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A different kind of test equipment thread: What piece of furniture to use?
Posted by bayjelly on 11 May, 2021 01:56 -
This might be a bit silly, but it's surprisingly hard for me to find a piece of furniture to put my test equipment in.
My desk is pretty full already, so a lot of my test equipment (particularly the deeper stuff) is next to it, i.e. to my right when I'm sitting down. See the picture for illustration. Obviously, this is not a good situation.
There is also a vector scope barely visible under the desk (which is even deeper than the already deep Sony PVM), and other stuff not pictured, like signal generators. I'm tired of having to hunch down to see the picture on the Sony PVM, and the whole thing is not very stable anyway. The classic overhead bench setup does not work because of a) large monitors and b) a height adjustable desk.
It would be nice to just have a (maybe, but not necessarily, movable) piece of furniture where things like the Sony PVM that I need to closely look at are on top, and the other equipment distributed across lower shelves. However, if I look online I either find professional lab carts that are way beyond what I want to spend, or IKEA furniture that would otherwise be fine if it's stable enough, but that mostly disqualifies because a lot of my test equipment is just so deep (18" or 0.5m for the vector scope alone).
Anyone who solved a similar problem with sturdy but affordable furniture?
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I should add that despite a few European things visible in the picture, I'm in the US. But there's IKEA here, too!
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See if you can get a used IKEA desk called "Jerker". The were discontinued over 10 (probably near 20) years ago. They are one of the very few products IKEA sold that I heartily recommend. Get the version with the shelf over the desktop. There was an optional extension shelf that could be added above, and pivoting monitor shelves.
Unlike the name they are solid and deep and not jerky at all, being built with a solid steel box section stand.
Don't consider the later replacement it was typically inferior.
Here is one example on Craigslist https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/fuo/d/los-angeles-ikea-jerker-shelves-swinging/7318527156.html?lang=en&cc=gb
The basic desk is good too but not as deep or versatile. -
How about some kind of desk shelf/riser?
https://www.amazon.com/desk-shelf-riser/s?k=desk+shelf+riser -
I've concluded that if you don't want to spend the money for an off-the-shelf unit, you're pretty much stuck building it yourself.
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First I would add another desk at right angles. I use the corner between my desks to hold my full sized computer tower, subwoofer, and trash can. I have sort of a shelf on my computer and one of my monitors on the top of the shelf so it is even with the other monitor on one of my desks.
Next I would add shelves resting on the desks to hold instruments and anything else which you want to keep in reach.
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Everything in these 2 pictures is custom built by me from #2 pine boards. No ready made solution fit my needs.
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Building it yourself can be a very fun project, and saves you money! I built my own desk which is 2m long from 2x4 and plywood for under 100$ it doesn't look as nice in real life as in the render, but it is super sturdy and was lots of fun to build!
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Thanks everyone for those suggestions so far. The problem is that I really like my current desk, so replacing it is out of the question. Moreover, it's an adjustable height desk (a standing desk in other words, but I don't just adjust is for standing), so any solution that somehow depends on "extending" the desk won't work.
So it seems the only option is a standalone piece of furniture that fits into this gap, is deep enough to actually hold my equipment, and has about the right height and number of shelves. I feel like those lab carts you see with oscilloscopes in labs or sometimes even car garages might work, but being sold to professional labs they seem insanely expensive. (I don't need it to be movable, by the way, though I wouldn't mind if the best solution comes with that.)
I'd have no objection to some cheap IKEA stuff (provided it is stable enough), but the depth of some of my test equipment makes such furniture hard to find. -
19" AV rack mount cabinet/frame that fits under the desk perhaps. Fairly narrow (less than normal server rack) but only tall enough to go under desk. You can fit sliding shelves so that devices can be pulled out as required. Rack its self can have wheels to pull it all out more easily.
PS:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/312403668668?hash=item48bcb5aebc:g:qwkAAOSwiXpgRqvK
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/253930288881?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item3b1f6cb6f1:g:4k8AAOSwubdd5uPE&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACgBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%252Fn%252BzU5L90Z278x5ickkrDx%252B2NLp21dg6hHbHAkGMQW%252Fn4lE35A%252FR8t4U2D925ldgyl%252BoaAjVexbm1aIRGTVwVs9oLPVr5fV51F%252FIbcsX%252BZUMfWDvOD%252BwpmSzPRxGX%252FRK0TF6HwObH0RBV85O3TssFak8ul5j0R574Bg1pr%252F8OWlH%252Bcyzp1I9ghPGzXCautixNxdN96kxwM7ZNdGt0965fVfVB2qQB2w4pQd4YJX%252F6hQUBf2ZCion8PKEQbmbrzi3kbMqegCdpqX5DMH%252BEnramBqP9YhEBUr%252F7Wo0QtgwED1FzJqu4m5Fhg2W2YDmixaT6C0Tn8CsB8EDbG%252FdSkuAPJn0H%252FaN8L4SPT%252F2hXJ6HNRvDt5AFlEqGRedS5MVWR84k6Bp%252FWL56OShpFPRwGEt9PM5n3tx%252B1LxCVZl%252BJJMYjUZT3XUVt%252FNpzvSe%252BmGy2iCR0sy6k%252FQ5LDqGdXBkuBZ%252FMqflRh%252FXotR2XprM731sTUvmdUlOfUi6aj8ecWqQ0mjtYDVTwtnkfylO%252FK31sPlobIMoWOwOs0InVNgpYpIDeZMDTs5UGZuzgfm3eLQWh%252BcLVcoo5afm%252B8WrIx%252BveNkya6MN7LcndAMekOtzeBQiekAc3G23CGh1CLuXYWw1MlgdGknrvpU6N37zIaDQIBRjHj8dwgMAe82qmni6hyvX8KdNstwUuYTyoxd6dkD0%252FdT5m5ABKn1r%252Fm4BVkXisJ7IJG0VgcYM27QUXni43DvcpinS9ZzfSkAHkVOFfkWTsF38LKx4DR3kG5iqu2uWat2AF1U6g28HHfT2FB9IFC0kH2wFbNsz2giyq45pwmXmo%253D%7Ccksum%3A2539302888819007acbd1592424a86de9a82a3cde8ae%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524
PPS:
Or something like sliding rack shelving on ordinary furniture, perhaps bolting rack equipment/shelves to wooden furniture;
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The Jerker desk is built to hold serious weight, and is totally adjustable. Ifs great if you can find one.
I agree, get the extra shelf. It may have been discontinued but there are still a lot on the used market.
Also in the next to the last photo they show a wire bracket for cable management similar to one I got from Ikea and use with mine. Its used to hold multiple power strips off the floor neatly, this is very handy. Unfortunately I think it has also been discontinued.See if you can get a used IKEA desk called "Jerker". The were discontinued over 10 (probably near 20) years ago. They are one of the very few products IKEA sold that I heartily recommend. Get the version with the shelf over the desktop. There was an optional extension shelf that could be added above, and pivoting monitor shelves.
Unlike the name they are solid and deep and not jerky at all, being built with a solid steel box section stand.
Don't consider the later replacement it was typically inferior.
Here is one example on Craigslist https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/fuo/d/los-angeles-ikea-jerker-shelves-swinging/7318527156.html?lang=en&cc=gb
The basic desk is good too but not as deep or versatile.
One of the other posts in this thread shows the "lack" table which is exactly the right size, being used as a rack. If you search Google for "Lack Rack" you'll discover that this is very popular. Of course there are no rails in this rack so you have to support your equipment's weight using something else. But the size is perfect. Make sure your equipment has "ears". -
I have built this a while ago:
There are more images in my Flickr acount. The base is an Ikea rack. Nowadays it is home to some bins and a big & heavy DC load for which I have no better place yet.
Repost from this thread: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/has-anyone-here-built-a-scope-cart/msg1775942/#msg1775942 which has many interesting ideas. -
I have built this a while ago:
With the recent quadrupling in lumber prices, I have been seriously considering steel racks for standalone shelving.
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Once you have acquired several test instruments, you are faced with the logistics of where to put them and ease of use vs storage.
Some people stack instruments one on top of the other which can be OK for those that you always need and those that go together, but the higher ones can be hard to access and it's hard to take things into the field or change your configuration to adapt to various projects. For that reason, I like having shelves so instruments can be moved or removed.
Also, you can only reach so far comfortably, so if you are working on a complex project, you may need to access more instruments than conveniently fit in front of you on the bench.
Instrument carts are a great solution. You can park less frequently needed instruments away from the primary work area and 'surround' yourself with them as needed.
Here is an image that shows instruments on the bench top, on shelves, and the spectrum analyzer and oscilloscope on Tektronix lab carts.
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twin slot shelf uprights ,suitable heavy duty brackets and some wood for the shelf's.
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I also use twin slot brackets. I have some very deep shelves on them which will accept full-depth HP instruments and although I've upgraded recently to some lighter instruments I've had large old scopes and power supplies on them without any issue. They have every wall fixing present, using long screws and plugs into a cement block wall. I'd be less happy about a studding wall.
I put one shelf (and a seconds on another wall ) at the same height as the desk, which allows monitors to sit on the borderline even with a shallow shelf.