Steve Karg of Birmingham, AL, recently submitted info about his well-planned, cost-conscious design nook where he builds lighting control products, develops software, tests and debugs his projects, and more. The workspace is compact yet intelligently stocked with essentials such as a laptop, a scope, a toaster, a magnifier, a labelled parts bin, an AC source, and more.
Karg writes:
Here is a photo of my electronics workspace in my cellar. I use the toaster oven for soldering surface mount parts to printed circuit boards, the scope and meters for the usual diagnostics and validation, the AC source for developing line voltage dimming and switching lighting control products, the laptop for developing software including the open source BACnet Stack and Wireshark, and the light tent for deriving dimming curves for various lamps. I bought the chairs and lab bench at a Martin-Marietta yard sale in Colorado, and they moved 3 times with me to Pennsylvania, Georgia, and now Alabama. I found the Metcal soldering iron in a dumpster in Maryland near an office building.—Steve Karg, Birmingham, AL
Steve Karg’s circut cellar in Birmingham, AL
In addition to placing his essential tools within reach, Karg did a few things we think every designer should consider when planning his or her workspace.
One, Karg neatly labelled the parts box located on the right side of the shelf above his workbench. Label now and you’ll thank yourself later.
Two, Karg has deep, sturdy, wall-mounted shelves above his workbench. As you can see, they’re capable of holding fairly large bins and boxes. They aren’t flimsy 8″ deep shelves intended for displaying lightweight curios or paperback books. If you’re planning a workspace, consider following Karg’s lead by installing sturdy shelving capable of holding everything from electronic equipment to every copy of Circuit Cellar since 1988.
Three, we applaud Karg’s magnification and lighting equipment. A cellar can be dark place, especially if it is completely underground and isn’t a “walkout” (or “daylight basement”) with a windowed door. Many basements have only a few small hopper windows that enable daylight and fresh air to get inside. In such spaces, darkness and shadows can be problematic for electrical engineers and electronics DIYers working on small projects. Without a properly placed light or lighting system, your body can overshadow your work. Good luck trying taking a close look at a board or attempting to repair a PCB trace without proper lighting. It’s clear Karg has proper lighting in mind. As you can see, he has plenty of lamps and light sources at his disposal.
And finally, kudos to Karg for purchasing the bench at a yard sale and staying with the discarded soldering iron he found in a dumpster. We all know the saying: “If ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” We agree, except when what’s broke is mounted on your circuit board, of course!
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