some have been modified, some were just there for when I needed them. Some were outright obscure and really, really hard to find new.

- Others? There's probably a heap more things that I'm currently forgetting. I'll just update this when I remember  them.